Barry Island Bugle – 31st January

On Monday after school all the staff met to review and discuss how we can develop and enhance the learning and teaching opportunities that our children experience here at BIPS.  As a result of much discussion we will be launching a very special ‘wow’ day on Monday 3^rd February for all our children.  All the learning will be based around an everyday object and we turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one!

 

This week we were fortunate to have a visit from the Gregory brothers. The Gregory Brothers, who are a production company from South Wales enthralled us with their Environment and Recycling show. The show raised awareness of environmental issues in a fun way and promoted the benefits of recycling and how to look after the environment. All the children thoroughly enjoyed the show and our Eco committee will be working hard to ensure these messages are continued throughout our school and local community.

 

Dosbarth Celyn visited Techniquest this week as part of their cornerstones topic ‘Sensoria’.  All the children were able to explore the various exhibits and were also invited to take part in an exclusive workshop experience that is not available to the general public yet.  The whole class had an incredible time and enjoyed learning lots about light and sound.  They were a real credit to the school and are looking forward to using the things they have learnt into their topic work back at school.

 

On Thursday Miss Glover and two digital leaders visited Cadoxton Primary School to undertake an amazing iPad workshop with Joe Moretti.  They learnt how to make their work come alive with a variety of augmented reality apps and how these can be used to help improve all aspects of their work in school.  Everyone had a great time and we look forward to the digital leaders training the rest of the school how to utilise these new skills in our learning.

 

Miss Glover and Dance club visited the Howardian centre in Cardiff on Friday for a dress rehearsal in preparation for their performance on Thursday 13^th March.  All the children performed incredibly well and are now more determined than ever to continue together, dancing and being their best!

 

Our ‘Men Behaving Dadly’ event next week will consist of three different workshops. We will be running sessions about how we are using Hwb within school to help the children’s learning, a Read Write Inc. session where you can learn all about this phonics programme and also a Welsh language workshop, where you can learn a variety of phrases and techniques to use with your child.  The most important session will be the tea and biscuits workshop, which always proves to be very popular.  The ‘Men Behaving Dadly’ event will start after school and finish around 5pm. We look forward to seeing you on Friday 7th February.

BIPS E-safety tips

Don’t give out information online simply because it’s asked for – think whether whoever is asking for it, really needs it. Never share passwords!

BIPS phrase of the week

Beth wyt ti’n gwisgo?

What are you wearing?

Dw i’n wisgo …

I am wearing a …

 

Reminders and Dates

Men Behaving Dadly – Friday 7^th February (330-430)

 

Bedwen Show and See – Wednesday 12^th Feb (2-3pm)

 

Parent Consultation Evenings – Monday 17^th & Tuesday 18^th February

Blog from Barry Comprehensive School – Issue 42

Holocaust Memorial Day: ‘Journeys’

“… on the following day the Jews would be leaving.  All the Jews, without exception.  Even the children, even the old, even the ill.  Our destination?  Nobody knew”

–              Primo Levi, Holocaust survivor and author

 

On 27th January, Barry Comprehensive School commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day 2014.  Assemblies were held for Years 7 to 10, and were followed by lessons which put the Holocaust into context and provided students with a sense of why marking this day is so important.

 

The specific focus of HMD 2014 was ‘Journeys’.  The assemblies encouraged pupils to think about how journeys themselves became part of genocide, and how the journeys undertaken were often experiences of persecution and terror for so many people.  The boys were also given the opportunity to reflect on their own journeys, the fact that all journeys begin with just one step, and the importance of  making those steps positive ones, and so making a positive difference.

 

Also, three Year 11 students, Josh Barnett, Jay Jackson and Josh Woodfin, visited Barry Library with Mrs Zyjewski and Mr Spencer.  The purpose of the visit was to view the ‘Hineni Project’.  This is a collection of individual journeys and photographic portraits of people living in Britain.  From refugees and Holocaust survivors to those who grew up here in Wales and the UK, ‘Hineni’ offers an extraordinary insight into individuals’ lives. 

 

Days like Holocaust Memorial Day are significant because they ensure that we learn from the past; as George Santayana said:  “The one who does not remember History is bound to live through it again”. 

Supermarket Wow Day

Dosbarth Onnen and Dosbarth Helygen held a joint “Wow” event to stimulate the children’s’ learning experiences midway through the topic.  Everyone dressed up as their favourite food or the colours of the foods origin.

Strawberry Bon-Bon

The day was packed with fun and fabulous learning activities and staff and children had fun learning together and being our best.  Mrs.D.Evans talked about Roald Dahl and his revolting recipes and the children amazed her at how inventive (and revolting) they can be!!

  

  

   

Mrs. Wooley ran herself ragged on a supermarket themed treasure hunt and managed to find treasure every time. Wow. Mrs.Mellars had fun tasting Tu B’shvat food that can be found in the local supermarket.  The children were great at being adventurous in tickling their taste buds. Even Mrs.Mellars led the way in approaching new experiences and tasted some of the delights.

Mrs. Gray and Miss. Cox made the most of our outdoor learning classroom and encouraged the children to build their own supermarket then role play shopping and working there.   Overall a successful day of creative and imganiative learning was had by all.

f1 day

F1 day

In Dosbarth Derw we were fortunate enough to be visited by a mechanic from World Championship Formula 1team, Red Bull. Who, by teaching us all about F1 cars, helped us develop our skills in STEM {Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths}.

 

We had a fantastic opportunity to learn all about the car’s wings, steering, logos and speed the cars are capable of thanks to something called ‘aerodynamics’.  By looking at the different materials in the F1 car, we discovered that the equivalent weight would be 640kg including the person.

Our visitor was Mr B’s cousin. He brought Formula 1 car parts and lots of stories. We all loved the lesson!

Once the lesson had finished, he stayed to help out with our STEM club. We have entered the Formula 1 in schools competition.

We have been using a computer program to create our very own car, which will be raced in the finals at Celtic Manor.

He advised us on the best techniques and methods for gaining speed. He analyzed our designs, gave us tips and even took the time to give us a fantastic ‘good luck’ gift for our team.

We would like to thank all those involved in preparing the lesson and Red Bull Racing for their help! We cant wait for our very own Formula 1 competition.

Derw african drumming!

Derw’s African Drumming Day!

 

Last week, we did African drumming with LOB’s mum, as part of our topic. Some people haven’t done African drumming before so this was a great opportunity for us to learn.

 

Throughout the morning, whilst some of us were learning how to do African drumming, some of us wrote river poems and others created pieces of artwork.

 

After we finished our carousel we all got together and we did a group song using the drums and percussion, which was the cup song.

 

Later on in the day we went to the beach to read out our poetry accompanied by our African drumming. People passing by stopped to listen to our performance.

We all had a fantastic day and finished it off with a LUSH mug of hot chocolate!

Written by JB and EP.

Barry Island Bugle – Friday 24th January

On Thursday we launched our FAST programme at Barry Island School.  It was incredible to see so many families and members of the community coming together to talk, work, play and eat together.  We are very proud of all our families and we look forward to next week’s session.

 

A big thank you to our Chair of Governors Mr David Vining, who visited the school this week as part of our Governing Body ‘Learning Walks’. These are opportunities for our Governing body to come into school, see the learning in our classes and have an opportunity to talk to subject leaders about the curriculum and standards. All the staff and children were very excited about the chance to share their learning with him.

Mrs. Everitt has been very busy in London this week after she was invited by LEGO Education to present and share all the work we have been doing in school at the BETT education and technology fayre. Our Lego collaborative research project with The Big Research Company, Cadoxton & Romilly Primary schools is now available to download from iBooks – Learning Brick by Brick.

Barry YMCA are making a series of short video clips promoting Barry Town that will be used by Barry Town Council and Welsh Government, which will gain a lot of exposure.  The clips will feature interviews with local people discussing their views on the local area, parks, beaches local events and nightlife.  If you are interested in the project please email: MIKE@DMEDIGITAL.CO.UK

 

We all understand how important it is to read with our children and the ‘Make time to read’ initiative is part of a Welsh Government drive to raise awareness of the importance of reading to children.  For more information and Top tips for reading with children of all ages go to:

http://learning.wales.gov.uk/docs/learningwales/news/140113-make-time-to-read-en.pdf

 

We currently have insufficient interest in our Y5 & 6 Paris trip for it to go ahead. If we are unable to confirm the required numbers next week we will have no option but to cancel. Please contact Mr Broad or Mr Williams ASAP, if you are interested in your child attending. 

 

Here at Barry Island we have been pushing to improve our attendance. Dosbarth Derw have donned their thinking caps and created the wonderful BAA (BIPS Attendance Award). Each class competes for the best overall attendance for the week. The class with the highest percentage wins the coveted ‘Golden Sheep’. We have already seen a fantastic improvement in attendance and hope we continue to be together, learning and being our best!

 

BIPS E-safety tips

Everything we do online leaves a digital record – it is vital that we all learn how to use technology responsibly and safely.

BIPS phrase of the week

Beth wyt ti ddim yn hoffi?

What don’t you like?

 Dw i ddim yn hoffi …

I don’t like …

Reminders and Dates

On Monday 27^th January there will be no after school clubs due to staff training

 

Celyn’s Trip to Techniquest – Friday 31^st January

 

Men Behaving Dadly – Friday 7^th February (330-430)

 

Bedwen Show and See – Wednesday 12^th Feb (2-3pm)

 

Parent Consultation Evenings – Monday 17^th & Tuesday 18^th February

Blog from Barry Comprehensive School – Issue 41

Barry Comprehensive School has been a long-standing supporter of LATCH, delivering presents to the Oncology Clinic at Llandough Hospital for many years and now continuing to support the Children’s Hospital at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff.

 

At the end of last term, Welsh Baccalaureate students arranged a variety of activities to raise money for the charity.  Activities ranged from a Staff v 6th Form football match, a cake sale, teachers in the stocks, a LATCH merchandise sale and a raffle.  The top raffle prize of a visit to the Houses of Parliament, donated by Alun Cairns MP, was won by sixth former Tom Durman.  On the last day of term, staff encouraged further donations by volunteering to spend the day wearing school uniform.

 

A group of sixth form students will be visiting the hospital to present the donation.  Thank you to everyone who took part in helping to support this very worthwhile charity.

Barry Island Bugle – Friday 17th January

On Monday a group of children in Dosbarth Derw started a very exciting project called ‘Formula 1 in Schools’. F1 in Schools gives students a unique opportunity to develop key skills whilst having fun by taking part in the world’s biggest and most exciting STEM challenge. This exciting opportunity allows the children to follow the same processes real Formula One teams follow from their initial business plan through to their car design. They will be using Computer Aided Design software, data analysis software, Computerised Numerical Control machinery to manufacture their car, and wind and smoke tunnels for testing. Finally they will race their car on our 20m F1 in Schools racetrack to see who has designed and manufactured the fastest car.

 

Dosbarth Bedwen travelled to Cardiff Museum on Wednesday as part of their topic ‘Gallery’.  They all dressed up as artists and had a great time studying, researching and drawing all the incredible painting in the galleries.  All the children were a real credit to the school and can’t wait to find out more about their topic.  To read more about their day and Dave’s adventures go to https://barryislandps.wordpress.com

 

On Thursday we had a visit from our Read Write Inc. (RWI) trainer to see how we have been getting on with RWI.  She was very impressed with all the work the children have done and was pleased to see the excellent progress made by all the groups. A big WHOOSH to everyone ! Find out more at our next Dadly event (Mums too) straight after school on 7.2.14

Each week we will post the children’s home learning in Year 2 – Year 6 on to their class Hwb page.  This will allow the children to access their home learning and also upload it when completed. It is a great way to share their work with classmates and also allows them to work on it at both at home and in school.  If you are interested in finding out more about Hwb then please feel to drop in to ICT Zone after school with Mr Williams on Thursdays.

 

We have recently commissioned the building of a Bardic chair by a company called ‘Wild Welsh Wood’.  The Wild Welsh Wood workshop is beautifully placed at the foot of the amazing Dolgoch Falls in the Tal Y Llyn valley in Mid Wales.  Our chair will be made using locally sourced and reclaimed materials. To follow the progress of our chair you can visit https://www.facebook.com/wildwelshwoodpage

 

Today your children have brought home a letter outlining the proposals to changes to our school catchment area. If you would like more information or to discuss these changes please feel free to contact Mr Golding. Any responses to these plans can go directly to admissions@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

 

BIPS E-safety tips

Use the privacy and security settings on social media sites so that only

friends and family can see your pages.

BIPS phrase of the week

Beth wyt ti’n hoffi?

What do you like?

Dw I’n hoffi …

I like …

 

Reminders & Dates

FAST Programme launches – Thursday 23^rd January

 

Bedwen Show and See – Wednesday 12^th Feb (2-3pm)

 

Parent Consultation Evenings – Monday 17^th & Tuesday 18^th February

Blog from Barry Comprehensive School – Issue 40

At the end of last term, Barry Comprehensive School’s Main Hall was filled with companies, businesses and organisations welcoming students to the annual careers fair. Hundreds of students visited the stalls to find out about the opportunities in the workplace and in further education.

 

Business visitors ranged from the global to the local and included BA, Holder Mathias Architects, Dwr Cymru, Willmot Dixon Construction and Cardiff Martial Arts.  Other organisations included Bro Radio, Careers Wales, Financial and Legal Services Partnership, Skills for Logistics, Vale Volunteer Service.  The services were well represented by the British Army, the Fire Service and South Wales Police.

 

Welsh Universities were also keen let students know what they had to offer, with stands from Aberystwyth University, Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Swansea Metropolitan University and the University of Wales (Trinity) being very popular.

 

The school is grateful to all the attendees for their time and commitment to showing students some of the huge range opportunities available to them.

The Artistic Adventures of Dosbarth Bedwen and Dave!

On Wednesday 15^th January, Dosbarth Bedwen and their class mascot Dave visited Cardiff Museum as part of their Cornerstones topic ‘Gallery’

 

We set off on the train to Cardiff Museum dressed up as famous artists ready to discover and experience a range of different paintings that we had been learning about in school.

 

We were armed with information, pencils and our sketchbooks ready to immerse ourselves in historical and modern art.  We looked at a variety of paintings and wrote down our own interpretations and feelings towards each piece.  We discussed the techniques the artist used and how they used them to create mood and expression.

All this work made us very hungry and the class decided to have an early lunch.  While we were having lunch, Dave decided to explore the museum to try and see if he could find some of his ancestors.  He was spotted all over the museum appreciating the art work and also working behind the front desk!

After lunch, we revisited some of the paintings we had studied in the morning and sketched them into our art books.  We worked hard to create our own interpretations of these incredible paintings.

At the end of a wonderfully creative and inspiring day we jumped on a train back to Barry Island, with a quick stop off at Maslin Park.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our wow day and can’t wait to carry on with our topic.  A huge thank you to both Cardiff Museum and Arriva Trains for making us feel so welcome and also a massive diolch to Mrs Everitt, Mrs McCafferty and Miss Goodman for all their help.