Friends of Fairways
Friday 25th October 2019
Friends of Fairways have been raising money for the school in a variety of different ways such as school discos and our summer fair. We would like to share with you some of the items we have invested the raised money into.
We have bought new books for the school library with focuses on recycling and saving the planet, female role models and sport and a few new novels for Key Stage 2 readers. We have also bought new furniture for the library to store our wonderful selection of books.
We also spent a considerable amount of money on new dictionaries and thesauruses. Now every 'Learning Partnership' in Key Stage 2 can share a good quality dictionary when spell checking and investigating words.
Why Do We have Friends of Fairways?
Friends of Fairways has been an integral part of the school community for many years. In its time it has raised many thousands of pounds, which have been spent on improving equipment and resources to enhance children’s education and the facilities in school in general.
It is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal.
All parents and members of the school community can get involved if they want to, even if they only have a small amount of time available.
We are extremely conscious and proud of the ethos and morals of the school, and we try very hard when organising and planning events to respect this.
Volunteer Helpers
Volunteer helpers play a very important role in school. Experience has shown the amount of funds raised at any given event is often directly related to the number of helpers.
Volunteer helpers are parents and carers eager to help but due to other commitments, such as work and childcare, are restricted with the amount of time they are able to offer. A helper’s role is so varied that if you have half an hour a year to spare we can make vital use of it!
How We Raise Money
The majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular events are the Discos and Fairs.
We always try and respond to the children’s requests for events, and it is for these that donations are particularly important. These can be time, money, items for sale, donations for raffles or offers of services and skills etc.
How We Spend the Money We Raise
Money raised from events are banked straight away. Teachers and children always have ‘wish lists’ of items that the school would like to purchase. Sometimes the School Council which is run by the children for the children will approach FOF for funding. In the main our funds are for the ‘extras’ not provided by the school budget, that make our children’s learning experiences so much more fulfilling and exciting.
We always endeavour to spend our funds in ways that will benefit all our children across all areas of the school and curriculum.
In the past we have supported big projects such as the Adventure Playground, books for the Library, playground items and Book Week when we funded a famous author to spend a week at Fairways. Whilst saving for these we have still managed to find funds for small items such as football kits, thanks to the generous support of our parents and carers.
How We Get Information To You
All information will be sent via ParentMail.
How You Can Get Involved
There are numerous ways you can support Friends of Fairways.
Offering to help before, during or after events is so valuable. It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis, or even if you can’t come into school. There are always little jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare, e.g. wrapping gifts, baking cakes, preparing raffle tickets etc. Perhaps you can make a few crafts to sell.
You can attend any of the meetings and give us your ideas for fundraising events.
On behalf of all the children, thank you for your very valuable support which enriches their learning experiences and helps make their time in school so enjoyable.