Students and staff enjoy Fundraising Fortnight

In the last two full weeks of term we have been enjoying a great many activities organised by form groups to raise money to enable sick or disabled children to visit Lourdes in France in the summer. Great ingenuity has been displayed, for example, one form has been selling pre-ordered bacon rolls and sausage baps at break, another has been selling ice-creams at lunchtime.

There have been ongoing raffle sales, for a huge collection of pet foods and treats and another huge collection of stationery. Snacks were provided for students who attended film showings, ‘The Hunger Games’ being a popular choice. Large scale events have been organised very well, such as the staff netball match which drew a huge crowd and was extremely entertaining. Some staff exhibited hitherto undiscovered skills at passing, intercepting and shooting, though it was obvious that some staff were a little bewildered by the mystery of the rules of netball! The ‘Staff’s got Talent’ show was also very well organised and attended.

Congratulations go to Mr Bertram and Mrs Foster who were proclaimed winners for their piano duet performance. All the entries were enthusiastically received and while most people knew that Mr Howard and Miss Handley were dancers and Miss Fleming and Mr Mallabone could sing and play the guitar, it was a real revelation to discover that Mrs Latham could perform acrobatics and Dr Flint execute Karate routines with great energy and precision. Thanks should also be offered to the long-suffering staff who were prepared to offer themselves as the targets for ‘Sponge the teacher’. Needless to say, the sponges were thrown with much enthusiasm and good will.

Many a delicious cake has been cooked and eaten, many a face and set of nails painted over the fortnight and a great deal of fun was had by those who availed themselves of the opportunity to have their photograph taken with selected props before a chosen background. Even a former student who was visiting the school that day dressed up in a golden flying helmet and sunglasses to have her photograph taken in front of an intergalactic background.

Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to wear home clothes one day and the fortnight ended on a high note with the annual Dog Show which attracted a record number of entries this year.

Responsible citizens at St Mary's School