Summer Newsletter - Pencoed School Summer 2014.pdf · Summer Newsletter We are at the end of ... Shannon Phelps achieved a high score of 80 – a brilliant result, ... Little Shop

July 2014

Summer Newsletter

We are at the end of a very

successful school year for

Pencoed Comprehensive

School. Our excellent

results saw us jump from

Band 3 to Band 2 in the

Welsh Government’s

Banding System confirm-

ing that the school has continued to improve over

recent years. The banding score puts Pencoed at the

top of the pile in Bridgend schools.

Whilst examination success is very important, it is

not the only factor in making a good school! A key

indicator is attendance and this year the school’s

attendance figure reached an all-time high of 94.3% -

confirming that our pupils want to come to school!

Throughout this newsletter you will see fantastic

evidence of pupil achievement and success in so

many areas.

David George, Headteacher

Over 150 pupils from the primary feeder

schools were welcomed during the two

transition days held earlier on in July. They

spent the time familiarising themselves with

the school site, staff and activities. Prior to

then, a number of pupils had also been to

school as part of the Helping Hands project.

Year 5 and 6 pupils also attended a special

performance of extracts from ‘Little Shop of

Horrors’. Hopefully, any concerns that pupils

(and parents!) may have about going to the

‘big school’ will have been allayed by these

visits. We now look forward to welcoming all

pupils to school on Wednesday September

3rd.

Looking Ahead to the new term! Headteacher’s Message

Pupils First Learning Time is Paramount Mutual Respect

Working Together Consistently Celebrate the Best - Challenge the Rest

Easter Term Prize

Winners-

Jack Hayes

(Llywelyn) & Freya

Hapgood (Owain),

Curtis Palmer

(Gwenllian) &

Caitlin Croft

(Branwen)

Proud 1000 Club Prize Winners

As part of the 1000 club rewards system, all pupils

have points added or deducted based on attendance,

academic performance, conduct and behaviour. All

pupils in the 1000 club receive a certificate and are

then entered into a draw.

Year 11 Record of

Achievement Assembly

This was a fantastic ceremony with

around 130 Year 11 pupils attending.

We look forward to seeing all of Year

11 again on GCSE Exam Results Day on

August 21st and hopefully returning to

the Sixth Form in September.

Fresh Start pupils organised a Coffee

Morning in May and raised £208.58 for

the Stephen Sutton Cancer charity.

Year 7 and Year 8 students took part in the Junior Maths Challenge

set by the UK Mathematics Trust. The challenge was very difficult and

involved solving a range of mathematics problems. ‘Best in School’

Shannon Phelps achieved a high score of 80 – a brilliant result, well

done Shannon! The following pupils gained a certificate, Shannon

Phelps - best in school, best in year 8 and gold, Kali Morgan – silver,

Cerys Johnson, Rhys Bending and Rosie Pope - bronze and Emma

Powson – best in year 7. A huge congratulations to all of the pupils

who took part. Over 98,000 students from across the UK entered the

Junior Maths Challenge with the top 10% receiving a Gold certificate,

the next 20% Silver and the next 30% Bronze.

stAR Reader Millionaires

This year all pupils in years 7 – 9 have participated in our reading programme called stAR. Pupils

have really enjoyed reading and quizzing which is reflected in a total 1,609 books (28,044,291

words) which have been read and successfully quizzed on which is fantastic. We currently have

three stAR reader millionaires Rhiannon Svenson, year 7 who has read 1,318, 132 words and

completed 33 quizzes, Jevan King, year 8 who has read 1,333,272 words and completed 44 quizzes

and Cai Wall who is now totalling 2,071,089 words and completed 39 quizzes. Special

congratulations to these pupils!

Techniquest visited the maths department

recently to carry out numeracy rich workshops.

A good time was had by all 240 pupils!

Pencoed Celebrates Maths Challenge Success

Techniquest Visit Charity

Animal Adoption

In English, Year 8 pupils studied the

topic of ‘Animals’ looking at specific

areas such as badger culling, poetry,

animal narrative and WWF campaigns.

Whilst studying the WWF adverts Miss

Casson’s two English groups became

really interested in endangered animals

and really wanted to get involved with

saving them. As a result they asked if

they could adopt an animal as a class.

Class 8-4 decided to adopt an Orang-utan which they named Ciao and Class 8-6 decided to adopt a

dolphin which they called Kevin Cuddles.

Internal appointments - congratulations to

David Owen as Head of 6th Form, Sharon Davies as Head of Learning Core, Kate Drakeford as

Deputy Head of Learning Core, Gill Spicer as Head of Owain, Cath Rees as Head of RE.

External appointments – congratulations to

Carl Muller as Teacher of Mathematics (maternity cover), Philomena O’Kane as teacher of MFL

(maternity cover) and Rachel Morgan as Teacher of Mathematics, and Dean Ronan as Pupil Support/

Rugby Development Officer.

Goodbye and a huge thank you to -

Mrs Delyth Landy who left at the end of the Easter term, and at the end of this term Mrs Helen

Gwynne-Kinsey, Mr Andrew Pearce, Mr Paul Webber and non teaching staff - Mrs Ruth Hendry Mrs

Julie Hopkin, Miss Amy Williams, and Mr John Williams. Also leaving are Miss Kirsty McColl, Ms

Hannelore Bennett, Mr Daniel Spear (all on maternity cover) and Mr Dafydd Keyse, Miss Rebecca

Lewis, and Miss Francis Mainwaring (temporary contracts).

Staff News

The people of Pencoed have had to watch out over the last two weeks

as a rather large man-eating plant has been taking over school. The

Drama and Music departments at Pencoed Comprehensive have been

busy with four packed out performances of their latest school

production which this year was

“Little Shop of Horrors!” The main

character was a little unusual as it

was a rather large puppet that

grows and grows before eating

the whole cast and even some of the audience! Mrs Kay

Smith who is Head of Drama & Performing Arts at Pencoed

Comprehensive chose the show for the fast paced black

comedy and fantastic rock’n’roll, doowap and motown style

music. The atmosphere was amazing each evening, with the enthusiasm of the performers

being highly infectious as the audience joined in with the clapping, giving standing ovations every

evening.

As well as a man eating plant, the drama studio was hijacked by a

group of boisterous, jolly singing pirates! “Points Pirates” was the

latest original production written and produced by Miss Rebecca

Lewis and was based on the school’s positive points system. The

lower school drama club performed the show for Year 6 as part of

the transition visits and it was

another successful production.

The Drama department is very

sad to be losing Miss Lewis at

the end of this year and would

like to thank her for all her

hard work and contribution to Drama. Lower School Drama will

certainly miss her and we would like to wish her all the very

best for her new job in Heol Ddu School.

Little Shop of Horrors

Points Pirates

Page to Stage

It was a very exciting moment when Year 8 were sent special good luck messages from a range of

celebrities for their playwriting competition. “From Page to Stage” is a joint venture between Drama

and English and the whole of Year 8 are currently busy writing their own plays which will be judged

and performed in the new academic year. The project started with a very busy launch day during

the summer Learning Core programme and included personalised video messages from Welsh

Playwright Frank Vickery and Hollywood Film Star Michael Sheen. Mrs Smith Head of Drama is very

excited by the project. “This is a brilliant opportunity for all out Year 8 pupils to write their own play

and to see it performed live. I called in a few favours from some old friends to try to inspire the

pupils and it was great to see their faces when Michael Sheen popped up on the screen talking

about Pencoed and their writing”. Good Luck Year 8! We look forward to the finished plays!

Lightning Strikes Again!

The Lightning Hut, based in the Drama Studio at Pencoed Comprehensive, starts off again on

Saturday October 4th. Sessions start at 11am for ages 4-8, followed by Dance class for ages 8+

between 12-1pm, and Youth Theatre (age 8+) between 1 – 3pm. For more information please

see Mrs Smith in Drama or contact The Lighting Hut on 01639 899989 or email

[email protected] . More details also on www.thelightninghut.com

During the weekend of the spring bank

holiday, 35 students visited Paris and the

surrounding area. An excellent time was

had by all! Students were able to practise

their French and experience the culture of

a foreign country. They travelled by

coach and Eurotunnel (surprisingly no

one spotted any fish on the way under

‘LaManche’!!!) Visits included: Château de

Versailles, a Seine river boat cruise, a

sight seeing tour of all the main attractions

of the city and a fantastic day at Disneyland Paris. The MFL department would like to thank all the pu-

pils who took part in the trip for their excellent behaviour and representation of the school.

During May, a number of Year 10 pupils

attended an University of Oxford Taster Day

at St Hilda’s College. A taste of things to come!

Year 8 pupils were, recently involved all day in a

series of different activities such as Line Dancing

and Slavery lessons led by a 40 strong team of

American visitors. The whole school vibrated to

the music!

MLD Pupils enjoyed their annual visit to the Gnoll in Neath for the Challenge Day -

as the pictures clearly show!

As part of their coursework, Year 10

Geography pupils recently carried out

controlled assessment fieldwork at the River

Ogmore at Bryngarw & Newbridge Fields.

Year 12 Geography pupils went further

afield to the Gower.

Paris Trip

Year 8 and the Americans

Year 10 Plan Ahead for Oxford!

Out in the Field

MLD School Challenge Day

The Sixth Form Ball in Parc Plaza, Cardiff

went very well and the Y11 Prom at Coed y

Mwstwr was also a superb event.

During the summer term we had a very busy

& successful two weeks of Learning Core

activities, which of course includes WBQ and

Skills. Congratulations to Mrs Sharon Davies

and the whole team for gaining Accredited

Centre Status for the Wider Key Skills and

successful submissions for WBQ Advanced

and Intermediate Diplomas.

The Art Summer Show took place on Monday 30th June in the Art Department where GCSE, AS

and A Level coursework and examination work was on display. Pupils, parents and staff who

came to see the show were very complimentary about

the quality and variety of work produced by our talented

and hard-working artists. In addition a slideshow of this

work is now on display on screen in the Science

Resources Area. Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Kavanagh were

delighted to see so many people in the exhibition and

look forward to doing the show again next summer. The

OAPS are invited every year to see the exhibition and on

Tuesday 1st July, after their lunch, they walked over to

the Art Department to have a look at the

work on display. Specialist Crafts is a

supplier of art and craft materials and Mrs. Williams has submitted a selection of

GCSE, AS and A Level work to their Art Gallery. 20 pieces were selected by

Specialist Crafts to be entered into their quarterly competition, and this work can

be viewed online on the Specialist Crafts website in the Art Gallery.

During the Learning Core Summer

Programme ‘Dylan Thomas Day’ Years 7 and 8

pupils were asked to draw an illustration of one

of the characters from ‘Under Milk Wood’.

They were asked to read the descriptions,

select one character and then produce an

illustration in the style of Sir Peter Blake. It was

a really successful day and the resulting

drawings are now on display in the

Welsh Department.

All Glammed Up!

Excellence in Art

Years 7 & 8 Dylan Thomas Day

During the Learning Core Summer

Programme, Careers Wales Team Enterprise

were in school working with pupils in plan-

ning an event and taking part in a Dragon’s

Den style presentation. Local businesses also

took part, acting as mentors and dragons.

Learning Core Summer Programme

Some of the very smart

Year 13 pupils

Marvellous term for Pencoed Sports Department

The girls rounders teams from Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 have

had 9 fixtures this term against Cynffig, Archbishop

McGrath, Maesteg and Brynteg and have won all games.

Great interest in girls’ football this term. Three teams have

played matches - Year 7, Year 7/8 mixed, and Year 9/10

mixed.

Two girls’ cricket teams from Year 8 were entered into a

cricket tournament organised by Cricket Wales. Following

two coaching sessions prior to the tournament the teams

were placed 5th and 6th out of 12 teams and just missed

out from getting through to the semi finals and the chance to represent Wales.

Year 9 Rounders Year 8 Rounders

Year 7 Rounders

60 girls from Year 7, 8 and 9 participated in the

AYPD Bridgend Girls Games. All girls were

given the opportunity to take part in a variety

of activities and the girls all said how much

they enjoyed the day.

Year 10 rugby players officiated in the

WRU/Ospreys Bridgend Primary Schools

Touch Tournament in Rest Bay.

Year 9 pupils competed in the county athletics

at Leckwith in Cardiff – result of the day being

Brennig Pascoe 2nd in 1500m.

Three days of marvellous sporting activity

were undertaken during the Learning Core

Summer Programme by Years 8, 9 & 10.

The PE Department wish to thank Kirsty McColl for her

contribution to the department. Best wishes in her

maternity cover role at Brynteg from September.

Congratulations to Ella - winner of the

Glamorgan Girls Championship as well as the

Ladies Title she’s already won. Ella is also a

member of the Vale Resort Ladies Team which

reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Team

Championship.

Evan recently competed in the National

Competition for Tumbling gymnastics in

Coventry. He got the highest score through-

out and came first in his age category – gain-

ing entry to the British Finals. Well done!

Congratulations - promoted to Second

Dan Black Belt Tang Soo Doo Karate.

A World Cup Fun Day was held on July 11th - organised by Rhys Young (Year

11, Sports Leader) and the Sports Board which included Sam Costello, Rosie

Pope, Dan Morris, Jenna Dyckhoff, Megan Griffiths and Rhiannon Evans with

the help of Jack Harvey. Over £300 was raised for the school. Prior to then,

registration forms had got into the World Cup spirit having adopted a team

from the competition, decorating their classes accordingly and wearing their

team colours for the Fun Day. Rhys organised various competitions and

activities which included a penalty shoot out - Brazil would have been proud!

The winner of the registration form competition was LAW, the winner of the

penalty shoot out was Morgan Howells Yr9 with 3/3 vs Mr Thompson (goalie

extraordinaire!), winning a chocolate golden boot. The winner of the

Crossbar Challenge was Rhys Young with 1/3 hitting the bar, BUT the

Budweiser football goes to Dan Morris for his spectacular 'after-competition'

attempt! As you can see, Mr Thompson and Mr Pownall dressed up with great

enthusiasm for their respective countries, France and Honduras.

Ella Griffiths -Year 11 Evan Jones -Year 7

Megan Lewis -Year 7

Congratulations - promoted to Black Belt

in Tang Soo Doo Karate.

Charlotte Morgan - Year 11

World Cup Fever Reaches Pencoed

We had marvellous weather for an outstanding Sports Day this year. Pupils took

part in a whole range of activities on the playing fields supported by fellow pupils

and staff. Llywelyn House were the winners.

Summer Sports Day

Sports Day tug of war

Pencoed Comprehensive, in partnership with the WRU, are proud to

have appointed Dean Ronan as Pupil Support/Rugby Development

Officer from September 2014.

Players on the astro turf during Sports Day

Bruck Payne Presentation

6th form pupils valued the Bruck Payne event,

sponsored by Staedtler, UK. The aim was to

complete a self analysis using the Myers Briggs

self-awareness psychometric tool and a

programme of emotional intelligence workshops

designed to optimise pupil performance. If you happened to see some to see some

strangely dressed people recently between

Merthyr Mawr and Porthcawl you weren’t

imagining things. Thank you to all those who

donated towards 6th form funds.

Congratulations to Caitlin Jenkins on being

offered a place on the University of Oxford’s

UNIQ Summer school 2014. Over 4,000 students

applied for 1000 places. Caitlin studied English

for a week attending lectures & seminars by

Oxford academics, and was mentored by current

undergraduates. Caitlin also attended workshops

on interviews and personal statements, careers

events and social activities.

Lord Touhig met with sixth form students recently

to talk about the work and role of the House of

Lords. This was followed by a question and answer

session on various aspects of the parliamentary

process and life at Westminster generally.

A very successful

Strawberry Tea Party was

organised by Year 12 in aid

of Breast Cancer. Thank

you to all who attended and

donated. We are still

counting the money!

Lord Touhig’s visit to Pencoed

Comprehensive School as part of the

‘Peers in School’ Outreach

Programme

Sixth Form Uniform

Sixth Form Fancy Dress Walk

Congratulations Caitlin!

Strawberries Galore!

UCAS

During the term 6th formers visited the

University of Glamorgan for advice regarding

their UCAS applications and also an Oxbridge

Student Conference at the Liberty Stadium,

Swansea

Sixth Form News

Following consultation with pupils there will be

slight changes to the 6th form uniform from next

September. The black jumper is being replaced

by a dark grey jumper or cardigan, tipped in

maroon. The badge/shield on the embroidery

will also be replaced by the ‘tree’ logo in

maroon. The ‘new’ Year 13 pupils will have the

option of continuing with their existing uniform.

@PencoedComp

For your Diary

Tel. 01656 867100 E: [email protected]

www.pencoedcs.bridgend.sch.uk

August 14 - A & AS level Results Sept. 17 - FoPCS Meeting (6pm)

August 21 - GCSE Results Day Sept. 25 - Year 7 Literacy & Numeracy Framework Evening

Sept. 3 - 1st day of term for pupils Sept. 26 - European Day of Languages

Key dates for 2014/2015 will be distributed early September