to view - Llangatwg Community School

Issue 49
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JUNE 2003
Inside this issue:
DRUGS AWARENESS IN THE
COMMUNITY
St. David’s Day.
2
Canada 2003
2
Maths Challenge
2
Primary Sports
3
Line Dancing Champions
3
Sporting News
4
Diary Dates—What’s on !
4
Parents and members of the local community are invited to a Drugs Awareness evening that will be held at Llangatwg on Thursday, 3rd July 2003 at 7.15 pm. PC Mark Harris
(School Liaison Officer) has organised for a member of the South Wales Drug Squad to deliver a very informative and eye-opening talk about the local drugs scene; explain the language that is used; describe the tell tale signs that indicate involvement with particular
drugs and will be able to display a variety of drug samples and associated paraphernalia.
Reporters.
Layla Bowen
Lyndsey Kemble
Editors.
Mr. Nicholas
Ms Morgan
H e a d t e ac h e r ' s r e p o rt
As we come to the end of another busy Year, I hope you enjoy reading about recent events at Llangatwg School in our newsletter.
I would like to thank all parents who returned questionnaires to help us evaluate our strengths and weaknesses as a school. It
has been very interesting reading your views and many of your ideas, comments and suggestions will be included in our new
school development plan.
One area where we have had a lot of feedback is on the need to tighten up our uniform requirements. In the past the school has
offered a choice of acceptable clothing but unfortunately many pupils have taken advantage of this. Also the Chief Inspector
of Schools in England has stated that having pupils in school uniform sets a good tone and creates the right atmosphere for
learning.
From September it will be compulsory for pupils to wear a white shirt, a school tie, a school sweater with logo and proper
shoes to school every day. We are introducing a new black, V necked sweater and Year 7 will be expected to wear that, and
only that, to school. Pupils in Years 8 – 11 may wear the new sweater or for a limited period until they wear out, they may
wear their old blue sweaters. Again no other sweater than a school sweater with our logo will be acceptable.
I shall write to all parents shortly explaining our full uniform requirements and also the times when uniform can be bought
from school.
Finally I would like to thank everyone for their support during the last year. There have been many occasions when I have
been grateful for the backing of parents recently.
R Skilton
The Newsletter is always looking for news items - if you have any news, or have done any activity (in school
or elsewhere) please let us know!! Tell your Form Teacher, or Head of Year and they will pass it on to us.
PAGE 2
A TESTING TIME!
It’s been a busy and testing term. Throughout the
school pupils have sat exams at different levels. Years
7-10 took their end of year exams with Year 9 pupils
also sitting their SATs exams - important tests that
give a good measure of how well a child is doing in
English, Mathematics and Science. Early indications
show some good results have been achieved.
Year 11 have recently completed their GCSE exams.
Let’s hope their results will also be favourable! Undoubtedly the students will be looking forward to
celebrating their success on results day. They then
have important decisions to make about their future.
Miss Stacey Reason (Careers Adviser) will be on hand
on the day to advise pupils of their options. For any
Year 11 pupils who have not yet decided what they
want to do, it is worth seeing either Miss Parry or Stacey as a range of employers have contacted the school
offering apprenticeships and jobs.
Year 9 pupils can also see the Careers advisor if they
have any last minute worries about their GCSE
Courses next year. She is in school every Monday and
Friday in the Careers room in the old block.
NEWSLETTER
ENTERPRISING PUPILS
Year 9 Pupils at Llangatwg Comprehensive School were recently
given the chance to put their business skills to the test. Carl Griffiths
of Careers Wales West brought delegates from Banking, Technology,
the Royal Welch Fusiliers and Neath Port Talbot Council into school
to share their wealth of experience with pupils. The day raised awareness of local labour market information and in particular the need for
Wales to be a more entrepreneurial country.. Pupils did a series of
hands on activities, including designing and marketing their own
products. At the end of the day pupils were asked to present their
products and did so in a highly professional manner. It would certainly seem we have a few budding Richard Branson’s in our midst!
Llangatwg Young Enterprise Team.
Our successful Young Enterprise Team have won the County
Competition with their company ‘Merry Makers’. They will now go
into the National Final in May – for the second year running.The team
members : Andrew Hopkins, Liam Jenkins, Laura Herdman, Kiri
McCutcheon, Jade Powell, Laura Harper and, Jonathan Jarrett
Saint Omer 2003
35 pupils from Years 8 and 10 went to Saint Omer, France from 05-09th May. The
trip included a visit to a French market, where pupils really got into the French
atmosphere and even began to barter in French! Pupils did a town trail, where they
asked French passers-by for directions. We also visited an aquatic centre and the
World War 1 memorial site at Vimy Ridge. Staff were so impressed by the excellent standard of pupils French that we made the last day of the trip a visit to Eurodisney in Paris.- bravo to all pupils who took part! We are currently looking forward to next years trip which will be from 7-11th June. All Year 7 pupils interested
should see their French teacher for details.
Smoking survey.
Year 9 pupils took part in a smoking survey, conducted by the ASSIST team from Cardiff
University, which will be used as part of a nationwide survey on smoking in the UK.
Year 11 Prom.
Year 11 pupils recently brought their school
days to a close with style and
elegance, during their Annual
Prom held at the Cimla Court
Hotel. The students were
splendidly dressed in evening
gowns and dinner jackets,
making it an evening to remember.
Outdoor Education.
The Gower Peninsula has been
a hive of activity during the past
term. Year 7 girls spent a week
at Rhossili Outdoor Activity Centre, hanging from ropes over the
cliff face and generally getting
wet and dirty. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their time and
learned many new skills. It has
been the boy’s turn this week to
show the instructors what they
are made of – are they better
than the girls?
It’s not only the youngsters who learn at Llangatwg!
Do you want to keep up with the kids on the computer? - Word
Processing, Spread Sheets, Data Base, learning to use the Internet, etc - beginners and advanced.
Fix those problems, or upgrade your computer at our Computer
Maintenance classes
How about learning a new hobby to relieve the stresses of the
day – Guitar Playing, Clay Sculpture, Swimming, Bobbin Lace,
Stained Glass, Chinese and Thai Cookery, Art, Wood Carving,
Learning about Family and Local History on the Internet.
Why not have the know how to do those jobs around the house
by joining our - Wood work / DIY / Routing classes , or Interior
Design
Learn a new language - Welsh or Italian - from beginners to
advanced
Acquire a new skill - First aid, for the home or for sports injuries. How to type Braille.
If you are interested in joining one of our informal classes, or if
there is any other subject you would like to learn, telephone
Grace for a chat on 01639 635210, or 07970 969824.
aberdulaislac@hotmail.com
Line Dancing
They go from strength to
strength ! In the last issue
we reported that sisters
Leah, Natasha and Nadine Powell had been successful in the Universal
Cup Competition at
Prestatyn, North Wales.
This time it was the UK
championships, where the Resolven trio have triumphed
once again. Leah achieved 1st place in the Teenage Advance category and is now the British champion, whilst
Natasha and Nadine gained 2nd and 5th respectively in the
Junior Advance division. Leah’s success means that she
has now won the United Kingdom Championships on three
consecutive years in three different divisions.
PAGE 3
PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORTS.
The annual Primary School Sports competition was
recently held on
Llangatwg’s playing fields. Track
and field events
included 100m
sprints, 400m, long
jump and shot putting. It was a very
competitive afternoon with many
star performances
made by some very
promising athletes.
Congratulations to all who took part. This year’s winners were Cilffriw Primary (Team Captains pictured
with Mr Dunton and Mr Skilton)
COMPETITION TIME - Win a £10 Voucher.
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone Trivia.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What is a bezoar?
What kind of dog is Fang?
Who is the Librarian at Hogwarts?
Where does Charlie Weasley work with dragons?
How many players are on a Quidditch team?
What book is Phyllia Spore the author of?
What colour does the smoke inside a Rememberall
turn to tell you that there is something you forgot
to do?
8. What is Grunnings?
To enter:
Ask your teacher for an entry form. Fill in your
answers, name & form. Place your entry form in
the box in the Main Foyer.
St John Ambulance.
Thanks to these girls, Llangatwg Comprehensive is certainly a safe
school to attend. Kirsty Brown, Alissa Bevan and Kirsty Spencer are all
members of the Seven Sisters branch of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. The girls recently represented Neath/ Port Talbotat the Welsh
Finals, picking up third place. They are also the Regional First Aid
Champions having competed against teams from Swansea and Bridgend. Twelve year old Alissa was also chosen as the Best Individual for
Neath Port Talbot; the
Best Individual at the Regional Competition and
the recent Carmarthen
Fire Service Open Competition.
Lee White (Divisional Officer, Seven Sisters) said
that the girls had worked
hard and deserved the
praise and recognition for
their effort.
The Dragon Sports After-school Club, at Llangatwg has proved very popular during the past
few weeks with many enthusiastic youngsters
learning new sporting skills. Over the next
few weeks the coaches will be concentrating
on Athletics and developing various skills in
track and field events. Anyone aged between
7 & 11 years old is welcome and it’s absolutely free!
Dragon Sports is open on Friday afternoons,
between 4 and 5 p.m. during term time. It’s a
chance to have fun and games and an introduction to Dragon Sports—Rugby, Football, Tennis, Cricket, Netball, Hockey and Athletics..
For further information contact Miss Julie
Tristram at Llangatwg Comprehensive.
Three pupils have been selected to represent Afan Nedd Tawe at the National Athletics Championships at Brecon, next
month. Hannah Harris (Yr9) will run in the 100m, 200m and Relay events; Aled Thomas (Y10) runs in the 1500m Steeplechase and Jamie Fenaroli (Yr9) will compete in the 800m . Good luck to all three. Earlier in the term, Jamie and Daniel
Challenger (Yr9) ran in the Mayor’s Race at Carmarthen. A long-standing event, this 1-mile race is regarded as being a difficult test of endurance with many tight corners and inclines. Both boys did very well in their age group.
Archery
Archery is also a sport that is well represented in the school. Fifteen-year-old Gavin
Howells broke two long-standing records in
retaining his U18 British Barebow Champion
title. Joining him is British Ladies U18 champion Rebecca McQuillan, who is only in her
second season of competition. Catching up
fast is younger brother Ethan who competes
in the under 15-age category.
Table Tennis.
Pupils Richard Davies of Year 11 from
Resolven, and Matthew Davies (Year 8)
of Glynneath recently became the new
Welsh champions at Table Tennis. Matthew won the U14 competition
and Richard the U16 competition in the
Boys and Girls Clubs Welsh Championships. A third Llangatwg pupil, Nathan
Siddley also joined Richard and Cefn
Hengoed
pupil, Marie
Morgan in
becoming
the U16 triples Champions.
Diary dates and
what’s on !
Phillip Godfrey (Year 8) continues his successful march to the top of the Badminton
world. He won the singles title and was
runner up in the doubles competition at the
recent Junior Shuttle Series Final. Keep it
up Phillip!
RUGBY NEWS
Girl’s Rugby
Llangatwg recently hosted the Quarter finals of the Welsh Girls 'Tag'
Rugby Cup at Under 13 and Under 18 level, where the winners would
automatically go to the Final at the Millennium Stadium. Winners of the
U18 competition were Tregib
Comprehensive, Llandeilo
and the U13 winners were
Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr, Gowerton
who beat Llangatwg on points
difference.
WRU Development Officer
Kenny Davies said that the
standard of rugby on show
was very high, with the girls
scoring a wealth of tries.
Photo: U13 finalists, the girls of Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr and Llangatwg Comprehensive.
Darts.
Mark Challenger
of Year 9 has
been selected to
play darts for the
Welsh Under 18
team, at the
European Championships in Kent,
England. Mark
will compete
against teams
from the Home
Nations, Holland,
Denmark and Gibraltar.
Netball Alex Stokes and Katie Beynon (both Year 7)
have been selected to trial for the West Glamorgan U14
team. This is a great achievement as they are a year
younger than the other trialists.
The U16 team have entered into the Swansea Summer
Youth League. Good luck for the rest of the season!
Karate.
Jordan Boyle, Joshua Heyes
and James Parry competed at
the British Open Freestyle
Karate Championships at
Guilford, picking up some of
the top honours at the various
height and age categories.
LLANGATWG
COMPREHENSIVE
SCHOOL,
Main Road ,
Cadoxton,
Neath
Sa10 8DB
Phone: (01639)634700
Fax: 01639 634708
Email:
We’re on the Web.
Visit www.llangatwg.baglanit.gov.uk
School Motto:
Nid bod ond byw.