May 2016 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 5 children took part in a hockey tournament earlier on this term at Rougemont School. Glasllwch A team came first 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 were runners up in the cup final to Marshfield. Well done boys!

Year 5 and 6 children took part in the Mini Green Newport Tennis Festival at Stow Park Tennis Club. The girls’ team won their event and go on to play in the next round at David Lloyds on the 23rd June. The boys’ team played some great tennis but unfortunately did not progress from their group. All 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 8th and 15th June respectively.

The Newport Schools Athletics Festival will take place at Spytty on the 17th June.

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.

Years 1 and 2 visit to Stow Park Tennis Club

Years 1 and 2 went to Stow Park Tennis Club earlier on this term 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!

Reception trip to Newport Wetlands

The Reception children thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Newport Wetlands as part of their Bird Project. They went bird spotting on a nature walk and made bird feeders out of apples, seeds and lollypop sticks. Well done everyone!

Chickens

A few weeks ago there was great excitement in the Reception class as three of the eggs that were put in the incubator hatched. The children called their new class mates Glinda, Cheepy and Fred! The chicks were a fantastic stimulus for numeracy and literacy activities across the curriculum. The children thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow and learnt a great deal about how to look after them. The chickens have now gone to a local farm and have settled in well to their new home.

Kinetic Theatre

Last week Kinetic Theatre performed ‘The Electricity Show’ for the whole school in the hall. The children thoroughly enjoyed the production and learnt a lot about where electricity comes from and what it is used for!

Welsh Water

Representatives from Welsh Water have been in school to talk to the children about The Water Cycle and the different ways in which we use water.

Recycling

Children in Year 3 to Year 6 took part in recycling workshops today. Staff from ADA Recycling and Safety Training worked with the children looking at the importance of recycling, recycling processes for different materials and Global Citizenship. The children had a great time and learnt lots too!

 

It’s not rocket science! Yes it is!

Year 2 are waiting, in eager anticipation, to receive a letter from Tim Peak telling them which of the seeds they planted were the seeds that were in space. The red seeds have been growing the best and the children predict that these are the seeds that have not been in space! Have you been following their updates on Twitter?

Nursery

A BIG THANK YOU to Mr Jones and Mr Cullen for building the new sand pit for our nursery. It’s big enough for the children to stand in and play. The children are going to love it!

PC Thomas in School

PC Thomas has been to school to speak to Year 1 about the emergency services, Year 4 about smoking and Year 6 about the dangers of alcohol. These are part of our on-going Police Liason programme.

Attendance As you are aware, we regularly monitor whole school, year group and individual pupil’s attendance. It is vital that children are in school every day and are on time so that they can achieve their full potential.  We now have only a few children who regularly come to school late, therefore missing vital learning opportunities at the beginning of the day. It is vital that all children are in school and ready to learn by 9am. Parents of children who are persistently late for school will be contacted by school. Attendance figures for last term and this year so far are as follows. Well done to Year 2 and Year 4 for having excellent attendance so far this year. Our target for 2015 / 2016 is 96.5%! Come on, we can do it!

Year Group Spring Term 2016 2015 / 2016 – so far!
Reception 95.15% 96.27%
Year 1 95.64% 96%
Year 2 97.05% 97.46%
Year 3 96.05% 96.2%
Year 4 96.98% 97.05%
Year 5 95.75% 96.02%
Year 6 95.68% 96.55%
Whole School Average 96.04% 96.5%

Health and safety

We continue to have huge concerns about parents double parking, parking on double yellow lines or parking dangerously when dropping children off at the beginning of the school day or picking them up at the end of the day. I continue to have a significant number of complaints from parents who are HUGELY concerned about the health and safety of the children whilst crossing the roads. This really is a very serious issue. Mr Cullen is now putting cones out at the beginning and end of the school day to demarcate a no stopping / parking area. Please park safely in a cone free zone! Any vehicles parked dangerously will be recorded and reported to the police.

Timber Trail, Bank and Field

During the school day the children are allowed on the field to play and have timetabled access to the timber trail. During these activities they are supervised by staff. The children know that at the beginning and end of the school day they are not allowed on the field, up the bank, behind the trees or on the timber trail as there is no staff supervision. Sadly, a number of children are not adhering to these rules when they are handed over to parents at the end of the school day. Please support us in enforcing these rules. The health and safety of your children is our main concern.

 

School closes today for the half term break. Tomorrow is an INSET day for staff and governors. We look forward to seeing you when we return to school on Monday 6th June.

 

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’.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. C. Jackson (Head Teacher)

Latest School News

Latest Class News

Subscribe to our Newsletter

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?