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PSA Chairperson’s Annual Report – School Session 2013-2014

Office Bearers – Position                          Name

Honorary President                                 Charles Jamieson (Head Teacher)
Chairperson                                               Joe Shaw
Vice Chairperson                                      Bernadine Nordmann
Treasurer                                                     Joanne Miller
Secretary                                                    Emma McAndrew
Minute Secretary                                      Teresa MacPherson
OLM Lottery Club Co-ordinator              Colette Carruthers

 In 2013-2014 we saw a great Community spirit amongst the parents and staff, with a number of fundraising activities that allowed many extra activities to be enjoyed by the children.  All the summary financial numbers can be found at the end of this report.

 Here are some of our highlights from last year:

 FUNDRAISING

  • Lottery – Our annual fudraiser was again a success. We are always on the look out for additional members that could win a monthly prize of £50 & £25 and a potential bonus payout of £100 in June.  For £12 a year we think it is still great value
  • The first big party was our annual Halloween Family Party which was again a sell out and we made the maximum number of 300; People made a huge amount of effort on the costumes;
  • Again the personalised Christmas Cards,  proved to be very popular and a great success;  we will try and allow more time for completion this year to give our budding artists more time to prepare.
  • Our Christmas Fete is the first time the whole family can come into school and  the school was  buzzing with activity, especially the children getting very excited with their first sightings of Santa.  Thank you to all the stall helpers and for all the mums, dads and grannies that made all the delicious cakes for the home baking stall and for handing in donations for many other stalls; and to all those involved in organising the raffle as once again this was the most profitable part of the fete.               
  • The Summer Fete was unfortunately not blessed with good weather but once again it was a great success so once again thanks to all the heplers that made it happen.  The bouncy castle was thankfully covered  and a great time was had by all.
  • We had our first P1 mums night in March and this was also a great success.  This was not a fundraising event but a great chance for the new school community to get together. This will now be held in September as it is a great chance for people to meet each other.
  • With the Scottish theme this year we returned to having a Spring Family Ceilidh and was probably the highlight of the year.  Another sell out and a real family occasion. Many thanks to the school who had taught the children many of the dances before the big night. The feedback was very positive and the band were fantastic.

 EXPENDITURE

  • Every year the PSA supports the school with the Science Festival  – the children are entertained by a visit from the Edinburgh Science Festival who allow the children to participate in various workshops across the year groups.  This is always an exciting and educational activity for the children.
  • Each year we subsidise School buses that are required for trips.  This allows to keep the costs for parents to a minimum.
  • The children also enjoyed Christmas parties, ice creams &  presents from Santa for P1s, and the P7s Xmas Disco at St Josephs is always a highlight.
  • A considerable outlay was also made this year to help purchase various items of IT Software, the majority was to pay for new projectors.
  • A donation was also made to the School football teams to enable new strips to be purchased. This year we would welcome requests from any other sporting groups within the school,
  • In May the P4s had their sacraments and had a celebration in school altogether. 
  • P7s had a fantastic time at their Leavers Ceilidh – lots of dancing, food and some tears from proud and emotional parents; 
  • And finally for sports day the sun shone again and the children were all rewarded with an ice-cream. 

None of this is possible without a joint effort from parents, staff and pupils and with this we get a sense of community, when we all pull together to organise and help at the various events.

Finally, plenty of people to say thank you to…

Firstly to Mr Jamieson and congratulations to Mrs Dowling on her retirement, for their support, time and energy that is given to make this all possible.  Thank you to the Janitors, teachers and staff in the school office who are always keeping us right and make sure all the many communications get sent out.

Thanks to all the parents, especially all the members of our PSA, who give up so much time and who help in all the many ways with the PSA events and who are always willing to send in donations; to parents, grandparents and aunties and uncles who come along to events to support us; and to parents who step in to help even up to the last minute, whether it’s serving coffee or manning a stall. We couldn’t do it without you!

Well my time as Chairperson has come to an end but I can honestly say it has been an honour and a privilege to be part of a school I consider to be the best in Scotland! There are very exciting times ahead with the new Campus and I wish all the best to the PSA going forward.  I will enjoy my time on the back benches and will always support in the future (well for 4 years).  Thanks to all the support I have received and it has been a pleasure.

Joe Shaw      Chairperson