EVENTS – Autumn fundraisers
a scarecrow design competition, charging 50p for children to decorate a person-shaped outline, or challenge the children to write a story about the adventures of their favourite scarecrow. Award prizes for the most creative.
Halloween trick
or treat trail Ask children to dress up in spooky costumes – hold a second-hand sale in advance – for some detective work on the school fi eld. Someone has been up to some naughty tricks, but can they work out who? Set up mini crime scenes where children can look for clues – think Elf on the Shelf pranks on a larger scale. Keep things simple for the little ones: the school rabbit has been misbehaving; can they follow the trail of nibbled carrots and pieces of hay? Older children can work out which teacher has confi scated all the treats by solving puzzles about the class or subject they teach. Once they’ve cracked the case, their reward is a disco in the school hall. Always check your school is comfortable with a Halloween celebration. Alternative: Send out scavenger hunt sheets to complete at home, asking pupils to fi nd yucky items, such as something slimy or hairy – give prizes for the most creative objects and the best costumes. Run a virtual disco as a reward.
Pumpkin festival Decorate your outside space with
autumnal bunting and hire hay bales as seating. Serve hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows, and satisfy grown-up tastes with pumpkin-spiced lattes. Keep hunger pangs at bay with a barbecue, and serve toffee apples or marshmallows roasted on the fi repit. Fence off any fi repits, making sure there’s always an adult keeping an eye on them. Hold a pumpkin competition
– pumpkins can be carved beforehand or on the day if you have plenty of volunteers. If you’re unsure about carving, children can draw on them with Sharpies or decorate hollowed-out pumpkins. Keep kids engaged with potato printing and conker painting if they have to wait for their turn. Set up a hay bale photo spot to capture memories.
Alternative: Hold a virtual pumpkin carving competition, where families send in photos of their entries. Invite them to leave the fi nished objects outside their homes and create a trail map for families to follow before they cast their votes, with a prize for the winner.
Bake off With The Great British Bake Off
More autumn inspiration
Every year there seem to be more national days to observe. Which ones fall this season, and how can you celebrate them?
● 1-30 October – The Big Draw: Run an art exhibition yourselves or through a company such as Images (
imagesart.co.uk)
● 1-30 October – International School Library Month: Celebrate this precious resource
46 AUTUMN 2021
pta.co.uk
with a sponsored readathon ● 7 October – National Poetry Day: Compile and sell a poetry anthology book, with contributions from pupils on a set theme ● 16 October – World Food Day: Host an international evening celebrating different dishes from the cultures in your community
● 7-12 October – National
Curry Week: Hold a quiz and curry night in your school hall
● 14-19 October – Chocolate Week: Set a silver Smarties challenge ready for pupils to collect their earnings over half term
● 4-9 November – National Spa Week: A relaxing pamper evening is also an opportunity for some early Christmas shopping
airing in the autumn and National Baking Week falling in October (14-19), it’s a prime opportunity for some batter-based battles. Choose a theme for your creative cake makers, which your current fundraising project could inspire. If you’re raising money for a library, how about literary bakes? For a playground, perhaps sporty sweets? Ask entrants to bring the bakes in for judging by your headteacher and sell portions with hot drinks after school. Alternative: Run a recipe book fundraiser, asking families to bake their specialities and submit the recipe with a good-quality photo. Print using a specialist company such as Fundraising Cookbooks (
fundraisingcookbooks.co.uk) and sell to parents.
● Visit
pta.co.uk/events/step-by- step for detailed guides to events, including trails and hunts, discos and stargazing fundraisers.
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