Maesteg School Summer Term Newsletter - Issue #1

Welcome to the Summer Term newsletter!

To make reading news from Maesteg School even more enjoyable, we’ve been working hard to make this edition very mobile friendly, so you can enjoy all of our news in the palm of your hand.

Despite Covid-19 impacting our lives in a big way, we wanted to share our good news stories with you from this term. Pupils and staff have shown that despite being up against some really tough circumstances, spirit is strong and learning together is still our number one priority.

Keep up to date with all school life by following us (@MaestegSchool) on Twitter. You can also visit our website maestegschool.co.uk for up to date news and information. Let’s dive in…

It’s been another busy term at Maesteg School - here’s a taster of what’s coming up in this issue:

It is time to celebrate the end of another frustrating and challenging year of Covid restrictions, self-isolations and lock downs and look forward with hope and optimism to the summer holidays and the new school year. But it’s not all about the virus! We have much to celebrate at Maesteg School other than the vaccination programme!

We have once again focused on developing our own wellbeing by trying to help the wellbeing of others. Our year 7 pupils under the tutelage of Taya Cordell (year 12) and Mrs Bond have been singing their favourite songs using sign language  – well done year 7! And Mia-Beth Poulton-Davies has become the cover story for the Action for Pulmonary-Fibrosis charity in recognition of all the work she did to raise awareness of this rare condition. Miss Ellis was determined to champion our school in the ‘Lego League’ which is a global science and technology competition aimed at developing skills crucial for future careers and thanks to a small group of very talented year 10 boys we reached the final! We did our best to sing our Welsh Football Team into the semi-finals of the European cup, but it was not meant to be even if our pupils’ outdoor rendition of ‘Hen Wlad fy Nhadau’ had me crying in my office! It was the orchestra’s summer performance of ‘Jurassic Park’ that really had us all inspired though – it is so encouraging to see the level of enthusiasm that our students have for music and performance and we now have record levels of pupils asking about learning to play a musical instrument. This is absolutely to be encouraged!

In our preparations for the new Curriculum for Wales, we continue to develop opportunities for our pupils to learn outside and for ‘real life’ purposes. We have continued to make use of our outside learning areas with particular focus on the allotment space. The school must thank Caerau Men’s Shed volunteers for their help in clearing up this space to allow our children to grown their own vegetables. Our pupils have managed to grow a bountiful crop of summer vegetables this term which they have sold to our staff and used with the Technology faculty in their cookery lessons. This space has also been used by our Science faculty who have explored the effects of fertilisers on growing crops. I am thrilled to see our children developing their skills and understanding which will have lifelong benefits. 

The final day of our summer term was spent raising money for Noah’s Ark, the children’s hospice based at the Heath Hospital. We completed a 5k walk (or run depending on fitness levels) and produced a mural with our Art faculty to promote wellbeing throughout our school. I am amazed to see what our pupils can create in just one day and look forward to sharing this with you in the Autumn term.

As ever, our children could not achieve these outcomes without your support; so on behalf of our school community, ‘Thankyou’ and have a wonderful summer break, safe and well with your families.  HJ

Who didn’t enjoy Euro 2020 this summer (which of course has been played in 2021) with our boys in red, navigating the group stages in style.

To celebrate Wales reaching the last-16, the FAW asked schools to record pupils singing the anthem to help encourage the team before kick-off.

“We quickly rehearsed and assembled around 90 pupils to take part,” said Mr Walters, music teacher at Maesteg School.

“We filmed the performance on what was probably the coldest morning we have had for months, but that did not dampen our spirits!”

“We sent off our video to the FAW and were proud that we had taken part as a school,” he added.

Although the game versus Denmark ended in disappointment, the Welsh supporters are undoubtedly proud of how our players managed to once again qualify and fight through the group stages at a major tournament.

You can enjoy our rendition of Hen Wald fy Nhadau in the video below:

Leading on from the wonderful singing this term, Maesteg School’s Orchestra have been working hard with the Peripatetic staff and teachers to bring us a musical treat on the theme of Jurassic Park. A huge thank you to Mrs McDonald who has conjured up something quite special with our pupils. You can enjoy their performance by clicking the video below:

When year 12 pupil Taya Cordell approached Mrs Bond about BSL (British Sign Language), they soon came up with a wonderful idea to share with the school.

“During lockdown I struggled with how to spend my spare time and wanted to focus my attention on something worthwhile,” said Taya. “I read that a sign language course was available in Bridgend, so I enrolled and began to study signing.”

“I instantly fell in love with signing and learning a new skill that could help me greatly in the future. When Mrs Bond and I came up with the idea of teaching year 7’s sign language, we couldn’t wait to pass on our skill-set,” added Taya.

“We set about learning the songs and helping teach students how to communicate to each other and their teachers, which has been very rewarding. I hope this is something we can continue as a school and help more young people feel included within the community we live in,” she added.

“Since having hearing aids fitted for my own hearing loss, and learning that it will get worse as I get older, I wanted to learn more about Deaf culture,” said Mrs Bond, Maths teacher at Maesteg School.

“This led me to start studying for BSL qualifications out of school. I then discovered that Taya had been learning BSL as well, which led to us agreeing that it would be lovely to make the school more inclusive and welcoming for any future families or staff that might want to communicate in BSL,” added Mrs Bond.

“Learning to sign songs to show year 7 in assembly, and actually signing in front of them was great fun and the extra practise helped me pass my first course with full marks! I am loving seeing year 7 around the school respond to greetings and being able to spell their names, some of them are signing better than I can already!”

You can watch Mrs Bond and Taya in action by clicking the video below - Enjoy!

Assistant Headteacher Mrs Matthews has been encouraging our pupils to learn new skills this term on our school allotment. A special thank you to Caerau Men’s Shed for readying the area so that pupils could begin learning for their Princes Trust qualifications.

“We’ve been growing plenty of fruit and vegetables this term, which the pupils have sold to staff as part of this enterprise project,” said Mrs Matthews.

“The project has been hugely beneficial for mental wellbeing, which is a fantastic extra benefit to all of the learning our pupils have undertaken.”

“We can’t wait to expand our project and experiment with new varieties of fruit and veg. It feels like we’re just getting started! The pupils response to the allotment has been spot on and their attitude to learning is really encouraging,” added Mrs Matthews.

Please find below Sow. Nurture. Grow. our introduction video to the school allotment and a taste of what the pupils have been busy tending too:

This term we have assembled a team consisting of staff from all all areas of the school with one thing at the heart of their mission: Wellbeing.

There are teachers, LSA’s and admin staff involved, getting together to discuss our whole school approach to nurturing “Healthy Confident Individuals,” the importance of being authentic and the idea of belonging.

The ‘Wellbeing Champions’ have also been motivated this term in organising a Wellbeing Day, centred around a Wellbeing Walk for charity. Cont below

“This year at Maesteg School we wanted to treat students and staff to a Wellbeing Day to end what has been a difficult and challenging year on a positive note, so that everyone could begin their summer holidays with a smile,” said Miss Rebane, the driving force behind the day.

“We also wanted to ensure the day was not just for us, but for the wider community, and as many of our community members have been dealing with difficulties far beyond Covid-19, we decided to dedicate our day to one of the local charities supporting and caring for some of our own. The last day of term became a Wellbeing Day for us and a fundraiser for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital.”

It was important that the day was inclusive of all our students and staff, with something to appeal to everyone so we tasked our Wellbeing Champions with finding and booking a range of partners to work with our children. We were delighted to welcome members of The Ospreys, through our WRU Officer Nick Cudd who organised an amazing rugby tournament; Forces Fitness, an army assault course who were brilliant at involving every single child and staff member, booked by our very own weightlifting extraordinaire Miss Pearson; and, to create an installation to mark the end of such a difficult year and to look to the future, artist Claire Cawte organised by artistic visionary Mrs Fleming and the soon-to-be-missed Mrs James.

“The day was a huge success with students enjoying the organised activities, treats and tuckshops excellently organised and run by our Sixth Formers,” added Miss Rebane.

“The highlight to see though was the impromptu singing and dancing sensation orchestrated by our own in-house rock stars Mr Andy Walters and Miss Cat Southall. There can be no greater delight than standing back and watching young people who have sacrificed a huge part of their life to protect their community, singing, dancing, laughing and enjoying each other’s company in the glorious sunshine of Maesteg - Da iawn!”   

Departing sixth-form student Mia-Beth Poulton-Davies has been making waves this year with her written tribute to her beloved Grampa who sadly passed away in January of 2019 after a three year battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

We caught up with Mia-Beth before she left Maesteg School to find out more about IPF and how her Grampa’s legacy has inspired her to write.

“My Grampa was diagnosed with IPF when I was 13 and it is sadly a disease that has no cure with no known cause for why it appears in the lungs,” said Mia-Beth.

“In November 2018 he became really unwell and relied on oxygen to keep him alive, which was a frightening time.“

“When my Grampa received his diagnosis, I began to actively post on social media about IPF and that’s when Action for Pulminary-Fibrosis got in touch with me to collaborate. After telling them more about my Grampa’s situation, I worked alongside Charlotte (Content and Communications Coordinator for the Charity) to produce an article that would go alongside my coursework on the APF website.”

“However, when Charlotte read through my coursework and my story, she dropped the article and said that my piece perfectly defined the journey of someone who has been affected by IPF, wanting to publish it online,” added Mia-Beth.

“Sadly after my Grampa’s death, I heard more stories from people who were suffering with IPF and this made me want to share even more information about the disease to help raise awareness of the impact it has on people’s lives.”

“The Fill Your Lungs Foundation read my story on the APF website and soon got in contact with me, asking to share my story in America, as they are based in Texas. Charlotte from APF has said that they would love to share more of my content in the future as we try to inform a wider audience about IPF and I would be so proud to do so.” 

Mia-Beth has approached her Grampa’s story with such sensitivity and maturity, that we are indeed proud of her and it is with pride and pleasure that we can share her article in the link below. Good luck in September Mia-Beth, we look forward to watching your writing and career in business blossom.

Ty Evans, Lewis Collins and Ellis Davies, year 10, successfully reached the First Lego League (FLL) competition final and won The Breakthrough Prize for their progress throughout the competition. The FLL is a global science and technology competition for teams of students, to encourage an interest in real world issues and develop key skills that are crucial for their future careers. The students work together as a team and explore a given scientific topic and plan, program and test an autonomous robot to solve several missions.  Cont below

“The team impressed the judges in The Lego League Semi-Final achieving an impressive score in their missions. Lewis took the lead, coding the robot whilst Ty coordinated the starting positions and the running of the missions,” said a very proud Miss Ellis.

“Ellis supported his team with the planning and delivery of the project presentation which won them the ‘Breakthrough Prize’ in the final. This award celebrates a team that made significant progress in their confidence and capability in both the Robot Game and Innovation Project and are a shining example of excellent core values,” added Miss Ellis.

The team of Maesteg School pupils (pictured above) received fantastic feedback from the judges who said, “They demonstrate an understanding that, what they discover is more important than what they win”.

Well done boys!

We are delighted to welcome our ‘pawsome’ new member of staff, Sid the dog. Sid (Student Intervention Dog) has already become a firm favourite among everyone here at Maesteg School.

Sid will be working with lots of our learners to support their wellbeing. He loves cuddles and is already learning new tricks. It has been fantastic to see the positive impact he has had on the learners and staff.

Keep an eye on our website and Twitter page for Sid’s school blog, documenting his experiences at Maesteg School in the autumn term. 

We would like to extend the warmest of welcomes to all our year 6 pupils who will be joining Maesteg School in September 2021. It has been brilliant to meet so many of you this term in readiness for the new term.

We have a designated area of our school website specifically for you to learn more about our school and what you can expect to happen in the first few months of year 7 at Maesteg School.  The link can be found below.

Moving from primary school to secondary school is a time of anxious excitement as pupils anticipate the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. No doubt, many will be excited to meet new friends and to take advantage of all the new activities and opportunities that we have to offer you.

Above all us. we want you to settle in quickly, so that you can love the learning you will be undertaking in your classes and achieve everything you are capable of whilst being the best version of you! Please do follow the link and get prepared for the adventure ahead! 

We hope you enjoyed our Summer Term newsletter. There is nothing more to say but to wish you all a very restful summer break. Stay safe, rest up and we will see you in September!

Email: admin.maestegschool@bridgend.gov.uk

You can now subscribe to our newsletter - pop your email address into the box provided and you’ll be alerted when our Autumn/Winter Newsletter is available! #maesteg21 #motivatedtostrive