PTA
Welcome to Cockernhoe PTA!
Hopefully you've arrived here because you would like to learn more about the role of the PTA within the school and how you can become a part of it. So, let us introduce ourselves!
PTA co-ordinating committee from left to right; Ellie Stainton, Andrew Walker, Steph Worrall, Róisín Bolton, Maddie Maidment and Vicki Lockwood (not pictured)
By day the Cockernhoe PTA are just like you - regular, tired parents juggling the mundane of work, cooking meals, bedtime battles and spending our weekends at birthday parties! But we have alter egos too... we are a registered charity raising money for projects that directly benefit the children of Cockernhoe School and we are really, really passionate about it!
Community is at the heart of everything we do and each year the 6 of us, along with a large group of dedicated parents endeavour to put on events to bring together the families of our school as well as the wider village community too. We also contribute to small in-school events such as easter egg hunts and Christmas card making.
Last school year 2022/23 was a big year for the PTA. With an all-new co-ordinating team, we began the year in September by donating £5000 toward the purchase of the school minibus and ended the year in July having raised a whopping £5263 - our biggest total to date! The children nominated for this money to go towards a new adventure playground, and we are delighted to announce that this was installed in April and the children are putting it to great use!
A few old fundraising favourites such as the Glow Walk, Santa's Grotto and Key Stage Discos have made their annual reappearance this year as well as the ever-anticipated Colour Run which is set to be the coolest one to date with the kids being given the opportunity to get their hands on a bag of paint to throw at the adults!
After it's roaring success last year, we are finalising plans for the school's second Summer Fair which will be held on Friday 5th July 4pm-7pm. This event provides an opportunity for everyone to kick back and relax a little and the parents and children of the new September starters are invited to join us and are welcomed into the Cockernhoe Community. You'll find all the summer fair classics such as candy floss, ice cream, face painting and bouncy castles, all washed down with a good old-fashioned BBQ - weather permitting of course!
We are also delighted to share the excellent news that our recent application for a £10k grant from Luton Airport to build an environmentally friendly and sustainable outdoor area for learning was accepted and the new area will be installed in the summertime ready for September.
We applied for the grant in March of this year through an application where we detailed the benefits it would provide to the children of Cockernhoe School. The judging panel were impressed with our application and funded it in full! This project aligns with the school's ethos to ‘take learning out of the classroom’ and we can't wait to see it in action next term! The area will include benches, bird feeders, a wormery and planters so children can see and engage hands on with environmental initiatives and learning.
Our next project this year is to remodel the school resources room for dual purpose - a place for storage but also a quiet room that will provide a tranquil, calming environment for any child who faces feelings of overwhelm during the school day. We hope to have this complete before the end of the school term.
So, what do we have in store for next year? Honestly, we really need a new notice board, but how boring is that when we can spend time raising funds for all the fun things above?! We aren't sure what is to come for the year of 2024/25 but whatever we do next year we aspire to keep the same energy and momentum as this year and with your ongoing support we hope to keep smashing the fundraising targets and creating memories along the way!
If any of this sounds like something you would like to be involved in and you can see yourself being a part of the co-ordinating committee, planning events and activities then find us on the playground or speak to the school office - we can't wait to meet you! If you would like to come along for the ride but can't dedicate yourself to the planning side, then we would still love to hear from you. Add your name to the sign-up sheet in the office to be added to the WhatsApp group or follow us on Facebook.
We try our best to keep everyone up to date with what we are working on but we know it's something we could do better at, so one of our new year’s resolutions is to have more frequent community meetings where everyone can have their say, however we understand that it is sometimes hard for parents to attend daytime meetings and evening meet ups can be a juggle with childcare so please do get in touch by sending us an email to pta.cockernhoe@gmail.com if you can't manage to see us in person, we welcome your feedback and ideas so very much.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1700383513516043/
Look out for upcoming events:
Colour Run 24th May 2pm at School
Community Maintenance Day 29th May 10am - 3pm at School
Summer Fair Friday 5th July 4pm-7pm at School
Highland Gathering Sunday 14th July at Rothamsted Park, Harpenden