May 2015 Newsletter

Dear Parents, Annwyl Rhieni,

We have come to the end of another very busy time in school and are all looking forward to the half-term break. The National Tests are over and we have returned to our creative curriculum; enabling the children to learn through relevant, first hand experiences. Our project approach to learning promotes the development of self-esteem, independent learning, key skills, understanding of social values and awareness of global issues. This term’s class themes continue to inspire the children to succeed in a range of interesting and motivating activities – this is reflected in the superb learning outcomes produced by all the children – WELL DONE!

Sport

Year 6 children took part in a hockey tournament earlier on this term at Rougemont School.  Glasllwch A team came second and our B team came fourth. Both teams played really well and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Year 5 and Year 6 boys took part in the Newport School Sevens Tournament at Rogerstone Primary School. They came fourth overall.

Year 5 children took part in the Mini Orange Newport Tennis Festival. They played really well and the mixed boys and girls team got through to the South Wales final which will be held at David Lloyds in Cardiff towards the end of June.

Year 6 children took part in the Mini Green Newport Tennis Festival at Stow Park Tennis Club. Even though none of the teams got through to the final, the children played really well and had a great time.

The boys and girls cricket tournaments will be taking place at Newport Cricket Club, Spytty on the 10^th and 17^th June respectively.

Well done to all the children who have taken part in the above tournaments and festivals and a big thank you to the teachers and parent helpers.

Sports Day – Change of Date

We have changed the date of our sports day to Wednesday 1^st July (weather permitting). The juniors’ will be in the morning starting at 9.30am and the infants’ in the afternoon at 1.30pm. The children can come to school in their sports kits. The infant children should wear their white polo shirts and navy or black shorts. The junior children should wear T shirts appropriate to their house colours; Galileo – blue, Newton – red, Da Vinci – green and navy or black shorts. We will be providing the children with a drink but they also need to bring their water bottles. Please make sure the children have sun cream on and a hat – just in case we have some warm weather!

Year 6 visit to the Council Chambers to see The Mayor

Earlier on this term, Year 6 visited The Mayor of Newport, Councillor Matthew Evans, in the Council Chambers in the Civic Centre. The children took part in a formal question and answer session. The Mayor was most impressed; not only with how eloquent the children were but also with their exemplary behaviour. Well done everyone!

Year 1 visit to Newport Wetlands

Year 1 thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Newport wetlands on Tuesday 6^th May. They carried out a variety of activities including pond dipping and mini-beast hunting. They had a fantastic time despite the wind and rain.

Year 5 visits to Duffryn High Jampod and Newport Wetlands

Year 5 children had a great time at Duffryn High School when they went to take part in a music making session in their Jampod. They had a great time composing and performing in groups. We have some budding musicians in the making!

Year 5 also went on a visit to Newport Wetlands earlier on this term. They took part in bird watching, adaptation, pond dipping and classification activities. It was a super trip and the children’s behaviour was exemplary!

Year 2 visit Stow Park Tennis Club

This week Year 2 went to Stow Park Tennis Club for a free taster tennis session. The children had a super time. It was a fun filled, action packed morning. The children were exhausted! Well done everyone!

 

Year 3 visit to Cardiff Castle

Year 3 had a fabulous time on Wednesday when they went to Cardiff Castle to take part in a Roman workshop. They acted out being a Roman soldier, interviewed a Roman soldier and used sticks, wheels and rope to measure a Roman house.

How exciting!

PESS Video

For the past few weeks, some of our Year 5 children have been taking part in dance workshops organised and run by Newport’s PESS Dance tutor (Physical Education and School Sports). The children have been working towards making a video that will be used to share good practice with other schools. Well done children!

New Parent Governor

Mrs K. Middleton has come to the end of her term of office as a parent governor. A huge thank you to Mrs Middleton for her time and contribution to the Governing Body over the past four years.

We are delighted to welcome our new parent governor, Farzana Mohammed, onto the Governing Body. Only one nomination form was returned to school and so no ballot was required. Mrs Mohammed has had two children progress through the school and move on to the next stage of their education and currently has one child in school in Year 5. Mrs Mohammed is a pharmacist and is looking forward to linking the ‘health’ agenda with the ‘education’ agenda. We look forward to and welcome her expertise.

Congratulations!

HUGE congratulations to one of our Year 6 children, Ross Mohring, on being selected to play for the Wales Under 11 National Cricket Team this coming 2015 season. Ross plays for Newport Cricket Club as well as the Gwent Cricket Region and, to quote Cricket Wales, ‘has shown character, determination and especially a great desire to learn and improve his game.’ Fantastic result, well done Ross!

Chickens

Sadly two weekends ago, two of our chickens were taken by foxes! We are really sad, especially the Reception children and staff! We have talked (very sensitively) to the children about what happened.

We have two new chickens and have made the chicken coop more secure!

Nursery Update

The roof is on, the floor is down and we are in the process of choosing internal flooring, fixtures and fittings. We will receive final numbers and names of children who have been allocated a place straight after half term. We will then look at allocating morning or afternoon sessions and will arrange a meeting in school for nursery children parents.

Attendance To Date

Year Group	Attendance
Reception	95.74%
Year 1	97.33%
Year 2	97.33%
Year 3	96.29%
Year 4	96.85%
Year 5	95.76%
Year 6	94.98%
Whole School	96.32%

Congratulations to Year 1 and Year 2 on having 97.33% attendance so far this year. We are on target to exceed 96% by the end of this year. It is vital that children are not taken out of school for holidays.

 

Reminder

Wednesday 1^st July  Sports Day – am Juniors, pm FP    (NB this is a change of date from June 23^rd)

 

Thank you for your continued support. The partnership that we have enables us to continue to ‘reach for the stars’ and to build on our success. As an ‘Excellent School’ we are always evaluating our policies, procedures and practices and striving to be a ‘centre of excellence’. We really are very proud of our school and of all our children.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. C. M. Jackson (Head Teacher)