This Friday (21st May) the whole school are looking forward to plenty or red-themed fun as we celebrate National reds for Veds Day and aim to raise some valuable funds for a very worthy cause.
REDS4VEDS Day is a global campaign that takes place on the third Friday of May each year to help raise awareness of vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vascular EDS), a rare genetic disorder. REDS4VEDS was launched in May 2015 and is hosted by Annabelle’s Challenge.
Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or VEDS, is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. Connective tissue (collagen) holds all the body’s cells, organs, and tissue together. It also plays an important role in helping the body grow and develop properly.
People with VEDS have thinner collagen, so the connective tissue is more fragile. If somebody with VEDS has a fall or injury, it can potentially be much more serious. We therefore need to be aware of the condition if we know anybody with VEDS.
One of our wonderful reception children, Hugo, has been diagnosed with VEDS. Only around 300 people actually have an official diagnosis in the UK, although trajected amounts are probably double as it is not a visual condition and we are delighted that Hugo participates enthusiastically in all aspects of school life. We are, however, mindful that information and awareness is vital, not just for our teachers but for our whole school community. If Hugo were to have a fall or an injury then it is obviously potentially more serious due to VEDS. We value the fact that our school community puts care and well-being at the top of our agenda and our Reds for VEDS Day will help to raise the profile throughout the school.
So what are we going to do to make it a really memorable day?
On Friday children should come in non-school uniform. We request a voluntary donation of £1.00, which will go towards the Reds for VEDS Appeal! Children could really go to town on this, or they could just wear something simple… like a red ribbon, badge, hairband or red socks. Whatever they feel most comfortable with.
We will be holding our first cake sale for well over a year. We still have certain restrictions due to Covid-19 so the cake sale will be held in the dining room and each class will have an allocated time slot where they can buy their cakes.
We will organise this carefully to make it as fair as possible- reserving a number of cakes for the classes whose slots come later in the afternoon. Cakes will be priced at 50p or £1.00 depending upon the cake. Please try to bring the correct change to minimise the handling of money.
We will also be setting up a red-themed obstacle course. With the Obstacle Course we will also give each class an individual time slot to keep children in their class bubbles. We promise that your time slot will come before you have the opportunity to tuck into cakes!
We will also be holding a red-themed raffle ( a bit like a Red Tombola). The Really Red Raffle will be held in the hall. Tickets will be £1.00. Every ticket wins a prize! As with the cake sale, we will be extremely grateful for any donations for our Really Red Raffle.
Again, classes will be given an individual time slot to keep children in their class bubbles!
PLEASE BRING ANY CAKES TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE, OR TO YEAR 4
(who are organising the Cake Sale on the day.)
PLEASE BRING ANY DONATIONS FOR THE REALLY RED RAFFLE TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE, OR TO YEAR 6.
(who are organising the Really Red Raffle on the day.)
To make the day even more special we will be decorating our classrooms in ‘red.’
If any of you are able to make any red decorations at home, and bring them in on the day, that would be FANTASTIC!
I know how wonderful our school community is when we celebrate special events or come together to support valuable causes, so please help us by making cakes or sending in your donations for our Really Red Raffle. It’s going to be a GREAT day!