PTFA

(Parents, Teachers and Friends Association) 

It is nearly Panto time..."oh yes it is......"

Our fabulous team are working hard rehearsing and making props ready for this year's production of 'Dick Whittington and his Cat'

Tickets are now on sale for £8 per person and can be requested to go home with your child or can be collected on the door. 

Please purchase your tickets by following the link below:

park-mead-ptfa.sumupstore.com

There is a voluntary charge of 20p to help us cover the costs of using the payment system but you can opt out should you wish to. 

Currently we have no plans to sell on school site.  If you experience any problems purchasing your tickets online, please contact me directly on my email parkmeadprimaryptfa@gmail.com 

Performances are on Friday 10th March at 7.00pm and Saturday 11th March at 1.00pm and 6.00pm.

We hope to see you all in the audience!

Many thanks

Mhairi Coles

PTFA Chair

Cast Biographies 

	Dick Whittington- Mel Fullard This is Mel’s second Park Mead Panto and she is working hard to perfect her thigh slap in preparation for another stint as principal boy. She’s proud to be sharing the stage with her eldest Annalise again, who has been a huge help with practicing her lines. Here’s hoping she can manage to keep a straight face for long enough to say them on stage!
	Ellie Telling as Cat  Ellie is embarking on her first Park Mead Panto this year after completing (almost) her degree are the University of Surrey; however, she is no stranger to the stage having starred in a musical at Woking Theatre (Animal Instinct), been a voice over artist for EA Games (Shepherdess – Harry Potter) and starred briefly in an episode of Tales of the Unexpected as a child, and most recently was cast to imitate Prue Leith for a One You Surrey Team Meeting judging a baking competition. She is looking forward to embracing her role as Dick’s sidekick the Cat and starring alongside her two children Lorelai (9) and Adalind (7), who have been working very hard to purrfect their lines.
	Tanya Neville-Towle as Alice Having previously played princess roles, Snow White and Cinderella, this year Tanya is playing Alice Fitzwarren, Dick Whittington’s love interest! Alice is not technically royalty but she’s certainly a bit of a princess!  This is her 4th time on stage and she’s very pleased to be joined by her year 6 daughter Summer this year!
	Sindy Hammond Jones as Sarah the cook After 12 months of being booed in the playground Sindy has decided it’s time for some cheers!  Making her 2nd debut on the Park Mead panto stage, Sindy comes back with a certain bounce in her step and ready to bring a truly outrageous character alive!  Joined by her daughter Matilda in Year 4 on stage and husband Darren running backstage it’s really become the family affair..apart from Maddy who’s in Year 2 she just likes to sit in the audience for all the shows and rally the boo’s..and hopefully this year some laughter for her mum!  Enjoy this truly wonderful script come to life, they maybe be Team Hard in name but it’s been anything but! A pure joy we look forward to showing off to you.
	Simon Willis as Idle Jack Simon is thrilled to be returning to the stage for his 4th Park Mead Panto, this year as the hilarious Idle Jack. Once again he is delighted to have the opportunity to be on stage with his wife, Caroline, and daughters, Jessica (Year 6) and Hannah (Year 3). To help in really understanding the lazy aspect of Idle Jack’s character this year Simon decided to apply the “Method Acting” technique by having regular lie-ins, pulling sickies at work, generally forgetting to help around the house and failing to get round to finishing his cast bio for the...
	Lisa Quinlan as Beaux Belle I can hear the bells!!!… sorry couldn’t resist!!! But it’s true!!!  yes it is our very own, Beaux Belle played by Park Mead Panto veteran Lisa Quinlan  Having played Kings and Princes in the past she is happy to finally be cast in a female role and what a sassy Belle she is!!! This is her 7th time on stage and she’s very pleased to be joined once again by her year 4 daughter Tegan who is also channelling her inner sass as one of the Beaux Belles!!!
	Jo Bickmore as Admiral Longhorn Jo has been involved in numerous Park Mead Pantomimes both on stage and also writing and directing a few.  She is happy to be treading the Panto boards after a hiatus of 4 years.  She is once again sharing the stage with her eldest daughter Amy and having her youngest daughter Zoe working as part of the backstage team.  Jo is dedicating her performance to her Dad, who sadly passed away in October 2022.

Cake raffle every Friday 

Buy your weekly cake raffle ticket every Friday morning from 8.30am to 8.55am from the wooden gazebo in the KS1 playground. 20p per ticket. Raffle drawn in assembly and the lucky winner will be taking home a yummy cake for the weekend!

Recycling 

One of main our aims for this academic year is to tackle our disposable plastic use and be a lot better at recycling overall. We have plenty of plans in place for a few new recycling opportunities. We are working with a company called ‘Empties Please’. They collect and recycle used ink and toner cartridges the environmentally friendly way and will donate the money raised back to Park Mead! It’s very simple. All we have to do is collect used ink cartridges and put them in our recycle bin. ‘Empties Please’ will collect the bin when it’s full and then donate money raised straight back to our school. Parent Mail letter with more details. Click on the below bullet point links for more information. The more cartridges we can collect the more we can raise. We also get points for every pound raised. Happy collecting!

• EcoKids project - fill the bag - bags are still available from office or outside food tech room every Friday morning
• Recycle ink cartridges and raise money for Park Mead - 'Empties please' details
• Ink cartridges price list 
• Batteries - boxes available upon request
• Toners accepted for recycling - If your toner is not listed on here, we recommend contacting the manufacturer who may have a recycling scheme of their own.

If you could display a bin in your workplace on behalf of our school please contact ‘Empties Please’ on 0844 879 7179 or email info@emptiesplease.com. Please ensure you provide our school’s name so proceeds are credited to Park Mead.

Every little helps! At each PTFA event our team collect the recycling and take it to the Recycling centre. If you have ideas you’d like to put forward please do contact Mhairi on parkmeadprimaryptfa@gmail.com. The PTFA want to enhance your children’s environment and this is an important subject to embrace, teach and discuss with all our children.

We really need your help! Every parent with a child attending Park Mead Primary automatically becomes a member of the PTFA and you are very welcome!

Without your help we won't be able to raise any money for your children. Last year we raised over an incredible  £10,641, let's raise even more this year!

Above is a picture of our much needed school mini bus - this wouldn't have been possible without all the parents fundraising together.

Aims of the PTFA

The aims of the association are:

• To support the school and advance the education of the pupils attending it
• To promote the school within the community
• To foster and extend positive relationships and communication between staff, parents and the wider school community 

What does the PTFA do?

Every parent with a child attending Park Mead Primary automatically becomes a member of the PTFA.  Registered as a charity, the organisation is run by a committee of parents with the aim of raising funds for the school.  We run several events throughout the year, including quiz nights, bingo nights, a scarecrow competition, Christmas and Summer fairs. Plus an ongoing cake raffle and half termly tuck shops and much more.

One of our biggest fund-raising events is the annual PTFA pantomime which is written, directed and performed by staff, parents and pupils, both past and present. All the children love watching it...oh yes they do!

And what makes it all so worthwhile is that all this money is put back into the school and directly benefits each and every child at Park Mead Primary.

There are so many ways you can get involved with the school, whatever your circumstances, interests or skill-set. You don't even have to be on the school site to help!

Some examples of where we need your help:

• Sell cake raffle tickets on a Friday morning before school
• Help out packing up sweets for the tuck shop, or help out selling at the tuck shop
• Man a stand for a short period of time at the Summer or Christmas Fair
• Bake/buy sweet treats for a tuck shop
• Sell refreshments at an event
• Sell tickets to an event
• Print/photo copy event flyers/posters
• Donate/collect items for raffle prizes 
• Just give us ideas!
• Share our events on your social media  

New fundraising ideas are always welcome, just drop us an e-mail parkmeadprimaryptfa@gmail.com or talk to your class links (names below).

Follow us on Facebook - Park Mead Primary PTFA

Where does the money go?

Over the last year, thanks to the money raised through events, the PTFA has provided the school with the following:

• A new minibus
• Wow days across all year groups - including portrait painting, African drumming, pirate workshops and a variety of history workshops
• Reading books 
• Class resources
• SENDCO resources
• Updating the wildlife area
• Computer updates
• Year 6 leavers disco
• Year 6 leavers books
• ...and lots more!  

Click here for more detail in the PTFA Treasurer's report & financial Summary

Who's Who in the PTFA?

This is the list of Committee Members and Class Links for the year 2021-22

Yearly Schedule

This is the provisional schedule of planned events for the rest of the year (subject to change).

Getting in Touch

You can contact the PTFA via the school office, via your class link, or by emailing our Chair Mhairi on parkmeadprimaryptfa@gmail.com 

Come and join the PTFA facebook page to keep up to date and have your say in new events. 

https://www.facebook.com/ParkMeadPTFA/