The Parents’ Association
Keep Hatch School Parents’ Association (KHSPA) is a registered charity and as a parent of a child at the school you are automatically a member of the Association. The PA Committee is made up of a group of volunteers who give their time to plan and organise activities and fundraising events to enhance the school’s budget. The PA hold many large events throughout the year for the school community – pupil discos, Quiz nights and Summer and Christmas Fairs along with smaller events which have included pre-loved uniform sales, Mothers Day gifts, Secret Santa gifts, swimming sessions and cake sales.
Dates of forthcoming events and meetings are sent via Parentmail, communicated by letter, sent home via your child’s book bag and posted on the school noticeboards.
Through our fundraising efforts we have provided:
- sports equipment
- hire of Anglo-Saxon artifacts
- Life Bus visits for all year groups
- Year 6 leavers’ gifts
- school iPads
How can I help?
As a member of the Association there are many different ways you can help, whether you have lots of time to offer or not. The PA committee is always looking for volunteers but if you cannot commit to a committee role, look out for things you can do less often – volunteering to run a stall, baking cakes, helping out at our smaller events and by supporting the events on the day.
If you shop online, you can raise a free cash donation for the school with every purchase if you join www.TheGivingMachine.co.uk. Enter your favourite shops via TheGivingMachine and a percentage of your shopping bill is converted into a cash donation at no extra cost to you. With over 2,000 stores participating, including Amazon, John Lewis and Tesco, you can really help make a difference.
The committee
Our current committee members are:
- Co-Chairs — Wendy Sharp and Stephanie Dobson
- Co-Secretaries — Bina Zavery and Sam Barnes
- Treasurer — Richard Howells
The PA Committee meets termly at 8pm in Cedar classroom. All parents are welcome to attend any meeting. Our Annual General Meetings are held in September when the committee is voted in. Please do come along.
If you would like more information, please email info@keephatchpa.co.uk
The Arts
The Arts are what let children express themselves, and it doesn’t take a moment in any classroom or production to see that that there are fewer things that pupils love to get involved with than music, art or drama. Keep Hatch is committed to nurturing and developing this enthusiasm across the Arts in all year groups. Part of this commitment is the provision of resources and opportunities to ensure that pupils are given the best possible opportunity to flourish in the Arts.
We, as a school, pride ourselves on the range of performances throughout the year including a number of Christmas performances and the annual Year 6 Shakespeare performance which year on year receives spectacular feedback. All performances give the children the opportunity dance, sing and speak which they not only enjoy, but provide excellent development opportunities for their confidence and individual talents.
As with the productions, the choir performances allow the children to develop their abilities, as well as uncovering some hidden talents, and to perform with children from outside the school. Performing to often large crowds is also another excellent development opportunity for children’s confidence.
Our annual music soirée is one of our many musical highlights of the year where parents are invited for an evening of musical entertainment and refreshments. This is the perfect opportunity for children to showcase their high standards of musical ability and perform for an audience.
One of the many highlights for the choir this year was the musical workshop led by the multi-award-winning vocal group ‘The Sons of Pitches’, a name you might recognise since the group came to fame after winning the 2015 BBC ‘The Naked Choir’ competition with Gareth Malone. This talented group of a cappella singers wowed the children with performances of their songs. By the end of the session, the children were able to perform a four-part a cappella song with the support of the professionals. The choir and staff left the workshop absolutely buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm from their experience. It was a great opportunity for all, and one we hope to repeat.
Keep Hatch hold annual music enrichment events whereby children from local schools are invited to join us in events to broaden their musical horizons. These have comprised of musical workshops in the form of Steel Pan Drumming and Scottish Bagpipes and Drums which never fail to evoke enjoyment and enthusiasm from the children.
Sports
We are very proud of the sporting achievements at Keep Hatch. We offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities including football, netball, cross country, badminton, cricket, gymnastics and basketball. We benefit from specialist coaches to deliver parts of the PE curriculum and extra-curricular activities.
Keep Hatch children regularly participate in sports competitions where the children learn about the skills of determination and perseverance. See this year’s Sports Report for information of our recent sporting achievements.