We have now returned to a standard school week, which sees us through to the Easter break, and our students have taken to this slight change in our daily timings with ease.
Thank you to all Year 7 parents / carers who joined us virtually yesterday evening to celebrate the successes of our youngest students at parents’ evening. Despite the challenges of the last year, Year 7 students have acquitted themselves extremely well and are now most certainly firmly grounded in our school family. On a connected note, thanks for your feedback to date on virtual parents’ evenings – it certainly seems that they have a great deal of support.
Welsh oral examinations are now essentially complete for Years 10 and 11, and although this has been an anxious time for some, we are pleased with the way in which students have prepared and given their best to the occasion. Da iawn!
As is our custom, each year group supports a charity of their choice annually and today Year 7 are wearing trainers in order to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK.
Year 8 students have been researching Welsh history as part of their Survival and Disaster unit of work in English. Students have been writing ballads based on the Aberfan mining tragedy and have really enjoyed developing their poetry writing skills, while simultaneously gaining a deeper understanding of this tragic event from our Welsh history. Please take a moment to read some of these wonderful pieces, which we find both thought-provoking and insightful.
We would like to draw your attention to the Betsi Cladwaladr University Health Board, who have launched a new campaign ‘Vaccinate your child’ this week. The campaign aims to ensure that children receive their routine immunisations at the time they are offered. Parents/carers are being advised to call their GP Practice, Health Visitor or School Nurse if they have any questions or concerns. All of the resources can be accessed and downloaded through this link: https://betsicadwaladr.padlet.org/BetsiCampaigns/VaccinateYourChild
Our children’s safety is of the utmost importance to us at all times. To ensure that children and young people are supported to have positive online experiences, the Welsh Government has launched a new ‘Online Issues and Worries’ area on Hwb. This area includes information and advice on 10 different online safety topics, including online bullying, sharing sexual images and online gaming. The advice pages offer young people important information and guidance on what to do and where to turn for help if they are worried about something online and can be found here: https://bit.ly/3NtTq1G
This week our congratulations go to Robyn, Year 8, who has now competed in three weekends of slalom competition racing, two in Division 2 and one in Division 1 to begin her season. Last weekend, at Shepperton, she achieved two first places and one second (kayaking and canoeing). Great stuff Robyn – really well done!
In football, Aiden, Jack and Gethin (Year 8) came second in the final of the Ken Partington Cup for Deeside Dragons Fire recently. Well done lads! Also, our Year 10 football team played Ysgol Glantaf in Newtown in the semi-final of the Welsh School Cup. The boys lost the match but played their socks-off and it was a huge achievement for them to get this far. We’re really proud of all of you.
Really well done also to our Under 18s netball team who have qualified for the Presidents Cup in Ebw Vale, in May. We have high hopes for the team and training is going well.
Monday 25th April is a training day and so school re-opens to students on Tuesday 26th April. Although we will be looking forward to seeing everyone again, we first, like you, are eager for a little rest and recuperation. For examination class students, please follow your revision programmes but also (and just as importantly) take quality time off daily. We hope you all keep well, keep perspective and enjoy a very happy Easter!