Bag2School news

We end term with further news of our fund-raising successes. The Bag2School Day back in November raised £150 for school funds, so a very big thank you to all of you who brought in clothes, bedding, towels and other goods.

Dates for this recycling fund-raising have been set for 2013, so if you have your new diaries, put these dates in straightaway. Bag2School in 2013 will be on:

* Thursday 9th May
* Thursday 14th November

Thank you again for all your help and support throughout the term. Have a fantastic Christmas!

More Christmas Fayre photos

Whilst all this fun was going on in the community room, parents, staff and pupils were serving refreshments in the cafe area. Our thanks go to Mr Oakley & Ms Butler who made turkey sandwiches and to Mrs Wagstaff who served drinks, along with thanks to pupils and parents who provided some delicious buns, cakes and biscuits to keep us going. We called this 'Festive Fuel' and it certainly helped to pass the time!

We really enjoyed the Primary Department singing a medley of Christmas carols:

At the end of the afternoon, the winners from the competitions were announced:
Mr Grummett won the food & drink hamper:

Mrs Stenton won the Pamper Hamper:

Alyssia McMahon correctly guessed the Pirate Treasure hiding place (Sapphire Sea) and won a game and chocolate coins:

Mrs Dunning correctly named the elephant (Ella):

Other prize-winners who were not there to collect their prizes:
* Seth Housley won the sweets (guessing 380, when the correct answer was 364)
* Lathusan Thyakaran who correctly named the polar bear Snowball
* Jake Mount who guessed the name of the cottage (Reindeer Row)

Our thanks go to all who helped in any way, shape or form, especially:
* all parents who donated gifts for the hamper, home baking or home produce or bottles for the Lucky Dip Game
* all parents, grandparents and friends who came along to make the Fayre such a success
* FHHS members who gave their time sacrificially to price items, set up and clear away and help out in so many practical ways
* Mr Oakley & Ms Butler & Mrs Wagstaff for their help with refreshments
* Mrs Thomas for the Pirate Map
* Mrs Dodd for donating the cuddly toys
* Mrs Clee for her help in filling the mugs with chocolates and selling another 36 BCS mugs!
* all parents and pupils who helped to run the stalls
* Diane, Diane and Emma who brought their crafts and gifts to sell
* Stephen Turner & Mr Dunning for helping with the games
* Stacey Chapman for acting as our official photographer
* all staff who helped with the Primary singing and with setting up and clearing away of the Fayre. Such events cause much disruption to ordinary school life and the willingness of staff to support such events is much appreciated by all FHHS members.

Finally, mention must be made of the 'Save Our Surgery' fund to support the Children's Heart Unit in Yorkshire. We have personal experience of how this unit has helped people we know and we were very happy to support the 'Wear Red' campaign being run today.

It is easy at times to view fund-raising events with a somewhat jaded eye, especially at the end of a busy term. Joshua, pictured here with a relative and one of our pupils, is a vivid reminder of the marvellous work done by the Children's Heart Unit and we were very pleased to be able to offer our practical support of this charity at the same time as raising funds for school.

Christmas Fayre news

Many, many thanks to all of you who supported the Christmas Fayre this afternoon. We raised a massive £416.04 for school funds and also raised £41.60 for the Children's Heart Unit (Save Our Surgery fund) in Yorkshire. We are very grateful for all your generosity in providing so many goods for the event and in supporting this so well!

Here's a flavour of what was on offer today:

Face painting, mainly by the pupils themselves:

Some of the staff were even willing to risk this!

Nail-painting, ably led by Mrs Jackson with some pupils helping out as well:

A variety of competitions:
Naming the teddy bear:

Finding the pirate treasure:

Guessing the value of the hampers:

... as well as guessing the number of sweets in a jar (364) or the name of a gingerbread house (Reindeer Row).

We also had a variety of stalls, selling a range of goods from crafts, home made produce, jewellery, Jamie Oliver tableware, Christmas wreaths, games and DVDs:

In addition to this, we also had some old-fashioned games:

Christmas Fayre

The Christmas Fayre is this Friday, 7th December, starting at 3 p.m. The Primary Department will be singing some carols to start proceedings and then we hope you will all join us in exploring what's on offer.

Home produce, craft items and home baking need to be brought into school on the morning of 7th December. If you have any bottles for the Lucky Dip Bottle Game, please send them in by this time at the latest (preferably in a bottle bag).

A list of what will be on offer at the Fayre is given below:

* Competitions and games (to win a variety of items from sweets in a jar to a gingerbread house to a surprise bottle to teddy bears or hampers).
* Stalls selling home baking, home produce (such as james and lemon curd) and homemade crafts (cards, tags, gift bags, woollen items).
* BCS mugs filled with chocolates will also be on sale.
* Stalls selling games & DVDs
* Stalls selling jewellery, pet duvets, Christmas wreaths and Jamie @ Home tableware
* Face painting and nail painting

Refreshments will also be available:
* Tea/ coffee/ hot chocolate all for 50p (luxury hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows costs 80p)
* Fruit squash for 20p
* Hot turkey & stuffing sandwiches for £2.80

We will also be collecting for the children's heart unit at Leeds Hospital, but all proceeds from stalls and refreshments will go to school.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

November news update

Many thanks to those of you who supported the Beauty Event on Tuesday 20th November. Obviously the time was not convenient for many people, but we are very grateful to the House of Beauty for hosting this event and to those who supported it. We raised £50 from the event.

Many thanks to all who have inundated me with items for the Christmas Hampers this week! We now have enough items for two fantastic hamper competitions for the Christmas Fayre on Friday 7th December. For the bargain price of £1 per guess, you can guess the value of the Food & Drink hamper or the Pamper Hamper and have the chance to win some amazing goods. The House of Beauty have kindly donated items to the Pamper Hamper and both hampers are really amazing quality and value for money. We hope you will have a go at winning them!

There will be a number of other competitions at the Christmas Fayre, including naming the two teddy bears on offer and guessing the number of sweets in a jar for those of you with a sweet tooth! There is treasure to be found on a Treasure Map and a whole variety of games to play.

In addition, we have the Primary Department children singing carols at the start of the Fayre and a whole range of stalls selling:
* Christmas cards and crafts
* home-made produce (cakes, buns, jams, chutneys etc.)
* Jamie Oliver tableware
* jewellery
* Christmas wreaths

You can also get your nails painted and we are hoping to have a face painting stall as well.

Refreshments will also be served, including hot turkey and stuffing sandwiches.

Dates for the diary:
* Monday 3rd December at 8 p.m. (note the later time)
FHHS Planning Meeting

* Friday 7th December from 3-5 p.m.
Christmas Fayre

November news

Many thanks for your support of the Bag2School Recycling Day on Friday. We had loads of bags so hopefully will have raised loads of money!

This Tuesday is the House of Beauty Event from 2-4 p.m. We still have a number of slots available for this, so if you would like to treat yourself or a friend to a facial, manicure, pedicure or massage for the bargain price of £18, please get in touch by 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Payment will be required when booking; cheques should be made payable to ‘Friends of Barnsley Christian School’.

Pre-orders for tableware from the Jamie @ Home lady who will be at the Christmas Fayre need to be received in school by Friday 23rd November in the morning in order to guarantee delivery at the Christmas Fayre on Friday 7th December. Catalogues are available on request from the school office and orders must be accompanied by full payment. These items can also be ordered at the Fayre itself.

Items donated for the Hamper competitions should also be handed in by Friday 23rd November. These could include:
* Christmas crackers
* Christmas pudding
* Mince pies
* Luxury chocolates
* Cheese & biscuits
* Wine & spirits
* Crisps
* Mincemeat
* Chutneys
* Pickles
* Cranberry sauce
* Turkey gravy

We also need items for the Toiletries hamper. These could include:
* Soaps
* Loofah
* Bath oils
* Hand creams etc.

Please make sure you include the value of all items donated for these competitions.

We are also running a 'Lucky Dip Bottle Game' and need bottles (of wine or other non-alcoholic drinks) donating for this stall.

Many thanks in anticipation of all your support!

Beauty Event time changes

Many apologies for the change, but we have been informed by the House of Beauty that evening slots are not available for our Beauty Event. We now have 30 slots between 2 and 4 p.m. on Tuesday 20th November. Please book this week so that I can sort out details for this event.

Treatments cost £18 per half-hour and payment must be made at the time of booking (cheques should be made payable to 'Friends of Barnsley Christian School', as we are still in the process of changing our bank account to reflect the school's new name.) Treatments can be booked via the school office, by telephone on 01226 211011 or by email (exams@hopehouseschool.org.uk). You can send in a reply slip with your child along with your payment if you wish.

Looking forward to seeing you on 20th November!

Jamie At Home

It has all been happening today at school! Plans are coming together for the Christmas Fayre on Friday 7th December and we are pleased to announce that Diane Ayre, a representative for Jamie At Home will be at the Fayre selling tableware and crockery endorsed by Jamie Oliver.

Catalogues and order forms are available in school now from the office and orders with payments can be taken. All orders received by 23rd November will be available for collection at the Christmas Fayre, but you can also place orders at the Fayre and Diane guarantees delivery before Christmas.

There are some lovely items for sale, ideal for Christmas presents, so please do take advantage of this opportunity.

We still need items for the Christmas Hampers (items of food and drink for one hamper and toiletries for another) and would be grateful if these could be sent into school by Friday 23rd November as well. Home baking, home produce (jams, mincemeat, pickled onions, chutneys etc.) and crafts will also be gratefully received (and sold!)

Many thanks for all your ongoing support.

Beauty Event

House of Beauty (click here for website) have agreed to host another Beauty event in aid of school funds. This will take place in two sessions on Tuesday 20th November.

You can book a half-hour treatment from 2-4 p.m. in the afternoon or from 6-8 p.m. in the evening and pay just £18 for this (normal prices are about £26). Treatments available are:
• Shellac Fingers
• Shellac Toes
• Clarins Express Facial
• Deep Tissue Back Massage
• Face & Eye Refresher
• Indian Head Massage
• Soothing Face & Scalp Mass
• Grooming Manicure
• Floating Feet Pedicure

This is a fantastic opportunity to treat yourself or a loved one before Christmas, and there are usually opportunities to buy (and win) amazing beauty products as well, so we are confident this will be a really successful event.

The House of Beauty is situated on Pitt Street, just around the corner from school:

If you would like to book a treatment, please contact me at school, by phone (01226 211011) or by email (exams@hopehouseschool.org.uk), giving me your name, contact details, preferred time and preferred treatment. Payment of £18 will also be required at the time of booking.

In the past, these events have sold out virtually straightaway, so do contact me soon if you are interested!

Recycling Day

The Bag2School Recycling Day is on Friday 16th November. Bags will be sent out this week. Please send in your unwanted good quality clothes, bedding, curtains, belts, shoes and handbags. School receives money based on the weight of items received, so this is an ideal opportunity to have that clear-out before Christmas and help raise funds for school at the same time!

All items should be brought into school on the morning of 16th November. We don't have the space to store items before then, but please do bring items in then so that we can raise more funds.

Bake 'n' Take

Monday's Bake 'n' Take was hugely successful, raising £116.25 for the school. Thank you to everyone who provided such delicious home baking and to all those who helped serve.

Contributing to FHHS

There are 3 events currently being planned for the autumn term and we very much hope you will be willing to get involved in these.

(1) Bake 'n' Take Monday 22nd October at 3 p.m.
A Bake 'n' Take only works if people are willing to provide home baking for the event and if others are willing to come along between 3 and 4 p.m. on that date to buy the home baking! We hope you will be kind enough to provide lots of buns, cakes and home made biscuits for us and that you will remember to send your children with some money to buy things on that day! It's even better if you can call in and buy as well! We serve hot drinks and squash at this event.

(2) Bag2School Recycling Day Friday 16th November 9 a.m.
This event involves clearing out your wardrobes in preparation for Christmas! You receive a bag about a couple of weeks before the collection date and bring in all your old clothes, bedding, curtains, shoes, bags and belts to school on the morning of 16th November. This is collected by a company who pay us money according to the weight of the bags. How easy is that? You get a good clear-out and the school receives money for it!

(3) Christmas Fayre Friday 7th December 3-5 p.m.
There are two ways you can support this event. One is to provide things for us before the date (eg home baking, homemade chutneys, preserves, pickled onions etc.) to sell or you could contribute luxury items for our Hamper Competitions (giving us food, drink or toiletries to go into hampers... we then run a competition to guess the overall value of the hamper in order to win it!) We are running a craft stall, so any home made cards or knitted items or things like that can be donated to sell. The other thing you could contribute are wrapped sweets or chocolates for us to sell with the last of the mugs from last year!

The second way you can support the event is to come along to the Fayre and join in the fun! We will be running a number of games, competitions and stalls immediately after school and if everyone just stayed for a little while and spent a little money, it's surprising how this soon adds up! Hot and cold drinks will be served and hopefully we will have a wide range of fun activities on offer. Maybe you will find some Christmas presents or stocking fillers!

If you have any questions about these events or would like more information, please do contact me at school.

Planning meetings

Maybe some of you are put off by the invitations to FHHS Planning Meetings (sent out regularly to all parents and, by virtue of the Internet, to all friends of the school.) Maybe you wonder exactly what goes on at a planning meeting and whether it is for you!

We meet several times in the school year, usually to organise fund-raising events during that term. We start with a drink (and biscuits or cakes if someone has been kind enough to bring these!) and things are discussed in a very relaxed style, as the photos below show:

There is generally a core group of about 10 people who are willing to give up a couple of hours every 7-8 weeks or so to help the school to plan events that can help us raise funds to buy more equipment or organise activities for pupils and parents to be involved in. Last year we raised £2300.73! Thank you to everyone who helped organise all the events, who contributed home made baking, who attended events, who supported us in whatever ways possible. Your contributions provided PE equipment for the Primary department, radio-controlled clocks for school, 'Memories Books' for Y11 leavers, a Jubilee party for the whole school and IT equipment. We hope you will be willing to continue your support this year and maybe even pluck up the courage to attend a FHHS Planning meeting in future!

The next one, incidentally, is on Monday 12th November at 7.30 p.m. at school.

What's happening in school?

We have already organised some events for this term and want to update you all on what is happening and when!

FHHS Planning Meeting Monday 1st October at 7.30 p.m.
Bake ‘n’ Take Monday 22nd October at 3 p.m.
Bag2School Recycling Day Friday 16th November (morning)
Christmas Fayre Friday 7th December starting at 3 p.m. and continuing until 5 p.m.

Such events need the support of a wide range of people. We need an army of home bakers for the Bake 'n' Take & Christmas Fayre. We are also looking to have two hampers which can be won at the Christmas Fayre, but we need people to contribute items to the hampers (luxury foods, drinks and toiletries) for these to be well worth the competition! Any help you can give in contributing to stalls (craft items, home baking and homemade pickles, james, mincemeat and chutneys would be much appreciated) or in looking after stalls at the Christmas Fayre would be welcomed with open arms!

For the Recycling day, we need people to bring clothes, shoes, bags, belts, towels and bedding in to school on the morning of 16th November only. These are then weighed and we receive a sum of money based on how much stuff is collected. We have no room to store items before the collection date, so please only bring things in on the date itself. Bags will be distributed nearer the time.

If you would like to be involved in planning these or any other events, please do come along to the Planning Meeting on Monday 1st October at 7.30 p.m. This and all other events (unless otherwise stated) will be held in school.

Who are we?

I'm conscious that at the start of a new academic year, there are always new people joining school who don't know anything about the long history of the school or the Friends. So, here's a potted history and if you want to know more about what we were up to under our old name (Friends of Barnsley Christian School), you can access the old blog via the link on the right.

Hope House School might be the new name, but the school was actually opened, on 22nd September 1986, as Barnsley Christian School. As with most schools, there is a long history of parents, staff and friends working behind the scenes to raise funds to buy equipment and improve facilities and to provide social gatherings for pupils and parents. Some years ago, we decided that 'Friends' covered the range of people involved better than just being the PTA (which stands for Parents & Teachers' Association.) Now that the school has changed its name, we are known as 'Friends of Hope House School' (or F.H.H.S.) and our aims remain the same:
∙ To support the aims of the school and to bring together parents, staff, family and friends by providing social events where all groups are able to relax together.
∙ To raise funds for equipment which the school could not otherwise afford.
∙ To encourage the bringing together of the talents of pupils, parents, staff and friends for our mutual encouragement.

Every year, a group of willing volunteer helpers organise a range of events and activities and we are always welcome to new members and new ideas. If you would like to come along to meetings or just put forward your suggestions, please contact us via the school office or telephone 01226 211011. This year, our Chair is Jayne Wagstaff and our Treasurer is Julie Stead and I continue as the Secretary (Julie Turner). Please do feel free to contact us if you would like to know more or want to support the school in any way.

New blog!

This is the new blog for Friends of Hope House School (formerly known as Friends of Barnsley Christian School.) Here, you will be able to find out all about the fund-raising and social events we organise to help the school. Many thanks to all who attended the AGM on 10th September. It was good to welcome new parents to the meeting and we are planning a variety of events for the autumn term. Keep watching this space for further details!