Christmas Fayre

Many thanks to all who helped at and supported the Christmas Fayre held in school yesterday afternoon! The event was another resounding success, with just over £463 profit raised.

Prize winners from the competitions and games are listed below:

• ·         Body Shop hamper         Hannah Wagstaff
• ·         Beauty hamper                 Mugge family
• ·         Food hamper 1                 Joanne Armitage
• ·         Food hamper 2                 Mr Hoyle
• ·         Treasure Hunt                   Miriam Mugge

Photos will be on the blog next week, I hope, but in the meantime, our thanks go to all who contributed to making this such a successful fund-raising event:

•  The Primary pupils and staff who opened the event with their beautiful carol singing
• Jo Huddleston & her cafe volunteers who provided drinks and amazing hot turkey sandwiches all afternoon
• All the stall holders who had such lovely gifts on offer (Heather, Sam, Angie, Jane, Pam and Emily)
• Amber Roberts (former pupil) who worked so hard painting nails 
• Julie Stead & Emma Methven who kept pupils entranced with decorating baubles (and me slightly less than entranced with hoovering all that glitter up...!)
• all the pupils who helped with face-painting and serving at stalls
• Su Wood for organising the 'Lucky Dip' for children and Santa's Grotto
• all the FHHS committee who worked so hard behind the scenes organising the event and contributing to it
• all the parents and friends who donated items for the home baking and many other gifts and whose presence at the event made it so successful

We hope you enjoyed the fayre and look forward to seeing you in the New Year for more events!

Coming soon...

• Next FHHS planning meeting is on Monday 19th January at 7:30 p.m. at school
• Next FHHS event is the ceilidh with Dr Tom & No Mean Feet at 7 p.m. at Kexborough Social Club

Coming soon...

The Christmas Fayre is only just over a week away! It will be on Friday 28th November, starting at 3 p.m. with the Primary children singing carols and will go on until 5 p.m. Refreshments will be served in the cafe area.

We have a variety of stalls and activities on offer:

• Hampers to be won
• Craft & card stalls
• Home baking
• Nail painting
• Treasure Map
• Connect 4 & roll-a-penny games
• Lucky Dip bottle stall
• Decorate a Christmas bauble
• Santa's Grotto

We are grateful for all the people who will be selling their wares at the fayre and to all the children who are getting involved. Do come along if you can!

November events

Quite a few things are happening in November!

Bag2School Recycling
This is on Tuesday 11th November and bags have been distributed this week. We are collecting clothes, bags, paired shoes (tied together) and jewellery. No towels or bedding, please. All items need to be brought into school on Tuesday morning.

Christmas Pudding Orders
Order forms for Christmas puddings need to be returned (along with payments) by Friday 14th November. We get more discount if we send in a block order and so it won't be possible to process late orders. Please make sure you send these back to me via the school office. Cheques should be made payable to 'Friends of Hope House School.'

FHHS Planning Meeting
This will now be on Monday 17th November at 7.30 p.m. (changed from 10th November). Come along and be involved in sorting out arrangements for the Christmas Fayre.

Christmas Fayre
This is on Friday 28th November from 3-5 p.m. Many thanks to all who have responded so magnificently to our appeal for hamper items. Now all we need are bottles for the Lucky Dip stall!

Senior pupils are always invited to help out with the Christmas Fayre, but because they will need to stay until 5 p.m., parental consent is required. Letters went out yesterday, so please return these as soon as possible.

Looking forward to your ongoing support.

Pupil Enterprise Scheme

Why should fund-raising be left to the adults?!

We believe that young people have loads of great ideas for fund-raising and so we have launched the Hope House School Pupil Enterprise Scheme. Based on the Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30), the idea is that we give pupils who wish to be involved in this scheme £2 to invest in their own fund-raising ideas. They might use the money to buy flour, butter and eggs and bake buns to sell to their friends and family. Or they may use the money to buy a bucket and sponge and offer to wash cars for their relatives as a way of earning money. The sky is the limit as far as ideas are concerned!

Pupils who want to be involved in this scheme just need to bring the parent permission slip back to school by this Thursday (23rd October) and they will be given the £2 to invest. They need to bring the funds raised into school (along with a brief note saying what they did to raise this money) by 5th December. All we ask is that the methods used are both ethical and legal!

Pupils will have a direct say in how these funds are spent. Through the Pupil Council, suggestions will be submitted and the Pupil Council will choose the ideas they think are best and all the monies raised will go towards these ideas. FHHS promises to give every participant a certificate and there will be prizes for the most raised and the most innovative fund-raising idea.

So don't forget to return the permission slips and let's find some new ways to raise funds!

Updates

Thanks to all who baked and attended the Bake 'n' Take today. We raised £71.97 at that event.

Don't forget that if you want your child to take part in the Pupil Enterprise Scheme, you must return the permission slips by Thursday 23rd October. We hope many of the pupils will use the £2 given to them to invest in schemes to fund raise for the school. Money will be given to the pupils on Friday before half-term (hence the need for permission slips to be in by Thursday!) and their amounts raised (along with details of how they raised them) should be handed in by 5th December.

All parents should now have had their order forms for Christmas Puddings. These need to be handed in by Friday 14th November at the latest.

Other dates for the diary include the Bag2School Recycling Day on Tuesday 11th November and the Christmas Fayre on Friday 28th November. We now have enough items for the Beauty Hamper, but we still need items for the luxury food hamper. Items needed for this include:

• luxury chocolates and biscuits
• cheese biscuits
• cranberry sauce, horseradish sauce, mint sauce etc.
• turkey gravy
• mince pies
• Christmas pudding
• Christmas cake
• brandy butter
• tea
• coffee
• preserves
• chutneys & pickles
• pickled onions
• nuts
• crisps
• Christmas crackers
• champagne
• brandy
• chestnuts
• stuffing

We also need bottles bringing in to school for the Lucky Dip stall.

Dates for the diary...

Many thanks to those who attended the AGM on Monday. It's always good to welcome new faces and we are grateful to those parents who regularly attend and support our planning.

Dates for this term are:

• Bake 'n' Take on Monday 20th October at 3 p.m. (home baking gratefully received for this!)
• FHHS Planning Meeting on Monday 10th November at 7.30 p.m.
• Bag2School Recycling Day on Tuesday 11th November at 9 a.m. (all items need to be brought to school that morning... bags will be supplied shortly.)
• Christmas Fayre on Friday 28th November at 3 p.m. (We need food and drink for the hamper, beauty items for the beauty hamper and bottles for the Lucky Dip stall. Donations can be brought into the school office from now on - the sooner, the better!)

We are also hoping to be able to offer taster samples of a variety of puddings (including Christmas puddings) from the Ultimate Plum Pudding Company, which we intend to sell this term. For all parents attending the Harvest Festival on Monday 13th October, there will be an opportunity to taste these after the Harvest Festival and order forms will be supplied later this term, with school receiving a percentage of the profits from these sales.The photos below will hopefully whet your appetites! (Brandy butter, chocolate pudding, plum pudding, sticky toffee pudding, ginger pudding, zingy lemon pudding...)

New academic year

Welcome to the academic year 2014-15! We trust this will be a year of ongoing progress and opportunities and are looking forward to seeing Friends of Hope House School go from strength to strength.

For new pupils and parents, let me take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. We are a group of staff, parents and friends of the school who are involved in fund-raising in order to improve the facilities and equipment available to pupils. We also like to organise social events in order to give opportunities for us to get to know each other socially and to enhance the family spirit of the school. All are welcome to attend our planning meetings (usually held once every half-term or so) and to participate in the events we organise.

We're always open to new ideas for fund-raising. We can be contacted via the school office or by email (exams@hopehouseschool.org.uk). Further information about the Committee and meetings is on the notice board in the school foyer.

The Annual General Meeting will be on Monday 15th September at 7:30 p.m. in school and we'd love to see new faces and old friends as we plan activities and events for the year ahead.

An advance date for your diaries is Friday 28th November when we will be holding our Christmas Fayre. This will be from 3-5 p.m. at school and should be a great occasion, with a variety of stalls, games and competitions for us to enjoy.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

FHHS Meeting

Don't forget the FHHS Planning Meeting is on Monday 30th June at 7.30 p.m. at school!

June update

The Bake 'n' Take on Monday raised almost £80. Thank you to all who baked for us and all who bought the  baking!

The next FHHS Planning Meeting is on Monday 30th June at 7:30 p.m. at school, so please do come along to that meeting if you are able to.

Don't forget Sports Day is on Friday 11th July and then we have our Murder Mystery on Saturday 12th July at 7:30 p.m. This is by ticket only, so you need to purchase tickets as soon as possible, specifying if you need a vegetarian option for the pie & peas. Tickets cost £7.50 for adults, £5.00 for children with a special family ticket costing £20 and allowing admission to 2 adults and 2 children. Children from Y7-11 (ages 11-16) are welcome to attend, but due to the nature of the performance, younger children are not allowed to attend.

Who Killed The Headteacher?

You will be pleased  to know that as far as I am aware, no one is planning to murder Mr Barnes! But FHHS are putting on a murder mystery play called 'Who Killed The Headteacher?' which will be performed on Saturday 12th July at 7.30 p.m.

Tickets are now available from the school office, costing £7.50 per adult and £5.00 per child (ages 11-16 only), with family tickets available at £20.00 (allowing admission to 2 adults and 2 children.) Tickets include a pie & pea supper with tea or coffee or squash; other drinks/ glasses can be brought in by the audience. Please call in at the school office or email me at exams@hopehouseschool.org.uk for tickets.

The next Bake 'n' Take is on Monday 16th June at 3 p.m.

The next FHHS meeting is on Monday 30th June at 7.30 p.m.

May dates

Thanks to all who have already bought the FHHS tea towel. Please note that if you want to buy these, there is a limited availability as they are on a sale-or-return basis and payment must be made to the company by June. Don't delay, therefore, in buying your tea towel! These cost £6 each and are available from the school office. Please order by 23rd May at the latest.

The next FHHS Planning Meeting is on Monday 12th May at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

The next Bag2School Recycling Day is on Tuesday 20th May, so please bring in your unwanted clothes, soft toys, shoes (tied together or with an elastic band around them), belts, ties and hats by 9 a.m. on that day. Bags will be sent out this week. Please note also that bedding, curtains and towels are no longer accepted.

The tea towels have arrived!

The Hope House tea towels, featuring pictures of pupils and staff, have now arrived and can be purchased from the school office. They cost £6 and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, but once the original batch have been sold, we can re-order if demand is high.

Please fill in the reply slips on the letter which was sent out on Friday or call in at the school office. If paying by cheque, cheques should be made payable to 'Friends of Hope House School'.

Bake 'n' Take feasting...

Thanks to all who supported the Bake 'n' Take today, which raised almost £100 towards the playground project!

Bake 'n' Take coming!

Don't forget the Bake 'n' Take on Monday 7th April at 3 p.m., our final event of the spring term. Please bring in all home baking on Monday morning and don't forget to send pupils with some money to buy produce at the end of the day!

Pamper Evening update

Last night's Pamper Evening was a great success, raising £308.10 for the school. Many thanks to all who contributed in any way!

Em's Gems had lovely hand-made jewellery for sale.

EmiB Designs had bags and hand-made craft items for sale:

Rachel was selling Party Lite candles:

MeTimeMassageTherapies also sold beauty products, as did the Body Shop:

Former pupil Amber Roberts (Amber Rose Beauty) worked hard painting nails all evening:

FHHS members looked after checking in and refreshments:

All in all, we had a great evening!

Coming soon... April events!

On Tuesday 1st April at 7 p.m. we will be hosting our first 'Pamper Evening.' Tickets have been selling well, but you can still come on the night and buy one (costing £3) on the door.

We have a whole range of things on offer. You can buy products from the Body Shop or Party Lite or Em's Gems and we also have a stall selling bags and other craft items. Nail painting by former pupil Amber Roberts costs £3.50 and massages from MeTimeMassageTherapies have already been pre-booked, though there are a couple of slots still available from 8.30 p.m. We are really looking forward to a great night.

On Monday 7th April we will be hosting our next Bake 'n' Take, so we are hoping for plenty of home baking to be brought to school on Monday morning! The Bake 'n' Take starts at 3 p.m. in the cafe area.

Calling all thespians!

We are hoping to host a 'Murder Mystery Play' on Saturday 12th July and need willing actors and actresses to take part in this evening of intrigue and deception... Mrs Moore (English teacher at school) has kindly agreed to produce the play, but we need a cast of about 6 thespians (and possibly some people willing to act in a backstage capacity for us) for this to become a reality.

If you are able to be involved, you will need to be able to attend rehearsals beforehand and be free on 12th July. Please contact me via email (exams@hopehouseschool.org.uk) or via the School Office if you would like more information or would like to sign up. Mrs Moore will then arrange rehearsal times to suit you all and hopefully this will be a great way of raising funds and having an evening of suspense and mystery!

Coming soon...

Apart from the Pamper Evening on Tuesday 1st April, there are a number of dates to put in your diary:

1.  Bake 'n' Take on Tuesday 7th April at 3 p.m.
2.  FHHS Planning Meeting on Monday 12th May at 7.30 p.m.
3.  Bag2School Recycling Day on Tuesday 20th May at 9 a.m.

There will also be a second Bag2School Recycling Day on Tuesday 11th November. 

Pamper Evening

Do you fancy a little pampering? A little 'me time'? An opportunity to buy beauty products or beautiful gifts? If your answer to any of these questions is 'yes', then the Pamper Evening on Tuesday 1st April from 7 p.m. until 9.30 p.m. at Hope House School is the event for you!

Tickets are now available from the school office (or can be ordered by email at exams@hopehouseschool.org.uk) at a cost of £3, which includes light refreshments. The evening will offer a range of activities, including:

• Nail painting (at a cost of £3.50, payable on the evening)
• Hand, feet & back massages (pre-booked if possible to ensure all slots are used - hand & feet massages cost £3.50 and back massages cost £7.50. Payment for this is required in advance)
• Em’s Gems (homemade jewellery)
• Body Shop Products (beauty & bath products, make-up etc.)
• Bath salts & body scrubs
• Party Lite products (decorative candles etc.)

Massage slots are 15 minutes from 7 p.m. until 9.15 p.m. and need to be booked in advance.

The Body Shot will do a 20 minute talk on their products from 8-8.20 p.m.

Party Lite will do a 20 minute talk on their products from 8.30 p.m. – 8.50 p.m.

Catalogues for the Body Shop & Party Lite are available from the school office and products can be ordered from these in advance, even if you cannot attend the Pamper Evening. Simply fill in an order form with your details and enclose payment (or card details) and we will do the rest!

It should be a great evening, with lots of bargains for sale and the chance to win some of these products as well, so do book your tickets and plan to come along!

Planning meeting

The date of the next FHHS Planning meeting has been changed and this meeting will now be on Monday 10th February at 7:30 p.m. in school. We will be sorting out details for the Pamper Evening on 1st April and other events, so please do come along if you are free!

Contractors at work...

The contractors Morton Groundworks are in school this week to lay tarmac in the outdoor play area:

Pamper Evening

Do you fancy a little pampering?! If so, the next event we are organising will be one for you to attend! A Pamper Evening will be held in school on Tuesday 1st April, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets cost £3 (including light refreshments) and are available from the office.

How do we intend to pamper you? Well, you could have your nails painted by a professional (fee charged for this going directly to the school) or buy beauty products from a Body Shop representative. Em's Gems (who came to the Christmas Fayre in 2012) will be selling homemade jewellery and beautifully designed candles will also be on sale. We are looking to organise various other stalls and luxuries (eg foot massages etc.) and hope to have competitions where you could win amazing prizes donated by our exhibitors. All in all, it should be a great evening - and one that is not exclusively aimed at women! (It will be a great place to buy presents...!)

Preparing for contractors

On 8th February, an army of willing volunteers started clearing the outdoor area of soil and tree stumps, prior to the contractors coming to tarmac this surface during half-term.

They did a great job:

This Saturday, in winds and rains, another army of volunteers (some back for second helpings!) came to finish off the job:

Mr Barnes, leading by example:

Dressed for the job:

Working hard:

We even had pupils to help!

At the end, the skip was full and the yard was cleared:

Many thanks to all who helped, from the school and from the church. We look forward to updating you when the contractors have been in during half-term.

Updates

Thanks to all who baked for the Bake 'n' Take on Monday; we made £60.20 at this event.

Don't forget the second Maintenance Day on Saturday (15th February), starting at 10 a.m. We had a good number of people who helped out on Saturday and a lot of the heavy work was done. The rest of the work needs finishing this Saturday, including moving all the soil out through the corridors to the EYFS yard where we will be having a skip to get rid of all the soil and rubble.

It really does help us if you can let us know in advance if you are coming, particularly so that we can decide what to do about lunch refreshments and if an afternoon sessions will be required. Please let Mike know in the school office if you are intending to come.

The actual re-surfacing of the play area will take place during the half-term holiday by a firm called Morton Groundworks.

Maintenance day coming up!

Don't forget the maintenance day coming up this Saturday, 8th February. Starting at 10 a.m. and going through until 3 p.m., we will be seeking to level the outdoor play area, clearing the remaining soil and tree stumps so that this area can be resurfaced during the half-term week.

A few parents have already volunteered to help, but the more we have helping, the quicker this work will be completed. Please contact the school office if you can help. We will be running another maintenance day next Saturday (15th February) as well.

Picks, shovels and other tools will be useful, so please bring along what you can!

More maintenance!

We are intending to resurface the outdoor play area by the end of March, covering it with tarmac to make the surface even and therefore accessible to all pupils.

Prior to this, however, there is more maintenance work required to dig out the tree stumps and remove any remaining soil so that the resurfacing work can go ahead without further hindrance. We have therefore decided to hold two more maintenance days on Saturday 8th and Saturday 15th February from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

We had a marvellous response to our appeal for help in clearing the area of weeds back in September. Now we need a similar army of volunteers with plenty of muscle (and picks, shovels, bow saws, chainsaws and grab bags) to clear the area so that we can keep this project moving and fulfil statutory requirements for an outdoor play area.

If you are able to help even for a short period of time on either of those dates, please let us know via the school office or by email (exams@hopehouseschool.org.uk).

Many thanks in anticipation!

New year, new meetings!

The next FHHS meeting will be on Monday 20th January at 7:30 p.m. at school. We do hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend the meeting where we will be discussing the outdoor play area and how to raise funds during the spring term.

We have been busy over Christmas getting quotations for the outdoor play area and we need to move on this as quickly as possible if we are to fulfil statutory requirements to have this area 'fit for use' by the end of March.

Do contact the school office if you have any suggestions for fund-raising or events you would like to see us hold.