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Cwmavon Village > Village Hall Events
Regular Weekly Events.       Coffee morning:-    a regular gathering of village residents and friends who enjoy a good chat and a game of bingo. Tea and biscuits are provided and a small raffle is held each meeting. We charge £1.00 per session and £1.00 for the bingo game. We gather at 10.00am on a Tuesday morning and after drinking several cups of tea, we leave at  11.45am.                                              Well woman and exercise class Cwmavon residents and friends gather together on a Monday evening at 7.30pm to work out to the best of our ability on floor mats and on equipment.We are aiming to achieve good health and an efficient working body. We monitor our blood pressure and our weight and generally have a good but tiring time. We do not have a qualified teacher but we all suggest exercises to try out and add them to our routine. The evening is rounded off with a cup of tea and a chat. If you would like to join us, please come along. It will cost you £2.00 per session and an extra .50p if you put on weight.           The village hall bar will be open every friday (until further notice)  Please come and join us and enjoy the company of friends, maybe, play a game of cards or dominoes and let us know if you have any ideas for a good evenings entertainment. Another entertaining  Quiz 'n chips will take place on Friday, September 26th , (Fred Jones is the quizmaster) and the chips will be ordered from the Heritage Plaice. The Hall AGM will be held on Thursday, October 2nd at 8.00pm, please come along and offer ideas for future events.   Ken Tomlinson will be our disc jockey for a Halloween event and the New Years Eve celebrations.   A Christmas Craft Fair is planned for Saturday, December 6th , details at a later date. The charge for hiring our new village hall will be £8.00 per hour. To hire the hall, please contact Caroline Jones on 01495 774676 The use of the bar and kitchen will charged seperately. A reduction for block bookings will be made. Application forms on request, contact us by e-mail. Hopefully our telephone line will be installed very soon, we have been waiting since the end of March for this to happen but BT must be inundated with work as they have cancelled 8 appointments and have failed to turn up on  7 of them. I am writing this on Saturday, July 12th and the next date they have offered is Wednesday 16th,(of this month) but there is still no sign of the 'pole' they have deemed as a necessary item in this endeavour!.     Keep your fingers crossed for the next date!     Please remember that parking is limited so make use of available laybye's and roadside sensibly.    'Short mat bowling' and 'new age kurling' equipment have now arrived and we are ready to play. I have downloaded the rules of new age kurling so all we want now are some enthusiastic people to come and try!  The monies for these items were donated by 'Sports Relief'. www.cfiw.org.uk |   ...

Cwmavon Village > Welcome to Cwmavon Village, Torfaen
  To book the hall, contact Caroline Jones on 01495 774676        Quiz 'n chips September 26th, Friday.  Fred Jones will be our quiz master and Heritage Plaice will provide our supper.  Come and join us.   Do not forget that the bar is open on a Friday night, 7.00pm -11.00pm, come and join us for a game of cards or new age kurling Visit Cwmavon Hall events  for activities in the village hall. Forge Row Cottages, Cwmavon     Cwmavon village is the "Jewel of the Eastern Valley" located between the World Heritage Site of Blaenavon, to the north, and the village of Abersychan to the south.  The village straddles the main A4043 following the valley of the picturesque Afon Llwyd.  In the early 19th Century, Cwmavon was a small iron working centre adjacent to the eastern edge of the South Wales coalfields.    Later industry came to the village in the 1830's with the building of the Westlakes Brewery which brought employment to the village, but it remained essentially a sheep farming community.   Today, Cwmavon is a community of approximately 70 houses (about 180 residents) and contains several interesting and hstoric buildings surrounded by breathtaking scenery.   In the mid 19th Century the Wesleyan Chapel was built, followed in the 1920's by the addition of an adjacent Sunday School which was purchased in 1972 by the people of the village for £165 for use as a community centre.   By the turn of the 21st Century the community centre was no longer viable and was demolished in early 2007 to make way for a new village hall which will open in the Spring of 2008.   The building was designed by CDG of Newport | and built by Noel Fitzpatrick | with funding from the Welsh Assembly Government | and the Big Lottery Fund. |       It has been brought to our notice that Cwmavon is not a village but is a hamlet because there is not a church here. The World Heritage Site actually extends into Cwmavon, the boundary apparently is drawn to the Llanover Lane end of the Old Westlakes Brewery (now the EMC factory) or could it extend to the southern end of Rose Tree Cottages, which was the original proposed site for the Heritage sign? ( Thank you, Kieron! )     This website will be updated and expanded in due course so please return soon.   The booking contact number is;- 01495 774676 Ask for Caroline Jones.           ...

Greenmeadow Community Farm > Greenmeadow Show
Sunday 14th September 2008 is definitely a date to book out in your diary. On this day Greenmeadow Community Farm takes great pleasure in hosting the Greenmeadow Show featuring the 18th Horticultural and Craft Show. It promises to be an action packed day with displays, stalls galore and hundreds of high quality exhibits.   Last call for Show entrants - Greenmeadow Community Farm’s Greenmeadow Show on 14 th September really does have something for everyone to take part in with classes covering vegetables, flowers, pot plants, fruit, cookery, wine, food and children’s activities. From the serious gardener to the amateur craftsperson, from qualified chef to first time cook, from seasoned competitor to show novice, whatever your age, why not show everyone what you can do? If you are a dab hand in the kitchen, green fingered in the garden or have an artistic flair you’d like to share why not download our programme and get your entry in…there are rosettes and even prize money to be won! Closing date for entries is Wednesday 10 th September so time is running out – download an entry form now!   No need to be put off by the bad weather either as we even have a ‘Wet Wellies’ photography class for pictures taken in the rain at the Farm. So if you have braved a visit over this less than glorious summer why not send in your snaps?   Whether you chose to enter or not the day itself has plenty to offer. Visitors can view the exhibits and maybe make a purchase as lots are auctioned off after the Show. Numerous activities are planned including nature trails and opportunities to try your hand at some traditional crafts and pastimes such as spinning, pottery, archery and green woodcraft. There will be plenty of stalls providing information and selling wares. Displays will be provided by Black Mountains Falconry, Torfaen Riding Club and the Usk Valley Working Gundog Club. The day will feature a tug of war for which teams can be formed on the day or signed up in advance. That’s on top of all the usual farm activities such as animal handling, tractor rides and our daily milking demonstration…and the icing on the cake – it’s FREE ADMISSION ALL DAY!   A copy of the programme | is available to download here.             ...

Cwmbran Otters > Welcome to the Cwmbran Otters
Latest News! 05/09/08     The BLUE BOYS WALK to take place 31st May 2009. In aid of Prostate Cancer.   The walk will follow a round-trip course starting at The Waterside Rest, in Goytre Wharf, to the Folly, Pontypool Park and back again.     For more information use the Contact Us Form on the right of this page.     Cwmbran Swimming Club now complete in three League . Wyvern League - Welsh League - Western League   Cwmbran also host three club galas P&P Cars shield - Hoover Shield - NatWest Shield   Cwmbran Swimmers also complete in Open Meets throughout the Year. East Wales - Newport Open - Amman Valley Open - Torfaen Open - Pontypool Open Newport Xmas Open.    If interested Complete the Contact Us Form (on the right) and our Head Coach will be able to give you more details.            Trials take place at Cwmbran Stadium, every Wednesday & Friday & Saturday. if you think you have the ability to train and complete with your Town Club, come along and meet the coaching staff who will arrange the trial. (See Times Below )   Browse through this web site, tell us what club you swim for, also tell us what you think of the site, and what you would like to be added (use the contact us form)                    Cwmbran Amatuer Swimming Club (Cwmbran ASC), known as "The Otters", is based at Cwmbran Leisure Centre, Cwmbran, South Wales.   Established in 1974, The Otters is the second longest running swimming club in the County Borough of Torfaen, catering for all ages and abilities of swimmers.   During recent years the club has fed the Welsh Development Swimming Squad with high calibre swimmers.   Free Swimming Trials If you are interested in joining the Otters then why not come to one of our FREE friendly swimming trials sessions...   These are held:   Every Wednesday 5.30pm and Friday 5:00 pm and Saturday  6:00 pm at Cwmbran Stadium   Just come to reception and they will direct you to the pool area where you will be welcomed by the coaching staff, headed by the Chief Coach, Gerald.   Squad Training Sessions Every;- Monday 5.30pm - 6.30pm, Tuesday 7.00pm - 8.30pm  Wednesday 6.00 - 7.00pm Friday 5.30pm - 6.30pm Saturday 6.30pm - 8.00pm Sunday 7.00am - 9.00am   at Cwmbran Stadium               ...

Pontypool Round Table > News Paper Articles
Newspaper Cuttings   From time to time Pontypool Round Table features in news paper articles in the local press. Use the links below to view the articles.   Big Flash for Charity Cash | : First Published in the South Wales Argus | Wednesday 7th November 07.   Brave Jade Enjoys Holiday With Family | : First Published in the Free Press | Wednesday 20th September 06.    Mount Surgery Defibrillator | : First Published in the Free Press | .   St Albans School Music Lessons | :First Published in the Free Press |  Wednesday 28th March 2007.   Nisha Edmunds | :First Published in the Free Press | Wednesday 16th July 2008.   New Inn Surgery |     Web Links    Pensioners’ joy as stolen CDs replaced |   Child of courage faces new challenge |   New suite for disabled children's unit |   7,000 at Pontypool fireworks |   Playgroup makes funds appeal |   Carer Adds Green Space to Hospital |   Sparkle Appeal |   Page is under construction more to be added soon   ...

Pontypool Round Table > Donations
Recent Donations   Talygarn Gardens (Panteg Hospital) | Torfaen Carers Xmas Party Alzheimers Society Xmas Party Defribrillator for New Inn Surgery through BHF | ( purchased one for Pontypool Mount Surgery last year). Golliwopsie Playgroup in Griffithstown. | Xmas Presents for patients without a family in Panteg Hospital. Xmas presents for disabled children Bobath Cerebral Palsy unit Cardiff Sparkle Appeal (Disabled Childrens Centre) | Talygarn Allotment Project(Panteg Hospital) Teddy's Bear Picnic(Pontypool Carnival) Nisha Edmunds |     More info to be added shortly.         Torfaen Careers Xmas Party   ...

Pontypool Round Table > BHFNewInn
For immediate release 4 September 2008   PRESS RELEASE   MORE LIVES TO BE SAVED IN NEW INN     New Inn residents have been thrown a lifeline by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Pontypool Round Table who have helped fund life saving equipment for New Inn Surgery.   The defibrillator, which helps people suffering cardiac arrest, has been funded thanks to a donation of £500 towards the cost of the equipment from the Round Table. The BHF has funded £650 towards the cost.   Glenda Meakin BHF Fundraising Volunteer Manager for South East Wales said: ““Around 230,000 people suffer a heart attack in the UK each year, about a third of whom die before reaching hospital due to cardiac arrest. When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, their chances of survival drop by up to 14% for every minute that passes, so a speedy response is crucial. Therefore, early defibrillation – within four to five minutes – gives the best possible chance of survival. We thank Pontypool Round Table for their support which has enabled us to provide a defibrillator for New Inn Surgery. “       Dr James of New Inn surgery said ‘We are very grateful to the Pontypool Round Table and the BHF for helping to fund the purchase of this life saving equipment. We hope we will never have to use it, but if we do we will be ready and able to give a person whose heart has stopped beating the best possible chance of surviving’   The BHF has already invested over £60,000 in defibrillators for community sites and schemes in Wales during 2006-07.   The BHF also funds and coordinates Heartstart UK, an initiative to teach members of the public what to do in a life-threatening emergency; simple skills that can save lives. There are over 26 affiliated schemes in Wales and the BHF invested over £35,000 in these schemes during 2006-07 and since 1996 it has trained over 80,000 men women and children in Wales.   The BHF depends upon the work of volunteers to fund its vital work fighting heart and circulatory disease – the UK’s biggest killer. BHF currently has a range of interesting and flexible home based opportunities to suit everyone, ranging from two hours a week to two hours a year.   For more information about the work of the BHF and volunteering opportunities please call Glenda Meakin on 029 2089 0148 or email meaking@bhf.org.uk or visit bhf.org.uk.  ENDS Notes to Editors   • The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a major national charity that plays a leading role in the fight against heart and circulatory disease, the UK’s biggest killer. It is the largest independent funder of heart research in the UK. The Foundation also plays an important role in funding education, both of the public and of health professionals, and in providing life-saving cardiac equipment and support for rehabilitation and patient care.   · Cardiac arrests cause the heart either to quiver – known as fibrillation – or stop beating altogether. A defibrillator works by delivering a controlled electric shock through the chest wall to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat.    • For further information on the work of the British Heart Foundation visit bhf.org.uk • The BHF is dependent upon volunteers and offers a range of interesting roles and opportunities. For further information call 0800 169 3672. • For further information on Heartstart UK email heartstart@bhf.org.uk     ...

Pontypool Round Table > Pontypool Round Table Fireworks Display
  Pontypool Round Table are proud to announce that they will be holding their annual Fireworks Extravaganza in Pontypool Park on Nov 5th.  Tickets cost: Adult £5 Children £3 Family £15 The fireworks will be synchronised to music and there will be free Glow sticks for children.   Gates will be open at 6:00 and entertainment starts at 6:30.     We are expecting a large crowd again this year so we recommending people to be there early.   We employ a professional company for crowd control. Food and refreshments will be available.   This is Pontypool Round Tables largest fundraising event and all money raised goes to local good causes. It is the largest fireworks display in the area.   We are pleased to have the support of Pontypool Regeneration Partnership this year.     ...

Osbourne Lodge Nursery > Inspections
We are very proud of our Inspection successes and copies of all Inspection reports for the Nursery are available for parents at the Nursery or by following the links below. The inspection of all child care provisions in Wales is very strict to ensure the safety of your child and the staff working there. These are the inspections which are carried out on a regular basis at our Nursery to ensure your child is in the best hands possible: Inspection 1 - CSSIW Every Day Nursery in Wales is inspected by Care & Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) on an un-notified basis. Every year we have an inspection by CSSIW which means an Inspector is present from when we open at 8am until we shut at 6pm on one day. The Inspector looks at all aspects of child care from the qualifications of the staff to where we put the children to bed. They make suggestions for improvement or change and report on good points also.  Visit this link to view the report  |  or the reports are also available for parents to view at the Nursery. CSSIW can also carry out un-notified visits through out the year and can arrive at any time to check that the Nursery is operating safely and within the law. Reports from these visits also form the basis of the annual report on the Nursery. Our latest inspection took place on 14th May 2008 and the report will be available in about 4- 5 weeks time. The Nursery must also produce a Quality report yearly which will also be available for parents to view. Inspection 2 - ESTYN As Registered Educational Providers for Torfaen we are also subject to notified Inspections from ESTYN who regulate and report on the Education provision at the Nursery. As Educational Providsers we are required to provide the same level of education to all 3 and 4 years olds as they would receive in State Nursery School. We had our inspection on 20th November with very positive feedback, click here to see a copy of the report | . All children over 3 are able to claim funding to pay for their education hours at the Nursery - please see our page, Help with Fees.   Inspection 3 - Trading standards and Environmental Health Environmental Health and Trading standards visit at any time to inspect the safety of the Nursery, kitchen hygiene and food provision, and Risk Assesments. Both bodies leave reports of their findings along with areas for improvement; these visits are totally un-notified and have the right of entry at any time. Our last inspections were July and December 2007, when we were nominated for the second year running  by Environmental Health for a bronze award for Hygiene.   Visit this link for a list of premises awarded by Environmental Health |     Inspection 4 - Fire Service Fire officers also visit un-notified at any time to inspect the safety of the nursery and equipment in case of fire or emergancy escape. The Nursery has to produce and maintain a Fire Risk Assesment report as well as carry out emergancy evacuations on a regular basis. The fire officers can attend at any time to inspect these reports.   Inspection 5 - Investors in People Breaking News   We passed our re assessment for Investors in People with FLYING COLOURS!!     The Nursery was awarded Investors in People status in May 2001. As an Investor we must under go re- appraisal every 3 years. Our last notified inspection was on 18 June 2007 when the inspector looked at all aspects of the business in relation to staff training and provision, quality of information for parents and staff, business planning, educational planning and staff appraisals and supervisions. We retained the preciditious accreditation and look forward to our next appraisal. This is a voluntary accreditation which we put ourselves forward for.   Inspection 6 - Baby Effective Early Learning Quality Assurance The Nursery was inspected for the first time under the BEEL Quality Mark in March 2008 and were very proud to be awarded the quality assurance mark following submission of self evaluation reports, supporting evidence, parental interviews and a half day inspection. This quality mark, which is not compulsory, looks at the education, environment and care we provide for all our children under 3 years. The staff constantly observe the children to look at areas which we could aid in their development or adapt the environment to help their education and to provide a high-quality service to both the children and their families.  We are very pleased to be awarded this quality mark in recognition of the outstanding work the staff do, which also compliments the ESTYN accreditation which looks at the quality of education for the children over 3 years.   ...

Osbourne Lodge Nursery >
Nursery News 4th September 2008 Well more tears! Many of the children who have recently left have returned to show off their uniform and tell us about their first day in school. Shame its been such a wet week but the Nursery children have made the most of any break in the weather by playing in the garden and going for walks. The children are starting their new topic this week - People Who Help Us. The Foundation Phase is being followed through out the Nursery, using its principles from the youngest groups right up to the pre school group. Visits have been arranged for the children to visit Pontypool Police station, the ambulance station and arrangements are being made to visit the Fire station. 29th August 2008 Its been a sad week saying goodbye to our big children, they went with a photo album each recalling their days at Nursery since they started, many from babies. Parents and staff shed many tears and we will miss the children although we will probably see many around Pontypool as they grow up.     It has also been a very happy week, welcoming many new children into the Nursery and helping them settle in their new surroundings. We welcome all our new children and hope they have a great time at the nursery. 22nd August 2008 Clare returned for a day this week from maternity leave to take her pre school group to the leisure centre as a special treat. The oldest children will be leaving this week and next week ready to start full time school. Many of the children have attended the Nursery from 6 months old and all will be missed greatly. All the children are ready for school and we hope we have helped prepare them well for their next adventure.   15th August 2008 This week the Nursery was invited by Bangor University to undergo a sustainability review, covering at all aspects of the nursery, business and staff, looking at our impact on the community, future growth and development. The review brought up many good ideas and identified areas which we could develop further, such as environmental policies. We will be reviewing the report when available and looking to make changes to improve our community input and development.   It has been a very rainy week so the children have made good use of the soft play room and the construction room, making may fantastic creations. 8th August 2008 The pre school group returned our frogs to Pontypool Park pond this week. The children have helped nurture the frog spawn and watch it grow and develop into tadpoles, feeding them daily until they are fully formed frogs and too big to keep. The children also tend to the flowers and potatoes daily which they are growing in the garden which they really enjoy. The children enjoyed a picnic tea again today as the weather was really nice, this gives the whole nursery chance to get together as a big group and have lots of fun. 29th July 2008 The Nursery hosted the second part of the paediatric First Aid course with great success, all our staff and staff members from neighbouring child care settings passed with flying colours. Whilst the course was going on upstairs, the lower floor was getting its final touches, all doors painted and corridor finished. the whole area looks fabulous with bright new acid colours and fun pictures. Clare, pre school Nursery Nurse, is looking forward to the delivery of her baby this week and we all wish her the best. The children have had lots of fun this week playing in the garden play house and the new pop up castle which is great fun. 21st July 2008 The Nursery has been very active this weekend, hosting a Paediatric First Aid course for local child carers and a massive painting job on the lower floor. The whole of the lower corridor and entrance area got a makeover which will be finished over next weekend while the first aid was going on upstairs in the baby room. The course continues next week with the girls being tested in order to gain their certificates. 11th July 2008 Today has been wonderful weather so the whole Nursery took a walk to Pontypool Park and enjoyed a big picnic tea. The children had so much fun together and enjoyed every moment.  The baby and tots group have enjoyed lots of extra painting this week making fantastic displays to decorate the walls while the toddler and pre school groups have enjoyed creating a surf shack complete with shop, beach and fishing area in the imaginary room. 7th July 2008 The children really enjoyed an afternoon of games when visitors from Melin came to play! The nursery has established cross generational links with Melin Housing, when the residents and children get together to do gardening or other fun activities. Today Karen, co-ordinator for Melin, and a resident came to play giant snakes and ladders out the garden and shared a lovely tea time. Both children and residents benefit greatly from the links and everyone had such a good time.    4th July 2008 The babies and toddlers have been busy this week making beautiful new displays for their art boards. They have helped to paint People Who Help US and have started an interactive display with lots of different textures and colours.   The pre school group have played outside a lot this week in between the rain, they love their new digging areas where they can play with stones, soil or sand with lots of cars, diggers and spades.   On Friday afternoon the whole Nursery went for picnic tea in Pontypool Park. What a treat! All the children had a wonderful time and even had time for a play in the park before the walk back.   27th June 2008 This week has been great fun. The pre school and toddler groups had so much fun on their party day. Many of the pre school children will be moving up to primary school in September so they celebrated together with a BBQ, party games and party tea. The children even had a paddling pool full of geli-baff which was amazing, Jodie loved it too - getting soaking from head to toe!   We took fantastic group photos which have been framed ready for the parents to remind them and their children of the fabulous friends they made at the Nursery. Some of the children have been with us since little babies so it will be very hard to see them all go but wonderful to know we have helped prepare them so well for their next step into school.   The babies and tots have made the most of the nice weather in between the rain and taken walks in the beautiful Pontypool Park. They have been looking at the river and the sounds it makes as well as looking at the wildlife around us.   This is Clare's last week in work, she is starting her maternity leave and is expecting the baby at the end of July. No doubt she will be visiting the children whenever she is close by and we cant wait for her new arrival. We all wish her all the best.   Rhian, our supply member of staff started this week. She will be helping out where ever needed while Clare is on maternity leave. Rhian is a qualified Nursery Nurse and will be an excellent asset to the team and the children love her already. 23rd June 2008 Unfortunately, due to the expansion of the Nursery, this diary has not been updated for 6 months. A great deal has happened over the last few months, we have opened our brand new baby floor, soft play room and re arranged the lower floors to make them more accessible and open plan. We celebrated an excellent CSSIW Inspection report and ESTYN report as well as maintained our Bronze standard from the Environmental Health Department. The Nursery has recently set up community links with Melin Housing, allowing the children and elderly in residential accommodation to meet on a regular basis. The children have had a gardening session at Aneurin Bevan Court, helping plant flowers, and the residents have visited the Nursery helping with story telling sessions and tea parties. I aim to update this diary weekly from now on! 8th January 2008 The children used the soft play room for the first time today and loved it. They have lots of space to jump about, climb steps, roll on play pieces and lie in the ball pool. It was well worth all the hard work fitting it to see how much the children enjoyed playing in there - we all think it is a fantastic addition to the Nursery.                                                                    7th January 2008 It is really hard to believe I haven't updated the diary for so long. We have been going through such major changes - our biggest in 10 years that I just haven't had time. The contractors finished their work on the old Scala Cinema on 31st October 2007 - it was then our turn to get it ready for the Nursery children to use. After much hard work and many hours the whole floor was ready for inspection by CSSIW and we had the go ahead to use the new floor on 7th December and spent all that weekend moving the children's belongings up to the new floor ready for them to use the playrooms on 10th December 07. The upper floor is now occupied by the baby's and tot' - all under 2 years and they love it! The hard work is not over yet. Our new soft play room opened today on the lower floor and two old playrooms have had a massive makeover. The renovations will continue on the lower floor on most weekends until complete. We would love the local people of Torfaen to visit us on this Saturday 12th January to see what changes have been made to the old Scala Cinema and what we have to offer the babies and children in our care. We hope to see you there for a tour, coffee and some birthday cake !                                                                                             17th October 2007 The scaffolding is due to be taken down from around the Nursery on Friday - at last. Yippee!! The garden will be put back to normal over the weekend ready for the children on Monday morning. 8th October 2007 The children in the toddler and pre school groups are having a really fun morning making life size pictures of themselves to line the walls in the corridor. The children are laying out on the card and taking it in turns to draw around each other ready to cut out and decorate. We will post some photographs when they are ready. They are making the pictures to support their topic of All About Me.   The builders for the floor above have given their work list for this week which includes painting the building and renewing plumbing to the outside of the building. As soon as this is completed the scaffolding will be coming down at last! We are hoping it will start being removed on Friday this week - lets hope for good weather so this date can be met!   1st October 2007 The refurbishment works are steaming along in the old cinema above the Nursery. The roof is almost near completion and looks fantastic - hopefully the scaffolding will be able to come down soon. The inside of the building is taking shape well with the inner walls built and plastered and ready for the doors to be hung. It no longer has the shape of the old cinema, it is looking light and airy with fabulous new windows in the front and back. Many people are interested in the new look so we promise to have a big open day for all to see the fantastic changes to this nostalgic building.   The children are really enjoying their opticians in the pre school room. They have been making eye colour charts and painting self portraits to support their All About Me topic.   The toddlers have settled into their new group well after leaving the baby group. They are having lots of fun with Sam playing with new toys and crafts.   The baby group is also settling well with lots of new babies. It some times takes a while to settle in new babies but they are all coping well and having lots of fun with their new friends.   We have heard from lots of our big children who have gone on to school, all are doing well, looking beautiful in their uniforms and loving their new schools. If you are one of the parents who have recently left - WE ARE MISSING ALL OUR CHILDREN ! Please come and visit on our open day, we love to see you all. Keep an eye out for the dates to be arranged soon. 4th September 2007 The scaffolding is being erected all around the nursery ready for the roof to be replaced but this does not stop the children fun inside! The princess parlour has been removed from the pre school room ready for an opticians to move in. The children will be learning All About Me this term so Clare thought an opticians will be an excellent addition to the play room. 29th August 2007 Here are some update photos on the progress upstairs. It looks a total mess but its a total transformation on what it was ! The windows at the rear of the building have been opened up and the windows to the front are being prepared to be opened up after decades boarded up. All of the toilets have been ripped out ready for new plumbing and all new electrics are being installed from tomorrow.    Photos of the refurbishment of the old Scala Cinema More images coming soon!   28th August 2007 Its been a long time since I last updated our diary due to holidays however the children have been having lots of fun taking full advantage of the lovely weather. The pre school group have been preparing for their new topic - All About Me and the toddler group have been settling in as many have just moved up from the baby group.   The upstairs renovations have started with dry wall lining nearly complete ready for the interior walls to be built. The upstairs windows at the back have been removed ready for the new ones which are due to be fitted today. Scaffolding is planned to go up around the building on Monday 3rd sept ready for the roof to be stripped on the 10th Sept. It is all go! I will try and get some photos uploaded of the progress soon. 7th August 2007 The pre school children had lots of fun today playing with balls on the rugby pitch in Pontypool Park. We had all of the pitch to ourselves and loads of room to run. All the children were slightly exhausted by the time we got back to Nursery at tea time!  6th August 2007 The babies finally got to have their trip to Community Farm today. The weather is beautiful and I'm sure they will have a wonderful time looking at all the animals.   The toddlers and pre schoolers are having fun being really noisy with no babies to disturb!!   The babies are back ! The children watched the animals being fed and the cows being milked as well as spotting all the small animals in the petting area. They had good fun and all but one fell asleep on the way back, it must have been all the excitement!   5th August 2007 I delivered the prize for our colouring competition today. The competition was held at the carnivals and PPA Teddy Bears Picnics in both Cwmbran and Pontypool. Little Shauna Reed, our winner, was really pleased with her massive prize - her very own colouring desk with seat and a play dough set. I'm sure Shauna will have lots of fun using it. 1st August 2007 We had our annual inspection today by CSSIW, the regulating body in charge of ensuring child care establishments maintain at least the minimum standards of requirements. The day consists of the inspector observing each group, checking resources, observing mealtimes, checking safety and checking staff and child data. We are very proud to say we passed on all counts with no requirements for change needed. The full report will be available in around 4 weeks and will be made available for all staff and parents to read on the premises. 31st August 2007 The children really enjoyed a special visit from 2 gerbils today. Nikola the manager brought in her daughters gerbils to show the children how they tunnel, feed and play. The children were fascinated by the creature who will visit again I'm sure! 30th July 2007 A nice sunny day Yippee! The toddlers went on a lovely walk this morning up to town and around the park. They returned just in time for dinner and a good sleep, they probably needed it. More fun this afternoon out the garden. The pre school group had a good morning of painting and hand prints and a good walk this afternoon. 23rd July 2007 Baby Trip postponed! We were due to have our baby trip to Greenmeadow farm today but we have decided to postpone it due to the never ending rain. We will reschedule it as soon as the weather improves. 17th July 2007 Lisa, our Officer in Charge represented the Nursery this evening to collect an award in recognition of the Torfaen Healthy Early Years Award Scheme. The presentation was made by the Early Years Development and Child care Partnership and Mike De Val director of Education Torfaen. It was a good evening when we were presented with a certificate and gift. The programme covered lots of areas of Healthy lifestyle and helped improve our Nursery menus, environment and helped teach the children about road safety. 14th July 2007 Carnival day. I had a terrific day on the Webster stall advertising the Nursery. I had a great response off parents who were really happy with their children's free gifts. The carnival was really busy and bustling its just a shame I didn't get to see the procession which I am told was lovely.   Open day . We held an open day today at the Nursery which went well with many families visiting to see what we have to offer at the Nursery. This was our very first open day in almost 10 years so it was lovely to allow local people to visit to see how we have changed the building. 11th July 2007 The Nursery featured the FreePress and Argus today in a story about the expansion of the Nursery up to the former Scala Cinema floor. The story was brilliant - shame about the awful photo!!! I would like to thank everyone who placed wonderful comments on the Argus website praising the work of the Nursery, it was lovely to read. 10th July 2007 It was the toddlers turn to have their party at Treasure Island play centre today. We all walked to the active Living centre and had a fantastic time playing in the soft play area before having our party tea in the party room then and ice cream sat on the grass. What a fun tiring day!!! The toddlers are lucky however - they had buggies for the walk back, they were totally worn out after a fab day. 9th July 2007 We are back on line! The Webster site was being upgraded all week so we have not been able to update our pages for a while so I am working from memory here ! The pre school children went on their outing today to Treasure Island in the Pontypool Active Living Centre. We hired the area for our end of term party so the children had the full area for mad fun, and fun it was! After everyone was fully exhausted from the play centre the children had a party tea at the Centre before finishing off the afternoon in the park. The children were well and truly exhausted by the time we got back to Nursery and most fell asleep! It was a totally fabulous day. Thank you to the Active Living Centre from all the children 4th July 2007 American independence Day. The children in the pre school group have been very busy making flays, pictures, hats and decorations ready for today and it rained!! They still celebrated today but all agreed to try tomorrow for the party which will consist of a garden party BBQ with hot dogs and lots of American Food. The children often celebrate foods from around the world, they particularly liked the Indian buffet and traditional sweets. We will have to see how much they like their American food as soon as the rain stops!! 3rd July 2007 We had a few photos taken today ready for our newspaper story in the freepress. It was good fun and the children were very happy to be directed by Bill. We can,t wait to see them. The toddler room had a bit of a turnaround today to keep the toys interesting for the children. Our big playhouse has been put into the room and we will be helping the children to furnish it this week. 2nd July 2007 The Freepress have been to the Nursery today to gain information ready for an article about the expansion of the Nursery and renovation of the building. The photographer is coming tomorrow so keep an eye out in the Freepress for us soon. 26th June 2007 The last of our frogs were returned to Pontypool Park pond today. The children have helped rear them from frog spawn to healthy little frogs about 1cm long. The little frogs were really beautiful and we are really happy to be restocking the pond after the majority of frog spawn was lost earlier in the year when the pond dried up and the sun killed the spawn. This has been a really valuable lesson for the children (and staff!) who have viewed and cared for them everyday, watching their full change from spawn to tadpole to frog. 25th June 2007 The pre school group have started to prepare for the American Independence Day celebrations which will end in a big tea party. They are busy making flags, pictures and hats as well as learning about the background ready for July 4th. 23rd June 2007 Some of the babies have been preparing for their graduation from the baby group into the toddler group at the end of July. It is very important to have this preparation period for them to get used to their new friends and new members of staff and new rooms. The children meet regularly with all the staff as we are a very compact Nursery all on the same floor at present but this will aid with their confidence and integration into the new group. 21st June 2007 This is a very busy time of the year preparing all the children for new starts in School or State Nursery. We have done this by talking to the children about the exciting changes and by going over all the special things the children have learnt over the last year so it is fresh for them. This terms topic has therefore been 'Things we know' and the children have been reinforcing things like their Welsh, properties of shapes and colours, writing and science. Its lots of fun looking back over the year and they have lots of photos to help them do so. 20th June 2007 The pre school room is being transformed into a princess parlour role play area with a pretty canopy, cushions and soft toys. The children are busy making princess pictures to decorate the area and more and more items are being added daily. Its a bit more fun than a wendy house! 19th June 2007 The pre-school group watched a video today based around child safety and what to do of you get lost, they really enjoyed it as the video is aimed at their age group and contains colourful characters to aid the children's learning without scaring them. the video raised much discussion with the children.   We had a display at the Pre School Playgroup Association Teddy Bears Picnic today at the Woodlands Social Club. The photo displays showed lots of information about the Nursery and the daily activities which take place. It was great fun to see all the children taking part, especially the teddy throwing competition! The next picnic is on 11th July at Pontypool Park 4pm-6pm - all welcome for lots of fun. A few photos are below and see our photo album for more.                      18 June 2007 INVESTORS in PEOPLE reassessment day. The day was really busy with all staff taking it in turns to be interviewed in support of the quality award we wish to retain. The assessment went very well with the business passing very well, proving our quality mark for the 3rd time in 6 years. We are very proud to have been awarded this accreditation again and an excellent credit to all the staff at the Nursery. 16 June 2007 Cwmbran carnival. We were really lucky to accompany the Webster stall to the carnival and displayed lots of photos of the Nursery and the activities the children do through the day. The day went well in between showers! We look forward to the Pontypool carnival and our open day on the 14th July. 15 June 2007 The pre schoolers had a special day today to reinforce the work they have been doing - they visited the indoor market to look at the fruit and veg and checked out all the fathers day cards, they then went to the bank to see what happens there before going to Greggs to buy a special cake for everyone to have after tea. They were very pleased with their special treat which they all deserved after such a busy day! The baby group bathed dollies today using the small watering can as a shower and lots of bubbles- good job we have lots of towels! The toddler group went to the park for a walk and found the play area totally empty so they made full use of the area and had great fun running around with loads of open space. 14 June 2007 We took the first of our frogs back to the pond today. Many are still not developed but we had quite a few which were fully formed frogs so we drove them very carefully to the pond and released them into the water. The 3 children we took loved it even though it started raining really hard in the middle of it! The frogs were tiny - about 1cm long, so we will be keeping an eye on their progress. 11 June 2007 The children all have a busy week this week - making fathers day cards ready for this weekend. Each group has devised their own different cards ranging from shirts to lions. 8 June 2007 The babies had a big treat today - their very own private pool! The babies took turns in the deep water basket surrounded by lots of toys in the baby room. We took lots of photos which will be on display, along with loads more, at the Cwmbran and Pontypool carnivals. 7 June 2007 It has been a lovely overcast day today so the children have enjoyed a library in the garden. Lots of chairs were placed out and a box full of books for the children to choose. 6 June 2007 The toddlers went on a shopping trip today into town before going to Pontypool Park. The children had great fun running around the band stand in the shade for 20 minutes before a nice stroll back to nursery. The pre school children had a construction day using many different materials to build with. 5 June 2007 The children have been observing the tadpoles today. Many look just like mini frogs with very long tails. There are quite a few which are sitting up and jumping within the water but have not ventured up on the rocks yet. We cant wait to release them back into the pond when they are fully developed. 4 June 2007 The children had lots of fun today playing on the obstacle course built in the garden. The equipment was from the hard work of collecting Sports for Schools vouchers last year. The children love playing on the equipment and even helped build part of it. We took lots of photos for our carnival displays. 3 June 2007 Today we have started to prepare our displays for Pontypool and Cwmbran Carnivals. We are lucky enough to be given a place on the Webster stall to help promote the Nursery and the Webster site. I will be taking lots more photos over the next week for the displays and will also share them on our webster site.  2 June 2007 Lots of maintenance again today at the Nursery. The painting of the building at the sides and back is all finished bar a few touch up bits and the fences are now all done. We have put up a gazebo - or fuzz-e-bo as my daughter called it, in the garden to shelter the children from the sun or sun showers through the summer. The older children can also come out here and do their lessons or drawing. It was a bit too big so after 2 hours of shortening and re arranging it was finally finished! The children will be amazed when they come in on Monday and the staff will be amazed at the shape of it!! The tadpoles have started to grow their legs but still have very long tails, we have put lots of stones in their boxes so they can start jumping on them when they are ready.   1 June 2007 We have had a really fun day today. The pre schoolers had a special treat of breakfast in the Active Living Centre café and a good play in the park. The toddlers and older babies then joined them in the park for a play before a walk to the pond and back to the Nursery just in time for lunch. We had a really special lunch cooked by Sharon and then it was rest time all around. The children were quite worn out after the long morning. This afternoon has been filled with painting and drawing and lots of play in big cardboard boxes. The children loved sitting in them and watching the world go by.   29 May 2007 The children have had a lovely weekend with their families despite the rain. We were given 3 deep tubs to keep our tadpoles in due to our tank breaking last week so they have all been transferred today with the watchful eyes of the pre school group. They are very smelly in the pond water but growing really well and some have their legs developing. It wont be long before they will be rehoused at the Pontypool pond with the help of the park manager.   26 May 2007 We have had our notification today of our annual inspection by CSSIW in July. The inspection involves an officer spending time at the Nursery with the staff and children and also checking our records, safety and child care standards. We have had excellent records of inspection over the last 9 years, they are all available on-line from CCSIW and at the Nursery for parents to view.   We are today preparing information about the Nursery plus photos to be displayed at the two annual teddy bears picnics being held by the Preschool Playgroup Association over the next two months. The first will be held at Woodlands Park and Social Club on June 19th 4pm - 6pm and the second at Pontypool Park on July 11th 4pm - 6pm. The picnics are well attended and everyone is welcome - just bring your children, teddies and a picnic! The children have lots of fun playing games, story telling and competitions. Please see the events section of Webster for more information - we would love to see you there. 25 May 2007 The pre schoolers had their first taste of home work today! Family home work was sent home to show parents the type of work the children are doing daily and to encourage parents to work together with the children. It is a bit of fun and we can't wait to see the results. We had notification today of our pending ESTYN inspection which is due to take place in the Autumn term. ESTYN are the schools inspectorate and assess the quality of education we provide for the over 3's. The date is not known as they turn up un-notified. 24 May 2007 The babies had a tent day, Jody constructed a big tent in the baby room for them to play in and they all sat in there having a story. It was a really fun day with something totally different to do. Unfortunately they could not fit the high chairs in or they would have had dinner in there too! 23 May 2007 Water play in a very big bucket!! The children all took it in turns today to play in the bucket of water in the art room - the babies were small enough to sit right in! We have water play trays and paddling pools but this was something totally different for them and they had a really good day. On the weekend we removed the children's benches which we had fixed in part of the garden. This area has now been transformed by Lisa in to the children's growing area. All the plants and potted flowers we had scattered around the gardens have been moved to one end so its easier for the children to water and care for them. The mural is still being worked on along the wall and is expected to be finished by winter!   22 May 2007 The babies went for another stroll in the park today to check on the duck and found that the water is starting to return to the pond - lucky for our tadpoles! The tadpoles are starting to develop their legs now so will be returned very soon to the pond. 20 May 2007 More decorating outside the building today, thank goodness for the good weather! I haven't told the workman who is painting the extremely high bits that we have a 9 foot high character to put up yet! 19 May 2007 We have just recorded our advert for Flame Radio who run out of Dragon Bands in Pontnewynydd. It was good fun and my 6 year old daughter Morgan is featured on there. My daughter also recorded an intro to Flame Radio which was rather funny! Dragon bands is a community run group helping youngsters - (young and old!) to record music, play instruments sing and have an insight into radio. You can find their website at www.dragonbands.co.uk | and also www.flameradio.co.uk |  .  Today in between the rain we have also been trying to finish the painting of the outside of the building and fences. Its a big job but we should be finished soon so we can get murals painted on the walls.  17 May 2007 The toddlers and some of the babies went for a walk today in their buggies on a discovery trail to see if the water is back in the pond yet. No it isn't! Our tadpoles may have to re located to a different pond, good job they are not ready yet! On the way to the pond the children were lucky to see a duck with 6 ducklings waddling behind. The children loved it! 16 May 2007 MEGA BOUNCE-ATHON The children all took part in a sponsored bounce today to raise money for terminally ill children. Around 20 children in turn had a good bounce on the trampoline to tot up sponsorship money. The babies even took part on the indoor trampoline in the baby room. Lots of fun for a very good cause. Thank you to all families who sponsored the children - we shall have a final figure soon for the total raised. 15 May 2007 We have just bought the soft play area which used to be in the Mega Bowl, Newport. It has taken two whole days to remove the equipment to a safe area until we are in a position to fit the room out. It took a great deal of running around and investigation work to find out who had bought the play centre with out even realising it ! The room cannot be fitted out unfortunately until we have the upper floor in use. Watch this space ! 11 May 2007 We would like to welcome Samantha Day (Sammy) to the Nursery. Samantha is a qualified Child Care professional and is taking over the Nursery Nurse roll in the toddler room. Sammy has worked within a toddler group at another Nursery and we are really pleased to welcome her to our team. Sammy is replacing Jenna who we will all miss. Jenna has moved on to adult care and we wish her all the best. Jenna has been back to visit twice since leaving last week!   Thank you to all the parents who have taken the time to complete our parents questionnaires. We distribute them regularly to check the views of our customers and take their views very seriously and all are gratefully received.   Tadpole check - our tadpoles are growing well- about an inch long now. The children can see where the legs are forming and check on their progress every day. The children love feeding them, there is a massive frenzy as soon as food is put in. 10 May 2007 This is a new feature of our website which I will attempt to complete regularly to give an insight into the Nursery and the activities which occur. ...