We held our St. David’s Day Main Assembly on Monday and our celebrations were led by Elin and Luke of our Sixth Form, ably supported by members of our Welsh Department. The assembly echoed St David’s important message of ‘Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain’ / ‘do the little things’. In further celebrations, Year 7 students competed in a variety of competitions including making Welsh themed cakes. The standard in all events was exceptional and students were awarded certificates and prizes. Furthermore, a cake sale was held in the staff room, with the cakes having been made by the Welsh Department and all donations going to Marie Curie.
Continuing on the Welsh theme, we hosted a transition event, involving 120 Year 6 and 7 students last Friday. The students enjoyed watching a show starring the famous Welsh actor Llion Williams. It was a light-hearted, yet informative, production showing the journey of the Welsh language. The students then worked in mixed groups to do a quiz and plan a group presentation.
At the start of the week I emailed all parents / carers this week with an update on the guidance we continue to receive about the Coronavirus. As you are all aware, the situation continues to develop and Flintshire Council, the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales keep in contact with us with regards to the management of our school in this context. If you have not yet already had chance to do so, I strongly recommend you take some time to read the guidance document yourselves (https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2020-02/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19_1.pdf). I hope this reassures you as best it can that every reasonable measure is being, and will be, taken, to manage students’ welfare without the need for potentially unhelpful reaction to the current situation. I acknowledge that further developments are most likely and, should guidance change, we will notify you of this accordingly in due course. Please ensure we have your current email address at all times – if you have any doubt, please call the school to check; If you did not receive my email on Monday this week, it is likely we do not hold your latest email address. In the meantime, we have been asked to share the following advice with you in order to minimise the risk of virus transmission:-
- Wash hands regularly with soap and water or a disinfectant, especially after coughing and sneezing, before handling and consuming food.
- Use disposable tissues when coughing or sneezing and dispose of used tissues carefully and promptly.
- Avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and avoid sharing personal items.
- Avoid visiting live bird and animal markets, backyard or commercial poultry farms and do not touch wild or domestic birds (alive or dead).
- Avoid any contact with animals, birds surfaces that may be contaminated with animal or bird droppings.
- Do not eat or handle undercooked or raw meat including poultry, egg or duck dishes.
- There is no vaccine against this novel coronavirus-COVIID-19.
We have been visited by a number of Year 6 students this week, as part of our Transition Plan, which seeks to allow younger students to move smoothly and without worry into the big school environment. This week’s activities mainly focussed on English Writing Workshops and were really well received by all.
On Wednesday our Year 11 GCSE PE students were put through their paces in the practical exam moderation, and our A level Dramatists undertook their practical exam also. Well done to all of you – we’ve had some great feedback!
World Book Day 2020 at Castell Alun was once again, a huge success. Our students relished the challenges presented to them! Year 9 took part in the ‘Big Book Bake Sale’ and raised over £120 for the charity ‘Read for Good’. It is a charity that sends storytellers to children’s hospitals, bringing the magic of fiction alive for them during their times of need. The Years 7 and 8 Read-a-thon total sponsor money is due on 19th March and we eagerly anticipate the final total. We have had plenty of students who ‘got caught reading’ and were entered into a prize draw. Winners will be revealed in the Blog next week!
On Thursday a number of Year 9 students enjoyed their ‘Justice in a Day’ visit to the Mold Crown Court, and the Ski Trip to Chill Factore was very popular with our Year 7 students after school, while on Friday a group of our Year 7 girls visited the Wrexham Fire Station as the Fire Brigade was running a Careers Day for girls.
Our congratulations to Sara, who recently competed successfully at the Oswestry Music Festival. Sara (Year 11) and her duet partner came first in the Under 21’s Vocal Duet, which was truly a fantastic achievement as the talent pool was extremely large. Sara was also a member of the ‘Bitesize’ group, which won first place in the Vocal Group category.
Vocalists and dancers across the school have been preparing to participate in the AmaSing evening concerts at the William Aston Hall in Wrexham on Monday and Tuesday next week under the guidance of Mrs Nesbitt, and I will report back on that in my next Blog. Also, from Monday to Wednesday next week, a group of Year 7 students will participate in an adventure visit to Nant BH…I bet they can’t wait!
On Wednesday our Under 15 Girls’ Rugby team will compete in a Rugby Festival, and there are rumours of members of staff participating in a charity netball game in school also, as Sport Relief Day follows on Friday. Students are excited about the Friday, which will be a non-uniform day on a sporty theme. Further activities include a basketball shoot out, a staff v students table tennis challenge, and a cross bar challenge to name but a few. All proceeds will, of course, go to Sports Relief. In further PE news, our Year 8 Girls’ Cricket Team will compete in the 5×60 U14 Lady Taverners Competition on Friday next week also.
Have a good weekend.