This Thursday, 12^th December, is National Christmas Jumper Day. All pupils and staff are encouraged to wear Christmas jumpers to school. Dress for pupils is normal school uniform with Christmas jumpers or normal shirt/tie jumper if not wearing Christmas jumpers.

7AHA had a fantastic afternoon learning about codes and ciphers with Theresa from Mathematics Support Programme Wales.  We learnt about the Pigpen cipher and were able to decode secret messages and write our own messages to our friends.  We then went on to make a cipher wheel to help us decode using the Caesar cipher.

Our Year 10 photography pupils visited Swansea for their second location photo shoot on Friday 6th December. The crisp, cold weather and excellent sunlight provided the perfect backdrop for capturing a range of stunning images.

The pupils explored several vibrant locations, including the SA1 Waterfront, the Marina, the City Centre, and the tropical Plantasia Greenhouse. Each setting offered exciting opportunities to develop their skills, experiment with composition, and capture unique perspectives.

The photographs taken during this shoot will play a vital role in their coursework. Pupils will continue to use these images right up to the end of term as they refine their editing techniques and create their final pieces. A fantastic effort by everyone involved!LikeCommentSave for later

Creative Workshop Success with Year 9 and 10 Artists

This week, 75 of our talented Year 9 and 10 pupils had the incredible opportunity to work alongside professional Welsh artist Lesley Dearn in a series of hands-on workshops.

The focus of the sessions was on the exciting technique of gel printing, a brand-new skill for our pupils. This quick and dynamic method allowed them to create stunning results, sparking inspiration for their future projects.

The workshops were a fantastic opportunity for our young artists to explore professional techniques, experiment creatively, and produce work they can develop further in their art journey. A huge thank you to Lesley Dearn for sharing her expertise and enthusiasm!

Gem gwych yma y prynhawn ‘ma yng Nghynghrair Pel-droed Blwyddyn 7 Gorllewin Morgannwg. Enillon ni 3-0 yn erbyn Ysgol Bro Dur, gem olaf yn y grwp fydd oddi cartref i Gefn Saeson ym mis Ionawr. Great game here this afternoon in the Welsh Glamorgan Year 7 Football League. We won 3-0 v Ysgol Bro Dur, the last group game will be away to Cefn Saeson in January. Da iawn bechgyn!

Please click on the link below to view the S4C show Pawb a’i Farn, filmed in school last Thursday evening.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0k4f9y0/pawb-ai-farn-rhaglen-thu-28-nov-2024-2100

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0k4f9y0/pawb-ai-farn-rhaglen-thu-28-nov-2024-2100

Llongyfarchiadau enfawr i’n tim pel-rwyd blwyddyn 7 wrth gyrraedd y rownd gyn-derfynol yn Nghystadleuaeth Pel Rwyd Genedlaethol Yr Urdd yng Nghaerdydd heddiw. Huge congratulations to our year 7 netball team on reaching the semi finals of the Urdd National Netball Championships in Cardiff today.

Diolch yn fawr i Mrs Harrison am drefnu profiad arbenning o dda i’r merched. Huge thanks to Mrs Harrison for providing the girls with this wonderful experience. 

Canlyniadau/Results

Group

Ysgol Bae Baglan 8  Ysgol Coedcae 0

Ysgol Bae Baglan 7 Queen Elizabeth High School 0

Ysgol Bae Baglan 9 Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari 1

Ysgol Bae Baglan 6 Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw 4

Quarter Final

Ysgol Bae Baglan 6 Ysgol Cwm Brombil 1

Semi Final

Ysgol Bae Baglan 10 Ysgol Y Strade 11 (after extra time and shootout)

Llongyfarchiadau i Ysgol Gyfun Bro Edern am ennill y gystadleuaeth. 

Da iawn wir blwyddyn 7!! Gwaith ardderchog wrth redeg Ras Elusennol Nadolig 2km yn yr ysgol heddiw er mwyn codi arian at yr elusen CHECT. A huge well done to Year 7!! Excellent work in running their 2km Christmas Charity Race in school today, raising money for the CHECT charity. CHECT is a specialist eye cancer trust charity supporting a rare condition affecting just 30 people in the UK. Emily Cooper 7AHA has a little sister affected by the illness.

Canlyniadau/Results:

Ras Y Bechgyn

1af: Brody Howells 7SGO Amser 7:55

2il: Rueben Weaver 7AHA Amser 8:50

3ydd: Moses Rouse-Price 7HDY Amser 8:53

Ras Y Merched

1af: Carys Singleton 7SGO Amser 9:13

2il: Ruby Cann 7SLS Amser 10:25

3ydd: Cassie Reed 7SLS Amser 10:48

LAST WEEK

Primary Phase Christmas Concerts

Last week saw the Christmas concerts for our Primary Phase. The pupils did exceptionally well and everybody it’s fair to say was royally entertained!! As I said in the concerts, we are very grateful for the support of parents and carers who helped supply costumes-they looked amazing. A big thank you also to the staff who helped organise the two productions.

Gwobr Arian Siarter Iaith Silver Award

We are exceptionally proud after receiving the Welsh Language Charter Silver Award. Huge congratulations to our pupils, staff, parents and community partners. Diolch yn fawr to Mr Rhys Locke from the Local Authority for his extremely positive validation visit. 

Blwyddyn 7 / Year 7

Llongyfarchiadau to our Seren yr Wythnos, Chelsea Woodham and Taylor Darcy Jones, along with Amahrae Evans and Callan Boxall for their wonderful interviews with S4C, earning their Gwobr Cymreictod. 

After several quality applications, Ayna Reezman, James Eagle and Jayden Morgan have been announced as our Digital Leaders. Blwyddyn 7 have been continuing their kindness with an extensive range of donations for the local Mr. X appeal. Diolch yn fawr for the huge generosity shown!

Football v St Joseph’s

It was lovely to welcome the year 7 boys football team from Ysgol St Joseph’s and their parents to school for a league game. Excellent performances from both teams and congratulations to our Year 7 on their 7-3 victory.

Blwyddyn 8 / Year 8

This week’s Seren Yr Wythnos Certificates were awarded to Joshua Jones and Will Button both of 8AWA for the support and kindness to a new pupil who joined their form class. They both went above and beyond to make the new pupil feel welcome and supported in their new school. Well done boys!

Many Year 8 pupils have been very busy this week in extra- curricular activities, they have taken part in the Girls Hockey tournament on Tuesday, they have been involved in Criw Cymraeg, they have been busy promoting and collecting for the Mr X Appeal and meeting with Assembly Minister for Aberafan; Mr David Rees.  Finally, pupils are in the process of volunteering themselves for the Pupil Voice Committees. I’m pleased to say many pupils have put themselves forward.

Year 8 Hockey v Ysgol Ystalyfera/Ysgol Bro Dur

Da iawn to our year 8 hockey team who played their first matches against Ysgol Bro Dur and Ysgol Ystalyfera, excellent results.  

It was a pleasure to welcome AM for Aberafan David Rees to school for a Q&A session with a group of our year 7,8,9 and 10 pupils. He talked about his roles and responsibilities and explaining the wider role of the Senedd. Our pupils were great, asking important and mature questions.

Mrs John’s National Youth Arts Trust Theatre Group, made up mainly of past and present pupils,  performed in the Shakespeare Festival in the Gwyn Hall last week. They were an absolute credit to our school! Mrs John said she was extremely proud of them, their performance was outstanding as was their behaviour. 

Results

Some excellent individual performances at the Cross-Country Championships held at the Elba grounds, Gowerton. In particular-

Year 7 Boys (75 participants) – Brody Howells (3^rd), Callan Boxall (4^th), Reuben Weaver (15^th)

Year 7 Girls (66) – Carys Singleton (11^th)

Year 8/9 Boys (101) – Sam Gibbon (7^th)

Year 8/9 Girls (90) – Annie Evans (2^nd)

 Year 7 Boys Football v St Josephs (home) – Won

 Year 9 Boys Rugby v Cefn Hengoed – Ospreys Cup (away) – Lost

 Year 7 Boys Rugby v Dwr Y Felin (home) – Lost

 Year 10 Boys Rugby v Cefn Hengoed – Ospreys Cup (Home)

THIS WEEK

Some things to be aware of this week include:

Year 11 Mock Examinations

Year 11 mock examinations have started this week. Mr Williams has put details on the school website. It is important that pupils attend all examinations

Christmas Dinner

Christmas dinner is on Wednesday 4th December. Again, information has been posted on the school website.

Change of INSET Date

You may have seen on the school website that the scheduled INSET in March has been moved to Monday 17th February. This is beyond our control unfortunately as it is WJEC training linked to the new GCSE Qualifications which come in to effect from September 2025.

Fixtures/Training 2^nd-6^th Dec

Mon 2^nd – Year 7/8 girls netball training (lunch)

Tues 3^rd – Year 7 Girls Urdd Netball (Cardiff -all day)

  Year 8 mixed Hockey training (lunch)

                 Year 8 Boys Rugby v St Joseph’s (away)

                 Year 10 Boys Rugby v Cefn Hengoed (home)

                 Basketball training – Mixed Years (Sports-hall)

Weds 4^th – Year 7 Hockey training (lunch)

                  Year 7 Football v Bro Dur (Away)

Thurs 5^th – Year 8/9 Girls Rugby Festival (Cynffig School)

                  Year 9 Football v St Josephs (Home)

                  Netball fixtures v Cefn Saeson (home) – Year groups confirmed early this week.

Mr X Appeal

A massive thank you for all the donations for the Mr X Appeal which Miss Preedy has co-ordinated again this year. The gifts were collected on Monday morning and the generosity and support of all staff, pupils and parents has been astonishing (as can be seen in the photograph). Once again, we have filled a transit van with our donations and hopefully made Christmas a little brighter for many children in the local community.