CLAREFEST 2023 - ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

CLAREFEST is a fun family day of music and entertainment exclusively for the families of the school. There will be awesome bands playing TUUUUNES, inflatable games, face painting, dance workshops, craft workshops, circus skills, festival merchandise, sweets and ice cream!

WHO CAN ATTEND?

For health and safety, we have limited tickets available and therefore they are exclusively for purchase by the immediate families of pupils at the school only.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW:

- Buy your ENTRANCE TICKETS from our website from 8pm on 18th April. Adult (18+) tickets are £8, children's (3-17) tickets are £2. Under 3s are free and do not require a ticket.

Ticket numbers are limited and we do expect to sell out so buy early to avoid disappointment. If your family is entitled to Free School Meals please claim your complimentary tickets through Mrs Roberts by 1st May.

- VOLUNTEER your time to help make it a success. Slots available Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The more volunteers we have the more fun everyone can have! Please add your name to this form. Even 30 minutes on the day itself will make a difference. Please note volunteers must hold a valid entrance ticket.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW?

TOKENS

As last year, entertainment stalls will be operated using a token system (they will not accept cash or card payments). 1 token can be purchased for £1. Each stall will be marked with how many tokens you will need to use e.g. 1 token for a 5 minute jump on a bouncy castle. We will publish the full list nearer the time.

You can purchase Tokens both in advance, from our "Get Ready for Clarefest" sales in the school playground during pick up the week before the event, and on the day (from the token stall near the entrance gate).

Card Payments will be accepted at the Bar, BBQ and Token Stalls. The use of cash is being discouraged so please support us making this a cashless event.

DANCE WORKSHOPS:

Do4Kidz Danceworks are returning with their ever popular dance workshops culminating with a performance at the festival at 5pm. Children will learn a dance routine during their workshop and then come together to perform it at 5pm.

Workshop times are:

• Years 2-6: at 2.45pm - 3.15pm or 4.15pm - 4.45pm, £6 per child.

• Pre-schoolers - Year 1: Boogie Tots at 3.30pm - 4pm (under 5s will need adult supervision), £5 per child.

CRAFT WORKSHOPS:

Make a beautiful unique festival crown!

Sessions will be 30mins long, £5 per child, at 2pm, 2.45pm, 3.30pm, 4.15pm, 5pm and 5.45pm.

Supervising adults are welcome and mandatory for attending children under the age of 6.

You can book your child into these workshops during our "Get ready for Clarefest" sales in the playground at pick-up, w/c 15th May.

T-SHIRTS:

For the first time ever, you can buy your very own festival t-shirt to wear on the day! Tshirts must be bought from our website and orders placed before 8pm on 25th April.

Your tshirt(s) will be available for collection at our "Get Ready for Clarefest" Sales in the playground at pick-up the week before the event.

All t-shirts will be white with a choice of 2 logo colours (Teal Blue or Pink colour - see photos) and are 100% cotton.

Adult Tees: £12

Childrens Tee: £10

MORE INFO ABOUT THE DAY:

- On the day you will enter from Claremont Road and show your ticket at the gate (paper or digital).

- Once you’ve entered you’ll be given a wristband which you will need to wear all day and use to re-enter.

- Within the festival, you’ll have the opportunity to buy food, drink and partake in the entertainment on offer.

- Entertainment stalls will be operated using a TOKEN SYSTEM (they will not accept cash or card payments). 1 token can be purchased for £1. Each stall will be marked with how many tokens you will need to use e.g. 1 token for a 5 minute jump on a bouncy castle. We will publish the full list nearer the time.

- CARD PAYMENTS will be accepted at the Bar, BBQ and Token Stalls. The use of cash is being discouraged so please support us making this a cashless event.

- We will have toilets and rubbish facilities available (although we welcome you taking your rubbish home with you – bags will be available on the day).

WHAT TO BRING ON THE DAY:

- Your ticket (paper or digital, we need the barcode to scan you in).

- Appropriate clothing for the weather,

- Something to sit on/under…a picnic blanket, camping chairs, umbrella, you may even want to bring your own gazebo if it’s looking like it’s going to rain all day.

- Something to drink out of... e.g. a plastic cup, pint/wine/prosecco glass if you have one to help us minimise waste.

- Your contactless payment cards to help us run this as a cashless event as much as possible.

Please do not bring your own food or drink (unless of course you have a specific dietary requirement) as a variety of food and drink offerings will be available to purchase and every penny raised from their sale, will go towards the PTA.

WHAT TO DO ON THE DAY:

- If you’ve done all the above then all that remains is to turn up and have fun!

- Please be your usual responsible and respectful selves. We are grateful to the school for lending us their grounds to host this event and intend to leave it as we find it.

- Help us by taking your own rubbish home with you. Rubbish bags will be available.

Thank you for supporting the PTA and we hope you have a wonderful time!

2023 Easter Egg Hunt - all you need to know

What and when is it?

The Claremont Easter Egg hunt is a much loved and fun activity for all of the children at Claremont School. It happens at school, within the school day and this year will be taking place on Friday 31st March.

How does it work?

In the days running up to the hunt, the children will make their own Easter Egg basket (at school) which they personalise, decorate and most importantly, put their name on!

On the morning of the hunt, the baskets will be collected from each class and given to a team of PTA volunteers who fill the baskets with chocolate goodies.

In the afternoon, the PTA volunteers will hide the baskets, two classes at a time, in one of the two school fields. The classes will be bought out to the school fields where the children are then able to hunt for their own basket! Classes will be paired (e.g. Yr 6 with Yr R) so that the older children can help the younger ones.

Lastly, to make the event even more special, the Easter Bunny will be visiting to say hello and spread Easter joy to all!

How can I help?

Please donate if you can through our localgiving page adding Gift Aid if eligible to make your donation go further. We are suggesting a donation of £5 per child this year if you can.

Alternatively, you can donate by texting the below (although please note the company take 5% of your donation as commission so localgiving with gift aid is much preferred):

CLAREMONT 5 to 70085 to donate £5 (or CLAREMONT 10 for £10, etc, up to £20).

Why are we asking for donations?

The PTA is buying over 4,000 chocolate treats up front!

This enables the PTA to monitor food allergens more easily within the chocolate and to ensure all children have the same content in their baskets. The exception to this is children with allergies (please see below).

What if my child has a food allergy?

The chocolate purchased contains milk, soya and egg. Whilst the chocolate purchased won’t specifically contain nuts, the items may also contain traces of peanuts, nuts and wheat.

If your child has an allergy to any of these please can you donate specific sweets for your child in a bag CLEARLY LABELLED with the child’s full name and class name. Please hand this either to the class teacher or school office by Thursday 31st March. We have included some photos in this blog of what the chocolate basket contents will be if you want to know what to aim for.

As an additional precaution, all children will be instructed not to eat the chocolate treats until after school, and only once they have parental permission.

Will all children be able to participate?

Yes, if your child is in school on the day, they can participate. No child will be excluded regardless of donations received. It is an inclusive and seasonal fun event for ALL Claremont School children and all donations are optional (but much appreciated if you’re able to!).

Thank you for your support!

Term 4 Teaser

Term 4 Teaser

No, we can’t believe it’s almost Term 4 either! With your help, we have raised over £7,000 so far this year, so we have lots of fun plans for Term 4 to help build towards our target of £40,000 for the year.

New School Lottery

We will be setting up a Claremont lottery through “your school lottery”. You’ll be able to buy a weekly ticket for just £1 and be in with the chance of winning a £25,000 jackpot each week, as well as a smaller prize (30% of Claremont ticket sales) that is guaranteed to come to a Claremont ticket holder. The PTA will also directly receive 40% of all ticket sales. Our first draw will be on Saturday 11th March - so watch this space how to buy your tickets!

Tea Towels

After half term, the children will be drawing self-portraits in class which the PTA will turn into a bespoke tea towel for every year group. Parents will have the opportunity to buy 1, 3 or more, through our website. The PTA will order the tea towels and they’ll be delivered back to school, probably after Easter. It’s a wonderful memento and the PTA makes a small commission from each sale.

Cinema Club

Cinema club is open for Years 1 -6 and next term will take place after school on Monday 20th March. The film will be DC League of Super-Pets (PG rating). Tickets will be on sale after half term.

After School Discos

We’re working hard to bring the discos back as we know how much the children love them. We are hopeful that Term 4 will see the first disco of the year, for Years 5 and 6, and then further discos will take place later in the year for Years 3 and 4 (April), Years 1 and 2 (May) and Reception children (June).

Easter Egg Hunt

An event held within the school day that is a real Claremont highlight for the children, especially when they spot our special guest, the Easter bunny!

This year, it will be on Friday 31st March. In the week before, the children will make baskets within their class and the PTA purchases thousands upon thousands of eggs which then get carefully sorted into each basket. The baskets are hidden around the school grounds for children to hunt out during their class’ timed slot.

Second Hand Uniform

Our monthly online sales will continue with the next one on 4th - 5th March. We will also have an in-person playground sale before the Easter holidays to help you prepare for the switch to summer uniform on 1st May.

Where will I get more info?

Further information on all of the above will be rolled out after half-term through the weekly bulletin sent by the school office, our website, social media and class reps. To get news directly, make sure you’re signed up as a member on our website and following us on social media.

In the meantime, we wish you a wonderful half term and look forward to seeing you after the break.