Weekly Newsletter for the Week of 30th January

Children from Years 5 and 6 with the school hall's new big screen

Monday/Dydd Llun 30^th

Chess Club for KS2 at lunchtime with Mrs Stahl

Dance Club for KS2 at lunchtime with Mrs Davies

Friends of the School meeting, 2pm

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 31^st
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 1^st

Year 4 Class Assembly, 9.10am

Running Club for years 3 to 6 with Miss Joyce after school

Football Club for Years 3 to 6 after school with Miss Jones

Thursday/Dydd Iau 2^nd

Welsh Club at lunchtime with Miss Jones

Netball for years 5 and 6 after school with Ellen Wood

Friday/Dydd Gwener 3^rd

Food Standards Agency performance for the whole school

Rugby at lunchtime for years 3 to 6 with Ian Morgan and Mark Rhydderch-Roberts

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Pizza                                                Thursday –Roast Beef
Tuesday – Sausages                        Friday – Fish and chips
Wednesday – Chicken curry

Eisteddfod Castle Competition…Advanced notice that one of the Eisteddfod competitions we will be asking the children to take part in this year is to build a model castle. This may be something that they undertake over the half term holiday. All entries need to be labelled with the child’s name and class.

Pupil Absence…Thank you to the large majority of parents who remember to contact the school either via telephone or through a note to inform us about their child’s absence from school. This helps us to keep our records up-to-date, to monitor attendance and raise any concerns where necessary. It is very important that children attend school regularly as pupil absence has been proven to have a significant negative impact on children’s learning. The school has a statutory duty to monitor attendance and take action where it has concerns. As part of this process we are introducing a system where we will be contacting parents where there are concerns over their child’s attendance. We will then work with parents to improve the situation.

This Week’s Diary

Monday/Dydd Llun 23^rd

Chess Club for KS2 at lunchtime with Mrs Stahl

Crickhowellprimary.blogspot.com

Dance Club for KS2 at lunchtime with Mrs Davies

Friends of the School meeting, 2pm

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 24^th
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 25^th

Year 1 Class Assembly, 9.10am

Running Club for years 3 to 6 with Miss Joyce after school

Football Club for Years 3 to 6 after school with Miss Jones

Thursday/Dydd Iau 26^th

Welsh Club at lunchtime with Miss Jones

Netball for years 5 and 6 after school with Ellen Wood

Penny Turnbull, artist, working with Y5/6 on textiles for the school hall

Friday/Dydd Gwener 27^th

Rugby at lunchtime for years 3 to 6 with Ian Morgan and Mark Rhydderch-Roberts

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Mini Grill               Thursday –Roast Turkey
Tuesday – Chicken Pie           Friday – Fish Fingers
Wednesday – Lasagne

Allotments…We have a number of allotments which are available for family and community group use out of school hours. If you would like an allotment or know of a community group which would benefit from their use, please let us know.
Football Club…Please note that Football Club will now take place on a Wednesday night and will run until the half-term holiday.
Recycling…Don’t forget that we have facilities to recycle newspaper and textiles in school. Each load collected by the recycling companies earns the school a sum of money!
Panto…is back in Crickhowell (Oh yes it is!) with a new production team. Go to see Babes in the Wood in the Clarence Hall from Weds 1^st to Sat 4^th February and you may spot some familiar faces! Tickets are only £5 each and are available from Crickhowell Resources and Information Centre (CRIC).
Parking…Thank you to the many parents who park sensibly and responsibly near the school and also to the many others who choose to walk their children to school rather than add to the congestion problems that exist around Oakfield Drive. Following a number of complaints from parents about poor and, at times, dangerous parking, I have been in contact with the Police who have offered to monitor the situation and issue tickets where appropriate. Please help us ensure the safety of your child and others by parking carefully or, where at all possible, walking your child to school.

Year 6 on display!

Year 6 have been creating their own abstract poems and using them to make an 'abstract display'!

A Recipe for a Good New Year

Class Information Sheets for Parents now available!

Click on the link below to access this term's Information Sheets.

Information sheets.

Monday/Dydd Llun 16^th

Chess Club for KS2 at lunchtime with Mrs Stahl

Dance Club for KS2 at lunchtime with Mrs Davies

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 17^th
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 18^th

Running Club for years 3 to 6 with Miss Joyce after school

Thursday/Dydd Iau 19^th

Welsh Club at lunchtime with Miss Jones

Netball for years 5 and 6 after school with Ellen Wood

Football Club for Years 3 to 6 after school with Miss Jones

Friday/Dydd Gwener 20^th

Rugby at lunchtime for years 3 to 6 with Ian Morgan and Mark Rhydderch-Roberts

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Pasta bolognese     Thursday –Roast pork
Tuesday – Roast Turkey          Friday – Salmon and chips
Wednesday – Lamb casserole

Climbing Wall…Thanks once again to the fund raising efforts of the Friends of the School we have had a climbing wall installed for the children’s use.

New Shed…As part of the Space2Grow project, which aims to develop the use of the school grounds, a new shed has been installed at the bottom of the school field to store all the children’s gardening equipment. The shed features a living ‘sedum roof’ which, as well as looking attractive, provides insulation for the shed and a further habitat for mini-beasts. Many thanks to Steve Ham who spent a considerable amount of his time in all kinds of weather installing the new roof!

                                                                                                

After School Activities…We are once again offering a range of after school and lunchtime activities for the children. Please complete and return a permission slip to allow your child to attend the after school activities (slips are not required for lunchtime activities). Slips should be returned to the member of staff running the club.

Fun Factory After School Club….Our After School Club is under new management hence the change of name.  The new Play Leader is Kirsty Howells and she has 2 Play Workers, Nyree D’Arcy and Ami Powell. 

Based in our Canteen, the Fun Factory After School Club runs Monday to Friday from 3.20 to 5.20 pm and costs £3.00 an hour.  Cash/cheques are accepted daily or weekly (please note that cheques should now be made payable to ‘Fun Factory’) and should be given to Kirsty or Nyree, rather than the school office.

Please could all parents/carers of pupils who use the Club provide Kirsty with their email address and current mobile and home telephone numbers to ensure she has up to date contact details.  If you have any queries or would like to find out more about using the Club, please do not hesitate to go along and speak to Kirsty, Nyree or Ami.

Dreamteam and Tots Football…will restart this week. More information from Ryan on 07428084917.

Last night Year 6 performed with the Choral Society at the Crickhowell Community Carol Concert in St Edmund's Church. Singing with the choir as well as performing songs from their own Christmas production the children were, once again, fantastic ambassadors for the school.

Christmas Performances

Our Christmas productions have been a great success this year and we have been very grateful for all the positive comments and the thanks that we have received from parents and grandparents. Thanks too, to the Friends of the School for their work in fund raising to pay for the new stage lights which made such a difference to the quality of the productions this year.

Weekly Diary Sheet for 19th December

School Clubs are now cancelled until the week of 16^th January

Monday/Dydd Llun 19^th

Carol Service at St Edmunds, 10am – all welcome

Year 6 singing at Greenhill residential home

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 20^th
Last day of term – school finishes at the normal time of 3.20pm

Monday/Dydd Llun 9^th January/Ionawr 2012

Children return to school

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – mini-grill
Tuesday – chicken pie

Weekly Diary Sheet for 12th December

This Week’s Diary

School Clubs are now cancelled until the New Year.

Monday/Dydd Llun 12^th

Year 5/6 Christmas Party

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 13^th
Open the Book Assembly

Infant Party

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 14^th

Year 6 singing at Maes-y-Ffynnon

Years 3/4 Christmas Party

Thursday/Dydd Iau 15^th

Christmas Dinner

Friday/Dydd Gwener 16^th

Non-Uniform Day in aid of the School Council

Grounds afternoon
Saturday/Dydd Sadwrn 17^th

Year 6 performing at the Community Carol Concert in St Edmunds

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Pasta bolognese                 Thursday – Christmas dinner
Tuesday – Roast turkey                       Friday – Salmon and chips
Wednesday – Casserole

Bottle Tops…We only need 170 more plastic bottle tops to be able to claim our free sports kit. If every child brings in one on Monday morning we will have enough!

Please can we have!...Mrs Anthony would welcome the donation of a small fridge-freezer for use in the Nursery/Reception classes. She is also looking for donations of buttons, ribbon and wool. If you can help with any of these items please get in touch.

Community Carol Concert…Year 6 will be taking part in this year’s event at St Edmunds which takes place next Saturday at 6pm. Tickets are available from the school office at a cost of £5.

Christmas Dinner…takes place on Thursday. Please let us know if your child will not be wanting a Christmas dinner. No other meal options are available on this day.

News from the Friends… The Friends raffled one of the Class Hampers at each of the concerts this week, thank you for your contributions and congratulations to all the winning families! Year 4's 'Going for Gold' hamper won the 1st prize at the Christmas Fayre and this hamper is still available to be won. McCarthy's hair salon in Crickhowell have kindly agreed to help us raffle the last hamper, so if you would like another chance - please pop in and buy a ticket. All the money raised has gone towards the new stage lighting in the hall.

Weekly Diary Sheet for 5th December

This Week’s Diary

School Clubs are now cancelled until the New Year.

Monday/Dydd Llun 5^th

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 6^th
Foundation Phase dress rehearsal in the morning

Foundation Phase performance 6pm

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 7^th

Year 3/4 dress rehearsal in the morning

Foundation Phase performance 2pm

Year 3/4 performance 6pm

Thursday/Dydd Iau 8^th

Year 5/6 dress rehearsal in the morning

Year 3/4 performance 2pm

Year 5/6 performance 6pm

Friday/Dydd Gwener 9^th

Nursery/Reception taking part in the under-five’s Christmas service at St Edmunds

Year 5/6 performance 2pm

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Pizza                       Thursday –Roast beef
Tuesday – Sausages                Friday – Fish and chips
Wednesday – Chicken curry

Bottle Tops…please send in any remaining plastic bottle tops by Monday. If we collect enough we can claim a free set of team kit for the school.

A message from the Fun Factory…School doesn't start back until 9^th January so the Fun Factory Holiday club will run from 3^rd – 6^th Jan, 8.30 am - 3.00pm for children aged 2yrs - 10 yrs at a cost of £12 per day. All children welcome.

To book tel 07840328292, email funfactory.asc@live.co.uk or pop in to see Emma Williams or Charlotte Williams at Allsorts Playgroup

Arrangements for Christmas Concerts

In order to ensure that the Christmas productions run smoothly and that the safety of the children is maintained there are a number of points parents can help us with:

For the evening performances:

·      Infant children should be delivered to their classes via the infant entrance on the main playground at 5.30pm (not before, as there will be no members of staff to supervise them)

·      Junior children should enter the building via the main entrance at the front of the school.

·      Doors open at 5.30pm (not before!) and entry will be via the external hall doors only.

·      For child protection reasons only staff and pupils are allowed in the main building.

Collecting children following both the evening and afternoon productions
Parents should remain in the hall following the end of the performance. Your children will be brought to you when they are changed and ready to leave. As always, children will only be allowed to leave with a parent or known carer.

Concert Tickets

Additional tickets will be available on a first come, first served basis on the morning of the relevant concert.

Photography and Videoing
To comply with Powys County Council guidelines parents/grandparents and other members of the audience must have completed a form to seek permission to take photographs or video during the performances. This form was sent home with your child’s tickets. More forms are available from the school office.

Due to a specific child protection issue no videoing will be permitted at the Y5/6 afternoon performance and photography will only be permitted at the end of the performance when the children will be on stage at the end of their finale. The school will take photographs during the performance which will be available to parents electronically, free of charge. Please feel free to contact Mr Wright if you have any concerns over this.

Younger Children
We do ask that parents have consideration for others, use their judgement, and don’t allow younger brothers and sisters to spoil the production by becoming noisy or disruptive. Children of school age will already have had the opportunity to see their brothers/sisters perform during the dress rehearsals.

With so many children to organise and supervise it would help us greatly if parents would adhere to these requests. Many thanks.

Possible Industrial Action - 30th November

Proposed Industrial Action on Wednesday 30^th November

You will be aware from press coverage that a number of public sector unions including the NUT, NASUWT, NAHT and UNISON are planning industrial action for the 30^th November.

Whilst at this stage we are unable to confirm the exact impact that the action will have on the school, we are suggesting that parents should make provisional arrangements for childcare for this day. If the action does proceed, it is likely to result in the school being closed for the day.

We will update parents as soon as we have further information.

Yours sincerely,

Jon Wright, Headteacher               Helen Rhydderch-Roberts, Chair of Governors

Weekly Diary Sheet for 21st November

Raising money for Children in Need with MAD HAIR!

Saturday/Dydd Sadwrn 19th

‘Captain Noah’ performance for Y6 – Rehearsals at 4pm, Performance at 6.30pm

Monday/Dydd Llun 21^st  

~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 22^nd
~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 23^rd

Choir for years 3 to 6 at lunchtime with Miss Joyce

Year 3 swimming

Running Club for years 3 to 6 with Miss Joyce after school

Football Club for Years 3 to 6 after school with Miss Jones

Thursday/Dydd Iau 24^th

Welsh Club at lunchtime

Year 3 visiting St. Mary’s in Abergavenny

Year 4 swimming

Netball for years 5 and 6 after school with Miss Jones

Friday/Dydd Gwener 25^th

NON-UNIFORM DAY in aid of the School Council

South Powys Youth Music will be running their ‘Strings Workshop’ for children from all over South Powys in the school hall

Rugby at lunchtime for years 3 to 6 with Ian Morgan and Mark Rhydderch-Roberts

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Pasta bolognese                         Thursday –Roast pork
Tuesday – Roast Turkey                                Friday – Salmon and chips
Wednesday – Casserole

Recycling – The Rag Bag Bin and Newspaper Collection…Thank you to everyone who has supported the Rag Bag collection. To date we have raised over £420. Please continue to support this. Don’t forget that we are also collecting newspapers which can be left in the green bin at the front of the school.

Plastic Recycling…We need every child to bring into school 20 plastic bottle tops! Once we have 20 per child we can send them away to receive a free sports kit of our choice made using recycled plastic. We don’t need the bottles themselves; they can be recycled in the normal way.

Cello Lessons…Would your child like to take up the cello? We are now able to offer weekly cello lessons delivered by Mrs Emma Archer. Please send a note into school if you would like to take up this opportunity. A number of the children have expressed an interest following a cello demonstration given in assembly by Emma.

Breakfast Club…Don’t forget that Breakfast Club now opens 15 minutes earlier at 8am with a £1 charge for the period 8am to 8.15am.

Arriving at School…A reminder that children should not be on the school premises before 8.50am unless they are attending Breakfast Club.

Photos by Wednesday…All photo orders and payment need to be returned to the school by next Wednesday.

Fields in Trust…is a scheme set up to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next year - it is a programme to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in local communities. The park at Oakfield Drive is one of those listed and I know many local children and their families would be interested in safeguarding it for the future. If you would like to support the campaign you can do so by visiting www.qe2fields.com and voting appropriately. The last chance to vote is TODAY!

Packed Lunches…It would greatly assist the canteen staff if parents of our youngest children could ensure that they peel and cut up fruit before it goes into their child’s lunchbox.

School Council Sponsored Walk…has raised £531 for the IT for Tomorrow fund. However, only 38 children have so far returned the sponsor money. This is an average of £14 per child. If each child has managed to obtain that level of sponsorship we will have raised  £2000 in a single event.  Please return any outstanding sponsorship money on Monday.

Weekly Diary Sheet for 14th November

Roger Williams MP being interrogated by Year 6!

Children in Need theme this year will be MAD HAIR!!!

Sunday/Dydd Sul 13^th
Bag packing at Morrisons to raise money for the Friends

Monday/Dydd Llun 14^th

~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 15^th
Steve Marshall from Crickhowell Choral Society working with Year 6

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 16^th

Choir for years 3 to 6 at lunchtime with Miss Joyce

Year 4 swimming

Running Club for years 3 to 6 with Miss Joyce after school

Football Club for Years 3 to 6 after school with Miss Jones

Thursday/Dydd Iau 17^th

Welsh Club at lunchtime

Year 3 swimming

Netball for years 5 and 6 after school with Miss Jones

Rehearsal for Y6 children taking part in the ‘Captain Noah’ performance, at St Mary’s Abergavenny, 6.30-7.30pm

Friday/Dydd Gwener 18^th

Children in Need Day – Mad Hair!!!

Rugby/Football at lunchtime for years 3 to 6 with Ian Morgan

Saturday/Dydd Sadwrn 19th

‘Captain Noah’ – Rehearsals at 4pm, Performance at 6.30pm

School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Pizza                       Thursday –Roast beef
Tuesday – Sausage                  Friday – Fish and chips
Wednesday – Chicken Curry

Breakfast Club…A number of parents have asked if Breakfast Club can begin at an earlier time each day. From Monday parents will have the opportunity to drop their children at the club from 8am. To cover the additional wage costs there will be a charge of £1 for each child that attends the club from 8am to 8.15am. From 8.15am the regular, free, Welsh Government funded breakfast club will operate. The following rules will apply:

·         There will be a £1 charge, payable on the day, for any child arriving between 8am and 8.15am

·         A sign on the Breakfast Club door will indicate when the paid for club ends and the free club opens.

·         Before 8.15am children will not be able to attend Breakfast Club without payment.

We will run this on a trial basis until February half-term to evaluate its take-up and cost effectiveness.

Arriving at School…A reminder that children should not be on the school premises before 8.50am unless they are attending Breakfast Club.

Bagpacking at Morrison’s…The Friends still only have ten people who have volunteered so far to help with bag packing at Morrisons on Sunday. They need twenty-five volunteers if they are to maximise the benefit from this fund raising opportunity. Please ring Heidi on 810123 if you can assist.

Morrison’s ‘Let’s Grow’ Vouchers…have to be redeemed by the end of the month. If you have any at home, please send them in.

New Admissions…If you have young children born after 1 September 2008 who will want a place in our school, please call the school office to check that we have your details. This will help with our forward planning and ensure that an admissions pack is sent to you at the right time. Please pass on this message to people you know that have young children who are not in school yet.

The 'Cool Seas' Workshop

Weekly Diary Sheet for 7th November

Monday/Dydd Llun 7^th

Roger Williams, MP visiting the school

Cool Seas workshop for all the children

Dance Club at lunchtime for Years 3 to 6

Tuesday/Dydd Mawrth 8^th
Bookrunner van in school

Steve Marshall from Crickhowell Choral Society working with Year 6

Wednesday/Dydd Mercher 9^th

Choir for years 3 to 6 at lunchtime with Miss Joyce

Year 4 swimming

Running Club for years 3 to 6 with Miss Joyce after school

Football Club for Years 3 to 6 after school with Miss Jones

Thursday/Dydd Iau 10^th

Welsh Club at lunchtime

Year 3 swimming

Year 4 at St Mary’s, Abergavenny

Netball for years 5 and 6 after school with Miss Jones

Friday/Dydd Gwener 11^th

Tempest photographer in school

Rugby/Football at lunchtime for years 3 to 6 with Ian Morgan
School Dinners this Week (Please note that the cost of school dinners is now £2)
Monday – Mini-grill                Thursday –Roast turkey
Tuesday – Chicken Pie                        Friday – Fish fingers
Wednesday – Lasagne

Friday 4 November - Bonfire Night

The fun begins at 6pm. Come along and enjoy the fireworks plus hot dogs, soup, hot & cold drinks, chocolate apples and glow sticks. As in previous years sparklers and other fireworks are not to be brought on to the school site.

Bagpacking at Morrisons…The Friends have nine people who have volunteered so far to help with bag packing at Morrisons on Sunday 13^th November. They need twenty-five volunteers if they are to maximise the benefit from this fund raising opportunity. Please let us know if you can assist.

Sponsored Walk…many thanks to everyone who took part in our school sponsored walk before half-term – children, staff and parents. We would be grateful to receive any outstanding sponsor money by this Friday so that we can give the children an idea of just how much they have managed to raise.

War Child…Our very own Abigail Fisher is completing a charity challenge to celebrate her 11^th birthday (details overleaf). Abi has already raised £2700 and is aiming to raise £3000 for the charity War Child. Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/11-11-11.

Clarence Hall Twmpath…will be held on Friday 18^th November from 7pm to 10pm. Live music by the Fast Parts Ceilidh Band. The event is sponsored by St Edmund’s Church. Tickets £5 for adults and £1 for children. More information from Helen (811289) and Gill (812318)