to be a bit hmmmm (raised eyebrow emoticon) at the school?

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

One of ds friends mum, has just shown me a letter that her sons school ha sent.

Last week the tech dept sent an email asking for donations on crowdpatch for new 3d printing equipment. Fair enough, schools are always fund raising and no biggie. Anyway today it was followed up with a how disappointed that the money hadn't been raised yet email this is a paragraph from the email ^It is a little worrying, from a fund raising point of view, that we have currently only raised £260
so far. I must thank you if you are one of the thirteen people who have contributed, and I hope
that lots more of you would like to help the school by raising enough money to buy the new 3D
printing equipment^

and it goes on in a similar vein. Do they not realise its only a week until the end of term and that £20 is a lot of money for some people and also that some people might object to being targeted with an email with a sob story in it. Also their son might not do this subject and not want to donate.

This is an all boys school in a financially mixed area, but I feel it should have been left at the first email and not the second letter.

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

aaggh italics fail

[maz210]

If they've specifically asked for £20 then that's a lot for most families to spare a fortnight before Christmas.

How much is the printer? Surely the school have a fund to replace worn out equipment? I know their budgets are tight but if the item is necessary they need to either fund it themselves or hold a fundraiser - just sending out demanding letters seems a bit off?

I support my children's school in every way possible but I wouldn't appreciate a letter asking for £20 for a printer two weeks before Christmas and I don't think many other parents would either.

[FryOneFatManic]

If there was ever a time to "reply to all" on an email, this is it.

I'd be politely pointing out that it's less than 2 weeks to Xmas, near the end of term, and many people might have other priorities with their money at this time.

And even if the above issues didn't apply, guilt-tripping people to raise money isn't on.

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

they have a 3d printer This is for a bigger flashier one. I would link to it but don't want to out the school. The emails are coming straight from the it/tech teacher. I said perhaps she should email in reply and cc in the deputy and the head.
From what I can read of the original email its not for the whole school to use anyway but or those involved in enterprise??

[ilovesooty]

YANBU but cue loads of replies about how all schools are all about taking money off parents nowadays.

[BreakingDad77]

how is a flashier one going to help students surely the original is fine??! Is this really going to make a big difference to their grades having a better one?

[JT05]

Why don't the department involved do some fundraising of their own? Am I right in thinking they involved in the subject of Enterprise. If so its self fulfilling!
With a little thought and planning the students could raise a fair bit. What about contacting companies who donate to schools. They get tax relief.

Too much pressure on the parents.

[MiscellaneousAssortment]

Alot of money, short notice and the wrong time of year.

I know it's super hard to get money out of people but they need to apply a little thought to it and they'd find it much easier and not strain parent-school relationships.

Ds's school puts heavy pressure on all parents to sign up to a monthly direct debit/ standing order (forget which!), which I think is awful. They make it sound obligatory and chase those who haven't.

This is on top of a yearly fee for all school trips, and all the other specific fund raising and one off payments!

On parent mail they put invoices on and chasing emails and letters each half term, but even worse, if you haven't set it up with your bank, they automatically add the fee to the 'basket' page so when you pay for school dinners and what not, you have to look for the (very hard to find) button to take it out.

I know this as I cannot afford to pay this on top of everything else, and I am made to feel like shit about it. However I suspect it's very effective. It's a very affluent area and most people have chosen to send their children there vs privately, and they feel to have forgotten that being moneyed is not a given for the majority of people.

And don't get me started on the obligatory 'volunteering' each half term and multiple day te meetings... Not possible for working mums (or dads). Grrrrrrr.

[TeenagersDriveMeMad]

WTF sort of school is this? Is it private or state? It's very unusual for a state school to have a 3D printer, let alone be trying to get a better one! They cost thousands. If private then I still can't quite understand why they need a 'better' one unless there's a serious potential for business opportunities (doubt it).

Your friend really needs to reply and CC in senior management. Begging emails are Not On, especially one with such a snippy tone.

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

I was under the assumption that enterprise projects paid for themselves, i.e. they use the basic 3d printer they have now to make objects to sell to raise money for the bigger printer?

I believe that their is a reduced fee in the equipment and software if they buy before Christmas, hence the urgency and perhaps less than tactful emails.

I think perhaps they would have done better to ask every parent for a small donations of say £3-5 (over 1000 pupils) and hope that those who would pay £20 would offset those that paid £3-5.

My own sons school often ask for donations, but usually small scale and lots of discos, non uniforms, cake sales, donations for tombolas etc, but I think those are part and parcel of school life.

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

It is a state all boys school. A lovely one (our second choice after grammar, but ds2 got into the grammar schoolnot so stealth boast), but all the same it would appear that the teacher has been thoughtless on this occasion.

[FishWithABicycle]

If they already have a 3d printer surely they can use that to print the components of a bigger-better-snazzier one.

[DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn]

I can see it from the school's point of view that only 13 out of, say, 700 families making a donation is very disappointing. However, it isn't the right time to ask and perhaps fundraising activities would have been better.

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

fish