Dear Parents/Carers,

We had a wonderful day on Monday when the Mayor visited school at the invitation of the School Council, and delivered an assembly on his chosen charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind.  To everyone’s delight, there were two beautiful guide dogs in attendance, who behaved impeccably obviously.  This week our Pupil Voice board asked the children what they have learned this week, and many of them wrote ‘Guide Dogs’, including how to tell if a dog is ‘working’ and therefore not to be touched (they wear yellow and white harness), and whether the owner is not only blind but also has hearing problems (they wear a red harness).  Many thanks to the School Council and Miss Taylor and Miss Page for organising this.  The School Council will be organising fundraising activities for Guide Dogs for the Blind.  Information to follow shortly.

Please remember that this coming Monday (and the following one) is a Bank Holiday, so school will be closed.

Coronation celebrations Friday 5^th May with PTA Cake Sale: Year 6 and Reception to provide cakes please

Pupils and staff are invited to wear red, white and/or blue to school.  We will be having tea parties on the field, weather permitting, and Coronation-related activities during the day.  The PTA are hosting a Cake Sale and families are invited to enjoy their cakes picnic-style on the field - bring a picnic rug and a few other nibbles and enjoy a community afternoon before breaking up for the Coronation weekend, again weather permitting.  Please can Year 6 and Reception provide the cakes for this sale.  Thank you.

The PTA are fundraising for some new playground markings in the Foundation Phase playground and more outdoor play equipment for KS2: basketball hoops, football net goals etc.  They are working towards some bigger ideas too, soon to be shared. 

Coronation school dinner

The kitchen is preparing a special Coronation menu for school dinners for Friday 5^th May.  If your child would like to receive this, please can parents/carers order it in the usual way, but by Monday evening?  This will allow the kitchen time to order in supplies.  Thank you.

PTA Seedling Sale – Friday May 12^th at pick-up time

We are looking forward to our second Seedling Sale - hope lots of you have potted up and are nursing your little growers along.  Seedling donations can be dropped the morning of the 12^th then join us at pick-up time for the Sale.  Anything not sold to families is either snapped up by the staff or gets planted in the 100 Acre Wood garden – nothing is wasted.  Last year the school grew a few pumpkins that were donated as seedlings and they were displayed at Harvest Festival and the Halloween Disco.  How cool!  All proceeds go toward funding more fun for your children.  Best wishes, Lakeside PTA

Trips

There were two trips from school this week.  Year 1 visited Mountain View Ranch in Caerphilly as part of their Enchanted Woodland learning project, and Year 2 visited Newport Wetlands for their Our Natural World project.  Both trips also fitted beautifully with that fact that this week was Wales Outdoor Learning Week, celebrating how we can all benefit from learning in, learning about and learning for our natural environment. 

Parent questionnaire

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the parent questionnaire at the end of last term.  Main themes indicate that children enjoy their learning projects across the school, the Parent/Carer sharing sessions were popular and appreciated, and that children are enjoying their Outdoor Learning.

The area around the school

Please may we remind parents/carers to be mindful of the school’s neighbours and their property and to ensure that children are supervised once they have been handed over by teachers.  We would also like to remind families that although there are strict restrictions on traffic driving past school at certain times of day, these do NOT apply to local residents.  This means that, though they are quiet, there is no guarantee that vehicles will not drive past the main entrance.  In the interests of safety, therefore, the road should be treated as any road would be and walking should be done on the pavements.  This will also encourage good road safety habits in our pupils.  Thank you.

Nursery appeal for items

Thank you so much for the donations that Nursery has already received following last week’s appeal – they are much appreciated by the staff and the children.  Below is the list again, in case you missed it and fancy having a sort-out.  All donations gratefully received.  Thank you.  We need:

• Baby dolls and prams
• Toy food, pots/pans and toy cooking utensils
• Paint brushes (adult size), paint rollers, safety googles, toy tools, toy lawn mowers, leaf blowers etc for our construction house
• Golf tees
• Wooden stacking toys
• Number/mathematical jigsaws & puzzles
• Mathematical books suitable for nursery (number/shape etc)
• Dice, including large dice
• Kaleidoscopes
• Toy microscopes
• Playdough accessories
• Toys diggers/JCBs, toy cars
• Small world play – fairies, police, pirates (but not pirate boats as we have those already)
• Age 5/6 or 6/7 joggers and leggings
• Comics for Nursery-age children (we always need these as they don’t last very long!)

Wishing you all a pleasant Bank Holiday weekend,

Rachel Mitchell, Headteacher

DATES: 2022-2023 academic year

May 2023

Monday 1^st May – BANK HOLIDAY

Monday 8^th May – BANK HOLIDAY for Coronation

Monday 29^th May to Friday 2^nd June – Half Term break

June 2023

Monday 5^th June – INSET DAY

Monday 12^th June - Year 5 Cycling Proficiency Week 1 – one Year 5 class

Friday 23^rd June – Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 Sports Day (all morning – NIAC)

Monday 26^th June – Year 5 Cycling Proficiency Week 2 – the other Year 5 class

July 2023

Wednesday 5^th July – Years 3 to 6 Sports Day (all morning – NIAC)

Friday 21^st July – last day of 2022-23 academic year for pupils

Monday 24^th July – INSET DAY

SUMMER BREAK