We trust you have all enjoyed a fine break over the Christmas and New Year period. Time goes so quickly, doesn’t it!
The last few days before Christmas were incredibly busy in school and we were thrilled that our Year 10 students used their learning from their Skills classes to run a Christmas Market highly successfully in aid of Hope House. The numbers are in and we can now report that our students were able to raise a whopping £3526.21 for this wonderful charity, and it is certainly fair to say they had a great deal of fun (and chocolate) doing it.
Also, just before Christmas, Year 9 German and French classes created shoes for St Nikolaus Tag (Saint Nicholas Day). Students learnt about the tradition of St Nikolaus visiting houses and leaving sweets for the well-behaved children and sticks for the naughty children. They decorated shoes and left them outside of the classroom ready for St Nikolaus. At the end of the lesson, the shoes had been filled with sweets, proving that the students had been well-behaved!
In further languages news, our lower school students and especially those who attend MFL Club spent time considering how to say Merry Christmas in a multitude of different languages. Students looked for similarities between the languages and worked out which languages were related using cognates. To finish, students created paper chains to show the links between the languages.
To conclude our Christmas theme, our Year 7 students have been to the annual pantomime at Theatr Clwyd. Robin Hood was a big hit with everyone, students and staff! And thus, we can now put Christmas firmly behind us and look to the opportunities of the New Year.
This week students in Year 11 have been sitting internal mock examinations and Year 10 also sat an external English Literature GCSE paper. We were visited by an exam board assessor who reported very favourably on both the organisation and conduct of our students. Mock examinations will conclude at the start of next week although students still have their science practical exams from Monday 23rd January for two weeks.
Study buses will once again be available on Tuesday and Thursday beginning next week and we would strongly encourage students to make the most of all opportunities for both extra-curricular activities and revision classes. Also next week, students in Year 9 will have their HPV immunisations on Tuesday. Thursday sees our virtual Year 10 Parents’ Evening with slots available to be booked from 4pm to 6.30pm. This academic year we are trialing a hybrid of virtual and in-person Parents’ Evenings and we will review the success thereof towards the close of the year.
One advance notice please – prospective Sixth Form students (especially those currently in Year 11) will be aware that we will be holding our Sixth Form Open Evening on Thursday 26th January from 6.30pm onwards. There will be a talk by the Headteacher and Mr. Kevin Davies (Head of Sixth Form) at 6.30pm and this will be repeated at 7.15pm. Opportunities will be available to visit all areas of the school and speak to specialist staff and current students about possibilities in our Sixth Form for the next academic year. The evening promises to be vibrant and we really look forward to seeing everyone there.
The weather has taken its toll on sports fixtures this week, with a number having to be rescheduled. However, we are proud to celebrate our Year 9 lads’ rugby result in the WSRU Cup Competition where Castell Alun came out 12-7 winners in a tight fought ‘match in the mud’.
Mwynhewch y penwythnos
Have a lovely weekend