PTA End of Year Round-Up

Before we round this year up - a date for the 2018 calendar:

• Wednesday 31st January 2018; 5.30pm - Family Fiesta
  

You are all invited to join together as a community at this BYO picnic extravaganza to welcome in the new school year. There will a bouncy castle, Flat Man with his car, a treasure hunt and more. This is a great opportunity to welcome  new families and catch up with friends before the school year formally starts.

Our Meetings

The PTA have continued to meet twice a term.  These meetings have been attended by a small number of parents and we would like to boost our numbers next year so please consider joining our ranks - we don't ask for a life membership, just a small amount of your time. We would also like to thank Susan Perring, Helen Abrahams and Jeni Bargh, from the teaching staff for their support through the year.

How did we spend it?

In 2017 the PTA donated $19,000 to help fund the following school projects:

• $2,000 helped reduce the cost to parents of the 'Prime Mathematics' programme to Merrin School;
  
• $5,000 was spent to support the Science  and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programmes;
  
• $8,000 was used to purchase 20 new chrome books for use across the school;
  
• $4,000 was spent on new reading books for the junior school.
  

We also allocated $8,000 in 2016 for playground improvements and this was spent on installing the magical musical garden at the end of the Mahuta block.  The proceeds of the last Sausage Sizzle were used to purchase a catering BBQ to allow us to better meet Health and Safety regulations.

How did we make it?

Alongside our normal Chocolate Sales, Sausage Sizzles twice a term and Entertainment Book sales, 2017 saw us experiment with a Spell-a-thon. This popular 'earn while you learn' fundraiser, raised just over $8,000. 

The switch to Whitakers for the Chocolate Fundraiser seemed to be a popular choice, also making $8,000. We are still investigating healthier alternatives to this fundraiser and we would welcome you bringing any ideas to one of our meetings next year.

This year also saw us bringing you the Haunted House Extravaganza and Disco. It was a fantastic night out for all the community. Thank you to the Pupil Council for their support. Special thanks to Shar Evans who designed and created the Haunted House - by all accounts it was truly spectacular.  

The Second Hand Uniform Shop continues to open on Wednesday, 3.00 - 3.30pm.  The shop is well supported and we would welcome any donations of used uniform items that are suitable for resale.

Community Activity

We continue to be active in the community in various ways. This has included  supporting school athletics events with ice blocks and morning teas, providing ice blocks and fizzy drinks for all at the St Christopher's Carol Evening.  And as Merrin School was the host of this years Rotary Speech Finals, the PTA provided supper.  

Thank you for your support throughout the year, the Merrin PTA wish you all a wonderful festive season and New Year.