12 September 2024
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
A warm welcome to Year 7!
This week we would like to congratulate Year 7 on conquering their first two weeks of high school. That means they have lived through a Week A and a Week B. They have now met all of their new teachers and have navigated large chunks of LHS. They brought rather mixed weather conditions with them so they are already well versed in the different arrangements for dry break and wet break. And when we say ‘wet’ break, we MEAN wet break! It has been apocalyptic on certain days.
Now, as parents, we all ask the following questions of our children. ‘How was your day?’ ‘What did you do today?’ As parents ourselves, we are also aware that the information you receive in return can be varied! Some children of high school age will regale you with the full details of their day in detail. Others will err more on the side of ‘fine.’
So we thought you might like to see a typical day for a Year 7 student, through the medium of photographs. It’s nice for you to see where they are and what they are up to. So let’s take you through in chronological order.
Every school day starts with pastoral time in form groups. This gives the form tutor the opportunity to check in with their flock. During the course of the week they engage in a range of activities from Tutor Time Reading, assembly and active reg. Mrs Couston led a lovely desk workout with 7H during the extended form time on Wednesday. They loved it! And they planked with the flexibility and stamina of youth!
Meanwhile, 7D were enjoying our Tutor Time reading programme in registration. Can you spot Dave? Dave pops up from time to time….
Also, Charlie had a birthday on Friday so they all sang to him and let him throw Dave in the air to celebrate 😂🥳!
Chalie will be one of the first in the year group to turn 12. Please don’t wish the years away too quickly.
We’ll blink and this cohort will be in Year 11 before we know it! Trust me!!
Once tutor time is over and everyone is ready for a full day of learning, it’s off to lessons.
One of the Areas of Learning Experience that Years 7 and 8 follow is Humanities. Here are 7B and 7G working hard on their sketch maps of Cardiff. They are mapping their communities and exploring their sense of Cynefin,
After the first two lessons, it is break time and an opportunity to stretch legs, run around, have a snack, and spend time with friends. Year 7 have their own dedicated outside play area for break and lunch. Here is some evidence that we did have some clement days this week and this crew were a delight to talk to!
Then It’s promptly back to lessons and here is a selection of some of the mathematics and numeracy work that Year 7 have already been enjoying. Warning – these next photos could bring back some memories of your own maths lessons in school! The maths team have been extremely impressed with the work ethic and attitude to learning.
Then it’s time for some Health and Wellbeing lesson time. Since arriving, Year 7 have had the opportunity to go out into our school garden and polytunnel which is brimming with wonderful and fresh produce. They will soon be cooking with ingredients from the garden and have been laying the foundations by learning about food hygiene and food safety.
Once the bell goes at the end of the school day, that is by no means the end to the opportunities for Year 7.
The after-school activities on offer have already witnessed some great sporting successes.
At the end of the first week the staff were blown away by the number of boys and girls (80+) that turned out for after school football trials!
Here they are assembled in all their glory….
Also, on Tuesday 10th September, Mr Peters was incredibly impressed with the Year 7 rugby squad who took on a tough Cardiff High side. The game showcased some brilliant rugby on both sides and it was amazing to see 25 Year 7 students representing the school!
Year 7 have already given their tutor team many reasons to be proud of them.
Mr Mee, Assistant Headteacher and senior link to Year 7 shared 3 reasons why he is proud of the start that Year 7 have made:
- I’m proud of the amount of enthusiastic students who enjoy coming to talk to myself, Mr Emanuel and Miss Whitehall at break and lunch times to tell us all the things they have done in their lessons
- I’m also proud of the way that the year group have come into lineups smiling, wishing us ‘good morning’ and ready to learn each day
- Also, the amount of students that have asked about debating club, art club, drama club, etc. and the high number that have turned up to try out for sports teams is very inspiring to see
Mr Emanuel, Head of Year 7 shared 3 reasons why he is proud of the start that Year 7 have made:
- Their bravery and positive attitude towards starting at Llanishen High
- Amazing turnouts at extra curricular clubs
- Bravery to take such a big step coming to high school
So there we go. A very successful start to Year 7. There will always be bumps along the way but there are layers of support around the year group and we look forward to welcoming parents and guardians to the Year 7 Parents Settling In Evening on Wednesday 18th September at 4pm. This is an opportunity to meet the team and spend some face to face time with your child’s form tutor. You can find out more about our support systems, our morning routine, our character curriculum, and so much more.
Before I sign off this week, we would like to say how delighted we are form Amelie Langman in Year 9. Amelie has been selected for the Wales Netball Academy so we look forward to hearing much more from Amelie in the year ahead!
I look forward to bringing you more news and stories from across the school next week. Until then, have a good weekend and then we are back to Week A on Monday 16th September.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher