Abingdon News No. 57

www.abingdon.org.uk 21 Abingdon News Connecting parents, supporting school life We were very excited to meet as a committee in November, virtually, to discuss the awarding of money to projects that will benefit a huge number of students in the school. The money has come from the fundraising efforts that you, the parents, have made. Mineral and fossil samples Geology Club (Other Half) Abingdon’s Geology Club has been purchasing fossils to aid with the teaching of the GCSE geology course. The first fossil to be bought is a 380 million year old Goniatite from the late Devonian Period from Morocco. These were ammonoid molluscs which became extinct at the end of the Permian Period (in the Great Dying) but which developed into ammonites. Mr Pygott Computer controlled cutter Design Technology department On order and is being delivered from Europe. Timeline magazine (Other Half) Our History Society pupils have already produced and printed the first of the ASPA supported Timeline magazine, and with the award we will be able to do two further editions. Mr McGill We are so disappointed that there are still no face-to-face events, fingers crossed that the government’s road map does take us out of lockdown and to something that we recognise as normal. Looking forward we hope that we will be attending the new parent ‘tea parties’ to welcome new parents of students starting in September, which will hopefully be held in June and early July. With support from ASPA, Mr Jenkins held a Question of Sport virtual quiz for Lower School in December – great fun was had by all, and there was a fantastic turn out. We awarded the full amount requested to all eight projects, and over the next year we will provide updates through here and the website. The other projects know how they want to spend their money, and many items have been ordered. A combination of Brexit and COVID-19 and the national lockdown has slowed the process. As a committee we can’t wait to see the outcomes of the awards and the impact on the students. What has been happening? ASPA AGM The Annual General meeting of ASPA will be held in May, date to be confirmed. This will be virtual, and all current parents are welcome to join the meeting. We will be discussing the work of ASPA and confirming the roles for 2021/22. We are always looking for new committee members and this is an excellent opportunity to find out more about us. “ ” “ ” How can you help? If you’d like to help out in any way, even as a one-off, we’d love to hear from you. And if you fancy a role on the committee we are looking for a Vice Chair, and year reps for the Fifth Year, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. Drop us a line at [email protected]