FOTDIS Autumn Newsletter 2015 - Friends of Thames Ditton Infant

AUTUMN 2015 NEWSLETTER
AUTUMN
2015
NEWSLETTER
JULY 2014
NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the autumn term FOTDIS Newsletter.
The Friends is a registered charity and an integral part of the
school community. The Friends provide a friendly and fun way
for parents and other carers of the children at the school to get
involved by helping to organise events and raise funds for the
school. We put the fun into fundraising!
We would like to thank you all for your generous support and
donations – you’ve raised over £5,500 so far, which has funded
new outdoor learning equipment for Year 1, a mural for the
school hall to inspire reflection, coaches for the Year 2 trip to
Bodiam Castle and our ongoing commitment of £1000 per term
for the general enrichment of the learning experience for all
pupils. With your fantastic support for the Christmas Party and
Raffle, we are now also well on the way towards funding
additional equipment for the school library to extend the
provision for all of our children.
DATES FOR THE
DIARY:
EVENTS AND FUNDRAISING
PUB GAMES
Thursday 14th January
The new Reception parents’ Cheese and Wine evening at the beginning
of term was, as ever, a lovely way to welcome new parents to the school
and show them what a friendly bunch we are! There was a great turn out
and much mingling and merriment.
CHEESE & WINE TASTING
Thursday 11th February
THE SPRING BALL
Saturday 19th March
RACE NIGHT
Thursday 21st April
80ʼs NIGHT
Thursday 19th May
SUMMER FETE
Sunday 26th June
CHEESE AND WINE EVENING
QUIZ NIGHT – profit £595
A huge thanks to everyone who came along and enjoyed the lighthearted
competition. The quiz master assured us that the questions were more
high brow than his usual assortment in response to comments from
previous years so well done to Team Badgers for winning with a fine
display of intellectual might.
UNIFORM SALE – profit £190
Not bad for two pop-up uniform sales! Please continue to leave any
unwanted uniform items with the office, and we look forward to seeing
you at the next sale on Monday 11th January, weather permitting.
GUESS THE WEIGHT OF THE PUMPKIN – profit £26
Well done to Caroline Buzasi who guessed the correct weight of the
pumpkin (4250g). It was a tiebreak so an old fashioned draw
determined who won. Thanks to everyone who joined in.
www.friendsoftdis.co.uk
SCHOOLʼS WISH LIST
FOR THIS TERM:
EVENTS AND FUNDRAISING (CONT)
Mural: £1500
Wow, what a fantastic way to kick-off the festive season! This sold-out
event was a roaring success, with much mulled wine, mince pies, music
and merriment. Many thanks to everyone who came along and to all who
bought raffle tickets. Congratulations to all the winners, and particularly
to Mrs. Burns whose spectacular flashing creation won the Christmas
Jumper Competition.
Library equipment: £1000
Equipment for outside area: £479
Coach for Bodiam Castle: £1125
Christmas presents: £250
Christmas craft: £300
Enrichment: £1000
AMOUNT RAISED
SO FAR: £5640
£25,000
£20,000
£15,000
£10,000
£5,000
£0
CHRISTMAS PARTY – profit £2,640
CHRISTMAS CARDS – profit £230
Thames Ditton was awash with googly eyes and glitter over half term as
many of the children got stuck into designing their own Christmas cards.
You should all now have received your professionally printed cards and
we hope they bring many a smile to the faces of friend and family.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL – profit £190
We hope those who attended the exciting Christmas production of A
Christmas Carol had a magical afternoon. A great offer from the Rose
Theatre meant that we were able to sell reduced price tickets while also
raising money for the school. A wonderful win-win situation!
150TH ANNIVERSARY TOTE BAGS – profit £650
To coincide with the introduction of the 5p bag rule, this year’s topical
Christmas gift was a specially designed personalised tote bag, featuring
self-portraits of the children in each year group together with the newly
designed 150th Anniversary logo for the school. We hope they help
make your shopping trips a more enjoyable experience.
FRENCH CAFÉ – approx. profit £200
The school run was warmer and tastier with the launch of the Friends
French Café, serving tea, coffee, hot chocolate, mince pies and freshly
baked croissants next to the main gate. With your support it will become
a regular fixture.
CHILDRENʼS MINI MARKET – approx. profit £1000
This much-loved event was held during school hours on 7th and 8th
December. The children had so much fun buying and wrapping gifts with
the help of a “personal shopper” ready to surprise their parents and
family on Christmas Day. This would not have been possible without all
of the generous donations you made, so thank you to you all and
particular thanks to the parent helpers.
MINI CHRISTMAS WOW
As well as providing materials for Christmas crafts across all year groups,
we’ve arranged a small traditional surprise for the children, which will
appear in the book bags at the end of term and will hopefully bring some
added joy and excitement to the Christmas Day preparations.
150th ANNIVERSARY SPRING BALL
– WELCOME TO WONDERLAND
No wonder the Cheshire Cat is grinning even more than usual...
We are excited to announce, that on Saturday 19th March we will be
celebrating the 150th anniversary of both TDIS and Alice In
Wonderland. The ‘Wonderland’ themed ball is being held as
Sandown Racecourse and booking forms will be in book bags
shortly. They are expected to sell out fast, so purchase tickets, book
babysitters and start thinking about your table plan (max 10 per
table). If you are interested in joining the organising team for the
ball, do please let us know - we really do need more people onboard.
We are continually on the lookout for auction prizes, whether goods
or experiences, so if you can help here too please get in touch:
tdis.friends@gmail.com
www.friendsoftdis.co.uk
HELP AND DONATIONS
SPONSORSHIP
We are delighted that Dexters Estate Agents have agreed to sponsor all of
the events and activities of FOTDIS this academic year. They have a very
friendly and proactive team who are keen to get involved. They will be
helping at a number of future Friends events so please join us in
welcoming them and showing your appreciation for the support they are
giving the school. A huge thank you to TMG Design and Build for
sponsoring the Christmas Party in November, and Undercover Event Tents
for providing the lighting. John Lewis, Dexters, Hotel Bosco, TD Lawn
Tennis Club, Orly Interiors, Hollies Home Beauty, Barrett & Co photography
and Amy Sinclair all donated amazing raffle prizes.Thank you.
DONATE AS YOU SHOP
Please remember to use the Friends cash back codes if you are buying
anything from Micro Scooter (code: 124968), or Just Labelz (code: Thames
Ditton Infant School). Plus Hopscotch Shoe Boutique in Molesey run a
School Loyalty Scheme, where £1 from every pair of school shoes
purchased is donated to the Friends.
EASYFUNDRAISING
Thanks to www.easyfundraising.org.uk, you can collect free donations for
the school every time you shop online. There are nearly 3,000 shops on
board, including Amazon, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Apple,
Notonthehighstreet and Sainsbury’s, ready to make a free donation to us it doesn't cost you a penny extra. Go to the website to register and install
the Donation Reminder, which will add an ‘e’ icon to your toolbar. Click
the icon when you’re online shopping, and start earning free money for
the school.
CONTACT US
e: tdis.friends@gmail.com
w: www.friendsoftdis.co.uk
Enjoy the break, have a very merry Christmas
and we look forward to lots more fun and
fundraising in the New Year.
www.friendsoftdis.co.uk