Dear Parent,
Well done to children singing in the Reception and Year 1/2 class concerts. You all sang and spoke so enthusiastically and were so lovely to watch! ?
Well done to pupils who sang at the opening of Bridge Street Bridge on Thursday or at the concert at Newport (St Woolos) Cathedral on Saturday. You were great and made us all very proud!
Well done also to Jenny Chen who took her model house for the Roberts’ Estate Agents Dream House Competition to the final judging at Rodney Parade on Thursday!
Year 1/2 classes will be very busy this week finalizing their routine for the Newport County v. Morecombe match on Saturday 10th December. James Doyle-Roberts from Citrus Arts will be working with the children and, as well as practising in school on Monday and Tuesday, they will be visiting Rodney Parade Football ground on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
This ‘Football Fever’ project is part of the Arts Council for Wales Lead Creative School Scheme and it is our second year of involvement. Their performance is on Saturday. (See later in the newsletter).
The ‘Hungry Heroes’ project that we did earlier in the year (and which was one of the pilot projects) has been judged excellent by the Arts Council of Wales and the film about it is now used in their national training programme.
On Tuesday morning, parents and pupils who have been joining the GEMS Reading Café are visiting the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff to see The Emperor’s New Clothes. Thank you to ‘Sherman 5’ who have funded this lovely visit. (Apologies for the mix-up in last week’s newsletter.)
There is no Reading café now for the rest of the term because we have concerts this Wednesday and parties next Wednesday.
The Nursery concerts take place this Wednesday at 10.30am and 2.00pm.
Please note that you will need your ticket to ensure entry.
No children under Nursery age are permitted for our performances
If you have no family in Newport, your partner is working or you have absolutely no-one to leave your baby with because you are new to the area, there are a limited number of single spaces for you with your baby or toddler, at the Nursery Dress Rehearsals on Tuesday at 10.30am and 2.00pm and the Junior Dress Rehearsal on Wednesday at 2.00pm.
You will need to speak to either Mrs Davies, Mrs Agland or Mrs Couch first so that they can provide a seat. You will still need to use your ticket though because coming to a dress rehearsal means that you have no-one else to attend or look after the baby, who would need a ticket.
The reason why the dress rehearsal is possible is because with so few parents, it is easier for you to take your baby out if they cry and easier for staff to help you.
This rule about no babies or toddlers has been in for several years now and happened because, in the past, children’s performances were being disturbed constantly by babies and toddlers crying.
I know that you want to ensure that your child has the best possible chance so I’d like to thank you for continuing to support this. Thank you also to parents who have commented very positively on how this has made concerts much better for them.
The Junior Concert, ‘A Victorian Extravaganza’ takes place on Thursday and Friday at 2.00pm. Today was the last day for ordering tickets so spare ones will be allocated from Tuesday onwards to those who have requested them.
On Friday, your child will bring home a note about party food for next week’s parties on Wednesday 14th December.
On Saturday, the Year 1/2 classes perform their creative routine in the interval at the match. If however, you are unable to attend the match, but would like to see them perform, they will repeat it at approximately 4.45pm and you will be able to enter the ground free of charge. (You will be receiving a letter about this event.) I very much hope that you will let your child take part in this.
We are extremely grateful to the staff of Rodney Parade who have helped us so much with arrangements for this performance.
On Sunday, the choir will be taking part in Gwent Music’s Extravaganza at the Riverfront Theatre at 5.30pm. (They will be receiving a separate note about this.)
Thank you very much to Mrs Parry and Miss Watkins whose commitment to, and support of, the choir and singers have ensured that they have been able to have the experience of singing outside of school.
Christmas Dates
- Monday 12th December- {Afternoon Nursery Party
{School Christmas Dinner
- Tuesday 13th December – Morning Nursery Party
- Wednesday 14th December – School Discos and Parties
- Friday 16th December – end of term
Christmas Fayre
Thank you very much to all of the sponsors of our Christmas Fayre whose names are on the accompanying sheet!
Bonus Ball
There is a rollover this week.
Yours sincerely,
H Vaughan
Headteacher