Friends of St Catherine’s

All parents automatically belong to FOSC (The Friends of St Catherine’s School) which arranges a lively programme of fundraising events and social activities and supports the school in many ways. The Friends of St Catherine’s School (FOSC) was formed in 1976 to fundraise and provide extra equipment for the school, its pupils and staff.

We are proud over the years to have contributed in many ways to school life. Amongst many items, we have provided games equipment, cameras, the lawn kitchen, computers and playground games. A brand new computer room, new lockers, furniture and interactive whiteboards are our most recent purchases.

Our goal for 2009 / 2010 is to raise money to buy 4 more interactive whiteboards for the new classrooms as well as 24 laptops and a wireless network for the new library. We regularly communicate our progress via the school newsletter.

Members of the FOSC Executive Committee for the 2009/2010 Academic Year:

  • Chair / Marketing & Communication – Kato Oosthuizen
  • Vice Chair / Facilities – Claire Jones
  • Secretary – Vicki Catling
  • Treasurer – Dave Thevananth
  • Fundraising coordinator – Kim Robinson
  • Class Rep co-ordinator – Nina Frige
  • Raffle coordinator – Alison Winfield
  • Catering coordinators – Wendy Martin & Gurjit Sekhon

Support Teams:

  • Weekly Retail Coordinator – Debbie Lebosquet
  • Tuck Shop – Tracey Craft
  • 2nd Hand Uniform Shop – Tracy Wordley & Claudia Gulliver
  • Northbrook Wrapping Paper & additional fundraising support – Tanya de Jager

THRIFT SHOP

All 3.30 – 4.30pm

  • Wednesday 13th January
  • Wednesday 10th February
  • Wednesday 10th March

EVENTS FOR 2010

  • Quiz Night: Friday 26 February 2010 – Enter your team for the “must-win” competition and parents’ social of the year.
  • Prep Pink Party: Friday 12 March 2010 – A special evening for all the prep girls. Wear a pink outfit and dance the night away!
  • Summer Fair: Sunday 27 June 2010 – A social day out for the whole family, with excellent food and entertainment.
  • Christmas Fair: Sunday 28 November 2010, 12am to 4pm – Make a head start on your Christmas shopping while supporting the school

FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES

THURSDAY AFTERNOONS

We run a weekly cake sale on Thursday afternoons after school. A variety of cakes and snacks are for sale e.g., brownies, doughnuts, carrot cake, shortbread, gingerbread men, samosas, sausage rolls and homemade cookies. Items are priced at 50p and £1 and can be paid either by cash or with a FOSC pre-paid cookie card.

Abel & Cole operate a school bag vegetable scheme (e.g. a bag of 5 vegetables for £5.00). These are available to order and collect every Thursday afternoon. For every bag we sell we make 25% for the school. Order forms are available next to the FOSC notice board at the school entrance.

FOSC also runs a weekly Tuck Shop for the senior girls.

We are always looking for extra hands to help here and if you have some time to spare and are willing to help on a rota, please talk to Kim Robinson or Debbie Lebosquet who are usually at school on a Thursday afternoon.

END OF TERM “KRISPY KREME” FUNDRAISERS

As a special holiday treat, this year we started to sell ever-popular “Krispy Kreme” doughnuts at the end of each half term. Single doughnuts are priced at £1 each or £8 for a dozen.

2ND HAND UNIFORM SHOP

Our second hand uniform shop sells both 2nd hand and new items. Located in the basement of the Lawns Building, it is open once a month on a Wednesday afternoon between 3 and 4pm.

Dates for 2010 are:

  • Wednesday 13 January
  • Wednesday 10 February
  • Wednesday 10 March

Items for sale include: prep-rain coats, prep tunics, prep skirts, long sleeved blouses, summer dresses, cardigans, pullovers, prep sports sweatshirt and jogging bottoms, leotards, games skirts, prep running shoes, swimming costumes, socks and tights, hats, science overalls and tabards, ties, scarves, school bags and purse belts.

Please call Tracey Wordley on 020 8892 2384 if you need any items to be reserved for you.

We operate a 50/50 system if you wish to sell any items. Any uniform for sale should be clean and marked up with the pupil’s name, telephone number and address and handed into the school office.

SWIMMING TOWELS (AUTUMN TERM)

A super-soft quality navy blue swimming towel (size: 140cm x 70cm), embroidered with the school crest and your daughter’s name can be ordered for £16.00. Please contact Jill Anderson via email on jillanderson@F2s.com to place your order, which are fulfilled at the start of the school year during the autumn term.

NORTHBROOK WRAPPING PAPER (AUTUMN TERM)

In the run-up to the Christmas Fair, parents can order Northbrook Wrapping Paper which gives back 22% of each order value to FOSC.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP US:

  • Volunteer to help your class with their allocated stall at our Christmas and Summer Fairs.
  • Become a Class Rep, a good way to get to know parents in your class. This network of helpers is vital to our work.
  • Offer to help with a particular job which could be something you could do at home, an extra pair of hands at one of our events, or just a one-off contribution of your time and talent.
  • From time to time, we ask parents and pupils for donations. We are extremely grateful to all the support you give us. Before the Christmas and summer fairs, we have a Mufti day (no uniform) so children can bring in good condition toys for the Children’s Tombola and bottles for the Bottle Tombola stall. Raffle donations are also very welcome.

We look forward to your continued support and thank you for your generosity.