7th  November 2007

7th  November 2007

Enterprise Week 12th-18th November 2007

The national celebration of enterprise, inspiring young people to turn their ideas into reality. Last year there were 3,184 events organised by 1,410 organisations. 

This year a group of Howell’s girls are getting ready to take part in the Challenge.  They will log online on Monday and take part in the competition.  Good luck!  

Read more  http://www.enterpriseweek.org/

7th  November 2007

A fundraising CD for UNICEF- Let’s Celebrate Christmas- On Sale NOW online!

www.unicef.org.uk/letscelebrate

 The CD is backed by Universal, which has chosen it as their CD for Christmas, and we are hoping that it will do well in the charts as well as raising money for a very worthwhile cause.

Have a look at some of the great reviews the cd has received already on Amazon

 If you have not already done so, order your copy from school or, better still, order it directly though the following links.

                      Amazon                     Play.com

you can also order from Virgin, HMV, WH Smith, HMV Direct and Woolworths

It will make an ideal Christmas present.

 Students left Howell’s during half term for a six day study tour in Germany and Poland.  The party arrived in Berlin for the first stage of the trip, concentrating mainly on Nazi and Cold War Berlin.  A packed programme on the first day included a visit to the Story of Berlin Museum, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Wansee Conference House and the TV Tower.  The enormity of the Nazi crimes was brought to the fore and the party was left speechless and visibly moved on many occasions.

Day two was spent in Berlin on a whistle-stop tour of the city that included all the Nazi establishments, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and the Topography of Terror Foundation.

We travelled onwards by overnight train to Krakow, and no book or film could have prepared us for the atrocities exhibited at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp Memorial.  We were privileged to have the opportunity to be guided around the sites.  The evening saw the party being entertained at a local restaurant by traditional Polish dancers. 

 The final day included a tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mines, followed by a guided walk of the city of Krakow.  Our guides in Germany and Poland commented that the students were a credit to the school.  Students and staff felt that they had completed a meaningful and worthwhile experience.

Mrs H Davies

5th  November 2007

It was the middle of the night (and freezing cold!) when a group of German students from Years 10, 11 and 12 set off for the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) with three of their teachers. Our journey took us through France and we crossed the border into Germany at Strasbourg. We arrived at the comfortable, modern Freiburg youth hostel just in time for our evening meal and then set off for an evening stroll through beautiful parkland; however we did not appreciate............. Please click here for full report.

5th  November 2007

Good luck to the Senior School Choir who are taking part in the UNIFEM concert, 'A Music Extravaganza' at the St. David's Hall Cardiff.

15th  October 2007

Welsh Schools’ Ski Championship at Llangrannog, October 2007

The weekend of 6^th-7^th October, primary and secondary schools from all over Wales sent teams to ski in the Welsh Schools’ Ski Championship in Llangrannog. It is always a highly successful and popular event with over one hundred children taking part. This year Howell’s was represented by 12 students with girls’ teams from the Junior and Senior Schools and a team of boys from the College. Our Senior School girls’ team, consisting of Elise Broughton, Sam Maurice, Amy Battrick and Elinor Cater, came an excellent third, with Anna Selway as an individual entry. The Junior School team finished in a superb second place and consisted of Phoebe Johns, Holly Cruickshank, Harriet James and Georgia Hawkins.

The College team was represented by Alex Batten, Huw Davies, and Jo Troughton.

There were also individual medals for Elise Broughton, Sam Maurice, Holly Cruickshank and Jo Troughton who all won gold, Elinor Cater who won silver and Huw Davies, Phoebe Johns and Amy Battrick who all won bronze medals. The Senior School team qualified to go forward to the British Championships in Rossendale in November. Many congratulations!

8th  October 2007

Hannah Coakley

8th October 2007

Languages clubs in Senior School

2nd October 2007

Languages week

Languages Week in the Senior School and College took place from 24^th – 28^th of September. The internationally recognised ‘European Day of Languages’ is 26^th September,  when languages are celebrated in the 45 countries of Europe. The day aims to create awareness of the 6000+ languages spoken world-wide, promoting understanding between nations, kick-starting learning and generally having multilingual fun!

Students took part in assemblies, where they celebrated the diversity of languages and cultures represented in school and reported on the study visits organised by the languages departments during Challenges Week 2007. These included the Year 7 visit to Paris, a Year 8 visit to the Rhineland, a Year 8 activity week through the medium of Welsh and the College staging of the Greek tragedy Lysistrata. Sidi Bai (Year 10) and Katie Smith (Year 9) also presented their entries to this year’s national Modern Foreign Languages poetry writing competition ‘Free Spirit’, which gained them both a runners-up award.

During the week a variety of international dishes was served in the dining room and students enjoyed participating in a range of activities organised by the Languages, Welsh and Classics prefects. These included a poster competition for Year 7,  a treasure hunt, multi-lingual bingo with Roman numerals, language taster lessons (which featured 16 different languages!), a screening of Hercules  and a cultural quiz.

2nd October 2007

Suzana (Year 9) does voluntary work in Uganda

This summer I opted to go with my nan to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It was a 16-hour flight but I was feeling very positive, having managed to escape the need for five injections beforehand. Our family are not Catholics but my uncle’s aunt is a retired nun from Uganda. She and the brothers of the MoP monastery  have been working in the Good Shepherd Children’s Home, where the residents are aged 2-20 and 60+. We stayed with the monks and a very nice Ugandan family.

In the mornings we made the twenty-minute drive across town on the unbelievably bumpy roads to the home. The residents include orphans, children with Down’s Syndrome and others with various disabilities caused by illnesses such as malaria, polio and epilepsy. We helped by serving food, cleaning and folding clothes. It was an amazing experience which I would definitely do again.

27th September 2007

This year’s Prizegiving Ceremony was a particularly special event as it celebrated the achievements of our first co-educational cohort. Amongst a variety of academic subject awards were prizes given for extra-curricular successes and service awards for commitment to others. Many students also achieved their ECDL and Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The new format of the evening focussed on sharing with the governors, invited guests, students and families the phenomenal achievements of the class of 2007over the past two years. Particular highlights included a résumé of Sporting, Debating, Dramatic, Musical, Charitable and Leadership activities. The Principal and Head of College admitted to finding it quite a challenge to limit the range of activities referred to, as there were so many to choose from. Leavers Sarah Griffiths and Rhodri Thomas kindly sang and played the piano to entertain the audience.  Both were impressive in their performances and a credit to their year. The guest speaker was Mrs Jane Fitz, former Principal of the school, under whom the co-educational College was introduced. She expressed her pride in the students’ achievements and wished them well as they set off for new challenges. Our very best wishes go with all of you!

20th September 2007

Henry Allingham to talk at Howell’s School, Visit deferred - New date to be confirmed

Henry Allingham, the oldest of the surviving First World War veterans at the age of 111 and the oldest man in Europe, is coming to talk about his experiences of the war to the students.  He is the last known survivor of the Battle of Jutland.  Mr Allingham is keen that the students have a better understanding of the war.  We are very fortunate that he has agreed to come. He will be in school from 11am to 3pm.

25th September 2007

Felicity Dahl visits on Roald Dahl Day

This year’s Roald Dahl Day was a very special one for the girls in the Junior School.

The girls welcomed Felicity Dahl at a special Juniors’ Assembly which was held in the library. Mrs Dahl spoke to the girls about Roald Dahl and revealed that Roald and she had paid a sneak visit to Cumberland Lodge a few years before he died.  On this visit Roald had shown her a tree that he had used for a swing when he was a boy at the house and had taken a piece of it back to rest on his desk in the famous writing shed in the garden at Great Missenden.  After the assembly and photos, Mrs Dahl toured all the classes in the Ty Hapus and enjoyed speaking to lots of the girls.  She then had a chance to tour the inside of Cumberland Lodge, meeting the Nursery children and seeing the building in which Roald had lived for six years of his childhood. 

In the afternoon, the whole Junior School and special guests celebrated the school’s connection with Roald Dahl by the unveiling of a Blue Plaque that was a gift from Mrs Fitz, our recently retired Principal.   Mrs Ashill and the Junior School girls also unveiled an information panel explaining the history. All the guests were enraptured by the performance of the Revolting Rhymes by Mr John Prior Morris and we were blessed with delightful weather.  Everyone enjoyed a very happy Roald Dahl Day.

18th September 2007

Felicity Dahl and girls.

A Performance for Pooja

Pooja (Year 9) was one of the five highest-scoring candidates in the LAMDA Performance examinations in the U.K. at Foundation Level and so has qualified to compete in London on Saturday 15th September in the Communications and Performance Awards. The competition is sponsored by the Allied Irish Bank (GB). To qualify for consideration for the final, Pooja had to pass three Performance examinations at Grade 3.
Pooja said "I am delighted and surprised to be selected. I didn't realise that I am one of only five finalists for the whole of the UK which is a great acheivement for me. I am nervous about Saturday but really excited too."

We congratulate her and wish her every success in the final.

11th September 2007

The music for The Water Diviner’s Tale was composed by Rachel Portman, who has written the score for Hollywood films such as Chocolat. Welsh poet Owen Sheers wrote the libretto, which deals with climate change. Sarah was thrilled to meet him because in 2007 she was the winner of the Owen Sheers Poetry Prize at school.

Earlier in August Sarah sang with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain in Gloucester Cathedral at the Three Choirs Festival. We wish her every success in future performances.
11th September 2007

A warm welcome to students, staff and parents who are new to the Howell's community, and welcome back to everyone who has been a member for some time. I do hope everyone has had an enjoyable summer, despite the inclement weather in this country! It was lovely today to see the Year 7s in their crisp new uniforms and to welcome over 100 students to the College in Year 12. The Nursery girls were delightful and very excited to be with us and, as usual, it is a real joy to go to the Junior School to see the youngest members of our school community. My first assemblies this week and next will be concentrating on that old-fashioned theme of manners. I do think they are important; I am particularly keen on everyone holding doors open, always being courteous and giving a smile to as many people as possible. I know what a difference it makes to my day when the students smile and say hello. After some superb examination results (I do hope you saw the local press!), we can look forward to an exciting term. Do try to come and see us on our Open Day on October 18th. Both current and prospective parents and friends are welcome. There is really nothing like seeing the school in action in order to understand our ethos and our community.

Mrs Sally Davis
7the September 2007

Thanks go the 6 Howell’s College students who accompanied the trip, helping the year 8 students with their diaries, leading the treasure hunts in Cochem and Boppard, and organising the quiz and talent show on the final evening.

Mrs D Sadler

3rd September 2007

We are very pleased to record excellent results achieved by our first cohort in the new co-educational College. At A Level, the pass rate was 99.1%, with 56% of all entries being awarded grade A and 83% grades A and B combined. No fewer than 45 students (41% of the total) achieved three or four grade As. Almost all the students have been successful in gaining admission to their chosen university courses, with 13 gaining a place at Medical School and several others winning places on competitive courses such as Veterinary Science, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Law.

All six students who had been holding conditional offers from Oxford and Cambridge have had their places confirmed, four at Oxford and two at Cambridge. In addition, there were four successes in History in the demanding Advanced Extension Awards and one in Chemistry in the Cambridge STEP paper. At AS level the pass rate was 99%, with 43% of the grades at A and 67% at A and B combined. Congratulations to all concerned!

Howell's students will be exhibiting their landscape of Cardiff at the BayArt's second intergenerational drawing show which will be on view from the 28th July to 10th August. This is a unique opportunitiy to see the gallery filled from floor to ceiling, with unframed "Cardiff" drawings, made by a diverse range of participants. The gallery is based at 54b/c Bute St in Cardiff Bay. Admission is free.

17th July

Victoria, in year 9 has been swimming for the City of Cardiff Swimming Club since she was seven and for the Welsh Swimming Association since she was twelve years old. Currently, Victoria spends around 14 hours a week training and does around 23 miles swimming on average a week.

Mentally and physically, Victoria is now working harder in the hope of competing in the 2012 Olympics and has recently begun a serious training and diet regime. This will help to improve her overall stamina and performance. Victoria recently went along to the foundation laying ceremony at the new Cardiff Sports Village and she is looking forward to competing in its new 50 metre pool. Victoria is thrilled to have the experience and says, "This is an amazing opportunity and now I have to train harder to achieve my dream of participating in the Olympics. It is hard work but I am determined that it will pay off in the end.”

Victoria at Howell's Swimming Pool