The Friends are a group of ordinary parents from St. Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, who get together to do extraordinary things. The principle aim of the Friends is to raise money to buy the extras that the school budget does not support. In the past we have subsidised school trips, arranged and paid for commemorative photos for the Y6 leavers, helped to purchase specialist software and many other items. We have also funded an outdoor noticeboard and contributed towards the setting up of the school website.
Our latest contribution, in January 2016, was to provide a life-saving Defibrillator and training for 20 staff.
Below is one of our biggest projects to date, that of new outdoor trim trails and play equipment which we purchased with the help of fundraising activities and a National Lottery Grant.
The committee comprises of: a chairperson, responsible for setting the monthly agendas and keeping meetings on track as well as being the first point of contact with the school and many parents; the treasurer, who keeps a record of both income and expenditure, and deals with the banks; the secretary, who documents what was discussed and decisions made at each of the monthly meetings we hold during school term times. In addition, there are a number of committee members, who take on tasks as they come up, generate ideas for new events and decide how the money is to be spent.
Behind all of this is you. By virtue of you visiting this site, you are "a Friend". You may come and help run a stall at an event, provide a raffle prize or just come along, spend some money and have a good time at one of the 6 or 7 events we have in the school calendar.
How can you get involved? Come along to the next meeting which you can find on the school diary page. This is your chance to meet other parents, discuss ideas or just see what goes on behind the scenes. There is no great time commitment. The more people are involved, the less there is for each individual to do. We hope you can join us.