Car Boot Sale - posted 6 September 2010

Reserve your pitch now !

Helmdon Acorns are holding a Car Boot Sale at Helmdon Sports Club on Sunday 12th September from 10am - 2pm .  

Hot and cold refreshments will be available.

Pitch prices as follows:

Cars:  Helmdon Residents                    £4 in advance                £6 on the day

Cars:  Members of the general public     £6 in advance                £8 on the day

Vans + 50% of the above prices.

Please contact Liz Hart on 01295 760130 or send a cheque (payable to Helmdon Acorns) to Station House, Station Rd, Helmdon,  NN13 5QS 

All proceeds to Helmdon Acorns Pre-School, registered charity number 1035898

Work On New Building To Commence Later This Month - posted 14 August 

The staff, children and parents at Helmdon Acorns are delighted to announce that South Northamptonshire Council has awarded them a £7,000 grant which, together with a pledge from the HYHOs from the proceeds of the Summer Ball will enable work to commence on the new building.

Work will start later this month on the new building which will offer a bright purpose built playroom with free flow access to a large play area outside together with other facilities including a kitchen specially designed with low worktops to allow the children to participate in cookery sessions easily.

Sam Marshall, the Pre-School Supervisor, who trained at Montessori St Nicholas School and has nine years’ experience in Early Years, commented, “The staff and children are really looking forward to having a facility which is purpose built with them in mind. We have got some great ideas on how to make it look fantastic and having a large outside space will make a huge difference to the children’s experience with us.”   

The new premises will allow the Pre-School to operate longer hours to reflect those of the primary school meaning that parents will be find it easier to fit in looking after their children with supporting them financially by going to work. Children may attend from their second birthday will be able to stay for any combination of morning, lunchtime and afternoon sessions up to five days per week.

Car Boot Sale - posted 28 July 2010 

Reserve your pitch now !

Helmdon Acorns are holding a Car Boot Sale at Helmdon Sports Club on Sunday 12th September from 10am -2pm .  

Hot and cold refreshments will be available and other village groups have been invited to have a stand as well.

Pitch prices as follows:

Cars:  Helmdon Residents                    £4 in advance                £6 on the day

Cars:  Members of the general public     £6 in advance                £8 on the day

Vans + 50% of the above prices.

Please contact Liz Hart on 01295 760130 or send a cheque (payable to Helmdon Acorns) to Station House, Station Rd, Helmdon,NN13 5QS 

All proceeds to Helmdon Acorns Pre-School, registered charity number 1035898

Acorns To Stay In Reading Room until January: Register Your Child Now For September - posted 9 July 2010

Helmdon Acorns is finalising details of children registered for the year commencing September 2010.   If you have a child who will be shortly be two years old and wish to arrange a visit please contact Sam on 01295 768327 or out of hours Liz on 01295 760130.  Children aged 3 years will be entitled for 15 hours free childcare from September 2010 commencing from the funding block after their third birthday. Our new building is scheduled to open on Wednesday 5th January 2011; until then we will continue to operate from the Reading Room.

Project Building Update - posted 27 June 2010

We were delighted to hear this week that we have been successful in a bid to the WNDC (West Northamptonshire Development Corporation) Stronger Communities Fund and have been awarded £10,000, to be split between the main building project and some fabulous outside play equipment. The total amount raised for the new building stands at just over £166,000 meaning that we are very close to reaching our target of £173,000. We hope to be in a position to start building in the late summer. Any parent wishing to register their child should contact Samantha Marshall during session times on 01295 768327.  

'Getting The Balance Right' Workshop - posted 24 June 2010

                                  click here for more details

Any More Tesco Coupons? - posted 19 June 2010

Acorns are just 100 vouchers short of their target needed to buy some new equipment for the children – if you have any spare could you drop them off at the Reading Room by Friday 26th June.

Many thanks from the children, staff and parents.

Car Boot Sale - posted 16 June 2010

Helmdon Acorns Pre-School will be organising a car boot sale on Sunday 12th September at the Sports Club Field.  There will be a discount for Helmdon residents who pre-register for a pitch.

As there is no Carnival this year we would also like to invite any village groups who want to have a stall to let us know so that we can have a small fete alongside the Car Boot. We will be selling teas and coffees and food refreshments and hoping the weather stays fine!

Seedlings Sale - posted 12 May 2010

The Acorns are holding a Seedling Sale on Wednesday 19 May, from 9am to 9:30am, in the Reading Room  Wide variety of plants grown from seed, such as tomatoes, peppers and lettuce, in pots or trays for you to buy at very reasonable prices   

(If you have been busy growing your own seedlings (any plants, not just veg) and you have any surplus, we would be grateful if you could clearly label and bring them along on the day for us to include in the sale.)  

There will also be a selection of seeds available at bargain prices along with some lovely terracotta pots. 

Our New Building - posted 7 May 2010

In 2009 we embarked on an ambitious project to provide the parents and children of Helmdon with a purpose-built building including a large outside play area and with extended opening hours to allow working parents to use the community Pre-School rather than be forced to drive to Brackley or further afield for child care. 

In January 2010 we were delighted to hear we had been awarded £150,000 to build a new facility from the Early Years Dept in Northampton County Council; in April 2010 we were granted planning permission on a site behind the School Field with vehicular access from Hintons Close. We still need to raise more money before we can start building but are optimistic that funding will be in place by the summer. Regular updates on our project are posted on www.helmdonacorns.org.uk

Once built, we are aiming to open from 9.00am to 3.30pm and will accept children aged from 2 to 4 years.

The parents, staff and children are all really excited about the project which will benefit the village enormously.   

New Building Planning Permission Granted - posted 3 April 2010

We are delighted to inform the village that planning permission for our new building was approved by South Northants Council on Thursday 1st April 2010.

The site is adjacent to Hintons Close with footpath access being provided off Gravel Path. There will be a large enclosed outside play area, open-plan play room as well as kitchen, administration and toilet facilities.

We still have some additional money to raise before we can actually start building but we have almost £157,000 of funding in place already.

Construction will commence as soon as we can and we aim to open during autumn 2010. We will be providing a combination of sessions for children from 2 years up to school age opening from 9:00am – 3:30pm.

If you would like to help our cause by a donation or if you would be able to volunteer to help with painting, creating the garden area, fitting the kitchen etc we would love to hear from you. Please contact Liz Hart on 01295 760130 or email liz@stationhousehelmdon.co.uk

Thank you to all who have supported our project this far!

New Building Project Update - posted  14 February 2010

We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in securing a capital grant from NCC Early Years for £150,000 towards the cost of providing a purpose-built building for Helmdon Acorns.

This week we have submitted a planning application for the proposed site which is situated at the rear of Hintons Close bordering Gravel Path, which will offer a large bright playroom with free flow to outside space, wet play area, quiet area and kitchen as well as administrative facilities and toilets. With a total project cost of just over £172,000, an additional £22,000 needs to be raised. To date a total of £6,200 has already been received from local fundraising, donations and grants from charitable trusts with further responses awaited from other sources.
Once funding is in place and planning approval secured, our target is to complete the build for opening in September 2010. It is anticipated that we will open every morning (Monday – Friday) and at least 2 afternoons from September 2010, increasing to 3 afternoons from Easter 2011, and be open 5 full days from September 2011 depending on demand.

We would like to thank the staff and governors at the school and the Reading Room Committee for their support of our project which helped us in our capital grant application.

Rachel Wheeler and Liz Hart,
On behalf of Helmdon Acorns Committee

From Little Acorns - posted 6th January 2010

AcXent In Reading Room - 6th November 2009

                               click here for more details

Early Notice For Live Music In Reading Room - 6th October 2009

Helmdon Acorns proudly present AcXent, November 28th in the Reading Room, a local rock band with members from Helmdon and Weedon Lois, to launch a fundraising campaign to provide a new building for our younger villagers.

From 8 pm.  Tickets on sale soon! Contact Liz on (01295) 760130 for more details.

New Site For Helmdon Acorns? - 14th July 2009 

Helmdon Acorns is seeking a site within the village on which to locate a new purpose built building with plenty of outside space and car parking available. We have identified one possible location but need to ensure that it is the most suitable one before proceeding further. If you are  aware of any area within or close to the village confines which may be suitable please contact Liz Hart on 01295 760130 or liz@stationhousehelmdon.co.uk . We will be able to secure funding to either buy or lease the land.  

Pampered Chef Night - 7th March 2009

There is a Pampered Chef Night on Thursday 12th March at 7pm in the Reading Room.  The Tickets are £3 (glass of wine and canapes included).

There will be a cookery demonstration and cookware available to purchase.

Contact:

Victoria:  07849 424331  victoriawebster@hotmail.com

or

Laureen:  07967 646911

All proceeds to Helmdon Acorns Pre-school

Curry & Quiz Night - 22nd February 2009

Curry & Quiz Night

Saturday 21st March, 8pm

at

The Reading Room, Helmdon

Two course meal ~ Bar ~ Music ~

Quiz ~ Raffle

Tickets £10

Contact Jo Ballantine jo.ballantine@virgin.net

 or 01295 768853; Liz Hart 01295 760130,

or Rachel Wheeler 01295 768613

All proceeds to Helmdon Acorns Pre-School

 Registered Charity No 1035898

Acorns Seek New Leader - 16th January 2009

A new pre-school leader is sought.

                                    click here for more details

Raising Funds For Acorns By Web Site Shopping - 9th November October 2008

You can raise funds for Acorns by shopping on our web shop.  There are over a million products in the web shop and Acorns earn on average £2.50 for every purchase made.

                                    click here for more details

Hallowe'en Fun Afternoon - 13th October 2008

Acorns are having a Hallowe'en Fun afternoon on  Friday 31st October from 2.00 - 4.00pm in the Reading Room and the activities are aimed at 2-8 year olds. The tickets cost £3 per child and £8 for 3 or more of your own children and are available from Acorns Pre-school, Rachel Wheeler (01295 768613), Liz Hart (01295 760130) and also from the Bungalow Stores.

Acorns At The Helmdon Carnival - 9th September 2008

Notice Of AGM - 4th July 2008

The 2008 Annual General Meeting of the Acorns will take place on Monday, September 8th, at 8 pm. at the Reading Room. All welcome.

Trip To The Eco Park - 4th July 2008

A great day was had in June when the Acorns went to the Eco Park at Milton Keynes. It was enormous fun exploring Dinosaur Land, and having boat rides and train rides and digging up bones of long lost triceratops!

Duck Hunting In Helmdon - 13th March 2008

Go on the duck trail in Helmdon on 21st – 24th March 2008!

Sponsored by Hamptons International Estate Agents in aid of Helmdon Acorns Pre-School, follow the duck trail around the village anytime over the Easter weekend and then hand your entry form in at the Duck Trail Tea Party, Monday 24th March 2-4pm at the Reading Room and enjoy children’s Easter activities, refreshments and a chocolate treat for every child!

Duck Trail entry forms £2 per child/£5 per family available from Hamptons International Estate Agents (Brackley), Seckington’s Stores (Helmdon), Helmdon Acorns and via Helmdon School - see Eleanor Shepherd or Lisa Wright.