Autumn Term | Tymor y Hydref

Welcome to this term's newsletter, which is packed full of news stories and information about a very busy and productive term here at Ysgol Gyfun Heolddu Comprehensive School. I am so proud of how our new Year 7 pupils have settled into life in secondary school, they have gained an incredible amount of positive points on ClassCharts showing how well they are approaching their learning and applying themselves across the curriculum, da iawn blwyddyn saith!  It has also been great to welcome so many students into Year 12.  They have shown remarkable application and resilience as they have transitioned to A Level and Level 3 study and clearly have very bright futures ahead. 

As we approach Christmas we have a wide range of exciting events including Christmas lunch, rewards trips and family assemblies where we look forward to inviting parents and carers into school to celebrate our pupils' successes with us. Thank you for your interest in our wonderful school and for taking the time to read our Autumn updates, we wish you a peaceful Christmas break.

Mrs N Davies

Pennaeth | Headteacher

Students recently participated in the Student Health and Wellbeing Survey conducted by the School Health Research Network in collaboration with Cardiff University, Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, and Cancer Research UK. This biennial survey plays a crucial role in gathering valuable information to create a comprehensive Student Health and Wellbeing Report for our school. The insights gained from this survey will aid us in enhancing our efforts to improve the overall health and wellbeing of our students. Thank you to all students who contributed to this important initiative.

At Heolddu Comprehensive School, our curriculum roadmaps are customised educational plans to specify the learning goals, subjects, and skills to be covered over a defined period, ensuring a structured and coherent approach to education. These roadmaps are tailored to our school's unique needs and help both teachers and students understand the educational path they'll follow, maintaining consistency and alignment with our educational objectives.

European Day of Languages Food Tasting / Blasu Bwyd Diwrnod Ewropeaidd Ieithoedd

On 26th September we celebrated the European Day of Languages. To mark the occasion, we arranged our annual food-tasting event at break time. Pupils had the opportunity to try a range of foods from around the world. On offer were pieces of bread, pastries, olives, exotic fruit, charcuterie and a selection of cheeses. The food was thoroughly enjoyed by both pupils and staff, however, the olives were an acquired taste! In language lessons, pupils also completed games and activities in different languages to test their linguistic knowledge. A huge ‘merci beaucoup !’ to Mrs Morris and all the staff who helped out on the day.

MFL Mentoring Project - Reaching Wider / Prosiect Mentora ITM - Ymestyn yn Ehangach

This term we have been lucky enough to be working with three mentors from Cardiff University. Our mentors have been working with year 9 and have offered workshops and mentoring sessions to discuss the importance and diversity of languages. They have covered topics such as music, accents, and dialects, as well as looking at the opportunities there are for students who wish to study languages at GCSE and beyond. 

Pen Pal Letters to Collège Jean Monnet in Brittany, France / Llythyrau Pen Pal i Goleg Jean Monnet yn Llydaw, Ffrainc

This term, pupils in years 7 and 8 had the opportunity to write pen pal letters to pupils in our link school, Collège Jean Monnet in Brittany, France. Pupils used their multilingual skills and wrote in French, English and Welsh. Pupils introduced themselves, gave information about tourist sites in Wales and wrote about St David’s Day. We are looking forward to receiving reply letters at the end of this term and will respond in the new year. 

Year 7 French Cultural Project / Prosiect Diwylliannol Ffrainc Blwyddyn 7

This term, year 7 French classes have had the chance to produce a piece of work based on an element of French culture. We have yet again been amazed by the creativity of our pupils, who have produced some very impressive pieces of work. We have received models of French landmarks, research projects on French history, painted canvases and much more. They have demonstrated a keen interest in an area of French culture and utilised their creative and research skills in a variety of ways. We would like to say 'Bon travail !' to all our year 7 learners for their enthusiasm and hard work. 

Welsh and French Pupil Language Ambassadors / Llysgenhadon Iaith Disgyblion Cymraeg a Ffrangeg

At the end of last year, we opened Pupil Language Ambassador applications to year 9 pupils and we received several outstanding applications. After much deliberation, we have now chosen our nine Pupil Language Ambassadors for this year. Our Heolddu Pupil Language Ambassadors are Lukas Tamcken, Melissa Davies, Madison Davies, Lucy James, Julian Tang, Freya Barrett, Owen Roe, Thomas Chard and Kacie Price. Our Pupil Language Ambassadors help raise the profile of Welsh, French and other international languages around the school. They help plan and support language events and launch their own initiatives. They have already been helping us mark Diwrnod Shwmae and are currently making plans to celebrate the World Cup next half-term. We wish our pupil language ambassadors 'bonne chance' and 'pob lwc' with their future endeavours.