Parents’ Guild Newsletter
Autumn 2014
Christmas Fair special
Saturday 22 November
Update on guild news
A very warm welcome to all parents and girls as the
new school year gathers pace. This term we are of course
looking forward hugely to the Christmas Fair which
takes place on Saturday 22 November. Plans are well
underway for this wonderful event and Elaine O’Byrne
and her fantastic team of helpers have been working hard
to make sure it is a huge success. Please do all you can
to help either by making donations beforehand or taking
your place on a stall rota on the day. There are so many
opportunities to get involved. Please also make a note of
the day before the fair - Friday 21 November. This is
when the fair is set up and the girls are encouraged to
come into school and help as well as the parents so that
when the doors open at 11am all we have to do is enjoy
ourselves!
Update on the summer term
Above, Drinks before the welcome Supper for the MIV
Below, Decorated tables ready for the welcome Supper..
The new girls’ tea was a lovely event and to see all the
now fully fledged MIVs making new friends and getting
to know their new school was a joy. The second hand
uniform sale took place that afternoon as well and many
thanks to the wonderful ladies who ran that as well as to
all the parents who baked the delicious cakes and served
the tea. The guild also hosted a drinks party for the UIV,
LV and V - always a wonderful chance to catch up and
chat over a glass of wine.
The guild has been able to fund several school projects
in the last term including buying gazebos to keep the
girls warm and dry at sporting fixtures, buying replica
World War I uniforms that were used to commemorate
the outbreak of WWI and also helping the art and music
departments to make the screen and film that were used
at the hugely successful concert in St John’s Smith
Square in April.
The welcome Supper for the MIVs was held on 18
September and was a wonderful evening where parents
could get to know each other while enjoying a delicious
supper. Enormous thanks go to Annabelle Elliott and
her team for all their hard work in putting the evening
together. There are other events planned for this term
before the Christmas Fair as you will see later in the
newsletter and if you have any questions about the
parents’ guild then please do email me, Halldis Arnold,
at: [email protected]
Halldis Arnold
Chair
Christmas fair
Saturday 22 November
11am until 3pm
The Fair is a wonderful event in the School calendar –
it brings together school families, the staff and our local
neighbours in Brook Green and plans have been underway
for some time.
All the much loved elements from 2012 will be there.
The home made cake stall will rival anything seen on
The Great British Bake Off, and as in past years, you can
pre order delicious Christmas puddings to collect at the
Fair. The staff pantomime is being written, and is sure
to be a sell out on the day. The Fun Fair in the sports hall
will have not one, but two star attractions. Parents in the
VIII are working with Re-Store, to showcase the clothes
on offer, in the Vintage store, with a fashion show.
There will be Christmas shopping opportunities galore,
with something for everyone available from the outside
vendors in the Great Hall, the MIV stalls in the adjacent
classrooms, and the girls’ stalls in and around the
dining room.
Adding to the sparkle in the Great Hall will be two
tombolas, one for adults and one for children. A new
addition this year, is The Tree of Surprises, with each
ticket guaranteed to win a beautiful gift. We will be
running a raffle, which always has wonderful, generous
prizes, along with a Silent Auction, which was a great
success in 2012.
As part of all the fun of the Fair, delicious food will
be available all day, with smoked salmon sandwiches
and champagne, and a Christmas café in the Old Library.
Freshly prepared food will be on offer in the dining room.
There are lots of ways that you can be involved in helping
to make the Fair a success. You can donate prizes to the
raffle, silent auction and tombolas, as well as donating
books and dvds to the MIV stalls, and pre-loved clothes
to the Vintage store, where particularly desirable items
will be auctioned off.
In addition, you can help by volunteering your time:
take your place in the rota to man your year group stall
or activity; it is always a great opportunity to catch up
with other parents. We set up on the 21 November,
marked in the calendar as an occasional day. It is a day
of hard work but high spirits, as parents and girls work
together to transform the school into a magical place.
The girls love the whole experience, so please sign up to
help on the 21 and 22 November. You can volunteer by
emailing me at the address below.
The proceeds of the Fair are distributed across a number
of worthy causes. Contributing to the bursary fund and
travel scholarships, as well as to the girls’ nominated
charities, and to school projects.
Please keep an eye out for clarion call messages and
emails from your year and tutor group reps, regarding
the Fair. Most of all, please get involved, come to the
Fair with your family, and enjoy the happy and festive
spirit.
Please contact me, Elaine O’Byrne at:
[email protected]
Christmas Fair Puddings
Following the success of the Christmas puddings at the
2012 Fair, LV will again be offering this Christmas treat
on a pre-order basis. It will be possible to order not only
the traditional and chocolate puddings, but also triple
ginger, award winning sticky toffee and a ‘no gluten’
traditional pudding. They are labelled especially for the
school and all profits go to the bursary fund, school
projects and charities chosen by the girls. For more
information please see: www.ultimateplumpudding.co.uk
They come beautifully packaged so why not order a few
extras for those last minute forgotten gifts! Order forms
will be sent out later this month and orders must be placed
by half term. Puddings will be available for collection
at the Fair.
If you have any questions, do please contact me, Claire
Shutes at: [email protected]
Diary
Christmas Fair
Saturday 22 November
2014
22 Nov
Christmas Fair,11am to 3pm.
03 Mar
13 May
16 Jun
Drinks for VI,VII and VIII.
Drinks for the UIV,LV and V.
The new girls tea.
2015
The Arts Society
The Arts Society kicked off its annual series of events
with the ever-popular play: The Importance of Being
Earnest by Oscar Wilde on 19 September at the Harold
Pinter Theatre. One of the greatest comedies, Wilde’s
witty dialogue delivers a tale of double identity, with
layers of commentary on class and money.
The tickets sold out very fast for this hugely popular
play with quite a few girls coming along with their
parents and everyone had a wonderful time. There were
also drinks arranged for before the show - a lovely way
for the adults to start the evening!
Ena Guardiola and Jasmine Belanger, co-chairs, Arts
Society: [email protected]
Flowers
Our first mission this term: The New Parents’ Supper,
creating a warm floral welcome for all the new MIV
parents - remembering how we all felt when our daughters
started at the school.
There then follows a packed autumn term with various
concerts and events in the Great Hall as well as weekly
flower arrangements on the Marble. Also this term we will
be doing special flower arrangements for the Christmas
Fair and last, but not least, the seasonal highlight: the joy
of cheering up the winter months with merry Christmas
decorations on the Marble, in the Dining Room and
around the school.
Micky Caraffa: [email protected]
Lost Property
Lost property thanks its volunteers for their help during
a busy and productive Summer Term. Our fourth annual
Sale of PE Kit in June for the incoming MIVs and their
parents brought in over £800 for the Bursary Fund.
We are open in our office on the concourse outside
the Dining Hall every school day from 12-1pm and we
encourage girls to visit us to retrieve lost items as well as
to buy second-hand PE kit on account (no cash accepted).
As always, we suggest kindly that parents discourage
their girls from bringing very valuable items of clothing,
jewellery or electronics to school.
Please note that there will be a Preview of all items in
Lost Property on Monday, 8 December, 12-1pm, so girls
can retrieve their lost things. There will be price tags on
all items so any unclaimed items can be sold the following
day, Tuesday, 9 December, 12-1pm. Please do encourage
your daughters to bring a bit of cash that day in case
they find a bargain!
Kristen Frederickson, head of lost property at:
[email protected]
Additional labels can be ordered at:
www.jjcash.co.uk
Sports Club
The Sports Club provides excellent swimming and tennis
facilities for only £50 per family per year. Available during
term time Tuesday and Thursday evenings 5.30pm-7.30pm
and weekend mornings- Saturday 10.00am-1.00pm and
Sunday 9.30am-12.30pm. It is possible to join the club at
any stage during the year.
The Club is always looking for new members to join the
committee. Any further information can be obtained
from Carolyn Jones at: [email protected]
Social
Christmas Fair
Saturday 22 November
To all MIV parents
Welcome all new MIV pupils and parents! I hope that
your daughters have settled well and are enjoying the
first days of SPGS. As your MIV Year Rep I will be the
liaison between the Parents’ Guild and the MIV year as
well as our Head of Year Miss Frank. Please contact me
or your form rep if you have any questions in relation to
the guild that you would like to discuss and your Form
Reps will be the first point of contact for Parents’ Guild
news and activities.
Following is a list of dates of MIV related events for
your diaries. I look forward to seeing and speaking with
you over these coming weeks.
Tuesday, 7 October:
MIV Yearwide Coffee morning.
St. Paul’s Hotel. 8:30am onwards.
Tuesday, 14 October:
MIV Parent-Teacher Evening.
Details to follow.
Friday, 21 November:
Set Up Day for Christmas Fair and MIV Year Group
Outing for Girls. No classes. Details to follow.
If you have any questions, do please contact me,
Helen Chung-Halpern, MIV year rep, at:
[email protected]
with more detail and will be asking you to sign up to help
for short periods on the day. Please keep the date free!
If you have any questions, do please contact me,
Annabelle Elliott, MIV year rep, at:
[email protected]
To all LV parents
The LV are responsible for the cake stall and Christmas
puddings at the Christmas Fair, your reps will be in
touch soon with more details of how to get involved.
This term’s LV year wide coffee morning is on Friday,
7 November, 8.30 -10.30am at The Queen’s Head Pub
on Brook Green. A great chance to catch up and swap
recipes for the LV Cake Stall!
If you have any questions, please contact Claire Shutes,
LV year rep, at: [email protected]
To all V parents
The Vth are responsible for both the Silent Auction and
the Raffle at this year’s Christmas Fair. Last year the
money for these events raised about half the total funds.
So, if you or anyone you know, is feeling generous FABULOUS - please do let us know as soon as possible
what you or they can contribute.
To all UIV parents
Silent Auction Prizes last year ranged from ‘a week in
Mustique’, through a delicious day being taught by a
professional cook, to some wonderful jewellry.
We have new reps in place for each of your daughter’s
forms this year and they will be in touch with social
plans for the term.
Raffle prizes were all worth £50 plus but there were a
few ‘star’ prizes to get people buying…
Our big focus is the Christmas Fair. Our year group is
running the FUNFAIR in the sports hall with some
wonderful rides and exciting entertainment for our girls
with a distinct Christmas theme.
Our year will need to make sure there are prizes and we
will also need to man the Silent Auction and Raffle stalls
on the day of the Christmas Fair.
You have already been hugely generous in helping us
fund the rides - thank you!
All suggestions are helpful. Suggestions with a promise
to deliver are really helpful! I hope to hear from you
very soon!
We will still need your help to set up on 21 Friday
November and on the day itself to supervise and run the
smaller stalls and attractions. Your reps will be in touch
We are in the middle of confirming this year’s Tutor
Group Reps – yours should be in touch with you shortly.
Meanwhile, there is a year wide Coffee Morning planned
Social
Christmas Fair
Saturday 22 November
for Friday, 3 Oct at the Brook Green Hotel at 8.45am.
So I hope to see you soon too!
To all VIII parents
Penny Bagnall-Smith, V year rep, at:
[email protected] or 07770 650 219
Year Reps for the VIII are Sue Ehr and Susan Forth and
Louise Kavanagh has kindly agreed to manage the VIII
Christmas Fair Vintage Stall.
To all VI parents
Our first activity of the year will be a Coffee Morning
on Thursday, 16 October at the Brook Green Hotel from
8:30am. It will be a good opportunity to get together and
also discuss the VIII vintage stall for the Christmas Fair.
Year wide coffee morning, Friday 10 October at the
Queens Head Pub on Brook Green, 8.30am onwards.
We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as
possible to discuss the year ahead and help fill rotas
for our Christmas Fair Food duties! If you are unable
to make the coffee morning, but want to help out before
or during the Fair, please contact me, Cath Mather,
VI year rep, at: [email protected]
To all VII parents
I hope you have all had a wonderful and restful summer
and that your daughters have settled well at the start of
the Autumn term.
There will be a year wide coffee morning for the entire
year on Wednesday 24 September from 8.45am until 11am.
It will be at the house of Fiona Rivaz, 9 Queen Anne’s
Grove, London W4 1HW.
It will be nice to see many of you there so we can
welcome the new parents whose daughters have just
joined the school.
I would also like to remind everyone about the Christmas
Fair on Saturday 22 November. The VII are organising
theTombola stalls - one for adults and one for children as
well as a Tree of Surprises. I will send a letter in the
early week of October to request donations of prizes.
Contact Gina Fleming, VII year rep, at:
[email protected]
Please bring along any good quality clothes for the
Fair or contact Louise Kavanagh on 07976 746655
or [email protected] to arrange drop
off /collection. We will also be collecting at the school
gates nearer to the fair date.
We also will be contacting parents in due course about
upcoming social events, including a year wide breakfast.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with suggestions or
offers of assistance for various events.
Contact Sue Ehr and Susan Forth, VIII year reps, at:
[email protected] or [email protected]