NATIONAL TALKING WEEK 2012!

Once again the Academy is raising funds, through National Talking Week!, for BBC Children In Need. Around the country, children, their parents and friends and their teachers are 'putting their money where their mouth is' and talking up a storm!

In Somerset, children as young as three joined in the fun during their Kindy classes. Their current topic is 'The Jungle' and, with the help of finger puppets, the students talked about Pudsey Bear for two whole minutes!

Kindy students talk with their animals and sea creatures to help raise money.

The panda has a great conversation with the crab!

The fish were all talking in big, fat full sentences!

All of the children took home a special Pudsey Bear certificate so parents could see they had mastered the challenge and now the sponsor money will be collected!

Well done to all those Kindy children!

BBC CHILDREN IN NEED 2012

It's that time of year again! Tomorrow sees the start of  NATIONAL TALKING WEEK! in the UK, leading up to the big BBC Children In Need show next Friday, 16th November.

Over the past five years, Academy Principals, teachers and students around the country have raised approximately £85,000 in various ways. Last year, 'Guess the UFOs in the jar', cake sales and special edition T-shirts helped the money roll in.

How many UFOs?

Yummy spotty cakes for sale

'Designer' T-shirts all the rage!

Parents joined in the fun

It was very challenging!

Someone even baked a Pudsey cake!

There will be lots of this going on - and more - and we hope to add to our grand total by the end of November.

Principals at the 2011 show with Pudsey

Watch out for people in spotty Helen O'Grady T-shirts on the late edition of the show on November 16th. If you want to be involved with the Academy fundraising, please contact your local branch or email info@helenogrady.co.uk

MEETING PUDSEY BEAR!

A team from Head Office took a very large cheque to the live BBC Children In Need show on Friday night. But it wasn't as smooth as it should have been. A big accident on the M4 meant the team were delayed at the service station en route but the intrepid Goodfields managed to pick up speed eventually and arrive with enough time to put baby Morgan down for the night!

Here he is keeping an eye on the cheque!
And here are the girls sharing the moment with the intrepid Pudsey Bear.

Sir Terry Wogan spotted the cheque during the evening and the Academy had their mention on air. Well done to all those concerned, they all had a fabulous time. Sadly, Morgan wasn't allowed to attend!

NATIONAL TALKING DAY IN KINDY CLASS

Today was National Talking Day at East Harptree Kindy class in Somerset. After their usual lesson, which, appropriately, was on the Teddy Bear Theme, twenty eight pre-school children sat down with a teddy each and talked about an adventure they would like to go on.

Of course, mouths and voices had to be warmed up first!

And the bears had to make themselves comfortable.

Sometimes it was hard to find things to say........

........but then the bear joined in and everything was OK.

There were all sorts of adventures!

It got very noisy with everyone talking at the same time ......

....... but everyone managed to speak for two minutes and everyone received Pudsey certificates.

Sponsor money will be collected in the next few days and added to the grand total to be presented to BBC Children In Need. We are very proud of the pre-school children for taking part and we thank their parents and teachers for all their support.

NATIONAL TALKING WEEK!

Principals, students, teachers and parents in drama classes around the country are in the middle of NATIONAL TALKING WEEK! aiming to raise tens of thousands of pounds for BBC Children In Need. Special edition T-shirts have been on sale, with all proceeds going to the charity.

In many classes, parents have thrown themselves into the fundraising too. York Principal, Lindsay Goakes, sent us this picture (below) of the cake Mattew's dad made to share with the class in Selby.

Fundraising activities will continue throughout November. This Friday, 18th November, a team from Head Office, led by, Training Supervisor, Becky Goodfield, will be in the audience at BBC Television Centre with a very big cheque!

Thank you to everyone who has taken part. Visit our website www.helenogrady.co.uk for full details.

BBC CHILDREN IN NEED 2011

Once again, this year, the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy is fundraising for BBC Children In Need. Wednesday 9th November sees the start of NATIONAL TALKING WEEK! across the UK, when students will be talking, in their classes, on a given topic, for an allocated amount of time.

Last year, through the sponsored talking, we raised more than £30,000 for the charity and were lucky enough to present a cheque, live on air, to Sir Terry Wogan.

Schools are getting involved too, with drama teachers running special classes to hear the children talk. The Academy's aim is to develop children's confidence and skill in verbal communication so what better way than talking to raise money for other children less fortunate than themselves?

For full information download a leaflet here and print a sponsor form to start raising money now. Full details are on the literature, with instructions of what to do with the money when you have raised it.

Thank you - on behalf of the Academy - for your help and an even bigger THANK YOU on behalf of BBC Children In need.

MORE NATIONAL TALKING DAY! PICTURES

All over the country Principals have been raising money for Children In Need. Many branches of the Academy invited parents into class to join in their childrens' lesson. Lots of them were encouraged to wear something spotty. In Leicestershire, Rebekah Davidson (above) single handedly (well with just a little help from her dad!) raised £260. Well done to her!

The talking - and certainly the fundraising - continues. The academy will be collecting spare change for Pudsey right through this term. You can get involved by visiting our website - http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/ - or send a donation to the address on this blog.

Keeeeep talking!

SPECIAL EDITION TEE SHIRT LAUNCHED

Branches around the country will be taking delivery this week of the Helen O'Grady/BBC Children In Need tee shirts. Children in drama classes nationwide will be wearing the limited edition tee shirts with pride as they head towards National Talking Day! on Wednesday 10th November.

For full details of how you can take part, visit our website - http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/

Please, put your money where your mouth is and support our massive fundraising effort.

PUDSEY SAYS THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

Principals at the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy are still collecting sponsor money and donations following the very successful NATIONAL TALKING DAY! this month.

Some branches have collected thousands of pounds, helping the Academy as a whole edge nearer to their target of £50,000. In South Wales we are grateful to

The Big Yellow Self Storage Company

Dalton Printers

for their kind donations.

It's still not too late to become involved. Details can be downloaded from our website http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/

Thank you to everyone. You have helped make a huge difference to the lives of so many children.

BBC CHILDREN IN NEED UPDATE

On Friday 20th November, a team from the Academy had a great time at the BBC Children In Need Show in London. Fundraising continues and will do until the end of the year. Schools and companies are invited to participate in NATIONAL TALKING DAY! activities. We are grateful for the support of:

AON Insurance Managers, Guernsey

Powell's Primary School, Cirencester

For full details of how to become involved, please visit http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/

TALKING FOR PUDSEY!

Lower Primary children in Chewton Mendip, Somerset, celebrated their National Talking Day! this week by inviting parents to attend class to listen to their prepared two minute speeches. The teacher offered the children the opportunity to speak in front of everyone and 5 year old Amy took on the challenge. She was speaking about why she liked being a child in her family. Amy only joined the Academy this term and mum was delighted she had the confidence to commit her talk to film!

The class was a great success, and parents were very generous with their sponsor money, raising more than £250 in total, which will go towards the national target of £50,000.

BAG PACKS FOR PUDSEY

Another successful supermarket bag pack took place this weekend by students from the York Academy. Some 50 students and parents, staff, friends and family were all there and Pudsey himself lent a hand.

York Principal, Lindsay Goakes, said "There was a wonderful team spirit and great fun was had by all. I was so proud of our students. They were amazing! Two wee lads, without parents there, packed bags for three hours non-stop with no complaints. All the parents were hugely supportive and felt it was an excellent opportunity for children to give something back.

We had many members of the public and members of staff comment on the excellent behaviour of our children as well as their excellent verbal skills and their confidence."

In all the day raised well over £1,000 towards the Academy's target.

NATIONAL TALKING DAY!

Although yesterday, 13th November, was the official NATIONAL TALKING DAY! its not too late to put your money where your mouth is!

For the next six days, in Helen O'Grady Drama classes all around the country children will be talking for Pudsey. They made a great start yesterday and already thousands of pounds have been raised.

Thanks and congratulations go to all of those who have taken part so far.

By next Friday, 20th November, which is BBC Children In Need Day, we are confident we will have reached our target of £50,000 raised.

We have also invited contributions from the business community. Our thanks so far go to:
Franchise Connect
Drawbridge Creative Partners

For full information and to download a sponsor form go to http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/

On behalf of all the children helped by BBC Children In Need, we thank you ...... lots!

NATIONAL TALKING DAY!

Plans are well underway for the first, annual, Helen O'Grady NATIONAL TALKING DAY! on Friday 13th November in aid of Children In Need.

Principals around the country are ready to deliver thousands of letters to their students and into schools in their area. We have long extolled the virtues of verbal communication, in this world of blogs, texts and social networking sites! What better way to revive the art of conversation than with the aim of raising tens of thousands of pounds?

Last year the Academy presented the charity with a cheque for £20,000 (see below) following an amazing effort by Helen O'Grady students and their teachers all around the country.

This year our aim is much higher. Anyone can join in - we are inviting businesses to gain sponsorship - perhaps for every phone call they make on that day, or for the length of time they talk in meetings. The business community can set an excellent example to younger people by "putting their money where their mouth is!"

This is children raising money for children and children showing off their communication skills for a good cause! You can find out more on our website: http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/ and check back here regularly for updates.