November update 2020

The PTA AGM is Wednesday November 4th at 7pm. The main agenda item is to confirm the future of the PTA. After 2 years Kate and Sam wish to step down so in the absence of anyone coming forward to be Chair or Treasurer they will stay in post but stop raising money. More information on what this means and why it's so vital we find replacements is below.

Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/y5ek93yk

***BIG news this week is that we have become an approved Terracycle charity! This means you can turn empty crisp packets into money for the school. Read on for details.

As ever, any questions or ideas plese contact us on beaverrdfundraisers@outlook.com

PS we are busy planning an exciting Christmas event to give the children something to look forward to and we need your help. Can you donate a new toy, book or chocolate selection box to help it go with a bang? We also need raffle prizes - can you help us make this year extra special? Email us with offers.

Spooky halloween trails raised £397.22!

Thanks for taking part in the treasure hunts. Your money has helped us buy new reading books, which we'll organise this term. Congratulations to everyone for guessing 'Broomstick' or 'Trick or Treat' and Geena and Isabella Russell for winning the hamper of goodies! We're indebted to parent Lauren Fulton who helped with the hunts and will apply to her employer Santander for matched funding. We could see this total jump up by a further £300. Watch this space for updates!

Recycle your waste and earn money for school

We are delighted to announce that we are now an approved Terracycle charity. This means that you can now recycle those difficult to recycle items AND raise money for school.

How? You can now sort your waste at home and send it directly to Terracycle to process using special postage labels. By nominating us as your prefered charity the items you send will be weighed and converted into points which add up to cash for the school.

Consider creating a street recycling scheme, which have become popular in lockdowns. This would reduce the time you have to store things, save more rubbish from going to landfill and add up to cash for the school more quickly.

This is another way we are trying to generate income as we approach a point where there is no one to take over from Kate and Sam to run the PTA.

PLEASE SUPPORT THIS NEW INITIATIVE, OR BETTER STILL FIND OUT HOW YOU COULD HELP BECOME CHAIR / TREASURER AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO LIFE AT SCHOOL.

What can be recycled?

  • Crisp packets

  • Hovis bread wrappers

  • Baby Bell packaging

  • Cheese packaging

  • Toothburshes, floss and tubes

  • Carex bottles, makeup bottles

  • Chocolate wrappings and family size bags

  • Biscuit wrappers and cracker packaging

  • Dishwasher bags and home cleaning product containers

  • Danone yogurt pouches

  • Kinder eggs packaging and LOL toys

  • And so much more!


Get started

Everything you need to set up a Terracycle account and nominate us as your charity is here: https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/account/sign_up

Find out a bit more about being a private collector here

The future of the PTA

What to expect at the meeting: Kate Peacock who is Co-chair and Treasurer will share the finance figures, Samantha Crowe, Co-chair will share how the money has been raised.

A vote will take place to confirm Kate and Sam stay in post but only in the capacity of trustees to oversee spending.

What does this mean? School budgets are under significant pressure and experiencing deficits. This means PTAs are vital to fund extra books, learning equipment, play resources and experiences for the children. Our school is no different and without a PTA this will not happen. Playgrounds will take £120,000 and at least 5 years to deliver, and the outside space at the Juniors will not get any more significant investment without PTA help.

Who makes a good chair and treasurer? You need to be highly organised, happy to roll up your sleeves to make things happen and good at bringing people together to work as a team and form a committee. Good communications skills are advantageous. You need to be good at bookkeeping to be a Treasurer.

At the moment we can’t hold events so the time you need to dedicate to running the PTA won’t be nearly as much as that which previous committees have dedicated to the role. And the role is also yours to shape - if you only have a few hours a month that’s fine and you can share it.

We have a several fundraisers that are now easy to re-run and new ideas we can share.

Whatever you decide, it’s a great boost to your CV and hugely rewarding to see your efforts turn into cash, that makes a difference to the life children have at school.

What next: We are a school of almost 900 parents - it takes two, a chair and a treasurer, plus a member of school staff to form an active PTA. ARE YOU THAT SPECIAL PERSON?

You are? Great! Speak to Kate or Sam (beaverrdfundrasiers@outlook.com) and we’ll discuss it with you further and then organise an Extraordinary General Meeting to vote you in. Or if you come forward before the AGM we can make it happen there.

OUR SCHOOL NEEDS YOU. OUR KIDS NEED YOU. MAKE A DIFFERENCE.


Keep in touch: Beaver Road Primary School PTA on Facebook *** @BeaverRoad_PTA on Twitter *** beaverrdfundraisers@outlook.com

PTA committee: Kate Peacock, Treasurer / Co-Chair & parent - Sam Crowe, Co-Chair, communications manager & parent - Tina Jackson teacher and parent partnership champion - Gemma Martin, Dawn Cheshire volunteer committee members and parents