Ysgol Y Grango Newsletter March 2018
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YSGOL Y GRANGO NEWSLETTER MARCH 2018 Email: [email protected] Telephone: 01978 833010 Website: www.grango.co.uk Facebook: Y Y Grango Twitter: YsgolyGrango We celebrated World Book Day this year with a week of activities around the school for students to participate in. ‘Guess the Teacher’, had students guessing which teacher was hiding their face behind a book on posters around the school. ‘Drop It and Read’, involved students dropping whatever they were doing during tutor time and read a book. ‘Book Intros’ was a chance for teachers across all subjects to introduce a new book to their classes by reading to them at the beginning of every lesson. After a snow related delay, we finished our World Book Day activities with a Dress-Up day on Friday 09 March. Staff and students alike dressed as some of their favourite characters from literature. We had everything from Matilda’s Miss Trunchbull and The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen to Harry Potter’s Professor Snape and Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of Hearts. Students paid £1 to join in and we managed to raise a fantastic £266, which will go towards reading resources for the school. On Friday 23 February, seven Year 9 students had the exciting opportunity to attend the University of Chester as part of Ysgol Y Grango’s More Able and Talented Programme. During the day, students had the opportunity to learn about and explore various interview tips and tricks in preparation for university. Students also had a guided tour of the university campus where they were able to ask questions about university life. Throughout the day, guest speakers and presenters commended Ysgol Y Grango’s students for their engagement and enthusiasm. It was excellent to see the students’ confidence grow throughout the day as they compared a variety of mock interviews, taking on board the tips and tricks recommended by the presenters and guest speakers. Ysgol Y Grango hopes that following this event, students take into consideration the possibility of attending university in the future. Students took part in a host of activities designed to help them become more aware of personal safety. The multi-agency ‘Crucial Crew’ day for Year 7 students is an annual event at the school. It is designed to equip students with the vital knowledge to enable them to recognise and avoid potential safety risks. This year representatives from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, British Transport Police, The Food Standards Agency, Dogs Trust, RNLI and Women’s Aid took part in the event. Students were put into groups and they spent thirty minutes with each organisation, listening to talks, watching presentations and participating in interactive sessions. Mrs Harris, Progress Leader for Year 7, helped to co-ordinate the event, she said: “The Crucial Crew event is an excellent approach to education children about personal safety in a fun, interactive way. Each year we ask the children to fill in feedback forms and the overwhelming response is that they never realised how important safety is. It is something they have not generally thought that much about. It is also a great opportunity for them to gain a glimpse into situations outside of home and school, it makes them think outside of the box. They all really enjoyed the event and, once they learn these important life skills, they remember them.” Pete Walsh from the Food Standards Agency Wales said: “This is such a valuable resource to us as it enables us to see the whole of Year Seven and deliver our vital, potentially life-saving safety messages in fun and well organised sessions. The students have been so receptive and engaged and it has been incredibly worthwhile.” Caring for ‘real life babies’ A group of Year 10 girls took part in a residential at Chirk Bunkhouse, learning how to care for ‘real life babies’ and living independently overnight. The group was responsible for planning and shopping for the visit and tasked with responsibilities during the visit such as cooking and cleaning whilst looking after the babies. This experiential learning is part of the ‘That’s Life’ Programme facilitated by the Youth Workers in Ysgol Y Grango which explores a wide range of issues from relationships, domestic abuse and becoming a parent. The residential is an opportunity for young people to care for babies in a real life situation such as running a home. On completion of the course, the young people will receive accreditation through the ASDAN PSE short course and can be included in their record of achievements when their leave Ysgol Y Grango. #BusinessClass In November, forty Year 9 students took part in a competition which was run by the government initiative CRE8, alongside British Gas and our Business Class partners Principality Building Society. On the day, students in their groups had to solve a design challenge given to them; they had to design and model a product which used renewable energy, and would be able to be used either in a house or school. Only one group could win, and then go through to the final in the Catrin Finch Centre in Glyndwr University. The winners were the group called “Wizz Kidz”, which included Kyle Preston, Alfie Owens, Billy Wynne, Chloe Roberts and Kayley Williams. The group then created a more detailed model of their idea, and a presentation to go along side it. They presented their product to a panel of judges, a Welsh Minister as well as the large room of people. The group did exceptionally well, and received high praise from the judges. They came away with the award of “Best Presentation”. Da Iawn “Wizz Kidz”!! Pupils had an opportunity to showcase their creative skills and business acumen as part of a Dragons’ Den-style challenge. One hundred Year 10 students took part in a series of enterprise and employability pitches as part of the first challenge to gain the skills challenge certificate for the Welsh Baccalaureate, Key Stage Four national/foundation qualification. The pitch involved a presentation about a Christmas confectionary product the pupils had created and evaluated from a marketing development perspective. Working in teams, each pupil took on a specific role that they had applied for based on a skills audit. They then had to consider the five Ps of marketing - product, price, place (distribution), promotion and people - to make a business case to present to the judging panel. Judging the pitches from Ysgol Y Grango were Assistant Headteacher, Mrs C Corbally, Senior Teacher, Mr N Thomas and four representatives from the Principality Building Society. Mr Thomas said: “All the students worked exceptionally hard and many of the pitches were outstanding. Staff were incredibly proud of their efforts and the representatives from Principality Building Society were very complimentary about the standard of work produced and the professionalism of the pitches.” The teams were required to give a ten minute presentation using visual display boards to show their work and props in the form of mock packaging for their products. Teams who delivered stand-out pitches were Go Confectionary, R&W Chocolates, Seasonal Treats, F.R.E.A.K.S., Wonderful Winter Chocolates and Naughty or Nice? Principality @PrincipalityBS #BusinessClass #BusinessClass Throughout March, staff from local branches of the Principality Building Society have been teaching money skills sessions as part of their PSE curriculum. The focus was very much on the importance of educating young people about money including budgeting and savings. An action packed lesson! How smart does the Netball team look in their new Netball dresses? We would like to thank Principality Building Society for generously sponsoring the school Netball kit. We are over the moon with the designs and the girls felt proud representing Ysgol Y Grango in their new kit! Catspaw Theatre Company visited Ysgol Y Grango on 28 February to run a theatre workshop on the sensitive topic of rape and sexual assault, as part of the Year 9 PSE Curriculum. The intention of the workshop is to ensure young people are educated on how the law stands with regards to sexual offending, along with highlighting what support is available for victims of sexual assault. Feedback from students and staff present for the production was overwhelmingly positive. Primary school students enjoyed a fascinating day of experiments and fun in a science transition day. Around eighty Year 6 students from feeder primary schools including Ysgol Yr Hafod Johnstown, Ysgol Maes Y Mynydd, Ysgol Rhostyllen, Ysgol ID Hooson, Ysgol Rhosymedre, Ysgol Maes Y Llan, Ysgol Bwlchgwyn and Ysgol Cefn Mawr attended the event at Ysgol Y Grango. Ysgol Y Grango teamed up with Techniquest Glyndwr to deliver a range of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities designed to give the young students an insight into life at secondary school and help to prepare them for the move up from primary school in September. The students were put into teams and Year 7 students, who had attended each of the feeder schools involved, were chosen to help the students during the day. Activities included a hands-on “Biology Basics” workshop which involved extracting DNA from strawberries using chemicals and lab equipment, and an exploration of the engineering processes involved in freewheeler vehicles during a “Wheels in Motion” session. The students used their knowledge of forces to design and build a Lego vehicle to try out on various surfaces, working out which could travel the furthest. Other transition activities were organised for the students during lunchtime such as playing bench ball in teams, interactive computer-based exercised and a variety of problem solving activities in the Library. Mrs Harris, Progress Leader for Year 7, helped to coordinate the day with the team from Techniquest Glyndwr.