NEWYDDION Coleg Cambria Secondary School of the Year What a wonderful end to the summer term to be nominated for an award recognising the extensive work that we have provided for our students and the involvement of so many partners in providing such a rich programme of activities. I attended the Daily Post Schools Awards Ceremony along with Bethan Bloor, Head Girl and Ellis Cliffe, Deputy Head Boy and was so proud to hear that we had won the Coleg Cambria Secondary School of the Year. This is recognition indeed for the wonderful work that goes on in our school by staff, parents and students. Another highlight this term has been the superb transition days for the Year 6 students who are coming up to Ysgol Rhosnesni in September. The three days of workshops was complemented by the Induction Evening we held for parents with standing room only in the school hall. A huge thank you to parents and families who came to support our new Year 7 and to prepare the way forward for a successful future. We have said our farewells to Year 11, the Class of 2012, and we wish them every success in their chosen careers and we will welcome them back to share in their celebrations on GCSE Results Day. There has been so much to celebrate across the school this year with individual successes, collaborative achievements and some outstanding contributions to the school community. I am always proud of what we can achieve together with each and every student and in partnership with parents and families. I wish everyone a safe and well deserved summer holiday. N D Harrison Headteacher/Pennaeth Working together with you to achieve success / Gweithio gyda’n gilydd i gyflawni llwyddiant NEWS 2 Page 2 NEWYDDION EWYDDION RHOSNESNI Eisteddfod Rhosnesni. LLongyfarchiadau 7H1 a 8Y2 A massive congratulations to 7H1 and 8Y2, the winning forms in the Eisteddfod, and of course to all the other competition winners. There were some absolutely amazing on stage performances from a number of pupils across the year group. We also welcomed Mrs Carys Ingham back to school to judge the performances. She was assisted by a representative of the Urdd who also enjoyed watching our pupils in action. Not forgetting the variety of off stage entries that were received by pupils in all subject areas. It was a great forum for our pupils to display their talent. Bendigedig to all pupils involved. Mrs DeRosa Heard. Welsh Department Pupils from Orgovany School Hungary Visit Rhosnesni High School On 30th June pupils from Orgovany School in Hungary visited Rhosnesni High School. The 12 pupils were welcomed by Mr Harrison before taking part in a textiles lesson with Mrs Jenkins, hearing a presentation from the Student Council and Peer Mentors, and finally a Maths lesson with Mr Jones. The visiting pupils also gave a presentation about Hungary and demonstrated a traditional dance. The visit was arranged with the school pastors. Mr D M Jones. Assistant Headteacher NEWS 3 EWYDDION RHOSNESNI NEWYDDION Lead Creative School Project The project commenced on Wednesday 18th January 2017. Students from Hafod Y Wern and Rhosnesni (Year 5 and 7) worked collaboratively in conjunction with Vickie Fellows, a professional actor, and Ynyr Llwyd an accomplished musician, on a range of workshops focusing on World War I, football during the wartime and women’s roles during this era. Libby Pritchard and Lauren Little (Year 7) delivered a presentation to Rhosnesni staff, at a morning staff briefing, explaining the types of activities they have been involved in such as: Team building activities and drama games Created a silent movie and sound track Sung World War 1 songs Composed a piece of music for a war film Composed the lyrics to a song about war time Cooked soup which was popular in World War 1 Undertaken World War 1 Army training Dramatized a song about leaving for war and recruitment Created protest banners and slogans Explored the role of women and the Suffragette movement Watched footage from the era Re-enacted the Christmas Day football match Written postcards home to their families from the trenches On Wednesday 18th March Governors, staff, students and parents were cordially invited to attend to a sharing event at Hafod Y Wern Primary School to celebrate the completion of the Leads Creative School project. Nia Richards, an Arts Council Wales representative, attended the celebration event and praised the work produced. Miss V Brown, Deputy Headteacher Mr Harrison meets Lesley Griffiths At Rhosnesni High School, Julie Williams GwE Lead Practitioner designed a workshop with the Hybu Cig Cymru- Meat Promotion Wales to help secondary schools deliver the new food and nutrition GCSE. Hybu Cig Cymru- Meat Promotion Wales came into the School to promote knowledge of food origins with design and technology staff from a range of schools in Wrexham and Flintshire. The event was part of a programme of work which the red meat Whilst visiting Ysgol Rhosnesni, Mrs board is undertaking this year in partnership with the Welsh joint Griffiths joined Mr Harrison and some Education Committee and regional education consortia to develop of our pupils for Hot Chocolate Friday. classroom resources and provide training for teachers. Lesley Griffiths AM and welsh government cabinet secretary for environment and rural affairs visited the School to support the program and meet with the Head teacher Nic Harrison at the School. The GwE and HCC’s work, which is particularly aimed at supporting the new GCSE in food and nutrition, will help pupils to gain the latest insight into the science of food preparation, as well as food origins and traceability. Mrs J Williams. ICT Department. NEWS 4 NEWYDDION SMART Materials Day Glyndwr University As part of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) “Reaching wider schools programme”, a group of MAT year 8 girls attended the SMART Materials day at Glyndwr University with Miss Smith on 14th December. This was an introduction into SMART Materials, explaining their uses and impact on everyday life. The event was delivered by STEM academics, Techniquest and industry leading organisations. The day gave the girls an insight into STEM careers and the benefits of studying STEM at GCSE, A-level and onwards. This was a unique insight into possible careers and a developing industry for the pupils, which will aid them in option choices in Year 9. Explore Your Universe Day Techniquest Glyndwr ‘Explore Our Universe’ is an exciting new project celebrating the physical science developed by the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC), in partnership with Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). On 4th July we are sending a group of Year 8 pupils to the ‘Explore Your Universe’ event at Techniquest Glyndwr. The aim of ‘Explore Your Universe’ is to inspire a sense of excitement amongst young people around the physical sciences by sharing amazing stories and technologies of the STFC. Pictures will be uploaded to the School Twitter account. Techniquest Glyndwr KS4 Science Workshops Techniquest Glyndwr will be delivering workshops on ‘Motion and Forces’ and the ‘Biosphere’ to 60 Year 10 pupils on 11th July. The workshops will allow pupils to enhance their learning in Science at a GCSE level. Pupils will have access to experts in the above fields and the opportunity to use new and interesting resources. Mrs S Smith. Science Castle Competition Year 7 Mrs C Hughes - As part of our study of Medieval Britain, Year 7 History students are being set the challenge of building their own castles. Students were expected to showcase their knowledge and understanding of castles, and display what they have learnt within the classroom. It was a key requirement to add key castle features, like moat, motte, drawbridge and battlements to the completed build. 7Y1 - 1st Sam Dean, 2nd Shabanah Prothero and 3rd Molly White and Millie Barker. 7R1 - 1st Grace Hughes, 2nd Weronika Krupinska and joint 3rd Ffion Thomas, Priya and Essemce Carline. 7Y2 - 1st Chloe Jones, 2nd Catalin Mocanu and 3rd Eleanor Hughes and Chloe Edwards. Mrs C Hughes. Head of Year 7 NEWS 5 NEWYDDION Wonderful news from the Rhosnesni IT Team. We are pleased to announce that we have now nearly completed the set up of our new Coding Room. Fully equipped with 30 computers and a “tech area” with 10 Raspberry Pi and 30 BBC Microbits, there will be plenty to occupy and inspire our young Rhosnesni programmers. The coding room will help give our Rhosnesni students the knowledge and skills to move from being consumers of digital information, to being designers and creators of new tools to enhance learning, to solve problems or just to have fun, enabling them to make the most of 21st Century life and the economy. Re-launch of the Dragons Newsletter We are delighted to announce the re-launch of the Dragons Newsletter for this summer term. Packed with great stories, interviews, games and competitions, this new edition will definitely keep you entertained. Our team of journalists and graphic designers has been working extremely hard to provide our readers with exciting stories. The newly designed newsletter has been entirely planned and produced by ourselves. But who are we? We are essentially pupils from Year 8 but we are looking to expand our team and we are inviting anyone who is interested in journalism or graphic design to join us in this exciting venture. We regularly meet at lunch time in Mrs Williams’ ICT room where we discuss projects and plan ideas for our newsletter. If you fancy a role in our news team, please contact Daniel Dean or Mrs F Williams in IT. Growth Mindset Logo Competition Winners This year our students have been learning about the concept of Growth Mindset.