Friends of Cross In Hand School

Registered Charity Number: 1089270

Your PTA needs you

All parents, carers and members of the school community are invited to be active members of our PTA or, as we call it, Friends of Cross in Hand school. If you can donate some time no matter how big or small to help promote, run or organise our fundraising events then do contact us! We welcome any help from parents, teachers and friends, and have a growing list of volunteers who commit some of their time to helping the association. Every little helps, so just one hour of assisting at event or wrapping lucky dip prizes or folding raffle tickets (just a few examples) would be invaluable. If you would like to join us please speak to a committee member, come along to our next meeting or email us – friendsofcih@gmail.com.

Who are we?

We are fortunate at our school to have a Friends Association that’s an integral part of the school community. For many years we have raised tens of thousands of pounds, which has been spent on equipment and resources to enhance our children’s educational experience and the school’s facilities including maintaining and running the school pool (Splash Committee) and offering a second-hand uniform service (Useful Uniform).

Our association is about much more than simply fundraising.

Friends exists to provide closer links between home and school and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal. It’s fun too - just ask any of the Committee members or volunteers. All parents and members of the school community are encouraged to get involved, even if they only have a small amount of time available (most of us!). All families are automatically members of Friends when their child joins our school.

OUR EVENTS:

Coming Up

Christmas Disco

What we do?

We organise a number of events and activities throughout the school year, ranging from the Christmas bazaar and the summer fete, to smaller events like the school discos, film nights, quiz and Easter hat competition.

Our Aim:

The main aim of Friends events is to raise extra money for the school. However, we also make a valuable contribution to the social life of the school community by providing children, parents, carers and teachers with the opportunity to have fun together while raising money for the school. Joining the Friends is a great way to meet other parents/carers and to get involved.

How we communicate?

1) Classlist

2) Newsletters

3) Facebook Page

4) Email

Fundraising:

How we raise money

Like most PTAs and Friends Associations, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular events are: Discos, Film Nights, Christmas Fair, Summer Fair,Breakfast with Santa, Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Days, Class Cake Sales, Easter Hat Parade, Sponsored Bunny Bounce and Mufti Days. Donations from parents are extremely important. You can donate time, money, items for sale, raffle prizes and auction lots or offers of services and skills.

Easyfundraising:

Cross in Hand is now registered with easyfundraising, so you can raise FREE donations for us when you do your everyday online shopping. All you have to do is find the retailer you want to shop with on the easyfundraising website or App. Sign up for free at: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk. Happy shopping!

What is the money raised used for?

In the main, money raised pays for extras not provided by the school budget that make our children’s learning experiences as fulfilling and exciting as possible. Mrs Massheder has a shopping list of items that the school would like to purchase. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children asking for something and at other times it will be for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or school environment. Some of the funds go towards the cost of running and maintaining the swimming pool, a major asset to the school.

Can you help support the PTA?

The answer is: 'Yes, please!'

We are always looking for new members, new ideas and new helpers. If you would like to get involved in planning events and making decisions about the best use of money raised, you can do so by joining the committee, or simply by attending the committee meetings.

If you are not able to attend the meetings, you can still make a big difference. The Friends committee needs the help and support of as many parents as possible at the events they organise. Offering to help before events, at events or at other times during the year is so valuable – it really is a case of many hands make light work. There are always small jobs that can be done at home if you have half an hour spare e.g. wrapping gifts, preparing raffle tickets etc.

Want to find out more?

If you would like to support your PTA in any way at all, please contact us! You can get in touch with us by emailing Friends of Cross in Hand or by leaving your contact details at the school office.

Annual General Meeting (AGM):

The Friends committee, which is elected at the AGM in early October, holds one or two meetings a term in order to plan the year's events and to discuss how best to spend the money raised. You do not have to be a committee member to attend these meetings. All parents, carers and teachers are welcome to attend. Everyone will receive regular Friends newsletters and flyers about forthcoming events via email (or your child’s book bag if you have not yet signed up to receive school emails).

How we spend the money raised?

The Friends committee are responsible for deciding how our funds are spent. Usually the School Leadership Team provide a ‘wish list’ of items that the school would like us to consider funding. We also invite input from parents too, so if you have an idea of something that would benefit all the students in the school, please do share it with the Committee. We can discuss it at a meeting and feedback.

Funds are typically spent on the ‘extras’ that are not provided by the school’s budget, thus making our children’s learning experiences so much more fulfilling and exciting. Funds are not generally spent on improving the fabric of the school building, as this is the responsibility of the school. Our Constitution commits the association to spending money on things that will benefit the children directly. Some of the items we have donated to the school include replacing the swimming pool cover, new playground markings and funding a whole school pantomime.

How we keep you up to date

As parent to a new starter, you will automatically be approved for our app Classlist, which is the main platform for letting parents know about upcoming meetings, events, dates, ticket sales and details of any help needed. Our newsletter is sent to you quarterly via the app Parentmail. Following an event, we always write to let you know how much was raised, and when we reach our target, we tell you what the money will be spent on. We have a couple of Friends noticeboards situated at the front and back of the school, where you’ll find all our posters and news. If you have access to Facebook, please join our Friends of Cross in Hand Facebook page. If you would like to join our Friends Whatsapp Group please let the committee know at friendsofcih@gmail.com.

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