Friday, December 1, was a very busy day for the students and teachers of Netherwood! During the afternoon, Netherwood Juniors entertained both the residents of Park House Nursing Home and members of the Saundersfoot Guild of Friendship in the Regency Hall. The students performed very well and, again, were a credit to the school. Everyone involved enjoyed the afternoon very much and it was a lovely start to the December festivities. During the evening, teachers, students and parents congregated at Saundersfoot Harbour to join in with the carol singing festivities. Everyone wrapped up warm and enjoyed the atmosphere, as well as 'singing in the rain', the Christmas Market and the ice-skating rink.
KARATE SUCCESS Congratulations to Lewis Murray, Year 6, who gained his Kyu grade (red belt) on Wednesday, November 22. He attended a pre-grading course near Cardiff on Sunday, November 19. His instructor, Hanshi Mike O'Brien, is the most senior Shotokan instructor in Wales and now lives in Jefferyston.
SWIMMING GALA
The Netherwood Juniors took part in the Swimming Gala semi-final at Narberth pool on November 21. They finished in third place and five swimmers were selected to swim in the final on November 23. They were: Nathan Short - 40m front crawl and 40m backstroke; Alexandre Kirchherr - 40m breaststroke; Ele Scourfield - 40m freestyle; junior boys squad relay team - Nathan Short, Alexandre Kircherr, Jimmy Squires and Robbie Williams. All the pupils swam really well against tough competition. Netherwood finished in sixth place out of seven schools.
NETBALL COMPETITION
Netherwood's Years 7 and 8 took part in the Urdd Netball Competition in Cardiff on November 16. The girls played impressively in the first game against David Hughes winning 2-1. The next match was played against Rhydfelen, who were an exceptionally good team, marking tightly and retrieving the ball well. Unfortunately, Netherwood lost this game 6-0. The girls played well in the third game, against Gwyr, but the other team were stronger and the game ended with a score of 6-1 to Gwyr. The fourth game provided Netherwood with their second win of the day against Dyffryn Aman. The girls in defence played really well, not letting any goals in and finishing the game with a score of 2-0. Despite playing brilliantly all day, there were only eight in the Netherwood team, meaning that everybody was extremely tired as the day continued. The last three games were lost to three strong Welsh teams, 7-0 against Cwm Rhymni, 8-0 against Cwrt Sart and 4-0 against Cynffig.
'GOODBYE'
Finally, we are all very sad to be saying 'goodbye' to Miss McLavy, of Key Stage 2. Miss McLavy is a well- loved and respected member of the teaching staff here at Netherwood; we wish her every success and happiness for the future.
CHARITY WORK
Continuing the school's fantastic charity work, which has really been outstanding this term, students have filled shoe boxes with gifts for less- fortunate children in other parts of the world, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Saundersfoot. There has been a very pleasing response and we thank all involved.
IMPORTANT TIME
We are all 'gearing up' for a very important two weeks in the Netherwood calendar of events. We have Examinations Week followed by the Christmas Concert. As well as revision for the important examinations, students have been practising their acting, singing and instruments, in order for the concert to be another successful showcase of the varied talents of our students. There will also be a 'Celebration of Christmas' at St. Issell's Church at 11 am on Friday, December 15. We extend a warm welcome to anyone who would wish to join us on this occasion.
RECORD-BREAKER
A huge congratulations, also, to Johnnie Delahunty, who had another successful swim meet last weekend, this time at the Tenby Dolphin Club Championships. In his age group, he won and gained new records in: 100m freestyle - gold; 200m freestyle - gold (new championship record); 100m backstroke - gold (new championship record; 100m butterfly - gol (new championship record); 100m breaststroke- gold; 100m individual medley - gold. The coach awards each age group with Best Boy and Best Girl by adding points together for each win/ placing the swimmer gets. Top marks being six points for each event, therefore he gained top 24 points! Johnnie was presented with a magnificent trophy for his achievements. This trophy will be placed on show with the five gold medals he won at the Pembrokeshire Age Groups last month. We are all very proud of you Johnnie and know that you will continue to go from strength to strength!