17 October 2024
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
Maths wizards at work
Mr Denison-Kurg is very proud of our Sixth Form students who have just completed the UKMT Senior Challenge. Our very best mathematicians are here to solve the types of problems we face day to day, such as geometry, algebra and advanced common sense.
Our Year 12’s and 13’s have achieved our best ever results! This year, 46% achieved a bronze award. This is significantly above the national average of 33%!
Honourable mentions need to be given to Jonas Afzal, Samuel James, Zach Lillywhite and Maazin Rizwan for achieving Silver Awards. And two of our fantastic students achieved Gold Awards. Mohammed Osman and Ben Thomson go on to the next round, the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo, on 20th November.
Congratulations one and all. Good luck for 20th November!
Diwrnod Shwmae 2024!
Next today, we celebrate our wonderfully rich heritage. On Tuesday 15th October Year 7 students celebrating Diwrnod Shwmae. Diwrnod Shwmae is an opportunity for everyone to start a conversation in Welsh. They also enjoyed listening to Welsh music during lunch and receiving ‘Tocyn Iaith’ rewards for using Welsh around the school.
Celebrating Black History Month 2024
Every year, October is dedicated to celebrating and honouring Black culture and history. It was first celebrated in the UK in 1987 and celebrates Black history and culture, aiming to reduce discrimination and to foster racial equality. It is an opportunity to highlight the outstanding contributions of Black people to society and the world, helping to break down prejudice.
The stories we tell shape how we remember the past, understand the present and see the future. The theme for this year’s Black History Month is ‘Reclaiming Narratives’. It’s an opportunity to celebrate excellence in black communities – the artists, academics and innovators in all walks of life.
Miss Lockwood led an assembly last week where we learnt about the incomparable Betty Campbell MBE. Wales’s first black headteacher, a councillor, campaigner and awarded the lifetime achievement award from Unison Cymru‘s Black Members’ group for her contribution to black history in 2015. Betty was a pioneer in community activism and education – an inspiration.
In her reclaiming narratives assembly, Miss Lockwood celebrated a range of inspirational musicians, authors and sporting masterminds, culminating back at LHS with our very own Jeremiah Azu.
As a teacher of English, Miss Lockwood was personally inspired by the works of Alice Walker. Despite the oppression she wrote of, there was a strength and resilience in her words that inspired her to read more. We also take great care now to ensure that our school library and curriculum includes young adult books, stories, allegories, and histories that ensure an accurate showcasing of the untold success stories and the full complexity of Black heritage.
We are absolutely delighted to announce that two of our Olympian Alumni will be visiting school before we break up for October half-term. It promises to be an inspirational visit. Watch this space!
Free Books!
Next today is an exciting announcement from our Learning Support department. We are holding our first ‘Book Bonanza’ at Llanishen High School when will be giving away free books for students on Thursday and Friday in the final week of each half term.
Our first free book stall will be open in the main foyer at the school entrance (by the West Wing Hall) on:
- Thursday 24th October at break and lunch times for students
- Thursday 24th October after school (3.00-3.30) for students, parents and carers
- Friday 25th October at break and lunch times for students
We have a wide selection of pre-loved fiction/nonfiction books. Pick up a book for half term!
We would welcome any books you have finished with at home. We would love to receive anything suitable for Years 7-13 at any time throughout the school year. Please send any donations in with your child or drop off at our main reception. Thank you!
Bronze Award for Global Sustainability!
We would like to commend Nahan Khan in Year 11 for his work in such an important area. Nathan was awarded the Bronze Award in the Global Sustainability Awards, organized by ARC, under the ‘Zero Hunger’ category with Llanishen High School.
The event had over 850 applicants in 19 different categories across 4 different continents.
Nehan’s project, titled “The Vertico Kit”, aimed to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Two: Zero Hunger. Essentially, it’s a system for cultivating your own miniature farm indoors, using 99% less water and 98% less soil.
Read below Nehan’s explanation on how it works:
“The Vertico Kit is a flexible vertical gardening system designed to save space and promote sustainability. It has a modular design that can be adjusted to fit different spaces and uses soil or hydroponic materials for growing plants.
The kit includes an efficient watering system to keep the plants hydrated and may have built-in LED lighting to help plants grow in low-light areas.
It also comes with sensors and controls to monitor conditions like temperature and humidity, making it easy to maintain healthy plant growth. This makes it a great option for urban farming or small-scale sustainability projects.”
Following on from receiving the Bronze award, Nehan has been invited to an international conference discussing sustainability. What a fantastic achievement!
Anyone for a sophisticated dessert?!
There has also been some very sophisticated sugar work and pastry making occurring in our Sixth Form Food and Nutrition lessons. Check this out!
In future, please don’t forget that I’m available to come and taste your work.
ASC Alumni provides the aspiration!
Students in the ASC base couldn’t believe their luck last week when they were invited to the Boys’ Gym by the WRU Rugby Development Apprentice, Harri Dineen, to take part in a new inclusive regular session to improve their rugby skills. Harri put the boys through their paces and they managed to keep a passing game going for an impressive amount of time! The students’ faces lit up when they realised that Harri is a former LHS student. Not only that, Harri was a member of the ASC base who came to Llanishen in Year 7. Base staff are so proud of everything Harri has achieved. What a role model for the younger ASC crew!
Finally today, a few upcoming events to make our readers aware of….
Collection for Cardiff Foodbank
The October collection for the Cardiff Foodbank will take place on Wednesday 23rd October between 5-6pm on the school bus bays. Any donations are gratefully received in our main school reception in advance.
The Foodbank currently need: Coffee, sponge puddings, sweets and chocolate, Condiments e.g. ketchup, salt, pepper, mayonnaise), fruit juice, tinned potatoes, jams and spreads, rice pudding, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner.
The Foodbank currently have plenty of: Pasta, Baked Beans, Tea, Cereal.
Show Racism the Red Card
On Friday 18th October we will be shining a light on the work of Show Racism the Red Card. We are encouraging students and staff to wear something red to promote the campaign. It’s a chance to get your jazzy red trousers out that you swore you would wear and have not yet worn once.
It is not a non-uniform day, so students will be in uniform, but they are able to swap an item for a red item or wear a red accessory. We’ll capture some of the best ‘looks!’
Year 7 Enterprise – Monday 21st October
Over in The Den they have been getting themselves all prepared for their first Enterprise task and their first (of many) Pop-Up Shops for the school year. They have researched ideas, created posters which are popping up around the school and they are even adding homemade Halloween stickers for the hot chocolate cones and sweet cones that we will be selling.
The shop will be open on Monday 21st October throughout each lunch time. They would love as much support as possible. They have their usual hot chocolate cones, fudge, cakes and cookies as well as many other Halloween treats. They are even making Halloween themed keyrings or coasters. As if that isn’t enough, they have a Trick or Treat game involving jelly beans…if they dare!
It is certainly shaping up to be a positively busy week next week, so please join me next Friday for the final blog of this half-term.
Until then, try to stay dry.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher