Eisteddfod y Rhondda/Rhondda Eisteddfod
This year we competed in Eisteddfod y Rhondda for the first time ever and it was a resounding success! Jesse Seldon Jones in Year 8 came second in the Individual Recitation for Learners and captivated the audience with his cheeky personality – ardderchog Jesse! However in the Group Recitation for Learners, we came first! What an outstanding achievement! The 14 pupils from Years 7, 8 and 10 worked extremely hard in preparation for the competition and we are incredibly proud of them! The adjudicator gave them glowing feedback and told them that they brought the poem to life. Arbenning!! We look forward to competing in the Urdd Eisteddfod next year. Pob lwc!!
Siarter Iaith/Welsh Language Charter
We were absolutely thrilled to receive the Bronze Siarter Iaith award in July and this accolade was down to the dedication and hard work of our fantastic Criw Cymraeg! However, in October, we achieved the Silver Siarter Iaith – da iawn Criw Cymraeg! We have launched lots of initiatives this year to encourage staff and pupils to use more Welsh in school such as the Duolingo challenge, the SPIE challenge and numerous rewards trips. We are excited to begin working towards our Gold Siarter Iaith in the new year!
Urdd Jambori
In October, we took a group of students along to the first face to face Urdd Jambori since the Covid pandemic and what a fun day was had by all! We got to sing along to lots of famous Welsh songs and meet the wonderful Martyn Geraint and even Mr Urdd himself! We can’t wait to take part again next year!
Theatre Trips
We have loved getting back to the theatre this year and went to see the Welsh Language version fo the Woman in Black in the Porthcawl Pavillion and the new Welsh Language musical ‘Branwen’. Both performances were outstanding and we were thrilled to receive an email from Awen/Porthcawl Pavillion, praising our pupils engagement and positive attitude during the production of the Woman in Black. Ardderchog!
Diwrnod Shwmae/Shwmae Day
We love Shwmae Day here in TCS and we went the extra mile to celebrate Shwmae Day’s 10th birthday – penblwydd hapus yn 10 oed Diwrnod Shwmae! We held a coffee morning for parents and guardians to come into school and have a cuppa and a cake whilst practising their Welsh with the Criw Cymraeg. The Criw Cymraeg held assemblies all week explaining the importance of Shwmae Day and that we all need to use the Welsh we’ve got in order the keep the language alive! They also discussed Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 strategy which hopes to see a million Welsh speakers in Wales by 2050. The Criw Cymraeg also went into Treorchy to spread this message, handing out stickers along the high street and practising their Welsh with local business owners.
Visit by the Welsh Government’s Lead Strategic Group on Cymraeg 2050
We were truly honoured this term to have a visit from the Welsh Government’s Lead Strategic Group on Cymraeg 2050. Our Criw Cymraeg presented all of their incredible hard work and ideas to the Strategic Group and were praised for their mature and engaging delivery. We got to speak to the Strategic Group on a number of important issues and had the chance to feedback on government linguistic strategies in Welsh education. Am anrhydedd!
Clwb Cymraeg/Welsh Club
We have a very popular Welsh club which runs every Tuesday lunchtime in 710. We do lots of fun arts and crafts through the medium of Welsh such as making cotton bud spooky skeletons, festive Christmas paper chains and lots of fun and games. Come along to Welsh club on a Tuesday lunchtime and remember to see Mrs James for a queue jump lunch pass!
Presentation to Governors
Year 10 and 11 students from our Criw Cymraeg presented all of the fantastic successes to the full Governing Body in November and were praising for their passion and professional presenting skills. We feel that it is incredibly important to include and update all stakeholders in our progress and success as it is a huge team effort. We are very lucky to have such supportive governors in TCS!
