8th November 2013 Dear Parents,

Staff News

Welcome back to Miss Crompton who returned to school this week from maternity leave. Congratulations to Mrs Kursitis who got married over half term. Although now officially Mrs Warrilow, she has decided to remain as ‘Mrs K’ in school!

Christmas Cards

Christmas card orders were sent home this week. The company does have a returns policy if you are unhappy with the quality of any cards or gift tags. Please check that each item in the pack has your daughter’s name on it and if you need to return your cards, please send them into school (with an explanation of the problem) by next Friday 15th November.

Individual Photographs

Your daughter should have brought home a proof copy of her individual school photograph this week. If you would like to place an order, please return the order form (including payment) to school by Tuesday 12th November. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Colorfoto’. Alternatively, you can order on-line directly at www.colorfoto.co.uk

Speech and Drama Lessons

Miss Steadman would like to remind parents that there are no speech and drama lessons next week as she is away.

Nursery

To eternity and beyond!! This week we met Zowie and Delyth who invited us to the intergalactic Alien space lab. We learnt about the different planets which orbit the sun. We found out that our planet Earth is quite unique as it is the only planet to have running water, ice and air. We made clay divas for Diwali and have had lots of fun learning our new sounds 't' and 'i' and number 5. Next week we shall be focusing on the sounds 'n' and 'p' and the number 6.

Junior School Menu

A copy of the lunch menu for girls in Nursery to Year 4 is available to view at the end of this newsletter. Next week will be Week 3.

Techniquest Star Lab

Nursery, Reception and Year 1 enjoyed an exciting ‘alien adventure’ on Wednesday when ’s star lab, an inflatable planetarium, brought the night sky to our school hall. The girls had the opportunity to identify stars, planets and constellations in the night sky and to meet Delyth the dragon and Zowie the alien, who came to Earth on holiday!

Year 1 Visit to Llandaff Fields

On Monday afternoon we all went to Llandaff fields. It was sunny and cold. We all wore our wellies and tracksuits to keep us warm. We found oak, beech, sycamore and birch trees. We drew them and learnt about them. We had crowns and we decorated them with leaves, acorns and twigs. There were loads of ladybirds there. We threw leaves in the air and everybody took photos with the school cameras. It was good fun and it tired us out! Year 1

I.C.E. Bridge Building Project

The girls from Years 3 and 5 were treated to a very special opportunity to build the I.C.E. Bridge, a large scale suspension bridge in the Sports Hall yesterday. This involved wearing hard hats, safety goggles, high visibility jackets and protective gloves in order to manoeuvre the treads and traction equipment into a fully operational and load bearing suspension bridge spanning half of the Sports Hall. The girls were required to co-operate in teams, follow strategic instructions and use their initiative; the result of their hard work was truly astounding. We would like to thank Costain Construction who generously hosted the event and provided the manpower and equipment for the day.

Lesotho Assembly

The girls found out more about Lesotho today and the school we support in the Leribe district, Likhakeng High School. has been linked with Lesotho for more than 30 years and the charity Dolen Cymru has been leading the way. Both countries, Wales and Lesotho are very similar. Both are mountainous, bilingual, have similar forms of Government and the people have a great love of music. Some of Howell’s staff have visited the school and Likhakeng High School staff have been to Howell’s. The Queen of Lesotho has also been here! In the near future we will be announcing a fund raising day because we would like to set up a Bursary Fund to allow at least one student, who could not otherwise go to school, to complete their secondary education at Likhakeng High. The annual cost of attending secondary school for one year in Lesotho is £250 for a day pupil and £350 for a boarder. Watch this space for more news!

Charity Week Photo Quiz

Can you guess the childhood photo of each teacher? Prizes will be awarded to the winners! The photos can be found at the end of this newsletter and entry forms were sent home with the girls today. Please hand in your completed answer sheet and a £1 entry fee (which will be donated to charity!) to Mrs R Thomas (5J teacher) by Friday 15th November. Happy sleuthing!

Children In Need – Friday 15th November

To support Children In Need next Friday the girls will be allowed bring their favourite teddy bear to school for a suggested donation of £1.

Pitch In Update

Our College students are holding a Charity Fashion Show and Dinner at Howell’s on Saturday 16th November 2013 at 7.30pm. Tickets for the evening cost £25 per person and can be purchased from the main office in the Senior School. Funds raised will be split between the Noah's Ark Appeal, Velindre and Pitch In. I hope you will join us for what promises to be a fantastic evening.

Tickets for our evening of ‘Glamour and Glitz at John Lewis’ are available to buy from Mrs Thomas at the Junior School Office. Tickets cost £7 (£5 of which is redeemable against any purchase made within the beauty area) and include drinks on arrival, canapés, shopping, prize draw, celebrity guests, a performance from Howell’s students and a bar area available for gentlemen! Any proceeds will go towards Pitch In. Family and friends are welcome, the more the merrier!

A very big thank you to one of our Mums, Julie Morgan, for running a First Aid course yesterday and raising funds for Pitch In. Thank you also to the mums who attended the course, we hope you enjoyed it!

In previous newsletters we have referred to our ‘Mumbai Magic’ event that was due to take place in January 2014. The event has been postponed and will now take place in February 2014 and we will confirm the date with you as soon as possible.

Don’t forget if there are items or services you would like to sell, or if you would like to advertise your business you can do so by registering and logging in to Jumblebee. We want to make it as easy as possible so Hannah Roberts would be delighted to upload items on your behalf so do contact her. Hannah can be contacted on 02920 261825 or at [email protected].

It’s the time of year for the fathers to get together for the traditional Howell’s Fathers’ Lunch. This year it will take place on Friday 29th November at 12.00pm for 12.30pm at the County Club. Lunch will cost £35 per head. New faces are welcome so please feel free to pass this to any fathers you think will want to attend! Please let Andy Howell know if you would like to attend by emailing [email protected].

GDST Junior Heads’ Conference

This year, I am the Chair of the GDST Junior Heads’ committee and will be hosting the annual conference in next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The delegates will be visiting Howell’s on Friday morning and I am sure they are looking forward to seeing the school and meeting the staff and girls. Mrs Ludlam and Mrs Matthews will be in school all week if you need to see them in my absence.

Lost Property

Ashi S (Year 1) has lost her named school raincoat. I would be grateful if you could check at home in case your daughter has picked it up accidentally.

Parents’ Association - Big Xmas Bash

The Parents' Association Big Xmas Bash is only four weeks away! Tickets are £50 a head, for a champagne reception, three course dinner and lots of dancing. Booking forms and menus are available from Senior and Junior School offices, or to download here: http://www.howells-cardiff.gdst.net/ParentsAssociation.aspx We hope to see you there!

Forthcoming Dates for the Term

A reminder of the important dates for the half term ahead:

November Friday 29th November Parents’ Association Christmas Fayre

December Tuesday 3rd December Infant Christmas Concert (Nursery to Year 2) at 9.30am

Wednesday 4th December Infant Christmas Concert (Nursery to Year 2) at 1.45pm

Thursday 5th December Infant Christmas Concert (Nursery to Year 2) at 9.30am

Wednesday 11th December Year 3 and 4 Christmas Show 7pm in the Great Hall

Thursday 12th December Year 3 and 4 Christmas Show 7pm in the Great Hall

Tuesday 17th December Year 5 and 6 join the Senior School Carol Service at Llandaff Cathedral 1.45pm (parents welcome to attend)

Friday 20th December End of term at 1pm (NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE OR CLUBS)

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Judith Ashill (Mrs) Head of Junior School

Howell’s Junior School Menu 2013 – 2014

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week 1 Jacket potato served with a Roast turkey/vegetable grill served Cheese and tomato pizza served with Roast chicken/veggie fingers served 100% cod fish fingers/vegetable choice of cheese, baked beans, with roast potatoes, carrots, peas herby diced potatoes and wholewheat with potatoes, carrots, broccoli and fingers served with chips and peas tuna mayonnaise or ham and gravy spaghetti hoops gravy

Full salad bar Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes

Homemade rice pudding, Homemade flapjack, fromage frais or Fromage frais or jelly Welsh cakes, fromage frais or jelly Fromage frais or jelly fromage frais or jelly jelly Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit

Week 2 Pasta with neopolitan sauce 100% pork sausage/quorn sausage Chicken curry/vegetable curry served Roast pork/vegetable grill served with 100% chicken chunks/vegetable served with sweetcorn and garlic served with mashed potato, with rice, naan bread and poppadoms roast potatoes, green beans, nuggets served with chips and bread cauliflower, peas and gravy cauliflower and gravy baked beans

Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes

Cheese and biscuits, fromage Homemade chocolate chip sponge Fromage frais or jelly Fromage frais or jelly Welsh cakes, fromage frais or jelly frais or jelly and custard, fromage frais or jelly Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Week 3 Cheese and tomato pizza served Roast beef/veggie grill served with Jacket potato served with a choice of Roast chicken/veggie fingers served Battered haddock/vegetable with new potatoes and roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, cheese, baked beans, tuna with new potatoes, carrots, broccoli nuggets served with chips and wholewheat spaghetti hoops yorkshire pudding and gravy mayonnaise or ham and gravy peas

Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes

Homemade flapjack, fromage Muffins, fromage frais or jelly Apple crumble and custard, fromage Ice cream, mousse, fromage frais or Cheese and biscuits, fromage frais frais or jelly Selection of fresh fruit frais or jelly jelly or jelly Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit

Week 4 100% pork sausage/quorn Pasta bolognaise/vegetable Chicken curry/vegetable curry served Roast pork/vegetable grill served with 100% chicken chunks/vegetable sausage served with roast bolognaise served with sweetcorn with rice, naan bread and poppadoms roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, peas nuggets served with chips and potatoes and baked beans and garlic bread and gravy wholewheat spaghetti hoops

Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes Full salad bar and jacket potatoes

Apple crumble and custard, Fromage frais or jelly Welsh cakes, fromage frais or jelly Cheese and biscuits, fromage frais or Cookies, fromage frais or jelly fromage frais or jelly Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit jelly Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit Selection of fresh fruit