Dear Parents and Carers,

The terrible earthquake that has hit parts of Turkey and Syria has left 24,000 people dead. 17 million people live in the affected areas and many of them are in need of shelter, food and medical aid.

One of the things I love and admire most about the children of St John's School is how much they care about others. Several children came to see me last week, to ask if we can raise money to help the people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. They want to do something quickly so that we can help as soon as possible.

We are going to have a non-uniform day on Friday 17th February. We would like everyone to bring £1 which will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) who are coordinating a massive response to the earthquake. You can find out more about them and how to donate to other global disasters here: DEC

We will also be asking the school council to talk to their classes about other ways that they can raise money to help with the relief effort over the next half term, so if your child has any ideas, make sure they tell their class councillor, or speak to me.

Finally, I know that some of our school families are suffering a great deal of hardship themselves, so if you can't afford to donate, please don't worry. Your child is still welcome to wear non-uniform and nobody will know that they did not donate. If you can afford to bring some money in, we will gladly accept donations for more or less than £1: we just want to raise as much as we can to help those in need.

Basically, give what you can, and all of the money collected will go to the DEC.

I am sure that many of you, like me, are praying for those in Turkey and Syria. If you have family or friends affected by this disaster and would like us to pray for them in school, please let me know.

Best wishes,

Mrs Seymour