Arts & CraftsDuring the October

Playscheme the youngpeople who attended were

asked if there were anyactivities they would like to

take part in that could beheld at the communitycentre in the evenings.

One of the requests, amongst others,was arts and crafts as they had enjoyed

lots of different ‘making’ activities during the week.

Arrangements were made and approvalfor funding from the Partnership enabledthe Thursday night sessions to take place

with the theme of ‘Christmas Crafts’.

Our tutor Ruth Lewis began the sessionsin October and with a loyal following of

young people who had ‘tried out’ sewingand other crafts at our Playscheme, the

fun began.

The first session was well attended withyoung people aged from 5 to 14 yearsand some parents getting stuck in and

quite literally sticking on! They weregluing and cutting, glittering and sewingand generally getting creative, designingmasterpieces to decorate their homes in

time for Christmas.

January 2011 saw the continuation ofthe classes with thanks to support from

Tonypandy Community College e3+provision. The young people, parents

and grandparents continue to meetevery Thursday evening from 6.00pm to

7.30pm and so far have created anddecorated masks, drawn, coloured and

painted Welsh themed pictures fordisplay at the Spring Festival

and lots more.

For further details and to book aplace please contact Llwynypia andYstrad Communities First office on

01443 430532/ 01443 422444.

It is once again a great pleasure to provide the foreword for

“The Tonypandy Times”. I am continually amazed by the achievements

of our students and the effective partnerships we have in place to enrich

their time in the College. Students continue to experience a range of

learning opportunities both in and outside the College day and these

have ensured positive attitudes to learning prevail.

This improved edition of “The Tonypandy Times” is testimony to the fact

that we are continually striving to ensure we work in full partnership with

external agencies. The articles illustrate achievement, success and a

positive attitude to life. They all deserve to be celebrated.

The College has had a busy time as you will see from this edition.

Articles have been provided by a range of students and staff and

celebrate real success in many areas.

I hope like me, you enjoy this new edition.

Helen O’Sullivan Headteacher

“

“

Link School Headteacher Visit Mrs O’Sullivan warmly welcomed Robert, Headteacher of Busui Central College,to Tonypandy Community College during March.

Introducing him to staff, Mrs O’Sullivanexpressed her delight at RobertWandaski’s visit and our ongoingcommitment to Busui Central College,its staff and students. Robert is theHeadteacher of our link school inMbale, Uganda and with the supportof a British Council grant spent histime with us looking at our educationcurriculum as well as touring thecommunity, meeting groups andexperiencing our Welsh culture.

During a packed week Robertobserved lessons, toured thecommunity as well as meeting theStudent Voice group and giving apresentation to a number of groupsof students. After school activitieswere not excluded with Robertenjoying an opportunity to watch thePerforming Arts group rehearse forthe upcoming Mayors Fundraisingevent as well as watching a footballmatch and experiencing table tennis.

Robert accompanied by Mr. PaulNorton, Deputy Headteacher andMrs. Kim Davies, Governor, also metwith Education Minister LeightonAndrews at the Senydd to discuss theWelsh political system as well ascomparing how the government workwith education establishments withinWales.

We look forward to a long andsuccessful partnership with our linkcommunities in Mbale.

Fairwood Trust is a South Walesbased Trust that supports a range oftraining and educationaldevelopments. At TonypandyCommunity College Year 13students have been provided with anopportunity to apply for fivebursaries funded by the Trust for thethree years of their university courseand will be used to offset theiraccommodation costs whilststudying.

Charles Middleton, Trust Directorhas visited the College over a longperiod of time and has beenimpressed with the communitydimension, ethos and culture as wellas the achievements of the staff andstudents at Tonypandy. MrMiddleton is no stranger to the areaborn in Penygraig he spent manyyears in the Rhondda.

Eight students were interviewed byMr Middleton and Barry Hitchock, afellow trustee and all students werevery impressive. Mr Middleton said,“The College should be very proudof the students that wereinterviewed. They were both matureand articulate and had excellentinterviews. We were very impressedand are pleased to be working withTonypandy Community College.”

The bursaries will be allocated inearly March 2011 in time forstudents to finalise choice offers andbook appropriate accommodation.Leon who is a reciprocal of abursary said “This is an amazingopportunity for me it means I canstudy International Law in London,many thanks to the Trust and MrsO’Sullivan for their support”

Headteacher, Mrs Helen O’Sullivansaid, “This is a fantastic opportunityfor the College to work with theTrust who have been eager to makea real difference to students’ lives.The bursaries will relieve some ofthe financial burden placed on thestudents and their families, for someit will be the difference betweenthem being able to pursue a degreecourse at their preferred university orcompromising their choices. We aredelighted to be working with theTrust as we are the only school theyhave chosen to work with.”

Students recognised the fantasticopportunity that they were beinggiven and recognised the work ofthe Headteacher and the Studentsrecognised the fantastic opportunitythat they were being given andrecognised the work of theHeadteacher and the Trust.

Fairwood Trust Headteacher of Tonypandy Community College,Mrs Helen O’Sullivan has been working with TheFairwood Trust over a period of time to develop aprogramme that will support students throughthree years at University.

2 3

During the Autumn term students from thecollege as well as local primary schoolsmarched through Tonypandy to remember theevents of the miners strike during November1910. A hundred years ago, miners throughout the Cambrian Combineminers went on strike due to the poor working conditions and pay.The resulting civil unrest became infamously know as the “TonypandyRiots”. The College, its students and staff were keen to remember thissocial event not the resulting violence.

The route that the students marched was the same historic route as theminers themselves marched 100 years ago. A minute silence was held inthe centre of Dunraven Street, for those whose health suffered as well asthe lives lost in the mining of coal.

In addition to the march students from year 10 Drama, took part in anexcellent BBC - Green Bay Media programme called “Tonypandy Riots aNew History” which documented the events of 1910 , as well asshowing the students asking questions and taking part in learning moreabout their heritage.

This event was reported well by BBC Walesand ITV Wales. The broadcasts included students and teachersopinions of what the march meant for them and the community.Headteacher Mrs O’Sullivan said “This event was wonderful as itenhanced their understanding of their heritage and community.Everyone; students, staff and volunteers valued the experience and it willremain with us all for a very long time.”

Teaching PackHowever, this was just one of the community projects the College had undertakenover the school year. Others included the launch of the “Teaching Pack- Resourcesfor schools”, special assemblies, exhibitions, art and creative writing projects and aspecial 1910 school dinner, where all the dinner ladies dressed up in the clothes thatwere worn during that era.

Broken PeaceFurthermore another project that involved students from the College as wellas students from Ysgol Gyfun Cymmer was called “Broken Peace” , whereeach school worked together on writing songs based on the events of theminers strike with singer songwriter Martyn Joseph and producer AndrewGriffiths. The songs were performed at a fantastic show in the Parc and DareTheatre on November 2nd & 3rd and displayed wonderful musical talent fromboth schools. This also gave the sell out crowd an insight into the miners livesas the song lyrics described.

Included within our commemorative events for "1910a Community Remembered” was a themed TeaDance as well as a three month long exhibitionin the College reception.

Sarah Bayliss, Yr12

Another interesting project wasundertaken on November 5th......when students from the College’s Post 16Horticultural group worked on the gardensurrounding the newly restored Lady of The Lampstatue. They put to use the skills that they learntfrom attending a workshop with a local artistduring the summer.

The story behind the Lady of TheLamp is that it was commissioned in memoryof Archibold Hood, who was the founder ofthe Glamorgan Collieries. This is where theminers would have worked and its restorationwas an important part of thecommemoration of the events.

The launch

Broken Peace

Exhibition

Tea Dance

Tea Dance

4 5

What is Time Schools?Time schools is a project running in 4 School’s, one of

which is Tonypandy Community College, that uses

timebanking to encourage young people, their parents and community members to

give more to the school and community. By giving an hour of your time helping out you can receive 1 time credit – this credit is worth 1 hour’s activity or training.

For example you could help out at the college with their Mosaic Art project for 2 hours on a Tuesday afternoon and

earn 2 credits; these credits could then be used to buy a ticket for a show at the Muni Arts Centre (some restrictions

apply).

More and more projects in Rhondda Cynon Taff are joining the Time Schools project meaning more opportunities to

earn and spend credits. Some of the places you can spend credits are:

• Howells School of Motoring: (see opposite)

1 time credit = 1 hour Driving Lesson (restrictions apply)

• Ferndale Skate Park: 1 time credit = 1 hour

• Muni Arts Centre: 2 time credits = 1 ticket

• Bowlplex: 1 time credit = 2 games of bowling or 1hour of pool

• Jump!: 1 time credit = 1 adult entry, 2 time credits = 1 child entry

You can earn credits doing so many things... Attending meetings that benefit your community, volunteering at events,

organising and running events, environmental projects – the list goes on!

Please get in touch to find out more and to let us know how you think you may want to get involved.

Lisa Davies: lisa@justaddspice.org or Carly Hooper: carly.hooper@tonypandycollege.co.uk / 01443 436171

Tea Dance at TonypandyCommunity CollegeOur quarterly tea dance was a great success! We had 13volunteers earning a total of 46 time credits between them.

They earned these by dancingwith community members,serving tea and cakes, takingphotographs, washing up,introducing the songs on themicrophone to introduce thedances.

The event was enjoyed by alland we look forward to ourSummer Dance in July.

Earning CreditsTime banking is a major success in the library.Students have been working hard to earn timecredits by becoming assistant librarians and libraryhelpers. Already library members Emily Jo Daveyand Georgia James have benefited by using someof their time credits to pay for a set of false nails!!!!

My favourite TimeSchool story... Timebanking is a schemewhich rewards pupils forgiving up their time to helpthe community. For eachhour spent helping thecommunity one time creditis earned.The first thing I did to earn timecredits was participating in myschool production of ‘Little ShopOf Horrors’ but I haven’t justtaken part in drama I havehelped out at the tea danceserving refreshments to thepeople of our community.

I find it very rewarding being partof the time banking schemebecause I’m earning time creditswhile having fun. I am going onan outdoor activity weekend toColomendy North Wales whichhas been paid for using my timecredits.by Sophie Allen Year 7

Spotlight on aSpice Partner...

HowellsSchool ofMotoringMy name is Mark Howells,owner of Howells SchoolOf Motoring...

Based in Porth, RCT, we offerprofessional high quality drivingtuition to learners throughoutthe area. With years ofexperience and many satisfiedcustomers, Howells SOM is yourfirst choice for driving tuition inRCT.

When learning to drive withHowells SOM, you will not onlypass your test thus enabling youto gain your independence, youwill also gain a BTEC Level 2award in demonstrating safedriving. This will earn youUniversity credits and willguarantee you discount on yourcar insurance. It will also offeryou an extra credential whenapplying for jobs, etc.

Please take a look at ourwebsite: www.howells-som.co.uk or call 07725 479788 for moreinformation.

Congratulations to Sophie Evans on an outstanding premierperformance on the West End stage.Sophie is absolutely superb in the leading role as “Dorothy” in AndrewLloyd Webber’s new production of the “Wizard of Oz” in the LondonPalladium, where she takes the stage every Tuesday evening and onselected dates.

Excited Governors, students, and staff from the College travelled to Londonto give their support to Sophie on her opening night. They were enthralledby the whole production and performance given by the cast, the amazingstaging and the whole spectacle of the evening.

The standing ovation was richly deserved and students were able to meetboth Sophie and Michael Crawford after the show where Michael told theHeadteacher Mrs O’Sullivan that the audience was the best to date.

Mrs O’Sullivan said “This has been an amazing journey for Sophie and wehave enjoyed every minute. The journey continues as she performs at thehighest level on the London stage. Sophie is the consummate professionaland she owned the stage. Our hopes and dreams have come true she wasDorothy”

6 7

FilmClubFilmClub is held every Wednesday after school as part of thee3+ activities and after running for 3 years is still proving to bean enormous success!

As part of FilmClub the group have the opportunity to discover films that fire theimagination and stir passions. FilmClub members benefit from access to a vastcollection of films supplied free from the FilmClub organisation.

Members watch films, eat popcorn, post online reviews and have even beenlucky enough to have taken part in a “Close Encounters” experience with actorMichael Sheen.

New members are always welcome so call into the library any Wednesday between 3pm and 5pm.

Library Technology

In recent months the library had been extremely

lucky in being able to acquire some brand new

technology. We now have 2 new iPads, an iPod

and 4 new Kindles!

The iPads are a storming success! With fun applications

and hundreds of both fiction and Non Fiction books

available to read at the click of a button.

The Kindles are proving to be very useful for English

Literature students who are able to use the downloaded

texts for study.

The introduction of this new technology has truly seen a

positive turn around in the attitudes students have

toward reading and really does seem to be the way

forward for the library. Of course we can never replace

the good old fashion book but, this new technology

really does appeal to students through out the college

and any new technology that encourages reading and

literacy must be a success?

Essential SkillsIn recent weeks we have been lucky enough to begin workingwith a group of ladies from Soar Chapel, Penygraig.

The group of 9 ladies attend the college once a week and are working towardstheir City and Guilds Wales, Essential Skills qualification. This is a fantasticqualification that helps you apply the skills you already have to real life situations.The qualification is engaging and rewarding and can lead to a whole range offulfilling career opportunities.

The ladies have also had the opportunity take part in various taster sessions ofactivities already held within the college. Art and Craft, Flower Arranging and Hairand Beauty have already been sampled with more exciting sessions planned.

Everyone is enjoying this new experience including our youngest member Laceywho attends with her Mum, Ria Williams.

Students Corner...In this and future issues we are going to feature the views and reviews of one of our library

members. This month Emily Jo Davey Yr11 is going to give us her thoughts on the library

activities and resources.

Hi my name is Emily Jo Davey and I am currently studying for my GCSE’s in Yr 11. I have been a

member of the library for the last 3 years. I really enjoy being part of the group. Everyone is really

friendly and we have lots of fun even when the activities involve reading!

I often use the books for revision and coursework. The after school homework club has been

great because it means I can get research and any typing up or printing I need to do done before

I even get home.

Since last September the library has also had an iPad and Kindles that we can use. The Kindles

have been great for reading English lit texts as you are able to make notes and bookmark pages

as you go along. The iPad has some great applications and gives students the chance to

experience using new technology even when it may be too expensive for them to have at home.

Most of all I enjoy relaxing and catching up with my friends in the group. We have some nice

comfy chairs and bean bags where we can have some quiet time in a nice relaxing atmosphere.

The activities ran during lunch and after school with more

than 40 students taking part.

Students had to complete a passport and pin point on the

map the different countries they had read about. They

used books to find out interesting facts about many

different countries including Italy, Spain and India. A

competition was held for the first passport correctly

completed.

Students also had fun finding out about flags from around

the world and had a chance to design their own flag for

their very own country.

The activity was such a success that it was continued the

following day to allow more students the opportunity of

taking part.

Well done everyone who took part and watch this space

to find out the winners of the competitions!

Once again this year the library held a celebration of World Book Day on

Thursday 3rd March. This year’s theme was “Read Around the World.”

World Book Day 2011

8 9

Dick Whittington Pantomime I took part in the Dick Whittington play with

all the girls we had so much fun ;D

The cast members and the crew were lovely

and the support staff that helped.

The costumes were fabulous I’m definitely take

part next year with all the girls!

Amelia

GolfEvery Monday e3+ takes a trip up to Penrhys Golf

Club where we have lessons from the Golf Pro called Dai. His Scottish

accent is brilliant and he is a wicked laugh! We began playing on the driving

range until we perfected our swing and we have now moved on to playing

on the par 3 course so that we can practice putting as well as driving. I’m

just glad it is now summer so that we can enjoy the nice weather instead of

the usual rain and snow we’ve had over the last few months!

Jack Barrowcliffe

PhotographyI enjoy the e3+ Photography session with Peter that takes place everyMonday up in the digilab. We get to go outside and take photos of the scenery and then Peter helpsedit these using Photoshop if needed. We also use the lighting in the digilabto take professional portrait pictures which we get to print out and keep. Mark Bees

The sports hall was temporarily transformed to a theatre,seating audiences of 300 each night. Students had theopportunity to perform on stage, operate theatre stylelighting as well as run the front of house.

Mrs Martin Thomas, Leader of learning Performing ArtsFaculty said “I am so incredibly proud of the youngpeople, they have been so professional and put on a greatshow. Many thanks to everyone who supported the show ”

One of the Leading ladies Leanne May said ” Little Shopwas just brilliant! I had a having a great time playing therole of Mrs Mushnick, it is really great to work with such afab cast. This was definitely not a show to be missed”

Connor Griffiths who plays the lead male Seymour said “We have been working so hard in rehearsals for thisfantastic show and I am so happy to see that all that ourwork has paid off. The three nights were a resoundingsuccess with the packed audience giving us a standingovation. I just want to say thank you to the productionteam and cast for being so professional!”

Well done to all involved!

The FANTASTIC College production of “LittleShop of Horrors” was a great success withstudents from all year groups taking part.

10 11

...for those who don't know me by now, I’m Laith Jawad, the e3+ co-ordinator for the Tonypandy Cluster. I’m based in the CommunityRoom at Tonypandy Community College.

My role is to provide extra curricular opportunities for the young people ofthe Tonypandy area so what really helps is when young people come andgive me ideas for new activities to run! Have a look at some of the reviewsof our activites (by the participants) on the next two pages to see whatgoes on in the world of e3+:

Hello...

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Lunc

htim

e

Open Play Open Play Girls Dodgeball Boys Dodgeball Open Play

3pm

- 5

pm

Photography DIGILAB

Cookery Singing (4pm - 5pm)

Cookery Hair & Beauty LAB 3

Streetdance NEUADD

Mountain Biking Hair & Beauty LAB 3

Envirotechs/Journalism LIBRARY

Graffiti Art COMMUNITY ROOM

Funky FlowersLAB 3

Crafts & Design DIGILAB

Sporting Marvels SPORTS HALL

Table Tennis DINNER HALL

Fishing DARREN PARK

Free Running SPORTS HALL

Pyrography LAB 3

Film Club LIBRARY

Swimming YSTRAD LEISURE CENTRE

Friday Futsal ASTROTURF

Boys Multi-gym Zumba (3pm - 4pm)

Horseriding CAERPHILLY

Film-making DIGILAB

GolfPENRHYS

Table Tennis DINNER HALL

Fashion Design GEORGE THOMAS

Table Tennis DINNER HALL

Football ASTROTURF

Gaming Club DIGILAB

Rock School Drama Studio

Athletics RED GRA

Sports LeadersSPORTS HALL

Rounders ASTROTURF

Gotcha Outdoor PursuitsCricket

ASTROTURF

Fishing is BACK!!The summer is here which means e3+ fishing isback! The session will run every Friday from 3pm to6pm but places are limited to 12, meaning we willoperate on a first come first served interest – bookyour place now by visiting the CommunityRoom. You must have a ROD LICENSE toattend (if you are over 12 years old) and thesecan be purchased from your local Post Office.

NEW! – e3+ Petition System

So you want e3+ to have a new activity? Well now you

have the chance to make your voice heard! If you have an

activity that you and your friends would like to see on our

timetable, come and pick up a petition form from the

Community Room and get people to sign! Rules are that if

we put the activity on – you and your friends must attend!

Summer TimetableFilm Making I have been going to Film Making for a number of weeks and I

really enjoy the activity. I have learnt a number of techniques on

how to use a video camera correctly. I think the Lilypad film team

are great and they always come up with good ideas for films.

Next term, I would like to learn more techniques and I would also

like to work with other schools and perhaps make more films for

people in Rhondda Cynon Taff. The most recent film we made was

showcased in the 2011 Zoom Films for Young People in Wales festival.

Abbie Howard

Funky Flowers I attend Funky Flowers every Monday and

absolutely love it. I get to take flowers home

every week which I take home as a present for

my Nan. We have recently made hanging baskets

which have been put up in the schools outdoor space

and this has made me more aware of the flowers

growing around the school site. The class tutor Jacqui

is really helpful and allows us to experiment by trying

out new displays using many different types of flowers.

Jessica Evans

CookeryI enjoy cookery because it gives you an opportunity to do something

different. In cooking, I make dishes from around the world and make lots of

different types of food. I have learnt lots of different cooking skills and I have

enjoyed it. Cooking is fun for all and is nice to do after school – especially as

all the ingredients are provided by e3+ and we get to take the food home

once it’s made.

Sophie Allen

12 13

Fashion DesignThe Fashion Design classes with Abigail Love have been a fantastic opportunity, especially as it is an areathat I’m contemplating studying next year in University. We have been creating mood boards which is a process that all fashion designers go through whencreating clothing lines. We have looked into many different aspects of fashion, even things such as howitems are labelled and presented as this can have a significant impact on how successful an item is. I would definitely recommend this to any students who have ever considered studying fashion for a career. Tamsin Jones

France Trip39 students from Years 8, 9 and 11 spent a weekend in

Rue, Amiens in the North of France. Students had the

opportunity to experience French culture and to practise

their French, whilst staying in a Chateau built for Louis

XIV around 1714.

During their stay students made mayonnaise with a

French chef, learnt how to make goats cheese, tastedchocolate at the chocolate factory

and ate the local delicacies, including frogs

legs and snails. Students also conducted

surveys, using their French at the market and

visited the cathedral and city of Amiens.

A great time was had by all students and staff

and we are looking forward to returning to the

chateau next year!

The first resort we skied was Flachau itself. There were 3groups of students and Mr. O’Brien, Dai John, Harri and

Ryan as the “Professional group”. That first morning wasextremely intense, painful and long, especially getting theboots and skis fitted. It was surprisingly warm and by thetime all the pupils were ready to go staff were exhausted. Ipersonally was ready to throw the skis over the hedge.Everyone seemed to pick up the skiing so easily, particularlyJess Evans and Catlin Clark. Lewis had a few prior lessonsand it showed. I didn’t mind being the laughing stock forthe first 4 days as it was my first time and Bambi on icecomes to mind.

Day one... over and some achinglegs but no bumps, result! Off to

a café after dinner to experienceAustrian curling. It involved slidingwooden discs down ice. Daniel Boycetried swinging it around his own head

and ended up with abloody nose!

Day two... back at Flachau and more hard skiing, wellfor me anyway, but all the students were improving

rapidly. The evening activity involved an evening in the localswimming pool. This was a brand new building opened atthe beginning of this year. Very relaxing and it eased someof the aches and pains. That was after the surprise as wewalked into the changing rooms and found they wereunisex!!

Day three... and we moved to a place called FlachauWinkl (no laughing please). We skied the resort for

one day, it was hard work. It snowed heavily all day. Afterour evening meal we went along to the activity, sledging. AllI can say about it is very fast and dark but the studentsloved it, staff not so much!! Cori Jones had a bit of a bumpto the head and spent the night in the local hospital whichwas precautionary and he was released next morning. Hestill hasn’t told me if the hospital breakfast was better thanthe hotel’s.

On day 4... we arrived at a place called Zauchensee.A spectacular place that dropped down into a huge

bowl on the other side of the mountain with more slopes forall abilities. The weather had improved and the snow wasfresh. We were having a few people with aches and painsby day 4 but most were skiing. We had our pizza and bowlsnight that evening. Congratulations to my team for theirhard fought victory.

Day 5... was again skiing at Zauchensee,again the weather was perfect and skiing

getting better. We even had time to share acup of coffee with PC Tipple in the café halfway up the slopes. Ben Taylor had a lift downthe slopes on a snow mobile after a minorfall, where as Jonah Huntley, Liam Hale andSmithy were ready to ski the black slopes!

Or so they thought. As this was the final night we had asmall presentation evening in the hotel where Phil (the skirep) presented the students with a certificate and someawards for different accomplishments during the week.

The final day skiing, what a week we all had. Every personinvolved had made massive improvements and even I wasskiing down red slopes with Miss Bushell, Mr O’Brien, MrsDivall, Dai John. Harri and Ryan who had now moved ontousing blades showing us how it was done and loving everysecond. So back to the hotel, load the bus, shower, mealand we were off again, so soon. The return trip seemed alot quicker although in reality it wasn’t.

My thanks to all the staff for their help in all aspects of thetrip. Miss Bushell, Mrs. Divall, Dai John and Mr. O’Brienwhose expertise on previous trips was invaluable. I wouldalso like to thank Joseph Couch year 13 who assisted staffand the students for the whole week. And lastly the studentswho behaved impeccably throughout the week. We hadmany laughs and thanks to Jonah Huntley for his constantentertainment at the staff dinning table every evening!

Mr Ben Jackson

February half term and the first ski trip that the school has run for many a year.Flachau, Austria, 27 hours on a coach but the excitement was felt by all.

14 15

Lynne Jones and Lucie Williams are the Detached Youth Workers for the

Tonypandy cluster.

The Detached Youth Work team takes support to the street directly where it is needed

most. The team works with young people on their turf three to four evenings a week,

weekends and holidays providing support on various issues, including; sexual health

advice, substance misuse support, housing issues or help to get into education

training or employment. Lucie graduated from UWCN in 2007 with a BA (Hons) in

Youth & Community Studies whilst Lynne is currently topping up her extensive

educational CV with her final year of the Youth & Community Education degree.

Lynne is funded by Llwynypia & Ystrad Communities First and her work with a group

of young people in that area has recently been recognised by winning a

WAG Youth Excellence Award for an intergenerational project.

“We can be found wandering the streets almost every Monday and Tuesday

night and usually one other night of the week, including Fridays. We would like

young people to come and talk to us and tell us what the want or need in their

area.

During February half term we took young people from the community to watch

Cardiff City Football Club play against Leicester and a coach load to play

paintball, this was because the young people asked us to. We can usually help

with most things but if we can’t, we either know someone who can or will look

for someone who will!

At the moment we are busy planning the summer activities and would really like

young people to tell us what they would like to see happening in the cluster

during the summer holidays.”

Contact Details...Lynne Jones 07769 164671 or lynne.jones2@rctcbc.gov.uk

Lucie Williams 07825 675851 or email

lucie.williams@rctcbc.gov.uk.

Tonypandy Youth CentreBased at: Blaenclydach Boys and Girls Club

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday evening 6.45pm to 9.15pmTonypandy Youth Centre offer a wide range of facilities and activities fromsports, arts projects and issued based work.

• Facilities • Sports hall• Advice & Help with health, jobs, housing, etc.• Pastoral Care• Sign posting to other agencies • Homework Facilities• Information for young people • Table Tennis, Pool, Games

Bodringallt Youth CentreBased at: Basement of Bodringallt Primary School,Ystrad.

Monday and Thursday Evening 6:30pm to 9:00pm.Bodringallt Youth Centre offer a wide range of facilities and activities fromsports, arts projects, and multi media work and issued based work.

• Facilities • Computer suite with Internet access • Advice & Help with health, jobs, housing, etc.• Pastoral Care• Sign posting to other agencies • Homework Facilities• Information for young people • Table Tennis, Pool, Games

We also offer a range of informal and non formal activities as part of ourfour week planned programme

The aim of the Youth Integration team is to developand deliver services for young people based on thegeographical cluster school areas. They will work inpartnership with other services to maximise thedelivery of a more diverse and cohesive structuredprogramme that enhances the personal and social developmentof young people.

Here at TonypandyCommunity College wehave our own little Eco-group that meetevery Tuesday andThursday lunchtime andThursday after school, inthe library.

As a group, we work together totry and make a difference to thecommunity, and most of all, theschool.

We have had a very successfulyear and have been awardedthe eco-schools silver award. Toachieve this award weconstructed an outdoor gymwithin the school grounds,promoted the healthy eatingcampaign in the school canteenand placed paper recycling binswithin most of the classrooms.We are now working towardsgaining the green flag award byplacing recycling bins for plasticbottles and aluminium cansaround the school, as well asinvolving the wider communityin what we do.If you are interested injoining the eco-technicsplease see Miss NaomiDavies or come to ourmeetings for moreinformation.

16 17

Rock School is an on-going provision delivered throughout RCT by CJS Entertainments. This year’s

February Rock School was hosted by Tonypandy Community College in partnership Tonyrefail and

Pontypridd High Schools... here’s what Kim Halliday, an ex Rock School student turned staff member had

to say about it...

As an ex student of the Rock School myself; to be on the other side as a staff member means I’ve experienced both sides.

The experience itself is a crash course in ultimately working together as a band which seems easy enough as an idea, in

reality forming a band and compiling a set of songs to perform for a gig of over 200 people is an especially intense task,

but the students we’ve had this February half term showed the most promising talent and band potential ever…

The rockers turned up on the first day to an introduction to the course, the first day involved a simple introduction to the

week where all the different students from the schools interact with each other as we intend to mix them all up into the 5

bands. I’m sure all the students remember our incredibly fun ‘ice breakers’ throughout the week where we put them on the

spot to talk about themselves, favourite bands, musicians so they all got an idea of each other’s influences, of course the

tutors had to get involved as well. The rockers definitely showed they had great confidence skills!!

They were divided into 5 bands where we let them choose who they’d prefer to work with and then they were slightly re-

arranged to what we agreed would work best, and then they all split up into assigned practise rooms and started

discussing the main event of the week which was the gig at the Rhondda Heritage Park Hotel. The basic goal was to learn

1 cover of a song that the entire band agreed on and to then write an original song composed from all the bands

influences and ideas to really see how creative they could be. The key to the perfect cover is the quality of the song and the

easier it is to learn the more time you have to make it polished, in-time and to know all your band mates cues during the

song because at the end of the day you’re all relying on each other as a team.

The next couple of days consisted of all the bands learning the covers they all decided on within

their bands and the level of talent this year meant all the bands nailed their cover so quickly and

at such a high musical quality they all had time to do a second cover. This has definitely been

the most innovative and talented rock school I’ve ever attended and all the musicians have

such great potential. My role was more of a floating tutor so I got to go around and see

everyone’s development over the week and everyone was so organised in what they wanted to

achieve and were extremely mature and represented their schools extremely well.

I’ve also never seen such a supportive rock school group, there was no sense of competition what

so ever and it was amazing to see the friendships develop within the bands.

My favourite part of the week is when the bands write their original songs, as a lyricist

it’s amazing to watch a group of peoples influences and thoughts come together in the

form of musical expression. This year’s level of creativity and innovation greatly

impressed all of the tutors. The musical diversity of every band this year was also

incredible and no band sounded the same so on gig night it had the perfect mix of

every genre. The gig night was a high adrenalized rock fest with an amazingly

supportive and excited atmosphere from

everyone who had the pleasure to be

there. The night went without a glitch

and everyone performed fantastically and

supported one another so well.

The Rock School is an intense crash course

musical programme providing the real life band

experience as well as an OCN qualification with the hopes

everyone who participated will always keep music as part of their life. I

especially hope all the musicians continue with the enthusiasm and love of music

that I saw in the week and also a huge good luck to the couple of bands who are going

to stay together and make an attempt at the musical scene themselves.

Kim Halliday.

Hello......my name is Jacqui Jones. I am the cluster worker in the Tonypandy Cluster and I have worked withthe Community College and the cluster primary schools on projects to enable them to become morecommunity focussed. These range from making and dressing up in costume from 1910, developingand running Pyramid Clubs, World War 2 museum visit and more recently providing gardeningresources for the primary schools to develop their gardens and eco-schools projects.

I have also been working on a larger project on the outdoor space at the Community College inpartnership with the Community team, developing a sensory garden, heritage trail, organic allotmentand outdoor art under the project heading of ‘Love Where You Learn’ which has been shortlisted forteh Love Where you Live Awards 2011.

Cwmclydach PrimaryWe have had a very exciting and fun-packed Spring Term so far. To celebrate our school’s achievement of the

Green Flag Award we held a special assembly. During the celebration assembly the Eco-Committee shared a

DVD they had compiled evidencing all of the work we do at Cwmclydach Primary. It was great to see that we

have increased the amount of materials we recycle and reduced energy costs. Mrs Roome was especially happy

to be saving money! All the children dressed up in green and participated in environmental activities for

the day.

This year’s annual village parade to celebrate World Book Day also took place. The theme this year was Alice In

Wonderland. Throughout the week all classes participated in Alice themed activities. The end of the week was

celebrated with all children dressing up as their favourite Alice in Wonderland or book character, parading

around Clydach Vale. The afternoon ended with a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Thank you to all the parents and

governors for their support with this event.

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Llwynypia PrimaryThe School Choir have worked with RCT Music Service to perform at the Parc and Dare theatre for the TonypandyRiots celebrations. The children thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the ‘Broken Peace’ concert, which was a greatsuccess. Due to the success of these concerts, we were invited to join the County Choir which rehearse everyTuesday at Tonypandy Community College as part of Transition Tuesday. It was great to see so many childrenrepresenting our school.

This year, we are taking part in the Treorchy Male Voice Choir Junior Musician ofthe Year competition. Our school is one of only 21 schools taking part and we havetwo children representing our school through to the next round. Sophie Shallish,cornet, and Louise Harris, singing – we wish them all the best. Sophie Shallish ,cornet, and Sammi Thorne, recital, are representing the school in the Countysection of the URDD Eisteddfod. Well done all!

A huge thank you to all the pupils, staff, Governors and parents for all their hardwork and support again this year, which resulted in us being very happy andproud of our recent inspection.

Tonypandy PrimaryTonypandy Primary School has enjoyed a wonderful term. To supplement our themed ‘Creative Curriculum’ we havedeveloped all sorts of new and exciting activities to inspire and enthuse the children – including the use of an ‘interactivefloor’ which will have many uses!

The pupils all took part in a special ‘Eco Week’ where we looked at the issues that affect our planet in a very real way today.As part of this we have had a sponsored ‘Switch it off!’ day and the pupils have raised further money by means of a charitycollection. All in all the children have raised well over £800. The Eco committee have asked the rest of the children for theirideas and they have drawn up a plan to spend it on making the school a far greener place. Mr Scammell will be taking thepupils to spend their money this week and we are all excited about the great changes taking place. We have also just finished ‘Celebrate Wales week, where the pupils all put a huge effort into a massive array of activities.The talent and enthusiasm of them all was a joy to see and a great reward for the teachers who had made a great effortpreparing the activities. The culmination of the week was this year’s Eisteddfod where again the competition was of a veryhigh standard with the Welsh advisor commenting very positively about the standards of the role plays and the Welshrecitals. The Bardic Poem was won by the Lauren Clifford with an excellent poem entitled, ‘Let’s keep green, the green,green grass of home!’

Penygraig JuniorsWe were extremely fortunate to attend the ‘National Cooking Bus’ last term based at the

Community College. It was a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to develop a range of

cooking skills as well as gaining further knowledge of the importance of Healthy

Eating. Staff also joined with our Infant colleagues for training on the Cooking Bus and

we came away with £750 worth of free cooking equipment which was highly

advantageous!

We are currently working on Phase 5 of Healthy Schools

and addressing our Year 1 targets which all relate to

‘Safety’. PC Beth Spiller has also been working with pupils on Road Safety matters

and plans to run a Cycling Proficiency course with them in the near future.

We were very grateful to Father Chris and the parishioners of St Barnabas Church who

hosted both our Harvest Service and Christmas Carol Service. They were both very

special events and this was a great way of linking with our Community.

For the second year our year 5/ 6 pupils attended a residential weekend at

Llangrannog. This was an opportunity for pupils to experience aspects of the

‘Outdoor/Adventure’ curriculum, in a safe environment. Children picked up lots of life

skills in the process and again this was a highly successful and enjoyable event.

Ysgol Yr Eos PrimaryCelebrating is something we do well at Ysgol Yr Eos. Our themed assembly table was laid with decorative

love hearts and flowers throughout January, to mark St Dwynwen’s Day, followed in February by a colourful

display of traditional masks and lanterns, made by pupils, to celebrate Chinese New Year.

This term’s ‘Celebration of Work’ evening was very well attended and a massive success. Pupils proudly

showed mums, dads and grandparents their work, in and around the classroom. In turn, parents took

pride in the achievements of their children and could see the continued progress that they were making.

A carnival atmosphere made for an enjoyable end to a week of learning, all about the Caribbean island

of St Lucia, for pupils in years 1 and 2. To celebrate the childrens’ hard work, parents were invited to

attend a masked carnival of music and dance, after which they enjoyed tropical fruit smoothies, made by

the class.

Sporting events are always a cause for celebration, and at Ysgol Yr Eos pupils have many opportunities

to take part in sporting activities, both during the school day and at after school, extra-curricular clubs. Year 5 and 6

pupils have recently celebrated successes in both rugby and athletic tournaments. The school also thoroughly

enjoyed an afternoon of five-a –side football games, organised by the school council, where all pupils from year 1 up

to year 6 played in mixed teams against each other. The event was certainly cause for celebration.

Penygraig Infants2010 was a wonderful year for Penygraig. We were the first school in Wales to be inspected by Estyn, under the new

orders, which are very different from previous inspections. The children and staff were fantastic and the school has

been graded “Good” for current performance and “Good” for capacity to improve. The Local Education Authority have

sent their congratulations to the school. The report states that:

“Pupils are very well motivated and have positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy the wide range of activities on offer

and are proud of their work and school. Pupils have a good understanding of the importance of being healthy and

active and feel safe and secure. Throughout the school, pupils’ behaviour is very good. They act responsibly and

sensibly, showing respect, care and concern for others. The school provides a good range of stimulating and

engaging learning experiences.”

On September 30th our school was assessed for the BECTA Quality standard for I.C.T. and judged to have met all

criteria. This is a very prestigious award and very few schools in the Rhondda have been successful.

Mr Leighton Andrews, Assembly member for the Rhondda, came to school on Friday 26th November 2010, to present

the school with the above awards. We are very grateful for him taking time out of his busy schedule to help us

celebrate our successes.

Ynyscynon Early YearsWe have been very busy over the last few months at Ynyscynon setting up our new emailand web link. If you want to know about us, our events or activities, then you can log ontowww.rctmoodle.org/ynyscynoneyc.Thank you to staff who came on what was a very pleasant, if cold carol singing evening inDecember. We collected over £100, this has been donated to Pontypridd Contact Centre (PONT).During the month of March we are taking part in a national Celebrating R.E. Week but ofcourse we are celebrating for the month. As you can see from the photograph the Hindufestival of ‘Holi’ has been a great success. Our children have taken to peer assessing like ‘ducks to water’ and as you can see from thisphoto set high standards and are very strict with their marking.

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Pontrhondda PrimaryAs a part of our World War 2 project the children went to Swansea War museum

to look at the artefacts on display, and learn more about life during the War. At

Pontrhondda we decided to enhance the visit by taking along some real live

artefacts of our own in the guise of some our friends from the local community

who had lived through, and served during the war.

The trip was a huge success and greatly enjoyed by the pupils

and community members alike. It was wonderful for the

children to be able to ask questions of our veterans in the

atmosphere of the reconstructed World War 2 buildings like the

Anderson Shelter. We would like to thank everyone for their input

during the trip and hope to continue working together.

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Ryan Jones is a year 10 pupil at the college and has recently been selected for the Great Britain

water polo team. We caught up with Ryan for a quick Q&A session to find out more about him:

How would you describe a typical week of

training?I train every day for a total of 12 ½ hours per week.

My typical weeks training would involve 4 water polo

sessions, 2 gym sessions and a swimming session.

What 5x60 sport do you enjoy most?

Dodgeball

What are your hobbies?

Water polo/ xbox/ computer/ swimming/ gym/

music (Guitar & Bass).

Other successful sporting students at the College are Year 10 pupils Alex Prosser & Conor

Edwards. Alex is currently ranked No. 2 in Wales in the U15’s age category. Alex & Conor take

part in the 5x60 table tennis sessions held at the college and both train in Cardiff on a weekly

basis. Conor has played Table Tennis for Wales at U15 and U18 level and is currently ranked

No. 1 in Wales. We caught up with him and asked him a few

questions:

Name: Conor EdwardsAge: 14 Sport: Table Tennis

What is your Sporting Ambition?

My sporting ambition is to be No. 1 senior

men in wales and competing with the best

in Europe.

Who is your sportinghero?Wayne Rooney

What is your favourite5x60 sport?Table Tennis

During the summer term pupils at the

college will have the opportunity to take part in

the following new activities:

Free Running • Athletics • Rounders

Mountain Biking • Cricket • Fishing

5x60 Primary School NetballTonypandy, Penygraig and Llwynypia Primaryschools took part in a 6 week 5x60 netballtraining programme held at the college. The schools finished the training programme with a clustertournament, where Penygraig narrowly beat Tonypandy A onpoints difference. Congratulations to all involved and goodluck in the upcoming Rhondda netball competition.A big thank you to everyone involved.

This year pupils at Tonypandy Community College have had numerous opportunities tocompete in a variety of sports. Girls basketball, Netball, Girls Tag Rugby and Boy’s basketballhave been the main competition sports this year to date howeverDodgeball fixtures against Ferndale Comprehensive and aDisability Sports festival is on the horizon. All pupils have doneextremely well in these competitions having gained experienceagainst some tough opposition. Year 9 & 10 boys basketball wereparticularly successful during the RCTround robin tournaments coming out ontop and progressing through to representRhondda Cynon Taff in the South EastWales tournament held on March 17th.The boys involved played extremely wellagainst some very good basketball sidesform neighbouring authorities. The boyscame 3rd in the competition and should be

proud of their achievement.

Our success stories...Over the course of the autumn and spring terms pupils at Tonypandy CommunityCollege have enjoyed numerous successes as individuals and as part of several teams. Abi Jones has grown from strengthto strength when it comes toBadminton line judging. Abiattended a Badminton coachingcourse during the October Halfterm and since then she has

attended the Yonex BadmintonChampionships and WelshChampionships in Cardiff whereshe has had the opportunity to linejudge quarter final games betweenEngland and Sweden. Abi has

performed well at thesechampionships showing greatjudgement with certain calls! Fromher success Abi is applying tobecome a line judge for the LondonOlympics in 2012. Well done Abi!

22 23

Hello......my name is Sarah Goulden. I am the 5x60

officer at the College. Here is a little bit more

about myself!!

Age: 23 Hometown: Talygarn

Favourite Sports: Netball, Rugby

What are your Hobbies?

I love having a go at different activities however at

the moment I’m just playing netball for my local

club. Other than that I enjoy going to the cinema

and spending time with friends.

What did you do before becoming a 5x60

officer?Before working at the college as a 5x60 officer I worked for a year at

Pontypridd High as a learning support assistant.

What is next for 5x60 at Tonypandy?

We have had a successful autumn and spring term at the college, we will be

increasing the number of outdoor activities and starting new clubs such as

fishing, free running, cricket, rounders, athletics and outdoor adventures.

Stephen Jenkins Rhondda Table Tennis Club We are pleased to introduce a new community table tennis club to Tonypandy College which will be held here every Thursday evening, 6pm to 9pm.

The launch night is 19th May 2011and players of any age, any ability are welcome to attend. For more information, contactStephen Jenkins on 07875718131 or email himstephenjenkins19@hotmail.com

Cluster schools are receivingconsistent, organised mentoring todeliver high quality PE lessons, alongwith regular cluster festival days.During the first term PESS mentorsand primary school teachers

delivered the Playground Leader’scourse. In term 2, the focus for thespring term in Competitive Games,culminating in a quick cluster festivalheld on our Astroturf.

PESS (PE & School Sports)Once again there has been continuing development in PESS thisyear due to the sustained allocation of hours on the curriculum forMr Liam O’Brien and Mrs Nicola Lancaster.

Gym, Dance and Trampolining DisplayRehearsals are underway for the school production of a Gym, Dance andTrampolining in May. Students from Key Stage 3 to 5 are combining theirtalents in Gymnastics, Trampolining, Dance and Cheerleading to produce thisexciting show. Tickets will go on sale at Tonypandy Community College in April.

The Sports AcademyOnce again, the Football Academy qualified for the(National Stage) Welsh cup for both the under 18 and19 competitions.However, they sadly got knocked outin an impressive game of football inthe first round. With the exception ofour academy side, all teams enteredin the Welsh cup this year failed tomake it to the National Stages.However there were many positives totake out of all the performances.

Yr 9 lost in the semi-final stage of theregional section and was unlucky tolose to Hawthorn (who happened tohave an international goal keeper!)

Yr 7 lost in the early rounds to St.Johns school in a brilliant gameending in 3-2

Yr 11 also lost in the early stages to Y Pant, despite some excellentfootball being played.

However, our Academy football team,made up of students from yr 11, 12& 13 managed to progress to thenational stages of the cup in both theunder 18 & 19 sections.

In the under 18’s competition,Tonypandy beat Heol Ddu, CardinalNewman and Blaengwawr to make itthrough and in the under 19’s sectionwe beat Tonyrefail.

Unfortunately, Tonypandy failed toprogress past the 1st round stages ofthe National section of the cup.Loosing narrowly to Ysgol BroMyrddin in the under 18’s (3-2) andWhitchurch High in the under 19’s(2-1)

Better luck next year.

Girls FootballThe Sport and PE faculty hasbeen promoting girls footballthis year due to the popularityof the sport amongst ourstudents. As a result of this we have beenable to put forward a very strongteam of year 7,8 and 9 students.The girls represented the college inthe Coca Cola Cup, competing in aseries of matches winning theirgames against Treorchy, CwmRhymni and Cyfartha. As a result ofthis, the girls won the Coca ColaCup putting us through to theNational Welsh cup. However, inthe first round we faced a verystrong football school from Duffryn(Port Talbot) and unfortunately wereknocked out of the cup.I would like to congratulate the girlsfor winning the Coca Cola Cup andmaking it through to the NationalCup for the first time. This is a hugestep forward and we look forward toentering the cup again next year.

The Rugby Academy hasrepresented the college in theBlues North Mid-week league. They have played many fixtures thisyear with mixed fortunes losingthree and winning four games sofar this year. Outstanding playersthis year have been Ethan Dean,Joseph Couch, Connor Thorne andRichard Merritt.

35776/20 April 2011Strategy, PR & Toursim @ RCTCBC