The Flagpole

Tuesday 10 October 2017

This fun celebration of porridge – the best food in the world – takes place as a fundraiser for Mary’s Meals, the charity that feeds the world's poorest children in their place of education every day. They now feed 1,230,171 children throughout the world. The average cost of feeding a child for a year is £13.90.

Parents and pupils are invited to sponsor a child for a year. To help with your fundraising we would be delighted to supply a T-shirt and/or Big Blue Mary's Meals Collection Mug, into which people can put their spare coins over the course of a month or year and then send into school. When it is full so we can pass the money onto Mary’s Meals. If you would like a T-shirt (sizes S/M/L/XL) or mug to help with your fundraising please click here to request which item you would like.

On World Porridge Day, before school and at break time, the dining rooms will be serving delicious homemade porridge  - £1 for a standard bowl with brown sugar and £2 for the deluxe version with a range of exotic toppings. All proceeds will go to Mary’s Meals.   

During the lunch break, we shall hold our 8th Annual William Wallace Welly Wanging Competition and find out if anyone can beat former Sports Captain Alastair Jenkinson’s amazing throw of 35 metres (2013) or even Mr Parsons impressive 32 metres (2016). All years are welcome to enter, competing for the honour of their house. The entry fee is 50p per person for three throws. Again, all proceeds will go to Mary’s Meals and there will be Highland Toffee for the winners and Welly Wanging certificates, based on the longest throw for boys and girls in each year group. 

If you wish to make an online donation the easiest way is to use the Mary's Meals donation page here. If you are sending in a cheque, please complete the Gift Aid form here and send in with your cheque.

Rod Isaacs
Assistant Head of Sixth Form

Friday 13 October 2017

This is the day when the Sixth Formers leave their ‘non-uniform day’ attire at home to become (not so?) pretty in pink in aid of Breast Cancer UK.

Events taking place are:

• Break and Lunch time: Cake sale in the Refectory (donations for a cake please)
• Lunch time: Fashion Show. Pay £0.50 to dress up a Sixth Form boy (clothes will be provided) and see him take to the catwalk.

Louise Harrison
Assistant Head of Sixth Form

This year the Chaplaincy is again supporting our Parish Shoe Box Appeal, to provide gifts for children who would not otherwise receive a Christmas present. This year the boxes are being distributed by Teams4U.

Each shoebox will be given to a vulnerable child, or family, through schools, nurseries, hospitals and orphanages.

The aim of T4U is that each box is given in relationship with the local community as part of a long-term commitment to these children. This includes financing pre-school programmes to support their education and development.

We are encouraging everyone to bring one item to help fill the boxes.

Children’s Shoe Boxes

What these children need most are educational and hygiene supplies, e.g.

• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Hairbrush/comb
• Facecloth and soap
• Stationery/pens/pencils/paper

Please also include a few small gifts, e.g.

• A soft toy, ball, game, puzzle, stickers, balloons
• Gloves/hats/scarves

Homecare Family Shoe Boxes

• Cooking utensils (no knives), candles, hairbrush plastic utensils (plates, bowls, cutlery)
• Soap, small Christmas decoration small decorative item, small saucepan
• T-towels (preferably quite decorative). plastic containers, washing line pegs
• Washing up cloths

All items may be left in the Chaplaincy G13 and the Chaplaincy Prefects will supervise the sorting and packing of the boxes.

Mary Benham
Chaplaincy Co-ordinator

Firstly, I should like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have already supported me in raising an amazing £4200 for my Great Wall of China Trek in aid of Ovarian Cancer, which is unbelievable knowing my target was £2800!!  However Helen and I are now hoping to raise £5000 each,  making a total of £10,000 for Ovarian Cancer  which would be absolutely incredible knowing that Helen has survived Ovarian Cancer 10 years this year.

Secondly, for those of you that don’t know, on 14 October 2017 I will take part in a trek of the Great Wall of China in aid of Ovarian Cancer with my very dear friend Helen Hogg who survived ovarian cancer, please read her very moving blog below:-

"In October 2007, at the age of 47, I got the news that every women dreads, I had Ovarian Cancer.  A major operation and chemotherapy was my life for the next 8 months.

With my son just starting his first term away at university and my daughter only 14 years old I hoped and prayed to be given the chance for at least another 10 years to see them both settled.

When I was receiving my treatment I read an inspiring article about a group of women who walked the Great Wall of China in aid of Ovarian Cancer and I remember thinking if I do make it through this I want to do something like that to give hope to other women who are in the same situation as me.

So in October 2017, 10 years on from my diagnosis, I will walk the Great Wall of China as part of the Ovarian Cancer Action Team along with my friend Julie Satchwell.

In the UK every 2 hours a woman dies from Ovarian Cancer.  Hopefully with further research, funded by fundraising challenges such as this, we can make sure that Ovarian Cancer is diagnosed early in women so they too can survive it."

Should you wish to help me push my target to £5,000 please visit my fundraising page https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/juliesatchwell 

I really can’t believe it’s nearly here now….

Have you been away for your summer holidays? Maybe you have some left over foreign currency? Maybe there are a few old coins or notes lurking in the back of a drawer, a pocket or a handbag? Why not round them up and put them to good use? All donations would be gratefully received and all money raised will support the work of Youth SVP in the UK of which our Youth SVP group is a part. Click here to discover what the SVP organisation is about and how your donation can help. 

The money can be current or out of date, British or foreign; anything is welcome! Click here and watch the video to see how cash4coins works. This is what you can donate:

• All foreign coins and banknotes
• Current UK coins and banknotes
• Any old British and Irish money
• Even obsolete currency! 

Please send in money in a strong envelope labelled ‘Rod Isaacs - cash4coins'. This can be handed in at the staff room or left in the collection box outside my office (Room F30).

Many thanks

Rod Isaacs
Assistant Head of Sixth Form