to have sent this email to school/PTA?

[QueenOfF1amingEverything]

They want to have a balloon release for the Jubilee with a cash prize for the 'winner'...

"Having just read through the minutes of the PTA meeting, I'm afraid I have an objection to the proposed ballon launch. We are lucky enough to live in an AONB, on the banks of a beautiful and relatively unpolluted river, and near more than one SSSI, and therefore I think it would be particularly irresponsible to release balloons. Balloons do not biodegrade and are extremely dangerous to animals who may ingest them, which will often be fatal.

The environmental impact of releasing balloons needs to be considered as effectively it is no different to throwing litter, and I really disagree with the idea of a £50 cash prize for the person whose litter travels the furthest.
Please see this link for further information - www.ukrivers.net/balloon_fact.html

Thanks, QOFE"

Well there was a story in the news about a little boy who let go of a balloon in Newcastle and the parents got a fine for littering...

So I though that wasn't 'allowed' any more, whatever the place.

Good for you op - have just raised simialr concerns with my child's school balloon race. Unfortunately they are still pressing ahead as it will disappoint the children if not.

Did they leave your name on when they forwarded the emails?

YANBU - I agree with you re the balloons -

but but, the PTA is likely made up of the same old weary parents who always help out at the same old fetes/fayres/Xmas discos etc every year because NO ONE ELSE WILL BLOODY DO IT.

And so the balloon race was probably thought up in the spirit of 'what's a quick, effort-less way to raise money for the school.'

Doubtless they will agree with your sentiments. but they will probably think 'sigh'.

I would have worded it in a less formal way and suggested an alternative. It's only the PTA, after all.

YANBU at all.. although you have spelt Balloon wrong in the email..

The letter is fine and I do agree with the point you are making, however as an active member of our PTA I find it galling when decisions made by the few people who bother to attend meetings are criticised by those who don't put in the effort. If you want to have a say in what the PTA chooses to do, please go to the meetings and air your opinion. Having a baby is no reason not to go - we put out toys and drinks to keep little ones amused.

x post merrylegs!

Big support from here, OP. I do recognise the difficulty for the PTA members - how about we come up with a list of alternative things you can suggest to them here? What about some guessing the content of the jars (something deliciously healthy, natch), naming some stuffed bird soft toy that you get from the RSPB, complete the sentence type thing? (no school aged dc so sort of limited in my references for this...)

Did you know that helium is a natural resource and is running out?

link and another

Aside from being used to fill balloons, both for our entertainment, and for more serious purposes, such as for weather balloons, helium is used in other applications which depend on its unique properties. Being so light, and yet totally chemically inert, helium can be mixed with oxygen in order to make breathing easier. This mixture, known as heliox, can help save new-born babies with breathing problems, or help underwater divers safely reach the depths of the oceans. At minus 269 degrees centigrade, liquid helium has the lowest boiling point of any substance. Because of this, it is used to provide the low temperatures needed for superconducting magnets, such as those used in most MRI scanners in hospitals.

In many facilities where helium is used, it is captured and reused. If it isn't, it escapes into the air. But it doesn't simply accumulate in the atmosphere. Helium is so light that it can escape the pull of the earth's gravitational field and leave our planet forever. This is the fate of the helium in our balloons. Whereas it may be possible to reclaim and recycle other elements that we have used and discarded, when we waste helium, it is lost for good. In 100 years time, people will look back with disbelief that we wasted this precious, unique element by filling up party balloons.

Tell that to the PTA

in what spirit did they forward it on? That seems very bad of them

Good for you - why not print these pages out and show them to the PTA

Runoutofideas our PTA is a committee and if you're not on the committee for whatever reason, does that mean you are not allowed an opinion on what they do?
Random parents do not attend committee meetings.

'random parents do not attend committee meetings'

And therein lies the eternal dichotomy between PTA and non-PTA.

The PTA are desperate for any random parent to attend the meetings.

Any random parent thinks the PTA is a closed shop, or a committee whereby only those elected, seconded and had their membership signed in triplicate can attend.

Really truly the PTA are just a bunch of parents who are willing to volunteer their time to think of things the school can do to fund raise to buy equipment/experiences for the kids.

If a PTA member suggests an event or asks for volunteers they are seen by those not on the PTA as harrassing, bothering, steely eyed, bossy.

If they don't ask for volunteers they are seen as cliquey, a closed shop, no better than they ought to be.

There's no mystery to the PTA, really. If you don't like a proposed idea, say so in a friendly way and perhaps suggest something else.

Our meetings are always open to anyone who would like to go. Each class has a rep and parent ideas can be communicated by their rep if they can't make the meeting themselves. So yes, everyone is allowed an opinion. It is just irritating when those opinions are only aired once decisions have been made.

Our school had a proposed balloon launch but after people objected (including myself) they revised it to balloons released in school hall and the balloon that stayed up longest was the winner.

Good for you Queen, and remember that your email will (hopefully) raise awareness more than hackles.

Generally upon joining a school, parents are automatically considered members of the PTA, so should be welcome to go to any meetings. No meetings have to be "committee only" and new people should be welcomed enthusiastically!

Merrylegs - yep - maybe it is time for a break!

Good on you! Well thought.

Why do schools do all this crap anyway??

. I did the PTA thing for 2 years and it's bloody hard work, other parents who are as lazy as fuck would never help but carp and complain all the bloody time, really fecked me off.

Let's stop all this crap and just ask every parent to pay a sub to school fund every year.

Could the school host a race pigeon event, each pigeon being allocated to a child.

ballon releases are stupid, especially as the children have the most to lose when the environment is damaged,

Helium is a finite resource,

SAT divers breath a combination of oxygen and helium , it costs about £10 a breath, and makes them talk like a cartoon character, (hard to understand on the phone)

With at least three to six divers in each SAT, and three or four SAT on each ship going 24 hours ,7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, it's a lot of helium, and there are a lot of ships.

because of the rising cost of helium what they breath out is now recycled,

but it's the elephant in the room, because without SAT divers there will be no oil, without helium, there will be no SAT divers,

the helium will run out long before the oil,

so when everyone thinks, oh well oil is running out, but in my life time it won't really effect me,

it's not the oil we need to worry about.

Helium is also vital in various medical procedures ,

so filling ballons with it is very short sighted and stupid, and that's before you even think about the litter problem.

YANBU.

Even worse are Chinese lanterns - besides being litter, they start fires and kill livestock when accidently ingested :/

Think before you send anything into the sky!

YADNBU.

You were absolutely right to raise your concerns - I have to say I'm a bit shocked that they've now forwarded your email on . Did you want all and sundry to know your email address?

But Merrylegs is also absolutely right re the PTA - it is a relentless task and why the default position seems to be that PTA-ers are a bunch of hatchet-faced nagging harridans is beyond me. Objections to ideas are actually great, because at least it shows someone gives a toss - but make it a constructive objection. Come up with an alternative.