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Issue 10

We Will Rock You!

During the last week of March, we held our much anticipated school production of "We Will Rock You". For months, pupils had been rehearsing their parts, learning lines and getting ready for show week.

Over the three evenings, the cast pulled out all the stops and put on fantastic performances. Audience members were impressed with the high quality of acting and singing on display. We would like to thank everyone who took time to be a part of the show and in particular, Mrs Helen John, who stood in to direct in Miss Michael's absence. Thank you and well done to everyone involved!

2022 Pupil Languages Ambassador Scheme

The MFL team is delighted to announce that our Y7 & Y8 Pupil Language Ambassadors 2022 are: Jayden Birmingham, Ella Jones, Nia Lloyd, Luka Potterton, Abir Rahman and Ben Williams. Congratulations all!

Routes Cymru has recently launched the 2022 Pupil Language Ambassadors Scheme and these 6 students from Y7 and Y8 have been selected to represent Languages at Ysgol Cwm Brombil.

Our first training session took place Wednesday, 2nd February on Microsoft Teams, where our Y7 & Y8 students actively took part in a live language mission. Pupils were engaged in a quest on their virtual tour, collecting clues and answers as they proceeded through the challenge. Our ambassadors showed maturity and excellent team work to find out the answers. We were impressed and very proud of how well they did. Students will officially receive their badges, their certificates, and their PLA Guidebook very soon, and will, therefore, have the necessary equipment to continue their journey as a Pupil Language Ambassador.

The MFL team and the pupils are looking forward to working with Routes Cymru and collaborating with the international team at “Globe from Home” in London, Kerala and Perú – some very exciting things are being planned for our PLAs this year.

MFL CLUB

The MFL department has been running a lunch time club every Monday week 2 for Y7 and Y8s. Playing games, watching videos and films, singing songs, and making arts and crafts: a fun way to learn more about French and Spanish language and culture. Please join us! It's happening in room C5. Those who attend can have a lunch pass and many positive points for participating.

We look forward to seeing you there 🙂 Merci / gracias !

Ysgol Cwm Brombil’s Reading Canon: 100 Books Challenge

Reading has its own rewards but we are also offering fantastic prizes. At YCB, we want to encourage you to read! READ to SUCCEED!

  • Teachers are currently competing against one another.
  • Remember, you need to record the books you complete by filling out your checklist. Also, your English teachers will be checking quiz completion on Accelerated Reader too!
  • Don’t forgot – discuss your books with your peers and teachers. We want to hear all about what you’ve read!

When a different stage of the challenge is hit, for example, 10 books then 25 books and so on, a prize will be won.

Reading is key ingredient to being a successful learner. Research shows that reading for pleasure improves:

  • Empathy skills
  • Building positive relationships
  • Vocabulary
  • Spelling and
  • Enhances our imagination

Pop to our library during break and lunch times to find your next read! We have lots on offer and if you need help deciding, please let us know!

Champion of Champions - “A really gripping read” - Mrs Curson

A Monster Calls - “A very moving and inspiring story and really teaches the importance of being compassionate” - Miss Evans

Pig Heart Boy - “I absolutely loved it! The storyline was so interesting.” – Miss Davies

Wonder - “I love this book. It really teaches the importance of kindness – a lesson we could all learn.” – Mrs E Jones

Journey to the River Sea - “An exciting adventure which shows the importance of human nature!” – Mrs Browning

Scribbler's Tour

On Wednesday 9th February, a selected group of Year 7s and 8s attended the Hay Festival Scribbler’s Tour at Swansea University. In interactive events, pupils had the opportunities to share stories, ask questions and express themselves through the power of writing. Authors Steven Camden and Kiran Millwood Hargrave spent time with the pupils, on and off the stage, to encourage creative conversations. Pupils were so enthused throughout the day and left totally inspired to read more stories and write stories of their own. Scott and Sadie from Year 8 really couldn’t stop scribbling and we are excited to read their story, once finished.

Sadie Year 8 - “The Hay Festival Scribbler’s Tour was a very enjoyable event. In my opinion, my favourite part was the speeches from the authors because I found them really interesting and fun.”

Year 7 and 8 pupils have been busy creating this lovely display to celebrate Valentine’s Day by selecting books with the theme of love. These books range from the romantic type of love, friendship, family and the importance of self-love. Need a new book for Easter? Why not check one of these out? You can also fill in a card with your reasons for loving the library! Let’s spread the love!

‘Every great love starts with a great story…’ Nicholas Sparks

PE News

This half term, Robyn Davies has made the County Netball under 16s and Under 18 Osprey Squad. Also, Gracie Condon, Lilia Thomas and Lilia Bernie have made the County Netball Squad Under 14s. Well done all!

Mistar Urdd 100

Members of Clwb Menter Iaith from Year 7 and 8 gathered together to celebrate Mistar Urdd’s 100th birthday. Throughout the day pupils enjoyed taking part in breaking two World Record which consisted of:

  • 1176 videos uploaded to twitter within an hour
  • 461 videos uploaded to Facebook within an hour

Schools from all over Wales took part in this fantastic competition to promote the Welsh language. Make sure you go and check out their performance of “Hei Mistar Urdd” on the Welsh department Twitter account @YCB_Cymraeg. A huge well done and a big thank you to all that took part. Da iawn chi!

International News

WALES AND …

… CHINA

It has been a very busy time in the International Club as we have been celebrating Chinese New Year. Thank you to members of the Year 9 & 10 club for holding an assembly for our Year 7 pupils. They researched and produced an informative presentation and Year 7 enjoyed learning about the origins, customs and traditions of China.

Year 11 members organised a food tasting for all members of the club and they enjoyed experiencing different tastes and textures as well as trying out paper cutting decorations and playing traditional Chinese games.

The celebrations ended with the whole of Year 7 receiving a fortune cookie from the club.

Well done to all members involved.

… BANGLADESH

Throughout the pandemic, pupils have worked online and produced a book with Baurbhag Ramij Uddin High School in Bangladesh where pupils from both schools introduced themselves and places of interest. This has enhanced our knowledge of each other's cultures and traditions. We have shared the book online and looking forward to seeing it in print. The pupils have also been working on a video to introduce our school to theirs.

… TURKEY

Year 7 & 8 members of the International club have began a 6 week course working with schools in Turkey and in collaboration with Cardiff University. The project is called "One World, One Technology" and they are tackling issues such as plastic pollution, extreme weather, deforestation, rising sea levels, waste management and non-renewable energy. Mr Marsh is leading the project and is very pleased with the efforts of the pupils.

… PRAGUE

We are pleased to announce that we will be launching our new project working with schools in Prague and North Wales on an EarthKam project, after half term. More information to follow …

Paul Hannaford

We would like to say thank you to Paul Hannaford for visiting our school on 24th January. The talk was very informative, and impactful. It was about true life experiences involving drugs, gang life, knife crime and the consequences of being involved. The students enjoyed listening to him.

Health and Social Care

We would like to say well done and congratulations to the following pupils for coming first and second place in the RealCare baby competition for Health and Social Care for current Year 11 students.

  • Mia
  • Nia
  • Amelia
  • Mollie
  • Lily
  • Payton
  • Nicole
  • Olivia
  • Charlotte
  • Daisy

Debate Club

On Wednesday 16th March, members of the debate club were lucky enough to visit the Houses of Parliament in London. Whilst the rainy Welsh weather seemed to follow us to London, we didn’t let that spoil our day. We had a fabulous time getting to see the London skyline from the coach and a number of year 8 pupils enjoyed a whole Colin the Caterpillar cake at the services during our outbound journey! Whilst at the Houses of Parliament, we were given a tour of the building and were really fortunate to be able to watch a debate in both the House of Lords and House of Commons. We even managed to spot a few famous faces! After our tour of Parliament, we took part in a law-making and debate workshop which gave us a deeper insight into the work of MPs and how laws are made. Watch this space to see which one of us become Prime Minister in the future!

STEM Cardiff University

STEM – Science – Mrs M Brown, Mr J Bryan

Year 11 Triple scientists have been taking part in Cardiff University Widening access project.

The project is designed to encourage pupils who would not necessarily pursue a career in Pharmacy but are attaining the requirements at GCSE.

The pupils explored the various roles that a pharmacist undertakes away from the traditional “shop based” idea.

They had the opportunity to view a working pharmacist taking a tour through their day as a renal pharmacist at Morriston hospital and hear from a past pupil about his experiences receiving a kidney transplant and dialysis.

They also build upon their knowledge of the Kidneys by creating model urinary tracts and now have access to bespoke videos on the aspects of the kidney curriculum designed specifically for our pupils.

Meet the library assistants!

Here at the library, we have a hardworking and book-loving team of 22 pupils that help keep our library organised and efficient! They help scan and sort books into their correct genres, keeping the library clean and tidy, ensuring a peaceful environment for reading. These pupils are part of the organising team. Alongside this, we have a creative team too.

These pupils create imaginative and informative displays and posters around the library. They are experts on all things creative! Together they work to create a helpful, welcoming and supportive space for every pupil. Additionally, the readers’ voice team work to promote the library across the school. They aim to engage with form classes, in order to cultivate a reading culture here at Cwm Brombil. The readers’ voice team listen to pupils’ ideas, opinions and goals about reading, then communicate them with the rest of the team to ensure action is being taken.

These pupils secured their role through an application process, highlighting what makes them perfect for this role, along with suggestions on how they could improve the library. They were successful in their trial period and we are proud to have them as our team.

“Being a library assistant is a joy in itself. Our library is like its own little oasis. I love being able to create displays that appeal to my fellow students. I love helping and seeing familiar faces when I’m reading. I also love to help students find the right book.” – Autumn, Year 8

Read your way around Wales!

Here is one of the displays that the Library Assistants have created recently. Reading your way around Wales! The team wanted to promote the magic and adventure that Wales has to offer- through reading! Each of these stories are based somewhere in Wales, including ‘The Valley of lost secrets’, which has taken inspiration from Port Talbot due to author, Lesley Parr growing up there. She was in fact a past pupil of Dyffryn School and Year 7 this St. David’s day, were lucky enough to receive a special visit from her. This display is a celebration of Welsh authors and Welsh literature, hoping to connect pupils to the books that they read, and the country they live in.

Book Fair!

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Cwm Brombil! This is a pop-up ‘celebration of reading’ making all of the newest, most popular books accessible to your child, at a fraction of the RRP. It is not obligatory, but the money you spend means that the Library will receive funds to spend on more resources and books for the school. It is a wonderful opportunity to instil a love of reading for every child. The fair will commence on the 25th of April to the 29th.

This year, the payment method will be online or over the Scholastic phone line. More information on this will be posted via Class Charts very soon.

Never miss an update; we are on Instagram! Don’t forget to follow the official English and Library on Instagram @ycb_english. Here we post all library updates, 100 Book Challenge information, fun facts, competitions and pupil progress. #ycbreadtosucceed