Children at James Peacock Infant and Nursery School have been busily exploring new skills on laptops provided as a result of fundraising activities by the Friends of James Peacock School.
Over the last year, the Friends have hosted many successful events, including the legendary ‘Barrow of Booze’ and the spectacular Summer Fun Fest, resulting in thousands of pounds being raised to improve educational opportunities for children at the school.
Working closely with the school’s head teacher, Mrs Cutts, the Friends’ committee has helped support numerous projects across infants and nursery: forest school resources, the whole school reading spine, and Early Years equipment. However, one of the largest outlays this last year has been to improve the children’s access to technology.
“The purchase of 15 laptops, software and charging unit wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support from the school and local community. We just want to say ‘Thank you,’ as a few pennies can make a huge difference,” remarked Jennie Ellison, Co-Chair of the Friends of School committee.
The Year 2 children, who are currently learning how to use the laptops, are all really enjoying their computing lessons. Mrs Fowlie, Leader of Computing in the school, is delighted that the children will be acquiring the skills they need in this modern world.
The Friends of James Peacock School have numerous fundraising events and enrichment opportunities planned over the next couple of months. These include film nights, author visits, discos, lend-a-hand days and, of course, the 2024 Summer Fun Fest (save the date – it’s Friday 14th June).
In addition, the next large project on the horizon is improving the playground trim trail areas and potentially purchasing more IT equipment!
The main aim of the Friends of James Peacock School is to raise money to enhance the children’s learning and experiences. If you’d like to support the charity, or join us for a meeting or event, please join our Facebook Group or email fjps.committee@gmail.com.
Louise Braithwaite