Navigating Challenges and Celebrating Achievements
Welcome to the School Blog. As you are well aware, we have had a trying time this week with several positive COVID cases in Years 12, 9, and now one in Year 8. We continue to ask for your patience and understanding as we follow Test, Trace, and Protect and Public Health Wales guidance. We all prefer a scenario where students are taught in school, face-to-face, while staying safe from the virus. Expect further guidance and announcements over the summer to prepare for the new academic year in September. The health and wellbeing of students and staff remain our highest priority.
Plans for the Next Academic Year
Plans for the next academic year are nearing finalisation. The school will reopen for two staff training days on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd September. I will provide additional details early next week. Due to the inability to conduct full inductions for Years 7 and 12, and with a busy summer ahead moving into the new building, I must inform you that on Friday 3rd September, the school will open for induction for Years 7 and 12 only. Therefore, all students will return to school on Monday 6th September. It was wonderful to see many Year 6 students engaging online with current Year 7 students this week, asking all kinds of questions about life here at Castell Alun. They are excited about joining us, and we can’t wait to have them here!
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Expedition
As promised in last week’s School Blog, attached are photos from the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Expedition held last week. Students thoroughly enjoyed the three-day expedition, improving their skills throughout the trip. Despite the rain on Friday, students maintained their spirits, and the teamwork displayed was highly impressive. The weather improved over the weekend, and time at the Carrog Campsite allowed students to enjoy glorious sunshine, outdoor cooking, and lots of fun together. We run Bronze, Silver, and Gold Expeditions each year and have more participants in these trips than any other school across North Wales. Well done, everyone, and thanks to Mr. Evans and Miss Breeden for their partnership with Wildside Expeditions and accompanying this trip.
New Enterprise Club
A new club for Year 10 students has started – the ‘Enterprise Club’. Club members are participating in the ‘Young Chamber £100 challenge’, designed for schools across West Cheshire and North Wales. The challenge is to convert an initial investment of £100 into as much money as possible for a good cause. Our students have chosen to raise money for Hope House, a charity closely linked with the school, which provides care for terminally ill children and support for their families. The Enterprise Club, named ‘Sweet Link’, will sell a selection of goodies at Year 7 Sports Day to raise funds on Friday 9th July. It’s wonderful that students can develop business acumen while supporting tremendous causes like Hope House.
Celebrating Sporting Achievements
We have a few sporting heroes to celebrate this week. Zak (Year 7) has been competing in triathlons since he was 8 years old and trains for at least six hours per week with Cadence Tri in Buckley. Zak has competed all over Wales and the North West of England. His latest success, including his first open water lake swim, secured him a place representing the North West Region in a high-profile competition. To give you a better context, only four students were chosen from the entire North West to represent the area – an amazing achievement! Zak’s self-discipline, drive, and resilience make him an excellent student in both sport and school.
Oscar (Year 7) represented Castell Alun at the Regional Schools Skiing Event in Llandudno last week. Despite tough competition, Oscar kept a cool head and skied two strong runs to secure a brilliant podium place. His result puts Castell Alun on the map for schools’ skiing competitions. Oscar began skiing on dry slopes at the age of 7 and aims to become a Ski Instructor. Thank you, Oscar, for all your efforts. Your talent will undoubtedly be rewarded further in the future. We hope this is the beginning of further skiing successes for Castell Alun.
Girls’ Football Success
As a reward for the brilliant effort of our 22 girls from Years 7 and 8, and Year 10 Coaches Louise and Seren, we will host a visit from Welsh International Football star Elise Hughes next week. We are proud of the way girls’ football has reached new heights at Castell Alun and truly hope that more female students will participate in this scheme in the near future.
Upcoming Events
Our Year 7 Sports Day is just around the corner. It is very disappointing that our planned Year 8 event will not take place this year due to a Year 8 bubble isolation. Please note that next week is also the last week for after-school clubs this academic year.
May we remind you once again that parents/carers who have requested Decision Making Records have until Monday 5th July to submit an appeal for a Centre Determined Grade, should they wish to do so.
Have a nice weekend and see you for the next School Blog!
