Approaching Half Term
Welcome to the School Blog. It’s hard to believe there are only two more school weeks until half term and that winter is nearly over!
Celebrating Welsh Culture
Over the last two weeks, we’ve celebrated three important annual Welsh events in school. On Tuesday, January 25th, it was Dydd Santes Dwynwen, the Welsh ‘Day of Love’. Our students enjoyed participating in activities to learn about Santes Dwynwen. They designed Welsh love spoons, created Wordles using key Welsh words, and designed cards to express their love to others. Last week, the Urdd celebrated their 100th birthday. Students had fun learning about the Urdd movement and its role in promoting Welsh among young people. We all wished Mr Urdd a happy birthday, and younger students sang the Urdd song in their lessons. Today is Dydd Miwsig Cymru, Welsh Music Day. This national celebration raises awareness and celebrates the musical talent we have in Wales and, more specifically, in our school. Throughout the day, students will listen to music by Welsh artists, both old and new. Who knows, we might even discover the next Tom Jones or stumble upon a junior version of the Stereophonics!
Supporting Hope House
We were thrilled to assist Hope House further this week when our Year 10 students presented a cheque for £4400, the profit made from our Welsh Baccalaureate Christmas markets. We cannot begin to tell you how hard so many of our Year 10 students worked to raise this money. It was awe-inspiring to see them developing their entrepreneurial skills and having a wonderful time doing it in the run-up to Christmas.
Word Mania Competition
Congratulations to those students in Years 7, 8, and 9 who have recently been selected to take part in the Word Mania national online literacy competition. This small number of students will compete against other schools in word-building challenges to win prizes for Castell Alun. Good luck, everyone, and have a great time!
A New Year and New Term
This week, we would like to give a special mention to George (Year 8) for his wonderful, selfless effort in helping others during troubled times over the past year. George volunteered with ‘TeamRed’ in the local community of Penyffordd/Penymynydd and recently won a Local Lockdown Heroes Award 2021. George delivered meals to NHS members and those who were self-isolating and unable to cater effectively for themselves or their families. The adult team praised George’s efforts and personality highly. Your school is proud of you, George!
Sporting Success
On the sporting front, our Year 10 lads have just beaten Ysgol John Bright in a very tense game and are now through to the last eight in the Welsh National Cup competition. The team left it late, scoring the winning goal in the second minute of injury time, much to the jubilation of the gathered fans. Better late than never!
Extra-Curricular Activities
We will publish a new timetable for extra-curricular events after half term. We can report once again that student uptake of these sessions is great, and it’s inspiring to see that our children want to be fit and healthy and engage in sporting activities, particularly in their own time.
Basketball Finals Trip
Last weekend, we ran a trip to the Basketball Finals in Birmingham. Over forty of our students watched with enthusiasm the women’s and men’s finals at the Birmingham NIA Stadium, and all concerned had a lovely time.
CAFA Balloon Race and Study Club Buses
We will remind you again about the CAFA Balloon Race next week. Please be aware that our school study club buses will run once again on Mondays and Tuesdays, starting the week beginning Monday, 14th February. We now have the go-ahead to reintroduce this provision, for which we are really thankful because we appreciate just how helpful extra study sessions can be, especially for those soon taking external examinations.
Good Luck to the Welsh Team
Pob lwc to the Welsh team in the Six Nations against Ireland this weekend. See you back here soon for the next School Blog!
