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Friends of Claverdon | Half Term Round-Up
- May 21
- 9 min read
We're sneaking this newsletter out a little ahead of schedule to avoid the end-of-week rush! The last day of this half term is Friday 22nd May — and what better way to round it off than Freezer Friday (details below)! We hope everyone enjoys a fun and restful half term, and we look forward to welcoming you all back soon.
🍰 What We've Been Up To This Term
Sunday Teas at Wren Hall – What a Day! ☕🍰
What an absolutely brilliant Sunday afternoon! Our Wren Teas event at the beautiful Wren Hall in Wroxall was a huge success, and it's all down to the incredible bakers and volunteers who gave up their time to make it happen.
Every cake baked, every cup of tea poured, and every table cleared made a real difference — and from the smiles on the day, it's safe to say our visitors enjoyed every moment too! A massive thank you to each and every one of you who contributed. 🎂❤️
We're still counting up the final total, but we think we've raised approximately £1,000 for the school — what an amazing result for our community! 🎉 Take a peek at the atmosphere from the afternoon over on our Instagram/Facebook 👇Watch this space for the final figure — and thank you again to everyone who made it such a special afternoon! 💛
School Tea Towels 🎨
A huge thank you to everyone who ordered a school tea towel this year — and a special thank you to our wonderful volunteers who helped make it all happen. We're thrilled to share that the tea towels have raised an incredible £800 for the school!
A small number are still available to order if you'd like one for a keepsake or the kitchen — head to our shop to grab one while they last: 👉 Friends of Claverdon – School Uniform Shop
What an Amazing Spring Disco! 🕺💃
Another spectacular night going mental for K-Pop bangers, busting out the cha-cha slide moves and yelling "CHICKEN BANANA" into the rafters. Thank you so much to everyone who came along and supported the Spring School Disco – we hope the children had as much fun as it looked like they did!
There's a reason why the volunteer list fills up quickly for school discos and that's because every minute of it is pure, unadulterated joy. From the power knee slides to the 20-minute conga line, the excitement of a biscuit break to the obsession with glow sticks, it's a real pleasure to watch our kids living their best lives on the dance floor.
A huge thank you to the brilliant parent volunteers and members of staff who stayed to help make the evening run so smoothly – and who weren't afraid to show off their moves too! 🎉 Events like this wouldn't be possible without your time and support.
The biggest thanks of all must go to Alex, Queen of Discos, for organising another sensational evening to rival Studio 54. Thanks to all of you buying tickets, you've added around £750 to the fundraising pot for 2026!
Money raised this term has helped school purchase a Cricut machine (used for craft, art and design). As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the school, this summer we'll again be using funds raised to update digital equipment. Access to up-to-date technology is vital for children's learning, and this is one of the ways your support makes a real, tangible difference. You can see the full impact of what we've raised over the years in our Impact Gallery. We are also continuing to support the school library by continuing to subscribe to the software that allows the library to use scanners to manage their books.
🍦 Plans for the coming weeks 📅
🍦🧃 Freezer Friday is coming!
With a warm day forecast, we'll be selling ice creams and ice lollies in the playground after school on Friday 22nd May! We accept cash or contactless, so come prepared 💳 Ice creams will be £2, lollies £1.
See you at the school gates! ☀️
Father's Day Gift Shop Thursday 18th June.
Our lovely Gift Shop Team (Jules and Vicky) could really use some help sourcing and buying gifts for the Father's Day Gift Shop on Thursday 18th June (Note this time it is a Thursday, not the usual Friday). They need to find gifts that dads will love, priced so we can sell them for £2–£5 in the shop. They also need help on the day itself (8.45am–12noon). Don't worry if you haven't done it before – all can be explained!
The gift shop is one of our most popular events – the children love choosing something special all by themselves. If you can spare some time to help with the shopping or on the day, it would be much appreciated. Please let your class rep know so we can get your name to the team.
More info about the gift shop: https://www.friendsofclaverdon.org/gift-shop
🎉 Crazy Hair Day – Friday 10th July! 🎉
We're having a Crazy Hair Day at Claverdon Primary and we'd love your little ones to join in the fun! 🌈✂️
Children are invited to come to school with their hair styled in the most wild, wacky and wonderful way they can imagine! Coloured hair ties, bands, bobbles, glitter, sprays and accessories are all welcome 🎀 We're asking families to make a voluntary donation to Friends of Claverdon Primary School — every little helps! 💛Watch this space for further details nearer the time.
Claverdon Fun Run 2026 — save the date & could your business help?
The Claverdon Fun Run is back — put Sunday 27th September 2026 in your diaries now! We can't wait to see the community come together again for what was such a brilliant day last year, with 194 runners across all distances and 44 wonderful volunteers. Tickets will be coming soon, so watch this space. You can remember what the day looked like by checking out the event round-up from last year.
The Claverdon Fun Run is back — put Sunday 27th September 2026 in your diaries now! We can't wait to see the community come together again for what was such a brilliant day last year, with 194 runners across all distances and 44 wonderful volunteers. Tickets will be coming soon, so watch this space. You can remember what the day looked like by checking out the event round-up from last year.
If you run a business and would like to be part of this year's event, we'd love to hear from you. At its heart, the Fun Run is about encouraging active lifestyles and giving children — and adults! — the opportunity to take part in a fun, inclusive community event. Any funds raised go directly to Claverdon Primary School, and you can see what we've been able to achieve with that support on our Impact Gallery. We're looking for local businesses to help us cover costs such as medals for every finisher, the road closure, and the equipment needed to keep everything safe and running smoothly. In return, sponsors receive recognition across our promotional materials — including newsletters, our website, social media, and event registration communications — with their logo and a link to their website. Please get in touch at pta-claverdonschool@outlook.com — we'd love to have you on board!
The Fun Run wouldn't be possible without our brilliant volunteers, and we're already looking for people to help make this year's event a success. Whether you'd like to marshal the route, help at registration, or support in another way on the day, we'd love to have you involved. If you're interested, please get in touch at pta-claverdonschool@outlook.com or complete our volunteer form here:
Next meetings:
Our last meeting of this school year is coming up — and what better way to round it off than at The Fleur!
📅 Wednesday 1st July 2026, 7pm — The Fleur, Lowsonford
Then we'll be back in the autumn with our AGM as the first meeting of the new school year:
📅 Wednesday 7th October 2026, 7pm — The Fleur, Lowsonford (AGM)
Everyone is very welcome — parents, carers, grandparents, neighbours, teachers - whether you're a regular or thinking of coming along for the first time. And don't forget, The Fleur offers a 10% discount on food and drinks for anyone attending FCPS meetings, so why not grab a pie and drinks!
Free Summer Reading with First News
When the school library was refurbished a couple of years ago, FCPS committed to funding a First News subscription for the school. As part of that subscription, all families have free access to First News — the UK's award-winning weekly newspaper for young people aged 7–14 — throughout the summer holidays, from 9 July to 4 September 2026.
First News includes the weekly newspaper and an archive of past issues, daily news stories to read, listen to or watch, quizzes, polls, puzzles, and games — all in a safe, age-appropriate environment.
To get started, simply visit: https://subscribe.firstnews.co.uk/summer-reading-2026/?fn=BARU4478
Fill in the short form and your login details will arrive by email on 9 July, ready for the holidays.
Ongoing fundraisers
Our school Lottery - the 100 Club!
Congratulations to our April winners, and a big thank you to everyone who takes part each month. First prize this month is ball number 3, winning £33.75, second prize ball number 21. £45 raised for our school.
The prizes – and the amount raised for school – both increase with every new member who joins. So if you've been thinking about joining, or know someone who might be interested, now is a great time.
One ball costs £2 a month (£24 a year), two balls £4 a month (£48 a year), and so on – each giving you a separate monthly chance to win. One first prize win and you've more than covered a full year's entry. You can sign up online at any point in the year at friendsofclaverdon.org/the-100-club.
🛍️ Easyfundraising – Shop and Raise Money for Free!
Your everyday shopping could be raising money for Claverdon Primary School at no extra cost to you. Easyfundraising partners with over 7,000 retailers — including Amazon, John Lewis, Tesco, M&S, and Trainline — who donate a percentage of what you spend when you shop via the easyfundraising website or app. It costs you nothing extra; the retailer covers the donation. And now you can raise funds in-store too!
By registering your bank card in the easyfundraising app, purchases made in person at participating stores such as Tesco, John Lewis, and Hotel Chocolat will automatically raise a donation Easy Fundraising — no clicking, no remembering, it just happens. If you haven't signed up yet, it takes just a couple of minutes — register here and start raising today!
Stikins name labels simply stick onto clothing labels (and lunch boxes/pencil cases/shoes/waterbottles…). They are simple to use and Friends of Claverdon get 30% commission on the order! All you need to do is add our unique fundraising number when you order. https://www.stikins.co.uk/ Unique fundraising number: 4537
Benevity www.benevity.com
Benevity is a platform used by large companies
to manage their charitable giving, employee volunteering, and grants programmes. If your employer uses Benevity, you may be able to donate to a registered charity like ours directly through your workplace giving scheme. Check to see whether your employer is registered. We have raised thousands over the last few years through this platform!
Vacancies!
Could You Help Shape the Future of FCPS?
Friends of Claverdon is a volunteer-run organisation, and everything we do depends on the time and enthusiasm of our community. Over the years, we've been incredibly lucky to have had so many people give their time and talents so generously. We're always grateful for any support people can offer — whether that's helping at events, joining a working group, or taking on one of our named roles. https://www.friendsofclaverdon.org/about/roles
We currently have two roles we're particularly keen to fill, and we'd love to hear from anyone who might be interested.
💻 Website Manager
Our website is one of the main ways we communicate with parents, so keeping it accurate and up to date is really important. We're looking for someone to take on this role on a regular basis — it typically involves a couple of hours a week, with a little more during busier periods.
Day-to-day, you'd be adding news, events, and photos; making sure dates and contact details are correct; publishing newsletters; and supporting our pre-loved uniform shop online. You'd also manage any forms we use for ticket sales or information-gathering, and work with our Treasurer to keep track of website sales.
This role is ideal for someone who's comfortable with technology and enjoys keeping things neat and organised. No specialist skills needed — just enthusiasm and reliability.
🌿 Garden Project
Our school garden is a lovely feature — a welcoming green space at the front of the school that makes a real difference to first impressions. The current gardening team have done a brilliant job, but are planning to step back over the coming year.
This is a great opportunity for someone (or a small group of people!) with a love of the outdoors to take it on. The garden is designed to be low maintenance, and there's no rush — the current team are happy to work alongside anyone new during a gradual handover period, so you'd have plenty of time to find your feet.
If you enjoy being outside, have a bit of time to spare, and like the idea of contributing something visible to the school community, we'd love to hear from you.
Interested in either role — or want to find out more?
Please get in touch with us at pta-claverdonschool@outlook.com. We're always happy to chat through what's involved before you commit to anything. As with any project.... many hands make light work!
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