Christmas Market 2018

 

Once again this year we will be holding a Christmas Market on Thursday 29^th November from 3.15 – 5.00pm. As well as stalls run by staff with the usual mix of chocolates, cakes and Christmas wrapping/cards etc, we are hoping to host a substantial craft market and are currently trying to attract traders to the event. Should you know of anyone that may be interested in taking a stall, please ask them to contact us in school. The most popular aspect of previous events will remain with a festive refreshments area, prize draw and of course a chance to meet Santa himself.

Further details of the market will be sent out in due course. As usual, we will be having a number of ‘non uniform days’ in the run up to the fair in order to collect donations for some of the stalls:

• Thursday 15^th November – Christmas wrapping/cards/decorations
• Thursday 22^nd November – Lucky Dip Bags (bags to be sent out)
• Thursday 29^th November – Cakes and Chocolates.

We will be sending you reminders of the above before each non-uniform day. There will be a meeting on Tuesday 20^th November at 4.30pm in the staffroom for anyone that would be keen to help us with this. In particular, we are looking for a group of parents to transform a room into Santa’s grotto; another group to ‘boost’ our prize raffle collection; and another to stock our secret shopper room with suitable gifts for mums and dads (a particularly good one for anyone that loves bargain hunting!)

We look forward to whatever support you can provide!

New Curriculum

You may have noticed during the last half term that what and how we teach has changed quite significantly. A new ‘Curriculum for Wales’ is slowly being introduced (further details of the new Curriculum for Wales have been sent home) and schools have been challenged to work towards these new requirements by re-designing their own curriculum provision.

As a school, we have used the topic approach for a number of years, so the change is not as dramatic as it could have been. Where we have altered our approach is through the topic structure. In line with recommendations, our topics are now more authentic and meaningful; they draw from the world of work and are based heavily on pupil voice – what and how the children want to learn. Topics have become ‘projects’ with a brief, a goal to work towards and a definite ending rather than a series of lessons linked to a theme. Each project has the four core purposes at its very centre. To illustrate this, here are the projects being undertaken by the children this term:

Nursery and Reception – To create a ‘Buddy Stop’ in the playground where children can go to make new friends.

Year 1 and Year 2 – To design and make the latest ‘hit' Christmas toy from recyclable materials. This has been launched by representatives from ‘Big Ideas Wales.’

Year 3 and 4 – To finance and create a WW2 documentary with the instruction and support of real filmmakers and premier it at a local cinema.

Year 5 and 6 – To work with real architects to design a new community to be built on the school field (with all the real life planning and environmental obstacles thrown in).

As a school we believe that the skills acquired and applied during these projects will make for fantastic learning experiences and will challenge our children more than ever before. At the end of each project, there will be some form of showcase where parents will be invited in to view the work for yourselves. Members of the senior management team will also be present on these occasions should you have any questions regarding the new curriculum. We look forward to sharing these exciting projects with you...

New Headteacher

Update as promised...

 

Following a rigorous two day selection process, I am pleased to inform you that the governors have successfully appointed a new headteacher. Miss Kathryn Price, currently a serving Headteacher in Brecon, will take over the role at Ffynnon Taf from January 2019. In the meantime, transition days will be arranged where Miss Price will be able to visit the school in preparation and to get to know the children and staff.

I know from experience that you’ll welcome Miss Price warmly into the Taff’s Well community!

After School Club Provision Autumn 2018

Please find below details of our extra-curricular club provision for the first half of the autumn term. I would be grateful if you could indicate which clubs you would like your child to attend on the slip sent home and return to school by Monday 17^th September.

Day	Club	Provider	Cost	Start date
Monday	Infant club to be arranged…	Sports Xtra	Further information and start date to be sent home shortly.
Tuesday	Running Club (Years 2 – 6)	Mr. Worth	Free	18/09
	Art Club	Mrs. Wallace	Free	18/09
Wednesday	Staff Meeting – No Clubs
Thursday	Netball Club (Years 4-6)	Mrs. Howells	Free	20/09
	Multi-Sports (Years 1 and 2)	Mr. Williams	Free	21/09

All clubs will run from 3.15pm until 4.15pm unless stated otherwise.

Individual start dates for each club are listed above. If your child is enrolled in the school childcare provision, they will be taken to that club at the end of the session. We are currently in talks with SportsXtra regarding an infant club to be held on a Monday. Once they come back with their proposal, we shall send out a separate letter.

Welcome Back...

Welcome back to a new school year at Ffynnon Taf and a warm welcome to all our new children and parents.

As ever it’s lining up to be a busy year at Ffynnon Taf but it’s also a year of much change. Many teachers have changed classes and year groups and we also welcome some new faces to the team. Mrs Mota has joined the Early Years department as our new lead for nursery while Mrs Harrison joins us to deliver PPA sessions in all classes from Year 1 to Year 6. We also welcome back Mr Williams who was appointed as a part time teacher for Year 3 at the end of the summer term. We know you’ll offer them a warm welcome to our school community.

Miss Davies returns as Mrs Murphy following her marriage during the summer term and I know you’ll join us in offering our congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple.

Alongside the changes mentioned above, there will be a very different looking curriculum in school this year as we continue to prepare for the Curriculum for Wales. I will be writing with further details of some exciting projects ahead and ways parents can get involved.

As mentioned at the end of the summer, it will also be my last term at Ffynnon Taf before taking up a new post in the Vale of Glamorgan in the new year. Governors are already in the process of recruiting a new headteacher for the school and this should be complete by the end of September. I will update you as soon as we know who will be taking over in January.

Over the next few days I will be sending out dates for your diary along with details of after school club provision for this half term. In the meantime, should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us in school.

 

Mr. Worth

Autumn Term 2018 Diary Dates

Just a few days in and the dates in our diary are filling up fast. There will be lots of information coming your way in the next few weeks so we thought we'd get in first with the dates for this term. This is an initial overview of the term with dates likely to be added as we move forward. Please note further details of many of these events will be sent out closer to the time.

Date	Activity	Details
September
Wednesday 12th	Dosbarth Llew & Rhino Gwyn Architecture Project Launch	9.30am – 12.30pm Gaunt Francis Architects, CDF
Friday 14th	Dosbarth Twcan and Jaguar Evacuation Workshop	1.00 – 3.30pm School Hall
Monday 17th	After School Clubs Commence	See separate timetable
Monday 17th	Dosbarth Cangarw & Coala Enterprise Troopers	1.00 – 3.30pm Led by Big Ideas Wales
Wednesday 19th	RCT Super Attender Assembly	2.30pm  - School Hall
Thursday 20th	RWI Reception Parent’s Presentation	Dosbarth  Eliffant 9.15am MW, SD, SR
Friday 21st	Family Fun Afternoon ‘Welcome Back to School’	School Field 3.15pm – 6.00pm
Friday 28th	Dosbarth Eliffant & Teigr Project Introduction Day	LM, SR & MW
October
Monday 1st	Eco Week Commences	Various activities throughout school –details TBC.
Monday 1st	Mark Dorey – Author Workshop	School hall KS2 9.30am
Wednesday 3rd	Mark Dorey – Book Signing	School hall KS2 9.30am
Monday 8th	Dosbarth Twcan and Jaguar Movie Project – War Museum Trip	Swansea Bay 9.30am – 2.30pm
Tuesday 16th	Flu Vaccinations	Whole School Hall to be used all day
Thursday 18th	School Photographs	School hall 8.30am onwards
Tuesday 23rd	Parents Evening 1	School hall and classrooms 3.30pm onwards
Wednesday 24th	Parents Evening 2	School hall and classrooms 3.30pm onwards
Thursday 25th	Monster Ball	Fancy Dress Disco 5 – 7.00pm School hall
Monday 29th – Friday 2nd November	Half Term Holiday
November
Friday 16th	Children in Need 2018	Pyjama Day & Chinese Auction in school Details TBC
December
Monday 10th	Lower Foundation Phase Christmas Concert Dress Rehearsal	School hall – 9.30am Dosbarth Teigr & Eliffant
Monday 10th	Upper Foundation Phase Christmas Concert Dress Rehearsal	School hall – 1.30pm Dosbarth Cangarw & Coala
Tuesday 11th	Lower Foundation Phase Christmas Concert	School hall – 9.30am Dosbarth Teigr & Eliffant
Wednesday 12th	Upper Foundation Phase Christmas Concert	School hall – 9.30am Dosbarth Cangarw & Coala
Thursday 13th	Christmas Cinema Night	School hall – 5.00pm
Friday 14th	Christmas Market + Santa	School hall – 3.15pm
Tuesday 18th	Junior Carol Service Performance 1	School hall 2pm
Tuesday 18th	Taff’s Well Light Parade	4.30pm Starting at school and finishing at Taff’s Well United Church
Wednesday 19th	Junior Carol Service Performance 2	School hall 6pm
Thursday 20th	Class Christmas Parties	Children to come to school in their party clothes.
Friday 21st	Last Day of Term