Tuesday 30 October 2012

Happy Hallowe'en! And a very merry Christmas...


We hope you and your child had as much fun as we did at the Hallowe'en fair. Everyone put in a lot of effort making sure the grub was gruesome enough, the zombie dance-off was zany enough, and the spooky cakes were tasty rather than just scary. And we did our best to ensure those little cherubs were unrecognisable beneath the fangs, the face paint and all those tattoos.  
We'd love everyone to have as much fun at our Christmas Fair on December 14th. If you are interested in lending a hand please email rosendalepta@gmail.com   or come to our meeting on November 7th at the snug in the Half Moon pub at 8pm. 

We need people to come up with ideas (and implement them!), run stalls and help out on the day.  The more people who help, the merrier the Christmas Fair will be (all that Christmas cheer isn't just down to mulled wine, you know!). 
Hope to see you there.

Monday 15 October 2012

It's nearly Hallowe'en. Help!

Hallowe'en is coming and we're scared!
We have loads of brilliant things we would like to happen, but we need a little bit of help.
In our dreams: the playground will be lit by jack'o'lantern, spooky storytelling will take place in the secret garden, ghoulish grub (nourishing and slimy) will be sold, Zombie children will freak out to Thriller and no child will be untouched by face paint.
But we need your help to make this horrifying vision a reality.
We need: spooky cakes to sell, donations of old dressing up clothes, carved pumpkins and people to help out on the night. It's all taking place on Friday October 26th. We need people to help sell cakes, trick or treat bags, fang-tastic fangs, as well as dish up grub, paint grubby little faces, whatever  your skill, we can use it! Just drop Shona a line shonarowden@gmail.com.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Autumn Events!

Celebrating Halloween – Friday 26 October 
Contact: Shona Rowden shona@jelly-design.co.uk
We are planning an afternoon of spooky fun and games, to be held after-school. Activities we hope to provide include a spooky cake sale, scary face painting and tattoos, second hand Halloween costume / fancy dress sale, scary poem competition, hanging jam donuts, ‘trick or treat’, and prizes for the best carved pumpkin. We need help setting all of this up and running the stalls.

KS1 Film Club – Friday 23 November
Contact: Vicky Bentham, vickyalmey@hotmail.com
Always a sell-out, the KS1 Film Club was launched by the PTA last year. Children nominate the films they would like to watch. This popular event also provides an opportunity for parents to get together over tea, coffee and cake! We need support on the day making up goody bags, and ushering children to their seats.


Quiz and Curry night - Friday 30 November
Contact: Kate Arneil katearneil@hotmail.com

If you thought the Olympics were competitive you haven’t attended the Rosendale Quiz night. Always a fun evening, this year we are planning a quiz and curry night to take the chill out of winter.
Do you know a local caterer who may be interested in catering for the evening? We also need help running the bar, selling tickets and promoting the event.

Second Hand Uniform Sale
Contact: Sonia Castro 
soniacastrobrown@googlemail.com
A second hand uniform sale will be held during the second half of this term, so parents can stock up on uniform at bargain prices. Money raised will go to the school council. We will need help washing and logging second hand uniform ready for sale.

Christmas Fair – Friday 14 December
Contact: Claire McDonald 
claire.m.mcdonald@hotmail.co.uk
Rosendale transforms into a winter wonderland at the Christmas Fair. From Santa’s Grotto, to the children’s tea party, the fair includes a range of seasonal stalls and activities for children and grown-ups of all ages. We need loads of help organising all elements of this!



Monday 8 October 2012

Our aim...

An active and thriving PTA is a great benefit to all children, parents and staff at the school, feeding the sense of community and bringing people together.  Membership is open to anyone who has a child in the school, and people can be involved at whatever level they want  – whether that is in an organisational or administrative role, or as a volunteer at any of the events. If you have a bit of time and/or a bit of energy, we’d love to have you!

There are regular planning meetings with all members invited to attend although it is understood that not everyone can make every meeting. The meetings are informal and social, and we work with the spirit of fun! People tend to take on roles and responsibilities in line with their own interest and abilities, and effort is made to keep tasks shared out rather than a couple of people shouldering too much. 

The overarching objectives of the PTA are:
·        To raise funds for anything that will enhance or enrich the children’s life at school. Recent purchases include the much-loved table tennis tables, and some new dining tables. New playground equipment is high on the agenda, and there are hopes to create a Rosendale in Bloom competition between the classes.  New ideas for where to focus funds are always welcome, and we need people with the enthusiasm to get them off the ground!
·        To support communication between staff, parents and pupils. Good communication in a busy school like Rosendale needs information to be fed out in different ways, and the PTA can help with this in a number of ways. Just being aware of any parents around you who might not be picking up vital news or messages is hugely beneficial to all, keeping everyone feeling in the loop and involved. The PTA liaises with staff on a frequent basis around the creation and organisation of events at the school, helping to strengthen relationships and understanding.
·        To bring parents together. Parents and guardians at school are a pretty social bunch, and we try to put on events that cater for different tastes. The Quiz Night is extremely popular and books up very quickly  - this year with an added ‘Curry Night’ spin! There is a Burns Night Ceilidh being mooted, and we would love to do an auction of promises – this has been highly successful at other local schools so it would be great to do a Rosendale version.
·        To run events which punctuate the school year, and bring the whole school together. The Christmas and summer fairs can be magical, and the children love to see the parents and teachers all involved together. 
·        To provide a creative resource for the school – parents are diverse in careers and talents, and bringing some of this into school on MAP day can be incredibly exciting for the children, opening their eyes and expanding their horizons. On Map days parents are invited to volunteer to run a workshop session for the kids on something they specialise in - we have had everything from dancing to animation, and new ideas are always very welcome.
·        To provide refreshments at school events such as Parents’ Evenings, or a glass of wine at Parent Forums. We do not have internal catering at the school, so it is a great opportunity for parents to help out and very appreciated by the school.

In short, the PTA is what we, the parents make of it. There are no set limits as to what we can do, and every PTA is different. We aim to make ours accessible, productive and creative, so if you are interested in getting involved in any way  - whether in an organisational capacity, or as a volunteer at events then please email us at rosendalepta@gmail.com.