Brynmawr Foundation School DecemberBrynmawr 2016 Newsletter Foundation School Ysgol Sylfaenol Brynmawr December 2016 Newsletter Dear Parent, Time this year has flown by but the year so far has been packed full of achievements born from the efforts of our students, staff and school community. Every day I continue to be inspired by the students and my colleagues and all that they do together to make Brynmawr Foundation School special, unique and outstanding. All the activities and achievements since September continue to highlight how impressive our students are and the energy, talent, enthusiasm and commitment they bring to our school, Dates for your Diary illustrating the continued dedication of all our staff I am proud of the commitment our students have shown in December representing their school when on trips and also at events in 15th – End of Term the school. 16th – INSET Day For some families, of course, Christmas does not bring the joy January and happiness with which others are so blessed. With this in 3rd – Start of Spring Term mind I am extremely proud of our pupils and their efforts in 19th – Year 9/10 Options Evening raising money for charity including, once again, a significant th amount of money to buy presents for the Barnardo’s appeal. 25 – 6pm Year 11 Prom Catwalk Show Our focus in January continues to be student progress and ensuring that students are positively engaged with their February learnin g. We have had over 200 applicants for a maximum 151 7th – 9th School Production entry in September 2017. Staff have maintained incredibly 15th – Year 11 Parents Evening high standards as a team, so that all functions of the school 16th – 20th Florida Trip are focused on supporting the students’ learning and progress. 20th – 24th Half term Both they and the students they teach have been outstanding. I would like to thank all members of staff for their continued work and commitment to the pupils and the school, and the EXAM governing body and parents for their unstinting support. NEWS Thank you to the dedicated staff who are providing revision GCSE sessions between Christmas and New Year for those students sitting examinations in January. I wish you all a restful break and I hope this festive period January th brings you joy and happiness. Our new term begins on 4 – English Lit Prose & Unit 1 Tuesday 3rd January and we look forward to seeing our pupils (am) return refreshed and eager to learn in the New Year. 5th – Add Sci Biology 2 F & H (am) Add Appl Sci written F & H (am) Nadolig Llawen 6th –English Lit Unit 2A F & H (am) Merry Christmas 9th – ICT Unit 1 (pm) 10th – Add Sci Chem 2 F & H (am) James Retallick 12th – Add Sci Physics 2 F & H Head Teacher (am) www.brynmawrschool.co.uk Page 1 Brynmawr Foundation School December 2016 Newsletter Attendance Awards Brynmawr Foundation School were delighted to hold our first 100% attendance awards ceremony on the 17th of November where Olympic silver medallist Sam Cross presented certificates to Brynmawr school pupils along with pupils from our cluster primary schools. We are proud that so many of our pupils achieved this accolade and we hope with your continued support that many more of our pupils will achieve 100% and receive an award next year. The event was also supported by the school governors and the Mayor of Blaenau Gwent Barry Sutton. Don’t forget we have a number of incentives in place for 100% attendance. We will be holding our £100 lottery on the last day of term whereby a pupil from each year group who has 100% attendance since September will be entered into our prize draw to win £100. At the end of the academic year we are having a free adventure day trip for ALL students who have 100% attendance for the whole year, which will include archery, canoeing, climbing, laser tag and mountain biking. What’s Been Going on in School! Swansea City Stadium Tour - Thursday 17th November This tour was arranged by Nevill Southall, the former Everton and Wales goalkeeper, who works as a teaching assistant at the PRU as a follow- on from the seven football workshops which were held at the Abertillery leisure centre towards the end of the last school year. (The workshops included topics such as anti-bullying, healthy eating and showing Racism the Red Card). The pupils who attended the tour are as follows, Thomas Regan, Kenan Lee Reynolds, Kian Francis, Owain Evans, Alfie Hurle. and Kian Hayman. They all got to view all parts of the stadium including the changing rooms, terraces and media rooms etc. www.brynmawrschool.co.uk Page 2 Brynmawr Foundation School December 2016 Newsletter MORE ABLE AND TALENTED As part of our ongoing Primary to Secondary transition links this half term the Science department hosted a taster lesson to Year 5 MAT pupils from our cluster primary schools. The lesson was delivered by Mr A Williams. There will be further taster lessons in the new year. Subject News Geography GCSE Geography Field Trip - 2016 On our visit to Abergavenny, we undertook different activities to learn more about counter urbanisation and why people live there. Counter Urbanisation is a process by which people move from living in cities e.g. Cardiff or Newport, then move to more rural areas such as the Market town of Abergavenny. To begin with, we studied the local streets near the river and understood that the houses were placed there for the sense of community and because of how safe it is in the area. We then looked at the Seven Arch Bridge to count how many cars and other types of vehicles crossed the river. This gave us an idea about how good the transport system worked in Abergavenny and that different varieties of transport such as lorries and pick-up trucks travelled there to transfer goods for shops. Walking up to the castle allowed us to look at the wildlife and views the area had to offer. People could move there just to admire the landscape and to enjoy the history of the castle. The area was quiet yet workers were constructing the Eisteddfod which attracts visitors to the area every year. This can bring money to Abergavenny whilst also encouraging more people to live in the rural area. Through examining the river, we saw an example of a meander. By standing on the slip off slope we were able to see how deposition had moved the rocks and that the houses were closer to the river cliff. The water moved faster nearer to the cliff because it had a higher velocity. On the way to the town we passed several hotels which suggested that tourism is popular within Abergavenny. Whilst in the town it was clear that the shops were making money and thriving with local customers. There were several examples of globalisation from Multi-National Companies such as Subway and the newly constructed McDonalds on the edge of the town. These may also have attractive properties to young people who may not wish to leave Urban areas. Caitlyn Davies – GCSE Geography 2016-17 www.brynmawrschool.co.uk Page 3 Brynmawr Foundation School December 2016 Newsletter SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FACULTY Science It has been a busy term in Science with the launch of science club and the first science fair taking place. Science club is open to all pupils from KS3 and takes place every Wednesday. Activities have included making rockets, fire writing, making non-Newtonian fluid (and having lots of fun throwing it!) and finding newts in the pond. Science club will continue in to the New Year and it has been wonderful to see so many enthusiastic pupils turn up every week! On Friday 9th December, year 8 pupils took part in the first ever science fair at Brynmawr Foundation School. Entries included a handmade Newton’s cradle, an exploding volcano and detailed research into the conservation of endangered animals. All pupils were invited to vote on the day which project they thought was the best and the results will be announced in January. Well done to all that took part who earned valuable house points and will be in with a chance of winning a significant science prize. As a department, we have also launched our own Instagram account so everyone can see the excellent Taylor and Leiarra for Glyndwr Leah and Ellie for Glyndwr Kayla, Arianna and Megan for Caradog work produced by our pupils. You will find us at BFSScience on Instagram. Technology STEM WORKSHOP AT CARDIFF UNIVERSITY On the 10th November, 19 students from Year 9 competed against 6 secondary schools from Cardiff: Cardiff High School, Fitzalan High School, Howells Girls School, Bishop of Llandaff, St Teilos Church in Wales High School and Whitchurch High School. The workshop delivered by ICE placed students into small teams and set them three challenges: building a tower, constructing a dam which had to include pricing and explanation of solution, and an egg drop. All four teams representing the school did brilliantly and one team did exceptionally well winning an award for their dam and building the tallest tower. Jamie Edwards, Ethan Lewis and Diesel Baker receiving their award. www.brynmawrschool.co.uk Page 4 Brynmawr Foundation School December 2016 Newsletter COMPUTER CLUB: PROGRAMMING WITH PYTHON Every Thursday the Science and Technology Faculty deliver Computer Club. For December and January students are learning the programming language, Python. The bespoke course is being delivered by Jake Hughes, who has just graduated from the University of Sydney with a First Class Honours in the post graduate course, Physics and Astronomy.