Dear families,
Yesterday was a wonderful example of our school community coming together to raise £1,865 for YES day. A huge thank you to the PTA and each and every family for taking part – the children really enjoyed breaking as many of the rules as possible and there was a wonderful atmosphere about the school, while they continued with their learning.
The fantastic improvements to the outdoor facilities of our school are well underway now, and we can all see the results. The children have been enjoying the amphitheatre this week - it's been a fun addition to the slopes. These improvements have been possible due to the hard work of the PTA, and the funds raised by the whole school community.
The next stage is to improve the all-weather usability of our field. Despite being one of our schools' great selling points, our field is currently being underused because it doesn't properly drain. Currently, it's too boggy to use for all outdoor P.E. and break times, and during the summer months it becomes too bare. The school, with the help of fundraising by the PTA, are investigating several ways to increase the amount of time each child can spend on the field, which will increase the amount of time children are active in their day, as well as more opportunities for the school to raise further funds through the potential hiring of this space, and all year round. These funds will then benefit our children. One of the options we're considering is the installation of a multi-use games area, others involve digging up the field and addressing the drainage problems.
Unfortunately, all the all-weather pitch options are expensive projects, but the PTA is energetically kicking off the fundraising with the Spin-Yard sponsored cycling event, which will take place on Saturday the 23rd of March. So please come and support this project by joining a spin class, or sponsoring a teacher to join one! We really need your support so that we can develop a fantastic space for our children to be running around outside.
We will be holding a meeting in due course, when we have more information to share. Regardless of the route we take, the field needs a considerable amount of money spent on it!
In other news, it was great to see you all at the family meetings this week, which I hope you all found useful.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Frances Bracegirdle
Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk