Friday 30 September 2011

The day before the anniversary celebration

I'm sure you all know the poem that starts
"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there."


Well, today has been the day before the anniversary celebration and it would be a great exaggeration to say that 'not a creature was stirring'! Staff and pupils worked hard to transform the Worship Room ready for the music, quizzes and games that will be held there and the buzz of conversation certainly meant that people were stirring! Downstairs, work was going on to transform the Community room into the place where the buffet can be held. There is still a long way to go, with volunteers arriving tomorrow to sort out food and other refreshments, but we are getting there.

The running order for tomorrow's celebrations is given below:
1. Arrive at 5 p.m. Name badges will be available and there will be a chance to look at photos of present and former members of staff and see how many you can identify.
There will be a prize for the winning entry! Tea, coffee & squash will be served.
2. After opening speeches & prayers, the birthday cake will be cut and we'll sing 'Happy Birthday' to the school.
3. The buffet will be open from 5.45 p.m. until 6.30 p.m.
4. At 6.30 p.m., guests will move to the Worship Room ready for the evening's entertainment. A number of quizzes and games will be held along with music from the 1980s.
5. The evening will end about 9 p.m. and if anyone can stay behind to help tidy up and restore the building to its normal order, ready for church on Sunday and school on Monday, the help would be much appreciated.

Hope to see you there!

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Are you ready?

"Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready for the time of your life?" (The Housemartins,'Caravan of Love')


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6GXV0FNEeI

Preparations are in hand for the anniversary celebrations this Saturday (1st October), starting at 5 p.m. We're almost ready! Are you ready for the time of your life?!

If you haven't sent your reply slip in, please let school know before Friday if you are intending to come to the celebration. We really do want as many as people as possible to attend and share in the birthday celebrations. 25 years of God's faithfulness, 25 years of Christian education, 25 years of God's provision are worth celebrating!

We'll be starting with a birthday cake and thankfulness. Then we'll be sharing a buffet (don't forget to bring your own drinks and a dessert if you can.) After that, when you've had a chance to see what all the staff used to look like and bought your anniversary mug (!), we will be moving upstairs for various 1980s songs (get ready to sing!) and quizzes and games. It's time to do your research and find out what you can about 1986!

Hopefully it will be a great evening, a time to re-connect with old friends and celebrate. So... are you ready?

Saturday 24 September 2011

Christmas card fund-raiser

The Christmas card work in school is going very well - just a few administrative things to point out to parents.

ALL pupils in school are designing their own Christmas cards. They will then bring these home to show you with an order form for APFS, the company who produces the actual cards. You can decide if you want to order the cards (hand-designed by your own gifted children!) and if so, how many packs of cards you want. Cards are available in packs of 12. One pack of 12 cards costs £6; it becomes cheaper the more packs you buy.

If you decide to buy cards, you need to fill in the order form and return the form WITH THE CARD and your payment. Payment can be in cash or by cheque; cheques should be made payable to 'Friends of Barnsley Christian School'. These must be returned to me at school by Friday 7th October at the latest.

If you decide you don't want to buy any cards, you still need to return your child's original art design to school by Friday 7th October at the latest, as all cards will be entered into a house competition in school. Each entry will receive house points and winning entries will receive additional house points and a prize. It's perfectly possible to win a prize even if you aren't buying cards for that design, so please do return all cards to form tutors who will pass them on to me.

I appreciate it seems almost sacrilegious to be mentioning Christmas this early in term, but cards have to be sent off to the company in order for them to be printed and returned to us in time to sell them for Christmas, so please do respect the deadline given. We need card designs, order forms and payments by Friday 7th October at the latest.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

A Year In Review

2010-2011 was a busy year for FBCS! Here are some of the highlights:

BCS Has Got Talent November 2010
This event raised £260
The talent show was won by Ellie Cooper:

We had wonderful entertainment provided by our very own Brian Lauden:


Three Bake 'n' Take events throughout the year raised £248.13. You're a hungry lot!



The Sponsored Walk round Langsett Reservoir in June raised £151.50.



The Beauty Evening (also in June) raised £422.50, our biggest event of the year:

The Sports Day in July has so far raised £306.50 from the Sponsored Walk.

Other sources of income:
2 Bag2School recycling days raised £148.
Anniversary mugs have so far raised £265. We still have a lot more to sell!
An anonymous donation of £1500 allowed us to pay off the Sports Hall floor.
Total income raised in 2010-11 was £3904.70. Many, many thanks for your generous support.

Other sources of fun:
We held a Social Games Evening in March 2011. Lots of fun & games!


We also launched the FBCS Newsletter last year, opened the FBCS Travel Club (where you can get discounts on holidays booked through http://www.fusiontravel.co.uk and raise money for the school at the same time!) and started this blog. So all in all, it was a busy year.

Bet the new one will be even busier!

Dates for the diary

Coming soon...

Saturday 1st October 5-9 p.m.
This will be the anniversary celebration. BCS is 25 years old! Do come along to the buffet and entertainment - we'll be having a variety of games, quizzes and live music to get you singing along to those hits from 1986! Please let the school office know if you are intending to come.

Tuesday 1st November 3 p.m.

This will be a Bonfire-themed Bake 'n' Take - home baking gratefully received!

Monday 7th November 7.30 p.m.

The next FBCS planning meeting will be in school on this date.

Wednesday 16th November

The next Bag2School Recycling day will be on 16th November. You'll soon be getting bags for your old clothes, bedding, curtains, shoes and belts. Bring these into school on the Wednesday morning and you can turn that clear-out into funds for the school.

Monday 12th December 3 p.m.

The Christmas Bake 'n' Take will be on this afternoon.

Details of the next Beauty Evening in November will be given as soon as we have a confirmed date from the House of Beauty. This time, sessions will cost £18, but these will include a Goody Bag, entry to a prize draw (to win Clarins beauty products)and refreshments as well as the 25-minute treatment.

Friday 16 September 2011

AGM coming soon

The FBCS AGM will be on Monday 19th September 2011 at 7.30 p.m. in school. This is a time to review all that happened last year and look forward to the year ahead, so we hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend. The proverbs says 'many hands make light work' and we've certainly found that to be the case.

2011 is a very important year in the school's history. This coming week (22nd September) is the 25th anniversary of the school's opening. We'll be having an anniversary assembly in school on that date and on Saturday 1st October from 5-9 p.m. there will be an anniversary celebration. Come along and find out all about 1986! - but let us know beforehand, for catering purposes!

Did you know for example that Pictionary was first produced in 1986?

Or that Top Gun was the highest grossing film of the year?

To whet your appetite, listen to the Number 1 from 22nd September 1986! (The Communards,'Don't Leave Me This Way'). There'll hopefully be live music to get those feet tapping on the night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifAtvI48R_0

Monday 5 September 2011

Welcome back!

So, the new academic year 2011-2012 is about to begin. It's a very significant year for the school, with 22nd September being the 25th anniversary of when the school was first opened. We've come a long way since then and we are hoping to celebrate this milestone throughout this year.

A few things to mention right at the start of the year:

1. If you have sponsor money from the Sports Day Sponsored Walk, please hand this in as soon as possible. We would love to be able to announce exactly how much we raised last year, but need to have all this money collected in before we can add up the totals!

2. The FBCS AGM will be held in school on Monday 19th September at 7.30 p.m. This is always a great opportunity to review the past year and look forward to what lies ahead, so we hope as many parents and friends as possible will come along to this.

3. I hate to have to say this, but there are apparently only 110 days to go until Christmas 2011. We want to have the most amazing personalised Christmas cards you can imagine, and so we will be running a Christmas Card competition in school. However, alongside the competition, all pupils will be offered the chance to have THEIR design turned into a professional card which can be bought in packs of 12. You're free to order as many packs as you want (making savings the more you buy!) and each card will have your child's name on the back. Cards and payment must be received in school by Friday 7th October to guarantee delivery of all designs by 3rd November, giving you ample time to sort out your Christmas lists! This is a great way to support your child's artwork and raise funds for the school at the same time. More information to follow shortly.

4. A 25th anniversary celebration evening will be held on Saturday 1st October from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Find out all you need to know about 1986 and have a great time reminiscing!

5. Anniverary mugs are still for sale, costing £5 each.