13 February 2025
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
Valentines Special!
As this blog lands on 14th February, it is an opportunity to remind ourselves that Valentines Day isn’t just about romance!
If you delve into the origins of Valentines Day, you will find a plethora of possibilities that range from Pan and Juno, the pagan Gods of love and marriage in Ancient Rome, through to the Christian martyr Valentine. The first real romantic connotations are found in the 14th century poetry of Chaucer.
Whilst the Western world has developed customs around greetings cards, chocolates and flowers, the custom in Latin America is one of acts of appreciation for your friends. Meanwhile, in the USA, it is a major source of economic activity to the tune of $20 billion a year!
So, at LHS, Valentines Day is a chance to celebrate all kinds of love including your friends, your family, and even yourself. Taking time to care for those that are important to you (including you) is always worth it.
We asked our Subject Leader for Music, Mr Grimstead, to share his top 5 love songs!
We are going to keep you guessing for a while longer!
Next week, we will reveal his choices!
In the meantime, can you guess what any of his 5 choices are? And if you were picking 5 love songs, what would you choose?
Eco-Committee in action
Whilst you are reflecting on your choice of love songs, let’s share some other news form the week.
Representatives from each Year 7 form and the Eco-Committee have been busy planting apple, pear, and cherry trees in the school orchard.
Hopefully, they will be baking pies and crumbles in their health and well-being lessons very soon.
Mouth-watering!
Here are some photos of them in action.
Following on from the work of the Eco-Committee, it is also a pertinent time to update you on what Year 7 have been up to during their polytunnel lessons, and to reassure you of the universal truth that young people just don’t seem to feel the cold!
Whilst January and February are definitely not the most glamorous times of the year for lessons in the polytunnel and school garden, there are spring jobs that need to be done!
So, Year 7 have been making fat balls for the birds. These delicious treads for our feathered friends include lard, pinecones, seeds, and oatmeal! Yum. There has been much clearing weeds – there are lots to keep under control!
The students have also been creating new drainage channels to ensure rainfall and water coming down the mountain gets to the right places! Lots of gravel to shovel. And plenty of watering and tending to our winter veg!
An athletic round up from the PE department
Next up is a round up from the PE department on some of the athletics events that have taken place over the last couple of weeks. Our Year 9 students really are an asset to the school with their extra-curricular endeavours and success. The future is certainly bright for these young people.
Welsh U15 Championships
The PE department are very proud of the three Year 9 students that competed so successfully at the Welsh U15 Championships at Cardiff Met earlier this month. It has been so exciting for them to watch these superstars progress from school competition to bringing home medals at the Welsh Championships. Their commitment is exemplary and we look forward to following their athletics journey as we progress into the summer term.
Abi Beadle – 60m Welsh Champion
Taking a huge chunk off her personal best, Abi eased away from the field to take a convincing victory in the u15g 60m.
She also recorded personal best performances in the 200m, making the final.
Unfortunately, she had to withdraw with a slight hamstring tweak but there is no doubt the comeback will be bigger than the setback for this incredibly talented athlete.
Gethin Hughes – 2x Bronze medallist
Gethin once again showed his ability to raise his game at a championship, resulting in two fantastic performances to clinch the bronze medal in both the 60m and 200m with a nice shiny PB. Gethin is a regular attendee at Friday run club and it has been so inspiring to see him progress in a sport that he so obviously loves.
Kevin Feng – 800m Bronze Medallist
Kevin is a real example of a young man that though sheer passion and perseverance has made monumental gains on the athletics scene. A consistent figure at run club and just an all-round great student. With a 7 second pb, he claimed a bronze medal in his debut indoor 800m. Mixing it with those that have trained specifically for this event for a lot longer than he has, it is safe to say the future is very bright for Kevin.
U15g Sports Hall Athletics Team Selection
In other athletics news, our PE team are absolutely delighted to announce that Abi Beadle, Amelie Edwards and Maya Mach have been selected to compete in a team of 6 For Cardiff and The Vale Schools at the Welsh Sportshall Finals on Sunday 9th March. This comes after competing in the schools Sportshall event in a tri series where points were accumulated across the three events they chose.
To have 3 girls selected from Llanishen, contributing to 50% of the team selected is testament to the dedication of these girls to involve themselves in as many extra-curricular activities as possible. Echoing earlier sentiments, the PE department are so proud of these wonderful young girls that wear the Llanishen vest with pride at every available opportunity. We all wish them the best of luck for March 9th and look forward to hearing all about it.
We need your tents! Especially those that were bought on a whim and now don’t make it out of the garage, shed or loft!
Next is a plea from Mr Prince. I shall let him plea in his own words…..
“Hello everyone,
I am hoping to ask for some help from the school community in helping to continue to build up the equipment we have available for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. We currently have 40 students completing their bronze award and would love to continue to grow this number. But with budgets being tight, buying more equipment to support these students becomes more difficult!
I am putting out a small plea to anyone who may have an old tent they do not use anymore (2, 3 or 4 man tents the preferred) or perhaps are looking to replace theirs in the near future, that might be willing to donate their old equipment to our supply. Any other equipment you feel you are able to part with that can support our expeditions as well (such as old boots, bags or anything in between) will be greatly appreciated!
While I can’t offer any financial payment, I can promise the equipment will be used by students for many years to come that join and continue to enjoy the Duke of Edinburgh Award in school!
Thanks so much for any support or kit you may be able to share! Mr Prince”
If you are able to help, please contact Mr Prince on;
m.prince@llanishen.cardiff.sch.uk
I did suggest that Mr Prince also include some photos from recent Duke of Edinburgh expeditions in order to reinforce the need for such equipment in our wonderful Welsh climate.
Cue…. Students recently braving the elements to complete aspects of the Award!
The Head of entertainment and drama on S4C comes to LHS!
On Wednesday 12th February, 6 members of our 6th form that are studying A-level Welsh, along with some of our aspiring Year 11 students met with Beth Angell who is head of entertainment and drama on S4C.
Beth came in to talk to students about her role, how she got to the position, and how the Welsh language has impacted positively on her career. The group discussed a programme that Beth is responsible for, Y Llais – a Welsh language version of The Voice, which is currently airing on S4C with the finals next month.
The programme is suitable for learners and shows a range of talent from all over Wales. Beth talked to the students about a variety of other programmes that are relevant and available to watch through the iPlayer – with and without subtitles. We hope to maintain links and visit Beth on set next year. Diolch yn fawr Beth for your time and enthusiasm.
Next collection for Cardiff Foodbank
I shall sign off this week by flagging up our next collection for the Cardiff Foodbank. This will take place on Wednesday 19th February between 5pm and 6pm on the bus bays. As always, donations are welcomed at our main reception in advance.
Thank you to all students and staff for contributing to this weeks’ round up of news. I look forward to updating you all again next week.
Don’t forget, Friday 21st February is an INSET day so we shall wave the students off at the end of the day on Thursday 20th February. We will then welcome them back in on Monday 3rd March.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher