to be fed up of constant letters from school asking for money?

[Martha200]

Firstly I know, that fundraising is there to benefit all the children including mine, but the stream of letters that come through wanting money or donations for one thing or another is really bugging me at the moment.

Even the nativity play demands a 50p entrance fee (I know it's 50p, and I am assuming it goes to the schools funds as they didn't say) but last week there was the school fayre where paper plates were put in school bags with a note to fill it with cakes as a donation, and a little bag for sweets for the tombola.

I'd almost prefer an option at the start of the year to hand over a lump sum of cash rather than the constant stream of begging letters.

The nativity play ticket grinds a bit. It's not like a ticket for a secondary school evening where the pupils generally choose whether to partake or not.. hmm, I sound mean and tight and bah humbugish, but it all amounts up.

If 50p for the nativity bugs you so much, ask what it's for - it could be for charity, it could be for costumes and props, it could be for the staff (who put in hours on these things) to get bladdered when it's all over

I'm with you Martha in that I'd much rather write a cheque at the beginning of each year for £50 or £100 then not have to bother with all the few quid at a time here and there.

If they want to cream some of that off and give it to an charity, then that's fine.

I am the same as you - get very fed up of the begging letters all the time. I have even said to the Head that it would be better for some parents (like me) to write a cheque at the beginning of the year and have done with it.

I am not mean or tight but it would just be easier this way.

We even get told which supermarkets to shop at so that the school can get vouchers!

This happens in my area once the dc get to secondary school. You are asked for a contribution to cover the whole year. But then no more Christmas fair, nativity play and instead there is cheese and wine, fashion show and head masters quiz all laid on by the parents friends of the school.

50p to attend the Christmas nativity? I have to pay £2!!

I know it must seem a PITA to keep getting letters asking for money - particularly for people like me on a low income - but the way I see it, they "earn" it. Yes I have to pay £2 to see my kids in a school concert - but there is a huge amount of work goes into it. Dd2 has been to a school "disco" at least once a month since August at £2 a time - but they were raising money to put in a polytunnel to grow veg to serve with the school meals (and the kids get to work in it too). Dd2's class had an enterprise project last week where they made things to sell - again more money to spend, plus we were asked to send in toys etc for the bring and buy stall - but this was a project run by the children and they made all the decisions of how to raise the money - to buy bat, bird and squirrel boxes to encourage wildlife.

It's part of school life and, tbh, if done well, can teach the kids a lot about how things don't come for free and you have to work for what you want.

ww - you are right I should ask.
Guess it didn't go down too well when a bunch of us had given in our envelopes with the ticket money only to find out later they had gone missing. Teacher very sweet about it and said she would pay for the ticket again (which of course I will refund her in the xmas card, because I don't see why she should fork out for it, when it was not necessairly her who lost the money/form)but I remember being interested before he started school hearing a report on how much parents spend in a year on the 'extras' and was really .

My mum tells me in her day schools were always after homemade cakes, the importance placed on homemade and how many of them would go to a shop and buy some jam or a cake then put a frilly covering on it, to give the appearance of homemade .

I know the feeling!!

I have had, in the space of a month, had letter for....

swimming lessons, needed to pay £20 up front for 8 lessons for DS2 (yr 1 age 5) and is apparetnly compulsary (sp?) as it is recommended by the gov. as part of key stage 1 corriculam (sp again?)
(in the 3wks since he has had just 1 lesson tho as there has been a school trip that clashed and then the following week the teacher was ill. I bet I won't be refunded tho!!!)

school trip for same child the next week costing £17....again, part of lessons so he has to go.

A letter from each of my 5 about letters for 'mufti' day. 2 elder girls had to pay £2 each for theirs, 3 younger ones had to provide chocolate and something for the toy table or tombola stall for the xmas fair.

school trip for DS1 at again £17.

a catalogue coming home stating all sales had a percentage given to the school. problem was it was a chocolate catalogue not sealed to kiddies looked in it and so had to have something. cost me £30. (to be fair, I know it wasn't essential but I bought a couple of xmas pressies and also the table choc for xmas day, but it was still money IYGWIM)

a request for donations for one of the teachers going to africa next term for the 'twin' school to our school.

sponser forms for the two elder girls (I hate sponser forms[grr])

all five came home with the shoe-box appeal letters too at the beginning of november so had already done those which cost at least a fiver each .

Oooh, plus they had the school photos so had that to pay for too

AND............DS1 has lost his jumper and P.E kit too, so that is more feckin money I don't need to pay out (at DS1 still)

I know that mine is more because I do have the 5, but still.....it does seem rather much right before christmas!!!!

no wonder christmas sends me psycho

Our play is £1 and the money raised is going to a young carers charity chosen by the children.
It seems non-stop money at this time of year, we've also had a letter asking for wrapped presents for needy children in our area but you don't have to do that if you don't have enough money. It helps to get Christmas into perspective, my DC are old enough to realise that not everybody has enough money to have what they want.
I can afford to do this and like to know that other children will be having a happier time this year because of my donations.

And re the idea of writing a cheque at the beginning of the year - I'm sure it would be a lot easier for some! - but impossible for people in my position. Plus you would have a proportion coming in at the beginning of the year then the rest in dribs and drabs - then who do you give the "begging letters" to and who paid up front ... hmm! Administrative nightmare!

oh yes yes
I so want to give them £100 at the beginning of term and they can take what they want.

If you're not careful they'll all introduce The Birthday Table and then you'll be sorry

oooh....forgot to add the money they needed for the school fairs, watching the concert, the school xmas disco tickets for the older 4, plus donating money for the xmas parties for the smaller 3 (they've asked for a minimum donation of £3 each to provide food and a santa present).

I asked if I could provide plates of food, but was turned down as they can't guarantee the cleanliness of the homes the food comes from!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(all to do with 'health8 and* safety' apparently)

out PTA is a Reg charity and offers Gift Aid, so that they can reclaim the tax on donations. Parents can do a 1 off donation or a regular DD.

only a handful of parents have opted to do this - EVER

I know of one school locally where they do ask for £15 or so upfront at the start of the school year. And then they have parents huffing all during the term about how they're not seeing anything for their money. I'm not sure that there is an easy solution, but I do think that this term is the worst one of the year ime.

I'm lobbying to have an otpion for working mums next year whereby they can either provide cakes/stuff for tombolas etc, or simply give a donation and the PTa will buy stuff in bulk.

lol jelly......we get those to. so much for the 'voluntary'!

Lol at birthday table

I don't know whether it's just our school or Scotland generally, but we don't have to pay for swimming (lessons once a week, £2 per term contribution to transport costs), or school trips (though living where we do we only really have the option of going about 20 miles to the next town, or about 100 miles to anything else ), or santa presents (I'm guessing anyway - no information about it yet!)

DD school had £15 off me fri for entrance fee to schoolf fare, raffle tickets, tombola ticket, pot of gold, cake, cards, calender and some random log they had decorated at school. Still got play and disco to go.

Then my school must have been desperate CSMPsycho because they were after those plates of food!! and to my surprise they didn't need anything to be labelled. (Preschool had very different rules of labelling ingredients for H&S issues.)

It's probably a reflection of my disorganisation when it comes to keeping track of yes I have paid/donated x and x that I'd like the lump sum option

maybe I should take comfort in the knowledge that I don't feel any pressure to hold/finance birthday parties for 70 children like the most recent one ds went to

martha.....I would LOVE to do the plates of food as I do a mean rice krispie ring and fill with xmas chocs in middle of ring[smug emoticon needed]

in some ways I guess it is cos then they have control over the ratio of savoury to sweet things (their school has a very strict healthy eating policy), but to say/imply it is because they suspect us all of being dirty/smelly/germy makes me feel rather.....IYGWIM