Celebration mugs available 
Attractive white bone china mugs commemorating the 150th anniversary and decorated with the 150 logo are now available from Mrs M Gosney or the school office, at a cost of £4 each.
What's happened so far:
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Open House 23rd June
Celebrating 150 years
Our Open House event started with the launch of Mrs. Sully’s book about the history of the school in the school library. The event was attended by Governors, Hywelians and staff, both past and present.
Visitors then went to the Junior School where the culmination of ‘Creativity Week’ was marked by a fashion show, a sale of plants in the ‘great outdoors’, the production of a magazine (with an ‘exclusive’ interview with Mrs Davis!) and a visit to a ‘Land of Make Believe’, among many other events.
In the Senior School visitors were able to watch Indian dancing, a ‘Vile Victorians’ workshop, a modern interpretation of Romeo and Juliet and a sports display. There were also activities in the Maths, Science and Geography departments and a poetry workshop in the Library. The Languages department finished the afternoon with a variety of songs in the Great Hall.
The occasion was completed with families enjoying picnics on the field in the sunshine.
Thank you to everyone who supported this event.
Book Launch!
An illustrated history of Howell’s School, Llandaff, since its foundation 1860 was launched on 23rd June and is available to purchase from school for £20. It is entitled Howell's School Llandaff 1860-2010: A Legacy Fulfilled. If you prefer, a copy can be posted to you for an extra £7, to cover the cost of post and packaging. Please contact Mrs Denise Scourfield in the school office, tel. 029 2056 2019, or email her on d.scourfield1@UK.GDST.NET
The author is Mrs Janet Sully, who has taught at the school since 1978. A former Head of the History Department and Head of Sixth Form, she is now semi-retired and manages the school’s archives. The book is the result of her passionate interest in the school’s history and we thank her for her dedication to this exciting project. We all look forward to reading it!
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Teachers cycle 150 miles in 12 hours
Congratulations to Mr Biebrach and Mr Elmes, who succeeded in riding 150 miles in 12 hours to raise money for our specially-chosen charity, the Noah's Ark Appeal. They set off at dawn and cycled to Swansea for breakfast, then headed north and uphill to Brecon. From there they returned through the Brecon Beacons to Howell's, arriving at about 5pm. Their fitness training obviously paid off and they looked remarkably fresh on their return! Any more sponsorship contributions would be welcome and forms for Gift Aid are available from school.
Senior Hywelian speaks to Year 9 class
A Year 9 history class had a special visit on 24th May from Mrs Catherine Powell, a Hywelian aged 94. As Catherine ("Minnie") Morgan, she was a pupil from 1927 to 1934. She answered questions in an engaging and entertaining way for a whole hour, providing memories of life under Miss Trotter. Mrs Powell was a boarder in Oaklands and was at school during the fire of 1932, and so was able to tell the class about those aspects as well as lessons, teachers and other activities of the day such as League of Nations parties. She also taught drama and diction at school in the 1970s. At the end, Mrs Powell was presented with flowers and had tea and “150” celebration cakes with a few staff and visitors.
£1.50 Challenge supports Children's Hospital Noah’s Ark Appeal!
In this special anniversary year, the school is raising money to create a garden for the new Children's Hospital in Wales, as its contribution towads the Noah's Ark Appeal. Students in Years 7 to 13 have turned £1.50 into a total of over £1,120 for the Noah’s Ark Appeal! Each form was given 150 pennies, to represent the 150 years since the opening of Howell’s. The challenge was to turn this into as much as possible, in just one month. Students worked together to come up with some amazingly imaginative ideas, giving up lunchtimes and break-times to win the Challenge and support the Noah’s Ark Appeal. In the end all the efforts paid off, and we are now one step closer to our target of raising £20,000 for the charity.
Well done to everyone involved; and particular congratulations to form 8S, who made an incredible £161. Thanks also to the School Council, who worked so hard to organise the Challenge and make it such a success. Any contributions to the appeal would be gratefully received; cheques should be made payable to the Noah's Ark Appeal and sent to school, FAO Mrs Gosney.
Hywelians from the 1930s and 1940s receive school certificates!
On 12th May, a group of Hywelians who left school many years ago returned for a very belated certificate presentation. Stored away in the Archives Room were many certificates of various kinds – Higher School Certificates, School Certificates, Life-Saving certificates and even Greek Dancing certificates – mainly from the 1940s, which were never presented at the time. The event took place in the Board Room and the certificates were presented by Mrs M Fletcher, Deputy Chairman of Governors. It was a happy occasion, with some of the visitors being reunited with their former classmates of many years ago. The oldest Hywelian present, Mrs Joyce Chapman, is now 89½ years old and was accompanied by her daughter. Two of those present were Hywelians collecting certificates awarded to their mothers and sisters. All the guests enjoyed tea, sandwiches and cakes and were given souvenirs of our 150th year.
Congratulations to them all!
Chairman of Governors becomes High Sheriff
We warmly congratulate Mrs Anne Campbell, our Chairman of Governors, on being sworn in as the High Sheriff of South Glamorgan in a ceremony in the Great Hall at Howell’s on 30th March. The occasion began with the trumpeters of the South Wales Police sounding a fanfare and the Sword Bearer placing the Sword of office on the dais table. Amongst the dignitaries present were the Lord-Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, Dr Peter Beck, father of a former Howell’s student, and Canon Graham Holcombe, one of our Governors, who is serving as Mrs Campbell’s chaplain during her year of office. Towards the end of the proceedings, members of the Senior Choir performed a musical interlude.
This office dates back to the 10th century, though of course the responsibilities are different nowadays; no longer does the High Sheriff have to raise an army or collect taxes! Mrs Campbell’s duties will include attending royal visits to the county, offering hospitality to High Court Judges, acting as a Returning Officer in the forthcoming General Election and supporting and encouraging voluntary and statutory bodies. She will hold the position for one year and we wish her well for her time in office.
Special anniversary celebration in St David’s Hall
On Thursday, 18th March, members of all sections of the school, ranging from the three-year-old girls in the Nursery to the Year 13 College students, took part in a magnificent celebration of music, drama and dance in St. David’s Hall. The youngest girls presented their piece, Billy No Buzz, at 6pm and the main performance began at 7.30. All 2,000 seats were occupied and we honoured to have many distinguished guests, including the Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor, Cllr. Brian Griffiths, and his wife, and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the GDST, Lorna Cocking and Helen Fraser. Also present was the Chairman of the Governors, Mrs Anne Campbell, who will shortly be inaugurated as the High Sheriff of Glamorgan. Final rehearsals took place at St. David’s Hall throughout the day and we warmly congratulate everyone who took part and delivered a highly professional and colourful show. Special thanks must go to Mrs Phillips, Mrs Rees, Mr Beckett and Mrs Yilmaz, whose efforts were well rewarded on the night. It was an occasion to remember!
Plaque unveiled at Bryntaff
On 29th January, a large number of descendants of David Morgan, the founder of the large store in The Hayes which closed five years ago, visited school for a ceremony in which a plaque commemorating his ownership of the house was unveiled. David Morgan bought Bryntaf in the late 19th century and lived there until his death. His family continued to live there until the Second World War and two of his great-grandchildren, John and Richard, who were at the ceremony, were born in a room on the first floor. John Morgan made a most informative and amusing speech and his grandson Tom, a student in the College, pulled the cord to unveil the plaque. The ceremony was followed by refreshments and a tour of the house for interested members of the family.
Jess and Izzy design celebration plate 
Two girls in Year Five have created a 150th anniversary plate. They designed it themselves and made it at the Porcellini’s pottery shop in Pontyclun. Well done, girls!
Jess said, “We thought it might be a good idea to design a plate to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the school. We liked the designing part and it took us about two hours to create. It was really good fun.” Izzy commented, “We did it in the school colours, and we thought it would be nice to put some of the subjects into the design, We are not sure yet where it might be displayed but we hope to show it in assembly.
Caitlin designs logo for 150th celebrations
A competition was set for the students from Years 5 to 13 to design a 150th birthday celebration logo to be used to help promote the many events organised by the School during the year. The winning design was by Caitlin Trow in Year 10, who said, “I decided to make my logo modern, simple and elegant, representing the celebrations and the school. I was very excited when I was told my logo had been chosen. There were so many people entering the competition. I didn't contemplate winning so it was a huge shock.”
A flying start for the 150th birthday celebration.
On Monday 18th January, the whole of the Junior School turned out to release 150 eco-friendly and biodegradable balloons to launch the year's celebrations, watched by some members of staff and the older students. Fortunately the rain and snow held off, and the excited girls sang "Happy birthday" as they watched the balloons soar into the sky. The balloons had the school logo and 150th anniversary written on them, and the occasion was reported in the South Wales Echo. In addition, 150 bulbs have been planted by the side of the lane leading to the Junior School and Cumberland Lodge.