Fundraising - We Are On Our Way !
As most readers will know by now, we have £186,000 to raise as our contribution towards the total project cost of £1.86m. Helen Mehaffey reported last month on the results of some of the fundraising events already held and a programme of future activities will be published each month. In total we have now raised £31,000. This includes the splendid £10,000 presented by FoLS (Friends of Longparish School) at the Open Day last year and a substantial sum raise by the Playgroup. It also includes a number of generous donations which have been received even before we make our general appeal later in the spring. In addition I have received a number of pledges which are not included in the figure. With the fundraising underway, a ‘thermometer' will be erected outside the school to give a continuous display of our progress.
John .Ellicock
PCs turn DJs Members of the local constabulary extended the arm of the law to running a SNAP disco for pupils at Testbourne on the evening of Friday 13 February. It is part of a police initiative to develop community links and provide positive activities for young people, whilst at the same time getting over a strong anti-drugs message. About 160 pupils attended a really successful evening. Thank you to members of the local police force who gave up their time to run this event and to Deputy Head Mr Stevens, still rocking after all these years!
Pupils in court again We are again entering the Magistrates' Court Mock Trial Competition, with a team of pupils from Years 8 Eight and Nine. We reached the regional finals last year at our first attempt and pupils are already working hard to prepare their new case. It is particularly pleasing that members of last year's team are acting as coaches and sharing their valuable experience. The local heats will be held in Basingstoke in April.
Funding for new projects We would like to make more improvements to the school premises to ensure that our facilities really keep pace with the 21 st century. To fund these developments we are considering the sale of two small plots of land which form part of the school site but which are unused and for which no use is envisaged. The sale is subject to a long local consultation process and to the approval of the Secretary of State. A public notice has appeared in the local paper and further information is available from the school office. (01256 892061)
Exam season already The exam season seems to begin earlier each year and we have already had to submit entries for the June exams. To help pupils meet their coursework deadlines we ran a coursework catch-up day on Friday February 13 th , which was also a staff training day. 35 pupils came in, in their own time, to make sure work was completed on time. Some were “encouraged” to attend, others asked if they could come too! All felt it had helped them do a little bit better. Thank you to parents who supported this extra day. Hilary Jackson
Steve Lees, TVBC Planning policy officer, opened the February meeting by explaining the status of the Village Design Statement and how the council should use it. He also explained that Parish Plans will be very important in shaping the future of villages such as ours. The council will take this into account in responding to the present round of consultation on the emerging Test Valley Borough Local Plan.
Planning The council supported revised plans for the school and playgroup project . The new plans reduce the impact of parking on the school field in response to objections from parishioners. There was no objection to retention of a stable at Meadowsweet but the council objected to extension of the residential curtilage. The council objected to a proposal to retain bunds at Owls Lodge which are substantially bigger than permitted. The council was content with flue arrangements in further revised plans for Orchard House and there was no objection to a garage at Carpenters Cottage Forton .
The next meeting is at 7.30pm on Monday 8 March in the Village Hall committee room. Our meetings are public and all parishioners are welcome to come and can speak. The agenda will be on the website and the notice boards at the shop and in Forton a few days before the meeting.
Jeremy Barber Chairman Tel 720459
email jeremy.barber@longparish.org.uk
If you are interested in helping to organise this year's fete or have great ideas for new attractions please come to a meeting in the Village Hall at 8pm on Thursday 4th March.
C athy Yelf 720790