We held the first POWSA meeting of the new school year earlier this week and it was great to see many new faces (as well as some old ones), including the new Headteacher. We were delighted to be able to offer the school the opportunity to spend some of the funds that you have generously donated over the past years and look forward to seeing the new equipment, books and resources being put to good use for many years.

There were many ideas and activities discussed and it looks like we’ll be starting this new school year with a lot of activities and many opportunities our community to come together and enjoy the unique benefits that Prince of Wales School has to offer.

Full details of all activities will be published nearer the time but some notable dates for your diaries & calendars include;

29th September - Harvest Cafe – come & join the school as we help raise funds and awareness for the a charity chosen by the pupils themselves. This year the school are supporting the Dorchester Food Bank.

30th September – Community Makeover Day – meet at the roundhouse and wear suitable clothes for a bit of garden maintenance

6th October – Autumnfest – family fun evening with live music, storytelling and a hot treat for all.

Week of 16th October – Book Fair. Your chance to pick up some great books and help support the school. (Days to be confirmed)

7th November – POWSA AGM

10th November – Family Bingo in the school hall. Prizes a plenty and fun for all.

Friday 8th December – Xmas Fair – your chance to pick up an early gift, win granny a bottle of Vermouth (adults only), pick up a cheeky chocolaty treat or grab a bargain or 6.

As ever we rely on the help and assistance of the whole school community to support these activities, if you can spare any time to help to set up, pack down or even run a stall at any event please let us know as we are grateful for any support.

Christmas Fair

Tomorrow (Friday) after school, the Christmas fair starts at 3:30.
Please bring a donation (some chocolate or a bottle for the tombola) and it's a non-uniform day. Don't forget after school lots of stalls and Christmas fun!

See you there!

And BINGO was his name

The majestic POWSA Towers sits amongst glorious parkland here in my mind palace, and it just so happens that this parkland was recently being used by a troupe of boy scouts for a jolly jamboree. As much as it was fun watching them learn to whittle (knife skills badge), build improvised shelters (woodcraft badge) and start fires (pyromaniac badge), the part I most enjoyed was hearing their lovely sing-alongs of an evening. It was far nicer than the month before when we had the Monmouth Rugby Club ladies team here, their songs were of a somewhat coarser nature.

One of my favourite toe tapping, hand clapping numbers was B-I-N-G-O was his name, a delightful song of a farmer and his best friend a cheeky pooch called B I N G O. All of which really brings me nicely onto the subject of the first family event that we at POWSA are hosting this year, Family Bingo. (No, it's not about families of dogs roaming wild, that was merely a useful tool to introduce the subject of Bingo and it gives me an excuse for a gratuitously annoying You Tube clip just here  )

So if you think you can be faster than Granny down at the Mecca, able to handle more cards than Grandpa at Christmas or even fancy a fun evening out with the kids please join us. There will be some prizes (and chocolate) on offer for winning lines and books of bingo cards are very reasonably priced. It's held here at school in the hall and all are welcome. So come along, bring some pennies and eyes down, first one to complete a line is a winner.....

Book Fair

Here at POWSA Towers we like to think our library competes with the best and it contains many rare and valuable titles that can safely described as "unique". From our mint condition DK Trains to (a personal favourite, this one) Aliens Love Underpants - chewed and taking in various Morporgo, Donaldsons, some Blytons  and a complete and unabridged collection of Captain Underpants works we feel there is something for everyone.

That being the case, it is always pleasing to add to the catalogue of titles and whenever the  Book Fair comes to town, we excitedly rush to see what all the cool kids are reading and restock the library shelves , maybe even pick up a few early presents (Christmas shopping in October, crazy). Please take the time to come and have a browse  in the mornings or from 3pm in the afternoon if you would like a little more peaceful and contemplative experience . Doors officially open on Wednesday and we hope to see you there.

It Lives!!

Things here at POWSA Towers have taken a turn for the Gothic this week as we have been locked in our subterranean work & play space (that's what Estate Agents call dungeons nowadays) refreshing and re-animating the sleeping beast known as POWSA.

In an homage to Dr Frankenstein and his methods of re-animation we have used several jars of lightening and the limbs, organs and minds of many to produce our latest creation.  As is inevitable with such change we have had to remove and recycle several older limbs and minds but don't worry, they have been released to a good home (DMS PTA anyone?) and our needlework is so neat and tidy they have been left with hardly any scars.

All of this is a rather convoluted way of saying POWSA held it's AGM earlier this week and it was great to see so many new faces from both the school and pre-school in attendance as well as many of the established residents of POWSA Towers. If you couldn't make the meeting but would like to find out more about what we do or volunteer a little time (that's all we ask) please ask at the office, grab any of our members or reply to this blog/post and we'll happily talk with you about the work we do and the help you can give.

By way of an update we have already penned the first big dates of the year into the calendar, so watch this space for news of the Family Bingo, Harvest Cafe and Christmas Fair.

Rather ambitiously this year we are hoping to help the school raise additional funds to revamp the pond and garden areas to make them accessible to all, so every effort & penny raised will be put to a great use.

We also hope that, unlike Dr Frankenstein, we have created a force that will generally be seen as serving the good of the school community and not scaring people for the next 200 years.

It's Oh So Quiet

POWSA Towers is oh,so quiet. Is anybody else missing their children yet? I know it was chaos and there was Lego/ Shopkins / Toy Cars / Decapitated Dolls (delete as appropriate) left in the most unexpected places, but now the wee ones have gone back to school and the dust is allowed to settle it's just too quiet.

Having spent 6 weeks craving a grown up and adult conversation I now miss the question about ladybirds and their ability to suntan or the finer points of Battle Monopoly and why it should be in the Olympics (watch this space Prince of Wales, it's a nailed on Gold if we can get this recognised by the IOC). 

For those who do crave a more sober and mature (ish) conversation the POWSA AGM is scheduled to take place on  Tuesday 27th September at school starting at 7:45pm. As a group we will be bidding farewell to some of our members as their children and focus move on to Middle School but we also hope to say hello to as many of you as possible who may be interested in finding out more about us and how we support the school. 

For those who have never attended a PTA session before the thought can be intimidating but we are all friendly parents who want to help the school offer the best of opportunities to all the pupils who pass through it's doors, whilst having a little fun along the way. We give up a little bit of time every now and then to help provide some of those extras that help make our school such a fantastic place and if you would like to learn more we would love to see you. 

What's more I can confidently say there will be cake.

Please come along on the 27th at 7:45pm to the staffroom and say hello, there's no compulsion to eat the cake but I would heartily recommend it!

And for anyone else who is also finding it a little quieter than normal 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF9TjbdJyUE

so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye

We have reached that point in mid July when we prepare to wave "so long" to another school year, and "so long"to Year 4 with best wishes for their future endeavors as they prepare for the next year's challenges at BIG SCHOOL. Life at our school continues, its pace unchecked with new faces and new challenges, trials and tribulations to keep everyone on their  toes.

There are some wonderful, caring people who will be leaving the school community and the school has made sure it has had time to say "farewell" .We will miss them all as valued members of staff who have enriched the lives of so many children, including our own.

This blog wishes you all the very best, but we also want say "auf wiedersehen" to a few people who may otherwise slip away quietly, their contributions by no means as well publicised.

Here at POWSA Towers we are awaiting the arrival of the cleaners as some of the most committed members of the POWSA team vacate the premises to move on to pastures new. I am sure they will not wish to be named publicly but their contribution and commitment to the school has had an amazingly positive impact. How will we remember them? A bit too gungho with face paint and overly committed to multiple PTA's (she's not addicted, she can give them up at anytime); keen to dose children up on sugar (Green candyfloss anyone?) and organiser of cloth recycling to the stars; overly straightforward in their approach (she's an engineer!) and amazingly giving with her time for the musicians; or just too darn organised to be true (that's you Jo!). We're going to miss you all, but, you will be welcome to come back and visit anytime, the key is under the mat so do let yourselves in.

All of which is a really really long winded way to say "goodbye" but also to let the rest of you know that we will be looking for more new members next year. You don't have to give all of your spare time just a few hours a term would help greatly. If you're not sure who we are, ask any of the teachers who will be able to point you in the right direction or come along to any of our meetings and say "hi".

So long for now, have a great Summer and we will see you again next year.