Ysgol Clywedog December 2019

Wrexham County Borough Council sent this bulletin at 03-12-2019 03:00 PM GMT

Newsletter 30 - December 2019

Talented Young Engineers Scoop Prize At National Competition Finals

Ysgol Clywedog is celebrating the double success of four young students in a national aeronautical competition.

The year 9 students, Leo Sowter, Jamie Sides, Tyler Rush and Leo Wright, entered Ratheon’s Quadcopter Challenge and won the regional heat, securing them a place in the national final at RAF Cosford where they came first in Wales and fifth in the UK.

Their challenge was to build a working quadcopter from a kit supplied by Raytheon which could be adapted and modified to fit a brief. The theme for 2019, “Technology Around the World,” was chosen to highlight the importance of global collaboration for building technology and sharing ideas.

The teams were judged on their presentation, the craft’s modifications and the flight performance through four obstacle courses

In preparation for the regional heat and the final, the team worked in conjunction with Raytheon STEM ambassadors, Josh Gallagher and Alan Jones, and gained first-hand experience of design, project management, presentations, engineering techniques and aerodynamics.

Meeting at least once a week after school, as well as during lunchtimes and break times, the students also practised at home on the simulator and contributed to the presentation together using Google Slides in their own time.

At the final, as well as the prestige of being part of the event, the team came away with baseball caps, water bottles, competitor’s medals, event lanyards and, for the school, a certificate.

This is the third year that teams from Ysgol Clywedog have competed in the competition, achieving third place at the regional heat in 2017, and second place in 2018.

Damian McDonnell, science teacher, has supported the teams over the years and is thrilled with the success of the 2019 finalists. He said: “These four young men have worked incredibly hard for this achievement. Jamie practised controlling a quadcopter on the simulator over the summer. Leo Sowter has been involved with the STEM club since he started in year 7, in 2017. He’s a fantastically interested and enthusiastic participant!

“Leo Wright and Tyler were the quadcopter equivalent of our pit crew and were responsible for getting the quadcopter going again in the shortest time possible, replacing propellers, guides and guards in seconds.

“They all worked brilliantly as a team and understood how to get the best from one another. They are overjoyed at their final place in the competition and are aware that they have lifted the bar for next year’s team.

“Overall, I hope that this sparks consideration of, or interest in, the field of engineering, which is of tremendous importance to the local economy. The prospects for engineers going forward is almost without limit and it’s something that I believe we should be encouraging at every opportunity.”

The Mayor of Wrexham, Cllr Rob Walsh, said: “Everyone should be very proud of themselves. To take part in the final of such a prestigious competition is a huge achievement and the results show just how much emerging engineering talent there is in Wrexham. I will be meeting all those involved in December and can’t wait to hear about the competition and the young people’s aspirations for their future careers.”

TREEMENDOUS EFFORT BY YSGOL CLYWEDOG PUPILS, STAFF AND PARENTS

Thanks to the Eco-Action Taskforce at Ysgol Clywedog 250 trees have been planted in the school grounds as part of the Woodland Trust’s Big Climate Fightback.

It’s part of a project that’s already running at the school which is aiming to create an outdoor learning space, woodland and allotment.

Head of Geography, Nicholas Brown, said: “It was a huge effort by everyone to plant 250 trees but it will be worth it. The young people are very keen to improve the environment in which we live and learn and we are always keen to support their aspirations. I’d like to thank everyone who took part in the planting which will be appreciated by generations to come.”

Head of Environment and Technical at Wrexham Council, Darren Williams, said: “Everyone is to be commended for their commitment to improving their natural environment. The trees should mature over time to provide an extremely beautiful environment for people to enjoy and ecologically diverse habitat for wildlife.”

The trees were supplied by the Woodland Trust and the Oak trees from Mitego Coffee in Chester.

The tree planting was the final activity done by the school’s Eco-Action Taskforce to achieve their Gold level ‘Green Trees School Award’.

Revision Sessions Boost Students’ Learning Techniques

Students at a Ysgol Clywedog school are benefiting from a series of study sessions designed to boost their learning and revision skills.

All year 10 and 11 students have so far taken part separately in two sessions, ‘Super Speed Study Skills’ and ‘Mind Mapping’, which have been delivered by Positively MAD, one of the country’s leading providers of student workshops. A third session, ‘Exam Busting’, will take place in March.

Matt Vickery, headteacher, said: “We have used individual Positively MAD study sessions for a few years now and, due to the positive feedback we have had, this year we decided to introduce a structured programme of sessions for all students studying for their GCSEs.

“The three sessions we have selected will equip our students with tips and techniques to help them achieve success. Not only are they gaining vital revision skills, they are also learning more about themselves and their own style of learning, which will help them beyond their school years.”

The students worked in groups for the ‘Super Speed Study Skills’ session, which encourages students to take control of their studying. As well as being introduced to a variety of tried and tested study skills and techniques, students develop a greater understanding of how their brain works and how their own state of mind can influence outcomes. This helps to develop an ‘I can’ attitude which in turn motivates students to do well.

Previously, the ‘Mind Mapping’ session showed students how to better organise their thoughts through teaching them to make and take mind mapped notes. The session aimed to boost understanding and recall as well as encourage creativity.

The final session, ‘Exam Busters’, is intended to empower students with exam preparation tips, revision tools and stress management techniques at this critical time.

Mr Vickery added: “The sessions have been very well received with lots of students commenting on how they will be using the techniques they have learnt.

“I would like to say thank you so much to Shenaz and Jay for all the work they have done in the two sessions so far this year, and we are looking forward to ‘Exam Busting’ in March.”

3G Pitch coming to Ysgol Clywedog

Work to install the new 3G pitch will start during the half term break, and should be complete early in December.

Cllr Phil Wynn, Chair of the Governors at Ysgol Clywedog, said: “We’re very pleased with the announcement regarding the new 3G pitch, as it comes alongside a number of other improvements to the school – including redeveloped education and IT suites, along with a new and improved entrance area.

If you are interested in making a booking outside of school hours, please contact Ysgol Clywedog Leisure and Activity Centre on 01978 262787 or e-mail clywedogLC@freedom-leisure.co.uk; or go to Freedom Leisure’s website.

Ysgol Clywedog win a place the MockCOP Final in Cardiff.

Ysgol Clywedog students recently won a place at the prestigious MockCOP Final in Cardiff. They spent two days as guests of Size of Wales taking part in climate change discussions, workshops and debates with influential senior figures and politicians leading the way in climate change action.

Day one was spent at the Senedd, starting with a tour and the chance to watch a plenary session of AM’s before a full afternoon of carousel sessions on “Tackling climate change and making change in the world”. Sessions were led by Robert Bailey from the Welsh Government Decarbonisation Team, Beth Irving, a climate activist, Robert Proctor, Business and Development Manager for Community Energy Wales, Ann MacGarry who has been running Climate Change workshops for over 30 years at the Centre for Alternative Technology and Mari Wyn Gooberman Education and Youth Engagement Manager National Assembly for Wales.

Day two started with an early breakfast and a trip to Ty Hywel in the Bay for a full day of MockCop debate and discussion. Delegates from Ysgol Clywedog and schools all across Wales were warmly welcomed by Eluned Morgan, Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language. Following Chile’s Opening Speech, resolutions and Statements of Position followed. Passionate and sometimes heated, floor debate and negotiations took place for several hours. The students from Ysgol Clywedog year 8and 9 team had done their research and were actively involved in all aspects of negotiations with a range of year 8 to year 13 students. A lunchtime vote saw amendments made to the resolution.

After a short lunch break an afternoon session on “The change we want to see in Wales” attended by AM’s and sponsors, the Scottish Power Foundation, saw students put forward their ideas for reducing CO2 and reducing waste.

MockCOP is a fantastic opportunity that enables young people to engage interactively with the complexities of tackling climate change. As well as aligning with the new curriculum in developing ethically informed citizens, it promotes global citizenship and contributes towards a number of UN Sustainable Development Goals including quality education, reduced inequalities and climate action.
The students did a fantastic job of representing their allocated countries. We saw alliances forming between low lying island states, and tensions between high and low income states grow as they negotiated, trying to agree resolutions and ways forward in the global effort to address climate change and keep global temperatures below a 1.5⁰C increase. It was clear that each team had really done their research and understood the complexities and dynamics of the negotiations.
Well done to all who attended.

Check out the Size of Wales Twitter @sizeofwales and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sizeofwales for more info, photographs and video clips of the event.

Written by Admin, YDB. Edited by YC.