Here you will find the latest news and information about school events. Please subscribe to the calendar to keep fully informed.
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School Blog Friday 30th September
Wed 28 Sep 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
We have really got stuck into the learning within our "What the Dickens" topic this term. There is a real buzz around the school, and the teachers are working hard at delivering the New Curriculum for Wales through authentic, purposeful and above all relevant experiences for the pupils. I have no doubt that your child only shares a fraction of what happens in the school day, so please remember to follow us on Twitter @Llanrhidianp so you can see for yourselves the range of activities that our curriculum offers.
Please remember that we work hard to keep our website up to date and details of all our community events are always available on the blog, website pages and the website calendar. We have now set up a "school ap" which will make access even easier for you. You should have received a text inviting you to download the ap. For more information click here.
You will now be receiving requests for payments via Squid. This makes it much easier for us all as on-line payments are far more convenient. However, we will still accept payments of cash or cheques if you prefer. Just let the office know. Here are the headlines this week:-
Amser Tost - For over a term, we have been trialing the effects on pupil well-being and learning with a mid morning snack of wholemeal toast. The pupils absolutely love it. We have seen significant improvements in their energy levels as well as enjoying the mid morning experience during their relax and refuel. During this trial period we have largely subsidised this from the school budget but have had some kind donations from parents. To make this a sustainable offer to pupils, we need parent donations of £10.00 per family per term. This voluntary contribution will significantly support us with this well
-being provision. Your support will be greatly appreciated, and you should have a link on your sQuid account to be able to pay online.
Change to Collection for Pod Pysgodyn - With the removal of one way systems, we now need to revert to using only pedestrian pathways to collect your children. This effects year 3 parents who will now need to walk around to workshop 2 to collect their child. Please wait in the yard by the blue benches, and share this information with whoever collects your child.
Influenza Vaccine Tuesday 18th October - Reception to Year 6 pupils have been given a letter this week outlining details of the influenza programme. All letters need to be returned to school with appropriate giving, or not giving, consent.
School Savings Club with Credit Union - Your child can now have their own Junior Account which they can then save as much or as little as they like every week (or as often as they can) whether they want to save for something special or just for a rainy day. This club will be led by the pupils of Llanrhidian, encouraging them to save and understand the benefits of saving. If your child/children are interested in joining the savings club and opening up an account with us please click here to fill in the online form.
Daffodil Competition - Our wonderful "Llanrhidian Friends of the Community Garden" are holding a Spring flower competition next year, in March, to raise funds for the garden. The gardening club have donated 200 daffodil bulbs to the school. Each pupil will bring home a bulb today so they can grow it and enter the competition in March. Pop it in a pot, and who knows you may be the lucky winner.
Monster Ball Wednesday October 26th (After School) 4.30 until 6pm (Volunteers from 1pm) - Please come to our Monster ball. All pupils will need to be collected after school and brought back by 4.30. There will be no sports club on this day. Please note that all children will need to be supervised as staff have other designated duties to keep everyone safe. There will be a disco in the marquee (run by Mr G); refreshments (hot dogs, soup and cakes); fancy dress (pupils and adults) and lots of fun! Thank you to those who have volunteered to help. If you can support the event with donations of cakes to sell, we would be most grateful. Weather permitting - this will be an outside event. Looking forward to seeing you all.
Have a fabulous weekend
Mrs Caswell
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School Blog Friday 23rd September 2022
Thu 22 Sep 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
As we head towards the last week in September we are all getting excited for our marquee. This will be up for 6 months and be a huge asset to our learning as well as our community events. This year we have been very fortunate as Cllr. Richard Lewis has kindly paid for this from the community budget. This generosity will help us greatly during the financial pressures, and will benefit our pupils, their families and the wider community. Thank you Mr Lewis!
It is going to be a very busy term, so please share our blog with family members so you can all keep up to date and attend our community events. Here are the headlines this week:-
School Uniform - Thank you so much for the donations of good quality uniform, we are circulating these as requests come in. Please keep them coming! We no longer hold any new uniform in the office, and this needs to be purchased from Bergoni or Wipeout. Ordering online is the quickest way to receive your goods.
Marchnad Mis (Monthly Market) - We will be introducing our pupils to the world of business and work by holding a community market in our marquee each month. Our first event will be on Thursday October 20th and we have had a number of local stall holders interested in attending. To launch the first "Marchnad Mis" we are combining it with our very own Harvest Market. (Remember these before Covid?) Each pod will be promoting and running their own stalls to sell something homegrown, homemade or free trade. Look out for more information from your pod soon! The marchnad will run from 1.30 til the end of the school day. If you do visit the market and wish to collect your child early so they can attend with you, we will accommodate. There will be tea and coffee available. Please bring your own bags. This will be a cash only event as there is no wifi signal in the field.
Caffi Cynefin - Our first caffi morning was a fantastic event. We had amazing feedback from our customers, and it promises to be even busier next time. Thank you to those who donated cakes, or turned up to support. Well done to our amazing pupils who were absolutely excellent. We will be open again next Thursday at 10am-12pm at Llanrhidian Community Hall. Please send in any cake donations to school or bring along to the hall. We hope to see you there! For more information click here.Monster Ball Wednesday October 26th (After School) - There will be a disco in the marquee (run by Mr G); refreshments (hot dogs and cakes); fancy dress (pupils and adults) and lots of fun! Thank you to those who have volunteered to help, we will finalise times very soon. If you can support the event with donations of cakes to sell, we would be most grateful. Weather permitting - this will be an outside event.
Curriculum Design Day 24th October 1.30-3.30 in School Hall - Again this is another event we held annually before covid. Asking parents to come in, talk to the pupils and see what our school offers has been such a vital part of our curriculum design. Many of the changes we have made over the years have come from the pupils themselves, as well as you, the parents and carers. Your views really do matter to us, and it is important that we know what you think is going well, and what you think we can improve. Our older pupils will be running the event, so please come along and join in the discussions.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs Caswell
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School Blog Friday 16th September
Thu 15 Sep 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
As we head into a bank holiday weekend for the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen, it seems strange timing that the pupils will be bringing home a book celebrating the platinum jubilee. These were ordered last term, but have only just arrived and are a wonderful keep sake for each pupil.
Next week you will have an outline of the some of the planning your teachers have designed from listening to the learners. The "Pod Project Overviews" will help you to understand how the New Curriculum is implemented in Llanrhidian. Here are the headlines this week:-
Caffi Cynefin - As you know we are keen to develop our community links, and after a number of meetings with community members, we have decided to try the following initiative. "Caffi Cynefin" will be open for tea, coffee, cakes and a chat each Thursday from 10-12 at Llanrhidian Community Hall. Please help us to spread the word and encourage any local people to attend. (Especially those that may feel isolated). Perhaps you would be willing to bring an elderly person that you know? We would also really appreciate a donation of cakes, biscuits etc that could be either dropped at the school or to the caffi. We will use this as an opportunity to develop inter-generational links, as well teaching the oldest pupils communication skills and an appreciation of the world of work. Each week we will take a small number of pupils down to welcome and serve the customers. We will not charge for refreshments, as we do not wish to exclude anyone, but hope that donations will support the cost of the community hall rent and the refreshments. To make this a viable and sustainable community offer, we do need help to run and organise it. Please let us know if you can support Caffi Cynefin and let's work together to do something as a community.
Gowerton Transition Event - Gowerton School has a series of events that support pupils in the transition from Primary to Secondary. The next event in the transition process is a presentation on Wednesday 28th September. At the end of the school year 6 parents are invited to attend a short presentation about transition and Gowerton School. This will include talks from pupils at Gowerton who are past pupils of Llanrhidian. The year 6 pupils will have had a similar presentation at 2:00pm.
Year 6 Open Evening Gowerton - Please make sure you have booked your tour visit at Gowerton as places are booking up very quickly. Visit www.Gowerton.com/bookatour or call 01792 873461 as soon as possible.
Monster Ball Wednesday October 26th (After School) - This traditional event has not taken place for two years. There will be a disco in the marquee; refreshments (hot dogs and cakes); fancy dress (pupils and adults) and lots of fun! If you can help with this event, in any way, please get in touch so we can start planning. We need:-
1. Someone to run the disco in the Marquee
2. Donations of cakes to sell
3. Parents to run refreshment stalls
4. Parents to decorate the Marquee in the afternoon (If you can help with decorations please let us know).
We hope parents will all join in and dress up for this event! Weather permitting - this will be an outside event.
Parking - We are aware that the council's work around the school is causing "even more" parking issues. Unfortunately this is out of our hands, but please be reassured that we would rather you be late and park safely until the works is finished. Your child will always be safe until you collect.
Weekly Premises Plea - This week we need:-
- We need bark chippings for our paths - does anyone know any landscape gardeners or tree surgeons who could dump their chippings in our field?
- Good quality toys eg lego, cars, role play etc for Pengwins and Pili Pala
- Artificial plants to soften our indoor environment
Have a wonderful "long" weekend and we will see you on Tuesday.
Mrs Caswell
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School Blog Friday 9th September 2022
Fri 09 Sep 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
Firstly, on behalf of all the staff at Llanrhidian Primary School, we want to express our sadness on hearing the news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. Please be assured that we will support the pupils as appropriate, answering any of their questions in a sensitive and age appropriate manner. Swansea Council have issued a statement including information regarding a book of condolences which can be read here.
The funeral is expected to be held at Westminster Abbey in about ten or 11 days' time, with the date to be confirmed by Buckingham Palace. It may be declared a bank holiday, but this will be confirmed by the palace and government. If a bank holiday is declared, schools will be closed and we will keep you updated.
Thank you for an amazing start of term. Our two INSET days enabled us to plan the year ahead and finalise our targets. As mentioned before,we are very excited to be planning more community events and will be informing you of some important dates very soon. Please remember to use the website calendar to help you keep track.
If you would like to view all our school targets you can access our "School Development Plan" via the website. Here the headlines this week:
Parent Open Evening Monday November 7th - Straight after half term we would like to invite you into the pod to have a look at your child's learning environment, their books and to chat with the staff. This is a drop in session between 3.30 and 5.30, and we encourage you to bring your child so they can show you around. You will also have a written report at the end of Autumn and you will have a formal meeting in Spring. However, as always, if you do have any concerns please email the office and we will be in touch as soon as we can.
Clwb Hwyl for Year 1 to Year 6 (Wednesday After School until 4.15) - We have listened to feedback from parents, carers and the pupils and are looking to expand the range of extra curricular activities offered free to pupils on a Wednesday Evening. Teachers will be discussing options with pupils and each pod will run their own clubs. This will start next week and you will receive more information from your pod staff.
Monster Ball Wednesday October 26th (After School) - This traditional event has not taken place for two years. We have not yet finalised the details, but would like a disco in the marquee; refreshments; fancy dress (pupils and adults) and lots of fun! If you can help with this event, in any way, please get in touch so we can start planning.
INSET Days - We have an INSET day on the last day of term December 23rd. All term times are available here.
Weekly Premises Plea - This week we need:-
- We need bark chippings for our paths - does anyone know any landscape gardeners or tree surgeons who could dump their chippings in our field?
- Good quality toys eg lego, cars, role play etc for Pengwins and Pili Pala
- Artificial plants to soften our indoor environment
Have a wonderful weekend
Mrs Caswell
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Welcome Back Blog
Tue 06 Sep 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back! We have been busy getting ready for the pupil’s return, and as always will be launching our new whole school topic with lots of fun and excitement.
This term marks the official start of the “New Curriculum for Wales”. All schools are expected to summarise and publish their curriculum offer, and you can access ours via our Curriculum Summary Page on our website.
Each Pod has a new team this term, and they will be sending you a welcome video and information about the term ahead. Unfortunately Mr Dowsett is not able to join us immediately this week as he has been struck down with Covid. However, we very much hope he will be back, fighting fit, very soon.
We are very much hoping for a “normal” year and will therefore resume our high expectations of attendance and punctuality so that your child can reach their potential. For more information on attendance please visit our dedicated web-page by clicking here. Our pupil and well-being officer, Mrs Froom, will be in touch if we have concerns about your child’s attendance so we can discuss what support is available.
As the restrictions are no longer needed, we do not need a "window" of pick up. As a result we ask all parents to collect their children by 3.30 every day from September. Please see Pod pick up times below.
Pod Pengwin - 3.20 to 3.30
Pod Pysgodyn - 3.20 - 3.30
Pod PryCop - 3.25 - 3.30
Please ensure your child is dropped off in school by 8.50 each morning ready for registration by 8.55.
Free Breakfast Club runs from 8.25 to 8.55 in the school hall and this is available from nursery to year 6. If you drop your child off before this time you will be accessing the paid “Early Bird Craft Club” which costs £20 per half term for the first child and £10 for each sibling.
We have a new bus escort this term. Mrs Carol Veck is taking over from our lovely Pat, and will be learning the ropes this week.
As always please look out for our “Friday Blog” and keep updated via our website calendar. We are looking forward to expanding our community events this term and will keep you posted. We are very much looking forward to our marquee which is an invaluable resource for us as a school.
See you all tomorrow,
Kind regards
Mrs Caswell