March 2015 Newsletter No 2

Dear Parents, Annwyl Rhieni,

The year is flying by and we can hardly believe we have reached the end of March and are heading towards the summer term 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 projects allowing contextualised learning to take place. Here is an update of recent events in school.

Chicks

We were delighted to welcome three new additions to school earlier on this term. Pat, Oscar and Dylan, three chicks all named by the Reception children, arrived two weeks ago. The children have thoroughly enjoyed looking after the new arrivals and have done some fantastic diary writing as well as weighing and measuring them each day. They’ve already grown so much!

Dance Festival

Last Monday evening ‘Dance Club’ took part in the Newport Dance Festival at The Riverfront Theatre in Newport. Twenty two children from Years 3 and 4 took part in the festival and performed dances to music from ‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift and ‘Eye of the Tiger’ from the film ‘Rocky’. The children performed really well and had a super time. A BIG thank you to Mrs McArdell and Mrs Ash for all their hard work and well done to all the children.

Enterprise Troopers

HUGE congratulations to the School Council on participating in the regional final of the Enterprise Troopers Competition as a result of their work organising their ‘Health Yourself’ initiative. The School Nutrition Action Group (SNAG), which is a sub group of the School Council, took part in the regional final at Coleg Y Cymoedd, Nantgarw last month where they presented their project to a panel of judges. The judges were really impressed with both their business skills and their presentation skills. Well done everyone and a HUGE thank you to Miss Gaunt for all her hard work.

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 6 are being held week beginning April 20th.

National Tests

The National tests for Years 2 – 6 will take place in school as follows; Wednesday 6th May – Reading Test, Friday 8th May – Numeracy Procedural Test, Monday 11th May – Numeracy Reasoning Test. The tests are constructed so that our younger learners will be able to sit them in ‘chunks’. They will be delivered on a year group or small group basis. The reading test will consist of a number of passages followed by short, closed response and multiple choice type questions. There are two numeracy tests; a procedural test for knowledge and understanding and a reasoning test for application of skills and problem solving. The tests will be marked in school and learners’ raw scores will be converted to standardised scores and age – equivalent scores. The standardised score will show how your child’s performance in the test compares to other children of the same age who have sat the test in Wales. The age – equivalent score will tell you whether your child’s reading age (or equivalent for numeracy) is equivalent to, above or below their actual age, based on how he or she performed in the test. Test results and comparative data will be sent out at the end of the year. It is vital that all children are in school on the above dates to sit these tests.

Attendance

We continue to monitor attendance and punctuality in school. WELL DONE to all those children with full attendance this term. Last year we achieved over 96% attendance. This year we are aiming for 96.5% attendance. So far this year we are at 96%. Come on, we can do it!!!

It is vital that children are in school and ready to learn by 9am. Only a small number of children are now coming to school after 9am. After Easter we will continue to monitor punctuality and attendance. Thank you for your support in this.

Trips and Permission Slips

When we send notification of trips out with permission slips attached, it is vital that the permission slips are completed and returned to school as soon as possible. Without signed permission, children will not be taken out of school. Thank you!

PTA

A BIG THANK YOU to the PTA for all their hard work again this term. Their next big event is the forthcoming ‘Ladies Night’ scheduled for Friday 17th April at 7pm. This looks to be a really super evening so please come along and support us.

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. We were also delighted that the Easter Bunny came to visit Foundation Phase! How eggciting!!!

Website

Don’t forget to keep up to date with the latest news and developments on the school website! You can follow us at @GlasllwchP or by linking through the school website.

 

School closes today for the Easter holidays and reopens on Monday 13th April.

Diary Dates for Summer Term

Monday 13th April                                  school reopens for start of summer term

Friday 17th April                                   am Newport Tennis Tournament Years 2 and 3

Friday 17th April                                   PTA Ladies Night

Wednesday 22nd April                              School Council meeting with The Mayor for a question and answer session

Wednesday 22nd April                              Girls Cricket Festival Years 5 and 6

Friday 24th April                                   am Newport Tennis Tournament Years 4 and 5

Tuesday 28th April                                 Year 5 to Duffryn High’s Jam Pod

Wednesday 29th April                              Year 5 visit Newport Wetlands

Thursday 30th April                                5.15pm Finance, 6pm Governors

Friday 1st May                                      Class and group photographs in school

Monday 4th May                                    School closed Bank Holiday Monday

Tuesday 5th May – Tuesday 12th May             Y2 to Y6 sitting National tests – see dates above

Tuesday 5th May                                    7pm PTA meeting

Thursday 7th May                                  School closed for INSET (Elections held at school)

Monday 18th May                                   Police Talks in Years 2 and 6

Thursday 21st May                                 Kinetic Theatre production for whole school

Friday 22nd May                                             School closes for half term break

Monday 25th May – Friday 29th May              School closed for half term

Monday 1st June                                    School reopens after half term break

Monday 1st June – Friday 19th June               Year 3 swimming course

Wednesday 10th June                           Boys Cricket Festival Years 5 and 6

Monday 15th June                                  Welsh Reading Competition Y5

Thursday 18th June                                 Year 5 visit Cardiff Bay

Friday 19th June                                    Newport Athletics Tournament Years 5 and 6

Tuesday 23rd June Sports Day                    am Juniors, pm FP

Wednesday 24th June                              Year 5 Transition concert at Duffryn High (information to follow)

Thursday 2nd July                                  5.15pm Finance, 6pm Governors

Tuesday 7th July                                    7pm PTA

Friday 10th July                                             1.30pm Year 6 Safe Cycling Test

Wednesday 15th July                               10am Year 6 Leavers Concert followed by bowling

Friday 17th July                                             last day of summer term

Monday 20th July                                   school closed INSET

 

Dates to be arranged next term:

Nursery intake meeting for parents

Reception intake meeting for parents

PTA Summer Fete

Class Summer trips

 

 

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

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