Freshwater & Yarmouth Class Charities 2024-2025

YR – MacMillan

Y1 – RNLI Lifeboat

Y2 – Wildheart Foundation

Y3 – Save the Children

Y4 – Kissy Puppy

Y5 – WaterAid

Y6 – Mountbatten Hospice

Dementia Friendly Choir

Children from Freshwater and Yarmouth CE Primary School have been joining each week with the West Wight Dementia Friendly Choir for the past 2 years.

This has proved to be of immense benefit to both the children and the many members of the choir. As well as the practical support of helping with refreshments, the children engage in conversations with the ladies and gentlemen, talking about what is happening in school which invariably enables them to recall their own childhood memories of school and for those who have always lived locally, what it was like to be at our school in times gone by.
Members of the choir’s support team come into school to talk to the children; to help them understand dementia and give them the opportunity to ask questions and for some, it helps them to understand older members of their own family who may have dementia.
The choir love to see the children, excited whispers of ‘The children are here’ can be heard when we arrive, and the children genuinely love going to the choir. Each week I am asked, ‘Is it dementia choir this week?’ or ‘Is it my turn this week?’. Their enthusiasm is infectious and despite many of the songs being sung, such as Traditional Music Hall songs or Rogers and Hammerstein Musical Show Tunes, not being songs they are familiar with, they gladly join in with the singing, using small percussion instruments and standing up to perform parts of songs.

By way of reciprocation, the children have sung to the choir members a song they had been taught by a children’s choir from Uganda and last year during a big football tournament encouraged the choir members to add the ‘extra’ parts of Sweet Caroline, that are heard at England football games, which was a joy to see and hear.

This community project is an absolute privilege for Freshwater and Yarmouth School to be a part of. The way it reaches across the generations bringing joy to so many deserves to be recognised.

Nomination for Kings Award for Voluntary Service

 The Dementia Choir in Freshwater have been nominated for the Kings Award for Voluntary Service and the children wrote letters in support of the choir to show what a difference the choir makes.  The fact that the choir is intergenerational is very special and the joy the children bring to the choir is very real. The choir goes above and beyond to impact people’s lives and help to educate the children positively.

‘The dementia choir has a wonderful atmosphere to it. The children of year 5 and 6 love going to the choir and leave feeling happy and excited to go again. At the moment in the choir we have been singing songs by Mary Poppins, one of our favourites being Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. People at the choir are really kind to us and very helpful. At the break we help hand round the snacks and sit with the people, talking about all the things we have been up to. When we are singing we have instruments like maracas, bells and mini drums. We are so grateful for this opportunity.’

By Annie & Summer