SHOW YOUR SPOTS - LET'S RAISE LOTS!

All around the country, our students have been joining in National Talking Week! to raise money for BBC Children In Need.

Spotty children raise money for BBC Children In Need

 New Principal in St. Helens and Warrington, Andrea Williams, emailed HO at the weekend:

"I would just like to tell you about my week. This week children have taken part in National Talking Week! Their subject was: 'If you found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, who would you give it to?'  One child came up with a fantastic idea of creating a Children in Need Wishing Well; I think we should have one in every city!  The whole lesson was really fun. Students made up their own plays about Children In Need and one group performed it to the parents. As you can see in the picture, we made them all spotty with face paint. Parents were thrilled with our performance and very supportive of our fundraising."
Congratulations to Andrea on a great week. So far, she and her students have raised a massive £255 with sponsorship still coming in.

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

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.

VILLAGE AFRICA/HELEN O'GRADY AMBULANCE SET FOR DEPARTURE!

Today, Friday 11th June, sees the launch of the Village Africa sponsored ambulance drive.

After months of preparation, Portsmouth Principal, Andrea Ward and her sister, Caroline Johnston for Village Africa, are delighted they can now start their journey. This week, they have been interviewed by Quay radio in Portsmouth (see below).

They will be joined at today's launch by Alan Knight MBE and Cartridge World will be there with their Eco car, along with The Stig. Their first stop this weekend is Bournemouth before they head north to Exeter, detour through South Wales where they will be meeting the Welsh Assembly, through Gloucestershire and the Midlands to the North West and then on to Scotland, spending next Saturday in Edinburgh before heading back to York, on to Sheffield and then to London.

On the way they will meet up with more than twenty Helen O'Grady Principals and, of course, hundreds of drama students, arriving back in Portsmouth to a special reception on Friday 25th June.

The Academy is proud to sponsor the drive, and we are certain there will be many more donations on the way. They have already raised in the region of £2500 before they even leave.

We will include pictures and information on here as the journey goes on. For more information and to make a dontaion visit the Village Africa website You can email Andrea on portsmouth@helenogrady.co.uk and Caroline on info@villageafrica.org.uk

We all at the Academy wish them safe journeys and all the luck in the world with this amazing trip.

FRIDAY 13TH NOVEMBER .................................. IS NATIONAL TALKING DAY!

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!

This is the message going out around the country on Friday 13th November
Children in Helen O'Grady Drama classes all around the country are raising tens of thousands of pounds in sponsorship as they talk to their parents and teachers about BBC Children In Need.

Schools are also joining in and this week the challenge has been laid down to the business community, entertainers, entrepreneurs to gain sponsorship for telephone calls, lectures and even chats around the photocopier.

Last year the Academy presented the charity with a cheque for £20,000. This year the target is £50,000 and counting.

For full details and to download a sponsor form, please visit our website: http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/

And please, put your money where your mouth is ..................................

Thank you

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.