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Leavers’ Celebrations

This month has been another ‘should have’ month; Jess should have enjoyed all of the primary school leavers’ celebrations with her friends. The assemblies, plays, parties and all the other excitement that comes with it. She would have loved it I’m sure! And we would have loved watching her too!

Of course, circumstances mean we haven’t been able to experience it….. or not in the conventional sense anyway. But thanks to the fantastic efforts of an amazing bunch of friends and a school that continues to keep her memory alive, Jess has been part of the celebrations after all. With Jessica Weaver awards, making it into farewell speeches, signed framed pictures, Team Jess fundraising and even being part of a cake, Jess’ memory really has lived on. Given the circumstances, I think that’s the best we could hope for. I think the cheeky mischief filled smile from the start of school is quite reflective of how she would have felt. 😊

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What a Lovely Westerton Day

We loved popping back to Westerton for the day to take part in the Team Jess Westerton Marathon. It was great to see some familiar faces from years gone by and to run with a Jess’ old class under perfectly ordered skies! Just to top it off, a whole lot of money was raised for Children with Cancer UK too.😀. I think all the children and the school did themselves incredibly proud. Thanks Westerton – what a great achievement – I know Jess would have loved it.

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Totaliser Still Rising!

After what feels like a never ending lockdown 3, Christmas seems like a very distant memory, even though only really a matter of weeks ago. So it was lovely to hear from Jess’ old school yesterday, with news of their amazing Christmas jumper fundraising in memory of Jess for Children with Cancer UK. Another £626.80 to add to the totaliser is an amazing result! Thanks Westerton, and so heartwarming to hear that Jess’ memory lives on with you too.

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School Fancy Dress Day!

Jess would be proud of her friends and teachers raising a fantastic £384 for a Children with Cancer UK by holding a fancy dress day at school. Jess loved dressing up, here’s a photo with her brother when they dressed up as Where’s Wally for World Book Day a few years ago. Ironically, it was the Where’s Wally Books that took Jess’ mind away from the blood tests in the early days. Thanks Westerton, fantastic effort!

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School Commemorative Event

So unfortunately the commemorative event at Jess’ old school has had to be postponed – COVID 19 strikes again! It was to be expected really given the unprecedented times we find ourselves in, but a shame nonetheless. The good news is the school will be doing a fancy dress day on the 23rd October instead, raising funds to share between the school and their chosen charity for childhood cancer.  Thanks Westerton, Jess would have loved dressing up 👍🏻

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Going from Strength to Strength… or should I say Length to Length!

A massive well done to Jack, school friend of Jess and son of one of the Team Jess runners. Not only has Jack been running each week to help his mum train for the Team Jess runs, but he’s also managed to find time to complete a sponsored swim too! Jack jumped into the water with his friend Euan to raise funds for Marie Curie and Cancer Research UK, swimming 1500 metres (a phenomenal 60 lengths!) in memory of friends and family affected by cancer and Team Jess.  That will make a massive splash as it jumps into the fundraising pots of both charities. Well done Jack and thank you for being a super fundraiser… with a swim and lots of runs under your belt, maybe your next venture should be a triathlon….. 😉

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School Friends Making Positive Memories


Little did I know it (until now!), but since Christmas, one of Jess’ school friends and her sister have been busy raising money in memory of Jess in all sorts of inventive ways, determined to channel sadness into making a difference. For example, at Christmas, they made and sold crafts and donated the proceeds directly to Candlelighters in Jessica’s memory and they’ve recently made crayons for Isla to sell at school. Furthermore their Dad kindly donated £26 directly to Candlelighters- £1 to represent every mile of the London Marathon he would have run had the event not been cancelled, meaning he had to do a shorter local run instead. What inventive ideas. Thank you! 

This isn’t the first time that school friends have  gone the extra mile (in some cases literally) to make memories whilst raising funds at the same time. In October last year, two of Jess’ school friends, Billy and Charlie, did the Leeds Abbey Junior Dash in memory or Jess. The fantastic £120 that they raised was donated to Candlelighters together with the funeral fundraising. Another pair of superstars, thank you!

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Thank you Westerton Primary Academy

I had a lovely chat with Jessica’s school yesterday about ideas they have to commemorate Jess and to help her memory live on. They had some wonderful suggestions about things they could do, as well as some fun fundraising ideas too. We look forward to coming back to see you next year (even if Jess’ big brother will be embarking on the brave new world of high school!) to celebrate Jess’ time at a school. Thank you Westerton Primary Academy for coming up with (what I’m sure would have been ) Jess approved ideas. 😀