Date 26th May 2017

The Head’s update Dear Parents

Staff News Mrs Cherry Maidment will be leaving Howell’s Junior School at the end of this term. Over the past 18 years, Mrs Maidment has been a wonderful asset to the team, her dedication, commitment and positivity has been so appreciated. She has certainly had an impact on many young lives. Mrs Maidment is going to spend time caring for her two young grandsons. Mrs Hazel Posso (Year 4 teacher) will also be leaving us at the end of term. She is relocating further west. We wish you all the very best with your future career plans. Mrs Karen Lloyd is leaving After School Care today. Mrs Lloyd has been a great addition to the ASC team over the years. I’m pleased to announce that Mrs Lloyd will continue to work in TOOT.

Junior School Rounders News On Friday 19th May, four rounders teams from Year 3 and Year 4 welcomed girls from The Cathedral School for a series of rounders matches. This was the very first experience of competitive rounders for Year 3, who played with confidence and excitement. Year 4 were also energetic and enthusiastic, demonstrating great team spirit in their highly-competitive matches. The four matches were split, with two wins for each school in what proved to be a great afternoon of sport!

It was the turn of Year 5 and Year 6 to take on The Cathedral School in rounders on Wednesday 24th May. Year 5 batted very well but narrowly missed out in an incredibly high-scoring affair, 18-16! Two teams from Year 6 showed vast improvements, managing to win both fixtures thanks to a combination of controlled fielding and powerful batting. Well done to all players who took part in this week’s matches, the enthusiasm

has been fantastic! Photo link.

Under-10 Tennis Team Success Two Under-10 Tennis teams from HSL took part in the annual Sport Cardiff Mini Orange Tennis Competition at David Lloyd on Monday 22nd May. The format of the competition involved each of the four team members playing one singles tiebreak (first to 7 points) and one doubles tiebreak per match. Team 1, consisting of Grace C, Issy C, Emily T and Olivia T played some great tennis on their way to two great victories against St. John’s College (5-1) and Lisvane (6-0). Lola M, Freya M, Olivia W and Lucy A (Team 2) defeated Llanishen Fach (6-0), Whitchurch (6-0) and Rhydypenau (6-0) to set up an all-Howells final. The two teams went head to head to determine who would win the gold and silver medals. Team 1 managed to win 5 of the 6 tiebreaks to take home the gold, but all eight girls played superbly well throughout the day, underlining our position as the top school for tennis in the capital following last month’s first and second-place finish in the Under-9 competition. Photo link.

London Last week, Year 5 went on a residential trip to London. Their first stop was to Kidzania, where they had the chance to experience a huge variety of jobs. The girls tried everything from dentistry to animation, journalism to news reading, and surgery to midwifery. After that, they had a fantastic meal in Jamie’s Italian before being whisked off to HMS Belfast. The girls bunked down in authentic naval cabins, learnt Morse code and decorated their own ship’s mugs. Bright and early the next morning, they started with a workshop in the Tower of London, where they had the opportunity to examine Tudor artefacts. They continued their Tudor journey in Hampton Court Palace, where they were met by Tracy Borman (author, historian and curator of the Historic Palaces), who was kind enough to donate one of her books to the school. The girls had a tour of the palace, and had a fantastic talk about life ‘downstairs and upstairs’. All in all, a fantastic trip! “It was an amazing experience to be a part of. We got so much done in such a short amount of time! I wish we could have stayed for 2 nights!” Jess C “The trip was tiring but amazing!” Bella D “It was a fun-packed adventure!” Lucy A

Infant Choir On Monday 22nd May the Infant Choir enjoyed performing a selection of their favourite songs for their parents and families. The girls, from Year 1 and 2, sang with confidence, conviction and musicality to give a thoroughly wonderful end of year performance. Many thanks to all that came to support the girls and a special thanks for joining in and singing with your daughter on 'Favourite Things', what wonderful voices you all have and it was lovely to see so many happy, smiley faces.

Out of School Care Club Questionnaire for Parents At Howell’s we are always looking to improve our provision for the children and maintain a good working partnership with our parents. Our Out of School Care Managers, Mrs Emma Williams (After School), Mrs Cherry Maidment (Breakfast Club), and Mrs Barbara Ludlam (TOOT Manager), are keen to hear your thoughts on these areas of school life. If your daughter/s uses the Out of School Club or Clubs, we would be very grateful if you would complete the attached questionnaire with your views and comments. We would also be very pleased to receive comments from your daughter/s, if she/they would like to contribute. The Questionnaire will also be available in Breakfast Club, After School Care and the TOOT Holiday Club this Half Term.

Year 6 Save the Date The Year 6 leaver's party will be held on Tuesday 18th July after Sports Day from 4.30 pm - 6.30pm in the Junior School Hall. Watch this space for more details after half term!

Breakfast Club – Reception Class Reception girls attending Breakfast Club, will now be allowed to play outside in the mornings, in readiness for their transition to Year 1.

Carpark Safety On Monday, after school, we had a very serious near miss in the car park when a student was hit by a parent’s car while it was reversing. Fortunately, the student was not badly hurt, however this incident could have been much worse. We would urge all parents to pay heed to the parking and movement restrictions and follow the advice given by the staff on duty directing traffic. They are there to keep you and your children safe. Thank you for your cooperation.

Parent Blog The latest instalment of our Parent Blog is available to read by clicking here. Have a lovely half term. Mrs Ashill

Diary Dates

Calling all Green-Fingered Grandparents-Hazelwood Needs Your Help!

Hazelwood, the home of our Junior School girls, is having a make-over this summer, with landscape

gardeners overhauling the driveway, a new roof and a fresh coat of paint. So where do you come in? We're

not asking you to scale scaffolding or climb a ladder, but we would like your help at ground level. The

flower beds and veg patches around the Hazelwood playgroup are in need of some TLC, and we are

setting up the Greenfingers Group to get things looking shipshape. If you would like to find out more,

please join us for tea/coffee in the hub@howells at 2pm on Wednesday 7th June, or if they can't make this

date please email vanessa.yilmaz@how.gdst.net for more information.

Fathers’ Day Breakfast Prior to the Parent Pyramid drop in, we will be holding a Fathers’ Day Breakfast at 8am-9am in the hub@howell’s on Friday 16th June. We would love to welcome you to celebrate this special day.

Parent Pyramid The next Parent Pyramid drop in session will take place on Friday 16th June at 9.00am-10.00am. Please do join us to find out about the events coming up and share any ideas you may have.

Champagne Cycle Challenge – Sunday 2nd July 2017 Get ready to don your Lycra and dust off your bikes for the annual Champagne Cycle Challenge, Waves and Wheels, on Sunday 2nd July when the entire community comes together for a fun filled day to raise money for the Howell’s Bursary Fund. Our resident Bradley Wiggins are in the process of finalising the three routes. The day culminates with a glass of bubbly, barbecue with lots of exciting activities for the youngest members of our community. Full details will be available after half term.

Summer Concert – Wednesday 19th July 2017 Students will take to the stage in the Sports Hall on Wednesday 19th July at 6.00pm for this year’s Once Upon a Time themed Summer Concert. The concert will include performances from Senior School students as well as the eagerly anticipated staff number, which always brings the house down. Further details will be available after half term.

Junior School Dates Wed 5th July, Thur 6th July and Fri 7th July Year 5 and 6 Concert 6pm

Tuesday 11th July 2pm-3pm Year 1 - African Extravaganza

Wednesday 12th July Reception Ugly Bug Ball

Monday 17th July ‘Moving Up’ afternoon

Tuesday 18th July Nursery Sports Day in JS Hall

Tuesday 18th July 1.30pm to 3.15pm Junior School Sports Day from 1.30pm at UWIC

Tuesday 18th July 4.30pm to 6.30pm Year 6 Leavers’ Party JS Hall

Thursday 20th July End of Summer Term

Monday 4th September Inset Day

Tuesday 5th September Inset Day

Wednesday 6th September First Day of Autumn Term

Wednesday 6th September 6pm Meet the Teacher

TOOT over May Half Term TOOT will be based in the Nursery over May Half Term. If you have booked a place for your child/children please see the timetable below for the activities each day. If you have any queries or wish to contact TOOT over the week, do email TOOT@how.gdst.net or ring school on Extension 19882.

TOOT Timetable over May Half Term

Tuesday 30th May – Friday 2nd June 2017 If you have booked your child into TOOT over May Half term, please read the timetable below so

that you know what is happening each day and what to bring. The children also have many other activities to choose from both indoor and out.

Activity Timetable Things to bring Monday Bank Holiday

Tuesday 30th May

Bubble bonanza / splash pictures / dance / raindrop key rings

Wednesday 31st May

Watermelon and raspberry yoghurt lollies / seed planting / building waterways

Thursday 1st June

Trip to Roath Park Conservatory / boating lake / park with picnic

warm, waterproof coat, trainers or wellies

Friday 2nd June

Swimming with frog races / boat building / more bubbles costume, hat, towel

Other things to bring A spare set of clothes is helpful especially for the younger children and a warm, waterproof coat for everyone each day in case it rains. Have a wonderful holiday. Mrs Ludlam