Bore da
It seems the lovely weather has left us for a while at least but we do want to ensure that all students feel comfortable in school and so have relaxed the necessity for wearing a jumper at present.
The public examination period has now closed and we are pleased to report that students in Years 11 and 13 have no further papers to sit. We are generally very pleased indeed with the way in which nearly all of our students have conducted themselves during this period. Some Year 10 students also had papers to sit, with a small number of students having important lessons to learn before they sit their GCSEs.
Year 11 had their Leavers’ Prom yesterday in Chester and both staff and students had a wonderful time. The dance floor was full all night and the food, free drinks and ice creams topped off a wonderful evening, with great amusement shown at some of the awards given! Well done everyone and diolch for being part of an excellent occasion.
Yesterday we also had our new Year 7 (from September) in school and all students experienced a broad variety of lessons and other learning experiences. It was wonderful to see how new friendships began, and it was also a delight to get to know each new student a little further. We are sure that our new intake will be happy with us as they strive to be successful in new challenges and become fully-fledged Castell Alun students. Diolch yn fawr also to all those parents who attended our New Intake Induction Evening on Tuesday. Having met you all, we are certain that we will work together effectively to get the best for our students.
Thursday was truly a busy day in school! In the afternoon, our talented Key Stage 3 students dazzled their primary school audience with an enchanting extract from ‘Matilda Junior’. The performance, filled with lively songs, heartfelt moments, and a touch of Roald Dahl’s signature magic, was met with enthusiastic applause and delight. From the powerful portrayal of Matilda’s resilience to the comedic antics of Miss Trunchbull, the young cast showcased their incredible acting, singing, and dancing abilities. Their hard work and dedication were evident, creating a truly memorable experience for the younger students. Don’t miss the full production of ‘Matilda Junior’ on Wednesday, July 10th, and Thursday, July 11th. Tickets are on sale now via the school website. Please do come and support our students as they bring this beloved story to life on stage! 
At this time of year we are really fortunate to be able to invite you to our GCSE, AS & A Level Art exhibition, to celebrate the work that has been produced this year. This will be held on Thursday 4th July in our Y Celtec building (Art Department— Rooms 2.1 & 2.2) from 4-6 PM. Admission is free but please be aware that the pieces cannot be photographed at present. We genuinely think you’ll be amazed at the quality of our students’ work!
In other news this week, a number of Year 8 students has had the fantastic opportunity to attend the Big Bang Science Fair at the NEC Birmingham. Students went around a huge variety of stalls taking part in generating electricity, enjoying virtual reality experiences, attending live shows, learning about UV radiation, interacting with robotic dogs, planting trees, cleaning out model ears, being BBC news presenters and so many other activities! Students had a most fulfilling time as they attended all the attractions and collected free pens, stickers and sweets. Isaac (Year 8) even won a Kindle for his participation in one of the events. Everybody benefitted from the trip and had a great day of putting their scientific understanding to the test.
On Monday, 13 Year 8 students were selected to attend an event at Bangor University where they were trained as Pupil Language Ambassadors for Routes into Languages Cymru. Students tested out language software, took part in learning British Sign Language; including the English and the Welsh alphabet, learnt Chinese and created traditional Chinese bracelets. Bangor University staff were extremely impressed with our students’ ability to translate sentences easily into German and French. The students have now been given the task of raising the profile of Modern Languages even further and will be happy to answers any language questions! Well done to everyone who took part and merci / danke!
In sporting news this week, really well done to our Year 10 Girls, who won the Flintshire Rounders Tournament. Congratulations also to Ruby (Year 12) who has made the long squad for the Wales Rugby U21 World Youth Cup Qualifiers. In further news, a fantastic cricket fixture was held earlier this week with Castell Alun playing the Alun School at U14 level. We scored 99 runs but the Alun narrowly beat us with a fine display of batting.
We will hold our school Sports Day on Friday 12th July and we’re all eager to see if any long-standing records will fall this year. All we need now is the return of better weather!
With only 3 weeks to go now there is still much to do! Diolch to everyone for all your support.
Have a lovely weekend/ Cael penwythnos hyfryd