Welcome back, everyone! We hope you all had a lovely half-term and managed to get some proper rest and enjoy the (fleeting!) warm weather. With the summer term now in full swing, there's plenty to catch up on and lots to look forward to before the holidays.
FROGS GARDEN PROJECT UPDATE
We’re delighted to report that the new climbing frame has now been completed and is already proving extremely popular with the children.
We would also like to extend a huge thank you to all the volunteers who gave up their time to support the garden clearance weekend, which was a joint FROGS and school venture. Thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of both parent and staff volunteers, a tremendous amount was achieved, helping to transform the space and bring us another step closer to completing the garden project.
There is still more to come, with play bark due for installation and further planting planned. We look forward to sharing more updates as the project enters its final stages and the garden continues to develop into a wonderful outdoor space for the children to enjoy.
Chess Tournament
A big thank you to Julie for organising this year's Chess Tournament. Children had the chance to compete, solo or as a team, against our very own International Chess Master, Ruth Sheldon, who can play up to 12 teams at once! The kids seemed to have a lot of fun, and we sold out of cakes and snacks, which is always a sign of a great time. Thank you as ever to Ruth for sharing her expertise with us all!
Year 1 Cake Sale
Congratulations to Year 1, whose cake sale raised £218 for their class treat! Many thanks to all the parents and children who supported the cake sale, and to every volunteer who baked, set up, and sold on the day.
Key dates this term
We have lots planned this half-term, so here’s a reminder of the key dates for your diaries…
Enterprise Fair
First up for what’s on deck, our Enterprise Fair is almost here: 12th June, 3.30–5 pm. The children's stalls are now fully booked (thank you to all our young entrepreneurs!), but everyone is very welcome to come along and shop. Expect handmade treats, preloved toys and books, Father's Day gifts, and all sorts in between.
One quick but important reminder: please bring cash, as most stalls will be cash only. A little change goes a long way on the day.
Summer Fair — Save the Date!
Our Summer Fair lands on Saturday 11th July, 12–3pm, and it's shaping up to be a brilliant afternoon. We've a special guest in the works, plus a BBQ, live music, bar, bouncy castle, penalty shoot-out, craft zone, funfair games, and more.
We will be sharing more information and volunteer requests in the coming weeks but here are a few bits we would appreciate your help with!
Raffle prizes — can you help?
The raffle is one of the highlights, and we'd love to fill it with great prizes. If you run a business, or know someone who does, donations such as vouchers, experience days, classes or workshops, hampers, or gift sets are all hugely appreciated and get a lovely mention on the day as well on all our comms around the fair. To donate, please get in touch with Rosie at rosie.anega.cook@gmail.com.
Start a donations pile at home
It's also the perfect time of year for a spring clean and gentle declutter. We'll have collection boxes at drop-off in the coming weeks, but if you'd like a head start, we're gratefully gathering:
Lucky dip prizes — unwanted trinkets and small toys
Craft supplies — pens, stickers, crayons, glue sticks, coloured paper, fabric paints, sponges, string and beads
Building toys — magnet tiles, Mega Bloks, Duplo and Lego
Bar & refreshments — Bottles of Aperol and prosecco please!
Anything you can set aside now is a real help, so do keep an eye out for the boxes appearing at drop-off soon. Thank you!
planning ahead for the winter - we need your help!
Looking a little further ahead: off the back of all the summer fun, we're already on the lookout for volunteers (at least two, but three or four preferable to ease the load) to organise the 2026 Winter Fair. It's one of our most loved and most successful fundraising events of the year. There's plenty of support and know-how to draw on from previous years, so you won't be starting from scratch! If you'd like to find out more or fancy taking it on, we'd love to hear from you.
We’re also looking for ideas for our annual winter fundraiser. Each year, we offer products for sale in the run-up to Christmas, which have previously included FROGS merchandise, tea towels, and Grasmere recipe books. Given lead times, this needs to get underway in September, so it’s never too early to get in touch with any suggestions and feedback you may have, particularly if you’re able to volunteer to help organise it!
Frogs x Larder
FROGS has partnered with a new parent owned business LARDER to raise funds for Grasmere. LARDER, based in N16, cook and deliver high quality & delicious frozen ready meals.
Input the code GRASMERE at checkout and 5% of your purchase will go back to FROGS.
In addition, you can sign up with the following link to get 10% off your first order here.
FROGS Meeting
Thank you to everyone who joined our meeting on 22nd May — it's always great to see familiar faces and new ones alike. You can read the full minutes here.
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 8th July, 8pm, location TBC. Anyone and everyone is very welcome to come along, whether you'd like to get stuck in, share an idea, or simply listen in.
Thank you, as always, for being such a generous and supportive community. We're looking forward to a fun few weeks ahead.
Thank you and take care,
The FROGS Team