News from MCS

A highlight this week has been the wonderful lower school production of Matilda Jr. We are all so proud of the students who have taken part, both on stage and behind the scenes. A full report will follow next week, but a heartfelt thank you to all students, all the staff involved and to you all for coming along and supporting four sold-out performances. A triumph!

Also of note today was an unplanned fire evacuation, caused by a faulty detector unit. I mention it because of the resilience of everyone who had to stand out in the pouring rain whilst we checked the building for safety. The students dealt with a tricky situation really well (and next time I will try and grab my coat on the way out...). We will have all detector units re-checked in the coming break.

We also look forward to Summer Learning next week - Tuesday to Thursday next week inclusive. If your child is going out on a trip then please ensure you have given the requisite permission. You will have received an email if permission is required. I know that students and staff are looking forward to the wide variety of experiences that we have planned.

Finally, you can now read the two Estyn case studies that summarise areas of our school that are particular strengths and are shared nationally. The links are as follows:

An integrated approach to specialist provision | Estyn (gov.wales)

Ymagwedd integredig at ddarpariaeth arbenigol | Estyn (llyw.cymru)

A knowledge-rich approach to Curriculum for Wales | Estyn (gov.wales)

Ymagwedd gwybodaeth gyfoethog at y Cwricwlwm i Gymru | Estyn (llyw.cymru)

All the best for the weekend.

Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher

Last week saw Ollie Copping (Y9) and his sister Libby (Y7) both racing in the European BMX Championships held in Besancon in France. 

Next stop for them both is the World Championships in Glasgow in August - good luck both !

This year's NENs, in Product Design, have been researching plastic pollution in the world oceans, focusing mainly on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

They have been exploring ways to raise awareness of this problem and highlight the importance of recycling at the same time.

To do this they have been taking milk bottle tops, melting them down using a heat press, to turn into keyrings in the shapes of different sea creatures affected by pollution.

They are also designing the recycled packaging to go along with their keyring, and to help spread more awareness on this problem.

China Wales Competition

Massive congratulations to  Natalie Perry,Year 9, who won first prize in the Confucius Institute China Wales Competition for her age group. Natalie created a video which was then shown at the 15^th Anniversary Event of the Confucius Institute at Cardiff University. The video required some use of Mandarin, whilst presenting the culture of Wales. We are so impressed by Natalie's creativity as well as her excellent linguistic skills. She received such wonderful comments at the ceremony, praising her production. Natalie received a £75 gift card, which is well deserved.

Year 9 have been given the opportunity this year to learn Mandarin over six weeks and have been introduced to elements of Chinese culture. The International Languages Team are working collaboratively with the Confucius  Institute to develop this again next year, combining visits and virtual lessons with Mandarin teachers.  It is so important we create opportunities for our students to learn a variety of languages, therefore also creating an awareness of cultures in our global world. 

German Students Achieve Goethe Institute Qualification

We are delighted to share the success of these students who are achieved their A1 Certificate in German, an internationally recognised qualification, equivalent to half a GCSE. These students completed the online course delivered by the Goethe Institute as an extra-curricular activity over 13 weeks. Their dedication and hard work has truly been recognised.

The Goethe Institute promote the German language worldwide and offer language courses at any level. The students completing this course were given a basic introduction to simple phrases and completed assignments independently via an online learning platform. Every week students were then taught by Magda, who would speak with students to enable them to practice their language and assess.

We are so proud of the commitment of these students. Well Done.

As indicated in last week's newsletter, all students will be required to remove their padlocks and empty their lockers by the end of term on Thursday 20th July.  The last week of term is always exceptionally busy with Summer Learning, but it is important that students ensure that all padlocks are removed and the lockers are emptied.

As we will need to clean the lockers over the summer, ready for the start of term in September, any padlocks left on will be removed along with the contents of the locker.

Please remember, for September, that a padlock with a shackle diameter of 6.3mm (1/4 ‘’) is required to secure any locker.  Please do not use a diameter smaller than this as it will not secure the locker.

Could we also ask that Parentpay accounts are kept topped up to ensure students can continue to use the Food Hall until the end of term.  Thank you.