The first half of the Autumn term has flown by, and we are already thinking ahead to Christmas! As always the start of a new school year sees changes within the FOJORPS Committee as key players move on and new members join. At our AGM in September we said farewell to some long-serving stalwarts who have dedicated a great deal of time over many years. We were also pleased to welcome on board 10 new members, meaning that the FOJORPS committee is 25 strong, with many fresh faces bringing new ideas and enthusiasm to our meetings.

Our first events of the school year have already taken place. The Children’s Discos are always a firm favourite and were well attended. This year’s Autumn Quiz saw 13 teams stepping up to the challenge and giving their brains a work-out. The questions this time were set by John Furzeman, as our long-standing quiz master Julie Snelling has stepped down from the committee this year. It was perhaps fitting that Julie’s team was victorious on this occasion; obviously after setting the questions for so many years she now knows all the answers!! Our first Bag 2 School collection also took place in October, with just over 1.18 tonnes of clothing being collected, resulting in a payment of £590 to the school. A new event this half term was a Movie Night showing Toy Story 3 on Friday 15th October, which was a complete sell-out! Plans are already in place for the next one on 3rd December, when the film will be ‘Nativity’ – a seasonal family comedy.

Our annual Christmas Bazaar will take place on Friday 10th December, starting at 3.45 pm. We look forward to a wonderful seasonal afternoon with a variety of festive stalls, entertainment from the school choir, and a chance for the children to visit Santa in his grotto whilst parents enjoy a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine.

This year we are once again running a Ladies’ Night which will take place on Friday 11th February. Look out for posters around the village nearer the time.

Dates for your Diary 2010-2011

Movie Night #2 – Friday 3rd December
Christmas Bazaar – Friday 10th December
Bag 2 School Collection #2 – Friday 14th January
Family Beetle Drive – Saturday 22nd January
Movie Night #3 – Friday 4th February
Ladies’ Night – Friday 11th February
Children’s Spring Discos – Saturday 12th March
Spring Quiz – Saturday 19th March

Sue McLoughlin for FOJORPS

The start of the long summer break marks another successful year for FOJORPS, with a record £15,000 being raised for the school since last September. Donations of over £18,000 have been made to the school during this time, with all children benefiting from the continued investment that FOJORPS makes each year, providing the extra resources that enhance their learning experience during their time at the John of Rolleston.

After last year’s deluge we were blessed with perfect weather for this year’s Community Day, and as usual the people of the village turned out in force to support our main fundraiser of the year, emphasizing the community spirit that is fundamental to the day. Many thanks to everyone who supported the event in any way.

The prize winners from the raffle were as follows:

Thank you to everyone who supported our summer Bag 2 School collection. This resulted in a record weight of 2 tonnes, converting to a payment of £800 for the school.

Dates for your Diary 2010

FOJORPS AGM – Thursday 23rd September
Children’s Autumn Disco’s – Saturday 2nd October
Autumn Quiz – Friday 8th October
Christmas Bazaar – Friday 10th December

Sue McLoughlin for FOJORPS

The school year is flying past and we are now into the Summer term. The FOJORPS Committee has continued to support the school by raising much needed funds that enhance the learning experience of all the children during their time at John of Rolleston.

Events last term included the children’s disco’s on March 6th, which as always were well attended and enjoyed by all the children. This year’s Spring Quiz was very well supported with 16 teams taking part, including several fresh faces attending their first quiz. The closely-fought contest ended with the ‘Green Army’ finally emerging victorious over the ‘Polo Mints’, whilst the ‘Task Force’ and the ‘Blind Mice’ tied in 3rd place. The provisional date for our next quiz is Saturday 9th October – look out for posters around the village nearer the time.

Our new family event on 24th April was a Bingo Night. As this was the first time that we had run this type of event we didn’t know quite what to expect, but it turned out to be a huge success and was greatly enjoyed by everyone who attended.

With summer just around the corner, our plans in recent weeks have been focused on Community Day. This year’s event will take place on Saturday 12th June, with the gates opening at 11am for a fun-filled day. All the usual favourites will be there: 5-a-Side Football Competition, Pole Bashing, Ducking Stool, Bouncy Castle, Mega Slide, Pinxton Puppets and Tutbury Band, but there will also be new stalls and attractions including miniature Land Rovers that are suitable for children from the age of 4 to drive! We have also been fortunate to secure a flypast from a Lancaster Bomber at some point during the afternoon, guaranteeing that it will be a truly memorable day. Please keep your fingers crossed that the sun will shine on us this year, after last year’s monsoon!

The next Bag2School collection is scheduled for Wednesday 16th June. Anyone wishing to donate items can leave them at school (either site) from Monday 14th June, or phone Sue (537887) or Shaun (563312) to arrange collection.

Dates for your Diary 2010 (some dates are provisional and may be subject to change)

Community Day – Saturday 12th June
Bag2School Collection 3 – Wednesday 16th June
Children’s Summer Disco’s – Saturday 10th July
Children’s Autumn Disco’s – Saturday 2nd October
Autumn Quiz – Saturday 9th October
Christmas Bazaar – Friday 10th December

Sue McLoughlin for FOJORPS

We are already a month into 2010 and the Christmas decorations have been put away for another year. The Christmas Bazaar, held after school on Friday 11th December, now seems a distant memory. There was festive spirit in abundance with a steady stream of children visiting Santa in his grotto whilst mums and dads enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies or browsed round the many stalls and attractions. Musical entertainment was provided by the school choir singing Christmas songs, and a quartet of singers singing traditional carols. Thank you to everyone who supported the event in any way.

Since the start of the New Year we have already held two fundraising activities. The first of these, on 15th January, was our second Bag2School collection of the school year, providing people with the opportunity of clearing out their wardrobes to make room for Christmas gifts and/or bargains snapped up in the sales. Just over a tonne of bags was collected, which converts into £416 cash for school funds. Our next collection is scheduled for Wednesday 16th June; anyone wishing to donate items can leave them at school (either site) from Monday 14th June, or phone Sue (537887) or Shaun (563312) to arrange collection.

Our annual family Beetle Drive was held on Saturday 23rd January, and proved to be a fun event once again. It was good to see some fresh faces enjoying their first Beetling experience, and there was frantic activity and great excitement as dice were rolled, pencils were poised and triumphant cries of ‘BEETLE!’ were heard. A big thank you must go to the Calais Fish Bar who supplied the Fish and Chip supper for 70 people.

Further events planned for this term include the ever popular Children’s discos which will take place on Saturday 6th March. Our Spring Quiz will take place the following weekend on Saturday 13th March. This is always an entertaining evening with teams of up to four people giving their brains a gentle work-out, whilst enjoying a drink or two from our licensed bar. If you haven’t been to one of our quizzes before then we would love to see you. Look out for the posters around the village, or contact Julie on 812271 for more information. We plan to run a new family event on Saturday 24th April, more details will be available nearer the time.

Looking further ahead, this year’s Community Day is on Saturday 12th June. All the usual favourites will be there along with new attractions – guaranteed fun for all the family. We look forward to joining once again with the many groups, businesses and individuals from within the village and beyond who support this event, year on year, thus making it a true ‘community’ occasion.

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Last updated: 29 December 2010