News from MCS

I hope you have had a moment to look at our Estyn report, which was published this week. It does have a handy one-page summary at the start to give you an overview of their findings. We are very pleased with the outcomes, and thank you also for your supportive replies and messages of congratulations to our dedicated staff here.

Of course, a positive Estyn report doesn't mean that the job is done! It is a very busy time of year, what with the preparation for exams, and our planning for summer learning and next academic year. It is at points such as these where routines and consistency really support both academic progress and wellbeing. We will be returning next week to reminders about daily expectations with students, and support of these will continue from us from tutors, Ready to Learn support and all staff. We appreciate your support at home too, so that home and school can continue to work together to support your child. 

Reminders to students next week will focus on:

1. Uniform. Hoodies, non-uniform jumpers etc. are not permitted to be worn in school. Shirts must be tucked in and top buttons done up. Blazers and ties must be worn. We will announce a trial 'summer uniform' approach later this term, which will not entail anyone needing to buy extra uniform.

2. Mobile phones. For reasons outlined in our policy here, mobile phones should be away in a bag or a locker at all times (with different arrangements for Sixth Form study only). We would rather stick with our current policy that sits with our school values of Freedom (to bring a mobile phone to school, often for travel safety reasons) with Responsibility (to keep it away at all times). An alternative approach for the school to take would be immediate confiscation for any phone seen, which we hope will not be necessary with a reminder to students from school and from home. 

We would really appreciate you having conversation with your child about the above and reminding them of these expectations. We will be doing the same at the start of next week.

All the best for a restful and (hopefully) spring-like weekend.

Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher

During the Spring Term, over 500 students a week took advantage of the wide range of opportunities offered by their teachers after school. 

Our Summer Term Clubs will run from Monday 24^th April until Friday 7^th July from 3.15 and the Dining Hall will be open until 4.30 if students want to access refreshments either side of their activities. 

If any changes need to be made to the schedule during the term students will be informed in registration and parents via our social media communication.

Our Summer Term schedule can be found on the link below.

SUMMER SCHEDULE 2023

The next MCS Friends Association meeting takes place on Monday 24th April, 7.30pm at The Punch House, Monmouth.

Everyone is welcome - please do come along and join us.

MCS Friends

Music

Three of our drummers have done amazingly well in their drum exams this academic year:

Sam Deighton, Year 9, received distinction grade 7

Sarah Powell, Year 11, received merit grade 6

Noah Ryder, Year 13, received distinction grade 8.

Well done to all three students.

Tennis

Max Swayne yet again has had further success during the Easter holidays.

Firstly, he got into the final of a 14U Grade 3 Competition at the Cheltenham Open. He then just missed out on another final at the Avon 14U Grade 3 Spring Tournament, losing to the 1^st seed in a match tie-break. Then Max and his partner Will Adams also got into the semi-finals of the Avon 14U Grade 3 Doubles, again, sadly losing in a match tie-break. Three great achievements as a Grade 3 Competition is rated as hard. Finally, last weekend, Max also won an 18U Grade 5 Competition at Painswick LTC.

To top this, Max has just been selected as one of the five players to represent South Wales in the 14U Boys County Team, which has been given direct acceptance into the GB National Finals in Nottingham in May, being one of only six counties to do so.  Well done Max.

Year 7 student Ethan has been growing his hair for the last three years and decided two years ago to continue to grow it and donate to the Little Princess Trust.

He managed to donate 16 inches of hair and so far he has raised £820. By March 2023, the average cost of making a wig had risen to £550 with the addition of fitting and styling costs bringing the overall total to £700.

Ethan's dad has created a justgiving page to try and raise more funds for the charity.  If you would like to donate, please visit Ethan's page (link below) where  you can also learn more about the Little Princess Trust.

Ethan's Justgiving page

Award-winning educational charity, Ideas Foundation, has launched the Coronation Generation - a poster design challenge for schools and colleges across the UK.

Aimed at students aged 8 to 18, the Coronation Generation challenge invites schools and colleges to submit digital poster designs which reflect one or more of four key themes - community, diversity, sustainability and youth.

Over the Coronation weekend, a selection of posters will be displayed across hundreds of digital sites across the country, donated by Clear Channel UK, with the potential to be viewed by thousands of people every day.

Heather MacRae, CEO of the Ideas Foundation says: “We want children and young people to be involved in Coronation celebrations. By sharing their reflections on specific themes, students will have an opportunity to develop their skills on a live brief showcasing their work to a nationwide audience.”

Free downloadable resources for use in classrooms are available, including a full brief and all of the materials and guidance needed to enter the challenge. The brief can also align with Art and Design, English, and History curriculum.

Entries must be suitable for display on large format digital posters (think bus shelter size!) and all entries should be received by 30^th April.

For more information and to download the Coronation Generation toolkit, head to the Ideas Foundation website: coronationgeneration.org

To discover other ways schools can get involved with the Coronation, check out our resources for schools page.

The Owain Glyndrw Society are taking entries for their annual photography competition - please see below.

Full competition details may be found on the link below to the Children's Section of their website: 

Photography  competition