​ ​	In the first of a regular series from FOSSIES (Friends of Sellincourt Primary School), Alison Whiteley tells us all about what the school has been up to and looks forward to the new academic year.

Friday was our Sellincourt Summer Carnival Party – a colourful event where children and the wider school community got to dress up, play games, eat homemade international food and samba to the sounds of our resident DJ Dean. This was the last event in this academic year for FOSSIES, the parent, teacher organisation. 

School finishes for the Summer holidays on Thursday and it’s been an extraordinarily busy year for FOSSIES and Sellincourt alike. Barely a week goes by without a school performance, a sports competition, a trip or a special event. Children have enjoyed Shakespeare Week, where they came to school dressed as their favourite Shakespearian character to enjoy drama workshops, Year 2 has performed Oliver Twist and Alice in Wonderland, Key Stage Two have put on a series of concerts to show off their musical skills in recorder, clarinet, drums and saxophone, and we have held three successful sports days.
 

We’ve had events where Sellincourt was thrown open to the public, like our Open Squares Garden day where our children’s Edible Playground was one of the gardens the public could come and admire. There have been art exhibitions and our ever popular International Day, where we celebrate the diverse communities in our school whilst enjoying entertainment from the children, and food prepared by the school community. And we’ve had exciting visitors, including authors, athletes and historians who the children have loved interacting with and learning from.
 

Many of these trips into London, the Summer Carnival and the annual trip to the coast at West Wittering happen because of the fund raising efforts that FOSSIES support. As school budgets are cut, the importance of PTAs like FOSSIES become even more important and we're always looking to encourage local businesses to support our cause. This year, many Tooting businesses like The Little Taperia and Mica Hardware have supported us.

If you're reading this as a parent or carer at Sellincourt School then we thank you for your continued support. We are of course always looking for new members to help out at events, so if you'd like to get more involved then please get in touch via our website https://sellincourtpta.wordpress.com or email us at sellincourtpta@gmail.com. Whether it's baking a cake or helping run a stall, every little helps towards giving our children the education and opportunities they deserve. So after a pause in the Summer holidays we'll be looking forward to a new year, a new term with new challenges, and new fundraising opportunities for FOSSIES. Until then, FOSSIES wishes everyone a fantastic Summer Holiday!