Summer Term Newsletter 2012
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Transcript of Summer Term Newsletter 2012
Headteacher/Pennaeth Pontarddulais Road
Alan Tootill Gorseinon
SWANSEA
Tel: (01792) 533066 SA4 4FG
Fax: (01792) 533366
July 2012
SUMMER TERM NEWSLETTER
Dear Parent / Guardian,
Welcome to our Summer Term newsletter packed with details about some of the many activities that
have taken place at Penyrheol over the last three months.
I was at the Old Bailey on Saturday, 24th March, for all the right reasons! Our debating team was
competing in the UK final of the Bar Mock Trial. The team performed extremely well and, it seemed
to me, definitely won two of its three heats, with the other being too close to call. However, they
didn’t progress to the grand final, which was won by the team that had run Penyrheol very close.
When we received the scoring sheets some weeks later, we discovered that Penyrheol had actually
been judged to win all three heats, so should have been in the final, but there had been a mistake in
the adding up by one of the judges! So we were robbed...
Three other highlights this term were the Year 11 boys football team winning the Swansea Schools
Cup (on penalties), the excellent Summer Concert and the first Fashion Show at Penyrheol for about
17 years. I hope you were able to come and see the talents of our young people at one of these events.
We currently have an Art exhibition in our foyer, so please drop in to have a look at this if you like.
The Welsh Government has given us three educational priorities for the next few years: improving
pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills and reducing the impact of deprivation on achievement. There
will be initiatives taking place relating to these three issues at Penyrheol in the 2012/13 academic
year. For example, if your son / daughter is behind with aspects of literacy and numeracy, they will
be attending catch-up classes as part of their curriculum.
Full attendance at school continues to be a further high priority. Each month two pupils who have
achieved 100% attendance that month have received a £25 voucher for the store of their choice. The
70 pupils with 100% attendance for the year will each receive a voucher for the Vue cinema. Please
note that 97%+ attendance is excellent, 93%+ is good and 90%+ is satisfactory. Anything below 90%
is unsatisfactory – even 90% means missing a full day every two weeks on average throughout the
school year. The aim for all must be 100% attendance.
I wish every friend of Penyrheol Comprehensive School a very enjoyable and restful summer
holiday, whatever the weather!
Yours faithfully,
ALAN TOOTILL
Headteacher
Important Dates
Term Term
Begins
Term Ends
Mid Term Holidays
Begin
Mid term Holidays
End
Term
Begins
Term Ends
Autumn
2012
3rd
September
2012
26th
October
2012
29th
October
2012
2nd
November
2012
5th
November
2012
21st
December
2012
Inset Days Autumn Term 2012
Monday 3rd September
Tuesday 4th September
GCSE Results Day—Thursday 23rd August 2012
The school will be open from 9am for Year 11 to collect their GCSE results and from 10am for Year 10.
Please note that a full calendar of important dates and events will be put onto the school website during the school holidays.
For this information and more, please go to:
www.penyrheol-comp.net
This term we say goodbye to several members of staff.
Mr M Elliot (Geography), Mr A Thomas (English), Mr M Thomas (Cover Supervisor)
and Mr W Savory (Y7 Pastoral Assistant)
We thank them for their contribution to the school and wish them every success for the future.
The Race To Read
London Olympics 2012
This year’s Year 8 Reading Challenge was a ‘Race to Read’ with all
six form groups competing for the silver trophy!
Every time a book was read the reader won either a bronze, sil-
ver or gold medal which were all worth points. The form with the
most points at the end of the six week challenge would win the
trophy. The results were as follows:
6th Place—8U
5th place—8D
4th Place—8S
3rd Place—8M
2nd Place—8R
In in 1st place …..Drum roll please…..8E
Congratulations to Angharad Weeks who was the pupil who read
the most number of books during the challenge!
Talks have been held in the library
throughout the term on various types
of careers and pupils from all year
groups were encouraged to attend.
The next set of talks will commence
in September and we are hoping to
start with a talk that covers careers
in the ‘Performing Arts’ industry.
If there is a particular career, you
would like to see covered, please tell
either Mr Milward or the librarian
and we will do our best to meet your
request!
COMING SOON… We are building up a bank of past exam papers for pupils
to use as they approach their revision period. Any pupils
who have a past exam paper they would like to donate to
the library instead of throw-ing it away, please see the librarian.
Thank you
Career Talks
Library Resource
Centre
Top Ten Authors this term were:
JEFF KINNEY
DARREN SHAN
JACQUELINE
WILSON
LOUISE R
ENNISO
N
STEPHANIE MEY-
ER
TERRY DEARY
J. K. RO
WLING
ANTHONY HORO-
WITZ
MALORIE BLACKMAN
CHARLIE HIGSON
Following a ‘drying’ up of the rain, (just in time), the Y11 leavers arrived at the
school in all their glorious splendour! As the coaches left the school, many
tearful families and friends waved them on their way!
Pupils were greeted by Staff at the Marriott hotel on a balmy Wednesday
evening and walked the red carpet to the Gower suite where the evening’s
celebrations were held in a sumptuous setting.
Jessica Thomas-Pyart sang, Corey Davies and Lewis Howells played guitar and
keyboards, along with Mr Rogers. This was entertaining and thoroughly
appreciated by everyone present. Jack Jenkins won an award for ‘best Lady Ga Ga
Impersonator’ and performed a Ga Ga dance to ‘POKER FACE’ which brought the
house down!
Pupils and staff alike posed in funny hats, glasses and boas in the hilarious
‘RENTABOOTH’. Everyone got to keep the pics taken and even Mr Tootill and
Mrs Tanner donned curious costumes and pulled ‘curiouser’ expressions behind
the velvet curtain.
A delicious 3 course meal was enjoyed by all. The room was decorated in silver,
black and ivory, with black chair covers, mirrored centre pieces, crystal nuggets
and balloons and co-ordinating ivory linen, meticulously folded in intricate
shapes as napkins. All pupils received a complementary CD with a slideshow of
pictures recording their time at Penyrheol.
Pupils danced until the wee hours, and even Mr Tootill did the Macarena and the
Cha Cha Slide. We think he has done this before….!
Every girl looked beautiful and the boys were some of the most handsome ever
seen.
So as we bid a fond farewell to Year 11, we wish them good luck with their exam
results and wish them every success in whatever they choose to do!
GCSE EXAM RESULTS DAY—THURSDAY 23rd AUGUST 2012
Results for Y11 available from 9am
Pupil Drop Off
Pupils being dropped off in the morning should be dropped off in the swimming pool car park. Par-
ents should not drive into main car park or annex car park. Parents of pupils who are mobility im-
paired will be exempt from this request, but must make prior arrangements with the school.
Pupil Pick Up
Pupils who are being picked up at the end of the day should be collected from the swimming pool
car park. Parents are requested not to park along the exit roadway as this restricts the safe flow of
traffic on to the main road and presents additional hazards for pupils and staff who leave the site on
foot.
Parents of pupils who are mobility impaired should liaise with the school and make arrangements
for the time and place of their children’s pick up. The disabled parking bays at the front of the
school are reserved for parents of pupils who are blue badge holders and taxis collecting pupils from
the STF.
On Thursday 28th June, the music department led by Mr Jonathan
Rogers, provided us with a delightful evening of music to a packed
audience. The programme was this year based loosely around the Lon-
don Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee, with most of the pieces being
decidedly British!
The orchestra played a selection of music that represented sporting
themes and the choir sang a very catchy Beatles medley amongst oth-
er things. The school Chamber Choir, led by Miss Laura Morris, was
particularly enjoyable and included pupils both past and present.
It was lovely to see our partner primary schools also performing on
stage and already making an impact on what will be their new school
and colleagues. Teachers and peripatetic staff also took part which
made the evening a real whole school event.
A special mention must go to Jessica Thomas-Pyart who gave an ex-
ceptional version of ‘Til There Was you’ from ‘The Music Man’ . It
was a beautiful arrangement and she sang it to perfection. Another
mention goes to Alex Murphy and Ellie Evans, who performed a duet
written by Alex for his GCSE music exam. Their voices blended to-
gether beautifully and it was so good to see such talent emerging
from the school!
Thanks to everyone who helped to make the Summer Concert so en-
joyable. Congratulations!
As part of their Geography GCSE
coursework, Year 10 pupils completed a
survey of the River Ilston in the Gower.
Studying the River included measuring
the shape and size of the actual river
bed load. And since we were battling
against the rain in muddy conditions, it
was a hot chocolate rather than an ice
cream on our return at ‘Shepherds’!
“Good to get some fresh air” said Aaron
Phillips.
“A worthwhile day out” was the opinion
of ‘official photographer’ Ben Smyth.
Geography
Would your son/daughter be inter-
ested in joining us for this amazing
trip?
The 6 day 5 night trip would include
visits to:
Erupting geysir at Strokkur and
Geyser Centre
Gullfoss Waterfalls
Volcanic areas and the plate bound-
ary of Europe and North America.
Swimming in geothermal Blue La-
goon and volcanic area.
A tour of the volcanic beaches of
South Iceland.
Visit to a glacier.
We will be staying at the ‘Arctic Com-
fort Hotel Vik’ in the capital Reykjavik
on a half board basis with students in
rooms of 3 or 4.
Flights are with Iceland Air out of
Heathrow.
Our provisional departure date is
Sun/Mon July 21st/22nd 2013 and
the cost of the visit is £755.
For those interested, a deposit of
£150 is required to reserve a place.
Please see Mr Hyndman to reserve
your place or request further details.
Would you be willing to volunteer one or two hours
of your time each week to work with groups of pu-
pils & staff?
Have you the vision to turn unused ground into an
allotment?
Do you have what it takes to turn the Penyrheol
Learning Lodge garden into a working allotment?
We are looking for a volunteer who is a dedicated and keen to make a difference.
Perhaps you are a grandparent/brother/sister/parent who would love to help us
transform the Learning Lodge garden into a working allotment. Our aim is use the
produce grown in our very own canteen!
If you are interested or know of anyone that would like to help, please contact
Mrs K Hammacott on 01792 566033 ext 266
Eco club has had their green fingers hard at work this term! They decided earlier on
this year to develop the garden at the learning lodge, they have already set up a small
vegetable patch, where they are growing potatoes, onions, cauliflower, lettuces and
strawberries.
Eco club also raised £37 by selling ice lollies during break. The money raised was used
to re-pot the plants outside the canteen.
Next year Eco club will be looking to further develop the garden at the leaning lodge!
Anyone with green fingers is welcome to join…Please see article below:
Sunday 10th June was ‘The Race For Life’ at the Millennium Coastal
Park in Llanelli. Women of all ages gathered together in aid of Cancer
Research.
Mrs Dyche, Pastoral Assistant for Year 8, organised a team from the school to take part
and what a brilliant day we had!
The atmosphere was electric, with the park packed with women, most of whom were
dressed in pink to represent breast cancer charities. Each participant had a note on
their back to say who they were running for. It was incredibly moving to read some of
these pledges, from children and adults who had lost a mum, dad, grandparent or child to
cancer. Those who haven't been in that unfortunate position ran in aid of a cure.
Swansea Sound and The Wave were there to spur us on and whether
walking or running the sense of achievement was immense and every-
one thoroughly enjoyed just taking part, even the bright pink poodle
pictured here!
Friday 13th, an unlucky day for some, was a great
day for the STF pupils who had the opportunity to
hold one of the Olympic Torches and meet one of
the lucky 8000 Torch Bearers – Joanna Malpas.
The pupils and staff had a fantastic lesson asking
questions, having a talk and having pictures with
the Olympic Torch.
Joanne is a survivor of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma of the pancreas and chest. She found
out she had cancer at the age of 29, just 5 months after giving birth to her son.
Joanne's life has changed significantly since diagnosis although she does consider her-
self one of the lucky ones. As such every month is a new challenge from white water
rafting to parachuting.
The 10km Race for Life was Challenge no 7. She completed the 10km de-
spite not having a pair of trainers or being able to run 100 metres 10
weeks prior to doing this event. Against all odds, Joanne has just given
birth to a little girl which has been the most wonderful news. Joanne's
positive attitude has been truly inspiring and she has been a great am-
bassador for Cancer Research UK.
As another school year comes to a close, we say farewell to our current School Coun-
cil and what a brilliant job they have done!
They had a really successful year and here are just some of the things they have
achieved:
Energy drinks now banned
Chewing gum now banned
Tea and coffee now available from the canteen during the winter months
Fruity slush drinks have been introduced for the summer months
More litter bins have been provided
Another money card machine has been introduced to the annexe
Indoor and outdoor seating introduced
School policies reviewed
This comes from listening to you and representing your voice at the council meetings.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing Head Boy, Jack Govier,
and Head Girl, Elizabeth Platt, for all their hard work and wish them all the very best
in whatever they choose to do.
CHEWING GUM
We look forward to welcoming the above pupils to Student Voice, who will be supported by the
whole School Council made up of pupils from all year groups.
Josh Thomas
Head Boy Katie Hollingworth
Head Girl Ben Lang
Deputy Head
Boy
Bethan Jones
Deputy Head
Girl
On 5th March A ‘Fashion Show Spectacular’ was staged at Penyrheol Theatre. The collections were mainly designed and created by pupils of the school, many of whom had
made them as part of their GCSE coursework. Each collection was different; Sustainability, Baroque, Abstract, Sport, Romantic, Darling Buds, Alice in Wonderland and
finally, Britannia...the last collection being an anarchic look at British fashion and music...Ending with Katie
Hollingworth (Head Girl), dressed as The Queen, getting a custard pie in her face!
The night wasn't all about fashion, each collection also had dancers and/or performers to entertain us. Musically, we
were treated to two very different acts, local rock band, ‘Charlie’s Machine’ and Alex Murphy and Ellie Evans, with
an acoustic duet.
The pupils were encouraged to choreograph some of their own dances and did an amazing job. Special mention must go to Georgia Parry, who choreographed a contemporary
duet danced by herself and Joseff Williams (who also compered the evening with absolute charm!) Other
mentions must surely go to both Emily Jermin and Aimee Herbert for their superb ballet and Irish dance solos.
The models were all pupils and what a great job they did! Strutting up and down the runway to a varied selection of music, and not only the girls; ten year 10 boys were brave
enough to volunteer and modelled some sportswear...possibly one of the highlights of the evening!
Thanks goes to Mrs. Sian McElroy for coming up with this idea and to everyone who made the evening such a huge
success . We are thrilled to announce that £150 was raised in aid of Breast Cancer Care.
Congratulations to the following pupils who were voted for, by both
their peers and school staff.
Prefects: Aimee Benton, Alex Murphy, Amelia Picton Jones, Amy Lee Gibbons, Ashleigh Steel, Ben Mason, Ben Vincent, Bethan Cairns, Bobby Jones, Carys Brandon,
Cassie Davies, Chloe Davies, Danielle Richards, Ellie Evans, Emma John, Ffion Dunning, Georgia neyland, Georgia Parry, Grace Edwards, Hannah Francis, holly Lisk, Jack Jones, Jake Reynish, Jessica Cozens, Joe Jenkins, Joshua Rob-
erts, Katie Clayfield, Kayleigh Thomas, kyle Davies, lewis beck, Lois Edwards, Luke Dyce, Megan Evans, Megan Jones, Megan Taylor, Nicholas Devoy, Nich-olas Martin, Rhian Butler, Rhodri Williams, Samantha Hunt, Samual Coady, sarah powell, Scott Macey-Ridgeway, Siobahn Martin, Steven Jones, Thomas
Morgan, Tia Marie Harley, Tia Walker, & Victoria Robinson
HEAD BOY HEAD GIRL
Josh Thomas Katie Hollingworth
DEPUTY HEAD BOY DEPUTY HEAD GIRL
Ben Lang Bethan Jones
SENIOR PREFECTS
Alex Myles Jessie Rosser Ben Davies Rebecca Street
Many of our Penyrheol pupils are involved in outside school activities. If
you would like to shout about it...here’s your chance!
Sport? Drama? Scouts? Music? Dance? Chess? Whatever it is you do...let us know!
Congratulations to Lewis Howells (11D) for getting Black Belt
in Karate (WCKA). We wish him good luck, as he goes on to train
as a Karate Instructor.
Tia Walker (10E) will be representing Wales this month in
the FIBA under 16’s European Womens Basketball Tourna-
ment in Gibraltar. We wish her all the very best of luck.
Having recently competed in the Irish Open Dance Cham-
pionships in Dublin and won three 1st places in Irish
Dance Competitions in West Wales, Aimee Herbert (9C)
qualified to dance in the World Championships in Wex-
ford, where she finished in the top 35 in the world for
the under 15’s!
Did you know that the newsletter is available to view in colour and online?
Visit the school website at: www.penyrheol-comp.net
Megan Evans (10R), has been selected to compete for Great Britain at
the Junior Kickboxing World Championships.
Already Welsh Champion, Megan is delighted to have been included in the
team and says that this is something she's been working towards for a
long time!
Great picture Megan!