SECTION – Strap here
AGENDA – Keep it in the family
I think seeing your parents
doing these things engenders a
volunteering ethic
We’ve done a lot of gardening parties, where we go to school to cut back trees and improve fl owerbeds. All the PTA kids come down. Megan got to use the secateurs and learn about plants (as well as running through the sprinklers), which inspired her to go to our allotment more often. I also volunteer as a Guide
leader, and I think seeing your parents doing these things engenders a volunteering ethic. My older daughter, Zoe, is 15, and she’s come back to help at every primary school fair we’ve had since she left. She recently helped out at the open evening at her secondary school, and she’s doing some volunteering for her silver Duke of Edinburgh Award. Megan says she’s going to come back and help at our Christmas fair as an elf when she leaves, just like her sister. The PTA was recently in need of a
new treasurer, and Megan wrote a letter to encourage parents to come forward, talking about all the ways the PTA has enriched her life at school. It made me feel very proud and impressed that she’s obviously taken in a lot of what I’ve been doing.
Franklin on the school’s MUGA, for which the PTA raised £20,000
Anna Butler, PTA chair at Archbishop Wake CE Primary School, Blandford Forum and her son Franklin, 11
FRANKLIN: Sometimes having a mum in the PTA is quite annoying, but more often it’s fun. I get to have a go at things I wouldn’t normally get to do, like doing the face paints, giving out glow bands at the school disco and selling paint at the colour run. I also made a Victoria sponge cake with my older sister to raise money for our leavers’ hoodies. Doing PTA stuff is a good way for
me and Mum to spend time together. I like being able to help out and be involved. This year I helped her organise the dog show at our summer fair, and I got to come up with the categories – there was fancy dress dog, dog most like its owner, loveliest lady and most handsome boy. Mum being on the PTA has
inspired me to volunteer and do things for charity. I’m going to help with a cake sale at my new school for their open day, and I’m doing a sponsored run this year for
Parkinson’s disease because that’s what my grandad has.
ANNA: Being on the PTA has impacted family life – there have been a lot of times when I’ve had to go to Friends meetings – but from being very small, both my kids have always wanted to come with me. Franklin used to come along even when he was very little and would just get a box of toys out and play. He’s been involved in all the
sponsored events we’ve organised, such as Fit Friday, where people ran around the track to raise money for a children’s charity and a sponsored walk we did around the grounds after Covid. As a result, he’s always thinking about how he can raise money and help people out. For example, he’s doing a 2km children’s run at Run Bournemouth this year. Franklin’s organisational skills
Young helpers Zoe and Thomas sell powder for a PTA colour run
Doing PTA stuff is a good way for me and Mum to spend time together
14 SPRING 2023
pta.co.uk
have really developed from being involved in PTA events. The Year 6 pupils raised money for their hoodie fund by running their own stalls each week and came up with all sorts of things to sell, from sweets and cakes to unwanted books and stress balls made out of balloons and fl our with silly faces on. They raised over £350! His entrepreneurial skills are impressive – he’s a little Alan Sugar.
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