Dear Parents/Carers,

A huge thank you to all of you for making our Christmas Fayre such a success last Friday.  There was a wonderful atmosphere, and much excitement and enjoyment.  A fantastic £1500 was raised, thanks to your generosity and the hard work of the PTA and their many helpers on the day.  Almost a third of the amount raised came from Year 6 stalls, so many thanks to their parents/carers for their help with these.

Thanks also to parents/carers of Chess Club members for rearranging their Monday routines a little to accommodate the Chess competition between our pupils and Westbourne Primary pupils.  The children had a great time taking part in the competition, which was very equally matched.  We are hoping to do this again next term.

Yet more thanks are due to parents of choir members, not only for ensuring that your children attend regular rehearsals at school, but for ferrying them to and from Whitchurch High School for rehearsals and taking part in the Cardiff & Vale Music Education Christmas Showcase as part of the Junior and Senior Training Choirs.  Those who attended will know that our choir gave an excellent performance and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  I also spotted a few pupils who were instrumentalists in the ensembles that played at the Showcase.   I was so impressed by and proud of them, and thanks to their parents for their time and commitment.  None of these events would be possible without parent/carers’ involvement.  A big Well Done and Thank You to everyone involved!

Thank you also to one of our governors/parent for bringing in a rescued young hedgehog called George and talking to the children about him today.  The children (and staff!) were fascinated and wanted to adopt him as a school pet!  

And finally, thank you for sending your children to school in their Christmas jumpers and for donating so generously to our Save the Children collection.  

Food Bank Donations

You may remember that in October, the School Council took a whole mini bus-full of your generous Harvest donations to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Gabalfa.  You can see the video of this on the school website or here: https://lakeside-primary-school-cardiff.primarysite.media/media/school-council-harvest-video-2023

We are making another collection, as supplies are dwindling at the Food Bank and there is greater demand at Christmas.  If you are able to help by sending a food donation into school with your child, we will be collecting from Monday 11^th until Thursday 14^th, which is when the food will be taken to the Food Bank.  The following is a list of items needed by the Food Bank, though of course any non-perishable food items are always gratefully received.

Tins of tuna, meatballs, corned beef, curry, steak and chicken

Packet noodles

Biscuits

UHT milk

Coffee

Squash

Sugar

Shampoo

Shower gel

Thank you in advance.

Parent-governor ballot

Thank you very much for returning your ballot papers for the parent-governor election.  The ballot is now closed.  Once the votes are counted we will let everybody know who the new parent-governor will be.

Year Group Christmas Sharing sessions

I’m really looking forward to next week’s Christmas Sharing sessions, starting with Nursery on Monday.  I know that children and staff have been practising and preparing, and are excited to share their performances with you.  Thank you if you have provided costumes and props for these events.  Below is a reminder of the dates:

Day / Date – 9.30am starts, Big Hall	Year group
Monday 11th December	Nursery AM Nursery PM (2.15pm)
Tuesday 12th December	Reception
Wednesday 13th December	Year 1
Thursday 14th December	Year 2
Friday 15th December	Year 3
Tuesday 19th December	Year 4
Wednesday 20th December	Year 6
Thursday 21st December	Year 5

Year group Christmas party/film

Year group	Date
Nursery (am and pm)	Wednesday 20th December
Reception	Wednesday 20th December
Year 1	Wednesday 20th December
Year 2	Tuesday 19th December
Year 3	Wednesday 20th December
Year 4	Wednesday 20th December
Year 5	Tuesday 19th December
Year 6	Friday 22nd December

Nursery to Year 2: pupils can wear party clothes/own clothes to school

Year 3 to 6: pupils can wear party clothes/own clothes/pyjamas to school

School will provide snacks for these events

Lost Property

Please see the lost property page of the web site if your child has mislaid something:  https://www.lakesideprimaryschool.co.uk/lost-property-eiddo-coll/  It would help us greatly if children’s property was labelled with their name, especially school uniform, so that we can reunite owners with their clothing or other items.  Many thanks.

Wishing you a pleasant weekend.

Best wishes,

Rachel Mitchell, Headteacher

Upcoming events / Term dates

December

• Monday 18^th December – School Choir visiting Penylan Care Home 2pm
• Monday 18^th December – Christmas Donkeys visit Nursery
• Tuesday 19^th December – Year 4 Christmas Sharing Session 9.30am
• Wednesday 20^th December – Year 6 Christmas Sharing Session 9.30am
• Thursday 21^st December – Year 5 Christmas Sharing Session 9.30am
• Friday 22^nd December – Pantomime
• Friday 22^nd December – Break up for Christmas

January 2024

• Monday 8^th January – return to school
• Friday 19^th January – Inset Day
• Monday 29^th January – PTA AGM 3.30pm – KS2 Staffroom

Term dates

2023-2024 academic year

Break up for Christmas	Friday 22nd December
Christmas Break		Monday 25th December, 2023	Friday 5th January, 2024
Return to school	Monday 8th January, 2024
INSET DAY	Friday 19th January
Break up for Half Term	Friday 9th February, 2024
Spring Half Term	Monday 12th February, 2024	Friday 16th February, 2024
Break up for Easter	Friday 22nd March, 2024
Easter Break		Monday 25th March, 2024	Friday 5th April, 2024
Return to school	Monday 8th April, 2024
EARLY MAY BANK HOLIDAY	Monday 6th May, 2024
Break up for Half Term	Friday 24th May
Summer Half Term		Monday 27th May, 2024	Friday 31st May, 2024
Last day of term	Monday 22nd July, 2024