Yr Ysgol Feithrin The Nursery School - Tal-y-bont

Yr Ysgol FeithrinDyma ran o erthygl gan Eleri Huws ynPapur Pawb, Ebrill, 1979:‘Blwyddyn y Plentyn’ yw hi eleni ac i ddathluhynny mae’r Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin yncynnal Wythnos Feithrin rhwng Ebrill 30 aMai 5 i wneud pawb trwy Gymru’nymwybodol o’r hyn sydd ar gael mewn addysgfeithrin yn eu hardal hwy. Mae’n adeg addas,felly, i fwrw golwg yn ôl dros hanes YsgolFeithrin, Tal-y-bont, sy’n 9 oed eleni.Ychydig a feddyliodd y grãp bychan ofamau brwdfrydig a benderfynodd roi cynnigar sefydlu ysgol mai llwybr digon garw i’wgerdded fyddai a’r anawsterau’n ddi-ri arbrydiau. Wedi sgwrs gyda’r CyfarwyddwrAddysg, trefnwyd i gynnal Ysgol Feithrin ardri bore’r wythnos yn hen ysgol Tal-y-bontgyda 9 o blant. Yr athrawesau yn y cyfnodcynnar oedd Carwen Vaughan, MyfanwyRowlands, Nona Evans, Catherine Jones acEleri Huws. Codwyd arian yn wreiddiol trwybarti coffi yng Nghwmrhydgoch, Bontgoch,parti coffi yn yr ysgol a chyfraniadau’r rhieni.Diddorol yw gweld eitemau fel hyn ar dudalengyntaf y llyfr cyfrifon – 10 cadair, 6 bwrdd ac1 cwpwrdd – £6; 2 Lyfr Cymraeg 1/6 (swllt achwe cheiniog) yr un – 3/- (tri swllt); Sebon1/3 (swllt a thair ceiniog); 4 pwced a rhaw oPeacocks – 8/- (wyth swllt). Ychydig o arianoedd ar gael i brynu offer a llyfrau i’r plant,ond trwy garedigrwydd pobl Tal-y-bont,derbyniwyd rhoddion o bopeth dan haul, ynllyfrau a theganau, creions a phapur, bisgedi adiod oren.Wedi dechrau mor fywiog, sioc oedd clywedam fwriad yr Awdurdod Addysg i werthu’rhen ysgol a siomwyd y pentrefwyr panwerthwyd yr adeilad ym mis Gorffennaf, 1970i Ysgol Parmiters, Llundain. Yn ffodus roeddParmiters yn fodlon caniatáu i’r YsgolFeithrin ddefnyddio’r adeilad ar amodau teg.Dros gyfnod o amser, fodd bynnag, teimlaiPwyllgor yr Ysgol Feithrin yn fwy-fwyanniddig ynghylch y sefyllfa. Roedd yr adeiladyn oer a llaith yn y gaeaf a’r llwydni ynamlwg ar y celfi bob bore; cwynai’r rhieni amyr effaith andwyol ar iechyd y plant; ni ellidchwarae allan oherwydd gwydr ar yr iard apherygl llechi’n disgyn o’r to; roedd ytoiledau’r tu allan a doedd dim dãr poeth arThe Nursery SchoolThe following extract is from an article byEleri Huws in Papur Pawb, in April 1979:This year is ‘The year of the Child’ and tocelebrate this the ‘Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin’is holding a Nursery Week, between April 30and May 5, so that everybody throughoutWales will be aware of the nursery provisionavailable in their area. It is an appropriatetime, therefore, to look back at the history ofthe Ysgol Feithrin, Tal-y-bont, which wasfounded 9 years ago.Little did that small group of enthusiasticmothers who decided to try to set up a schoolrealise that it would be a difficult road to takewith numerous problems at times. After a chatwith the Director of Education, it was decidedto hold an Ysgol Feithrin for 9 children threemornings a week in the old Tal-y-bont School.The teachers during the early years wereCarwen Vaughan, Myfanwy Rowlands, NonaEvans, Catherine Jones and Eleri Huws.Money was first raised at a coffee morning inCwmrhydgoch, Bontgoch, a coffee party at theschool and from parental contributions. It isinteresting to note on the first page of theaccounts book, such items as: 10 chairs, 6tables and 1 cupboard – £6; 2 Welsh Books 1/6(one shilling and sixpence) each – 3/- (threeshillings); Soap 1/3 (one shilling and threepence);4 buckets and spades from Peacocks –8/- (eight shillings). Little money wasavailable to purchase equipment and books forthe children, but due to the kindness of Tal-ybontpeople, all kinds of items were donated,books and toys, crayons and paper, biscuitsand orange squash.After such a lively start it was a shock tohear of the Education Authority’s intention tosell the old school, and the villagers weredisappointed when the building was sold inJuly, 1970 to Parmiters School, London.Fortunately, Parmiters was willing to allowthe Ysgol Feithrin to use the building on veryreasonable terms. Over a period of time,however, the Ysgol Feithrin Committee feltincreasing unease about the situation. Thebuilding was cold and damp in winter withmould on the furniture in the morning;parents complained about the detrimentaleffect upon the children’s health; they could330

Ein Canrif – Our Centurygael. Ond prif asgwrn y gynnen rhwng yPwyllgor ac Ysgol Parmiters oedd, yn gyntaf,y biliau trydan afresymol o uchel a dderbynid,ac, yn ail, fandaliaeth yn yr ysgol. Bu’r ddaubwynt yma’n destun amryw o lythyrau halltrhwng y ddwy ysgol. Yn aml, cyrhaeddai’rathrawon a’r plant yn y bore i ddarganfodolion rhywun wedi torri i mewn yn ystod ynos. a difrod mawr wedi ei wneud i’r teganaua’r lle’n fudr.Derbyniwyd llythyr annisgwyl o YsgolParmiters yn gofyn am gyfraniad afresymoltuag at y trydan a chyfraniad uchel arall atgael gofalwr ar yr adeilad. Teimlai Pwyllgoryr Ysgol Feithrin na allent gytuno a’rgofynion cwbl annheg hyn yn wyneb yranawsterau roeddynt yn ei wynebu. Ynacafwyd llythyr yn rhoi 3 mis o rybudd i adaelyr adeilad ar Hydref 21, 1974Dechreuodd cyfnod digon terfysglyd ynhanes yr Ysgol Feithrin. Rhaid oedd dod o hydi ystafell addas, a hynny ar frys, gyda digon ole i’r plant chwarae a chadw’r offer, athoiledau a dãr yn hwylus. Roedd unllygedyn o obaith, sef ystafell y llys ynSwyddfa’r Heddlu, a chafwyd caniatâd parodi wneud y cais gan yr Heddwas a Mrs RobertJenkins. Byrhoedlog fu’r gobaith hwnnw, foddbynnag, a gwrthodwyd y cais gan AwdurdodHeddlu Dyfed Powys.Roedd pryder gwirioneddol ynghylchdyfodol yr ysgol. Anfonwyd llythyrau’napelio am help i’r Pwyllgor Addysg, ycynghorwyr lleol a chymdeithasau’r fro.Penderfynwyd mai gwell fyddai cynnal yrysgol yng ngwaelod y Neuadd Goffa na’i chauam gyfnod amhenodol tra’n disgwyl amadeilad addas. Bu’n gyfnod anodd a blinedigi’r ddwy athrawes ar y pryd, Enid Gruffudd aDilys Myrddin a’u cynorthwywyr MrsGriffiths a Mrs Jenkins, Tñ’r Heddlu. Rhaidoedd cadw’r celfi ar ôl bob sesiwn a’u tynnuallan y bore wedyn. Rhoddwyd pwysau ar yPwyllgor Addysg o bob cyfeiriad a mawr oeddy rhyddhad pan dderbyniwyd y llythyr hwngan y dirprwy-gyfarwyddwr addysg arHydref 20, 1978 – ‘Dymunaf eich hysbysu fody pwyllgor Addysg wedi cytuno i symudystafell symudol i Ysgol Tal-y-bont mor fuanag sy’n bosibl’. Ers hynny, bu’r ysgol ynffynnu yn ei chartref newydd a’r plant danofal Mrs Vera Lloyd a’i chynorthwydd MrsBrenda Jones.Penderfynwyd yn gynnar yn hanes yrYsgol na ellid disgwyl i’r athrawon roi eugwasanaeth am ddim a buan y cododd ynot play outside because of glass in the yardand the danger of slates falling from the roof;there were only outside toilets and there wasno hot water available. But the main bone ofcontention between the Committee andParmiters School was, in the first place, theunreasonably high electricity bills which werereceived and, secondly, vandalism in theschool. These two points resulted in severalstrongly worded letters between the twoschools. Frequently, the teachers and childrenwould arrive in the morning to discover thatsomeone had broken in during the night andhad damaged the toys and left the place dirty.An unexpected letter arrived fromParmiters School asking for an unreasonablecontribution towards electricity and anotherunreasonable contribution towards the cost ofa caretaker for the building. The Ysgol FeithrinCommittee felt unable to agree to thesecompletely unfair requests in the light of thedifficulties with which they were faced. Then aletter was received on October 21, 1974 givingthree months notice to vacate the building.An unstable period commenced in thehistory of the Ysgol Feithrin. A suitable roomhad to be found, and quickly, with enoughroom for the children to play and forequipment to be stored, with toilets and waterto hand. There was one ray of hope, the courtroomat the Police Station; permission wasreadily given by Police Officer and MrsRobert Jenkins for an application to be made.This hope was short lived, however, as therequest was refused by the Dyfed PowysPolice Authority.There was real concern about the future ofthe school. Letters appealing for help were sentto the Education Committee, the localcouncillors and local societies. It was decidedthat it would be better to hold the school in thelower room of the Memorial Hall than to closefor an indefinite period whilst waiting for asuitable building. It was a difficult and tiringperiod for the two teachers at that time, EnidGruffudd and Dilys Myrddin and theirassistants Mrs Griffiths and Mrs Jenkins,Police Station. Furniture had to be put awayafter each session and taken out again thefollowing morning. There was pressure on theEducation Committee from all directions andit was with great relief that a letter wasreceived from the Deputy Director ofEducation on October 20, 1978 – ‘I wish toinform you that the Education Committee hasagreed to provide a mobile classroom at Tal-y-331

Ein Canrif – Our Centurybwgan Cyllid ei ben! Talai’r rhieni brydhynny £1 y tymor am bob plentyn – erbynhyn mae’r tâl wedi codi i £10 y plentyn. Amgyfnod derbyniwyd grant gan Cyngor SirAberteifi tuag at gynnal yr ysgol ond gydagad-drefnu llywodraeth leol a chwtogi arwario daeth y grantiau i ben. Yn ffodus,daeth cymorth parod gan CyngorCymdeithas Ceulanmaesmawr ac ynddiweddar derbyniwyd grant am offer atheganau gan y Swyddfa Gymreig a’r BwrddDatblygu Cymru Wledig. Ar hyd yblynyddoedd dibynodd yr Ysgol Feithrin yndrwm ar gefnogaeth y pentrefwyr mewnNoson Goffi a Raffl, Gyrfa Chwist a FfairSborion. Heb y gefnogaeth hael hwn i bobymgyrch i godi arian ni fyddai modd cario‘mlaen.Bellach mae’r costau’n cynyddu o dymor idymor a’r baich ariannol yn trymhau. RhwngIonawr a Rhagfyr cost cynnal yr ysgol oedd£611 – £570.50 am gyflogau, £21 am laeth a’rgweddill am fân bethau. Apeliwyd sawl tro aryr Awdurdod Addysg i gymryd y camrhesymegol nesaf a derbyn yr Ysgol ynswyddogol o dan eu haden. Byddai hyn ynrhyddhau’r rhieni o’r faich ariannol. Wedi’rcyfan mae’r Awdurdod eisoes yn talu costaucynnal yr adeilad a cham cymharol fychanfyddai cyflogi’r athrawes a’i chynorthwy-yddyn ogystal. Rhaid apelio am hyn yn y dyfodolagos gan na ellir disgwyl i Bwyllgor yr YsgolFeithrin fynd ar ofyn y pentrefwyr am gyfnodamhenodol eto.Ar hyd y blynyddoedd aeth nifer fawr oblant o bob lliw a llun drwy’r Ysgol Feithrin– bu’r nifer lan i 16 ar un adeg ac yna mor isela 3! Ar hyn o bryd mae 11 o blant ar lyfrau’rysgol a gobaith am nifer dda yn ystod y 3blynedd nesaf. Er mai 3 o’r plant sydd â’rGymraeg yn iaith gyntaf iddynt mae 6 arallag un rhiant, brawd neu chwaer yn rhugl ynyr iaith. Dim ond un plentyn sy’n dod ogartre lle ni chlywir unrhyw Gymraeg o gwbl.Polisi’r Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin yw,‘Rhoi cyfle i’r plentyn ddatblygu o ran eigorff, ei ddeall, ei emosiwn ac yn gymdeithasola hynny trwy wahanol fathau o chwarae trwygyfrwng y Gymraeg’.bont School as soon as possible’. Since thenthe school has thrived in its new home withthe children in the care of Mrs Vera Lloyd andher assistant Mrs Brenda Jones.It was decided early on that the teacherscould not be expected to provide their servicesfree of charge and the question of Financereared its head! Parents at the time paid £1 perterm per child – the charge has now increasedto £10 per child. For a time a grant towards themaintenance of the school was received fromCardiganshire County Council but with thereorganisation of local government and cuts inexpenditure the grant ceased. Fortunately,Ceulanamaesmawr Community Councilwillingly assisted and recently a grant wasreceived for toys and equipment from theWelsh Office and the Development Board forRural Wales. Over the years the Ysgol Feithrinhas depended a lot on the support of villagersin Coffee Evenings, Raffles, Whist Drives andJumble Sales. Without this generous supportfor fund-raising activities, it would have beenimpossible to continue.Now, the costs increase term by term and thefinancial burden is getting heavier. BetweenJanuary and December the cost of running theschool was £611 – £570.50 for salaries, £21 formilk and the rest for sundries. Several appealswere made to the Education Authority to takethe next reasonable step and officially take theschool under its wing. This would free theparents from the financial burden. After all theAuthority already pays the cost of maintainingthe building and it would only be a small stepto employ a teacher and an assistant. Thisappeal must be made in the near future as onecannot expect the Ysgol Feithrin Committee todepend upon the generosity of villagers foranother indefinite period.Over the years a large number of childrenhave been through the Ysgol Feithrin – thenumber was up to 16 at one time and as lowas 3 at another time! At present there are 11children on the books and it is hoped for a goodnumber during the next three years. Althoughonly three children have Welsh as their firstlanguage, 6 others have one parent, or abrother or sister who is fluent in the language.Only one child comes from a home where noWelsh is heard at all.The policy of the Mudiad YsgolionMeithrin is, ‘To give the child the opportunityto develop physically, intellectually,emotionally and socially by means of playthrough the medium of Welsh’.332

Ein Canrif – Our CenturyYmweld â Cerrigcaranau.Visiting Cerrigcaranau.gweld y gwartheg yn Cerrigcaranau, i garejMr Gwynfor Davies, i’r Post at MrsKathleen Richards, i’r Sioe Bypedau yn yTheatr ac wrth gwrs ymweliad blynyddol ilan y môr – yr athrawes yn heneiddio gydathreugliad y blynyddoedd ond y plant a’rrhieni yn fythol ieuanc!Byddem yn arbrofi efo dulliau dysgu gannad oedd gan y Mudiad Meithrin ar y prydlawer o gynlluniau gwaith. Teimlem ei bodyn fantais efo dysgu iaith, yn arbennig ailiaithi’r dysgwyr, i gymryd rhyw bwncarbennig fel Y Fferm, Y Sw, Teithio, Ein TyNi, Anifeiliaid Anwes, Ein Pentref Ni, YTywydd a.y.b. Byddem yn gwrando stori, yncanu a gwneud gwaith llaw bob dydd igydfynd efo’r testun. Rhaid oedd caelrhywbeth i fynd adref bob dydd ar ôl bobsesiwn neu fe fyddai yr wynebau bach ynhir iawn!Byddem hefyd yn cael ymwelwyr pwysigo dro i dro, bobl fel Alwyn Humphreys(BBC) a Bryan Jones (Cyfarwyddwr MudiadMeithrin ar y pryd), i recordio’r plant aminnau ar gyfer rhaglen radio ddwyieithogKathleen Richards at the Post Office, to thepuppet show at the Theatre and of coursethe annual trip to the seaside – the teacherageing with the years but the children andparents forever young!We experimented with teaching methodsas the Meithrin Movement at the time didnot have schemes of work. We felt it was anadvantage when teaching a language,especially a second language to learners, tochoose a specific subject like The Farm, TheZoo, Travelling, Our House, Pets, OurVillage, The Weather and so on. We wouldlisten to a story, sing and do practical workevery day to compliment the subject. Therewould have to be something to take home atthe end of each session or there would besad faces!We had important visitors from time totime, people like Alwyn Humphreys (BBC)and Bryan Jones (the Director of MudiadMeithrin at the time) to record myself andthe children for a bilingual programme butthe morning that gave us great pleasure waswhen Elwyn Ioan, the creator of Cadwgan,334

Ein Canrif – Our CenturyYmweliad Elwyn Ioan.Elwyn Ioan’s visit.ond y bore a ddaeth â phleser mawr i ni igyd oedd cael Elwyn Ioan, crëwr Cadwgan,i ddod atom i dynnu llun y creadur bachhoffus a sôn dipyn am ei gampau! Cefaislawer o hwyl yng nghwmni’r plant.Byddent yn creu sefyllfaoedd ac yn dweudpethau doniol iawn. Piti na fuaswn wedi euhysgrifennu i lawr er cof a chadw ond dynafe, fe ddigwyddodd hyn cyn oes y fideo.Byddai wedi bod yn dipyn o hwyl i gael ypleser o ail-fyw llawer o’r profiadau.Tipyn bach o ystadegau i orffen yr erthyglfach hon yn awr. Aeth 142 o blant drwy fynwylo rhwng 1977–88, 49 o GymryCymraeg a 93 o ddysgwyr. Rwyf yn aml ynmeddwl beth yw hanes yr holl blantos ymaerbyn hyn. Ble bynnag y bônt rwy’ngobeithio fod yr ychydig fisoedd adreuliasant yn Ysgol Feithrin Tal-y-bontwedi rhoi sylfaen iddynt adeiladu bywydauhapus, diddorol a llwyddiannus.came. He drew a picture of the likeable littlecreature and talked of its antics! I had greatfun in the children’s company. They createdamusing situations and said amusingthings. It is a pity that I did not write themdown for posterity, but so be it, thishappened before the age of the video. Itwould have been a pleasure to relive manyof the experiences.A few statistics now to finish this shortarticle. 142 children passed through myhands between 1977–88, 49 Welsh speakersand 93 learners. I often wonder whathappened to all those children. Whereverthey are, I hope that the few months theyspent in Ysgol Feithrin, Tal-y-bont provideda foundation for them to build happy,interesting and successful lives.335

Ein Canrif – Our CenturyAtgofion Nia JonesPum mlynedd yn ôl, fe benderfynodd GwenfairGlyn a Frances Foster roi’r gorau i redeg yCylch Meithrin yn Nhal-y-bont wedi cyfnodhir a hapus iawn. Dyna pryd y gofynwyd i fi,Nia Jones a Ceris Williams gymryd yrawennau. Doedd yr un ohonom yn sylweddoliar y pryd gymaint o waith y byddai hyn yn eiolygu!Roeddem yn ffodus iawn fod Mrs MonaRowlands a Holly Hopley yn parhau i fod yn ycylch ers cyfnod Gwenfair a Frances ac fegawsom ni arweiniad rhagorol a chyngor daganddynt bob amser.Yn ystod y tair blynedd y bu’r ddwyohonom yng ngofal y Cylch Meithrin fewelwyd adnewyddu to a wal yr hen gaban;dathlu 25 mlynedd Cylch Meithrin Tal-ybontac yn y flwyddyn ganlynol dathlu 25mlynedd y Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin;cyfnod o godi pres go egr drwy ocsiwnaddewidion, beicio noddedig a nifer oweithgareddau eraill er mwyn codi cabannewydd sbon i’r Cylch Meithrin. Fe olygoddhyn gyfnod o redeg y Cylch Meithrin yn yNeuadd bentref lle’r oeddem yn cyfarfod ambedwar bore o ddwy awr. Yn fuan iawn ar ôlsymud i mewn i’r caban fe gynyddodd nifer yplant gymaint fel yr oedd angen cynnig lle i20 o blant yn hytrach na’r 16 arferol a phrydhyn fe ddaeth Mair Nutting atom igynorthwyo yn y Cylch.Cawsom dipyn o hwyl a thipyn oweithgareddau hwyliog iawn. Bob blwyddyn fefyddem yn mynd i’r ffald i wylio Mr GwilymJenkins a’i feibion yn cneifio. Dro arall feaethom i Cwmslaid i weld y geifr a’r moch acyna fe wnaeth Ceris Williams ddangos sut idynnu oen cyn mynd ymlaen i Pensarn i weldy lloi a’r cywion. Yn yr haf fe gawsomfabolgampau a thrip blynyddol i draeth Wallog.Fe fuom ni i Lanfarian i weld Martyn Geraintyn perfformio ac fe fuom ni yn cerdded ar hyd yprom yn Aberystwyth gyda gweddill CylchoeddMeithrin yr ardal cyn cael gemau a phicnic gery castell.Bob blwyddyn fe fyddem ni’n gorffen âChyngerdd Nadolig yn Neuadd yr YsgolGynradd yn Nhal-y-bont. Wrth edrych yn ôlroedd y nosweithiau yma yn rhai hwyliog ahapus i’w cofio – ond ar y pryd ...!Nia Jones’ MemoriesFive years ago, after a long and happy period,Gwenfair Glyn and Frances Foster decided togive up running the Cylch Meithrin in Tal-ybont.That is when I, Nia Jones, and CerisWilliams were asked to take over. Neither of usrealised at the time that it would involve suchan amount of work!We were fortunate that Mrs Mona Rowlandsand Holly Hopley had worked at the ‘Cylch’since Gwenfair and Frances’ time and we hadsound leadership and good advice from them atall times.During the three years when we were incharge of the Cylch Meithrin the roof andwall of the old cabin were replaced; the 25thanniversary of Cylch Meithrin, Tal-y-bontwas celebrated followed a year later bycelebrating the 25th anniversary of ‘MudiadYsgol Feithrin’; a demanding fund-raisingcampaign through auction promises,sponsored bike rides and a number of otheractivities for a new cabin for the CylchMeithrin. At the time the Cylch Meithrinwas held in the Village Hall where we metfor two hours on four mornings a week.Shortly after moving to the new cabin thenumber of children increased and it wasnecessary to offer places for twenty childreninstead of the usual 16. It was at this timethat Mair Nutting joined us to help at theCylch.We had a great deal of fun and many livelyactivities. Every year we went to the Ffald towatch Mr Gwilym Jenkins and his sonsshearing. On one occasion we went toCwmslaid to see the goats and the pigs andCeris Williams showed us how to deliver lambsbefore we moved on to Pensarn to see the calvesand the chicks. In the summer we had a SportsDay and a trip to Wallog Beach. We went toLlanfarian to see Martyn Geraint performingand we walked along the prom in Aberystwythwith the other Cylchoedd Meithrin of thedistrict before playing games and having apicnic by the castle.Every year ended with a Christmas concertin the hall of Tal-y-bont Primary School.Looking back these evenings were lively andhappy occasions – but at the time...!336