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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Annoying PFA letters

53 replies

UnquietDad · 30/09/2006 16:51

The Chair of our PFA sends out letters which I'm sure are well-intentioned but annoy the hell out of me. For one thing, they're peppered with grammatical/syntactical oddities. Not always in-your-face howlers, but more often sentences phrased in a very odd way. This week, though, we also got "baring in mind", and lots of missing capital letters including "pfa" itself in lower-case.

And there's stuff put "in inverted commas" when it "doesn't need to be". That really "pisses me off."

Then there are all the exclamation marks!!! Sometimes she thinks not even three is enough and she has to add five!!!! or even six!!!!!! After spending a paragraph explaining something this week, she then adds "I know!! Clear as mud!!"

By the end of the letter I just "want to kill her"!!!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ButtonMoon · 30/09/2006 16:56

just had the same converssation with my dh!!! Apostrophes....grammar and excessive use of commas and !! too. feel like correcting it and sending it back....surely someone could double check them!

SoupDragon · 30/09/2006 16:58

So "volunteer" to do it yourself.

ButtonMoon · 30/09/2006 16:59

Well, I have and will be attending my first ever PTA meeting next week!!!

wakeupandsmellthecoffee · 30/09/2006 17:00

you only put 3 ! LOL

SoupDragon · 30/09/2006 17:01

"Good" for you, ButtonMoon!!!!!

curiosity · 30/09/2006 17:05

Erm, I rushed a PTFA letter out yesterday at short notice in order to get it to parents before the weekend. I don't think there were any errors in it, and I hate it when I receive a letter containing errors, but there may have been because I rushed it at work (ssshhh) and even copied it at work (bigger ssshhh).

I'm sure there are parents at the school with better grammar/vocabulary/punctuation than me. Sadly, they don't volunteer...they probably sit at home highlighting my errors with red pens.

Wonder if they give me a mark out of 10??

Original poster

UnquietDad · 30/09/2006 17:40

Volunteer to do it myself? I would, but for the fact that the PFA is a clique run by Alpha Mums. I also don't think she'd take too kindly to being corrected.

OP posts:

noonar · 30/09/2006 17:44

LOL unquietdad, read your op and guessed you were the author before i even spotted your name. sorry, can't be arsed to use capital letters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturn74 · 30/09/2006 17:51

Perhaps you might consider writing out a cheque for the PFA at the start of every school year?

Then you could simply bin all subsequent letters without even having to read them, knowing that you had already 'done your bit'.

You would thereby avoid the terrible annoyance that they seem to cause you, and also avoid the clique.

SherlockLGJ · 30/09/2006 17:57

the PFA is a clique run by Alpha Mums

The PTA is a PTA run by poor saps like myself and Gobbldiegook and others.

Same old faces ???

Same old fools who will do it year in year out, and for what for the privilege of being sneered at by the parents who are too F*ing idle to get off their arses and help the school.

Still they won't mind when their children are using the mobile computer suite or the interactive whiteboards.

Alpha my arse.

KBear · 30/09/2006 18:01

Kbear stands up and applauds Sherlock. I am another person who does their bit to help whilst the others sneer and can't be arsed.

peegeeweegeewoo · 30/09/2006 18:04

Sherlock I agree...

There is a lot of bitchiness both around the PTA and even in it...
But when it comes down to it, at our local schools there is a hard core of around 10-15 people who earned £16.000 for our school last year....
I try to help as much as I can, hubby and I were on the committee for a while but I had to give up due to depression (the can't face seeing anyone type)

I take my hat off to PTA members, our school has benefitted from an environmental garden, swimming pool maintenance, interactive whiteboards, computers etc etc...
So what are a few exclamation marks, inverted commas and spelling mistakes, at least someone is doing something for the school!

Saturn74 · 30/09/2006 18:05

Me too - would rather those who sneered just sent in a cheque, as they never seemed to volunteer either.

We weren't a clique, but it WAS the same old faces - because no-one else could be bothered to turn out to meetings and come up with new ideas, or give a hand at events.

SherlockLGJ · 30/09/2006 18:16

Oh and another thing, did you know that schools have printers and photocopiers provided by their LEA ??

But the LEA do not fund the paper, the ink, the toners etc.,

Who funds that ??

Let me think ....................................Oh yes the PTA, which is staffed by poor saps, other wise known as an Alpha Mums.

moondog · 30/09/2006 18:18

Yes LGJ,we have about 5 sets of parents turn up out of a possible 60.
It infuriates me (although then again,so would dodgy syntax and spelling...)

Original poster

UnquietDad · 30/09/2006 18:19

Gosh, I seem to have pushed some buttons here.

I do my bit for the school in plenty of ways. We support all the fundraising days, all the fashion shows and things. We put our Tesco vouchers in the box. I ran a stall at the last Christmas Fair and no doubt will run one again. So please don't accuse ME of being all take and no give. We do what we can. I just think that there should be SOME quality control over the communications going out to parents, which, after all, are the public face of the school.

I realise some people don't think things like grammatical accuracy and readability are important, so I'm sorry for seeming like a reactionary old stick-in-the mud. Perhaps we could try sending them all out as text-messages.

OP posts:

beckybrastraps · 30/09/2006 18:19

Oooh. Am I an alpha mum?

Original poster

UnquietDad · 30/09/2006 18:22

noonar How did you know it was me?

OP posts:

RanToTheHills · 30/09/2006 18:23

surely alpha mums can spell? Must have been from a beta at most

peegeeweegeewoo · 30/09/2006 18:25

Of course spelling and grammar are important, and I would loathe to see school communication be sent in the form of a text message....

But, if the spelling and inverted commas etc annoys you so much that you feel the need to vent here, then offer to take over the letter writing...

edam · 30/09/2006 18:26

Just been to our local school fete* and the letter from the headmistress contained four howlers. Which I thought was a bit much, given she's in charge of teaching children how to read and write.

Don't know how to do circumflexes on my keyboard

Original poster

UnquietDad · 30/09/2006 18:27

I'm venting here rather than in person, because I know it would piss people off in real life.

Our PFA is mostly run by SAHMs. I work, and so does DW. This is a small fact which some of those who make demands on our time often seem to forget.

(And I'm already on another voluntary committee, a community action group.)

OP posts:

beckybrastraps · 30/09/2006 18:31

Our PTA is about half working parents, half non-working. All our meetings are in the evening and our events are in the evening or at weekends. Perhaps you could suggest similar at the next AGM?

TheRealCam · 30/09/2006 18:33

Eevn though I worked really hard fundraising for 3 years before I worked outside of the home at dd's previous school I'm going to agree with you uqd (I'm definitely part of the Grumpy Old generation where these things are concerned).

However, the person in your case is probably attempting to be informal and friendly with her excessive use of screamers, etc.

edam · 30/09/2006 18:34

I was a tad worried, actually. Every parent I know with kids at the school was there helping in some capacity. Does this mean when ds actually goes there (in about 18 months) I will have to man stalls/run a coconut shy/do face painting?

May have to return to full-time work for a Proper Employer if this is the alternative...

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