Summer Term 2014

Another busy and successful term has passed. Look at what's happened at school.

The transition programme between the cluster primaries and Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni continues. Secondary teachers visit every Wednesday to teach year 6.

The year 3&4 and 5&6 reading teams represented Gwent County at the annual national book quiz in Aberystwyth. They received very positive feedback from the judges on the standard of their language and their ability to discuss and perform a short drama from the texts they had studied. Congratulations to them all and thanks to Mrs Jaci Evans, Mrs Lowri John and Mrs Catrin Rees for preparing the pupils.

Thank you to all families who attended the annual “Sul y Fawl” service at Tonyfelin Chapel. It was a lovely service and a wonderful opportunity to join with our friends from other Welsh schools to spread a message of peace and goodwill at the end of Christian Aid Week.

All classes went on an excursion as part of our cross curricular themes:

Nursery - Van Park; St Fagans

Reception – Techniquest; Cwmcarn Forest

Year 1 – Acquarium in Weston-Super-Mare;

Year 2 – Roath Park

Year 3 and 4 – Newport Wetlands

Year 5 – Morgan Jones Park

Year 6 – Longleat

The year 4 cricket team competed, under the guidance of Mr Hill, in the annual Urdd competition.

Our youngest pupils learnt about mini-beasts through a visit from “Chris, Nearly Wild Show”. They held all sorts of insects and reptiles – cockroaches, snakes, spiders, rats, a lizard - and learnt about how important every animal is to our world.

The School Nurse visited Cwyion y Castell to talk about her role and how to keep healthy.

The school accepted an invite from Cardiff Metropolitan University to participate a new programme about “Physical Literacy” – one of two schools in South Wales. Miss Lowri Morgan (a PhD student) will undertake her personal research project in school over the next year, studying the development of Year 5’s physical skills, commitment, motivation and their attitude towards physical education. She will assist in school for two days a week, teaching PE lessons, assisting with healthy school projects and running extra after school activities.

All pupils in Year 3 and 4 attended daily swimming lessons for three weeks. A big improvement was seen in the children’s swimming ability with every child succeeding to meet the government’s target of swimming 25m.

PC Thomas worked with all classes in Key Stage 2. She introduced and discussed a number of personal safety lessons with the children.

Tommo, a presenter on Radio Cymru, visited school to interview a group of pupils. They had lots of fun sharing jokes, silly stories and lively songs.

All pupils in KS2 went to Blackwood Miners’ Institute to see a performance of “Penblwydd Poenus Pete”. On the same day, Lili Lolipop came to school to entertain our younger pupils through a mixture of songs, games and fun activities. Thanks to the Friends of the School for funding these experiences.

As we all follow the developments of the Football World Cup, members of Elim Church provided the KS2 pupils with a day of team building activities based on a footballing theme. The Christian messages of cooperation and respect for fellowman kind was shared throughout the day.

At the end of the term,Theatr Na’Nog are visiting us to perform an inter-generational project aimed at grandparents and Year 6 pupils. The main message of the drama is to recognise the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. Every family will be provided with a free carbon monoxide meter for participating in the drama and workshops.

A number of staff, governors and parents from the school are working diligently with Eisteddfod yr Urdd Caerphilly 2015 committees. The School Council organised a “Year to Go” fund raising day under the guidance of Mrs Bethan Rossiter. They sold official Eisteddfod merchandise and wore green, red and white clothes for the day. £1,200 was raised towards our target of £2,000.

Year 6 had Cycle Safety training. They spent a whole week learning new skills and road safety before sitting a Cycling Proficiency test. They also had lesson on “Growing Up” which taught them about the physical and emotional changes they face as they hit adolescence. Our athletics team has had the opportunity to take part in various competitions during the term under the guidance of Mr Griffiths, Miss Reynolds, Mr Hill and Mr Egal. School sports day was held on 30.06.14 – a chance for all pupils to show their talent and enjoy keeping fit. During Whitsun, a group of children from the school went to compete on the Urdd National Eisteddfod in the following competitions:• Under 10 recitation (Harriet Wright-Nicholas)• Duet (Hana Thomas and Delun Thomas)• Group DialogueDuring the week, the performances were superb although once again we were robbed! It was lovely to be able to celebrate our success as a school community; staff, pupils and proud parents. Many thanks go to all staff for their selfless hard work in preparing the children. What gave us the most pleasure was to see the children using their Welsh naturally whilst on the Eisteddfod field.

An awards evening is planned for year 6 in Neuadd Glyndwr on 14.06.14. This is a chance for us to show our thanks to the children and their families for all their hard work and devotion. It is also a chance to celebrate their talents and their contribution to the school.

Weekly lessons are held on the harp, violin and woodwind instruments. A small number of these pupils went for a day of “Intense Play” in Cwm Rhymni which is held annually by Peripatetic Music teachers.

Class assemblies were prepared and performed by all pupils. Parents were invited to celebrate with us.

Several extra-curricular activities were offered, including Urdd Club, athletics / games, I-Pads, board games and sewing. Dream Team continue to offer football training every week.

Friends of the School meet regularly to support the school in its work and to raise money to enrich pupil experiences. Afternoon tea, summer fair and a cricket match were arranged. They have purchased numerous items for the pupils including, additional books for the Foundation Phase reading scheme, theatre tickets for KS2 pupils and a contribution towards fun activities for Foundation Phase. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to this small group of committed parents who work so hard on behalf of the school.

Thanks to you all for your continued support towards all our activities that ensure that the children receive memorable, exciting experiences.