As term comes to an end and pupils and staff alike relish the forthcoming holiday, we reflect on a very busy and rewarding few weeks preparing for Christmas and celebrating this very special time of year. At the end of November, the school held its annual Christmas Bazaar at the De Valance Pavilion and was pleased to raise an impressive amount of money for school funds. None of this would have been possible without the enormous effort contributed by the hard-working band of parents from the PTA and the teaching assistants. Thank you all so much. Mid-December brought the magic of the Christmas productions, in which all the pupils from Years 3, 4 and 5 presented wonderful drama and song, retelling the story of Christmas in unique and delightful ways. We were joined by the little ones from Tenby Infants' School for both afternoon performances and by many enthralled relatives and friends in the evenings. • Dosbarth Cymraeg children delighted us all with 'Christmas Around the World' and , as ever, displayed the excellent vocal and expressive skills of the class. • 'Mary, Mary' was the lovely story re-enacted by excited year 3 children. Again we were impressed by first-class acting and melodic treats. • Year 4 chose 'The Late Wise Man' and everyone agreed that the charming songs and the drama reflected the message of Christmas just perfectly! • 'Lost in Space' was the super production from Year 5. Their costumes, brilliantly clear voices and obvious acting ability made this a real winner. Thank you so much to parents and carers for providing the many excellent costumes and props for the shows. Raffles held on the nights of the productions were to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Badges and bookmarks have also been sold in school to add to the fund. On December 16, the school community was again warmly welcomed to St. Mary's Church to further celebrate and share in the good news of Christmas. Father Michael John led the children in their worship and expression of the true Christmas message. Parents and friends were treated to a variety of musical and recited items proclaiming Jesus as the Light of the world, the basis of our faith and the ultimate reason for our festive giving and receiving. Our grateful thanks to the Rector and clergy for providing such a perfect venue for our carol service. The collection at the carol service was again for Cancer Research and in January we hope to be sending several hundred pounds as a result of generous families from our school. We returned to a splendid Christmas lunch prepared by the excellent staff in our school kitchen. We send our good wishes to Fiona, cook- in-charge, and wish her a speedy recovery from her recent illness. This year, the children and staff have been treated to a wonderful spectacle of cinema art in place of the usual pantomime! On Monday, December 19, we visited the Playhouse Cinema and thoroughly enjoyed the captivating film, 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe'. What a fabulous way to spend a Monday morning! This Christmas outing was funded primarily by the very generous PTA and provided a super highlight to the last week of term. As a very 'environmentally friendly' school, the final joint activity of the year was making (from recycled household materials) a range of amazing and unique tree decorations! Each year group was given the task of decorating a tree in the front garden of the school and this took place on Wednesday morning. Favourite carols were then sung around the trees as we stood in wonder, transfixed by the ingenuity and inventiveness of children under pressure. Father Christmas made his customary visit that day, too, and the children all received a gift and a special word from Santa. We are all incredibly excited by the work which has started on the first phase of our new build/ remodelling project at school. Already the workmen have accomplished a great deal in a short time and we look forward with anticipation to the many changes and improvement to come in the new year. Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way to a most successful and happy autumn term. May you all enjoy a wonderful festive season with peace and contentment in 2006. Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.
