Prynhawn da,

On Tuesday this week we held our lower school harvest assembly. Diolch yn fawr to all the families of Year 7 students who kindly contributed groceries of all kinds, which will now be donated to our local food bank. In these demanding times, there are a great many families who will appreciate these gifts, for sure. Di iawn to our readers Tawana, Jasmyn, Jude, Jasmine (Year 8), who read in a composed and clear manner, demonstrating confidence above and beyond their years.

A great big diolch to the parents and students in Year 10 who joined us for a short information evening yesterday. The feedback provided indicated that this was a very valuable experience for all. Please remember that our partnership is very much an ongoing two-way conversation and we are always at the end of a phone or email to share information or assist as best we can.

A small group of interested students from Year 9 and 10 had a great morning at the Democracy and Action Day last week at Coleg Cambria in Deeside. Our students had the opportunity to come up with their own youth manifesto, before having the forum to ask Jack Sargeant MS and Hannah Blythyn MS questions on issues of importance to younger generations in the present times. It was wonderful to observe the confidence exhibited by our students as they posed some really interesting questions to local members of the Senedd.

Six of our Year 12 students (Caitlyn, Caitlin, Olivia, Sali, Elinor and Maddie) have done a wonderful job of raising money for the charity, Young Minds. In memory of our friend and fellow student Chantelle, over £1500 was contributed to this important cause. Our students walked well over 200 miles during a two week period, including a 13 mile walk from Alyn Waters to Chester on the 1st October, and their final mile was completed in school on Monday. Llongyfarchiadau and diolch yn fawr to everybody involved and all those who donated.

A large number of our students have been busy representing Castell Alun in various sports this week. 35 girls from Years 7, 8 and 9 attended Ruthin Rugby Club for a large event as part of the Welsh Rugby Union Community Girls in Rugby week. A great time was had by all and it is clear that there is a good deal of passion amongst our girls for this sport.

In football news, our Year 7 and 8 girls played against Flint and narrowly lost 5-4 in a highly entertaining game. Di iawn to our Year 10 boys’ football team who won their match against Argoed High School after a penalty shoot-out and now progress to the next round of the Welsh Cup. The Year 8 boys team went down 4-3 to Flint in a further hard-fought match.

Netball playnight goes from strength to strength and this week we were excited to host the Argoed, Mold Alun and Connahs Quay, with our Year 10 netball teams producing fantastic performances. Really well done also to Year 7, 8 and 9 hockey teams who put up brilliant performances this week against Mold Alun.

It is tremendous to be able to report that so many of our students enjoy their physical activity and we would like to say congratulations to each and every one of them for the roles they have played in our various sports team.

Looking to next week, our Castell Alun Friends Association (CAFA) will host a bingo night on Thursday 12th October, with doors opening at 6.30pm. There will be refreshments and a bar available, and tickets can be purchased at just £5 for five games. There promises to be a good selection of prizes, but more importantly, the evening will undoubtedly be great fun and offers the opportunity to do something a bit different for the evening! Please do come and join us – more information available at this link.

We are really looking forward to Shwmae Sumae Day on Friday 13th October, when we celebrate our welsh language throughout the school. There will be an online live quiz during registration hosted by the Welsh Department and we will run a siop fferins/ tuck shop at lunch time – students will be required to siarad Cymraeg in the shop. Welsh language games and activities will be running all day in Cymraeg with a special visit from Mr Urdd. Staff will get involved too with a sgwrs a paned (welsh chat and cuppa) at breaktime.

And finally, pob lwc to Isaac (Year 7) who will perform in a week-long production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at Theatr Clwyd from 16th to 21st October. Don’t “break a leg” Isaac….. but have the best time! Who knows where this kind of thing can lead?

It looks like we may finally have a rain free weekend…. here’s hoping!

Diolch am ddarllen, mwynhewch y penwythnos!