Message from the Headteacher
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Dear Parents/Carers
I hope this newsletter finds you well and looking forward to a British summer!
As most of you will know, this is my last week as Headteacher here at Olchfa after 22 years of headship at this fantastic school. It has been my extraordinary privilege to lead this school for so long and to see it, and the pupils and staff who give it its heart, grow and develop their full potential. No single person can ever define an organisation. A school is no different. It is, like so many other bodies, greater than the sum of its parts.
The last three years have been challenging times for all of us; Covid disturbed our lives in many ways, some of which we are still discovering. However, as with everything, we come through the other end, somehow, and move on as stronger, wiser people.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support you give to the school and I thank you sincerely, for entrusting us with the care and development of your children, whose achievements, character and spirit never cease to amaze me.
The school will go from strength to strength, I’m sure, under the leadership of its new Headteacher, Julian Kennedy, and I will watch its development with interest and fondness as the years go by.
Thank you again. It has been my privilege to do a job I love for so long and in such a rewarding and inspirational place.
Hugh Davies
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Senior Prefect Team 2023/24
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Congratulations to the newly appointed senior prefect team:
Head Girl: Clara Marsh-Lorenzo
Head Boy: Thomas Davies
Deputy Head Prefects:
Milly Webb
Merlin Warner-Huish
Max Ellis
Ashwin Matthews
Senior Prefects:
Emily Parker-Jones
Angelina Chugh
Ishmail Ahmed
Idin Ghotbi
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Reporting an absence, pastoral issues, general queries? Please click on the following link for further details - HOW TO CONTACT OLCHFA
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Catering System
For a number of years now, we have been successfully using our free, smartphone app called ‘School Gateway’ to allow you to pay for all school trips we run, examination remarks or resits, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, classroom equipment we sell etc. On 31st July 2023, our contract with the current supplier for paying for school meals online, sQuid, will end and the School Gateway app will replace this. Any balances sitting on your sQuid account will transfer to your School Gateway catering account. This will allow all payments to the school being possible from a single source, making the process far more efficient for all parties.
Any trips your child wishes to attend, if you need to top up their catering account, or if you wish to pay for anything else, these will appear in the app under the ‘Payments’ tab; simply select what you are paying for and it will allow you to choose to pay by either debit/credit card, bank transfer or PayPoint. This will allow you to keep track of all payments you make to the school and will also allow you to see how many spaces remain on any trips that have a maximum number of pupil places.
School Gateway Login:
For those of you who are yet to register for the School Gateway platform, please find a short video clip below (just over 60 seconds long) which shows you how you can:
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PRE-LOVED UNIFORM/LOST PROPERTY
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Please ensure all items of school uniform are marked with the pupil name and form. We will ensure all misplaced, named items are returned to pupils. We continue to have a large amount of unnamed school uniform. All unnamed lost property will be washed and added to the school's pre-loved school uniform stock. Lost property can be viewed every Thursday from 3-4pm. Thank you.
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Please note a few reminders from Mrs Hopkins, Pupil Welfare Officer:
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If a pupil sustains an injury and is on crutches etc. please contact me as soon as possible regarding a Risk Assessment.
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Pupils on medication (such as antibiotics) must leave and take the medication in my room.
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We are still very grateful for any donations of uniform.
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Fluenz immunisation for year 7- 11 will take place in October. More details will follow in September.
All that remains is to wish you all a restful break and to look after yourselves.
Mrs Hopkins
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Pupil Achievement
Please visit the school social media sites to view all pupil achievement!
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In June, a group of yr 7 students took part in Creative Workshops at Taliesin Arts Centre. Students learnt about stories of how Bangladeshi children have been affected by climate change and took part in workshop designs to creatively represent the stories.
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'My Gower' - iThink Art & Photography Competition
After receiving 140 entries, The Gower Society have awarded Isabelle Evans first prize in the Gower Society 75th anniversary "My Gower" Photography competition. Isabelle will receive a certificate and cash prize of £50. The school will receive a grant of £750 to be spent on something special. e.g. a camera, planters and plants, art equipment etc.
Penny Stanton won 2nd prize for art and Oscar Skre won 2nd prize for photography. They will receive certificates and a cash prize of £30 each which will be delivered to the school. Entries will be displayed at the Gower Show.
Joan Darbyshire (Gower Society Youth secretary)
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Sêr Mathemateg Cymru Olympiad - well done to our 4 pupils who took part in the @Seren_Network Sêr Mathemateg Cymru Olympiad! 1 x Bronze certificate 3 x Commendation certificates.
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Junior Mathematical Challenge - congratulations to our Y7 and Y8 pupils who made the utmost effort in the @UKMathsTrust Junior Mathematical Challenge in May! Excellent results - Y7 1 gold, 5 silver and 17 bronze medals! Y8, 4 gold, 21 silver and 13 bronze medals! Special congratulations to Aydin in Y7 and Joel in Y8 who were Best in School and Best in Year!
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On Monday and Tuesday our pupils took part in a range of activities as part of our 'experience days'. We have seen some wonderful engagement from pupils and such a wide variety of interests and talents on show. Well done to everyone who took part!
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Enhanced Provision Class News
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In Mrs Davey's enhanced provision class, pupils have built an insect hotel & decking as well as constructing a garden path and a pallet herb garden. The wildflower meadow and fruit trees from the National Trust have also started growing/blooming.
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Mrs Davey's Enhanced Provision class have been busy over the last month, growing produce and have made, making salsa, guacamole, potato salad and salad dressing for today's garden party. The event is part of the Princes Trust 'Project Based Learning' unit.
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#WorldCultureDay - 'Wear to Share' Day
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In May, pupils celebrated #WorldCultureDay Pupils reflected on culture and diversity, competing in a Culture Quiz and enjoying foods from across the world. On Friday 19th May, staff and pupils were invited to wear clothes that reflected their culture #weartoshare
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Duke of Edinburgh - Bronze
Congratulations to the 111 Yr10 pupils who have just completed their Bronze Final expeditions and so have achieved their Bronze DofE Awards! Mr Turpin, DofE Coordinator
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FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES! FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM!
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Excellent work from Mrs Finselbach's Year 8 iDiscover Science class. Here they are developing their communication skills by delivering presentations on their Rock Cycle models. Well done! @Olchfaschool #STEM #STEMeducation #CurriculumforWales https://t.co/cf6CMxwzun3 weeks ago
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Some of our Year 7 and and 8 students had a great day out @BigBangUKSTEM on Friday. There were lots of different activities to try out from train driving, to race car simulators; insect holding, to nerf gun radiation. @Olchfaschool #STEM #BigBangScienceFair https://t.co/jFrqnou7QJ3 weeks ago
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After a short break to concentrate on AS exams, TOAMS, our aspiring medics society, started up again yesterday. The next few sessions will be spent on UCAT preparation. As always, it is fantastic to see students leading other students!
@Olchfaschool
#aspiringmedic #medicalstudent https://t.co/OQsv1Qldh81 month ago
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Well done to Cora in 7AB who used her positive points to purchase a "krazy pen". Here she is receiving her reward from Mrs Bravin. George, Abigail and Jordan in 7TP also received their rewards this morning #celebratingpositiveattitudes https://t.co/Fv7PMP1g121 month ago
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