As this will be the last blog entries we publish before Christmas we would like to take this opportunity to say a big SOS "thank you" to one particular group of school children who gave us a wonderful Christmas gift this year.

A month or two ago we were contacted by a Mrs. C. Harris, a teacher at Brookfield Primary School in Mansfield, Notts., who told us that the pupils at her school wished to do a fundraiser for The Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. We thought this was a wonderful idea and - to help them get them started on their project - sent them some information about the work that we do here.

This week we recieved a huge pack of hand-written letters from the children (29 in total), telling me all about the fantastic results of their original idea - the "Owl Sanctuary Bring & Buy Sale!".

One of the letters, from Dayna of Year 6, explained how the idea came about: "During our science lessons, we have been studying animals and their habitats.  In our I.T.C lesson (Inside Computer Technology), we were researching owls and discovered your fantastic owl sanctuary.  We had very many ideas on how to adopt an owl and raise enough money.  We came to a decision to have a toy sale."

It seems that all the children exceeded their own expectations and raised in excess of £70, a magnificent achievement with which the students have decided to adopt two owls - "Cobweb" the Barn Owl for Key Stage 1 pupils and "Snapdragon" the Little Owl for those of Key Stage 2.

Mrs. Harris also wrote to us & said, "Not only has the Owl project enhanced the curriculum, but the children now have a genuine interest and concern for the welfare of animals & birds in general - an interest I'm sure which will continue in many children's lives.  I'm sure you will agree that the children have worked hard and achieved a worthwhile goal...  if you could possibly send a reply to YEAR 6 it would mean a great deal to them!"

Well, Mrs. Harris, your wish is our command!  

The children have done such a magnificent job that rather than write a personal letter of thanks directly to the school, we decided to thank all those involved via our website - which means that everyone can see exactly what a wonderful job Brookfield Primary did on behalf of SOS. So - Elizabeth, Dayna, Adele, Matthew, Chloe, Shannon, Thomas, Bethany, Michael, Lauren, Josh, Dana, Leah, Zoe, Tonisha, Ryan, Natalie, Katie, Crystal, Connor, Dylan, Tommy, Ryan, Jessica, Karla, Katie, Byrony, Katie, Luke (and anyone else I have forgotten to mention) - a BIG THANK YOU from all at S.O.S. for all your hard work on this project. Keep up the good work!

With All Best Wishes for 2008,

David Nadauld & The S.O.S. Team