Copy of FOTS AGM | Tuesday 7th February 2023 | Trinity School

Attendees:

Gemma Grange

Nina Davison

Ali Gyoker

Mary Harvey

Caroline Newman

Bekki Wedd

Gemma Henderson

Sarah McArdle

Stephanie Tatum

Shellani Knight

Minutes:

1. Treasurer's Report:

Current FOTS balance - £9310.30. Uplift from start of school year (£3,737.95) due to income from xmas fayre & cake sales (1k), disco (2k), raffle (approx £850), xmas cards (£900).

Visit this link for more treasury information: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kY8L_ECzFIRowYXHsLqzyymLzmfM8hdWOH9D9qZcOKE/edit#gid=262688815

* Choir trip went ahead - invoice to come.

* Doodle Maths - will happen at some point, just waiting to launch as don’t want to overwhelm children currently with new apps.

* Miss Newman to remind teachers about money to spend on reading corner.

* Michaela plans to spend money on play equipment in the near future.

* Miss Hart spent money on music instruments and claimed. Was it spent on recorders? Miss Newman to ask.

* Lunch time sport coaches still to be arranged. Miss Newman mentioned a craft area would be good alongside sports coaches.

* Playground toys to include netball nets? Currently only basketball nets (which are broken). Miss Newman to ask Michaela.

Cake Sales

FOTS cake for regular Friday cake sales don’t need to be egg free and nut free now school is nut and egg free. Parent of child with egg allergy confirmed - need to check with Jules?

New Requests From School:

* Mrs Evans interested to know if FOTS could help with the cost of living crisis, alongside the school. Maybe with the church involved too?

* £500 in the budget for ‘missing payments’, could allocate some money from this allocation to help funds this initiative.

* Suggestion that we open up the school one morning a week to provide breakfast? Link with Nomad. Maybe leave a food bank in one area of the school? Discussion as to where to position it where people would feel comfortable using it, it was thought maybe a box up near the reception where people could either donate or pick up.

* Mrs Evans is keen on setting family challenges, sending STEM challenges home for families to do together (eg. egg drop challenge). FOTS to maybe provide materials needed and to kickstart ideas.

* Discussion into using the whiteboard in the playground to put up notices alongside emails to communicate. Miss Newman brought up using Dojo too on the ‘schools page’ for FOTS news.

* World Book Day - may need to be moved as falls on a strike day. Possibility of extending it to a week. Suggestions for setting up a costume donation, alongside the second hand uniform sale, also for FOTS to use some budget to buy some spares for those unable to organise costumes from home. Also add coloured t-shirts in house colours for sports day to donation requests.

* Discussion into whether there is a way to have a FOTS buy and sell page on Facebook or could it just be added to the main page. Could use it as a way to raise money for FOTS too. Speak to Nicola to set up? Another option is through a Whats App Group linked to a paypal account, need to set up a separate PayPal account for this purpose.

Actions From Last Meeting:

Mary passed in log in details to Alex.

Co-opted FOTS members Whats App set up.

Gemma to check with Jean as to whether we could ask for people to donate wellies and shoes alongside school uniform.

Fundraising Events:

Bags2School

Organised for Friday 10th - Ali to send message out asking for people to save fancy dress costumes from donations to circulate within school.

Christmas Cards.

Do we want to do anything to mark coronation, children’s artwork printed on mugs for parents to purchase. Decided that it might be too much to ask with current cost of living.

Cycle to Paris

Last one was 2017 and raised around £30,000. Tom Potter is looking to reschedule for a weekend in September. Need to make sure that we are set up correctly to claim Gift Aid. Plan last time was to set up their own Just Giving page and then link to the event. Gemma to meet up with Tom and Orlando to talk through details. Need vehicle drivers and also companies to sponsor kits. Miss Newman brought up whether we need a project for funds from the ride. Need for a new classroom, maybe a music room or library.

Yorkshire 3 Peaks

Timing? Maybe move it to Spring 2024 so as not to be too close to cycle ride. Decided we should try and gauge interest now. Need to book accommodation relatively far in advance. £75 entrance fee, would be around £250 for entrance, travel and accommodation for those who want to take part.

Quiz/Bingo/Casino Night

Bingo - could extend to make it a family evening, maybe more popular than a quiz. Early start with tuck shop etc. Has proved popular at Shiplake.

Friday film night suggestion. Difficulty is we would need a license to show new films. Ali to ask Emma at Blue Tin about company who organise licenses for films.

Family games night suggested instead and maybe a rounders tournament in the Summer.

Disco

Possible Summer Disco as well as at Halloween.

Sports Day Fete

Discussion as to whether we should we hand it to a year group to organise - suggested year1/2.

Sponsored Walk

Gemma Henderson to organise sponsored walk. Raised £2400 last year. Gemma Grange suggested we may be able to use Upper Thames Rowing Club as a place to start/finish if difficulties with Coppa. Gemma to pick a weekend in beginning of May to middle of June for event (not half term or bank holidays).

Kerry Concert

Kerry to do another concert, singing with the school choir, also involving the church. Gemma to discuss with Kerry dates etc.

AOB:

Wix - Can no longer send an email for free to our full email list. Monthly is £18.00 a month on top of current spend. Will ask for spend to be approved per email.

Gardening club - could give children a patch to grow produce and sell.

Suggestion to provide info about FOTS to new starters, more events to encourage more parents to socialise and potentially join FOTS, particularly for the new parents from reception class - welcome evening in their first two weeks to help awareness and get new people involved from their start at Trinity. FOTS could have a paragraph within the school newsletter detailing news and where the money is spent.