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Welcome to this week’s newsletter, which this week is particularly well-stocked with opportunities for students and families, both at school and in the wider community. Please do take the time to read through it all, as there is a wide variety of opportunities and support available, as well as key dates for the diary at the end. You will also note an update from Welsh Water about the next stage of works in Monmouth; I know that we all fervently hope that the works will come to an end as planned by the end of the calendar year.

We are celebrating 10 years of Show Racism The Red Card Day today at school, with flourishes of red in abundance. This is the culmination of a focus on this vitally important issue in our Wellbeing Curriculum and in assemblies, and we’ve been really pleased with the thoughtful responses and reflections that have taken place around this day.

All the best for the weekend ahead.

Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher

Congratulations to 11 yr old Lyra Swayne from Yr7, on winning the 12U Grade 4 Tennis Tournament at Lansdown, Bath on Sunday. It was a great final – winning the 2^nd set on a tie break 14-12!

Great tennis, well done!

Expressions of Interest – Y7 and Y8 Welsh Trip to Llangrannog July 2025

The Welsh Faculty is organising a trip to Llangrannog from Wednesday 16^th July to Friday 18^th July 2025.  The cost of the visit is £180.00 and includes transport to and from Llangrannog, accommodation, all meals, a series of activities including daily Welsh lessons, skiing, go-karting, quad biking, high ropes, climbing and many more.  

There are 50 available places which will be assigned to Year 7 and Year 8 students.

Please click on the link below to register your child’s interest in this trip.  The closing date to register interest is Friday 25th October.

https://forms.gle/pzxvgiSwJRJatzQg8

Please note that registering does not guarantee a place on the trip and should the number interested exceed the number of places, students will be selected by random lottery.

Inspirational Talk from David Binns, CEO Sanako UK

Years 8 and 9 had the great opportunity to listen to our engaging guest speaker, David Binns, on European Languages Day, who promotes the advantages of having a language skill in the workplace. David has completed 487 talks to date and has a proven track record of increasing uptake at GCSE.

After the positive response of our students, we are confident that his visit will have a positive impact for future years. We are delighted that David will be returning to Monmouth to talk to Year 9 parents next month about the advantages of language skills. More details will follow soon.

Congratulations to our Heritage Language Students

We are delighted to share the success of our students, who have achieved GCSEs in Polish and Russian this year. We are so proud that, in collaboration with GEMS ( Newport), we can support all students who may have extra language skills and ensure that they achieve recognition in the form of a formal qualification.  

If students have any skills in the languages below, they should see Miss Snook, Faculty Lead of International Languages.

Celebrating our Germanists in Higher Education

German is often no longer offered in many secondary schools and we are proud of the fact we still offer German to GCSE and A Level. All students in Year 7,8 and 9 now study German together with French and Spanish and we are proud of our multilingual approach.  Last year, four students took German A level and we are delighted to report that three of those students are now pursuing German at university. One is reading German and Portuguese at Newcastle, one is studying German and French at Chester and one is reading German and Russian at Edinburgh. The students always demonstrated a keen interest in German and we are thrilled that we have given them a springboard to explore German further in addition to other languages.

We are so proud of the commitment of these students. We wish them success in their languages in the future.

Artificial Intelligence is predicted to be one of the largest disruptive changes we will experience in our lifetimes. But whilst AI can potentially provide enormous benefits, without the widespread adoption of responsible AI practices, it is equally capable of causing harm.

AI is not new, but the sudden explosion of generative AI in our lives has brought with it more questions than answers. What exactly is this technology? What can it do? What can't it do? And, importantly, what should or shouldn't it do?

As technology evolves and becomes more sophisticated, it's understandable that we're uneasy about actual and anticipated challenges. A recent survey showed that many young people are excited about generative AI's potential for increased efficiency at school and work, enhanced creativity, and opportunities for accessing information. However, they are concerned about the potential for generative AI to lead to job loss, theft of intellectual property and personal data, misinformation and AI 'taking over'.

To support your child better understand AI and guide them to use new tools responsibly, please check out Common Sense Media’s parent guide 'Helping Kids Navigate the World of Artificial Intelligence'.

Good value may be found by using the £1.80 Meal Deal options which comprise:

• Hot Meal including all accompaniments, and a piece of fruit or cookie or jelly OR
   
• Simple sandwich, and a piece of fruit or cookie or jelly, and 500ml water OR
   
• Simple baguette, and a piece of fruit or cookie or jelly, and 500ml water OR
   
•  Jacket Potato (one filling), and a piece of fruit or cookie or jelly, and 500ml water  OR

• Pasta (one sauce), and a piece of fruit or cookie or jelly, and 500ml water OR
   
• Cheese pizza, and a piece of fruit or cookie or jelly, and 500ml water

Please note : students must have all three items to be charged at the Meal Deal price of £1.80.  If they just take two of the three items through, they will be charged as individual items.

To keep hydrated at school, it is suggested that students bring a bottle of water/water bottle to school which can always be refilled at one of the water fountains during the day.

The school nursing service will visit the school to offer pupils a nasal flu spray vaccine on: Monday 2nd December and Tuesday 3rd December.

The NHS recommends that your child has a flu vaccination every year. 

It’s very important to protect your child from flu to make sure they stay as healthy as possible. The best flu vaccine for most children is a nasal spray. This is the vaccine that will be given on the day.    

The online consent form and additional information can be found here:  https://linktr.ee/schoolfluab  

To help make sure the vaccine is suitable for your child, and they don’t miss out, please take time to read the information and follow the link to complete the electronic consent form as soon as possible, before the planned vaccination date, no later than 48 hours before the above date. Any consent forms submitted after this time may result in your child not receiving their vaccine on the day.  

Should you have any difficulties accessing the above link, please contact 01633 431685 for further support.  

A big thank you to everyone who purchased a book at the Fair during its time with us. 

Over £700 was taken which has resulted in rewards of nearly £300 which can be spent on books for the school.

We are delighted so many students enjoy the magic of a good book.

Thank you to all of you who bought tickets and made our first fundraising event of the year a GREAT success. A record-breaking number of student teams signed up and overall we sold 110 tickets, making a profit of £821.39 which will go straight into the funding pot for this year.

The five quiz rounds were expertly compered by Chloe Mitchell and Holly Ayling and interspersed with exceptional musical recitals from Rosie Exton (on Harp) and Isla Davies (singing and playing piano). 

Congratulations to the winning adult and student quiz teams; Los Flamingos (51 points) and The Bestest (45 points), respectively.

The feedback from parents and students alike was extremely positive and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our future events.

Monmouthshire County Council are holding a Residents Survey that will be open until 31 October. 

Following a fantastic response so far, they are keen to ensure all residents in the county have an opportunity to share their voice.

The survey hosted by Data Cymru is part of their National Residents Survey, designed to support local councils in increasing their understanding of performance and perception. It asks questions about the quality of the local environment as well as satisfaction with services such as education, social care, transport, recycling, libraries and leisure centres.

They also have a dedicated webpage that will direct people to the survey. 

Eng: https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/monmouthshire-resident-survey/

Welsh: https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/cy/arolwg-preswylwyr-sir-fynwy/

Gwent Health Guide - an online tool designed to assist the residents of Gwent in navigating the complexities of the local healthcare system.    

The Gwent Health Guide, which is accessible through the Health Board's website, aims to empower individuals in finding the right health and wellbeing services for themselves, their family members, and loved ones.    

The guide was developed in response to concerns expressed by local people about the challenges they face in knowing where to seek medical help from NHS services. By ensuring that local residents can access the appropriate healthcare services promptly, the free, comprehensive ‘Gwent Health Guide’ aims to take some of the pressure off local NHS services and improve patient experience.    

The online resource offers advice on where to go for a wide range of health and wellbeing concerns in the Gwent area, from life-threatening illnesses and injuries, to mental health difficulties and minor ailments. Easy to use and accessible 24/7, the tool is available in both English and Welsh, as well as offering an option to translate its contents into more than 100 languages via the ReciteMe assistive toolbar.  

In addition to this, our Communications & Engagement team will be on hand to discuss the guide in more detail in local communities at regular face to face engagement sessions. Printed copies of the guide will also be available for those who are unable to access the guide online. You can find out where the team will be on our website here: https://abuhb.nhs.wales/about-us/engagement/community-engagement/where-youll-find-us/ The team are also spreading the word by distributing posters to community venues such as supermarkets, libraries, cafes, community centres and more.  If you would like to display a poster for us, please get in touch.  

For more information and to access the Gwent Health Guide, please visit: https://abuhb.nhs.wales/hospitals/gwent-health-guide/ 

Welsh Water Update

Our contractors, Morrisons Water Services, will be returning to Monk Street to install a new water pipe as part of the essential work we are currently undertaking in the area. In order to complete the work as safely as we can, we will need to install temporary multi-way lights at the junctions of Dixton Road, Priory Street, Monk Street and the Parade. We understand that the last section of work we undertook in this area caused concerns, therefore, we will be working at a much smaller scale.

The reason we need to return is to install another water pipe on the opposite side of the road. We were unable to do this at the same time as the previous work due to the way in which the pipework carries water and how we supply it to our customers.

The temporary traffic lights will be manned, and we will be monitoring the work closely. We certainly do not want to cause disruption to our customers and will do all that we can to assist and help where possible.

As long as everything goes to plan, we will complete the work by the middle of November. At present, the team is due to work during the working day and if we do need to extend the working hours, we will certainly look into this further.

We have updated our website and published a social post regarding this section of work. If you wish to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can find our website updates by visiting: www.dwrcymru.com/inyourarea

Kind regards,

Chloe Sebburn
Welsh Water | Customer Engagement Officer – South East Wales