Page 16 - Abingdon News
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16
April 2014
PARENTS ASSOCIATION
Forthcoming Events
Friday 23 May
Charity BBQ
School garden next to the Dining Hall
To raise funds to support research &
treatment of childhood brain tumours,
a charity being set up by a senior
teacher at Abingdon School. ASPA
will cover all the costs of the event so
there will be no charge to parents, but
we hope as many parents as possible
will support this worthy cause by
buying raffle tickets on the night or
making a direct donation. Tickets will
be allocated on a first come first served
basis by emailing
Friday 16 May
ASPA Dinner, Eynsham Hall
Tickets for the event are sold out, but
if you would like to be added to the
waiting list please email
ASPA and OA Travel Awards
ASPA and the OA Club have launched a new travel award scheme offering a total sum
of up to £2,000 (£1,000 from each association). Awards can be applied for by any
member of the upper sixth who is undertaking some form of travel and activity during
their summer break between finishing school and starting university or their gap year.
The value of the awards will vary according to the activity being undertaken, and the
benefits of the received activity to the community in question. Application forms are
available online:
and must
be submitted by 23 April 2014. Interviews will take place on 10 May 2014.
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One of the past travel-award winners, Na’im Anis Peyman, spent a year volunteering
at the Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa and ‘Akko in Israel, the spiritual and administrative world
centre of the Bahá’í Faith. Na’im was one of approximately 700 volunteers from over
80 countries at the world centre, welcoming over half a million visitors to the site.
ASPA Lower School
Parents’ Supper
While boys from Years 1 and 2 braved the
Valentine’s Day disco at St Helen and St
Katharine’s, their parents enjoyed a few
hours of curry and convivial conversation
in the CMR. The gale-force winds and
driving rain outside failed to dampen the
atmosphere (although a few hairstyles
were ruined!) and a pleasant evening
was had by all in making new friends and
catching up with old ones.
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The Second-Hand
Uniform Shop
The shop has all school and sports
uniform available, but we always
welcome more. Cricket kit is also
available at £5 per item.
The shop is currently housed in a
portacabin on Waste Court Field.
Opening times - Summer term 2014:
Wednesdays 12.15 -1.15 pm
April 30
May 7 / 14 / 21
June 11 / 18 / 25
Saturdays 11.00 -12.00 am
April 26
May 10 / 17 / 31
June 7 / 14 / 21 / 28
The shop will also be open from
2.30 pm to 4.30 pm on Induction Days,
Tuesday 24 June and Thursday 26 June
ASPA Quiz & Curry Night
The 7th February saw ten teams –
including, for the first time, a team of Old
Abingdonians – (gently) battle it out at the
annual ASPA Quiz. Jim Bischoff, Senior
Master at Pinewood School, returned
for a second year as the event’s expert
quiz master – this year introducing a new,
and very popular, alcohol tasting round.
Thanks to Jim and also to Peter Garratt
(a former parent), who returned to run the
scoring and the IT. The CMR proved to
be a great location, and after a number
of closely contested rounds, the Lower 6
parents at Table 7 were crowned as 2014
winners. Thanks to everyone who came
along and to all the helpers for making it
such an enjoyable evening.
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ASPA Donations
Although ASPA’s prime purpose is to
organise social events for parents, one
of the spin offs from these events is fund
raising. This means that last term ASPA
was able to make several donations to
various parts of the School including:
•
£3,000 to the Science Centre Appeal
•
£1,795 for specific science equipment for
the new centre. Items include a steam
turbine, biological models, hydroelectric
power station, molecular models and
strong magnets.
•
£1,500 towards an outboard engine for
the Rowing Club
•
£2,464 (50%) towards the cost of a
new electronic cricket board for War
Memorial Field.
•
£250 to each House and Lower School
for equipment – to be chosen by the
boys– for use at breaks and lunchtimes.
Lower School have already voted to use
the money to buy a TV for their House
Room.
All the donations made will make a real
difference to the boys in various parts of
the school and school life.
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