PTA Christmas Presents

While we don't wish to spoil the surprise, we are pleased to say that we have been overwhelmed by the children's response to the PTA 'Parent Presents for Christmas' event. What lucky parents you all are! Thank you for your support once again :)

Viking purses

Year 6 have been getting creative making Viking inspired purses. They have designed them, made paper patterns and sewn them, using a combination of running stitch, backstitch and blanket stitch. Some have even attempted sewing on a button.  Well done guys, they're looking great!

Coffee and Carols...

We hope that everyone enjoyed the 'Coffee and Carols' event on Wednesday morning. Friends of the school and relatives were entertained with readings, songs from 'Baubles' by our Guildhall Choir, traditional carols and a medley on bassoon by Lucy.

Church Service

Thank you to all of you who attended and contributed to our Church service last week at the the Church of the Ascension in Bitterne. It was a very special moment and we'd like to thank the Rev Andy and his team for their hospitality and wish them a very happy Christmas.

An Update From Our PTA

Wow, what a busy first term it has been for the PTA!

We’d just like to say a massive thank you to everyone for supporting the activities of the PTA this term! Our initial calculations look like we’ll have raised more than £1000 from this term alone, which is amazing!  We desperately want to raise enough funds to overhaul the school library, which is looking particularly tired at the moment, and this will be a great start to get the works underway. Thank you so much, we couldn’t have done it without you.

Here’s a run down of some of the things we’ve been up to since September 2015:

Autumn Film Club

Firstly, there was the Film Club, where the children enjoyed a choice of two films and were served snacks and drinks at half-time.  This seems a long time ago now but thanks to everyone who stepped in and helped out!

Tea Towels

The idea of personalised tea-towels was suggested at one of our early autumn meetings as a way to offer a Christmas gift for relatives and raise money for the PTA.  The children were great in completing their individual self-portraits in class, and then we had the fun of piecing them all together on the template, without losing anyone! Thank you for all your orders – we had over 200 produced in the end, so it was an excellent success all round!  These should be delivered in the last week of term and there will be a small handful of extras available to purchase – please just ask in the school office.

Festive Disco

Thanks to the wonderful Crazy M for entertaining the children on the KS1 and KS2 discos! There was a lot of work behind the scenes organising the event – trips to the cash and carry to purchase drinks, sweets and snacks to sell at the tuck shop, ordering bulk purchases of finger lights and glow-sticks, making magical reindeer food (we can’t reveal our secret ingredients!), sorting out little details like the float, money collection and logistics, as well as a last minute bit of tinsel to complete the festive ambience!  We had a great turnout of helpers and children to make it all a success, so another huge thank you here.

Hampers

Whilst the disco was in full swing, we had a team of willing parents on their hands and knees preparing 33 amazing hampers, from all the wonderful items you’d kindly donated earlier that morning – thank you!  Tickets for these are on sale now and they really make fantastic prizes, so make sure you buy plenty! Thank you also to the parents who helped collect the items in the morning and make them up in the evening. The draw will take place during assembly on 17 December, and winners will be announced after school that day.  Good luck!

Parents Presents

This was a more challenging job than we realised, to find something nice to sell for just £1 – even for those of us who love shopping! But after several trips around the shops and searching online, we’ve put together some little gifts for your children to purchase for you on 11 December. The children love to be able to buy something for their parents and hopefully you will enjoy the gifts they purchase!

Carols on the Playground

For the first time ever, we’re organising a carol service on the playground on the last day of term, from 2.30pm.  Children have been practising some carols as part of their Christmas performances and some of our more musically-talented parent helpers have been preparing the song sheets and accompanying music! We’ll be setting up a couple of stalls to sell things like mince pies, hot chocolate, and sweet treats, so please come along and support this event – hopefully a lovely festive way to end the term!

Easyfundraising.org.uk

Finally, thank you to everyone who has signed up to use easyfundraising.org.uk for their online shopping – and for those who haven’t, it’s not too late! Just log on to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/bitternemanorprimary/, choose the retailer you wish to purchase from and they will automatically donate a percentage of your purchase amount to Bitterne Manor Primary School – it’s the easiest form of fundraising yet!

There’ll be lots more ideas and activities next term and if you’d like to get involved, please email ptahelpers@bitternemanor.net, find our facebook group – Bitterne Manor PTA Helpers or speak to Jennie Mugridge, Sarah Bradley, Kirsty Niziolek or Jools Gowans.

Merry Christmas from us all!

Up goes the tree!

6 children in year 3 had the privilege of decorating the tree today, a reward for hard work in class. We think it looks great, and are now starting to feek very Christmassy!!

Year R enjoy learning about Autumn!

We have been very busy learning all about Autumn by putting on our welly boots and coats and exploring outside!


We also enjoyed our trip to the Church and hanging up our Christmas tree decorations!