Teaching and learning
FOSS (Friend’s of St Stephens)
Welcome to FOSS, the Friends of St Stephen’s!
Every St Stephen’s parent is a member of FOSS, and together we volunteer our time and resources to raise money so every child at St Stephen’s gets the chance to shine. Whether that’s providing a full-time sports teacher, Spanish, science and music specialists, or funding a school counsellor, every pound you raise makes a huge difference.
Our busy social calendar has something for everyone, from movie nights and cake sales for the kids, to cabaret, quiz and auction nights for the parents. We are at the heart of the school community and there’s lots of ways you can get involved.
- Volunteer your time and skills – whether you’re a chef or designer, fantastic on the bar or brilliant in charge of a broom, we need you!
- Donate via Just Giving many of our parents support the school with one off donations or monthly direct debits, just click here https://www.justgiving.com/ststephensw12
- Ask your company or local business to help, by sponsorship or with prizes for raffles and auctions
We have a new FOSS team full of beans and excited to make it happen!
Christmas Raffle – Tickets will go on sale from the 30th November
We are on the hunt for a coordinator and team to organise the raffle. The raffle is always a big fundraising event and this year will run alongside our new and exciting Christmas Scavenger Hunt. If you would like to join the team and source some fabulous prizes or you have something to contribute please email Lindsay – ljgabrysch@gmail.com
Sunday 13th December – Scavenger Hunt
The inaugural Great Big St Stephen’s Christmas Scavenger Hunt will take the place of the Christmas Fair this year, we can still share the joy of the season as a school!
We need volunteers to help with the planning, please email pta.foss@gmail.com if you would like to jump on board this creative new venture!
TBA January – Bingo
Bingo is back! And this time with a Christmas flair, so markers at the ready…..!
Playing bingo helps children memorise information and it can improve their cognitive ability – actually it may improve our own cognitive ability!
THE FOSS BAR!
Gentian Ibrahimi (Dad to Aiden in Year 3 and Charlotte in Reception), Imran Yusuf (Vidia’s dad – Reception) Alexandra Levan and Benjamin Polly (Augustin’s parents – Reception) have very kindly agreed to run the FOSS bar this year.
They will be in charge of stock taking, ordering, coordinating with event organisers and planning the bar for each event.
There are always lots of lovely parents who help behind the bar at the events who are an integral part of the team.
If you think this secondary bar manager role could have your name on it (no planning and ordering involved, just some lifting and shifting!), please get in touch.
The bar is a huge part of FOSS fund-raising which we can’t live without!
Thanks so much for your continued support – every little bit counts towards an amazing school experience for all of our children.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any ideas or questions you may have related to FOSS.
We would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading!
From Your Foss Team:
Sylvia (FOSS chair)
Linda, Lindsay, Rain ( FOSS co-chairs)
Christine ( Treasurer) & Gehaan ( Assistant treasurer)
pta.foss@gmail.com
Keep up to date with everything too by joining our Facebook page:
https://m . facebook . com/groups/213691671997727
How can I help?
St Stephen’s serves one of the UK’s most culturally, socially and economically diverse communities. The sustained success of a local state primary school like St Stephen’s depends on inspiring teachers, active parents, carers, grandparents and its local church and community.
Parent Power:
If you are a St Stephen’s parent please get in touch to volunteer your valuable time and skills. There are lots of events that need your help and many hands make light work!
Local Business Support:
If you are a local business, your financial support and involvement is hugely appreciated and vital to sustaining our school’s success. Please continue to partner with us to support ensure hundreds of local children continue to enjoy the best possible start to life.
Foss Contacts
To reach a member of FOSS please email:
Foss Committee 2020 – 2021
Chair: Sylvia Da Barca
Co-Chairs: Lindsay Gabrysch, Rain Newell, Linda Powell
Treasurer: Christine De Cours
Assistant Treasurer: Gehaan El Fassi
Sponsorship: Iona Davies & Justine Flockhart
Bar Team: Alexandra Levan, Gentian Ibrahami, Benjamin Polly & Imran Yusuf
Cake Sales: Sharon White
Green Team: Pip Prior
Dates for your Diary
Calendar of Events
Christmas Scavenger Hunt: Sunday 13th December
School Christmas Cards: Each class will be producing their very
own Christmas card which everyone will be able to purchase in due course.
Bingo: TBA January 2021
Our very own St Stephens Boutique will soon go live, so now is the perfect time to go through your cupboards. We will be selling second hand uniform, pre-loved good quality clothes, handbags, shoes, hats and anything else you can offer us. All proceeds for all items sold will go to Foss.
All you need to do it take a picture of your item, ideally on a white background, add a description of your item and email it into ststephensboutique@gmail.com please include your name and phone number.
We have lots of exciting events planned for the Spring and Summer term such as The Secret Artist, Easter Egg Hunt, Auction Night, Summer Fair but our biggest Fundraising event in March is Mr Schumm’s Big 60 Challenge!
Mr Schumm and our sports coach Alistair are going to do a sponsored 60 mile cycle to Brighton and he is inviting everyone in the school to think of their own sponsored ’60 challenge’ ideas could be 60 sits ups, eat 60 chicken wings, run 6k for 10 days, run 60 laps of a 400m track, go vegan for 60 days and help 6 people in need for 10 days.
Make a Donation
If you wish to make charitable donation to FOSS via Just Giving please click here https://www.justgiving.com/ststephensw12
FOSS St Stephen’s School Shepherd’s Bush registered charity number 1099789
FOSS Fundraising makes a difference
The money FOSS raises from its parent and local community networks each year helps the school budget go further. This gives all St Stephen’s pupils the best possible start in life and ensures they leave us well-educated, confident and inspired.
FOSS fundraising aims to help broaden early opportunities for St Stephen’s children to equip them for future success, fire their imagination, inspire lifelong passions and interests, and even spark future careers.
FOSS funding and corporate donations pay for opportunities and experiences that would be hard to fund from our local authority budget alone especially as we have become a two-class entry school and have doubled our pupil numbers since 2007.
Here are just some of the things FOSS fundraising enables St Stephen’s to offer:
- improved facilities for our children needing additional support
- support staff for each class, meaning our teachers can concentrate on teaching
- a new IT and computer room where children learn how about technology and start to develop skills for the world of work
- specialist language teachers
- subsidized music lessons and instrument hire: we have an all-school orchestra, regular school performances
- a new library full of the latest titles, staffed by part-time librarians for after-school reading and quiet periods
- a part-time sports coordinator helps maximize the number of competitive and non-competitive sporting activities available to children of all abilities. The school actively participates in athletics, gymnastics, football, tennis, tag rugby, trampoline, swimming, cricket, netball, and dance. The school enjoys strong links with Queen’s Park Rangers and other local sports clubs and recently won an all-London-wide gymnastic competition at the London Youth Games.
- subsidized transport for school trips to London’s museums, theatres, art galleries, and sporting competitions, minimizing disruption to lessons and keeping costs low for all parents.
- drama: Recent performances include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins’
- regular design and art programmes for the children and a scientist-in-residence
- healthy eating programme which introduces children to cooking, food and the importance of a healthy diet
- chess and typing clubs and debating competitions
Money raised by FOSS is donated to the school. Every term FOSS meets with class representatives and the headmaster to discuss and suggest new fundraising initiatives and targets and spending plans to benefit of all St Stephen’s children.
