April 2017 Newsletter
April 2017
Dear Parents, Annwyl Rhieni,
The year is flying by and we can hardly believe we have reached the end of the spring term and are heading towards the summer and hopefully some warmer weather. The children have continued to work hard and have had a variety of experiences and opportunities to develop their skills within a creative learning environment. As I’m sure you are aware each class has been working on a different project allowing contextualised learning to take place. Here is an update of recent events in school.
Dance Festival
Last Monday evening ‘Dance Club’ took part in the Newport Dance Festival at The Riverfront Theatre in Newport. Twenty-four children from Years 3 and 4 took part in the festival and performed two dances to ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Uptown Funk’. The children were fabulous! They all had a super time and were a real credit to school. A BIG thank you to Mrs McArdell and Mrs Ash for all their hard work and well done to all the children.
Sport
The rugby team took part in the Newport Schools Nano PharmTournament earlier on this week at Rogerstone Primary School. They played really well just losing out to Pentrepoeth. Well done everyone!
The mini red tennis children, Years 3 and 4, played in a tournament earlier on this term. The girls team won, the mixed team came second and the boys came third. The girls will now go on to represent Newport in the South Wales finals in June. Fantastic result everyone! The mini orange mixed team, Year 5, played earlier on this week and came second! Well done everyone!
Year 1 Pirate Day
Year 1 had a super day yesterday participating in their ‘Pirate Activity Day’. The children looked amazing in their pirate costumes!
Year 4 Trip to Cadbury World
Year 4 thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Cadbury World this week, as part of their ‘Chocolate’ project. The children had a talk from one of the employees about the history of the Aztecs and cocoa beans, had a tour of the factory, visited the 4D cinema and ate a lot of chocolate!
Funky Hat Parade
We’ve certainly seen some weird and wonderfully funky hats today in our Funky Hat Parade! Well done to all the children who took part.
Mrs Parker
A HUGE THANK YOU from Mrs Parker for all the support you have given her in her fundraising for AbleChildAfrica. The recent ‘late night lock – in’ for Years 3 and 4 as well as the Foundation Phase ‘pyjama day’, were both huge successes. Altogether, including the Year 5 / 6 sleepover and the collection of small change, Mrs Parker has raised £1,609 through school events. This is a HUGE achievement. WELL DONE everyone! The charity was so impressed with the school’s involvement and the creative fundraising activities that the children have taken part in that Mrs Parker has been awarded two golden bond grand stand passes to the finish line for her family. Fabulous! The London Marathon is on Sunday 23rd April. Good luck and best wishes Mrs Parker! We’ll be looking out for you!
Consultations
It was good to see so many parents attending consultations with teachers this week. If you have not yet met with your child’s teacher it really is vital that you contact school to make a convenient appointment to see them. Consultations for Year 1 will be rearranged after the Easter break.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Goldsworthy on the safe arrival of their baby boy, Caspian, born on Monday 27th March weighing 8lb 4oz. We are all delighted for you!
PTA
The recent PTA Family Bingo was a HUGE Success! A BIG thank you to the committee for organising the event and to everyone who came for your support. A total of £750 was raised and everyone had a great time! A great result! Also well done to everyone who has taken part in the PTA smartie challenge, a total of £480 has been raised with nursery raising the most with a whopping £113.23. Fantastic! Money raised by the PTA has been spent in the following way this term:
£2000 on a range of reading books across school.
£200 for every class has been used to buy:
Mud Kitchens for nursery and reception; outdoor curriculum equipment for Years 1 and 2; books, cushions and lamps to enhance reading areas in Years 3 and 4; science equipment and activity days in Years 5 and 6.
A BIG thank you from all the children and staff.
The next PTA event is the Family Disco and BBQ on Friday 12th May. This is always a really popular event so make sure the date is in your diary!
Growth Mind – set
At Glasllwch Primary School we believe that encouraging a Growth Mind-set creates an ethos for learning which increases motivation, promotes perseverance, develops confidence and enhances relationships. On Tuesday 25th April we are holding a Growth Mind – set evening in school when we will share with you some of the ways in which we are developing Growth Mind-set within school. We are also delighted that this event will also provide a unique opportunity to hear Double World Record Holder, Rob Munslow, talking about his experiences of rowing across the North Atlantic Ocean, both in a four-man team and as a solo ocean rower. The PTA will be at this event selling refreshments.
Attendance
Attendance figures for autumn and spring terms.
| Year Group | Autumn Term 2016 | Spring Term 2017 |
| Reception | 96.79% | 97% |
| Year 1 | 97.03% | 97.24% |
| Year 2 | 97.15% | 97.13% |
| Year 3 | 97.75% | 98.08% |
| Year 4 | 96.64% | 96.83% |
| Year 5 | 96.95% | 97.15% |
| Year 6 | 95.84% | 95.71% |
| Whole School Average | 96.87% | 97.02% |
A HUGE well done to Year 3 for achieving over 98% attendance this term. There has been an improvement on last terms attendance in nearly all year groups resulting in whole school attendance at over 97%. We are on track to exceed our target of 96.5%. Well done everyone!
Good attendance at school is vital if your child is to achieve his / her full potential. We monitor individual pupil attendance on a regular basis and if your child’s attendance dips below 96% we will contact you to discuss ways in which we can support you to improve it.
Diary Dates
7.4.17 School closes today for Easter break
10.4.17 – 13.4.17 Superstars Holiday Club in school
18.4.17 – 21.4.17 Superstars Holiday Club in school
24.4.17 Summer term begins
25.4.17 Growth Mind – set evening in school 6pm
1.5.17 School closed May Bank Holiday
3.5.17 National Reading Test – Years 2 – 6
4.5.17 National Numeracy Test – Procedural – Years 2 – 6
4.5.17 Nursery closed for elections
5.5.17 National Numeracy Test – Reasoning – Years 2 – 6
11.5.17 Mini Green Tennis Tournament – Year 6 pupils
12.5.17 Colorfoto – class and group photographs. Please ensure
sports kits and musical instruments are in school
12.5.17 PTA family disco and BBQ 6pm
16.5.17 Finance and Governors meeting in school
18.5.17 Digital Leaders sharing event at Maendy Cwmbran
25.5.17 Year 6 to Malpas Evangelical Church Life Exhibition
26.5.17 School closed INSET
29.5.17 – 2 6.17 School closed – Half Term
7.6.17 Kinetic Theatre in school – whole school
12.6.17 – 30.6.17 Year 3 swimming
14.6.17 Playground Pals – cake sale
15.6.17 Year 4 Olympics Day with John Frost Cluster
19.6.17 Year 1 trip to Newport Wetlands
22.6.17 Pupil Participation sharing event – Digital Leaders
27.6.17 Mini Red finals in Cardiff
28.6.17 Year 5 Transition Project Concert at John Frost High
3.7.17 Finance and Governors meeting in school
4.7.17 Sports Day 9.30am KS2, 1.30pm FP – weather permitting
7.7.17 PTA Summer Fete – school closes at 3pm, reopens at 3.10pm
12.7.17 PTA event in school – details to follow
19.7.17 Leavers concert 10am – parents invited
21.7.17 School closes for summer break
7.8.17 – 25.8.17 Superstars Holiday Club in school
4.9.17 School reopens for 2017 / 2018 Autumn Term
Thank you for all your support again this term. We value the partnership we have between home and school. It is vital if children are to flourish and to reach their full potential. We really are very proud of our school and of all our children.
Have a very happy Easter,
Yours sincerely,
C. M. Jackson and Staff.
Headteacher
Latest Class News
P.T.A
Have a look at the P.T.A. page, under ‘School Community’ to find out how to participate in the ‘Easyfundraising’ scheme when you are doing your online shopping!
Our Welsh word of the week
Pwy sy'n gwybod?
Who knows?