Our Main Assembly this week was on the theme of Valentine’s Day and was led by Year 8. The readings, performed by Keisha, Caitlin and Euan were clear and precise, and we were treated to a great musical item by the talented guitarist, Jai, of Year 10.
Last week we held our second Trinity Awards Ceremony since beginning the programme. Students performed one of their exam pieces to their family and friends and were presented with their certificates and exam feedback. The exams they completed were Trinity Guildhall Musical Theatre and Speech/Drama Exams. All performers met the required standard and achieved some very good marks indeed, with wonderful comments from the examiner in addition. Along with our Castell Alun team, Trinity teacher, Mrs Venn, was extremely proud of all participating students.
On Monday we trialled a new idea to ‘ditch the packaging’ in the hotplate area of the canteen. The School Nutrition Action Group meet every half term and decided that we need to make positive steps to save the planet and be more aware of recycling. The hot plate food was served in reusable plastic pots on the day, and thus no packaging was used. Our students embraced the idea really well and brought in their own water bottles also. The lunch service was a massive success….so much so that we are doing all we can to make it a permanent fixture! Thank you to David (Year 12), the SNAG and Eco teams, Mrs Molloy and the Canteen Team, who made this event not only a reality, but also a model for the future.
We marked Safer Internet Day on Tuesday and will soon be able to let you know the results of our MEME competition, which has run throughout the week. Lots of valuable advice has been shared with our students, and parents and carers can find out more about useful guidance using the link below:
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers
Our Year 9 Tutor Groups have attended a ‘Consent Workshop’, run by professional actors, over the last few days. The event was highly thought-provoking and hard-hitting at times, and key messages came across loud and clear.
Today our Year 12 students performed presentations to members of the Governing Body and representatives from Marks & Spencer, for their Welsh Bacc. Enterprise Challenge. We received a wealth of extremely positive feedback about the skills, ideas and general employability of our students, which is always wonderful to hear. Thank you so much to all our professional friends who gave selflessly of their time and talents to assist our young people in the development of their skills. Furthermore, on Tuesday 25th February, these Year 12 students will spend the morning receiving guidance on the development of their Welsh Bacc. Individual Research Projects also, in order to assist them in securing the necessary grades for the next stages of their respective journeys.
We are starting our World Book Day 2020 celebrations early this year! World Book Day is the largest celebration of its kind….it is a global celebration of reading, authors and illustrators. This time, Years 7 and 8 are taking part in a sponsored readathon. The sponsor forms have been distributed and our students are eager to go! All proceeds will be donated to ‘Read for Good’; a charity that motivates children to read because they know, as do we, that reading changes lives. The deadline for sponsors is 19th March. Students will also take part in the ‘Get Caught Reading’ challenge. If students get ‘caught’ reading, they will be given a ticket and entered into a prize draw! Year 9 students are also joining in the fun and participating in the fundraising by hosting a ‘Big Book Bake Sale’ on Wednesday 4th March. There will be prizes for both the best cake and the most minutes read!
Over the May half-term holiday, a group of our Year 8 students will go on a sports trip to Barcelona. In order to raise additional funds for this trip we held a draw, and I’m pleased to be able to congratulate Mr Povey, who was the winner of the long weekend break to Spain.
Upon our return to school after half-term our Year 10 students will sit school exams, and on Thursday 27th February we will hold our Year 9 Parents’ Evening. During this evening parents / carers have the most valuable opportunity to hear about possible courses of study for students as they embark upon Year 10. You will, of course, also be guided by in-depth conversations with teachers with regard to students’ current progress and work ethic.
We’re all really looking forward to the half term break….it’s an opportunity for each of us to re-charge our batteries! Many exam class students are busy planning their revision schedule, but we would certainly encourage each of them to maintain a healthy balance between work and time off at all times.
I hope you all have a good week.