Caerphilly County Borough Council has asked us to remind you that school meals should be paid for in advance.  Your co-operation in sending the money on the correct day would be appreciated.  If you wish to pay in advance half-termly that is acceptable.  For those parents who like to pay for school dinners per half-term the cost to the end of this half-term is £81.90, cheques are the preferred method of payment and should be made payable to Caerphilly County Borough Council please (£2.10 per day or £10.50 per week).

All payments must be sent to school in an envelope with your child’s name clearly marked and the amount enclosed.  This applies to both lunch monies for Caerphilly County Borough Council and payments to the school for school trips, clubs, etc.  All monies to be paid into Mrs Enright the relief School Clerk.  Thank you.

In accordance with the Council’s policy, MEALS WILL BE STOPPED once the total amount of debt exceeds two weeks (£20.00) and you will need to collect your child at lunchtime or send in a packed lunch.  If your circumstances have changed and you feel that you may be eligible for free school meals, please contact the school office for an application form or apply at http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals

As we begin the new school year please make sure that your child’s belongings are clearly labelled. This will make it much easier to return lost items to their rightful owner as quickly as possible.

For any children continuing to attend brass, string, cello, woodwind or guitar lessons, the termly payment of £25 is now due. Please make cheques payable to Bedwas Junior School.  Lessons will take place as stated below. Please ensure children bring their instruments to school on these days, and take them home between lessons in order to practise.

Monday – Guitar (9.00 – 10.30am)

Tuesday – Strings (9.00 – 10.00am)

Thursday – Cello (10.30 – 12.00am)

Thursday – Woodwind (10.45 – 11.45am)

Friday – Brass (9.00 – 11.00am)

Any children in year 4 who have an interest in playing a guitar will have the opportunity to take part in a mini-audition on Monday 9^th September with Mr J Shankland. If successful, parents will be notified and a request for termly payment sent. Please note – all players must provide their own guitars. Playing an instrument is a wonderful skill to have, however it is hard work. Children will be expected to practise at home, as well as to participate fully in their lessons.

There will be opportunities for the children to learn a musical instrument. The cost of this will be £25 a term; further details will be sent out on a later newsletter.

Please can Year 3 parents and carers ensure that contact information forms are returned to the school office as soon as possible. A copy of the required form was provided in the Welcome Packs before the summer holidays.

I would like to welcome everyone back to school for the new term, especially our new starters in Year 3. We also welcome two new pupils who have joined us in Years 3 and 5, I hope that you all have a very happy and successful time with us!

We are very pleased to welcome Mrs Beeby to Bedwas Juniors, who will be teaching Orange Class.

We have had a really successful year as a PTA with lots of events and fun activities which the children have enjoyed. These events would not have been possible without the continued support we have received. Here is a list of things we have spent this year as a result of your generous contributions:

• Christmas visit from Santa with a selection box for each child.
• Easter bunny visit with Easter eggs for each child.
• Year 6 leavers’ party.
• Year 6 corsages for leavers’ party.
• Year 6 leavers’ photos.
• 3 x gazebos used for sports day and other events.
• £480 donation towards school trips.
• £350 on Bush craft and orienteering activities.
• £250 on a climbing wall.
• Tip tops provided for children on hot summer days.

We would like to thank you as always for your continued support and wish you all a fantastic and well rested summer break. We are looking forward to another successful year of events and activities for our children to enjoy.

Kind regards,

PTA Committee

All clubs led by teachers will not be going ahead this week. They include:

• Code Club (Friday)
• Netball (Thursday)
• Homework Club (Thursday)

Clubs led by outside agencies will be going ahead. They include:

• Performing Arts – Creazione (Thursday)
• Football – CCFC Primary Stars (Thursday*)

*Please note football is on Thursday, not the usual Friday.

It has been another fantastic year for the children at Bedwas Junior School. Mr. Cook and I would like to thank the parents and the wider community for supporting the school over the past year and helping the pupils to continue to be well behaved, polite and hardworking; it has been greatly appreciated.  We wish the very best for the Year 6 pupils who are moving on to secondary school.  They have acted as role models for everyone in school and should feel very proud of all their achievements.  Thank you also to the teaching and support staff.  Their ongoing commitment to their respective roles ensures that they have played a major role in the success of the school.

Most of all, however, we would like to thank the children across the school for their continued positive attitude to their learning and their overall contribution to the school. It is an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be part of Bedwas Junior School.

Have a wonderful Summer break and stay safe. We look forward to welcoming all children back to school on Tuesday 3^rd September.

As a school we would like to thank the PTA for their continued hard work this year as they have continued to raise funds and pay for treats for the children. A special thank you and goodbye goes to Mrs Thornton for her continued hard work on the PTA. Mrs Thornton has played an active role on our PTA for the past 10 years, where she has worked tirelessly to organise events to raise funds for the children in our school. We are greatly appreciative for everything Mrs Thornton has done for our school and she will be greatly missed.

Caerphilly County Borough Council have contacted all schools in Caerphilly requesting that any outstanding dinner money is paid either today or tomorrow. Please contact the school office if you are unsure if any money is due.

We currently have a large number of items of clothing in lost property. These include jumpers, cardigans, polo shirts, PE kits, coats, lunch boxes, water bottles, trainers and rugby boots. Unfortunately, none of the items have names on them so we are unable to return them to the correct owners. Please feel free to come into the school to see if you recognise any of the items. The lost property is laid out on the stage in the school hall and will be available for you to view at the start and end of each school day until the end of term. Any clothing left after the end of this school year will be donated to a local charity shop.

If you have not yet paid your child’s fees for a musical instrument or an extra-curricular club, we ask that money is sent into school by tomorrow. Thank you in anticipation for your support.

In September, we will be welcoming Mrs Beeby who will be teaching the year 4 pupils in Orange Class. Mrs Beeby has worked in our school for the past term and is already a familiar face with the children and parents.

Unfortunately, we will be saying goodbye to Year 3 class teacher, Miss Pugh. Miss Pugh will be leaving us as she has secured a teaching positing in Dubai. Miss Pugh has made a significant contribution to the school over the last three years and we wish her the very best for the future.

Thank you to Mr Lloyd for arranging yet another successful sports day this year. The day was a huge success and thank you to all parents and carers who supported the event. Also, a big thank you to the PTA for providing refreshments.

Tomorrow morning, the school will be hosting an informal coffee morning where parents of children currently in years 4, 5 and 6 are invited into school. The aim of this is to allow parents time to meet and have a chat with Mr Stephen Diehl, the new Headteacher of Bedwas High School. Hot drinks and a selection of refreshments will be provided on the morning.

The event will take place between 10:30am and 11:30am in the school hall. When parents arrive, they will be able to collect children from their classrooms to join them for the morning. We would be very grateful if you could indicate to the school office if you intend to come along, as this will help us plan and make necessary arrangements.