News from MCS

It's been a wonderful week filled with student-led year assemblies - the Student Council have done a fantastic job of preparing and delivering a presentation to each year group about Kindness and Community. They will report back to you in a future edition of this newsletter.

As well as this, I have had the pleasure in taking part in a number of Student Voice activities, with topics of discussion ranging from how new GCSE courses are going with Year 10 students to the fine balance between freedom and responsibility with Year 11, via a great discussion about school fundraising activities with Year 8. I am proud that students at MCS are able to express such thoughtful, considered opinions - especially at times when they might disagree with each other or with me. They showed kindness and respect in their discussions.

Finally, on a practical note: as the weather gets colder and the rain persists, please could students be equipped with a suitable winter coat to wear to school when the weather demands it. The optional navy blue v neck jumper on the uniform policy is also an option in the cold winter months. Students should not be wearing non-uniform jumpers or hoodies at school. If anyone has concerns about affordability of coats at this time of increased pressures on household budgets then please contact us in confidence. We will do everything we can to help.

Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher

As indicated in the email home on 16th November, the Governing Body of MCS have asked the School to arrange an election for a Parent Governor.  

The role of Governors has become increasingly important. They must ensure that the requirements of the national curriculum are met, establish standards of behaviour, select key staff, deal with budget matters and take part in communications to the whole school community.

Governing Bodies are required to meet at least once a term and most meetings take place in the evening. The frequency and time of meetings is decided by the Governing Body. While meetings of the full Governing Body usually take place once per term, the successful appointee will also be appointed to one of our three sub-committees. Each sub committee holds 4 -5 meetings per year.  

Should you wish to complete a nomination form, please use the nomination form attached to the email sent to parents and carers on 16th November. Please contact us if you require a copy of this form.  All nominations should be submitted by 12 noon on Wednesday 30 November.
 

Our U13 Girls took part in the Newport County EFL Girls Cup Competition this week and were crowned Champions after winning a tough match on penalties against Caerleon in the Final in terrible conditions.

We were able to enter two teams due to the popularity of girls football at MCS. Team 1 went unbeaten through the whole competition and didn’t concede a single goal. Team 2 did brilliantly to qualify second in the group but, unfortunately, this meant a meeting of both our teams in the Semi Finals.

Our U13 Girls will now represent Newport County in the Regional rounds of the EFL Cup in January.  Well done to both teams.

Year 7/8 Squad 

Demi Littleboy, Jessica Stoddard, Megan Jackson, Alys Roberts, Isabella Hobson, Isla Davies, Elisabeth Jackson, Kacey Batty

Year 7 Squad:

Sophie Hall, Lowe Harris, Isla Pardoe, Lily Cornish, Seren Bowen, Lucy Tynan, 
Erin Heath

STOP PRESS:  FRIDAY PM  - U13 girls in the Welsh School FA Cup 3rd round win against a  competitive Tredegar side. Goals: Elisabeth Jackson,  Isabelle Hobson and Kacey Batty   PoM Elisabeth Jackson   A great way to end the week.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported Children in Need last Friday through donated cakes, spending money for cakes and donations through Parentpay.

The combined total for the bakesale and donations made through Parentpay came to £1,014.

Well done to the three winners of our CiN competitions on Friday:

Gabriella Bird (9RE) guessed the name of the Pudsey bear which was “Bruno”.

Ernest Tranter (7PF) guessed closest for the amount of skittles in the jar which was 378.

Jack Tavener (9JN) guessed closest for the amount of jelly tots in the jar which was 209.

On Saturday we raced our second event of the year and a quick turnaround from Stourport down at Avon Big Boats.

The club picked up two wins in J18 4x- (Club Captain Elliot Lynch-Warden, Tom Coates, Ffyn Parry and Tom McNally) and WJ18 4X- winning by 1.8 seconds over the 3250m course (Kate Rogers, Seren van der Horst, Hannah Rogers, and Maddie Dickens).

Our J16 4X+ sadly missed out on winning back-to-back events by a margin of 8 seconds but they felt steps were made in developing forwards.

It was great again to have more Year 10 students racing their first event for the Club and showcasing their skills.

We look forward to racing again in two weeks time at Wycliffe Head (Sat 3^rd Dec) and at our local event Monmouth Winter Head (Sun 4^th Dec).  

M Royston                                                                                                            

The Scholastic Book Fair returned to Monmouth Comprehensive School earlier this term and was a great success. There was much excitement and plenty of enthusiastic readers visiting the Book Fair at break times every day. It was wonderful to see the students, Year 7 in particular, so eager and interested to see the wide range of books we had on display.

The Fair was supported extremely well by Sixth Form Students studying for their English Language A Level who ran the Fair each day.

The total value of books sold was an impressive £1145.85 – the highest Book Fair sales we have ever had! This has generated a School Rewards balance of £687 which we can now spend on books for the English Department to benefit students across the school. Keep reading!

You can also purchase books through scholastic.co.uk at any time - they have some great offers throughout the year and you are able to link your account to Monmouth Comprehensive School to contribute to more School Rewards.

A huge well done to Oscar, Ioan, Rory, Henry, Alys, Ethan, Felix and Willo who were part of Monmouth Young Rugby U13s who took part in a sponsored virtual bike ride recently, supporting Dylan Morgan, a young player from Bargoed U13s Bulls.  

Dylan suffered a head injury during a match and is being treated at the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital, Cardiff.  To support Dylan and the Hospital, the team cycled the equivalent distance of Monmouth to Bargoed and back, raising over £1,000.  

Since 1976, the Rotary Youth World Affairs Seminar has provided a unique forum where over 30,000 future leaders from 30 different countries have debated some of the most complex global problems in the stimulating environment of Carroll University, Wisconsin.

The Rotary Club has an opportunity to help shape the world by nominating or sponsoring a 16–18-year-old student to attend face to face at the 2023 Rotary World Affairs seminar with fellow students from around the globe.  Two MCS students have been sponsored for this event in the past - they found it to be an amazing experience.

Year 11 and Year 12 students are invited to apply - please click HERE for further details.
 

The Roddy Thomson Memorial Bursary

We are delighted to announce a new bursary scheme has been founded for Year 13 students from Monmouth Comprehensive. This bursary is to support students interested in studying business related courses as a post-18 pathway, either at a Further or Higher Education institution.

This bursary is established in memory of Roddy Thomson, offered by The Talent Foundry in partnership with M&G plc.

The bursary will support students studying in Monmouthshire, where Roddy grew up and was Head Boy at Monmouth Comprehensive School and left a lasting impression.

For more details, please click HERE.

Amnesty International event at the Blake Theatre - Lord Rowan Williams

Lord Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, will speak on “The Human Rights Crisis: at home and abroad”, next Tuesday 29 November at 4.30pm in the Blake Theatre. There will be time for a discussion at the end of his talk. Lord Williams has strong connections with Monmouth, having been Bishop of Monmouth before being appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

All students, parents and family members are warmly invited to attend. The event has been organised by the Monmouth Amnesty International group in collaboration with all secondary schools in Monmouth, and there will be a collection in aid of Amnesty International.  No booking required.