1 March, 2025
Letter from the Headteacher (2024-25) 5
Do the little things...
The well-known phrase attributed to St David, 'Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd' (or 'Do the little things in life'), reminds us that the work of faith is rooted in the humble and diminutive: in our daily activities, in our relationships and communities, in our attitudes and behaviours. The small things we do, day in and day out, matter. And if we stay focused on doing those little things with God, then we can begin to make a positive difference in the world.
This is a busy time in the spiritual life of the school. We have just celebrated our patronal festival with a joyous medley of cultural costume, food and music. Today, St David's Day, also marks the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan. This week, we observe Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent begins. The days ahead offer us all an opportunity to pause and reflect, to exercise self-discipline and forgiveness, and to pray and care for one another.
Most of us will never be able to achieve the sanctity of St David but, by doing the little things, we can play our part in growing God's kingdom. And that gives me hope.
Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.
Ramadan Kareem
We have now entered the holiest of months in the Islamic calendar, Ramadan, and hundreds of pupils and their families have begun a period of fasting (sawm). Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which Muslims believe are compulsory acts ordered by God: the other pillars are faith (shahada), prayer (salat), charity (zakat) and pilgrimage (hajj).
Just like the Lenten discipline of the Christian faith, Ramadan is a time for us to strengthen our relationship with God and to practice kindness, patience and charity. If you are a non-Muslim and want to wish your Muslim brothers and sisters well, you can say ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ (which means ‘Blessed Ramadan’) or ‘Ramadan Kareem’ (which means ‘Generous Ramadan’).
If you are a Muslim family, you can read all about the school's approach to fasting here.
Examination preparation
Students in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 have received their examination entries in hard copy. Please do ensure that you have checked the entries for accuracy. Teachers will guide students through all the necessary preparations. As always, there are special arrangements in place for Year 11 which you can find here. It might be helpful to remind yourself of examination requirements here and you can find global examination timetables and course-specific materials from the examination board here.
School buses
We have been asked to remind parents and carers about the terms and conditions of travel set out by Adventure Travel on behalf of Cardiff Council. You can find the information here. Most importantly, it should be noted that children without a current, valid pass may be refused travel. For general details about school transport, or to contact the local authority's School Transport Team, click here.
HPV vaccinations
The NHS recommends that your child gets the HPV vaccine to protect against cancers caused by HPV. For all children in Year 8, the school immunisation team will visit St Teilo's on 25 March 2025 to administer the HPV vaccine. The HPV vaccine is now offered as a single dose. Parents and carers are required to provide their consent and can do so here. There will also be an opportunity for 'catch up' vaccinations for selected pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11. Parents will receive a message directly from the school if their child is eligible.
Other important reminders
Key dates (such as term times and INSET days) can be found here.
The remaining term dates are:
- Spring 2: 3 March 2025 – 11 April 2025
- Summer 1: 28 April 2025 – 23 May 2025
- Summer 2: 2 June 2025 – 18 July 2025
The INSET days are:
- INSET 5: 10 March 2025
- INSET 6: 21 July 2025
There is a Bank Holiday on Monday 05 May 2025.
School offers for places in Year 7 for September 2025 are available on the Cardiff Council Admissions Portal from 03 March 2025. Applicants will also receive confirmation from the school in hard copy, including details of the appeals process.
Progress Evenings take place online between 3.30-6.30pm on:
- Year 10 - 11 March 2025
- Year 9 - 01 April 2025
- Year 8 - 29 April 2025
- Year 7 - 13 May 2025
The summer examination series commences on 8 May 2025 and finishes by 20 June 2025.
The Year 11 Prom takes place on 26 June 2025. Read more here.
Further information
Should you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please do reach out to me in the normal way.
Yours, as always,
Canon I Loynd, Headteacher
