Dear Parents / Carers,
                                J11 invite you to their class assembly on the theme of ‘Evacuees’ in the school hall at 10.30am on Friday 4th October. We look forward to seeing you there.
              Thank you for your support in helping the children to learn their lines and putting together a costume for the assembly. We look forward to seeing you next week.     
                              Yours sincerely,
                          Mr. D. Evans and J11

Llongyfarchiadau i Alex, ein prifbachgen newydd. Congratulations to J11's very own Alex Allen who is Llangewydd's new Head Boy! After a series of gruelling interviews where candidates were asked some searching questions by the School Council, Alex became our new Head Boy after receiving most votes from the members of the interview panel. Well done Alex. We are proud of you. We look forward to seeing what plans you have to improve school life at Llangewydd. Congratulations also to William Bennett, our new Deputy Head Boy, who will support Alex. We wish them well in their exciting new roles. 

Mrs. Davies said, "It was so difficult to choose a Head Boy as all the candidates who were interviewed were so impressive. They had put so much thought and effort into completing their application forms and the quality of their answers when interviewed by the School Council was outstanding. Every one of the boys interviewed would make an excellent Head Boy."
As a result of the high calibre of all the candidates, for the first time in Llangewydd's history Mrs. Davies has decided to create a leadership team who will help her to improve school life at Llangewydd and will be vital in driving forward ideas for how best to use the former Bryntirion Junior School site. Well done to Carwyn, Morgan and Calum who will support Alex and William in encouraging all pupils at our school to fulfil their potential - achieving high standards of work and behaviour.       

Similarly, Mrs. Davies was so impressed by the quality and maturity of the girls who had applied to become Head Girl. After a tough round of interviews the School Council voted Keeleigh Howells as our new Head Girl who will be supported by Charlotte Lee, the Deputy Head Girl. Congratulations to both girls. We know that you will do a great job in encouraging and inspiring others to do their best and to achieve great things.
As with the boys, Mrs. Davies said that it was incredibly difficult to choose the Head Girl owing to the excellent quality of all the candidates. She said, "The girls were amazing! They answered the School Council's questions so articulately and thoughtfully. They performed in the interviews so well. They should give tips to adults facing an interview situation." Congratulations to Kimberley, Caitlin and Siona-Lee who will now become members of the leadership team. We know that they will do an excellent job.       

In class, we have been studying 'The Blitz' of World War Two in our History/topic lessons. We have looked at photographs of the damage caused by bombing raids over our cities and listened to sound clips such as air raid sirens and bombs being dropped by the Luftwaffe. With a partner, we have written 'Echo Poems' to build up imagery of 'The Blitz', aiming to capture the sights, sounds and smells of the 'Blitzkreig' for the reader. We hope you enjoy reading our 'Echo Poems' where the last word of each line is echoed by the first word of the next.

The Blitz
Vicious Luftwaffe planes bombard fragile buildings,
Buildings suffocate from throat-strangling smoke,
Smoke surrounds petrified victims whilst a screeching doodlebug invades helpless searchlight bases,
Searchlight bases blast out beams of blinding light, striking bullets at the deadly sky,
Sky is covered by soaring Spitfire planes,
Spitfire planes embark on a faithful journey to life-threatening Germany,
Germany's troops sprint to take cover whilst Britain fires terrifying Ack-Ack guns,
                                                                                Guns and pistols fire at enemy tanks,
                                                                                Tanks roll along the destroyed mountains,
                                                                                Mountains of rubble and debris lie on a battered 
                                                                                London.

 

The Blitz
Luftwaffe planes obliterate shattered towns and cities with doodlebugs in the deadly darkness,
Darkness lurks in the demolished streets,
Streets are empty; houses wrecked,
Wrecked cars blow up into swerving flames,
Flames break dissolving buildings; buildings break roads,
Roads are cratered each and every day,
                                                                                Everyday the Moaning Minnie strikes the air with its
                                                                                dreadful noise,
                                                                                Noise of bombs suffocates our ears through the horrific
                                                                                night,
                                                                                Night searchlights attack the Nazi planes,
                                                                                Planes are forced above the barrage balloons into the
                                                                                inky sky. 

The Blitz
Bullets of the frightening Germans sprint through the human body like a bull charging at redness,
Redness flows out of British bodies like a bloodthirsty shark racing towards you,
You foul Luftwaffe air raids; every night I hear the screeching whistles of the doodlebugs crushing buildings,
Buildings are hit with anonymous impact,
                                                                              Impact strikes down on the Anderson shelters protecting
                                                                              the younglings,
                                                                              Younglings are filled with tornadoes of fear,
                                                                              Fear is what runs through every one of us,
                                                                              Every one of us gradually trains in honour,
                                                                              Honour batters Germany to the ground. 

The Blitz
Screeching bombs soar through the misty atmosphere,
Atmosphere so thick you can't even breathe in the fresh air; can't see the menacing sky,
Sky is blacked out because of the deadly explosions of terror,
Terror builds up inside me as ferocious bombs drop, wrecking landmarks,
Landmarks burst up into haunting flames,
Flames of fear demolish burning buildings,
Buildings are torn up by strong pilots who fly dangerous
                                                                              Luftwaffe planes,
                                                                              Planes glide over and through flaming buildings, 
                                                                              dropping bombs that release deadly gas,
                                                                              Gas lifts up the black, furious sky filled with 
                                                                              tethered barrage balloons,
                                                                              Barrage balloons stand as the flashing searchlights 
                                                                              scan the clear sky searching for Luftwaffe ready to
                                                                              battle,
                                                                              Battle means war; war means death. 
 

The Blitz
Beams of glowing fire slice through gloomy clouds,
Clouds overflow with darkness as smoke fills the air,
Air smells of gas as it slithers down everyone's fragile throats,
Throats start to close up as the dangerous war builds up,
Up in the sky Luftwaffe planes swoop through barrage
balloons,
Barrage balloons prevent horrid Germans from dropping
                                                                              explosive bombs,
                                                                              Bombs demolish our defenceless homes,
                                                                              Homes are wrecked and every living soul hides in
                                                                              Anderson shelters,
                                                                              Anderson shelters save innocent people's lives,
                                                                              Lives are destroyed as people scream and cry in their 
                                                                              loss,
                                                                              Loss is pain.  

The Blitz
Weaving planes glide through the dusty sky,
Sky covered with shattered rubble,
Rubble fills torn cities,
Cities crumble with fire,
Fire blasts out with black, deadly ash,
Ash drifts away in the dark night,
Night time is a loud explosion of bombs,
Bombs scream through beams of searchlights,
Searchlights shimmer in the battered street,
Street covered with crushed buildings,
Buildings smothered around dusty London. 

The Blitz
Furious Ack-Acks soar through the smoky, breathless air,
Air raid sirens sing as people sprint to their Anderson shelters,
Anderson shelters protect from the dark, unbreakable bombs,
Bombs tick, waiting to drop on people's homes and dreams.  

The Blitz
The menacing Luftwaffe glide through a pitch black sky,
dropping powerful bombs on the city of London,
London searchlights scan the violent, deadly sky above wrecked, bombed houses that suffer beneath furious flames and rubble,
Rubble surrounds dirty pavements,
Pavements surrounded by smoke, dirt and flames,
Flames spread through crumbled houses, shattering
glass,
                                                                               Glass lies across cratered roads. 

The Blitz
Tattered barrage balloons hang over the wrecked city,
City collapses over the deserted landscape,
Landscape rumbles beneath falling buildings,
Buildings are bombed by the vicious Luftwaffe planes,
Planes swoop low, dodging the creased barrage balloons in the night sky,
Sky covered with ghastly smoke from the bombed buildings below,
Below, around the Anderson shelter, the rubbled ground is shaken by the horrifying bombs,
Bombs are dropped on the quivering ground by fearsome pilots,
                                                                                Pilots are shot down by Ack-Ack guns,
                                                                                Ack-Ack guns search for the death-threatening
                                                                                Luftwaffe. 

The Blitz
Venomous Spitfire planes drop exploding bombs down through the darkness,
Darkness is attacked by Luftwaffe planes,
Planes are spotted by shifting searchlights,
Searchlights shine in arcs above Anderson shelters,
Shelters are bombed and lives are scattered,
Scattered rubble falls from buildings,
Buildings are getting crumbled to bits from bombs,
Bombs drop from the smoky sky,
Sky is invaded by barrage balloons,
                                                                               Barrage balloons hover above the remains of destroyed 
                                                                               buildings. 

The Blitz.
Shooting planes soar high over the wrecked city as petrified people rush to Anderson shelters,
Shelters collapse on unfortunates when bombs sneak up, surprising Germans who release doodlebugs,
Doodlebugs squeak and squeal,
Squeal if you dare but sly Germans will capture and destroy everything in their path.          

The Blitz
The screeching song of the doodlebug lurks in the smoky air,
Air full of barrage balloons floating in the dark sky,
Sky lit up by searchlights up above,
Above the fractured houses deadly planes drop explosive bombs,
Bombs destroy the shattered buildings,
Buildings choke on thick smoke,
                                                                               Smoke hides in cratered gaps on the ground,
                                                                               Ground cracked and littered with sharp glass,
                                                                               Glass smashed everywhere,
                                                                               Everywhere full of dust and dirt,
                                                                               Dirt fills gaps in homes,
                                                                               Homes are destroyed as an air raid siren shrieks.            

The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.

Reading Buddies - Ffrindiau Darllen
Every Friday afternoon, we enjoy 'Reading Buddies' with the children from Mr. Smith's class, J2. We each have a reading buddy whom we help, encourage and support with their reading. We take turns to read our books to each other and talk about the story, characters and themes.

 

We also help the Year 3 children to build up the sounds of words they are unsure of. We praise and encourage our reading buddies with kind words. We all enjoy reading with our Year 3 partners and hope that we can help them to become confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers just like us.

Dear Parents/Carers,
                      ‘Meet the Teacher’ Parents’meetings for children in J11 will take place:
between 3.40 pm and 6.00 pm on Monday 7th October and       
                                                    Tuesday 8th October
The children will bring home a letter/slip today on which you can indicate your preferred time of appointment by ticking the appropriate boxes. Alternatively, you may prefer to indicate your preference online by commenting on this post - giving your name/your child's name and your preferred date and time of appointment (before 5pm or after 5pm). I will try my very best to arrange an appointment as close to any preferred times as possible. I look forward to meeting you in October.
                                                                          Yours sincerely,
                                                                          Mr. Darryl Evans   
                                                                        J11's Class Teacher    

What was it like to be an evacuee?

The stimulus for your first 'Learning Log' task is - 'What was it like to be an evacuee?' 
You can interpret this task in your own way. Some of you, for example, may do some research and present facts about evacuees/evacuation in different formats e.g as a factfile, as a bullet-pointed list of key facts.......... Others may prefer to present their work in the form of a diary entry, poem or newspaper report. Some of you may be lucky enough to have an opportunity to interview a member of your family who was evacuated during World War Two. It really is up to you how you present the 'Learning Log' task. It is your opportunity to be creative!
 
This 'Learning Log' task is due to be handed in on Friday 4th October. This gives you two weeks to plan and complete the task. Please don't leave it until the night before!!! There will be an opportunity to look at and respond to each other's 'Learning Logs' in class.

Whatever you decide, here are a few simple rules to follow:
Always present your work neatly. Take pride in your handwriting and presentation.
Aim to punctuate your work accurately with full stops, capital letters etc. and try your best to spell words accurately.
You cannot use more than a double page spread for each 'Learning Log' task although you can be creative in maximising your use of space e.g through use of fold-out flaps, extension sections......
When carrying out research, please do not simply print or copy out material from the Internet. Always use your own words when completing tasks.

Congratulations to these members of our class who have been appointed as this year's House Captains and Vice House Captains. Llongyfarchiadau iddyn nhw. We are proud of them and know that they will do a great job leading and encouraging members of their house to earn house points throughout the school year. Each of them took the time to complete an application form for the important role and also talked to their house members about their qualities. The house members then voted for the people they thought would do the best job as House Captains. Osian is House Captain of Blue House/Ty Glas with Caitlin G as Vice Captain. Callum B and Siona Lee are House Captains of Red House/Ty Coch. Alex is House Captain of Green House/Ty Gwyrdd with Caitlin P as Vice Captain. Carwyn is House Captain of Gold House/Ty Aur with Josh as Vice Captain. We wish them all well as they begin their new, exciting roles which will include encouraging others to earn house points through hard work and good behaviour, as well as taking a leading role in special events such as our Eisteddfod and Sports Day.  

Our Evacuee Day - Ein Diwrnod Efaciwi
This morning we arrived at school dressed as evacuees. We carried only a few possessions,our rationed packed lunches and of course the gas mask boxes we had made in DT. The school bell rang and soon it was time to leave behind all that was familiar. Our teachers led the way on the long walk to Laleston. The Evacuation had begun!

At Laleston, we boarded a bus bound for the Carmarthenshire countryside – away from the bombing raids that threatened our cities. We could empathise with the evacuees of 1939 / 1940 and really got a sense of how it must have felt for children to leave behind their homes and families.

An hour or so later, we arrived at the Gwili Railway. Our train to the countryside was due to arrive at 11.15 a.m. On the platform we waited nervously yet with some excitement about the adventure that lay ahead.

We were invited into the railway signal box where Mr. Davies the signalman told us all about how the signal box works. We had an opportunity to ask him lots of questions. Following this we visited the Gwili Railway Museum to look at and read about the interesting artefacts there. 

Soon the steam train was due to arrive and we waited nervously at the platform. 
With a blast of steam and a shrill whistle, the steam train heaved into the station. It was time to board the steam train and so we made our way into the carriages (just like the ones on the Hogwarts Express!). We sat next to our friends in the carriages but we did not know what to expect. Where would we end up? We were soon on our way. With clouds of smoke billowing from its funnel, the steam train left the station.    

Our journey at an end, we had arrived in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but fields, streams and woodland.  

Soon after disembarking from the steam train, we went to visit Anne Frank's Secret Annexe where Anne and Peter Van Daan told us all about their lives as Jews in hiding from the Nazis. We listened carefully as Anne told us how difficult it was to get along with others living in a confined space. We realised how hard life must have been for Jewish people during World War Two. 

We all thoroughly enjoyed our ride on the miniature railway. The train rattled along the tracks and through a dark tunnel. It was great fun.     

Charlie, the Air Raid Warden, talked to us about the importance of blacking out all lights at night. He showed us how the air raid siren was sounded. He also showed us the rattle that was used to alert people to a gas attack. We all had a turn at using the stirrup pump to pump water through a hose. This was used by fire-fighters during the Second World War to put out fires caused by incendiary bombs. We all had an opportunity to wear a gas mask and an ARP warden's helmet.


Soon it was time to come home. Our day as evacuees was at an end. We had really thought about what it must have been like to be an evacuee during World War Two and realised how lucky we were to be returning home to our families. Thanks to all at the Gwili Railway for making it possible for us to travel back in time. It is a day that will stay with us for a long time to come.    

 It is okay to try and fail, but not to fail to try.

This weekend (Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September) the public will have a rare chance to see inside Hut 9 of Bridgend's Island Farm POW Camp 198. The opportunity to go inside Hut 9 only comes around once a year as part of the Civic Trust's 'Open Doors' event. There is no entry charge and a bus to the site runs every half hour (between 10am and 4pm) from outside the Civic Centre in Bridgend. Unfortunately, time slots to go inside Hut 9 have been fully pre-booked but there will be a lot to see outside the Hut. Should spare spaces become available, these will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Outside the hut, re-enactors will bring the former POW Camp site to life dressed as German POWs. British Home Guards will also be showing equipment that would have been used during the Second World War. We will be studying Bridgend's Island Farm POW Camp and the escape of the POWs through a 60ft-long tunnel as part of our World War Two topic. If you are at a loose end this weekend, why not go along to Hut 9 for a chance to see where German POWs were imprisoned right on our very doorstep? Miss it, miss out!             

Today we enjoyed playing a Welsh board game about holidays - 'Gem Gwyliau'. We played the dice game in twos or threes to help us practise talking in Welsh about our holidays. We had to use the past tense to explain where we went on holiday, when we went on holiday, with whom we went on holiday and how we travelled.  

We tried not to speak English at all! - Dim ond Gymraeg! We used phrases such as:
 Taflwch y dis - Throw the dice.
 Dy droi di - Your turn.
 Symudwch y cownter - Move the counter
 

Today in PE, we practised the eight basic shapes that we will be using to help us put together sequences during this half term's gymnastics unit of work. After warming up our muscles, we practised each of the basic shapes in turn. Some were more difficult than others and we soon found that parts of our bodies began to ache! If we practise these shapes regularly, we should find that we will improve our core strength - the strength of the area between our shoulders and our waists. We are looking forward to working on our sequences and moving smoothly from one shape to another. Here are some photographs of us using our bodies to make the  gymnastic shapes:   

Introducing Carwyn, J11's new school councillor. Dyma Carwyn, y cynghorwr ysgol dosbarth J11. Congratulations to Carwyn whom J11 class members voted to become our representative on the School Council. The class felt that Carwyn was someone whom they respected and trusted to voice their opinions and ideas about how school life could be improved. It will be an exciting year for the Student Council as we look to develop and use effectively the former Bryntirion Junior School buildings. If you have any concerns about aspects of school life or have ideas about how we can make improvements, don't forget to let Carwyn know and he will put forward your points of view at the Student Council meetings.  

This week's Welsh Phrase of the Week for J11 is:
AR BEN Y BYD (on top of the world).
Try to use it when you are speaking Welsh in class or around the school.    

What book are you reading at the moment? Pa lyfr wyt ti'n darllen ar hyn o bryd? Mr. Evans has just finished reading the book 'The Cuckoo's Calling' by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K.Rowling) - her second book for adults.  It is a terrific mystery story where a private detective, Cormoran Strike, solves a crime. There are lots of suspects dotted throughout the story but Cormoran discovers the truth and 'whodunnit' by piecing together a jigsaw of clues. 'The Cuckoo's Calling' is a real page turner and Mr. Evans couldn't put it down. What books are you enjoying at the moment? Pa lyfrau wyt ti'n mwynhau ar hyn o bryd? Let us know by posting a comment below. Tell us what book you are reading and a little bit about it (without giving too much away!). 

We have been enjoying shared reading of Michael Morpurgo’s Second World War novel ‘Friend or Foe’ - the story of two friends, David and Tucky, who are evacuated to Devon from London. Some of us read the characters’ dialogue and some of us read the narrative. In our shared reading sessions, we have been discussing the novel’s plot, setting, characters and themes.

We have also analysed Morpurgo’s language style and use of VCOP - Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation. Can you think of a 'WOW' word to replace the underlined word from Morpurgo's text below?:
'The boys devoured the red tomato soup.'  
Can you think of an effective opener for this sentence?
'________________ the splintered door slammed open and a bearded man blustered into the village hall.'  

We took part in a 'hotseating' activity where the children in the hotseat adopted the roles of characters from the novel ‘Friend or Foe’. William and Bethany adopted the personas of David and Mr. Reynolds. They had to empathise with these characters, speaking in role and thinking about the novel’s events from their point of view. We aimed to ask ‘David’ and ‘Mr. Reynolds’ open questions to which they could give extended answers.

We speak Welsh all through the school day. The Helpwyr Heddiw lead the register every morning and afternoon. They choose a Welsh language theme and everybody answers their name with Welsh sentences linked to the theme. In Year 6, we are now aiming to use extended sentences using conjunctions such as 'achos' and 'ond'.

The Helpwyr Heddiw choose a Welsh language pattern for the class to practise e.g ‘Ble est ti ar dy wyliau?’. We all chant this in rhythm as the Helpwyr Heddiw move around the class.When the Helpwyr Heddiw stop next to someone in the class, they have to answer the question that has been asked  e.g ‘Y Llynedd, Es i i Ffrainc gyda fy nheulu. Aethon ni am bythefnos. Aethon ni mewn awyren…..’ Then the Helpwyr Heddiw move on, with the class chanting the question in rhythm again. After a few goes, the Helpwyr Heddiw change the question so that we practise a variety of Welsh language patterns.

. 

 

The Helpwyr Heddiw begin our school day in Welsh by telling us what the ‘To Do’ list of lessons is for the day ahead, sharing with us the house points to date and showing us the ‘Tocyn Iaith’ leaders table so far. Who has earned most Tocyn Iaith? 

The Helpwyr Heddiw also lead Welsh language games to help us practise our Welsh language patterns. Here we are using our Welsh loop cards - Cardiau Rownd a Rownd.   We use these cards to practise asking and answering all sorts of questions. We try to beat our record each time  we use the cards. 

Today we played 'The Holiday Game' - 'Y Gem Gwyliau'. Half the class had luggage labels with a sentence starter linked to a picture of a particular holiday destination e.g 'Y llynedd, es i i........'. The other half of the class had the luggage labels with the second part of the sentences e.g 'Efrog Newydd. Gwelais i'r Statue of Liberty.' When the Helpwyr Heddiw said, "Ffeindiwch eich partner", we had to travel around the classroom asking everyone we met "Ble est  ti ar dy wyliau?" until we met up with the person who had the matching part of our sentences.  

J11's PE lessons will take place every Tuesday morning - bob bore dydd Mawrth. Please remember to bring suitable PE kit to school e.g shorts, T-shirts. Outdoor Games lessons will take place on Friday afternoons - prynhawn dydd Gwener. Please bring suitable outdoor kit e.g trainers, shorts, jogging bottoms,  T-shirts, warm hooded tops..... Diolch yn fawr iawn.  

Today we began making our very own gas mask boxes in preparation for our 'Evacuee Day' next Wednesday when we will dress as World War Two evacuees and be evacuated to the Carmarthenshire countryside. We helped each other to carefully draw and cut out a cuboid net to make our gas mask box. We had to score and fold each tab of the net to ensure that the sides of the gas mask box fitted together properly.

Our next step will be to cover our nets in brown paper before assembling the gas mask boxes by glueing the tabs together. We will then thread them with string. A few finishing touches and they will soon be ready to use on our 'Evacuee Day'. We are all looking forward to travelling on the steam train and empathising with the evacuees of World War Two.

Throughout the year, I hope you will take the time to read and contribute to our class blog and any suggestions for new blog features would be welcomed. For our first blog activity, could you share your targets for Year 6? What do you hope to achieve during Year 6? What will you try hard to improve? I look forward to finding out. My personal targets for the year ahead are to improve my Welsh speaking ( Yes, I go to Welsh lessons too!) and to try to do some exercise during the week.
                                           Best wishes, Mr. Evans.

Croeso cynnes iawn i flwyddyn 6. A warm welcome back to Year 6. I hope you all enjoyed the summer holidays and are looking forward to an exciting school year ahead. This, your final year at Llangewydd, promises to be full of great opportunities, responsibilities and new challenges as you prepare to move on to the Comprehensive School. It will require much hard work and committment and I'm sure that we will have lots of fun along the way.