Dear Parents and Carers,
Our Attendance now stands at 92.47%
(Down from last week!)
Swansea Target 95%
Llanrhidian Target 96%
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are having a wonderful, yet busy end of term. It really is a great time of year to really see how much progress the pupils have made. Progress is measured in many ways in Llanrhidian, and not by merely testing. Observations, discussions, looking at their written, creative and digital work all informs us of where they are and where they need to go next. As a head teacher I am particularly proud of how well the pupils are progressing with their integral skills. Teachers skillfully plan opportunities for pupils to develop critical thinking and problem solving; planning and organising; creativity and innovation as well as personal effectiveness. Some people may regard these as the "softer skills" but in Llanrhidian we recognise these as the skills that lead to a successful life, as well as the skills employers value.
We were saddened to hear that Plantos Prysur needed to withdraw their provision for after school childcare at Llanrhidian Hall, and that we were not in the position to hold it here. Safeguarding must be a priority for our pupils and this is something we will never compromise upon. However, as a response to this situation, we have worked hard to set up our own provision called Clwb Ceirios. For more information click here. I promised to keep parents updated with regards it's success. Currently it is not quite covering costs, but hopefully this will improve. We need at least 35 bookings per week to keep this viable, and are about 5 short. We really want this to work, but as you are aware we are not allowed to subsidise it in any way. Please note that tax free childcare vouchers can be taken in payment, but please check with the office. Also we do hope to move to online payments in time. To help us, please could payments be made for the whole half term, as this would greatly reduce admin time. A big thank you to those parents and governors who have given us really constructive feedback. Please spread the word, the more pupils that attend the better it is for all concerned.
We are desperately in need of picket fencing, or similar, to replace the existing orchard fence and to develop a nature reserve. If you know anyone who can help with this, please let us know.
Here are the headlines this week:
Arrangements for Sports Day Wednesday 21st June 2 to 4pm (Gates open 1:45)
- Please let us know if you are not able to attend so we can supervise your child until the end of the school day. (Bus pupils will leave school normal time if parent not attending).
- If your child is being picked up by someone else please let office staff know.
- There will be no Clwb Hwyl on this day
- Parents/relatives that do attend will be expected to supervise their own children to enable staff to run the races.
- Pili Pala pupils are invited back to the school for this event and supervised by parents.
- Gates will open at 1.45pm. Bring a blanket and a picnic.
- We will be selling Tea/Coffee and cold drinks for £1. There will also be ice-cream on sale at £1.50. (Please bring plenty of change).
- Raffle tickets will be available.
- Portaloos in the field will be available for pupils and parents. (Please escort your child to the portaloos).
- Families are welcome to enjoy the field space when not racing.
- Please be mindful gates will be open and pupils need to be supervised.
- Pupils should wear their sports day colours. Please email the office if you are unsure.
Order of Events (Times will need to be flexible)
Gates will open at 1:45
Opening Ceremony 2pm
Races - Pili Pala and Pengwin
Pilia Pala and Pengwin will be taken to race area (Parents can collect pupils straight after the races from the orchard).
Pysgodyn and Pry Cop will be dismissed straight after the ceremony.
Pysgodyn will be dismissed from Siop Cerios.
Pry Cop will be dismissed from the side of the school hall.
Races - Please can pupils from Pysgodyn and Pry Cop return to the race track.
Pysgodyn and Pry Cop will be dismissed from track after the races.
Race - Parent Teacher
Please stay and enjoy our field and support until 4pm!
Summer Raffle - As always we are are running a termly raffle to raise money for pod resources. Please sell as many as you can as every £1 helps us to provide our pupils with the little extras that make their life in Llanrhidian memorable. We will be making up hampers from smaller donations and larger items will be stand alone prizes. We are asking for donations of the following prizes. If you know any local business who can help, please let them know that we will always "Tweet" a thank you. We are collecting:-
- Sweets, biscuits, chocolates, wine, summer toys etc for hampers
- Bottles of champagne, liquor, spirits, vouchers, etc for stand alone prizes
New Nursery Open Afternoon. Tuesday 27th June 1:30- 3pm.
If you have a child who is due to start in Pod Pili-Pala and would like to attend, please let the office know. If you know of any other families who may wish to attend, please ask them to contact the school.
sQuid - As from Monday 5th June, all year 2 pupils will be entitled to universal free school meals. Please can parents ensure that their squid accounts are clear by this time. If you have too much credit, please contact sQuid direct to request a refund.
New Dinner Money System - As from September County have arranged for schools to have a new dinner money system instead of sQuid. We will send out information regarding this as soon as we receive it. In the meantime, please can parents ensure that they use up all credits by the end of term (21st July) and cancel any automatic top-ups.
Parent Workshop (all ages) - Resilience; Wednesday 28th June 3:30pm in school. This workshop will be run by Amy Glass, our "In Reach" worker. This workshop will talk about how to support your child develop their resilience skills. Please let the office know if you would like to attend. Pupils can attend Clwb Hwyl.
Gower Cycling Festival Sunday June 25th (morning) @School Field. All welcome from 9.30 am. We have been asked to be a "pit stop" again for this traditional event. White Rock Events have already sponsored us a wonderful football kit and are also sourcing us some free portaloos for our sports day. We desperately need help to run a BBQ to sell bacon rolls to the riders. Please let us know if you can help. We are expecting 600 cyclist to ride past the school so come along to cheer them on! Hopefully lots will stop for breakfast. We expect the first of the cyclists to arrive around 9.45 am
Mr G's Internet Safety Tip of the Week: This week we will be focusing on Instagram which is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over 1 billion users worldwide. The platform allows users to upload images and videos to their feed, create interactive ‘stories’, share live videos, exchange private messages or search, explore and follow other accounts they like – whilst at the same time continuously updating and adding new features to meet the needs of its users.
In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as addiction, unrealistic ideals and the influencer culture. Please click here or see the attachment.
Premises Plea - We are always looking to make our environment welcoming, interesting and stimulating. We need:-
- Artificial plants,
- Real house plants
- Interesting ornaments (not too delicate)
- Fake Grass
- Cut logs for seats
- Slices of log for displays
- Bark chippings for paths
- Good quality board games, packs of cards
Dates at a Glance:
New Nursery Open Afternoon. Tuesday 27th June 1:30- 3pm.
Parent Workshop (all ages); Resilience - Wednesday 28th June @ 3:30pm
Sports Day June 21st 2pm til 4pm
Gower Cycling Festival Sunday June 25th (morning)
INSET DAYS - June 30th; July 21st; July 24th; Sept 1st; Sept 4th
Autumn Term starts September 5th for pupils.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Mrs Caswell