Hello Team Grasmere!
What a fantastic start to the new school year. The energy around Grasmere has been amazing, and it already feels like the year is off to a flying start. A huge thank you to everyone who has volunteered, donated, baked, organised, or turned up to support the school.
Below you’ll find a look at what FROGS has been up to so far, along with some exciting events and updates ahead. As always, we’d love to hear from you, whether you have questions, feedback, or new ideas for how FROGS can continue to support our community.
Kapla Workshop
This past week got off to an exciting start with the much-anticipated Kapla Workshop, where each class transformed the hall into a world of towers, bridges, and creatures made entirely from wooden Kapla planks. The children worked brilliantly together, showing creativity, patience, and impressive teamwork as their constructions took shape.
A big thank you to Jennifer from Kapla Clubs UK, who did a fantastic job running the workshops, and to the parent volunteers who helped make the day possible.
As always, the cleanup proved to be just as much fun as the building!
AGM Recap & Minutes
Thank you to everyone who attended the FROGS AGM on Friday 19 September. The AGM is our chance each year to review what’s been achieved, agree priorities for the year ahead, and elect the committee that helps make it all happen.
This year’s meeting included updates on last year’s fundraising and spending, the election of the new FROGS committee, and a vote to adopt an updated constitution to align with the Parentkind model. We also discussed upcoming events and fundraising projects for the year ahead, from the Jumble Sale and Christmas Fair to new ideas for outdoor play and garden improvements!
A huge thank you to everyone who has volunteered, contributed ideas, or offered support —FROGS truly runs on community effort. You can read the full minutes here.
Jumble sale - Saturday 11 Oct
We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to the Jumble Sale this Saturday! The Grasmere Jumble Sale has been a much-loved school tradition for more than twenty years, bringing our community together in support of the school. It’s a chance to give pre-loved items a new life, hunt for not-so-hidden gems, and enjoy a morning full of good vibes.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers who make it happen, including the students who help run stalls and keep the day buzzing! If you’d like to lend a hand, please sign up here. We can also always use a few more homemade contributions, so if you’re able to bring a soup, cake, or other treat, it will be very gratefully received.
Come along, have a browse, and be part of one of Grasmere’s best-loved traditions.
Farewell from Our Chair, Léa
It’s no exaggeration to say that every child and parent at Grasmere Primary has benefited from the work of Léa. During her time as Chair of FROGS, Léa has shown remarkable dedication to improving every aspect of school life. The role is a mammoth undertaking, overseeing every FROGS initiative, event, and fundraising effort, and Léa has handled it all with exceptional care and perseverance. Her leadership has brought new extracurricular opportunities, enhanced facilities and grounds, and—perhaps most importantly—strengthened the sense of community that makes Grasmere so special.
As Léa steps down from her role, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for the extraordinary contributions she has made and the care she has brought to them. Below, she shares a few reflections on her time as Chair and her hopes for our community moving forward:
Dear FROGS,
Now that my term as FROGS Chair has come to a close, I wanted to thank you all for your support and collaboration to make FROGS such an amazing PTA and Grasmere such a strong school community.
Thank you so much for all your generosity (of both time and money), crazy ideas, wonderful fundraisers and so much more. Despite plenty of ups and downs, from the pandemic to the many changes of school leadership, it’s been a truly rewarding experience.
Over the past five years, we’ve built on the amazing projects by the parents before us, such as the library and KS1 climbing frame, continuing long-running Grasmere traditions such as the jumble sales and Easter Eggs hunts, and adding lots of new events to the mix, from the Chess contest to the Pub Quiz. None of this would have been possible without you all.
I’m proud to have helped set up the FROGS website, started afterschool enrichment clubs, introduced the fun Kapla workshops and Enterprise fair, produced a couple of community cookbooks and tea towels, launched free stamp cards for families who need them, and organised so many events. Of course, as a committee member for the next couple of years, I’ll continue to help – and bake – when I can.
I’m excited to welcome a whole bunch of new FROGS, including Jay and Firuze, our new co-chairs; Kathy, our secretary; and Marlies our comms and website expert. Along with Magnus, our treasurer, I’m sure they will lead FROGS with vision and heart, continuing the work of building a strong, inclusive, and fun community.
Please remember that the real community doesn’t live in online chats, but in the real world, in our events and daily shared experiences. Help them continue FROGS’ good work by volunteering your time or your skills; our community will be all the stronger for it. You just have to volunteer once to see the smiles on the children’s faces, and you’ll be hooked…
See you at the jumble sale!
Léa
“Please remember that the real community doesn’t live in online chats, but in the real world, in our events and daily shared experiences. Help them continue FROGS’ good work by volunteering your time or your skills; our community will be all the stronger for it. You just have to volunteer once to see the smiles on the children’s faces, and you’ll be hooked.
”
Grateful Thanks to Caroline
We’d also like to say a big thank you to Caroline, who is stepping down as FROGS Secretary after years of dedicated service. Her calm efficiency and attention to detail have been an enormous asset to the committee, from keeping our records in order to ensuring every meeting ran smoothly and every idea was captured.
Grasmere is lucky to have such dedicated parents and carers, and Caroline’s thoughtful support has been so appreciated!
Goodbye & Thank you, Angela!
Lastly, we’d also like to sincerely thank Angela, our beloved Lollipop Lady, who will be leaving her post at the end of next week. Beyond keeping our children safe on their way to and from school, Angela has been a constant source of warmth and positivity for parents, pupils, and teachers alike—rain or shine. Her kindness has brightened many mornings, and she’ll be deeply missed in her lollipop post. We wish her all the very best in her new adventure and are delighted we’ll still see her around as a Grasmere parent.
Our children will have the chance to say thank you and goodbye to Angela in next Friday’s assembly, where she is being given a proper send-off. Contributions to her farewell gift can be made here.
Thank you and take care,
FROGS
Easyfundraising partners with over 8,000 brands who will donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice. (it won’t cost you any extra; the cost is covered by the brand). In a few months we’ve raised £522 for FROGS with only 25 supporters.
DONATE TO FROGS
Donations to FROGS are always welcome. Please take a look at our latest projects to see how your money might be used. You can also set up a monthly direct debit donation on Kindlink.
Find out more on how to help here, including more info about the matched funding and workplace giving schemes, which are available for employees of some large companies.