Blog # 25 - w/c 26/04/21

Welcome back everyone

So, after a well-earned Easter break, we are back at full speed. We are in the last term of what has been an extraordinary year. A year that has placed extraordinary challenges on a huge number of staff, students, parents and carers: extraordinary people. Of course, there have been bumps along the way but, as always in any community, when everyone pulls together we can overcome almost everything that is thrown at us, and while we’ve all needed to be incredibly adaptable, we’ve done amazingly well to get to this point in the year.

As we move towards the summer months, we are hoping that the climate remains calm so that we can focus on the business of delivering the best possible learning experience to our students in a supportive environment. The Year 11s are in their last few weeks with us and are working hard to ensure that we have evidence of the great work they are capable of to enable teachers to justify their assessed grades.

Covid 19

The national vaccination programme seems to have been massively successful so far and has had a positive impact on the rates of new infection and more serious Covid-related health issues.

We are still required to wear masks in school, including during lessons, but we are confident that this restriction will be lifted very soon. Please continue to ensure that your child is equipped with a mask each day and we will confirm when this is no longer necessary as soon as the advice changes officially.

New Build

Well, what a change there was in the two weeks of the Easter holiday. The outside of the building was rendered and painted and the end is now clearly in sight as we move towards completion. All of the building work has been completed and there is currently a range of tradesmen on site including electricians, plumbers, plasters and carpenters.

It was finally possible to get in to the new building and I had a good nosey around. I was able to take some Year 10 students along with me on the tour so that they could get a feel for the space. Progress is really quick from here on in and much of the second fix will have been completed by the next time I visit, which will be in another couple of weeks. I’m sure you’ll agree that this is an exciting new addition to our portfolio of resources that will we will occupy from September.

Stem Club      

Miss Alderman is really excited to announce that the STEM Club have made it through to the finalist stages of the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize. Of the original 158 applications, 72 were shortlisted and only 40 have made it through to this stage, so, quite rightly, she is really proud of everyone who has been involved. Well done everyone and good luck in the next stage of the competition.

The dream team is made up of: Cai (Yr8), Lukasz (Yr8) and Sophie (Yr7).

You can see their idea on the website (link below) – AroundtheCrowd.

https://tamebay.com/2021/04/amazon-longitude-explorer-prize-final-shortlist-announced.html

Young Enterprise Company Programme

On Wednesday 5th May, two Year 11 students, Rayson and Jay, will be joining a Zoom conference call along with Mr Lloyd to discuss their experiences of Young Enterprise with the Westminster Foundation Trustees. They will be joined on the call by the Duke of Westminster himself - Hugh Grosvenor. The discussion will be based on the following points:

• Who they are?
• What was the business that they founded and ran during the Young Enterprise Company Programme?
• Why did they chose to develop that business?
• What did they learn at the time?
• What learning or change in confidence and attitude has stayed with them in the year since?

The students will then take questions from the trustees.

I will share the outcome of the meeting and photos in next week’s blog. Good luck guys!

Technology

Miss McIvor is delighted to share that Year 7 are entering the Royal Mail Stamp Competition this term. They will be designing a stamp to celebrate heroes of the pandemic. They have chosen a range of people from Marcus Rashford, Sir Tom, and local heroes such as family and friends. There will be a selection of prizes for those lucky enough to win with the winning entry being selected by Her Majesty the Queen. The winner will be awarded £1000 in vouchers. A letter will be going out to parents soon about participation.

Something to be proud of…

At a recent event, the largest Welsh Flag in the UK was raised in Sealand, Flintshire. To comply with Welsh Covid Rules the low key outdoor event was carried out in two separate areas, with the flag raising taking place away from the band members. The Cambria Band, along with six, socially distanced adults marched up to the foot of the 25ft Welsh Flag which was raised up on the 18m flagpole above North Wales and the village of Sealand. The occasion was later celebrated by the famous Cambria Band who played the Welsh National Anthem at the foot of the giant flagpole on top of the highest landmass in Sealand; the flag is now visible for miles around.

Sam, one of our Year 8 students plays with the Cambria Band and was part of the ceremony.

And finally…

It may still be a bit chilly but the sun is out and we can, hopefully, look forward to a brighter few months at school as we move through the summer term. As we prepare to say goodbye, it is really important that our Year 11s remain focused on any final assessments that they need to complete during their last few weeks with us to underpin the best possible outcomes in their GCSEs.

Have a great bank holiday weekend.

Stay Safe!