Dear Parent,
I would like to invite you to join the Parents’ Association. The Parents’ Association is a vital link to our school. It performs mainly two functions: fundraising and encouraging community spirit. Both are equally important. The events organised often do not generate a lot of income, but they generate fun experiences for the children. This keeps the school vibrant and encourages our community to be part of the children’s lives. I often feel that the Parents’ Association cannot see the legacy that they create but this will be telling in the children when they are much older. They will recall their Santa Sundays when Santa devoted a day out of his busy Christmas schedule to Mullanaskea. They will remember the Spring Clean evenings when they ran about the school grounds playing and helping their parents and teachers to sweep up and plant seeds. This is all a credit to our Parents’ Association.
Fundraising is also vital. I wish we did not constantly have to ask you for funds. However, funding is so limited. There is no money for extras; indeed, in more recent times there is little for the essentials. What is happing in our school financially reflects how it is in our society in general. There is just very little money. Unfortunately, items such as the interactive white boards which cost around £3,500 must be funded out of the Parents’ Association funding. To date, you have raised enough to replace 3 interactive boards over the past 2 years. We still need to replace the outstanding four.
You also fund the Spanish for Years 1-4. Not everyone likes or is competent at a language, but it is important to provide the experience. David, our Spanish tutor, has sown so many seeds in this regard. Vast numbers of past pupils return to me saying that he inspired them to learn a language at big school. Again, this is a huge legacy on the part of the Parents’ Association. This year also, I got the P.1.-P.3. classes painted, also funded by you. The school budget is very depleted and at no point could afford this.
Yes, times are hard, but we are keeping going. Mullanaskea is a energetic dynamic school where the curriculum stretches beyond 9am-3pm. Children need experiences beyond this and so does the community. Schools perform vital functions in providing the glue that gels us together as a community.
Please come along and join the Parents’ Association. Yes, you might be asked to do a job or two but the spirt is always good and there is good fun involved. The more people we have the less the workload is. It is also very flexible where teamwork is at the centre. If your schedule does not allow for an event the other members rally around and cover that. So please come along. You can also bring the children along to the planning evenings in the school. Often, children have a wee play whilst we plan. The next date is Monday 9th October 2023 at 7pm.
My Very best Wishes,
Ms. O’Neill.
Menu
