Newsletters

Olchfa School - Summer Newsletter

A message from Mr Kennedy, Headteacher

Olchfa Alumni - DofE, Mark Harris, Show - HT Report

 

Olchfa Alumni

Rhys Miller (ex pupil) attended the Gold Award Duke of Edinburgh event at Buckingham Palace in May.   Rhys has just completed his Engineering foundation year at Southampton university. 

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Hay Festival, Spanish Exchange, Culture Day, Pupil news, School infomraiton, inset days, staff update

Email sent to all staff 10.6.24

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Mobile phone use.  Mobile phones are not permitted and should not be used on the school site.  If a pupil brings a mobile phone to school, it should be kept in their school bag.    If a pupil needs to contact a parent/carer, they should go to T3 or reception.  

Reporting an absence, pastoral issues, general queries?  Please click on the following link for further details - HOW TO CONTACT OLCHFA

Exam information

INSET Days

Pupil Welfare Officer - Information for Parents/Carers

Please note a few reminders from Mrs Hopkins, Pupil Welfare Officer:
  • If a pupil is unwell, they must attend the PWO's office. Pupils should not use mobile phones to contact parents/carers.  The PWO will contact the parent/carer if needed.
  • If a pupil sustains an injury and is on crutches etc. please contact me as soon as possible regarding a Risk Assessment.
  • Pupils on medication (such as antibiotics) must leave and take the medication in my room.
  • We are still very grateful for any donations of uniform.
  • Fluenz immunisation for year 7- 11 will take place in November.  More details will follow in September.
All that remains is to wish you all a restful break and to look after yourselves.         
Mrs Hopkins

Pre-Loved Uniform/Lost Property

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. 

SCHOOL NEWS

Touch Rugby

Our touch rugby team is actively participating in the Ospreys Community League, bringing together a spirited mix of staff and students. Touch rugby, characterized by its fast-paced nature and strategic play, features six players on the pitch, creating ample space for dynamic moves and exciting plays.

To date, 20 players have represented our team, each contributing their unique skills and enthusiasm. Every Wednesday evening at Ashleigh Road, the team competes, offering an opportunity for spectators to enjoy the game.

The pupils have faced tough competition in the league, managing one win so far and several close finishes. Despite the challenges, they are gaining valuable experience and continually working to improve their performance.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our kit sponsor, Mrs. Bucket, whose generous support has been instrumental in outfitting our team. Her contribution has significantly enhanced our team’s presence and morale.

We invite everyone to come down and support our touch rugby team as they strive to achieve their best. Your encouragement and presence mean a lot to our players.

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LGBTQ+ and Allies Society

Olchfa LGBT+ and Allies Society celebrates its first presence at Swansea Pride.

This year a new group celebrating diversity at our school has started up. After setting up one of our first questions was 'how should we celebrate Swansea Pride?' Luckily for us a new member of staff Mr. Bradley-Adams came up with a great initiative, to create a combined art work to send along. All the members contributed both ideas and artwork, including QR codes linking to popular LGBT+ music. The central theme was a regular meme from our meetings about the way the direction of our lives can often feel like a roundabout, with so many different paths available. The society meets at Friday lunchtimes in Rm 47 and everybody is welcome, please do come along and join in with new ideas and projects or just to meet new people and socialise in a relaxed atmosphere where diversity is welcomed and celebrated. If you want to speak to someone before turning up then drop Mr. Stewart an e-mail and let him know you are interested in coming.

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iCalculate/Maths Update

Seren Maths competition
On March 13th, some Y12 pupils took part in the Seren Maths competition and they received their certificates at the beginning of May. Excellent results! 4 Silver awards, 3 Bronze 1 awards and 6 Bronze 2 awards!
MEI Data Science Taught Course
Well done to Hemachandra in Y12 who has attended the MEI Data Science Taught Course virtually this year and has received a Merit award after sitting his exam on March 13th. 
 
Junior UK Maths challenge and Junior Kangaroo
On April 25th, 133 pupils in Y7 and Y8 participated in the Junior UK Maths challenge with excellent results!  3 Gold awards, 7 Silver awards and 25 Bronze awards for Y7 pupils and 5 Gold awards, 13 Silver awards and 16 Bronze awards for Y8. Bendigedig!
We celebrated their success handing in their certificates in assembly.
Hannah in Y7 and George, Josh and Aydin in Y8 qualified for the Junior Kangaroo which they sat on June 11th . Well done all for all your hard thinking and maths enjoyment! Special congratulations to George and Aydin who have received a Merit award! 
Bloodhound workshop
On May 10th, a group of Y9  girls attended the Bloodhound workshop and learnt all about aerodynamics whilst building their own rocket car and testing it. Lovely way to join the celebrations of May 12th, International Women in Mathematics Day.
Haskell club

Dan and Ioan in Y12 attended Haskell Club every Tuesday until Easter and completed the Logic and Mathematics with Haskell course. Great determination and enthusiasm that was rewarded with a certificate from Sociality and the University of Glasgow.
Pink and Grey Kangaroo
Tristan, Sam and Jerry in Y11, and Joel and Yahya in Y9, qualified to participate in the Pink and Grey Kangaroo, respectively, after their fantastic results in the Intermediate UK Maths Challenge. Well done to all five for this achievement! Special congratulations to Jerry for his Merit award and his invitation to participate in the National Maths Summer School organised by UK Maths Trust.
Maths workshops
On Wednesday May 22nd and on Wednesday June 19th, a group of parents were invited to Maths workshops to learn about the use of manipulatives to learn Mathematics. These workshops were prepared and delivered by Mr Protheroe and Mrs Escudero and parents were given goodie bags with resources provided by Multiply. 
Mrs Escudero, Learning Manager for Mathematics and Computing
 

Humanities

As part of their iThink lessons year 7 students undertook a geographical investigation into the ongoing rejuvenation of Mumbles. Students visited various sites including the Skate Park, Oyster Wharf and the Pier. They saw first hand the building of the sea wall defences along the front and the current impact on the local community and the potential benefits for the future. 

Students even had a chance to stop off for an ice cream at Verdi’s for the true Mumbles experience.
Year 8 iThink pupils have been exploring transatlantic slavery through the eyes of a young enslaved boy called Nathaniel Barratt in the historical fiction novel, Freedom by Catherin Johnson 
As part of the sequence of lessons, pupils have written poems 'through the eyes' of a runaway enslaved person. They took inspiration from a project called Runaways London in which a team of artists worked closely with researchers at the University of Glasgow to reimagine the stories of London's runaways. 
The poems written by 12 of our Year 8 Pupils have been chosen to be entered for publication in “Through Their Eyes - Verses Unveiled”. 
Penelope Fitton, Ana Arayal, Anisha Kadir, Evie Langton, Khadija Aliyu, Jasmine Griffiths, Georgia Potter, Lacey Evans, Nurinaiya Azybay, Riley Edwards, Sunwoo Kim, Thomas Morgans

 

This term, Olchfa took part in a joint expedition with the English Centre, Spain. 
On day 1, Olchfa pupils engaged in iThink and iDiscover Science sessions with their peers from Spain. They learned about the coastal processes, landforms and ecosystems found in the Gower.
Having explored food chains and trophic interactions of rocky shorelines with Jack Gourlay, Ceri Humphris and Rebecca Conibear, on day 2, students from the two schools put in to practise their scientific protocol on Rhossili headland.  They battled difficult windy conditions to collect data on native grassland species. They were also able to do some bird species identification. One group was lucky enough to see a group of Atlantic Grey Seals. Students also participated in a coasteering adventure run by RipNRock which involved rough ocean swimming and cliff jumping. Students showed excellent resilience and determination to complete a series of increasingly intimidating cliff jumps. 
On day 3 the students visited a sunny Three Cliffs Bay. Having learnt about the process of longshore drift in the classroom with Mathew Devany and Aled Evans, students from both schools were able to see the results of this geographical process whilst undertaking geography fieldwork on the storm beach.  Alongside the fieldwork, students walked through the sea arch they had learnt about on Monday before experiencing the eroded cliffs up close during a rock climbing activity organised by RipNRock. Students showed excellent team working and communication skills as they worked together to help each other up and down the steep rock face. 
 
This term students in the Humanities Club have been taking part in all sorts of projects:
  • They have created their own political parties;
  • Creating their own castles;
  • Designing and creating Roman shields;
  • Creating a functioning volcano;
  • Making 3-D designs of the globe;
  • Designing and creating siege guns
Their final project include submitting a model of Mumbles Lighthouse into a Geographical Association competition.

Pupils in Year 10 and 12 visited Swansea city centre to collect data for their NEA. They were researching how Swansea city centre had changed over time. Year 10 pupils considered the degree to which Swanse is becoming a Clone Town and Year 12 pupils were looking at the impact of the recent development of Copr Bay.

PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT

Alfie Thomas

Alfie has been selected to compete in the for MMA Cymru at the IMMAF world championships in Abu Dhabi, Dubai in August this year.  There are only two athletes from Wales that can compete in each category.  Well done Alfie!

Congratulations to Grace in Year 9 who attended the Euro Youth Basketball Cup in Barcelona as part of the Wales U15 squad in June.  This is one of a number of competitions she has competed in! 

Congratulations to Caitlin Thomas  in 12MK who was selected to compete in British Dressage Youth Inter-regionals on 29th and 30th of June in under 25 category!

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