Chairman of The Friends of St Peter's Report 2009/10 The Friends of St Peter's (FOSP) by constitution serves and
paid £178 to assist the leavers of 2009 with their leavers' activi-
supports the school in its various functions and social events and,
ties and donated £200 to the Drama Department towards their
whilst not principally a fund raising Committee, any profits made
Drama trip and perform in the York Cycle of Mystery Plays summer
are used for the benefit of the School.
2010.
As Chairman of FOSP for 2009/10 my year began by attend-
A direct donation is received from parents annually of approx-
ing the "Welcome Tea for Boarding Parents" which takes place on
imately £560 and this has again been used to pay the deposit for
the Sunday afternoon at the beginning of the Autumn term. It is
the Racecourse Venue for the Commemoration Ball for our leavers.
very important for parents (who may be leaving their children with the School for the first time), to feel reassured and FOSP Committee members are able to give the support and reassurance on this occasion. There followed the "New Parents Reception". On this occasion
We have during the year found spare funds to add to our collection of drinks cooler/wine buckets/vases which will be available for our events, the Caterers and the Foundation and have commenced a hire service for same. We have also recently discovered that we have a tent/small marquee which again can be hired out
I joined Richard Smyth, the Headmaster, on the stage in the
and used for events for other School departments or inter School
Memorial Hall to say a few words about FOSP and the School. The
departments with St Olave's and Clifton Prep. We hope these will
Hall was full and Richard Smyth's words of welcome greeted with
prove beneficial for the future.
enthusiasm. The Committee continued Dance Lessons with Mark Edwards during the Autumn term and the Saturday morning Coffee Shop in the Stephenson Room. The latter varied in attendance and by the middle of the Spring term we decided to give the Coffee Shop a .rest with perhaps a chance to bring it back again in the Autumn of 2010. We did have some very pleasant mornings however and Louise Denison's excellent baking added a few extra calories which none of us regretted! The Committee were also invited to Richard and Nicole Smyth's home for Supper during the Autumn term. This was a very enjoyable event if a little tinged with sadness in view of their early departure from the School. Their hospitality was much appreciated.
We have supported various of the School's Music and Drama productions, culminating in the Cabaret Evening at the end of the Summer term. The Cabaret Evening is always so much fun, but this year was a particularly poignant occasion as it saw us saying farewell to Andrew Wright, who had been with the School for 24 years and who retired at the end of the Summer term. The Cabaret Evening was much enjoyed by all who attended and we also raised more funds for the Music Department through the running of our raffle and bar.
As Chair of the Committee during this year I would like to thank each and every member of the Committee who put in so much work and support. This year saw Clare Taylor former Chairman of the Committee and current Treasurer together with
Whilst the Committee and Mark Edwards and friends danced on (with frequent attempts from Richard Smyth to emulate Mark Edward's skill on the floor!) Richard sadly left the School at the end of the Christmas term, the Committee arranging a farewell dinner with Richard and Nicole as their guests at the Pavilion Hotel in York. The Spring term found the Committee planning a Salsa Evening, which proved to be a happy and successful evening enjoyed by all who attended and raised the sum of £423.15 for the Sanatorium. The Committee felt Sister Bevan required our support in making the Sanatorium as comfortable as possible for the children and overall we made contributions of £600 to the Sanatorium which we know has been used wisely for the benefit of the pupils when they are unwell and, in addition to that gift, we also bought a wall secured television for the use of the children whilst recovering in the San. We have donated £150 to McMillan Nurses Appeal, £160 to a South African Hospital that had been visited by our exchange pupil Edwina Denison as this topped up her own fundraising efforts. We
Lesley Collingridge and Louise Denison, our Secretary, all retiring. They will be enormously missed. We welcome three new members, Rebecca Cust, Anne Nelson and Sian Fraser whom I am sure will provide energy and ideas for the future. I would also thank the continuing Committee, the incoming Chairman Dawna Coss, Vice Chairman Diana Widdecombe, Secretary Sara Mason and Committee Members Katie Fairbank (whose nimbleness in attaching decorations in high places was remarkable at the Cabaret Evening!) and Liz Freeman. Staff representative Wendy Shepherd has been little short of a miracle in her abilities to cope with this last year, teach and deal with many other issues - we respect her enormously for that. I look forward to the coming year when I know we will have a very strong and committed group to take the Friends of St Peter's Committee forward and we look forward to working with the new Head Master Mr Leo Winkley, shortly to be in place. Jennifer Bartram
The Peterite 2009-2010
