Shwmae bawb

This week's video from me is one that we have circulated to all of our cluster primary schools, for their parents and carers. It focusses on our collective advice to families to delay giving their child a smartphone until Year 10, and to disallow any access to social media. As you know, we have been advocating for this approach to families during the transition process between primary and secondary school, but when the average age for a child to receive their first smartphone is now 9 years old, clearly our message is too late if it is first heard at that point. Therefore, our collaboration with our primary cluster schools is vital. We are also petitioning the Welsh Government on this issue in the hope that the advice that they provide in future guidance is robust on both smartphones and minimum ages for social media.

In related news, whilst on lunch duty today I spotted four different card games taking place, 2 Pokémon tournaments, chess, backgammon and even Jenga. In amongst it all, conversation abounds. I am also sad to report that I got comprehensively thrashed by a Year 7 student at Connect 4 recently (final score 7-2). It is a joy to see these other activities flourish in the space left by digital devices.

All the best for the weekend ahead.

Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher

Sailing World Championships

Congratulations to Year 12 student Harry Sims who has been selected to be part of team GBR at the 29er sailing World Championships. The week-long event will take place this summer in Germany.

Good luck in the Championships, Harry.

Excellent results for the NSEA Team

The girls were competing again over the weekend and, once again, came away with some fantastic results.

Amelia had an amazing result, winning the 80/85cm on Fi! Amelia and Pam came 3^rd in 80/85cm. In the 90/95cm Amelia came 2^nd place on Fi and 3^rd on Pam.

Darcey and Pepper had a fantastic competition, having two double clears and winning the 75cm and coming 2^nd in the 85cm! 

Ruby and Pedro had a great competition, coming 3^rd in the 70cam and 7^th in the 70-75.

Tennis success

Well done to Max Swayne last Sunday for winning the Mens Grade 4 tournament at Solihull.

Max was up against a number of good players but played some excellent tennis and consequently came out on top.

Congratulations, Max.

As you may recall, earlier this term we ran a book-themed menu design competition ready for World Book Day, which was last week. We were inundated with imaginative and inventive meal ideas, and our Catering Manager, Maggie Jones, found it very difficult to choose between the entries. Our eventual winners were Libby Williams, 7TBU, for her The Twits-inspired ‘Squiggly Spaghetti Cake,’ Lyra Davies and Dorothy Chandler, 8RDA, for their Alice in Wonderland-inspired chicken korma, and Summer Breeze, 9NPH, for her Percy Jackson-inspired blue waffle!

Each winner was given a small prize last week, but in Year 7 assembly this week Maggie Jones and Mrs Curry were able to present the grand prize of a Kindle to our overall winner, Libby Williams. Massive congratulations to Libby on this incredible prize and an equally massive thank you to Maggie Jones, her amazing catering team, and the catering company, Aramark, for their support with the competition and for the very generous prize.

Maggie’s team also won the best-dressed department award for World Book Day, as voted for by the students, so a very successful week all around!

On Tuesday 10^thof March, a small group of Year 8 students took part in a Lino Print Workshop with Print artist Nichola Goff. A well-known local artist, Nichola loves to collaborate. She works with printmaking, earth pigments, installation and these workshops are a chance for local school children to produce work as part of the Wye Valley River Festival.

The Wye Valley River Festival brings local people, environmentalists and exceptional artists together for a creative exploration and celebration of an internationally important landscape.

With the Wye Valley as our backdrop, this exceptional landscape, carved by the River Wye, straddling the border of England and Wales, encompasses diverse cultures, habitats, stories and histories. It takes place on Saturday 2^nd May. https://wyevalleyriverfest.com/

Year 8 student Annabel Atkinson said:

"We were introduced to a variety of artwork skills including carving, painting, printing and learnt about the locally found earth pigments from which the inks we used were made. First, we intricately carved through the lino to make an outline of a bird taking flight and then rolled the ink onto our carvings, pressed them onto the silk and made the finishing piece. I was so amazed by how the printed silk turned out!

Although the carving stage was challenging as it was a new skill for me, I enjoyed learning and creating in this workshop and I would love to do it again. I am very excited to see everyone’s work on display at the festival!"

It’s Red Nose Day on Friday 20 March and we will be holding a Bake Sale for students during breaks 1 and 2

To support the Bake Sale we would be extremely grateful if students could bring in cakes/cookies etc (either homemade or shop-bought) to sell, to raise funds for this increasingly important cause. Please drop baked goods at Reception on the morning of the 20th ~ students should collect containers (with names on) from there at the end of the day.

Students should bring in change if they wish to purchase items during break.

Diolch yn fawr for your support, it is very much appreciated during the current climate.

MCS Charity Committee

Teacher of PE

Closing date for applications: 22^nd March at midnight

MCC recently carried out their Resident Survey for the second time to further understand your views on living in Monmouthshire—your experience of your local area, your opinions on the council’s services, and how we can work together to make Monmouthshire an even better place to live.

Please click HERE to read their findings.

Careers Wales is delighted to inform you that the latest Careers Wales spring newsletters are now available for parents and carers. These termly newsletters are carefully crafted to help families support their children as they make important and informed career decisions. Each edition provides up-to-date news, guidance, and information tailored to the relevant age group.

To view the newsletters, please click HERE.