23rd May 2014 Dear Parents, History Day – Friday, 6th June

As this year marks the centenary of the outbreak of World War One, Howell's will be marking the occasion with a special day. On Friday, 6th June the pupils from Nursery to Year 10 will be participating in a variety of activities to commemorate the event. We would like each girl to come to school wearing clothes similar to those a child might have worn during World War One. There are some examples and suggestions for the Junior School girls at the end of this newsletter. Parking Issues

We are still receiving complaints from residents on Howell’s Crescent. The yellow zig-zags should be left clear at all times please. If you park or drop off your daughter in the Pencisely Road car park please could you use the right hand bays only as the bays on the left hand side must be kept free at all times to allow the minibuses to drop students to school safely. Thank you for your co-operation.

School Uniform Provision You will be aware that the current school uniform shop and provision from John Cheatle was placed into administration in mid-April and, in short, Howell’s uniform shop and provision was not included in the follow on company and support has eroded very rapidly. This has required a particularly swift and detailed procurement process working within the GDST’s framework companies. One major benefit is that it has provided an opportunity to look at delivery, cost, quality and range and type of clothing. I am delighted to advise that while currently at pre-contract signature, we are expecting to announce in June a tailored uniform service to Howell’s from John Lewis, which will be launched for parents in mid-August at the store in Cardiff, with a further evening the following week to ensure maximum coverage. With an extensive range of Howell’s uniform currently being made for sample and approval, we are very excited by the service secured. A Click and Collect service will operate at John Lewis and Waitrose stores, we are not therefore going to retain a uniform shop on site; there will be free returns, trained staff in a dedicated uniform department and a significant improvement in terms of quality and cost across the core uniform, sporting and ancillary items. In addition, they have offered sponsorship of our sporting teams and bursary support. This represents an excellent arrangement with John Lewis Uniform and further supports our relationship with the Cardiff store which has engaged so enthusiastically on a number of Howell’s events in store. There is now a sale of uniform blazers (of particular note to current and intended Junior School parents), skirts and tunics in the shop which will all remain current uniform items in September. The shop is likely to close well before the end of the summer term. We will let you know the date as soon as we are informed. It will be open on the Thursday of half term from 10.00am – 4.00pm. R C READ OBE CDir Director of Finance & Operations

Staff News Miss Laura Davies has now started her maternity leave and we wish her all the very best for the birth of her second baby. Class Photographs You should have received a class photograph proof this week. If you would like to order a copy, please return the proof with payment by Wednesday, 4th June or order online at www.colorfoto.co.uk Swimming Pool Refurbishment

The refurbishment of the school swimming pool will begin at half term and the pool will be unavailable for lessons for the remainder of the summer term. Your daughter will not need to bring her swimming kit to school as the girls will have classroom based lessons on the importance of water safety.

Swimming Galas Our infant swimming gala today has been a huge success, as was the junior gala at the International Pool yesterday. Both were action-packed events and I would like to thank Mrs Jarvis, Mrs Griffiths and Mrs Baker for their hard work at the pool, Mrs Thomas for score keeping and Miss Christmas for announcing all the races. It was lovely to welcome back Mrs Tonge for the day too! The results follow at the end of this newsletter. Congratulations girls!

Synchronised Swimming Congratulations to Bethan L, Isabelle W, Annabelle W, Lilli J, Olivia D, Lily R, Sophie G, Freya P and Jess J who performed such a professional synchronised swimming display during the gala yesterday. The girls entertained the audience to the music of ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams from the film ‘Despicable Me 2’. The girls have worked so well as a team and deserve to be proud of what they have achieved in such a small amount of time. Swimming Presentation Assembly A presentation assembly was held this afternoon to celebrate the Swimming Galas. All the races contributed to a house total and the results of the infant and junior galas were added together. It was incredibly close but congratulations to Dewi who came first with 119 points. Llywelyn came second with 112 points, Glyndwr came third with 108 points and Hywel were fourth, scoring 105 points. Two cups were awarded for the most improved swimmers in the infants and juniors and the winners were Shifa S (Year 2) and Shermin R (Year 6). Mrs Ashill also awarded a special award to Molly G (Year 6) and certificates to Siani K (Year 6), Freya Mc and Lola Mc (Year 2). Congratulations girls!

A busy day for the Junior School Orchestra...

Monday was a busy day for our Junior School Orchestra when they hosted 25 girls from Years 2 to 6 at an Open Rehearsal over lunchtime. The Music Room was bursting with ‘would-be players’ as the existing members demonstrated the sounds that different sections of the orchestra make and then treated their guests to the full power of the orchestra when it is playing together harmoniously. The

girls sat in amongst the players to benefit from total ‘surround sound’. Later in the afternoon, the girls were joined by their parents at another Open Rehearsal. They rehearsed arrangements of ‘The Great Escape’ and ‘Thank You for the Music’ and demonstrated to their parents how they practice the piece in different sections before putting it altogether. All of the visiting parents played an instrument including cello, flute, violin and lots of percussion. Even some staff brought along their instruments! The girls were very proud, and rightly so, as they made a wonderful sound and their parents even recognised the tunes! Mr Beckett concluded by thanking the girls for their commitment and enthusiasm and made special mention of those Year 6 girls who are leaving us. We hope to hear that they continue making music in the future. The orchestra and instrumental ensembles begin again in September and new members are always welcome! Beautiful Singing from the Junior School! Throughout this academic year, Year 3 & 4 Choir has taken place on Monday lunchtimes and Year 1 & 2 Choir has taken place on Tuesday lunchtimes. The dedicated choir members have had lots of fun while learning a wide variety of songs and the girls' voices have all developed and matured beautifully. On Tuesday, the choirs came together to perform a short concert for their families. The girls were very pleased to perform in public and they all sang extremely well. The afternoon concluded with a joint performance of this year's most popular song 'Let it go' from the Disney film 'Frozen'. The girls expressed themselves in song and movement and obviously inspired the audience members who joined in too! Mrs Tummon, Miss Griffiths and Mrs Lloyd-Jones are very proud of all the girls and would like to thank them for their commitment and hard work this year. They look forward to welcoming the girls back in September when the choirs will resume. Many thanks also to all of the parents and grandparents who took time out of their busy schedules to support the girls by attending the concert. Year 3 and 4 Choir

Year 1 and 2 Choir

Stepping Stones Year 4 girls who would like to be assessed for their first 'Stepping Stones' bronze award should bring their completed projects to Mrs Holley (Class 2S) by Friday, 20th June. Bag2School Appeal

Thank you for all of your support today. The Pavilion was awash with filled blue bags!

Year 4 Visit to the Senedd

On Wednesday, Year 4 went on a trip to the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. We had a tour of this amazing building and now know a little more about what Assembly Members do. We learnt that the Senedd is a very ‘eco-friendly’ building and that all of the rain water from the roof is used to flush the toilets and wash the windows. We also learnt that the Senedd belongs to us - the people of Wales. We found out a lot about the Welsh Assembly and how it works and asked our guide lots of challenging questions! We concluded our visit by having a debate and vote about having a class pet. The tortoise won! Year 4 Tennis This week has been the big week for Primary School’s tennis in Cardiff. Mini Red, Orange and Green tournaments have taken place at David Lloyd Centre, Cardiff on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with girls from our Years 3, 4 and 6 taking part. Teams consist of only four players in each age group and competition for places is strong, given the wealth of talent we have at Howell’s. The girls eventually selected represented the school with distinction. Playing against strong opposition in every age group, particularly Year 6, our girls battled through and finished as Cardiff County Champions in all three events. The outcome of this achievement is that Howell’s now move forward to represent Cardiff County in the South Wales Tennis Finals, to be held at the David Lloyd Centre, early in July. Many congratulations to Amelie H, Bella G, Hana El H and Olivia D from Year 3; Becky D, Bella Mc, Becky Ll and Annabel B from Year 4 and Sophie S, Alicia L, Evie O and Robyn D from Year 6 on their success this week!

Athletics As part of this busy sporting week, a squad of eight girls from Years 5 and 6 took part in the second heat of the Cardiff Schools’ QuadKids Athletics Championships at Cardiff International Sports Stadium on Wednesday. Competing against 11 other Cardiff Schools in 75 metre sprint, 600 metres, standing long jump and Vortex Howler throw, our team produced some fine individual performances throughout the morning. Such is the complexity of the scoring system, we are still waiting to discover our finishing position and to know whether we have qualified for the County Final to be held in June! Many congratulations to Lily R, Georgia M-P, Fiona B, Alicia L, Imogen T, Annabelle W, Lilli J and Charlotte H for their performance on the day! Nursery

‘Alas me hearties, there really be fairies living at the bottom of the garden!!’ (said with pirate accent please). My return on Wednesday was to an atmosphere of great excitement and jubilation. The girls had so much to tell me about their visit from Tylwyth Teg, the Welsh fairy who they found in the magic dome. She had arrived to tell the girls that she had heard news of Iolo and Taff swimming off the coast of Asia. Could they be near Japan or India? We have asked some of our Nursery

friends who have family living in Asia to find out for us. She read us the story about the Rainbow Fish and how he learnt to share his beautiful scales with the other fish in the ocean. We have been talking about times when we have been good at sharing our things and how important it is to share. We have completed our ‘rogues gallery’ of pirates and we have enjoyed designing our pirate hats and turning the pictures of ourselves into swash buckling pirates. The adventures of Iolo and Taff continue after half term. If you hear any news of them, please be sure to come and share it with us on your return back to school! Mrs Scott Welsh Phrases of the Week

This week's phrases are 'Dwi wedi gorffen' (I've finished) and ‘Ga I helpu?’ (Can I help?)

Kings Camps With the summer holiday just around the corner, we are delighted to be partnering with children’s activity camp specialists, Kings Camps, to offer your children an exciting experience. Kings Camps combine the best elements of sports and holiday clubs with specially trained and inspiring coaches, making school holidays even more memorable. Click here for more information.

Howell's Holiday Care Club (TOOT) There are a few places left in our Holiday Care Club (TOOT) during 'Here comes summer!', our May Half Term themed week. We are open for 4 days from Tuesday, 27th – Friday, 30th May. We are now accepting day bookings at a cost of £35. To book a place please email TOOT@how.gdst.net and we will respond by email. The 4 day week costs £132 per child to include breakfast, lunch, all snacks and visits. Tea can also be ordered at an extra cost of £2. Don't forget our Summer dates. We are booking now! The themes: 7th – 11th July Teddy Bears' Picnic 14th – 18thth July Circus Tricks 21st July – 25th July Wacky Races 28th – 1st August Grow it, Cook it, Eat it! 4th – 8th August All aboard 11th – 15th August Crash, Bang, Wallop TOOT will be open for the first 6 weeks of the 8 week summer holiday at £165 for the week. Pitch In Update

Champagne Cycle Challenge Don’t forget that the time has come to dig out your lycra, dust off your bikes and register

for this year’s Champagne Cycle Challenge and Barbecue on Sunday 22nd June. Mr Biebrach and Mr Elmes have planned three routes so that people with all cycling abilities can take part: Babysham, 11 miles; Magnum: 22 miles; and Balthazar: 88 miles. Each route will be led by experienced cyclists. We will also set up the Pink Lemonade obstacle course in the school grounds to enable the youngest members of our community (children under the age of 7) to join in the fun! Cyclists will be rewarded on their return with a glass of fizz and a delicious barbecue! If you don’t cycle, do join us for the barbecue and cheer our cyclists on their return to Howell’s. There is no charge to take part but we are asking for minimum donations: Adults £15 (including BBQ), Senior School and College Students £10 (including BBQ), Nursery and Junior School girls £5 (including BBQ). Tickets for the barbecue only can be purchased separately at cost of £5. Full details and the registration form can be found by clicking here. Please do register in good time so that we can adequately provide for all participants and guests. Friends, family and colleagues also welcome, the more the merrier!

Friday Auction After half term we will be introducing the Friday auction in aid of Pitch In and are asking parents to donate auction lots. If you would like to donate an auction lot please contact Vanessa Yilmaz on 02920 261839 or email vanessa.yilmaz@how.gdst.net

Friday Fun On Friday 16th May the sun shone over Howell’s for what was an action packed day. Click here to find out about the events that took place.

Junior School Girls’ Stall at Car Boot Sale Junior School girls ran a stall at the Parents’ Association’s Car Boot Sale. Click here to find out how they got on. Term resumes on Monday 2nd June; I hope you have a lovely half term holiday, Judith Ashill (Mrs) Head of Junior School

Howell’s Junior School Swimming Gala Results 2014

Year

Front

Crawl

Distance

1st

Time

2nd

3rd

4th

Reception 1 width Safia S-T 14.92 Celeste R Lara O Minnie H

1 1 width Georgie H 8.42 Liana N Lexi B Emma B

2 1 width Daisy B 9.00 Isabella C Carys H Eleni S

3 25m Imogen H 25.95 Isabella G Meghan S Sophie W

4 25m Eloise R-J 17.23 Olivia H Anna L Aaya M

5 25m Ffion R 17.76 Tanvi H JoJo B Sophia C

6 25m Sophie G 16.04 Bethan L Jess J Alice H

Year

Stroke

1st

Time

2nd

3rd

4th

3 Backstroke Emilia W 28.07 Isabella G Meghan S Sophie W

3 Breaststroke Emilia W 35.64 Isabelle H Lucy M Veda L

4 Backstroke Eloise R-J 21.20 Olivia H Caitlin E Kate O’H

4 Breaststroke Imogen F 24.32 Anna L Becky Ll Channah O

5 Backstroke Saffron B 20.10 Ffion R Tanvi H Sophia C

5 Breaststroke Saffron B 23.39 Fiona W Katie G Amelia P

5 Butterfly Saffron B 19.64 Ffion R Tanvi H Sophia C

6 Backstroke Jess J 20.92 Alice H Shayanna S Lily R

6 Breaststroke Bethan L 22.64 Sophie G Rookmini M Annabel W

6 Butterfly Sophie G 21.02 Bethan L Jess J Rookmini M

HISTORY DAY – FRIDAY 6TH JUNE 2014 – COSTUME IDEAS