Excellence for all and excellence from all

Parent's Bulletin 26th April 2024

(Posted on 26/04/24)

Dear Parent/Carer,   
Please find information below about all our upcoming events, assessments and activities and get in touch via the contact details at the bottom if you have any further questions.

School Times
School opens at 8.50am and closes at 3.10pm. All students are expected to be on the school site at 8.50am in readiness for registration.   

Attendance   
Regular attendance at school is important for your child’s mental health, wellbeing and attainment. Therefore, please ensure you child attends school every day when they are able to do so. Students need to be on the school site by no later than 8.50am. We do not authorise holidays during term time. If you wish to discuss your child's attendance, please contact their Head of Year or our Attendance Officer.          
All absences from school should be reported on the morning of each day of absence before 9.15am and provide a valid reason.   
1. Email –                    RobertsT581@hwbcymru.net (School Attendance Officer)  
2. Telephone –            01978 833010
3. Free Text –             07908670242

Failure to report your child’s absence from school creates a safeguarding issue.

Assemblies   
This week assemblies will focus on conduct and behaviour.

Year 10 Science Exams
Year 10 will be sitting some PPEs (Pre-Public Examinations) this week, starting with Biology on Thursday May 2nd. They will then continue into next week with Chemistry on Tuesday May 7th and Physics on Wednesday May 8th. The first GCSE Science exams for Year 10 will be sat in June.

GCSE Exams
GCSE exams begin in school on Thursday May 9th with Maths (Numeracy) at 9am and Drama at 1.30pm. Each exam will have a pre-examination briefing or revision session before hand, to help students make sure they are prepared. All morning exams will have a pre-examination briefing at 8am.   

Students have all received the timetable for their GCSEs. Anyone who has misplaced it or is not sure of dates can speak to the Exams Officers Miss Hughes or Mrs Jones at the Front Office.

Berlin and Poland Trip 2025
A trip to Berlin and Poland will be running in January 2025 for Year 9, 10 and 11 students. The trip is designed to inspire those students who are currently studying GCSE Humanities or who are considering choosing it at GCSE.  There are still some spaces available to any current Year 10 pupils who do either Geography, History or RE at GCSE, any Year 9 pupils who have chosen Geography, History or RE at GCSE in their options, and any Year 8 student who will be 14 by the end of January 2025 (as per tour company regulations). Anyone eligible to attend will be able to access the trip on their ParentPay.   
A letter with more details of dates, activities and costs is attached and parents can confirm a space by paying the deposit on ParentPay.

Stress Awareness Month    
April is Stress Awareness Month and this year the theme is “Little by Little, a Little Becomes a Lot.” This is the idea that small consistent actions each day contribute to overall wellbeing as a cumulative effect.
Some useful resources, produced by International Wellbeing Insights and the Stress Management Society were emailed home on Monday.

Gair Cymraeg yr Wythnos / Welsh Word of the Week    
To help promote the Welsh language in school we post a ‘Gair Cymraeg yr Wythnos’ (Welsh Word of the Week) each week on the school X (Twitter) page. Each week a pair of our T?m Iaith (Language Leaders) will film themselves saying a word in Welsh. This week’s word is: Parch (Respect).     
To see two of our T?m Iaith; Lily and Indie, demonstrating how to say the word, click the link: https://twitter.com/YsgolyGrango/status/1783782402013233397 

Brilliant Books         
Each week we recommend a ‘Brilliant Book’ for students. These books will always be aimed at young people and are available in the school Library. Our recommendation this week is ‘Planet Omar’ by Zanib Mian. Telling the story of Omar and his creative brain. The story is told both in written language and doodle-style drawing. This book is perfect for 11 and 12 year olds who sometimes feel out of place.

Film Club                  
Continuing our Science-Fiction season, we will be screening ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993) this Tuesday 3.10 – 5.10pm. All students are welcome but please let parents know if you are staying after school.

Current Initiatives    
We continue to look for donations of second-hand clean uniform items, including shoes in good condition. Anyone who has any uniform which no longer fits their child can bring it in to school and leave it at the School Office. We really appreciate your help. See the poster attached for more information.

Dates for Your Diary
Friday April 26th                                  Xplore! Workshop with Year 7
Monday May 6th                                  School closed for Bank Holiday
Thursday May 9th                                Maths Numeracy GCSE (AM)
Thursday May 9th                                Drama GCSE (PM)
Friday May 10th                                   Biology GCSE (AM) Y11 only
Monday May 13th                                English Literature GCSE (AM)
Tuesday May 14th                               French GCSE (AM)
Wednesday May 15th                          Business GCSE (PM)
Thursday May 16th                              Maths GCSE (AM)
Thursday May 16th                              Religious Studies GCSE (PM) All Y10 and Y11 resits
Friday May 17th                                   Chemistry GCSE (AM) Y11 only
Friday May 17th                                   Geography GCSE (PM)                                                                               

Timetable                  
This week’s timetable will be on Week 1.     
The week beginning Tuesday May 7th will be on Week 2.    

Contacting School   
Telephone: 01978 833010    Email: info@grango.co.uk          

Diolch yn fawr          
YYG Community