Start of the school year.

It's the time when mums are jumping for joy and the pupils and staff are resigned to coming back to school. After a fantastic summer school re-opens for the pupils on Tuesday 3rd September 2013. Breakfast club will be open as usual at 8.00 a.m..

The staff have a training day on Monday and will be in school. If you should wish to discuss any issues that have arisen during the holidays you can contact rthe school office to make an appointment to talk to the head teacher.

Gelli Playgroup Open Morning

Our staff at the playgroup are holding an open morning on WEDNESDAY 4th SEPTEMBER 2013 at 9 15 am so that you can come along and chat with them and find out more about our pre-school opportunity. The playgroup will run on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 9.15 to 11.10 a.m.

Film Club Premiere at the Park & Dare Theatre

Year 6 have been invited to a Film Premiere on Friday afternoon 12th July. Some of the pupils are participating in a Film through the centuries project and will be receiving certificates and a DVD of the film. There will be a special screening also using the new digital equipment in the Hall. They will leave after lunch and return by 3 p.m. and be dismissed from school as usual.

An apology

I would like to offer my apologies for changing arrangements for tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon at such short notice. My original intention was to take our Foundation Phase pupils to the Phoenix in order that they could see the final dress rehearsal of Annie. At the time that we arranged this we were able to guarantee the appropriate staff / pupil ratios to safely transport them by bus to the Theatre. Since communicating this to you a while ago, I now find myself in a position that I cannot guarantee the health and safety of our pupils as the bus company are unable to provide us with the transport and, this hot weather make it inappropriate for the pupils to walk to the Theatre. I appreciate that many of you will have made alternative arrangements and will now have to undo them. Again I can only offer my apologies. We at Gelli Primary want to give pupils the opportunities to participate in school activities and taking the younger pupils to see the show during the afternoon and not in the evening was considered to be a better option. There has also been some confusion with informing you about house colours and arrangements for the sports. We will undertake a thorough review of our arrangements and communication to you this year and take on board some of the helpful suggestions that we have received from parents. Unfortunately, when we try to achieve so much in a short space of time there are inevitably errors in judgment made and some breakdown in communication occur. Hopefully we will not repeat these in future.

 

You will have received a series of texts informing you of this change of arrangements.

Summer Holiday Club

The Cambrian Trust is able to provide us with a Summer Holiday Club at Gelli Primary School FOR ONE DAY on THREE CONSECUTIVE WEEKS  in the Summer holidays. They will take place on Tuesday 23rd July, Wednesday 31st July and Tuesday 6th August 2013. The successful pilot during the Easter holidays received very encouraging feedback and we have now increased the provision to include pupils from Year 1 and 2.

There are only 30 spaces available for Key Stage 2 pupils and 20 available for KS1. The scheme will cost £6.00 and we hope that pupils will sign up for the THREE SESSIONS. If you wish for your child to participate in this project please fill in the form at the foot of this letter and return to school as soon as possible.  Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis for the three days. Please fill in the form below and return to school as soon as possible. Please DO NOT send in money until your child’s place has been confirmed.

 

A letter containing all the details was sent home today although some pupils practicing at the Phoenix may not have received their.

 

A copy of the letter and form is available from our Moodle site.

School Sports – Friday 12th July 2013 - Change of time due to hot weather

We will be holding our School Sports at the Pentre Astroturf on Friday 12^th July. Due to the hot weather forecasted for this week we have decided to re-schedule them to the morning. There will be NO BREAKFAST CLUB that morning and pupils can arrive at the Astroturf any time after 8.30 as they will be supervised by members of staff.  The event will NOW start at 9:30am and will finish at approximately 11:30am.  Pupils will return to school for lunch and the afternoon. Parents are more than welcome to come and support.  Entry for adults will be £1.  We look forward to see you on the day

Arrangements for rehearsals and performance of Annie

 

Every two years the Junior Department perform a production in the Phoenix Theatre, Ton Pentre. The purpose of this is to give each pupil the opportunity to perform on stage in front of an audience and to participate in a whole school event. We expect that all pupils, regardless of musical or acting ability, will be able to participate by joining in the chorus. We hold auditions for the main cast characters and pupils are invited to put themselves forward for each part. This replicates the scenario whereby should they wish to join a local amateur dramatic society or participate in music / drama activities in the Comprehensive School they will be prepared. There is no “opt out” clause in this. We are an equal opportunities school and we include everyone in all our activities where it is appropriate. Please will you ensure that you read the following information so that you are aware what we expect from you and your child next week.

Monday 8th July

Please can ALL children be at the Phoenix Theatre, Ton Pentre by 9.00 a.m. We have our first FULL rehearsal that morning. Pupils will return to school for at lunchtime for dinner.

Tuesday 9th July

The CAST MEMBERS supervised by staff will walk to the Phoenix Theatre after lunch at 1.00 p.m.

Please can you arrange for your child to be picked up from the Theatre or sign the permission slip allowing them to walk home.

Wednesday 10th July

The CAST MEMBERS supervised by staff will walk to the Phoenix Theatre after lunch at 1.00 p.m.

Please can you arrange for your child to be picked up from the Theatre or sign the permission slip allowing them to walk home.

The first performance takes place at 6.00 p.m. that evening. Cast members are requested to be in the Theatre at 5.00 p.m. Pupils who are in the CHORUS will be expected to arrive at 5.40 p.m. and enter through the side door. Pupils will be picked up after the performance which should finish around 8.00 p.m. or please sign the permission slip allowing them to walk home.

Thursday 11th July

The CAST MEMBERS and pupils who are in the CHORUS supervised by staff will walk to the Phoenix Theatre after lunch at 1.00 p.m. They will perform the show to the Infant pupils.

Please can you arrange for your child to be picked up from the Theatre or sign the permission slip allowing them to walk home.

The second performance takes place at 6.00 p.m. that evening. CAST MEMBERS are requested to be in the Theatre at 5.00 p.m. Pupils who are in the CHORUS will be expected to arrive at 5.40 p.m. and enter through the side door. Pupils will be picked up after the performance which should finish around 8.00 p.m. or please sign the permission slip allowing them to walk home.

Costumes

You will have received a letter earlier in the term requesting pupils who are in the CHOIR to dress as orphans i.e. dark, drab, messy clothes. As usual we do not require you to purchase a costume specifically for the occasion but use clothes that you already possess.

The main characters costumes have already been sorted and will be in the Theatre for the pupils to dress.

Ticket arrangements

Tickets are on sale from the school box office in Mrs Thomas's Office at the beginning and at the end of the day. There are no restrictions on the number of tickets that you can purchase. They are priced at £6.00 for Adults and £3.00 for OAP's, and School Pupils. Please will you encourage friends, neighbours and family to come to the production the pupils and staff have worked very hard over the past term and it would be great to see every seat in the auditorium full and for us to give the production such a wonderful reception as our previous successful productions have received.

We will text reminders during next week.