14 December 2023
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
As we conclude the penultimate school week of 2023, let us start with a dose of adorable wellbeing! Here is a report from Amirah Atas (9H) and Freya Cosgrove (9B).
“We had an amazing time with Finn the dog and his owner Val who work as part of Therapy Dogs Nationwide which is a voluntary charity. With Finn and Val, we learned more about therapy dogs services and how they can help change a person’s life. As a year group we enjoyed meeting Finn and Val and learning more about the charity. When meeting Finn, he brought a peaceful and calming environment which made everyone feel calm and collected. He also didn’t mind the fuss and appreciation he was getting when students were petting him. Finn had a very busy day meeting students and when he returned home, his owner said that he had a long sleep Monday night. We’d love to see Finn again and offer other opportunities towards Therapy dogs for other students as Finn’s visit made us feel happy and calm. Therapy dogs can help people in many different ways and have a huge impact on us which is why we’re going to support and do fundraising towards the Therapy dogs nationwide voluntary charity.”
Thank you to Amirah and Freya for the report. Here are a few gorgeous snaps from the visit that show incredible levels of obedience (from Finn!)…
The return of a familiar Alumni!
The next visitor to LHS was equally good for our wellbeing, but less furry!
On Friday 8th December, former student Thomas Newman came back to see us and, whilst he was here, spoke to Year 11 and Year 12 students about his journey from LHS to St Anne’s College, Oxford. He told them that he was once sat where they were, only a few years before, and explained to them how he had succeeded in his studies, giving them revision tips and advice on to achieve the best results they can. It is always a pleasure to see our former students doing so well, but it also lovely to see them return to the school to share their experiences in order to help others.
Youth Parliament – a celebration of two years in office!
As his two year trailblaze comes to an end, we invited Ruben Kelman to share some of his highlights. Here they are, in his own words….
“Encouraging young people to get involved in politics – I have had the pleasure of taking over 50 young people on trips to Y Senedd, the heart of Welsh democracy, giving them a chance to see the inner workings of politics in Wales and having the chance to speak directly with local representatives Julie Morgan MS & Heledd Fychan MS.
Meeting and listening to YOU! – Both online and in person it has been a pleasure to speak with so many constituents. I have been pleased to campaign on issues that matter to our community; Fighting housebuilding on our precious greenfields, lobbying the council on school bus services, working to save Hailey Park, Northern Meadows & Maindy Velodrome!
Thank you so much for all your support throughout my term lets keep moving forwards, not backwards, together!”
This final photograph gives a fascinating perspective of the chamber! In Rubens words…..
“Speaking in the Senedd Chamber – A once in a lifetime opportunity to speak in the Siambr of our national parliament challenging government, politicians and other public servants such as the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to do right for the next generation.”
Well done Ruben. We know that your work is not finished and that you will continue a relentless fight for the rights of young people in the city of Cardiff.
Watch this space for 2024 adventures……
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Now, it’s time to share some of the festivities that have brightened our days in recent weeks.
Last week, the members of Cardiff East Rotary Club were treated to an evening of songs from the Musicals and Christmas tunes old and new. As part of the night, which was compared by Mrs Brown and accompanied by Mr Grimstead, the Rotary Club were serenaded by the beautiful singing of Katie Gill and Charley Lewis, and also included a guest song from Emma Brown. This was held in the very festive settings of the New House Hotel. We are collaborating with Cardiff East Rotary Club as they are kindly supporting our choirs when we are carol singing in Llanishen village on the 18th of December in aid of Ty Hafan.
Christmas Jumper WINNERS!!
We also received some incredibly exciting news in the Nurture base last week. After entering a Christmas jumper competition that was run by local estate agent Jeffrey Ross, five students had their designs chosen and were presented with their own jumper!
Here are Dylan, Jenson, Lana, Nevannah and Halle showing off their fabulously festive designs.
Year 13 Foodbank Charity Champions
On Thursday 30th November the Year 13 Charity Champions spent the afternoon supporting Cardiff Foodbank with their latest Food Drive at Tesco on Western Avenue. Taiyo, Ben and Hollie have been working with the charity for the past 12 months delivering presentations, helping sort food in their warehouse and assisting with food drives. They have completed this as part of their Leadership Development Programme, something all of our Sixth Form students complete in order to give them some sought after leadership experience and skill. All three have enjoyed supporting the Foodbank and are hoping to continue volunteering even after their LDP has been completed.
LHS HIRB hits Winter Wonderland!
Our Hearing Impaired Resource Base enjoyed an amazing day out this week. Their exploits included a trip to the cinema, ice-skating and a visit to Winter Wonderland. They laughed until they could barely breathe! There was also a LOT of slipping and sliding on the ice!
Back at the ranch, Year 9, 10 and 13 Fashion and Textiles students have been making Christmas wreaths, using reclaimed tinsel, fabric scraps, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, foraged pine cones and laser cut snow flakes. Very festive! Well done everyone.
Spreading our festive cheer….
Well done to the students and staff on raising £1,300 for City Hospice and £300 for Guide Dogs for the Blind through our Jolly Jumpers Day. Also, learning support raised £354 for Macmillan nurses by holding a coffee morning.
In addition to the money raised for City Hospice via our Jolly Jumpers day, LHS has also contributed a fantastic performance at the Big Christmas Wrap in St. David’s Centre. Well done to our amazing choirs and staff who were a huge hit and helped to raise even more money!
Finally, on our festive round up, it’s not Christmas without a poem by our resident poet Faith Lydall in Year 8. This is an absolute joy to read and did make me laugh out loud:
Something you can’t buy on Amazon Prime
Mary: “I don’t want a lot for Christmas – there is just one thing I need,
I don’t care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree…”
“Except…throat sweets and a megaphone”, croaked the angel choir,
“Our voices are hoarse now and we’re getting quite tired!”
“Flowers for Mary”, said Joseph, embarrassed indeed,
Didn’t check Booking.com in his hurry to leave.
“A sat nav”, said Melchior, “there’s congestion on the M4”,
“And we’re all travelling at a camel-speed crawl!”
“CCTV!” Shouted the shepherds from their cold fields,
“To work from home so our beards don’t freeze.
(It’s only fifty-nine-ninety-nine on the Black Friday Deal!)”
“More staff”, said the innkeeper, “to meet our customers’ needs”,
“Is there an event going on? There’s high demand tonight indeed!”
“A cot”, cried the donkey, “I think I’m getting thinner”,
Because there’s a baby mewling in my dinner!
(His Dad’s a carpenter, for Jesus’ sake –Could he have at least bought a flat-pack to make?)”
Mary: “I’d actually like something much more divine,
A cuddle with the creator of the universe and time,
(Something you can’t find on Amazon Prime)”,
And the only thing Jesus wanted for his birth,
Was for love and peace to cover the earth.
And our hearts ache, because we want that too,
Jesus, all we want for Christmas – is you.
By Faith Lydall (age 12, Christmas 2023)
Learning Support Stars of the Week
This weeks Learning Support Star of the Week is awarded to two fabulous young ladies,
They are Jessica Dacey and Sabah Raja in Year 7.
Jessica and Sabah have worked incredibly hard all week and shown incredible kindness towards others.
Well done both ☺️
I would add that you have made an incredibly positive start to your high school life and we can’t wait to see what you’ll achieve in 2024!
Wishing all of our readers a very healthy and happy weekend. I look forward to updating you with news and stories in my final blog of 2023 next week.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher