Dovedale Association

ABOUT DOVEDALE ASSOCIATION

What is Dovedale Association?

We are Dovedale’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA). All the parents, carers and teachers of pupils at Dovedale are automatically members. Of all of the members some of us voluntarily attend meetings and assist in fundraising, organising and helping at our events. We are a registered charity - number 1039665.

Would you like to join us?

Your support is valuable to us whether as a volunteer at events, providing fundraising ideas or other background support. We would love to hear from you. Get in touch via the following ways:

Email: DovedaleAssociation@dovedale.derbyshire.sch.uk.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dovedaleassociation

Find us at school drop off/pick up.

Or simply turn up to any of our meetings.

The Association is run by a committee of our members who have been elected at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) which is held at the start of each school year.

In addition we have ordinary committee members who also assist in the important role of decision making.

President of the Association/Head Teacher: Sarah Houseman

Committee Members: Jennifer Smart, Shan Halford, Anita Gallagher, Karen Dowthwaite, Helen Gunnell and Fiona O'Neal.

Our active members are vital to the Association in making all the fundraising ideas and events to help our school possible.

Why do we need a PTA?

It’s amazing how many people are willing to help out at their child’s pre-school because it is understood that they need financial assistance to operate, but when it comes to school, they think that there is plenty of money available. This is not the case. Government funding covers (but only just) the essential teaching requirements of the school. All extras are not financed by the Government and money needs to be raised for such items.

What does money raised by the PTA buy?

Most years we are able to donate at least £1,000 for the bulk purchase of items to help with teaching and for the enjoyment of the children. We have recently purchased 2 picnic benches made from recycled plastic, book cases for the new library, intervention tables and 60 new chairs to replace old unsuitable ones. In the past we have funded the trim-trail which is located on the playing field, the climbing equipment in the Reception play area, the staging and curtains for the hall, numeracy equipment, musical instruments, globes, book bags, additional chairs for the hall, playground equipment, theatre company visits and have subsidised school trips. This is just a start. The more help we have the more we can do. 

The more we raise, the more our children gain. “Aiming High Together!”

DOVEDALE ASSOCIATION

Here you can find out about Dovedale Association (Dovedale PTA), our upcoming events and news.

The next Dovedale Association meeting is to be confirmed. We will announce a date and time as soon as possible.

We look forward to seeing you and meeting new members.

NEWS FLASH: NEW WAYS TO HELP OUR SCHOOL

Your School Lottery

Open to all. Check out how it works below and see how easy it is.

Anyone can join so please spread the word.

Easyfundraising

Go to easyfundraising.org.uk

Shopping online? Easyfundraising is the UK's biggest charity shopping fundraising site. Simple to use and free. Go to easyfundraising.org.uk and choose Dovedale Primary School PTA as your cause to support then join for free. Visit retailers and then shop online as normal. Dovedale will then receive free donations. Such an easy way to help our school. Check out the site for more details.

Want to help out at our events? Maybe you would like to be a volunteer at one of the school discos or perhaps you're able to lend a hand to help set up an event. Even if you feel that's all you can contribute we need you too. We're all volunteering so we would love any help you could provide. Especially you fabulous bakers. You always make our cake sales a great success. So come on, together let's make our children's experience whilst at Dovedale the best we can. Please consider joining us at our next PTA meeting if you are interested. 

NEWS

September 2022 to July 2023 Round up

We hit the ground running with our "Welcome to Dovedale" disco for the new Reception pupils. Lots of fun, playing games, dancing and making new friends! 

We then continued our tradition of "Spooky Discos" for years 1-3 and 4-6, with a professional DJ, snacks and drinks, plus some spooooky decorations and costumes. 

We had 2 wonderful days of Santa visits with our in-house grotto; including a festive gift and photo for all who booked a visit. This then cumulated with our very festive Christmas market which included lots of games, stalls, external craft and gift stalls and of course refreshments to keep everyone fed and watered. We were also able to support parents and carers to take part in the National Christmas Jumper Day by adding the very well received pre-loved Christmas jumper rail, using donations from our wonderful Dovedale community.

We held a fantastic Easter themed movie night for pupils in years 3-6, with pupils enjoying a hot dog tea while wathcing the animated film "Hop".

As an Easter treat, we gifted every child a tube of Smarties and set them the challenge of filling the empty tube with coins to return to school and help their class win a celebration afternoon for raising the most money.

May brought the Kings Coronation and we celebrated in style! The classes all worked hard on their Royal themed scarecrows to take part in the Scarecrow trail and we held an impressive Coronation fair with lots of games, stalls and refreshments; of course in very "Royal" style!

June saw us take part in the Long Eaton carnival as a float rather than a walking party for the first time. This took a HUGE amount of effort behind the scenes from the PTA and other members of the school community. The float and all participants looked absolutely fabulous and we had such a good day; topped off by winning "Best Children's float on parade", something the whole school is incredibly proud of.

We finished the year by providing parents and carers with refreshments over both the morning and afternoon sessions for Sports Day. Doing our best to keep you cool under the baking sun. This saw the welcome introduction of our new card machine. Keep an eye out for the opportunity to make purchases via this method at future events. 

Thank you for your support over the last academic year; We look forward to putting on some more great events for you and your families over the next year.

Future Events

We have already pencilled in some events for the Autumn term and are busy behind the scenes getting things organised. We will share confirmed dates and events early in September so keep your eyes peeled. 

https://www.pta-events.co.uk/dovedaleprimarylongeatonpta 

Any questions about any events, please speak to a member of the PTA or email using the email address DovedaleAssociation@dovedale.derbyshire.sch.uk.

Watch this space for the next big project.

 Playground Shelter

This fantastic structure has been funded by money raised by the schools PTA over the last few years. Thank you to all the PTA members who work so hard getting events planned and running smoothly. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us by attending events, baking cakes and donating. Without your support we could not provide these extra things for our school.

The shelter is dedicated in the memory of a former Dovedale pupil, Taylor. Taylor was such a wonderful boy who sadly passed away in 2018. We will never forgot his smile. His brother, along with his mum Gemma, cut the ribbon on 3rd May 2019. It was lovely to see so many friends, family, parents and pupils of our school attending.