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News from MCS

22 12 22

As we reach the end of the term, we are taking particular joy in the Christmas celebrations that take place. Our wonderful Charity Committee students have collected donations from the community, and have put together support parcels for The Wallich in Newport. Christmas lunch is an exceptionally popular provision that was welcomed once again by staff and students. The school is resplendent with Santa hats, bubble adornments and tinsel today as part of our 'festive flourish'; we moved to this type of celebration after discussion with School Council following concerns that non-uniform days were not inclusive and resulted in lower attendance from disadvantaged families. Our Specialist Resource Base put on their Christmas performances for staff and students, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone - a remarkable series of energetic and enthusiastic performances, which were certainly amongst the highlights of the whole term for me. The school Carol Service was another wonderful celebration of student talent and community - it was such a privilege to be part of this event, and thank you to everyone who came to support and enjoy the performances.

A reminder that students all return on Tuesday 10th January for the usual registration time of 8.45am. We look forward to welcoming them back.

As part of our ongoing priority to support wellbeing, especially in the current cost of living crisis, we are trialling a universal free breakfast provision during the next half-term. Free breakfast will be available between 8.00am and 8.30am in the Food Hall for everyone. We are funding this trial through one-off additional funding from the Local Authority that we have gained. If this is a successful trial then we will need to work out how to fund it longer-term, so if any parents or carers have contacts in the corporate world or elsewhere who we could contact to discuss support of this important provision then I would be very grateful if you would let us know. My long-term hope is that we are able to evidence the positive impact that this has on our school community, and so can petition Welsh Government for it to be a national-funded policy. 

Nadolig Llawen pawb - Merry Christmas everyone. I wish you all a restful and joyful break. Thank you for all of the support you give to the whole school community.

Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher

Calendar - School Website Update

Following a request from a parent, we have asked our website provider to add a subscribe button to our calendar, to enable parents to download it to their own devices.

This link HERE will take you to the calendar, please click Subscribe and select the option you require.

We hope this addition will help you keep up with events at MCS.

MCSFA Autumn Term Update

This term has been busy for the Friends. We met 3 times; the first meeting being the AGM in October which was well attended. MCS Friends has three officers (listed below) and now, a larger core committee than previously.

Harriet Jones               Chair

Denise Robbins           Treasurer

Leanne Wakerley        Secretary

We have continued to liaise with the school senior leadership team to define fundraising projects that the Friends will support. Currently these are:-

  • Ongoing support of the table tennis tables with a rolling agreement of £50 per term to replenish bats and balls to ensure they remain open to all
  • £1500 initial contribution to some exciting developments in the school library
  • £5000 contribution to support Summer Learning activities. Due to funding cuts elsewhere, without our help these would not be possible this year.
  • Planning for a future contribution to the displaying of students work around the school
  • Friends have also developed a fund of £2000 to offer smaller amounts to all Departments for equipment needs around the school. Staff are in the process of applying directly to the Friends for these grants; so far grants have been agreed for Maths, Welsh, DT Food, Social Sciences, Science and the Specialist Resource Base.

Fundraising Activities

Christmas Raffle – Our main fundraising activity this term has been the Christmas raffle which was drawn on 15th December and has raised £2,370 for the school. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and congratulations to the winners.

Easy Fundraising Easy Fundraising – has raised £469 for the school this financial year so far. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this. If you haven’t already signed up or downloaded the donation reminder please consider signing up. The amounts are often small but they soon add up and it is free.

Logon and sign up at:

 www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/monmouthcomp/

Second Hand Uniform – has raised £960 this financial year and the same amount for Bridges Community Centre. Thank you to everyone who has donated and bought uniform. Second hand uniform can be dropped into school in the blue bins next to main doors and can be bought at the Bridges Community shop on Monmouth high street.

Dates for your diaries

  • Next Friends meeting – 23rd January 2023, 7.30pm  at the Estero Lounge
  • Family Quiz and Curry night at school – Friday 10th February 2023

Huge thanks to everyone who has contributed to the work of the Friends over the last term. If you would like to get involved, please email us at moncompfriends@gmail.com  and we will add you to our helper list and ensure that you receive regular information about our activities and how you can help.

Merry Christmas,

MCS Friends Association

Wellbeing

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in our school community an enjoyable Christmas break. I hope you are able to celebrate with family and friends enjoy the break we all need. Whatever you are doing, wherever you are and which way you choose to spend the break, may it be a restful and happy one for you and your families.

It is a time to consider our own wellbeing whilst still trying to share and bring a little magic to others.

If you are finding it is more of a struggle than you had hoped, please follow this link for some Christmas wellbeing tips https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/christmas-and-mental-health/christmas-coping-tips/ 

D Williams
Assistant Headteacher

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Wellbeing Ambassadors

We, as Wellbeing Ambassadors, have continued to look out for the wellbeing of the school community, attending assemblies and attempting to help students who could use some assistance or company at break and lunch times.

We are committed to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing within the school community and are passionate about helping students who may be struggling a little, ensuring that everyone feels supported and valued.

We can often be found attending the assemblies of younger year groups and attempt to make ourselves available to anyone who may need support, and are always ready to listen and offer advice.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas from all of the wellbeing team! 

 

Catching up with the Music Department

Carol Service 

This year's Carol Service - as with every year - didn’t fail to get staff, students and parents into the Christmas spirit!  As the first year back in person after the pandemic, the students worked tirelessly on their orchestral pieces, their choir numbers and their readings.  Together they created a fantastic service for a completely full congregation, completed with lovely blessings from Reverend Tim and Reverend Catherine. 

Higher Education Offers 

Mia Featherston-Lester 
Leeds University to study Music and Music Pyschology MArts, BA.

Milo Kent 
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts - Sound Technology 
Salford Uni  - Sound Production, Technical Theatre 
Birmingham City - Music Tech 
DBS Institute Manchester - Sound Tech and Production

Noa Ryder
Unconditional offer for BIMM (Brighton) Music Performance (Drums)
 

Ewan Bredemear-Walters 
Belfast University - Music and Audio Production 
York University -  Music and Sound Recording 

Gracie Powell 
Bristol School of Acting - call back 

Music Exam Results

DRUMS
Noa Ryder – Grade 8 - Distinction
Mathew Jones – Grade 6 - Merit
Dilwyn Howells – Grade 1 - Merit
Sam Willis – Grade 1

PIANO (ABRSM)
Eliska van der Veen - Grade 2 - Merit
Hazel Warren - Grade 1 - Distinction
Gillie Daykin - Grade 1 - Merit

SINGING (TRINITY)
Owain Phillips - Grade 4 - Merit
Mia Owen - Grade 3 - Merit

MUSIC THEATRE (Singing) (LCM)
Holly Ayling - Grade 4 - Distinction

Tickets are now on sale for our production in February.

www.ticketsource.co.uk/monmouth-comprehensive-school

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Useful Information

Onsite Safety

We would like to remind parents about safety on and around the School site. 

At the start of the day, the safe ‘drop-off’ point for students arriving by car is at the rear of the School in the car park accessed via Dixton Road.  Please use the drop-off zone (the vehicle to pavement area on the left) and then exit the school site.   Please do not park in the parking bays to drop off your child/children. 

Students can be safely collected from the car park at the end of the school day from 3.20pm, once home to school transport vehicles have exited.

If you need to park and come into School for any reason, please use the visitor car park located adjacent to the Leisure Centre, off Old Dixton Road (we can buzz you in) and report to Reception on arrival. Please do not park on The Burgage in front of the school as this can impede access for our neighbours or for emergency service vehicles.  Please note the Leisure Centre car park is not part of the school and is for Leisure Centre customers only.

Healthcare

As the season of coughs and colds is upon us, we’d just like to remind parents/carers of the system at MCS.

If your child feels unwell during the day, they should speak to the teacher taking their lesson who will call someone from the PSO team to talk to them, find out what is wrong and liaise with Healthcare.  Our Healthcare Support Worker will talk to the student and call home to request that a student is collected, if necessary.

Please remind your child of this process – students should not be calling/messaging home directly, either during lesson time or during break.  Our system means that we are quickly aware that a student is unwell, that we know where to locate them and that we can then ensure they are somewhere comfortable and supported whilst awaiting collection.

If, however, your child contacts you, please contact the school (01600 775177), explain the situation and we will then locate and speak to your child.  As mentioned above, Healthcare will contact you if your child needs to be collected.

Appointments during the School Day

If your child has an appointment outside school during the day, could you please let the school know in advance (01600 775177).  This means that it is recorded at Reception and they can be signed out quickly, avoiding unnecessary delays. You may also wish to give your child a note to show their teacher, who will release them from class. 

If we are not aware of a request to leave school, either via a message or a note, we are obliged to call parents/carers to confirm a child is leaving/being met at Reception.  If we are unable to make contact with a parent/carer, we cannot allow a student to leave the school.

Your ongoing support is very much appreciated.

Social Science Faculty

After an exceptional term, with multiple nominations to review, the Social Sciences Faculty are pleased to announce their ‘Students of the Term’. These students have been awarded for their excellent attitude to learning and dedication to their studies. Congratulations to:

Year 13
Nia Johns (Law) and Ellie Price (Psychology / Criminology)

Year 12
Hannah Robbins (Psychology) and Sivani King (Law / Criminology / HSCCC)

Year 11
Milly George (Psychology) and Hollie Trigg (Psychology / HSCCC)

Year 10
Elsa Sims (Psychology) and Jess Cooper-Jones (HSCCC)

Well done Max


Max Swayne, who is only 13, played in the Prestige 18U G5 tennis competition this week and won it, playing some tough matches against older and stronger players.

Max is going from strength to strength with his tennis - congratulations Max.

Table Tennis - Part 2

Students will be delighted to hear that the MCS Friends have kindly paid for more table tennis bats to use on our lovely outdoor tables.

These bats are specifically for frequent use and are far more substantial than our original ones.  However, this does mean that we will be asking students for the deposit of a phone or equivalent before they can take them and the student who leaves the deposit will be the one responsible for returning the bats/ball to Reception.

Obviously, students who are bringing their own bats in are still more than welcome to do so.

These new bats will be available on our return to school on Tuesday 10 January.  A big thank you to the Friends for continuing to supply equipment.

Community

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A Week in Pictures

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School Absence Line

Reporting an absence

Please note that the direct number to report your child's absence is 01600 775284. 

This is an answerphone which is available 24/7 for you to leave a brief message - your child's name, Form and reason for absence.

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Dates to Remember

INSET DAY
All Day
09
January
TERM STARTS
All Day
10
January
Y9 Parents' Evening
All Day
12
January
Sixth Form Open Evening
All Day
18
January
Y8 Parents' Evening
All Day
26
January
Sister Act - School Production
All Day
01
February
Sister Act - School Production
All Day
02
February
Sister Act - School Production
All Day
03
February
Sister Act - School Production
All Day
04
February
CHEF
All Day
08
February
Y9 Tutor Contact
All Day
15
February
TERM ENDS
All Day
17
February

Website: www.monmouthcomprehensive.org.uk | Twitter: @LearnWithMCS