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Headteacher Weekly Blog
Mon 27 Jun 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
Another great, busy, fun-filled few days in school.
The sun shone for our fabulous sports day and it was so lovely to see many of you there ( thankfully, it only clouded over towards the end !).
Our Diversity Day organised by Mrs Percival and the Rights Ambassadors/Healthy Heroes, which was attended by our cluster schools, went really well. The children have received incredible feedback , including some kind words from Cllr Andrew Williams, PC Brown and PCSO Borthwick , who came to support us. They enjoyed and had a great time !
Click here to see some highlights !
Our choir sang beautifully at Llanmorlais Carnival (pics below). Well done pawb. For a little peek - click here.
Staff news
I have some very important news regarding our long standing member of staff Mrs. Angela Thompson.
As many of you are aware Mrs. Thompson has taught in Penclawdd Primary school for 33 years and after giving the matter some thought, Mrs. Thompson has decided to retire! She will leave at the end of the summer term.
Mrs. Thompson is a font of knowledge for school events and has amazing knowledge of the area and community, I wonder how we will manage without her? She is a wonderful member of staff who has dedicated 35 years of her life to education and has taught so many children and their children! Since September 1989 - a 1000 children in total!
Mrs. Thompson is well known, loved and held in great esteem by all - staff , pupils, parents, families...
We will be holding a wonderful farewell party for her (details to follow) and I’m sure many parents and friends would like to pop in and wish her well. Everyone will be welcome and details will be released very soon.
We will also be collecting for a special gift , so if you`d like to make a donation, please send the money in to Mrs. Beynon, in the office.
I am sure you will join with me in wishing Mrs. Thompson great happiness for her retirement. We can`t wait to hear all about her campervan adventures!
📣Weekly headlines📣
End of year reports ,next years classes and transition
Your child`s end of year report will be shared via your child`s Hwb email on Thursday July 14th by 5pm.
During the week commencing July 18th staff will be available if you`d like to make an appointment via telephone/in person/TEAMS, to discuss the report. Please contact the classteacher via seesaw to make a convenient appointment.
Transition
Y6 pupils who are attending Gowerton will have their Y7 transition for 4 days from Monday 11th July - Thursday July 14th.
We have organised our transition sessions - moving to the new class, on Wednesday July 13th.Children will come home with a Seesaw code for their new class ,on this day.
For our Nursery children who will be moving to Reception, Mrs Davies will seesaw more details about this session, in the first week of July.
Nursery
Just a reminder to new Nursery parents please remember to complete an application form to secure a place in our Nursery. Visits to meet staff and see the class can easily be arranged please contact Mrs. Beynon or Mrs. Davies.
Gower Day Nursery and child minder Aunty Dee provide school runs and after school child care.
IMPORTANT DIARY DATES - Please remember to check out our website calendar for key dates this term (including your class sharing the learning dates)
June 28th Y3/4 visit to Caerleon Baths
July 4th - Nursery and Y2 Artist workshops - Screen printing - Sarah Hopkins
July 4th (w/c) - Class Enterprise stalls at hometime - classes will Seesaw details for which days
July 14th - Reports to be shared via your child`s Hwb email
July 15th - Year 6 Leavers School event - day/evening
July 21st - Y6 Leavers Assembly
July 22nd - Last day of term
📣Fundraising 📣
Our School Lottery - please support us, if you can. The next drawer is July 2nd .
Click here for our lotto details.
Class Enterprise
R-Y6 will be raising money for their class by having a stall at home time. Look out for dates via SeeSaw. Year 2 are nearly ready - these garden lanterns are beautiful ! Please support each class. Thanks.
sQuid and School Dinners
As you are aware the council have a zero policy with debt on your child's sQuid account.
Therefore, we urge you to ensure there is always money on the account. Please do not use the 5 meals buffer as an overdraft facility for your child's meal.
I apologise for this blunt message, but it is important that we adhere to this policy and also save any embarrassment with your child in not being able to order a meal.
Year 6 Squid - parents will need to keep an eye on their account in the run up to their final meal at Penclawdd Primary, they don't won't to leave with the account in arrears. Many thanks.
Jewellery
Please can we remind parents /carers that due to health and safety , jewellery is not allowed to be worn in school, as it can be dangerous.
No jewellery other than stud earrings and watches should be worn in school.
The school will not accept any responsibility for theft or loss of jewellery.
🗞Community 🗞
Sporting successes
We are very proud of these 2 girls. Amazing result - cup winners for Swansea Schools Under 11s. Well done HV and ED! Super proud of you! See pics below.
This girl is achieving amazing things! Look out the Commonwealth and Olympic games! Another silver in her Under 16s Judo Competition in Carmarthen - Well Done AW. Super proud of you! See pic below.
A Y6 team attended the Ospreys beach rugby tournament. They did really well. We played 4 games - won 3 and lost 1! Pics below.
Criw Cymraeg project with Selwyn`s Seafoods & NGP cluster schools
We are working with Selwyn`s ,Gowerton Comp Criw and Gowerton Primary Criw to deepen our understanding of our cockle/seafood industry. The focus of the project is to research all about Selwyn`s and its history and produce a film for our community.
On the planning day pupils from each Criw met with the Welsh lead from the comprehensive and worked with Yr 7's to undertake research. See pics.
We are filming on Wednesday June 29th ! On the filming day our Criw will be having a tour of Selwyn`s Seafood factory and will be learning first hand all about the current day industry and days gone by.
Penclawdd Pennies - our community bank - see pics below
Our bankers have embraced our school bank and are very enthusiastic taking their roles very seriously. A number of children have started saving forming good habits at an early age!
I have the following message from our bankers:
Parents and carers are also welcome to join our bank. There is a £1 membership fee. Payments are accepted every Tuesday you can pay by cash/cheque. You just need to complete an application form and each week send your money in. Some of the staff are already saving : Mrs. Beynon is saving for Christmas, Julie our cook is saving for her holidays, and Roy our caretaker is saving for a treat!
If you would like to join you can download a form from the website or ring Mrs. Beynon so she can get one to you.
School Grounds
We are extremely fortunate to have such wonderful school grounds. The front of the school is looking particularly nice with the lovely shrubs, flowers pots and the trees that grace the lawn. The trees provide wonderful shade during our hotter days and the foliage looks wonderful.
Of course with buildings and gardens and most certainly the trees they need to be maintained and this is something we are presently addressing. During the red alert storm in February one of the trees at the rear of the school came down and caused some damage plus we have other trees in the forest area which need attention. The council visited us last week and some trees have been felled. The council will return again in the next few weeks to continue maintenance.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank parents / grandparents who have given up their time and helped classes develop their own gardens. You may or might not be aware, each class has been given a small garden to enhance outdoor learning. Teachers and children have been busy designing and planting in their garden. We have a small competition to see which garden will look the best by the end of July and are being visited by a surprise judge! Lookout for more details.
Reduce, reuse , recycle - Our Eco Wombles
Foreign and old currency
Collect your surplus foreign and old British money for RNIB and make a real difference to the lives of blind and partially sighted people in the UK.
If you have any surplus foreign currency from your overseas trips, or any unusable old British currency hiding at the back of the drawer, we’d love to receive it!
Every box we fill and return could be worth an average of £50 for RNIB.
Dragon recycling
Recycle unwanted clothes and raise funds for our school!
Dragon Bags is a free fundraising scheme that helps schools across Wales raise funds through textile recycling. Our indoor box arrives at the end this week. Commencing Monday July 1st ,please send in any clean, unwanted clothes in a carrier bag.
Curriculum for Penclawdd -Our Local community forms
Thanks to those who completed the forms so far. Mr and Mrs Settle were the winners of the Rake and Riddle vouchers.
📣Remaining INSET days📣
Friday July 8th 2022
📣INSET days 2022-2023📣
Monday 5th September 2022
Tuesday 6th September 2022
Thanks for your ongoing support,
Mrs R-M x
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HT Weekly Blog
Mon 13 Jun 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back after half term. What a fabulous afternoon of Jubilee Celebrations we had ! Thanks for your support. The feedback we received was lovely and everyone really enjoyed. We loved seeing us all back together. For our children, that was the first time they have performed in front of such a large audience in over 2 years ! For our younger pupils it was the first ever time for them to perform to a large audience. Lots of children were so nervous - but they needn`t have been , as they were incredible ! If you haven`t seen it yet, please watch our wonderful Jubilee video - click here - enjoy!📣Weekly headlines📣
Squid arrears - message from Swansea Council
The Local Authority has a strict Zero Debt Policy and parents /carers MUST top up Squid in advance in order for children to be able to order a meal.
End of year reports ,next years classes and transition
As an eco aware school , your child`s end of year report will be sent out via Hwb email on Thursday July 14th by 5pm.
During the week commencing July 18th staff will be available if you`d like to make an appointment via telephone/in person/TEAMS, to discuss the report. Please contact the classteacher via seesaw to make a convenient appointment.
Y6 pupils who are attending Gowerton will have their Y7 transition for 4 days from Monday 11th July - Thursday July 14th.Therefore, we have organised our transition sessions - moving up to the new class, on Thursday July 14th. Children will come home with a Seesaw code for their new class ,on this day. For our Nursery children who will be moving to Reception, Mrs Davies will seesaw more details about this session, in the first week of July.
I wish my Headteacher knew - online link
As you know ,pupil wellbeing remains a priority for us at Penclawdd. We are now trialling " I wish my Headteacher knew" and have made this an online link, which children can access via the website in both school and at home. This link is for pupils ONLY and not parents. Parents will need to continue to contact Mrs R-M via the office to discuss any concerns/worries.
`Play my way` sessions ( during morning play)
For children who maybe feeling sad , tired or having an `off` day or just prefer to stay indoors ,we have set up an special indoor play area , where the children can stay in with Mrs Williams and do some lovely quiet activities and have a chat.
Lunchtime netball club for Y3-Y6
Mrs Thomas has been running this session once a week for a few weeks now. It is proving incredibly popular and we are hoping to arrange a few NGP cluster matches before the end of term.
Parking
PC Andrew Brown and PCSO Joelle are regularly patrolling to check parking. GowerNpt officers @Penclawdd primary School this morning ensuring that the School Zig Zag lines are clear. #CommunityEngagement.
Nursery pupils 2022-2023
If you have a child due to start nursery in the next academic year, please ensure you have contacted Mrs Beynon (in the office) who can help you with your application. It is vital that we are aware of forthcoming applications to plan for staffing. Please also pass this information on to families you may know.
IMPORTANT DIARY DATES - Please remember to check out our website calendar for key dates this term (including your class sharing the learning dates)
June 17th - Sports Day - FP am, KS2 pm -please see Seesaw. Keep an eye out for our QR code, which you can scan ,to give us valuable feedback on sports day. Thanks for the great feedback on our Jubilee.
July 7th - Summer fete (2pm-4.30pm)
July 14th - Reports to be sent via Hwb email
July 15th - Year 6 Leavers School event - day/evening
July 21st - Y6 Leavers Assembly
📣Fundraising 📣
Our School Lottery - please support us, if you can.
Click here for our lotto details.
🗞Community 🗞
IMPORTANT - School premises on the weekend
Unfortunately, we have had a number of weekends when we have had Primary school children and teenagers accessing the school grounds , when the school is closed. They have gained access by climbing over the high fences! I have watched the CCTV footage.
I have taken calls from concerned neighbours, during these weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) to inform me. So far, no damage has been caused, but things have been moved/thrown about.
I had a call this Saturday (11th June) to let me know that teenagers were seen inside the school carpark at 10.45pm on Friday night.
As this trespassing seems to be ongoing I will now inform the Police. I`d be really saddened if any damage was to be caused or even worse, an accident was to occur `out of hours` on the school property. I urge you as parents to contact the local PCSO`s and I have also given the details to our neighbours.
Penclawdd Pennies - our community bank
Our bank is run by our Y4/5 pupils, who have received financial training. They are excellent ! We are open every Tuesday at 9.30am prompt.
Reduce, reuse , recycle - Our Eco Wombles
Our Wombles have written an eco code and are learning it off by heart. It is on display around the school. Please see the picture below. Please support us as we actively work to become a Green Flag eco school.
Dragon recycling -Recycle unwanted clothes and raise funds for our school!
Dragon Bags is a free fundraising scheme that helps schools across Wales raise funds through textile recycling. We are awaiting our external bank, which will be located in the pedestrian area, so the community can have access during the day. We will send out a Seesaw once it arrives.
Curriculum for Penclawdd - Maths/Numeracy and Our Local community forms
Thanks to those who have completed the forms so far. As always we value your views, ideas and support. We have had some excellent feedback to date. The deadline is June 17th , so if you have not completed the surveys (links above) you have time!
Llanmorlais Carnival - Saturday June 25th
Please come along and support members of our Y2-Y6 choir who will be performing a medley of songs. Mrs Thompson and I will be there. We are extremely proud of these pupils, as this is the first time for them to perform. Well done!!!
Our class gardens/school grounds
Class gardens - we still need your help. If you do have a spare hour or two and would like to help out, please see your classteacher or message via Seesaw. THANKS for all the donations of compost and gardening tools.
School grounds - fancy painting/oiling a bench /planter or doing some weeding and cutting back in areas. Can you trim a willow ? If you can , a cuppa is waiting. We`d love to see you.
📣Remaining INSET days📣
Friday July 8th 2022
Thanks for your ongoing support,
Mrs R-M x
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