october 2014 - The Penglais Alumni Friendship Association

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Topic on page Headteacher’s
Welcome
Staffing
We welcome two new teachers. Miss Gemma Owen
is teaching French and Spanish whilst Mrs Lucy
Carver is on maternity leave and Ms Eleri WynneDavies has taken over as our Head of Music.
There have also been some new appointments
within the school staff. As from September Mrs
Hayley Griffiths is Acting Deputy Headteacher
and Mrs Rachael Allen is Acting Assistant
Headteacher. Mrs Emily Evans is our new Literacy Coordinator following the retirement of Mrs
Anne Adamson. We wish them all well in their
posts.
2014 Results
A Levels
Our students achieved outstanding A Level results
again this year achieving, on average, the equivalent
grades AAB. The percentage of A*, A and B grades
was 67%.
We are immensely proud of every one of these students. Those that have had to overcome considerable learning difficulties as well as those achieving at
the highest level and gaining places at the most
sought after universities. We are particularly pleased
that four of our students will be going on to study at
Oxford or Cambridge: Celine Brendler-Spaeth, Paige
Smeaton, Phoebe Williams and Dylan Williams. This
is a particularly significant achievement given that
less than 100 students achieve places at these universities from the 200 secondary schools across
Wales combined.
GCSE
At GCSE our Year 11 pupils achieved the school's best
results for the second consecutive year. A record
90% gained at least five GCSEs with grades A*-C. Performance in the Core Subjects was also very pleasing
with A*-C rates of 71% for Maths, 88% in Science and
English increasing to 80% despite the decline nationally.
These achievements will again place the school in the
top 25% when compared to similar Welsh schools.
Literacy and Numeracy Tests
Pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 sit annual National Literacy and Numeracy tests. Ceredigion is one of the
highest performing counties in Wales and the
Penglais results are better than the Ceredigion averages. Whilst we are pleased with these results,
helping our pupils to develop these important skills
remains a key focus of our work especially for those
who need extra support to reach the expected
standards. Families can really help their children
through, for example, encouraging daily reading
and practising times tables.
Congratulations to our pupils on their thoroughly
deserved achievements. It is important to remember
that this is a shared success. As a school, we are
grateful to our pupils for their hard work, their families for their ongoing support and, on behalf of the
pupils themselves, I thank the Penglais staff for their
relentless commitment to giving our young people
the best possible chances for future success.
Llongyfarchiadau i ddisgyblion yr ysgol ar eu campau a’u llwyddiannau haeddiannol. Rhaid cofio bod
addysg o safon a chanlyniadau da yn deillio o bartneriaeth a pherthynas gadarn rhwng y cartref a’r
ysgol. Rydym yn ddiolchgar iawn i’n disgyblion sydd
yn rhoi o’u gorau bob amser ac i’w teuluoedd am eu
cefnogaeth ddi-flino.
Ar ran y disgyblion, hoffwn ddiolch i staff yr ysgol
am eu hymrwymiad a’u hymdrechion i sicrhau bod
ein pobl ifanc yn derbyn pob cymorth er mwyn blasu
llwyddiant a chyrraedd eu llawn botensial.
TopicCelebration
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Achievements
CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
On Thursday 18th September Penglais School held its
annual Celebrating Achievement ceremonies at the
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Great Hall. The first event
was in the morning for all 1300 pupils at the school
and again in the evening with over 800 parents and
families in attendance. These events were to recognise and reward those pupils who had been nominated by at least two of their teachers for outstanding effort (one boy and one girl from each teaching
group) or have a 100%
attendance record for
the previous year. More
than 300 pupils received
awards and certificates.
For
many
teaching
groups it was very difficult for teachers to
choose only one boy
and girl. As a school we
are very proud of the
achievements
and
efforts of all of our pupils and grateful for the
strong support that the
school receives from
parents and families at
events such as this and
throughout the year.
These events were also an opportunity to encourage
and inspire pupils through hearing about the experiences and successes of previous pupils of the school.
This year Alex Samuel, Becky Westbury and Taron
Egerton were the special guests.
Alex had always been an exceptional footballer and
conscientious student throughout his time at
Penglais School. In his final year he had trials with
Manchester United and Newcastle United before
being offered a place at the Swansea City Football
Club Academy. After two years at the club he has
recently been given a professional contract. Alex
said 'As a lifelong supporter of Swansea it has been
such a wonderful experience to train with, and learn
from, my heroes. To run out of the tunnel with the
Swansea City FC first team this summer was like a
dream come true'. Alex went on to tell the pupils
that he has had to work very hard for his success. 'I
train for hours with the team almost every day, including Christmas Day. There are no late nights out
for me. It's important that I learn as much as I can
from my coaches and senior players.' Alex also paid
tribute to his teachers at Penglais School,
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CELE
BRA
'They not only helped me develop as a footballer but they gave
me hours of extra support and guidance for which I am very
grateful'. He now hopes to become a regular player for the first
team at Swansea and one day play for the Welsh national team.
Becky Westbury has just completed her training as a midwife at
Cardiff University. In her final year she was runner up UK Student
Midwife of the Year 2014 in the national Student Nursing Times
Awards. She starts her first full time post at the Newport Royal
Gwent Hospital in November and hopes, in time, to contribute to
the development of maternity care through her own research and
published articles. Becky told the pupils that 'a successful midwife works hard to learn
the knowledge and skills
required and, in addition,
they must have the instinct
and strong desire to care
for mothers and their babies at such an important
time in their family’s life’.
The final guest was Taron
Egerton. Whilst at Penglais
School Taron started developing his acting skills, playing lead parts in productions as well as hours of
extra-curricular drama at
Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
After leaving Penglais Sixth
Form Taron achieved a
place at RADA in London. He has since appeared in stage productions in the West End, the Sky television series 'Smoke' and most
recently landed a lead role in the multi-million dollar film
'Kingsman: The Secret Service' starring alongside Michael Caine,
Samuel L Jackson and Colin Firth. After watching the trailer of the
film together Taron answered questions from the pupils. ‘I have
had some amazing experiences since leaving school’, said Taron, ‘I
would never have imagined that I would one day count Colin Firth
as one of my friends! Everybody has something that they are
good at,’ he told them, ‘and all of my close friends from school
are doing exactly what they had hoped to do. It is important to
develop your passion. Aim as high as you can and I wish you all
every success.'
We are very grateful to our guests for giving up their time to be
with our pupils. I am sure that the examples of Alex, Becky and
Taron will inspire them to pursue their own dreams and ambitions. All three spoke of the need to have drive, commitment and
a dogged determination to keep going, despite the setbacks that
will inevitably arise. This event was about helping our pupils to
understand that young people just like them, from their school,
from their town can go on to achieve at the highest level in all
walks of life. Who knows which of our current pupils will be invited back in the future to inspire others with their own experiences
and successes?'
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Topic on page
Notices
Road and School Site Safety
At the start of new school year please can I remind all
parents and carers to not drive onto the school site
when dropping off or picking up pupils (except by arrangement for pupils with mobility problems). This is
in response to Health and Safety advice received from
Estyn, the schools inspectorate. This does not include
those parents who have appointments to see staff
who should use the main Waun Fawr entrance.
Debate Training Day
On the 19th September, Hal Baldwin, Mohsen
El-Abaddi and Chloe Crowl attended the
CEWC training day for the first round of the
Julian Hodge Debate Competition in Cardiff
University. They were excellent and we look
Please also be aware that the roads around the school
are very busy with traffic and pupils crossing at the
start and end of the day. We always ask that parents
and visitors exercise the greatest of care when driving
or parking around the school, observing all speed and
parking restrictions. The police will continue to work
closely with the school to monitor the situation.
Thank you for your cooperation. Diolch am eich
cydweithrediad.
Mr Matthew Brown
Headteacher
MacMillan Coffee Morning
On Friday 26th September, the Prefects hosted a
MacMillan Coffee Morning in the Learning Support
Centre. During break time, members of staff came
along to indulge in the home made cakes and biscuits which were brought in for the fundraising
event by our Prefects. The MacMillan charity supports people living with cancer and we are proud
that we are able to donate £120 through our coffee
morning.
Pictured above are the Penglais Debating Team, - Hal
Baldwin, Mohsen El-Abaddi, Chloe Crowl and Tess
Dupont
forward to seeing how they perform in the
competition on the 7th October. The topic for
debate is ‘This House believes that developing
countries should prioritise economic development over protecting the environment’ and
the team will be competing against Ysgol
Aberteifi. We wish the team the very best of
luck and remind Penglais pupils that there is
an opportunity for them to take part in the
Current Affairs Debate Group every Thursday
in E2 at lunchtimes. They are also welcome
every Monday to attend the Science Debate
Group, also held in E2.
TopicNotices
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HEALTHY LUNCHBOXES
Keep the lunchbox cool, covered and safe.
Packed lunches can be a breeding ground for food poisoning bacteria if left in a warm place, such as a school
bag or classroom, for a long period of time. Potentially
hazardous foods include, but are not limited to, meat,
poultry, dairy, eggs, soy protein, cooked rice, cooked or
open canned beans, cooked pasta and some non-acidic
fruit such as melons. If there is a very long period of
time between when the lunch leaves the fridge at
home and when it is eaten at school, bacteria can multiply in your child's food.
PARENTS SHOULD
BE ADVISED THAT:
 Insulated boxes, small ice packs and mini-cool bags
will help.
 A frozen carton of drink can double up as an ice
pack.
 It is good practice to chill your child's sandwiches
before packing and use ingredients from the fridge
where possible.
 You child's lunchbox/ bag should be cleaned out
after use.
Tips for keeping lunch boxes safe and cool:
Encourage children not to keep their lunchboxes near
radiators or hot pipes.
WATER BOTTLES
 'Thermoplastic' (hard
plastic) bottle are more
suited to constant re-use
compared to disposable
type bottles. They are
generally more robust
and the plastic does not
break down so easily.
 Water bottles should only be filled with water from
a drinking water tap that takes water directly from the
rising main and not from a tap that is fed from a water
storage tank.
 Any left over water at the end of the school day
should be discarded.
 It is recommended that, where possible, children
take their water bottle home at the end of each day so
that they can be thoroughly cleaned.
 Water bottles should be washed in warm soapy water on a daily basis, or more often if required.
PENGLAIS SCHOOL SHOP
Siop Ysgol Penglais
Open break times and lunchtimes, 5 days a week
Ar agor bob dydd - amser egwyl ac amser cinio
The school shop is run by students, for students. At
the moment, we sell pens, pencils, rulers, and other
basic equipment. If we don't sell what you need, tell
us and we will aim to increase our stock. Please support us by donating any items you have spare!
Dyma siop a drefnir gan fyfyrwyr ar gyfer myfyrwyr.
Mae pensiliau, beiros, prennau mesur a phob math o
offer defnyddiol ar werth yma. Ydych chi’n chwilio am
eitem arbennig? Rhowch wybod i ni a cheisiwn ein
gorau i gwrdd â’ch anghenion. Oes offer ysgrifennu
dros ben gyda chi? Beth am eu rhoi nhw i’r siop!
There are many benefits of water provision, but it is
important to keep bottles clean!
Pictured is Hannah Cox and Shen Yeo—Year 9
visiting the shop.
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Topic on page
Notices
Penglais Prefects 2014-15
Being given the opportunity to represent the school in
such a way is a privilege and we are proud to do so.
Delivering speeches at the recent Celebration
Achievement Event allowed us to acknowledge and
celebrate the accomplishments of the many talented
and hardworking individuals who had achieved success
in Penglais. The prefect team are here to help organise
events in school such as charity fundraising, delivering
assemblies and editing this newsletter! We hope to
increase the quality of the school’s activities for other
students and thereby enhance everyone’s school
experience which countless past pupils will have done
for us. We look forward to the year ahead and the
chance to give something back to our school.
Head Boy: Fraser Harris
Head Girl: Rachel Donnison.
Deputy Head Boy: Osian Dance
Deputy Head Girl :
Fay Walsh.
Senior Prefects:
Belén Richards,
Allen Roby, Tess Dupont,
Ellie Jolley, Zoe Walker,
Charlie Edmunds.
Prefects:
Bridget Potter, Sagar
Sonanis, Kim
Harvey, Mohsen
El-Abbadi, Josiah
Youd, Ali Sallami,
Molly Baldwin, Ffion
Hall, Annie Lewis,
Anya Edwardes,
Simba Jeje, Fergus
McMahon, Hal
Baldwin, Hannah
Perkins, Chloe Crowl,
Katherine Lewis, Ellie
Margrave-Jones.
TopicDepartments
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Design and Technology
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The DT department had a chance to display their
students’ superb work at the Art and DT exhibition.
In addition, the year 11 catering students are embarking on their hospitality task, so make sure you
keep an eye out for any interesting food events occurring this term. Furthermore, the department are
proud to announce that Penglais’ Charlie Parry has
been nominated for the Innovations Award where
his work will be showcased for two days in Cardiff,
followed by two days in Llandudno. We all wish
Charlie the very best of luck.
On another note, the department would be grateful
if anybody would be willing to donate any unwanted
materials, for example buttons, fabrics and ribbons,
and also any unwanted food containers.
ENGLISH
TALK THE TALK
Year 9 was fortunate to be given the opportunity to
take part in a whole day workshop called “Talk the
Talk”.
Run by the Four Acre Trust, a charity which seeks to
support and develop young people’s confidence in
public speaking, the pupils were taught by some excellent visiting speakers. During the day, they played
games, wrote speeches and learned strategies for overcoming nerves when standing in front of others.
The visitors praised the skills and courage of our Year 9
pupils; teachers who observed the workshop commented on how involved all pupils were in the activities; and the pupils themselves felt that they had been
given a valuable experience. Many thanks for your focus, attention and respect, Year 9!
One participant of “Talk the Talk” was Imogen Davies
of 9IW, who said: “On Thursday the 11th September,
Year 9 took a day off the timetable to attend a 'Talk the
Talk' workshop, which was
held around the school. Several speakers
came in to teach us how to be more confident with public speaking. I also saw it as a
class team building exercise; I got to know my
class much better. I enjoyed the day and
think that many others did too. You didn't
need to be good at maths or science or any
other subject, you only needed to be yourself.”
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Topic on page
Notices
PENGLAIS LITERACY
INFORMATION
Like us on Facebook!
Penglais School has a new Literacy page
for parents on Facebook. It is important for us to
be able to update you with information and
opportunities regularly, so please search for
“Penglais Literacy” and “like” us to hear more!
Graphic Novella Competition
Our first Literacy competition went live in
September – students are being asked to create a
short story, but tell it through a comic strip (or
graphic novella). The story can be about anything
and the comic strip can be in any
style… there’s lots of inspiration in
The Cube! The deadline is the last
day of the Christmas term, and there
are lots of prizes to be won:
First Prize #1
A Frockasaurus Superhero Skirt
First Prize #2
A Giant Marvel Wall Canvas
Second Prize
A Qwertee Supervillains T-shirt
Runner-up prizes – too many to list!
Finished comics should be on one A3 side or two
separate A4 sides, and given to Mrs Evans (D10).
Keep an eye out for the posters around school!
The School Library
Penglais School Library is open from 8:15-16:15,
as well as during the lunch period. If your child has
a busy schedule with lots of
commitments, or would benefit from
having access to textbooks at arm’s
reach, or just needs a quiet place to get
homework done, it might be worth
agreeing a ‘stay late’ day once a week
or so.
Literacy at Home
If you would like to encourage your child to read
more often, or to take more away from their
reading book, we have a couple of lists for you –
suggested reading books, and helpful reading
strategies. We plan to publish a new suggested
reading list in each newsletter, so keep checking
back!
Suggested Reading Lists…
Years 7 and 8
The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas (John Boyne)
The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
Mortal Engines (Philip Reeve)
Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ (Sue
Townsend)
Sabriel, Lirael & Abhorsen (Garth Nix)
Maximum Ride Series (James Patterson)
There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom (Louis
Sacher)
Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Arthur Conan
Doyle)
Once/Then/Now (Morris Gleitzman)
The Boy in the Dress (David Walliams)
Young Bond Series (Charlie Higson)
Alex Rider Series (Anthony Horowitz)
Beast (Ally Kennen)
Finding Violet Park (Jenny Valentine)
Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo)
Year 9 +
The Hunger Games Trilogy (Suzanne Collins)
His Dark Materials series (Philip Pullman)
Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman)
Inventing Elliot (Graham Gardner)
Cherub series (Robert Muchamore)
How I Live Now (Meg Rosoff)
Lola Rose (Jacqueline Wilson)
Looking for JJ (Anne Cassidy)
The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak)
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
Reading Club
The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien)
Reading Club is open to all types of booklovers in Ugly (Constance Briscoe)
Years 7-9. We meet at 12:20 on Mondays, in D13. Mates, Dates… (Cathy Hopkins)
Bring your favourite book, your current book, or
Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimamanda Ngozi
come empty-handed and hear what other people
Adiche)
have to suggest!
TopicDepartments
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GEOGRAPHY
use, with small group sessions afterwards to discuss
the issues further. In addition to this, informative
th
On Thursday the 11 September, a group of 15 Year lessons were given on geographical skills, such as
13 geography students attended a conference run by mapping using computers. The day gave an excellent
insight into university courses through the medium
Aberystwyth University. It was in the medium of
of Welsh and extended pupils’ knowledge for their A
Welsh and was related to their A2 Level geography
Level course.
course through discussions on sustainability. Lectures were held in regard to various aspects of sustainability, such as water consumption and energy
Geography Conference
HISTORY
on the bridge. Whilst in Normandy we also visited
the medieval masterpiece, the Bayeux Tapestry.
Battlefields Trip 2014
During activities week in July we took pupils from
Year 10 on our annual visit to the battlefields.
After an early start from Penglais, we arrived in
Portsmouth and spent the day viewing some of
the famous warships that are kept there,
including Henry VIII’s Mary Rose, HMS Warrior
and Nelson’s famous flagship the Victory. After a
smooth overnight ferry trip, we landed in
Normandy and spent a fantastic day viewing the
D-Day beaches. We spent the morning in the
German bunkers on Point du Hoc. On a more
sombre note, we visited the huge American
cemetery on Omaha beach which was the scene
of the deadliest fighting on the 6th June 1944 and
also famous for its part in the film ‘Saving Private
Ryan’. Staying on the theme of WW2, we also
spent some time at Pegasus Bridge and went
around the museum there which is dedicated to
the heroic deeds of the British Airborne’s attack
We then headed to Paris and, after an overnight
stay, we spent a really fun day at Disneyland
Paris. After being shaken up by Space Mountain
and the Indiana Jones ride, we then headed to
the Somme and the impressive, yet tragic, British
and German cemeteries and memorials. Our
Battlefields tour came to a conclusion in the
Belgian town of Ypres, where we attended the
emotional last post ceremony under the Menin
Gate. We also visited some of the British and
German trenches, which included the best
preserved British position complete with trenches
and underground tunnels. Here the pupils were
provided with an authentic WW1 experience in
the flooded, pitch black tunnels and there was
even a sighting of rats to add to the atmosphere!
After a day of travelling, we arrived in Penglais
School in the early hours of the morning with
both pupils and staff tired and happy after such
an amazing week! This trip will run again in July
2015 for the present Y10.
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Topic on page Departments
De-
History
Penglais USA History Trip
ington D.C., Gettysburg National
Military Park and New York City. 40
The History Department are going students have already confirmed
to America again!
their places and we are all looking
forward to some excellent excurFollowing on from our hugely suc- sions and some quality shopping
cessful visit to the United States in time. Watch this space for photos!
April of last year, we have now re- There are a few places still availabooked for 2016. The trip will inble, see Mr Wallington in A11 for
clude another action packed 8-day further details.
itinerary. The plan is to visit Wash-
CLUB
Year 7s
IF YOU WANT TO DISCOVER THE
MYSTERY BEHIND HISTORY, COME
TO HISTORY CLUB!
WHERE:
A13 (MR PAYNE’S HISTORY CLASS)
WHEN:
TUESDAY LUNCHTIME
Trip to Caerphilly
Last term, a group of year 7s
went on a visit to Caerphilly
castle, where they investigated attacking and defending
castles – including a lesson in
sword fighting!
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
German Exchange
In July, eleven 16 and 17 year old
pupils and their teacher from the
Altkönigschule in Kronberg
(Aberystwyth’s twin town in Germany) came for a week’s exchange visit, staying with the families of pupils
from Penglais and Penweddig. The
visit was extremely successful,
many friendships were forged and
the group were able to enjoy fantastic weather on their trips to
Chester, Harlech and Aberystwyth
town. Their days in school were
much enjoyed of course too! AKPA
organised the trip and hope to
make a return exchange visit next
year. The group and all the host
families
enjoyed a barbecue
on the last evening.
Beijing Trip 2014
On 26th June, pupils from years 9-12 went on a
Mandarin Language course in Beijing for two
weeks. We stayed at a hotel and went to classes
at Beijing Union University every week-day
morning.
In the afternoon and on the weekends, we did
cultural activities such as calligraphy and making
dumplings and went sightseeing. We went to the
Great Wall of China, Tiananmen, the Forbidden
City, a Buddhist temple, the Olympic Park and
many other places. In the Olympic Park, some of
us went swimming in the Olympic pool in the
Water Cube, although we didn’t last long as the
pool was so crowded. We saw a Kung Fu show
and an acrobatics show which were both breathtaking.
The highlight for most of us was the Great Wall of
China, because it’s such an iconic structure and it
TopicDepartments
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was
fascinating. We
also enjoyed
buying huge watermelons for 80p out of donkeypulled wagons on the street; they were the nicest
watermelons ever.
We went shopping a lot, to the Silk and Pearl
markets where we bought Nike and Converse for
£10 each, designer purses and t-shirts and
souvenirs. One evening we took the tube to the
market at rush hour-a very regrettable decision as
we were squashed up close to sweaty strangers
and some of us almost didn’t make it off the tube!
Everywhere we went there were hundreds of
people. There were crowds everywhere,
especially at renowned landmarks such as the
Great Wall and Tiananmen. They demanded
pictures with us, either because we’re super
gorgeous or because they’ve never seen
Westerners. It was fabulous, we all felt like
celebrities.
On the way home, our flight had a 14 hour
layover in Dubai, so we went to Wild Wadi
Waterpark for the day. It was great! It was superhot there, so we lounged about getting a tan and
chilling on the slides. We watched the sunset over
the sea behind the Burj Al Arab which was so
beautiful!
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Topic on page Departments
MUSIC
The music department celebrated many successes last
summer in the Urdd Eisteddfod, in county, six county
and national bands, orchestras and choirs and in individual achievements. These successes were celebrated
and the Celebrating Achievements Event on 18th September, where the brass band played two pieces. Unfortunately, the music department bid farewell to Mr.
Evans as the head of the Penglais Music Department at
the end of last term but with Miss Davies as the new
head of music, we look forward to many more musical
events and successes.
This term, Penglais pupils have the opportunity of pursuing music through various clubs that run at
lunchtime and after school. (see table below). On 24th
September, a number of pupils from years 10 and
above attended a composition workshop in Aberaeron.
The aim of the workshop was to encourage pupils to
participate in the Young Composer of Dyfed competition where they will be required to write a piece for a
brass quintet; the winner will get their piece performed. The day was very enjoyable and we hope to see some pupils submit a piece for the competition in April.
DAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
LUNCHTIME
School Choir in D1
Weekly film in the Main Hall
Science Debate Group in E2
Book Club in D13
Accapella in D1 (years 10+)
Ukulele club in D2
History club in A13 (year 7)
Youth Alpha in E2
AFTER SCHOOL
Homework club in the library
Brass Band in D1
Writing club in D9
Weekly film in the Main Hall
St. Michael’s in D10
Current Affairs group in E2 (years
10 and above)
English study surgery in D14 (year
11)
Windband in D1
Weekly film in the Main Hall
String Orchestra in D1
Homework club in library
English study surgery in
D14 (year 11)
TopicDepartments
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Karate Union of Great Britain Welsh Championships
Hi there! I am Calum. I practise shotokan karate together with Cai Langstaff, Leo and Marisa Oikawa and
we are black belts that train with the club Tekki RS.
I achieved my karate first dan (black belt) in May. Cai
got his a year ago, and Leo and Marisa got theirs two or
three years ago (Marisa left Penglais at the end of last
year).
Cai, Jason Liu, others and I competed in the Karate Union of Great Britain Welsh Championships in June, and
Tekki RS won ‘Best Club in Wales’. I competed in the
kata competition; a kata is a set of moves put into a sequence. A kata can be 20 or so moves. Jason and Leo
also competed in kata.
Leo, Cai and Jason also competed in the kumite competition. This is a fight, but with gum shields and other
precautions. They all did very well. Cai had a “hard”
fight because,during the fight, the other person managed to punch Cai in the face and dislocate his jaw.
However, he managed to put it back into place. Luckily
that was the only injury the club had (that I know of).
Jason, Leo and I also competed in the team kata. Team
kata is a kata done together by three people and the
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three have to be in
sync. Jason and I
went into a three with another person and Leo went
with other people. Our team got knocked out in the
semi-finals and Leo’s team came third.
Calum Moorby and Jason Liu (Year 9)
The head instructor for our club is Simon Thompson
and he is an ex-Penglais pupil. We train in the Penglais
gym on a Tuesday evening. Why not come and give it a
go?
Staff Success
County and Welsh Championships Winners
Jackie Minchin, one of our office staff, has
just returned from Antwerp in Belgium
where, along with over 2000 athletes from
58 countries, she took part in the Special
Olympics European Games 2014. She was
the sole representative from Wales on the
50 strong GB team, being in the swimming
squad, and was delighted to come home
with a bronze medal for the 25m freestyle
relay and two 7th places in the 50m and
25m freestyle races. Congratulations!
Megan Rowe Year 11
Rachel Donnison Year 13
(see results table on page 14)
14
Topic on page Departments
Result Table from County and Welsh Championships
Welsh Schools Athletics Championships
Saturday 5th July - Cardiff
Rachel Donnison
Senior Girls
1st
Relay
2nd
100m
2nd
200m
st
Fay Walsh
Senior Girls
1
200m
3rd
300m
Megan Rowe
Middle Girls
6th
100m
5th
Relay
Amber Owen
West Wales Championships
Sunday 25th May - Carmarthen
Under 17 Girls
2nd
100m
2nd
200m
Under 15 Girls
2nd
High Jump
Rachel Donnison
Under 20 Girls
Megan Rowe
1st
1st
100m
100m
Dyfed 2nd Schools Athletics Championships
6th/7th June - Carmarthen
*Rachel Donnison
Senior Girls
1st
100m
1st
200m
*Megan Rowe
Middle Girls
1st
100m
nd
2
200m
Nina Hennighan
Middle Girls
3rd
300m
7th
Discus
Jessica Wall
Middle Girls
4th
Javelin
Year 9 Girls
6th
7th
6th
High Jump
Long Jump
100m
Year 9 Girls
4th
200m
Year 9 Girls
th
800m
nd
High Jump 1m:40cm
nd
Long Jump 4m:30cm
nd
Shot 10.87m
Discus
5mins 45secs
Josh Abbott
Middle Boys
Emily Thomas
Erin Hassan
Hermione Cox
**Amber Owen
**Shannon Sayer
Year 9 Girls
Year 9 Girls
**James Thomas
Year 9 Boys
Lily Pitcher
Year 8 Girls
8
2
2
2
5th
1500m
* through to Welsh Athletic Championships
** reserve for Welsh Athletic Championships
WELL DONE!!
TopicDepartments
on page
15
SCIENCE
Salter’s Chemistry Camps
Students spend three days and two nights at the Host
University, staying in the University Halls of Residence, and using the laboratories. Then carry out
new, exciting experiments, and have the chance to
delve into areas of chemistry that are perhaps not
covered at school. Further background information is
presented through entertaining lectures and (often
noisy!) demonstrations. In the evenings, practical
work in the labs is put on the back burner, and students enjoy a variety of social activities.
Current Year 10 pupils interested in attending the
camps next year should see Dr. Warren in C2.
“From the 25th to the 27th of June, I attended the Salter’s Chemistry Camp at the University of Sussex. In
this camp, there were 60 pupils from many different
locations, even Italy and we were split into 5 colours.
I was assigned to the orange group (obviously the
best one!) and we were kept within these groups for
all our experiments, but there was plenty of time to
socialise with the others during evening activities.
Some of the experiments we got to try were at an
undergraduate level, such as cold light, which basically makes things glow in the dark. It was a great experience to meet likeminded chemistry lovers and has
inspired me to look for such opportunities in the future. It was also an interesting chance to learn from
and experience the enthusiasm of the undergraduate
student helpers, which certainly rubbed off on me!
All in all, I would give it 10 out of 10 as I had an absolutely wonderful time. I would definitely recommend
it to anyone!”
“I went to Nottingham on the 2nd to the 4th of July
to go to a Salter’s Chemistry Camp. There were loads
of experiments which we did in pairs within our
teams (I was on blue) using obscure chemicals and
expensive machinery. My favourite was probably the
first
one
we
did
using
oscillatory
reactions. In the experiment we made reactions
which then undid themselves after a certain amount
of time before looping constantly. I liked it because it
wasn't particularly complicated but has really cool
results. We even had a competition to see who could
make
the
most
accurately
timed
reactions, our team came second by 1 point, just saying. The people at Nottingham University were also
really knowledgeable and helpful all the time, and
also had a good sense of humour. A good example of
this is the "Flash! Bang! Wallop!" demonstration
which is very loud and very flashy with lots of high
explosives and materials which you wouldn't think
are explosive, but actually are. Any time when we
weren't meant to be somewhere, we could spend
going anywhere we wanted on the campus, including
the student union and the massive field (read: football). It was really nice seeing that everybody there
was very like-minded meaning it was easy to have a
conversation with somebody you've never seen before in your life and interesting. People came from
everywhere across the UK. The way the camp is set
out, you are encouraged to meet new people constantly. Highly recommended.”
“I really enjoyed the Salters Camp and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in Chemistry.
It's a great learning opportunity packed full with experiments that school labs wouldn't allow you to do.”
“The Salter’s Chemistry Camp I attended in Cambridge was an excellent experience. The course gave
me a lot of experience in practical chemistry. I would
highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in chemistry and enjoys conducting chemistry experiments.”
Ramy Elabbadi Year 11
Salter’s Chemistry Camp pupil
16
Topic on page Depart-
SCIENCE
ments
Science Salter’s Chemistry Camp Year 11 pupils—Chan Yeo, Chimio
Nwaefulu and Ffion
Clift .
WWAYS LECTURES
Wednesday 22nd October
Tuesday 16th December
Sarah Costello, Prosthetics
Dr & Mrs M Gluyas
“How sheep can save your life!”
“Musical Squares.”
Physics Main Lecture Theatre
Physics Main Lecture Theatre
SOCIAL SCIENCES
future. If any of the pupils are
interested in undertaking psychology at A level, Anna Kelsey
will be holding a psychology club
for those in year 11 on Monday
lunch times for those who want
an introduction and wish to become familiar with the AS Psychology course. Further information will be provided soon, or
you are welcome to contact
Anna who is currently in year
Psychology
The Psychology Department
would like to offer their congratulations to former pupil Suzanna
Young who has just commenced
on a doctrine in Educational
Psychology. Suzanna left
Penglais in 2009 with an A grade
and went on to study Psychology at Cardiff University. She has
returned to Penglais in the past 13.
to interview teachers and observe lessons before initiating
her course. The department are
thrilled with this progress and
wish her all the best in the
WELSH BACCALAUREATE
Polish Language Course
From Monday 23rd June and the 25th-27th June, a
group of Year 13 pupils undertook a Polish language
course as part of their Welsh Baccalaureate
qualification. They did over 20 hours of learning and
really enjoyed their experience!
Well done to Rosie James, Sophie Harrington, Hal
Baldwin, Charlie Edmunds, Anya Edwardes, Jessica
Roberts, Faiz Shiblee, Iwan Keirle, Jacob Hodges, Ellis
Walker, Joseph Roberts, Robert Hughes, Rhydian
Davies, Josiah Youd and Mairajudeen Almaghrabi for
taking part.
TopicAchievements
on page
17
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Pilot Scholarship – Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Evans, a pupil in Year 13, completed a week-long pilot
scholarship at Dundee airport in July of last term. What
makes this an amazing achievement is that Ieuan was
selected out of many budding pilots for one of only 200
places that are available each year in Britain. Ieuan has so
far completed 12 hours of flying time towards his private
pilots licence.
Edinburgh programme, as a residential course is required to
pass the award.
The week was split into two; half of each day would be
dedicated to theory work and studying the different
animals, while the other half would be spent undertaking
manual labour around the zoo, such as feeding and mucking
out particular animals. Kim wants to study Zoology at
university, so this was a welcome opportunity for him to
gain an insight into related work.
K-9 Model Making
Making these to scale robots started 3 years ago, just as a
hobby to begin with. It took just under a year to complete K
-9 and he made his first appearance at a science event in
Birmingham on the 5th of March 2011. We were astounded
by the reactions of the audience when K-9 whizzed around
the room with his sound effects, lights, his tail wagging and
In regard to the experience, Ieuan said that “the scholarship ears rotating.
was brilliant; I got some valuable flying hours towards my
After this experience, I knew we had to go further and
licence and ended with a solo flight! I also made great
attend more events. This later revealed the appearance of
friends with whom I hope to stay in touch and I hope to
‘Dalek Doris’ in 2012, which always makes sure she’s the
return to Dundee soon to achieve my full licence.”
centre of attention, and the iconic droid from Star Wars, R2D2. We attend events such as Comic-Cons or Doctor Who
conventions and take the opportunity to meet actors and
Residential week in Blackpool Zoo
collect their signatures. The first signature I collected was
at the Regenerations convention in Swansea in 2011 where
Kim Harvey, a pupil in Year 13, spent the first week of
I met John Leeson, the voice of K-9 in the official episodes
school living out many children’s dreams. He spent the
of Doctor Who, and he kindly signed K-9. This was the start
week on a residential work experience course in Blackpool of my collection.
Zoo, working with many of the animals and learning about
the varying roles within a modern zoo. It gave an excellent The 2nd signature for K-9 surprised me as the original K-9
turned up at the Leicester Space Centre. It was brilliant
taste of what it would be like to work in a fully-functional
meeting up with Matt Irvine, the
zoo. He found the course through the Gold Duke of
18
Topic on page Achievements
builder and owner of the original series K-9. We
happily exchanged tips of the K9’s internal systems. Our 3rd signature happened to be in Regenerations Swansea again in 2012, where we
met up with the designer of K-9.
www.facebook.com/doris.dalek
I also had the privilege of seeing the
original plan and sketch of K-9. He was
excited to see my K-9 and to see such a
nice, clean accurate model. I have kept
in close contact with him, and he occasionally uses my K-9 for talks and photo
shoots.
Now by far the most famous of all my
signatories, is Tom Baker. He doesn’t
attend many conventions in a year. We
couldn’t miss this opportunity, so we
travelled 5 hours all the way to Windsor! K-9 is now complete with all 4 signatories, this includes the designer, the
builder, the voice and the owner/The
Doctor!
Links:
By Tomos Fearn—Year 13
Tŷ Hafan Fundraising
Mr Dennis is aiming to raise £30,000 for Ty Hafan
during his final year of teaching before retirement.
He has walked the 408 miles from Aberystwyth to
Ty Hafan along the coastal path. He has reached
around £18,000 so far and hopes to continue raising money throughout the year. We would like to
congratulate Mr Dennis on his efforts so far, raising
money for such a good cause. We wish him all the
best in reaching his goal.Mr Dennis has also been
launching his Smarties appeal in assemblies
 Mr Dennis buys 1 tube of Smarties for 25p and
gives it to 1 pupil
 The pupil returns it with more than 50p in it.
 Mr Dennis buys 2 tubes of Smarties and any
money left over goes to Ty Hafan. 2 pupils now get
tubes.
 The pupils return them.
 Mr Dennis buy 4 tubes and money left goes to
Ty Hafan.
It keeps on doubling 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256
TopicPuzzles
on page
19
Sudoku
The aim of the game is to fill each square with a number from 1 - 9. Each number can only appear once in the same row, column or 3 x 3 box.
Solutions to each puzzle will be posted in the following issue.