To kick off the week, our dedicated PTA members took it upon themselves to decorate the path leading from the car park to the school. This thoughtful gesture has brought smiles to the faces of our children and visitors alike. Many have commented on how lovely it is to see such festive cheer. In addition to this, we are delighted to have two beautifully decorated Christmas trees, generously donated by Cross Farm in Pentre Meyrick. As a token of our gratitude, if you purchase a Christmas tree from Cross Farm and show them the flyer below, the school will receive 25% of the sale. We truly appreciate this kind support.

On Monday, we held our first Rags to Riches Collection of the Year. This initiative, organized by the PTA and the School's Eco Owls, involves collecting second-hand clothes from the community. These clothes are then donated to charity or recycled, and the funds raised go towards supporting our PTA. This time, we collected an impressive 224kg of clothes, raising £112. A huge thank you to the PTA and everyone in the community who supported this fantastic waste-reducing scheme.

Monday was also a day filled with musical inspiration as we welcomed the Song Writing Doctor to our school. This music specialist teacher worked with every class, guiding them in writing their pieces of music based on their current enquiries. Using Google Songmaker and Music Lab, the children learnt how to compose their own melodies. For example, our Year 6 students wrote songs about the experiences of evacuees during World War 2. Furthermore, the older children had the opportunity to learn to play the ukulele. We are excited to announce that Larry, the Song Writing Doctor, will be returning to Llangan in the New Year to further develop our pupils' expressive arts skills.

On Wednesday, we had the privilege of hosting a representative from the charity Bullies Out. They led workshops for our Year 1 to Year 6 students, teaching them the Hand of Courage initiative, which aims to help tackle bullying within our school. They also led an assembly called "STAND UP, SPEAK OUT, STAY SAFE!" It was a valuable and empowering experience for our students.

Thursday was a day filled with festive cheer as we joined the nation in supporting Save The Children. Pupils and staff donned their best festive jumpers and made contributions to this worthy cause. I am delighted to announce that we raised an impressive £182 for the charity.

After school on Thursday, our highly anticipated Festive Movie Night took place. The children enjoyed watching the Christmas film Elf, accompanied by hot chocolate and festive treats. They even received a present to add to the excitement. The sale of tickets to this event raised £381 for our school funds. Additionally, the children paid £1 to enter a "Name the Elf" competition, resulting in our giant Elf, affectionately named "Jingle Bell Joe," finding a new home with the child who submitted the winning name. Once again, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our amazing PTA for organising yet another successful event. Their generosity with their time and dedication is truly commendable.

Looking ahead, we have several exciting events lined up. On December 14th, we will be hosting our Infant Productions at 10 am and 5 pm, and our Junior productions on December 19th at 2 pm and 5.30 pm. We warmly welcome you to join us for these delightful performances.

I would also like to extend a special invitation to our new nursery pupils and their parents. On December 12th, from 12:00 to 12:30 pm, we will be hosting a stay-and-play session in the nursery classroom. This is an opportunity for our new pupils and parents to become familiar with the school and get to know our staff.

Furthermore, on December 18th at 3 pm, the parents of pupils in Years 1 and 2 are invited to school to see an exhibition of the work their children have been doing in learning the violin and cello.

In the final two weeks of the term, our children will be undertaking an exciting enterprise challenge. They will be setting up their businesses to produce Christmas crafts. This project will involve producing the goods, conducting market research to determine pricing strategies, creating adverts for their products, and ultimately selling their crafts at the Llangan Christmas Market on December 20th, between 2:45 and 3:15 pm. We invite parents and family members to join us at this time to view and purchase the pupils' creations. The winning company will be the one that makes the largest profit.

Lastly, in the final week of term, our children will come together to share a special Christmas dinner in school.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our incredible staff, parents, and guardians for their unwavering support and dedication. It is through your collective efforts that we can create such a vibrant and nurturing learning environment for our children.

Wishing you all a joyful and peaceful festive season.

Warmest regards,

Mr James Griffiths Headteacher