Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3.10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Radio Club - After school
Year 7 netball Practice 12.20 - 12.50
Yr 10 Interhouse Football            Game 1- HG v JK 12.30 - 12.45
                                                       Game 2 - JG v KH 12.45 - 1.00pm
Basketball Club Gym 3.15 - 4.15pm
Cricket Club - Sports Hall 3.30 - 4.30pm
Hockey Club - All years - 3.15 - 4.15pm
Duke of Edinburgh (yr 11) 3.15 - 4.45pm
House Assembly - Daear

 Tuesday  

ENGLISH COURSEWORK CLUB 3.30 - 4.30PM
Football Yrs 7 & 8 on the Astroturf 3.15pm
Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 7 & 8 ONLY
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Yr 10 Interhouse Football     Game 1- HG v KH 12.30 - 12.45
                                        Game 2 - LS v JK 12.45 - 1.00
Taekwondo 3.15 - 4.15pm
Under 14 Netball Tournament (To be confirmed)
Duke of Edinburgh (Yr 10) 3.15 - 4.45pm
Lesson 5 - Yrs 7, 8 & 9 SPORTS RELIEF MILE!!
House Assembly - Aer
Year 8 Parent /Teacher evening 4.00 - 6.30pm

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Year 7 Netball Practice 12.25 - 12.50pm
Yr 10 Interhouse Football    Game 1- HG v JG 12.30 - 12.45
                                       Game 2 - KH v JK 12.45 - 1.00
Badminton Club 3.15 - 4.15pm
Year 7 Netball Tournament @ Richard Gwyn 3.15 - 5.30pm approx
House Assembly - Dwr

 Thursday   

ENGLISH COURSEWORK CLUB 3.30 - 4.30PM
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Streetdance 12.25 - 1.00pm
Yr 10 Interhouse Football     Game 1- HG v LS 12.30 - 12.45
                                        Game 2 - LS v JG 12.45 - 1.00
Tag Rugby - All years - 3.15 - 4.15pm
Yr 10 & 11 Hockey Tournament @ Castell Alun 3.15 - 5.30pm
House Assembly - Tan

 Friday      

Yr 10 Interhouse Football   Game 1- HG v LS 12.30 - 12.45
                                      Game 2 - LS v JG 12.45 - 1.00

Radio Club - Lunchtime

Mr. Shaw and I have had the pleasure of interviewing for the posts of Head Boy and Head Girl. The quality of all the applicants and candidates was exceptionally high and I would like to thank all those who took part in the process. Which leaves me to announce that the successful candidates were:-

Head Boy - Dominic Cawdell
Head Girl - Catrina Williams

I am sure that Dominic and Catrina will be nothing short of outstanding, congratulations to you both.

It is this time of year when our Year 11 students need all the support they can get both in school and at home in order to ensure that they get the best possible chance in their exams.

Countdown to GCSE Examinations : 34 school days left!

Revision time remaining : 2 weeks Eater Holidays &
9 weekends

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

On Friday 26th February, a group of year 7, 8 & 9 pupils went on an ‘Activities Day' to Venue Cymru, Llandudno. We had the opportunity to experience workshops such as drumming, drama, art & crafts and circus skills.
We joined in with other schools to play a variety of rhythms on the African drums. We had fun in the Circus Skills trying to ride unicycles, spin plates, juggle and walk on stilts! We also came back with lots of ‘freebies' from the exhibitions. Our group was complimented on our behaviour throughout the day.
By Derrian Williams 9KS

Choir, Senior & Junior Band
These ensembles are now rehearsing for the summer concert:

Choir   Wednesdays    12.40 - 1.10pm
Junior Band    Mondays    3.10 - 4.00pm
Senior Band    Wednesdays   3.10 - 4.00pm
String Group    Thursdays    12.30 - 12.50pm
The following students are expected to attend, other members are always welcome:

Choir                                Junior Band                       Senior Band             String Group 

Hannah Formstone           Joshua Hall                        Beth Pottle                Faith Miller
Ashleigh Woodland           Hannah Roberts                Emma Pottle             Nicola Swarbrick
Hope Lloyd                        Laura Townened             Tom Blomfield            Joe Fermor-Worrell
Megan Jackson                  Molly Allen-Mead              Daniel Nelder
Cathryn Hill                        Matthew Black                  Iwan Pullen
Holly Clapshaw                   Laura King                    Thomas Lamont
Laura Robinson                  Jodie Stubbings               Shaun Dumbill
Georgia Kelly                       Katie Lewis
Megan Jenkins                     Emma Taylor
Lauren Twizell                    Megan Casey
Emma Taylor                       Natasha Rogers
Jade Griffiths                       Ethan Brooks
Sophie Myers                       James Hinchcliffe
Chantal Hopkins

Year 9 Netball
Congratulations to the non-club players who played in a tournament at Holywell this week. They won 4 matches and lost 2. Well done!

Year 8 Hockey
The year 8 Hockey team played a tournament at Hawarden this week and won all but 1 match. Congratulations to you all!

Library News.....
It was all go in the Library on Thursday 4th March which was World Book Day. Writer Pat Burton ran 5 very successful creative writing workshops for our year 7's. Mrs Burton used her new novel ‘Time-Sett' to engage our students in thinking about how to construct a piece of writing. Everyone participated enthusiastically. Well done! At the end of the day we presented Mrs Burton with a cheque for £50, raised by the students and staff for the AIDS orphanage in Botswana which she supports. Mrs Burton sends her thanks to all who contributed.

Lunchtime Thursday saw our World Book Day Quiz ‘Who's reading what?' when we tried to match the member of staff to their favourite books. The clues took some working out, but quite a few students managed to guess our staff's tastes.

The winners were;
Year 7 - Lewys Taylor 7SW, Megan Casey 7SD, Natalie Florio 7SD, Niamh Jones 7SW, Jodie Stubbings 7SD, Olivia Wilson 7SW

Year 8 - Louise Darlington 8PSm

Year 9 - Nathan Williams 9PR

Year 10 - James Allen 10JK, Alice Churm 10JK
Well done to all the winners!

Argoed Sport Relief Mile 2010
Sport Relief Mile will take place on Tuesday 16th March during lesson 5.
Pupils who would like to participate can come to school in non-uniform that is suitable for the school day - you can then add to your fancy dress at the beginning of lesson 5 if you wish! Pupils not taking part will be given worksheets to complete in class.
Buy your £1 sponsorship forms from your Sports Captain or at the office in reception.
Try to be imaginative with your outfits and ways of completing the mile - walk, jog, run.... 3 legged!
Prizes will be awarded for the best fancy dress in each house!
Lets try to beat the £700 raised in 2006!

Duke of Edinburgh Year 11 have the normal Monday training. Please bring log books to be signed. We desperately need to set a date for your final expedition, therefore it is imperative that you all attend. Year 10 meeting on Tuesday - ALL participants must attend.

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3.10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Radio Club - After school
Yr 7 Interhouse Football re-arranged fixture
Year 9 Netball Practice 12.20 - 12.50pm
Yr 7 & 8 Basketball in the Gym 3.15 - 4.15pm
Yr 7 & 8 Cricket in the Sports Hall 3.15 - 4.15pm
Hockey Club - All welcome
Year 11 D of E 3.15 - 4.30pm

 Tuesday  

ENGLISH COURSEWORK CLUB 3.30 - 4.30PM
Football Yrs 7 & 8 on the Astroturf 3.15pm
Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 7 & 8 ONLY
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Yr 9 Interhouse Football
Sports Captain Meeting 12.20 - 12.40pm MOBILE 21
Taekwondo Club 3.15 - 4.30pm
Year 9 Netball Tournament (No club players) @ Holywell 3.15 - 5.30pm
Tag Rugby 3.15 - 4.15pm all years

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Street Dance 3.15 - 4.30pm
Street Dance - Lunchtime
Yr 9 Interhouse Football
Year 7 & 8 Netball Practice 12.20 - 12.50pm
Badminton Club 3.15 - 4.30pm
Year 8 Hockey Tournament 3.15 - 5.30pm

 Thursday   

ENGLISH COURSEWORK CLUB 3.30 - 4.30PM
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Yr 9 Interhouse Football - Lunchtime
Climbing Club - After school
Year 7 Hockey Tournament @ Elfed 3.15 - 5.15pm app

 Friday      

It has been an extremely busy week with many GCSE exams both written and practical. As you are aware the way in which courses are structured means that pupils take GCSE exams over a much wider time period. For instance on Wednesday morning there were over 200 pupils sitting Science GCSE from Year 9 to Year 11. May I just thank the staff and pupils for ensuring the smooth running of these exams.
We are also taking part in Fairtrade fortnight with pupils involved in many activities around the theme of "swapping". If you want to join in you can swap one of your current items for a Fairtrade item this week. (Such as tea, coffee, sugar, bananas.......)
On Monday we had our Assembly for Ddydd Gŵyl Dewi and I would like to thank the pupils and staff for this excellent assembly. Especially the bearded Dominic Cawdell! This was followed up by various activities throughout the day.
We also launched our Sports Relief campaign this week. We will be asking pupils to be sponsored for various activities, your support would be greatly appreciated.
Other fantastic events this week have included: The 16+ convention, World Maths Day and World Book Day.

Countdown to GCSE Examinations : 39 school days left!

Revision time remaining : 2 weeks Easter Holidays &
10 weekends

GCSE revision sessions will be taking place during the Easter holidays again this year for pupils. They will be running from Tuesday to Friday of the second week.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Fairtrade
On Tuesday 23rd February 2010, the Argoed Fairtrade Group held a Fairtrade stall selling a selection of Fairtrade products.
With samples of tea and many leaflets promoting Fairtrade, we sold £65.00 worth of goods. Many thanks to parents who bought from the stall.
Thank you to everyone who helped.
Ann Gannon - Flintshire Fairtrade Coalition & Fairtrade Speaker

FAIRTRADE REMINDER - THE BIG SWAP
Please remember to take a photo of yourself with your Fairtrade item!
Hand them into Mrs Williams as soon as possible.
Many thanks.

Football - Years 7 & 8
Come along to football after school on Tuesdays on the Astroturf with Mr Ludlam.

ENGLISH COURSEWORK
English Coursework catch-up sessions will take place from 3.30 - 4.30pm every Tuesday and Thursday. This is for Year 10 and 11 pupils.
Ms R Devine

Thank You
Hoffai Miss Brown ddweud diolch I bawb a wisgodd i gynrychioli Cymru ar Dydd Gŵyl Dewi - roedd yn ardderchog! Diolch arbennig i ddisgyblion a rhieni a wnaeth gacennau ar gyfer yr achlysur; blasus dros ben!
Miss Brown would like to thank everyone who dressed to represent Wales on St. Davids Day - it was fantastic!
A special thanks to those pupils and parents who baked cakes for the occasion; very tasty! Could pupils please collect their tins and containers? We raised a good sum of money that will contribute to our new Eisteddfod Chair. Diolch pawb!

** Two new clubs starting this Monday after school **
Basketball & Cricket for year 7 & 8 pupils.
Due to theses new activities, climbing club has moved to Thursdays afterschool.

Choir, Senior & Junior Band
These ensembles are now rehearsing for the summer concert:
Choir                Wednesdays      12.40 - 1.10pm
Junior Band     Mondays              3.10 - 4.00pm
Senior Band     Wednesdays       3.10 - 4.00pm
String Group    Thursdays          12.30 - 12.50pm

The following students are expected to attend, other members are always welcome:
             Choir                           Junior Band             Senior Band              String Group
  
      Hannah Formstone           Joshua Hall                  Beth Pottle                 Faith Miller
      Ashleigh Woodland           Hannah Roberts          Emma Pottle              Nicola Swarbrick
      Hope Lloyd                        Laura Townened         Tom Blomfield            Joe Fermor-Worrell
      Megan Jackson                  Molly Allen-Mead          Daniel Nelder
      Cathryn Hill                        Matthew Black             Iwan Pullen
      Holly Clapshaw                  Laura King                   Thomas Lamont
      Laura Robinson                  Jodie Stubbings           Shaun Dumbill
      Georgia Kelly                      Katie Lewis
       Megan Jenkins                  Emma Taylor                
       Lauren Twizell                   Megan Casey 
       Emma Taylor                      Natasha Rogers 
       Jade Griffiths                     Ethan Brooks 
       Sophie Myers                    James Hinchcliffe
       Chantal Hopkins

UK Maths Challenge Intermediate Results
Congratulations to the following students who will be receiving a certificate of achievement for their performance in the challenge;
Best in School (joint) and Silver Certificates - Catrina Williams (Yr 10)
                                                                        Hannah Jewell (Yr 10)

Silver: Kai Lin Chang (Yr 10)

Bronze: Jake Etherington (Yr 10)           Cathryn Jarvis (Yr 11)
             Emma Pottle (Yr 10)                  Matthew Stevenson (Yr 11)
              Jack Parry (Yr 10)                    Georgia Clarke (Yr 11)
                                  Jemima Mainwaring (Yr 11)

World Maths Day 2010
Thank you and well done to all who participated. Students who should be congratulated on their performance include:
Charlie Hopkins, Joseph Mountain, Dylan Higgins, Aaron Williams, Shaun Dumbill, Jack Fermor-Worrell, Katie Deyes, Ernestas Kunickas, Craig Williams.
The total correct answers from all Argoed students 22,500.

Monday 

St David's Day Assembly - Yrs 7, 8 & 9 - Gym
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3.10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Radio Club - After school
GCSE Art Practical Exam
Year 10 Netball Practice 12.25 - 12.50pm
Year 10 Netball Tournament (No club players) 3.15 - 5.30pm approx @ Castell Alun
Climbing Club 3.15 - 4.30pm
Hockey Club - All years 3.15 - 4.30pm

 Tuesday  

Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 7 & 8 ONLY
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
GCSE Art Practical Exam
GCSE Food Practical Exam
Interform Year 7 Football (Re-arranged Fixture)
Yr 7 Hockey Meeting 12.25 - 12.35 - P.E Office
Taekwondo 3.15 - 4.30pm
Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh Meeting 3.15 - 4.30pm
Year 7 Hockey Tournament @ Elfed 3.15 - 5.30pm approx

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Street Dance 3.15 - 4.30pm
GCSE Science Exam - Years 9 & 10
GCSE Art Practical Exam
GCSE Music Practical Exam
World Maths Day
Year 8 Interform Football - Fixtures to be arranged
NO BAMINTON - DUE TO EXAMS
Yr 10 Sports Leaders Meeting 3.15 - 4.15pm

 Thursday   

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
World Book Day
GCSE Art Practical Exam
GCSE Food Practical Exam
Streetdance Club 12.25 - 1.00pm
Year 8 Interform Football
Year 9 Netball Practice 12.25 - 12.50pm
Rugby Club Yrs 7, 8 & 9 3.15 - 4.30pm
Tag Rugby Practice - All years - 3.15 - 4.15pm

 Friday      

The second evening of target setting took place on Tuesday, once again there was an excellent turn out, we know that by setting these targets together they have a much greater impact on the progress that pupils make. It is a fine example of our school motto "succeeding together for excellence in learning" and indeed "aspirations for all".

The first meeting of the Executive Committee of our Student Voice met last Tuesday to discuss how students could participate in various aspects of school improvement. I must say I was very impressed with the way all the members of the committee participated and developed ideas for actions that will help the school move forward. The committee has had some thoughts on a vision statement that encapsulates the principles of Student Voice and wishes tutor groups to discuss them in tutor time over the next week. Please feed back through your form representative.

We will be celebrating Ddydd Dewi Sant on Monday and pupils are encouraged to come to school wearing red for Wales or appropriate clothing symbolising Welsh culture. (Full school uniform otherwise, of course).

Countdown to GCSE Examination : 44 school days left!

Revision time remaining : 2 weeks Easter Holidays &
11 weekends

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Library News
Congratulations!
The winner of our Valentine's Day Verse Competition was Joseph Mountain (7HM). Lauren Doyle (9GN) was second, and Helena Allen, (9GN) was third. Highly commended were the verses of Joannah Contento (7SD), Nadine Jamart-Browne (8PSm) and the joint entry submitted by Emily Davies, Megan Banks and Jessica Day all of 8Jke. Well done to all the winners! We had lots of great entries which are displayed in the Library along with the winning verses.
Come and have a laugh!

Our Cake Sale on the last day of term was very successful, raising £26.95 for the Mahalapye Day Care Centre for children orphaned by AIDS in Botswana. We hope to present a cheque through our visiting writer Mrs Pat Burton, who supports their work. Pat Burton will be running a Creative Writing Workshop for our Year 7's on World Book Day, on March 4th 2010, when she will be reading from her latest novel ‘Time-Sett'.

World Book Day Quiz
Come to our special World Book Day Quiz
on Thursday 4th March at Lunchtime
in the Library.
The theme is ‘Who reads what?'
Some of our teachers have let me know what they're currently reading and the titles of some of their favourite books. All you have to do is match the teacher to the book - clues included! Prizes for the winners of each Year Group!

Pupils are reminded that they are not
allowed in any of the P.E
corridors during break/lunchtime.

World Maths Day
Years 7, 8 & 9 have been given a password and username to give them access to this website.
Have a go - compete against other students from other schools/countries!

Elliot Jones, 8TaJKe went to Swansea during half term (19-21 Feb) to take part in the welsh Regional Swimming meet 2010. Teams from all over the UK and Germany competed in swimming competitions. Elliot's ‘Red Team' beat the ‘Green Team' in his race!
Well done!

St David's Day March 1st
Dydd Lun ydy Dydd Gŵyl Dewi!
For £1, pupils can come to school in non-uniform, wearing something that represents Wales, e.g. Welsh Rugby or Football shirt, red, white or green clothing, dragon outfits, Welsh lady costume, daffodils, leeks etc.
There will be activities in the Welsh corridor at break time:
     * Cake stalls
     * Face painting
     * Pin the tail on the dragon
     * Welsh quiz with prizes
Please come down and have some fun! All proceeds will go to charity.

Sports news..........

Netball Yrs 7 & 9  Well done to both teams who played this week.
Year 9 won both games & Year 7 won one and lost one game!

Hockey Club This is re-starting next week every Monday. Any Year 7 girl who would like to play in the Tournament on Tuesday must attend the practice on Monday.

Climbing Club Same 10 pupils as previous weeks please.

Street Dance  Club is moving to Thursday lunchtimes as of next week.

Duke of Edinburgh  Year 11 must bring log books on Monday.

Monday 

School opens today after the half term break

 Tuesday  

Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 7 & 8 ONLY
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Target Setting Evening
Yr 7 Interhouse Football Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00
Taekwondo Club 3.15 - 4.30pm

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Street Dance 3.15 - 4.30pm
House Assembly - Aer & Tan
Yr 9 Netball Practice 12.30 - 1.00pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Football Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00
Yr 7 & 9 Netball @ Maes Garmon 3.15 - 5.15 pm approx
Street Dance 3.15 - 4.30pm
Badminton Club Yrs 7, 8 & 9 3.15 - 4.30pm

 Thursday   

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
House Assembly - Daear & Dwr
Sports Leaders Meeting Yr 10 After school
Rugby Training Yrs 7, 8 & 9

 Friday      

Last Friday evening the Argoed Senior Public Speaking Team fought off strong competition from sixth form teams (grammar schools and independent schools included) in the North Wales and Merseyside finals of the Rotary Club competition. This is a superb achievement. Well done Jacob, Dominic and Tom. Thanks must also go to Mrs. Tibbett for her unstinting support and guidance.

It was good to see so many parents and pupils at our first target setting evening, last Tuesday. Our school motto is "succeeding together for excellence in learning" and we believe that evenings like this help us all to work together, ensuring our pupils have the best possible chance of success.

Year 11 reports are being sent home with pupils today.

Countdown to Summer GCSE Exams : 49 school days left

Revision time remaining : 1 week half term,
2 weeks Easter Holidays & 12 weekends

Music News
Music Ensemble Rehearsals begin week commencing 22nd February 2010.
Junior Band Monday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Senior Band Wednesday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Choir Wednesday 12.40 - 1.05
Please note there will be no rehearsals the week beginning 1st March due to GCSE examinations.

Library News
Come to the Cake Sale in the library at break
time on Friday 12th February.
All cakes 10p and 15p.
All money raised will be donated to the
Mahalapye Day Care Centre for Children
orphaned by AIDS in Botswana.

The results of our Valentine's Day Competition will be announced just before the Cake Sale.

Parent Governor Vacancies
There are currently two vacancies on the Governing body for Parent Governors.
Nomination forms or further information can be obtained from Mrs Sant at the school. The closing date for nominations is Thursday 25th February 2010.

Sports news......

Congratulations to Lucy Byrne who won the KS4 Individual Gymnastics National Title in Aberystwyth!

Well done too, to the KS3 Gymnastics
Team - excellent effort!

Year 7 Interhouse Netball Results

1st - 7AeHM
2nd - 7AeKR + 7TaSW
3rd - 7DwRD
4th - 7DaSD

A BIG thank you to the Year 10 Sports
Leaders who organised the event.

Due to a Netball fixture, there will not be a climbing session on Monday 22nd February.

Duke of Edinburgh: Please could Year 11 participants ALL bring their logbooks to the meeting on Monday

Any pupils with ideas for a sponsored event for the upcoming Sports Relief, please see Mr Rodger.

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3,10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Netball
Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00pm
Gym Practice for Finals 3.15 - 6.00pm
Climbing Club 3.15 - 4.30pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Football
Duke of Edinburgh Meeting ** Year 11 Bring Log Books**

 Tuesday  

Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 7 & 8 ONLY
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Netball
Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Football
Target Setting Evening 4.00 - 6.30pm
Taekwondo Club - Open to all 3.15 - 4.30pm

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Street Dance 3.15 - 4.30pm
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Netball
Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Football
Gym Practice for Finals 3.15 - 4.45pm
Steetdance 3.15 - 4.30pm
Yrs 7, 8 & 9 Badminton Club 3.15 - 4.30pm

 Thursday   

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Yr 7 Interhouse Football
Urdd Gymnastics All Day
Year 11 Basketball Match @ Flint

 Friday      

Radio Club - Lunchtime

Pupils have organised some further fundraising events for the Haiti Earthquake appeal. These fantastic events included such things as sponge throwing at some very brave teachers, (Thank you to Mr. Southgate, Mr. Jones and Mr. Hughes!) and leg waxing (not the same teachers!)
This has now pushed our total amount raised to :

£1,032.25

Thank you very much to all those involved in the organisation of this fund raising effort and to all those who so generously supported it. A fine example of succeeding together.

As I mentioned last week, Positively Mad were coming into school. Well, they have been in and all reports so far indicate that it was very useful and inspiring. If you have any children in years 10 or 11 please ask them about their workshops with Positively Mad because they will be beneficial to exam success.

Our first target setting evening is on Tuesday 9th February and our second target setting evening is on Tuesday 23rd February. I look forward to seeing you at one of these evenings.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Music News
Music Ensemble Rehearsals begin week commencing 22nd February 2010.
Junior Band Monday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Senior Band Wednesday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Choir Wednesday 12.40 - 1.05
The above groups are to begin rehearsals for the Summer Concert.

Manga Compettion
The winners of the Library Manga Competition are: Overall Winner Helena Allen 9GN 2nd Prize Jazmine Hughes 8JD
3rd Prize Sophie McKay 8JD
Highly Commended Jack Messiter 9DT
Our Year 7's were judged in a separate category.
The winners were:
1st Joe Symonds - 7RD
Runner up - Nicole Percy 7SW

Well done to all the winners, and a big thank you to all those who entered.
There were some great entries and it was very difficult to make the final choice. All entries will be displayed in the Library over the coming weeks.

Public Speaking
Tonight at 7.00pm at Theatr Clwyd, the Argoed Senior Public Speaking Team will participate in the North Wales and Merseyside Finals of the Rotary Club competition. Jacob Bragg, Dominic Cawdell and Thomas Blomfield will face stiff competition from mainly sixth form teams across the area. We wish them very good luck!

LOST!
Elle Edwards 8PSm has lost a silver/black LG mobile phone last Monday.
If you have seen it or know of its whereabouts please inform a member of staff. Thank you.

Snowballing
The only place on the school site where pupils are allowed to throw snowballs is on the field below the tennis courts and the math's mobiles. No other snowballs are to be thrown.
If pupils do not want to have snowballs thrown at them then they should avoid the field.

Cross Country
Congratulations to Nicole Percy (yr 7) and Lucy Byrne (yr 10) who have made it into the North East Wales Cross Country Squad. Good Luck for the 27th!

D of E
Please could Year 11 participants ALL bring their log books to the meeting on Monday.

Gymnastics
Well done to Lucy Byrne who won the KS4 individual gymnastics and to the gym team who came 2nd. They both will be representing Flintshire in the Urdd National Finals next week!
Good luck!

Interhouse Football
Year 7 Interhouse football competition starts on Tuesday 9th and will finish on the first Tuesday & Wednesday after 1/2 term.

Climbing - Good first session year 7! Same groups as last week.

Badminton
After half term there will be an Interhouse School Competition. Attendance to the 5X60 club is essential for KS3 pupils who wish to take part. KS4 who want to take part need to see the P.E Department to be considered.

Yr 11 Interhouse Netball
1st DG - Daear
2nd NM - Aer
(3rd Dwr - BW)
(3rd Tan - SR)
Well done DG - 5years undefeated!

Miss Gilsenan

Some of our Year 10 pupils returned last week from the Science/Languages Trip to Paris. Whilst there, the pupils undertook a wide range of activities that have definitely enhanced their subject knowledge and understanding. I have also received many positive comments from staff concerning the behaviour and exemplary conduct of our pupils and would like to thank everyone involved.

The school ski trip returned from the mountains of Italy last Saturday. Overall a very successful week's skiing. Once again it has proved to be a great adventure and a fantastic experience for our pupils. I look forward to seeing the photos! Thank you to all involved.

Next week we have a company called "Positively Mad" coming into school. They will be talking to Year 10 and Year 11 pupils about revision techniques and motivation. This will help pupils have strategies for success in their exam years.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Haiti Earthquake Appeal
Following the disaster in Haiti, we decided to try to raise some money for the relief appeal. We raised awareness with an assembly and then had a non-uniform day - ‘Wear a hat for Haiti' last Friday. There was a tremendous response and the total raised so far is £862.83p which will be sent to the Disaster Emergency Committee.
There are many other fund-raising activities still in progress and we will keep you informed of the results. Meanwhile , keep watching the news and watch this space!

Parent Governor Vacancies
There are currently two vacancies on the Governing body for Parent Governors. Nomination forms or further information can be obtained from Mrs Sant at the school. The closing date for nominations is Friday 5th February 2010.

8VB Tombola in aid of the Haiti Appeal Fund
8VB are having a tombola and cake stall on Tuesday 2nd February in aid of the Haiti Appeal Fund.
Tombola tickets are 20p each. If anybody would like to donate anything for the stall, or bring some cakes in please pass them to Miss Brown, room 14. Thank you

Ski Trip
Last week some of the Argoed pupils went to Italy skiing. We did many activities such as ice skating, bum boarding and shopping around the local town. We enjoyed the hotel we stayed in and we had a great experience. We all had a great time skiing down the slopes and all improved a lot. We also had a chance to practice our Italian with the locals.
Bethan Davies and Jessica Day

Music News
Music Ensemble Rehearsals begin week commencing 22nd February 2010.
Junior Band Monday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Senior Band Wednesday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Choir Wednesday 12.40 - 1.05
The above groups are to begin rehearsals for the Summer Concert.

A big thank you to everybody who supported the library book sale - we sold 70 books!

Library Award This week Kieran Lyon from 9GN gained his Advanced Reading Award, the final of six Library incentives. This certificate is awarded rarely. As well as having to read many novels from different genres, Kieran had to read three classic books and write an extended review for each. His selection included " Great Expectations" and "A Tale of Two Cities", both by Charles Dickens, along with "1984" by George Orwell, which was undoubtedly Kieran's favourite.         Well done, Kieran!

Science/French Trip
The trip to Disneyland Resort Paris was a fabulous experience for the students, both socially and educationally. The Science lectures were informative and relevant to their GCSE Science courses. The students practiced their French and enjoyed the Parisian culture whilst visiting the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Some students even bartered with shop owners to get a better price for their souvenirs (I don't blame them at those prices!). I was ecstatic with their exemplary behaviour and ability to arrive at meeting points at the correct time.
Thank you to all students and staff who made this trip a roaring success.
H. Goodson (Curriculum Leader-Science)

The Argoed 2010 Ski Trip to Folgaria was a huge success with pupils and staff having a fantastic time. The staff have decided to issue a number of pupils with awards for their efforts over the week.
Teachers skier of the week: Robert Hayes (yr 7)
Trooper of the week: Lauren Doyle (yr 9)
Smiler of the week: Bethan Davies (yr 8 )
Most Improved: Matthew Davies (yr 10)
There are photos from the trip on the school website.

Climbing Group The names for this block of climbing are: Sam McGrail, Josh Burton, Billy Symonds, Iwan Pullen, Callum Sant, Bethan Ratcliffe, Olivia Wilson, Daniel Pearce, James Edwards and Lewys Taylor.

Taekwondo Club
This is a new 5x60 Club. It is open to all pupils and is free of charge. It is a specialist martial art and is extremely safe as there is limited contact.

Congratulations to the girls who entered the 1st Flintshire Street Dance Competition! You have done extremely well and worked very hard! Keep the effort up for Cardiff in March.

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3,10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Yr 11 Interhouse Netball - Last matches all forms
**Duke of Edinburgh Meeting** - All year 11 participants MUST attend
Any year 10 pupils who are interested in taking part can also attend 3.15-4.30pm

 Tuesday  

Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 7 & 8 ONLY
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Sports Leaders meeting 12.25 - 12.45pm All participants to attend
Yr 7 & 8 Football - Lunchtime
Year 10 & 11 Netball Match @ Castell Alun 3.15 - 5.30pm
Taekwondo Club - Open to all - 3.15 - 4.30pm

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Yr 7 Interhouse Netball
Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00pm
Year 7 a+b Netball Match @ Elfed 3.15 - 5.30pm
Badminton Club 3.15 - 4.30pm
Street Dance 3.15 - 4.30pm
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm

 Thursday   

Yr 7 Interhouse Netball
Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00pm
Year 9 & 10 Football lunchtime
Year 8 & 9 Rugby Training after school
Girls Tag Rugby Training after school
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm

 Friday      

Radio Club - Lunchtime
Year 11 Football - lunchtime

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3,10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Climbing Club
House Assembly - Daear

 Tuesday  

Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 8, 9 & 10 only
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
House Assembly - Aer

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
GCSE History Room 13
Badminton - after school
Street Dance - after school
House Assembly - Dwr

 Thursday   

Yr 7 Book Club
House Assembly - Tan

 Friday      

Radio Club - Lunchtime

Some Year 11 students enjoyed a visit to the Lowry Art and Entertainment Centre to see Be My Baby, one of the few events which survived the snow. Everybody enjoyed the show and I would like to thank all those involved for making it such a successful event, and especially those students and parents who moved the snow, freeing Miss Parry from the car park!

The Year 11 students sat their first GCSE exam of the year on Monday morning, as ever behaviour and attitude was superb and I wish all students their very best results. This term and the Summer term are extremely important both in terms of taking exams and preparing for them. Coursework, practical exams and revision are key elements to pupils success. It is clear that taking any time off from now on will be detrimental to pupils grades. I urge parents to ensure that their child attends the maximum possible number of days during this important time.

I have met with the Senior Learning Mentors (Heads of House, in old money) to discuss the launching of a new format for the Student Council. This will involve House Councils who will then have representatives who will sit on a whole school Student Voice Council. There will also be opportunities for representatives of our Student Voice to meet with other Student Voice representatives from schools across North Wales. More in assemblies next week.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Haiti Earthquake Appeal

In response to the Earthquake disaster in Haiti last week, the school is holding several fund-raising events including a cake stall and a non-uniform day today with hats!
Please make every effort to raise as much as you can.

Wear a Hat for Haiti

Music Payments
Payments are now due for those pupils who have instrumental lessons. Please pass all payments to Mrs Sant asap.
Thank You

Parent Governor Vacancies
There are currently two vacancies on the Governing body for Parent Governors. Nomination forms or further information can be obtained from Mrs Sant at the school. The closing date for nominations is Friday 5th February 2010.

Music News
Music Ensemble Rehearsals begin week commencing 22nd February 2010.
Junior Band Monday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Senior Band Wednesday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Choir Wednesday 12.40 - 1.05

The above groups are to begin rehearsals for the Summer Concert.

Knitting Club for years 7 & 8
Come along and learn to knit!
Tuesday 26th January in
Miss Matthews room.
Please bring £1 to cover the cost of needles
and wool. Or bring your own!!

Library News
Book Sale
The ex-library book sale in the Library takes place on Friday 22nd January 2010 at break and lunchtime.

Paperbacks 10p                       Hardbacks 20p

All money raised will be donated to the Mahalapye Day Care Centre for children orphaned by Aids, in Botswana.

Library Competition
All entries for the Manga book cover competition should be handed in to the Library by Thursday 28th January 2010. Winners will be announced at break on Friday 29th January 2010.

Well done!
Well done to 7DaSD who raised a fantastic £34 on Thursday by holding a cake stall! All proceeds will go to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal.

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3,10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Climbing Club

 Tuesday  

Drama Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 8, 9 & 10 only
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
GCSE PE Logbook group Room 13 3.10
GCSE History Group (JC) Room 13 3.10
Yr 7 & 8 Football - Astro-turf - weather dependent (lunch)

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
GCSE History Room 13
Badminton - after school
Street Dance - after school

 Thursday   

Yr 7 Book Club
Yr 9 & 10 Football - Astro-turf - weather dependent (lunch

 Friday      

Radio Club - Lunchtime
Yr 11 Football - Astro-turf - weather dependent (lunch)

NON-UNIFORM DAY -

ALL PROCEEDS TO GO TO THE

HAITI APPEAL FUND

CERTAIN CLUBS ARE WEATHER DEPENDENT PLEASE BEAR THIS IN MIND

Please meet outside the school gate with your bags, ready to go at 01.30 early Saturday morning.

Dear Parents and Friends,

What a start to 2010 we have had and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank staff, pupils, parents for their support during the past two weeks. I firmly believe that the school must stay open whenever possible so long as the health and safety of pupils and staff is not a risk. The school will always endeavour to open and could all parents and pupils assume that it is open unless it states on our website that the school is closed. We will always contact parents before allowing any students to go home.

Hopefully we are now through the worst of the weather and things should be back to normal. Please take care moving around the school and on the way to and from school. Inside the school the corridors near entrances and exits can become wet, please be cautious walking in these areas.

On the academic front, Year 11 pupils took their GCSE Maths exam in November received their results this week. They were outstanding and a credit to them, their teachers and the school. Well done to all.

Reminder
Year 11 science examination Monday 18th January.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Music News
Music Ensemble Rehearsals begin week commencing 22nd February 2010.
Junior Band Monday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Senior Band Wednesday 3.10 - 4.00pm
Choir Wednesday 12.40 - 1.05
The above groups are to begin rehearsals for the Summer Concert.

Knitting Club for years 7 & 8
Come along and learn to knit!
Tuesday 26th January, Miss Matthews room.
Please bring £1 to cover the cost of needles and wool. Or bring your own!!

Daear House Concert
On Tuesday Daear House held a concert to celebrate the talent we have in our house.
The concert was organized by Daear Prefects with Jon Jones and Georgia Clarke introducing the performers. The standard of all the performers was excellent and the atmosphere was superb.
I would like to say a huge thank-you to all pupils who took part and to the prefects who organized the event.
A. Elliott
Head of Daear House

Severe Weather and School Closures
We try to keep the school open at all times, however in periods of severe weather the school may be closed for health and safety reasons. In the event of the school being closed due to severe weather, information will be available from the school website www.argoednews.blog-city.com or the Flintshire County Council website www.flintshire.gov.uk
Information will also be broadcast on the following radio stations;
Heart FM 103.4 FM
Radio Wales 93.6 - 96.8 FM
Dee 106.3 FM
If there is no message, please assume the school is open as normal. Please only ring the school for information if you are unable to check the website or radio stations.

Library News
There will be an ex-library book sale at break and lunchtime on Friday 22nd January 2010. All hardbacks will be 20p and paperbacks 10p. All proceeds will become part of a donation to the Day-Care centre at Mahalapye, Botswana - which helps children orphaned by AIDS. Come along and help these children, and get yourself something to read too!

Library Competition
Design a Manga-style book cover for the Library Competition. Your cover should have an illustration/drawing, perhaps of the main character in your book, and the books title, with possibly the series number - see some examples on the posters outside the library.
Closing date is Thursday 28th January 2010.
Prizes will be awarded to the best 3 entries across all year groups.

Congratulations - to the Yr 10 Engineering group who were successful in completing part of their Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification. Also, a big thank you, as part of their task was to help with Ewloe Green Primary School's Christmas Fayre. All staff from the school and friends of Ewloe Green were really pleased with the work the pupils did and were very impressed with their mature attitudes. Well Done! Mrs Griffin

LOST!
James Duffield 7KR has lost a pair of glasses. Please see Mrs Chaffe if you know of their whereabouts.
Thank you

We try to keep the school open at all times,
however in periods of severe weather the
school may be closed for health and safety
reasons. In the event of the school being closed due to severe weather, information will be available from the school website www.argoednews.blog-city.com or Flintshire County Council website www.flintshire.gov.uk.
Information will also be broadcast on the following radio stations;
Heart FM 103.4 FM
Radio Wales 93.6 - 96.8 FM Dee 106.3
If there is no message, please assume the school is open as normal. Please only ring the school for information if you are unable to check the website or radio stations.

Monday 

Staff Training Day

 Tuesday  

School opens today for pupils

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 8, 9 & 10 ONLY
Drama Club 3.15 - 4.00pm - Drama Studio

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Year 11 Interhouse Netball
Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00pm
Year 7 Netball Practice 3.15 - 4.15pm
Badminton KS3
Street Dance

 Thursday   

String Group 12.30 - 12.50pm
Yr 7 Book Club
Year 11 Interhouse Netball
Game 1 12.30 - 12.45
Game 2 12.45 - 1.00pm
Year 9 & 10 Football - Astroturf Lunchtime
Year 7 Netball Match @ Elfed 3.15 - 5.00pm app

 Friday      

It was a pleasure to meet so many of our parents and friends at our brilliant Christmas Concert on Tuesday evening. This year the concert was a corner piece of fantastic and eclectic musical items which really embodied the Christmas spirit (helped along nicely by a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine). I am really proud of all the pupils who took part. Thank you.

I would also like to thank Mr Millard for the huge effort involved in putting all this together and of course other staff who helped, not forgetting Ted Milner, Patrick Smith and Miss Jeffcott who accompanied students during their musical items. A superb example of succeeding together for excellence in learning.

On Wednesday night, year 8 pupils from Aer house (Mr Smith's group) planned and held a Christmas Disco. Talking to pupils afterwards it was great fun and raised over £100 for their House Charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind. A magnificent effort, excellent fun and a great fundraiser - well done! A special thanks goes to Mrs Parry, and to Mr Smith and his tutor group.

Another Aer fundraiser event took place on Thursday lunchtime: Aer's Got Talent! Singing, dancing and extracts from musicals - the winner to be announced next term.

Finally may I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Nadolig Llawen / Merry Christmas
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda / Happy New Year

Remember: School starts for all pupils on Tuesday 5th January 2010

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Important Notice
Please be aware that NO pupils should be in the Drama Studio at break, lunch or any other time without a teacher. This is very important for your own safety and any breaking of this rule will be taken very seriously.
Miss Devine

Library News
Much fun was had at the Christmas Quiz in the Library on Thursday 11th December. There were over 80 entries in the Quiz, many being team entries. The winners were:
Year 7 - Charlotte Jones and Holly Brooks 7SW
Year 7 - Runners up - Iwan Pullen, Callum Sant and
Thomas Lamont 7SW
Year 8 - Nadine Jamart-Browne 8PSm
Year 9 - Finlay Gemmill 9PR
Year 10- Ashleigh Woodland 10HG
Well done to all the winners!

Christmas Concert
Well done to everyone who contributed. You all sounded fantastic and should be very proud of yourselves!

Mr Millard

Choir/Junior Band/Senior Band
Please note that rehearsals will begin again week commencing January 18th 2010.

Congratulations!
Well done to Tom Blomfield for gaining a place in the National Youth Wind Band and the National Youth Orchestra.

A BIG thank you from the Science Department
On behalf of Argoed High School and the Science Department, we would like to thank Convatec Ltd Medical supplies in Deeside and Dynea UK in the Alyn Works, Mold for their generous donations. We have now raised £700. Their contributions will enable us to achieve our goal of replacing our microscopes. This goal is only being made possible through thoughtfulness of companies like these. Thank you very much again.

Art Club
Art Club for years 7, 8 & 9 will resume on Monday 11th January 2010 until 4.00pm.
GCSE Art Club will take place every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until 4.00pm.

Cross Country  - Well done to all pupils who competed in the Flintshire Cross Country Championships at Mold this week.
Congratulations to the following;
Nicole Percy who finished in 5th place and Emma Squires who finished in 7th place out of 78 runners. Also to Dominic Kieghley who came 9th from the year 7 boys!
Lauren Jakeman - 11th (8 & 9 Squad), Lucy Byrne 5th and Hayley Ellis 11th (10 & 11 Squad) & Mat Robinson 3rd (10 & 11 Squad).
Under 16 Hockey
Congratulations to the under 16 Squad who won at Mold last Thursday.

Nadolig Llawen / Merry Christmas
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda / Happy New Year

Severe Weather and School Closures

We try to keep the school open at all times,
however in periods of severe weather the
school may be closed for health and safety
reasons. In the event of the school being closed due to severe weather, information will be available from the school website argoednews.blog-city.com or Flintshire County Council website www.flintshire.gov.uk.
Information will also be broadcast on the following radio stations;
Marcher Sound 103.4 FM
Radio Wales 93.6 - 96.8 FM Dee 106.3
If there is no message, please assume the school is open as normal. Please only ring the school for information if you are unable to check the website or radio stations.

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Junior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3.10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Hockey Practice 3.15 - 4.15pm
Cross Country Practice for Championships 3.15 - 4.15pm
Climbing Club Yr 10 & 11 3.15 - 4.15pm
**SAME GROUP AS LAST WEEK PLEASE**

 Tuesday  

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 7.00PM
Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 8, 9 & 10 ONLY
Drama Club 3.15 - 4.00pm - Drama Studio
Cross Country Championships 8.50 - 12.30pm
Yrs 7 & 8 Football - Astroturf - Lunchtime
Yr 7 Netball Workshop 3.15 - 4.15pm

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Choir 12.40 - 1.05pm
Senior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm
Yrs 7, 8 & 9 Badminton 3.15 - 4.15pm
Streetdance 3.15 - 4.15pm

 Thursday   

String Group 12.30 - 12.50pm
Yr 7 Book Club
Yrs 9 & 10 Football - Astroturf - Lunchtime
Yr 10 Sports Leaders Meeting 3.15 - 4.00pm

 Friday      

Last Thursday evening we had our Autumn Fair and the turn out was fantastic. There were several very inventive and creative stalls, the chocolate fondue was one I particularly enjoyed. I had a go at Guitar Hero and whilst I believe that I was indeed a ‘guitar hero' most of the pupils who saw me thought differently. The atmosphere was extremely positive and it was so good to see so many pupils involved with their own tutor group stalls. Thank you to all those parents, pupils and staff who helped to make it such a successful event. A fine example of parent, pupils, staff and friends of Argoed High School succeeding together for excellence.  A total profit of over £500 was raised.

On Tuesday some of our year 10 pupils attended an Enterprise Challenge day hosted by UPM-Kymmene (former Shotton Paper Company). The pupils had a fantastic day designing an excellent presentation and developed lots of very useful skills. Thank you to staff and pupils involved.

On Wednesday it was the pupils Christmas lunch and I must say that the spirit and positive atmosphere was a delight to behold. There are some excellent pictures on www.argoed-hs.flintshire.sch.uk. Thank you to the kitchen staff and pupils for making it so successful.

There are still tickets available for the Christmas Concert on Tuesday 15th December. Buy now to avoid disappointment for this evening of musical entertainment, mince pies and mulled wine.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

CHRISTMAS CONCERT TUESDAY 15TH
DECEMBER 2009 7.00PM
Buy your tickets for the Christmas Concert in reception at
break times.
Adults £5 Concessions £3.50
Buy early to avoid disappointment!

Christmas Disco Yrs 7 & 8
8PSm/Aer are organising a Christmas Disco on Wednesday 17th December 7-9pm. There will be refreshments and a prize for the best fancy dress costume. All money raised will be going to the House Charity of Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Ty Aer Charity
Last year we raised £146.77 to sponsor a guide dog puppy in its training.
During assembly this week we were visited by representatives of Guide Dogs for the Blind with puppy Arnie who is in training. Other guide dogs were also brought in to show us how important our sponsorship has been. We met Dempsey, a demonstration dog and Nelson a working guide dog. This term we have already raised £157.25 towards our charity and hope our ‘Aer's Got Talent' competition and disco next week will increase this total.
Ms Parry - Senior Learning Mentor - Aer

Lost!
Matthew Smith 7DaSD has lost a grey, Sprayway coat, last seen in the P.E Department. If you think you have seen it, please inform Mrs S Davies.
Thank You.

U16 Anne Smart Netball Tournament
Congratulations to the Year 10 & 11 pupils who competed last Friday. We haven't had the final results yet, but it looked as though we finished 3rd overall. Well done!

Year 10 Netball Interhouse
1st - Aer (KH) Joint 2nd - Tan (JK) & Dwr (JG)
3rd - Daear (HG) 4th - Dwr (LS)

Climbing Group - MONDAY 3.15PM
Same group as last week please. Thank you

Christmas Concert 15th December
Rehearsal Schedule - All members need to turn up to the following:
Choir 12.40 - 1.10 Wednesdays on - 2nd December, 9th December
Mon 14th December Periods 4 & 5
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 3, 4 & 5
Strings 12.40 - 1.10 Wednesday 2nd December
Mon 14th December P4
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 3,4 & 5
Senior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm Wednesdays, 2nd December, 9th December
Mon 14th December p 4 & 5
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 1,2,3,4,& 5
Junior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm Mondays - 30th November, 7th December,
14th December
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 1,2,3,4 & 5
For all rehearsals during period 4, you MUST register first before going to the hall or you will be marked absent.

December Christmas Music Tours 2009
Please inform Mr Millard if you wish to make your own way to any of the schools in the morning.
Monday 14th Choir
Meet in the school hall at 9.00am prompt. Walk down to Wat's Dyke infant school. Performance at 10.00am.

Wednesday 16th Choir
Meet in the school hall at 8.45am prompt. Mini bus trips to Southdown Primary School. Performance at 10.00am.

Meet in Music Room at 12.40pm prompt. Mini bus trips to Sychdyn Primary School. Performance at 2.00pm. We may not return to the Argoed until 3.30pm

Thursday 17th Choir & Senior Band
Meet in school hall 9.00am prompt. Walk down to Mynydd Isa Primary School. Performance at 10.00am.

Friday 18th Choir & Senior Band
Meet in the gym at 12.45pm prompt. Performance at 1.10pm.

Year 9 Netball Interhouse
Very Close!! It came down to goal difference!
1st - Tan (PR) 2nd - Dwr (KS)
3rd - Daear (GN) 4th - Aer (DT)

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Junior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3.10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Hockey Club - All years
Yr 7 Netball Practice 3.15 - 4.15pm
Climbing Club 3.15pm
Hockey 3.15pm

 Tuesday  

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 8, 9 & 10 ONLY
Drama Club 3.15 - 4.00pm - Drama Studio
Yr 8 Interhouse Netball
Bowling
Yr 7 & 8 Football - Astroturf - Lunch

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Choir 12.40 - 1.05pm
Senior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm
Pupils Christmas Lunchtime
Year 8 Interhouse Netball
Yr 7 & 10 Netball match v Maes Garmon (AWAY) 3.15 - 5.00pm
Street Dance 3.15 - 4.15pm
Badminton 3.15 - 4.15pm

 Thursday   

String Group 12.30 - 12.50pm
Yr 7 Book Club
Yr 8 Interhouse Netball
U16 11a-side Hockey @ Mold 3.15 - 5.15pm
Yr 9 & 10 Football Astroturf - Lunchtime

 Friday      

We welcomed Year 6 students from Mynydd Isa, Southdown and Sychdyn to the school for a transition event. They had to use Maths, Design Technology, ICT and communication skills to create and present a product. The sheer enthusiasm, effort and enjoyment combined with the excellent use of all their skills made this a brilliant activity. My thanks go to all pupils from the visiting schools and to the staff and pupils at the Argoed who worked hard to make it so successful. It is a great example of our motto ‘succeeding together for excellence in learning'.

The girls' tag rugby team went to the national finals in Cardiff this week and narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals. It was a fantastic achievement to get to the finals and even more pleasing to perform so well when they got there. Well done to all involved.

Every fortnight at school we (pupils and staff) host a lunch for pensioners from our community. Yesterday was their Christmas Lunch. I would like to thank all pupils, staff and visitors for making it such a special event

The Christmas lunch for pupils is on Wednesday 9th of December. Tickets are on sale in the canteen (£2:15). This will be the only option for school dinners on that day and the canteen will not be open at break time that morning. Last year the atmosphere was amazing and it was a real pleasure to see all the pupils in their Christmas hats, pulling crackers and celebrating in such a sensible manner.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Christmas Concert

Tickets are now on sale in reception at breaktimes.

Tickets  are priced at £5 an adult and £3.50  for concessions.

Ticket price includes mulled wine/fruit juice and mince pies.

Christmas Disco Yrs 7 & 8
8PSm/Aer are organising a Christmas Disco on Wednesday 17th December 7-9pm. There will be refreshments and a prize for the best fancy dress costume. All money raised will be going to the House Charity of Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Rugby News
Year 11 won a close battle against local rivals Elfed last week 10 - 5. Try scorers were Nathan Whitehead and Gareth Williams. Well done!

Pupil Christmas Lunch Wednesday 9th December
The kitchen staff are now selling tickets for Christmas Lunch at £2.15.

Library News
Come to the Christmas Quiz in the Library at lunchtime on Thursday 10th December 2009. Prizes for the winners of each Year Group!
There are lots of new books in the library: come and have a look! New titles include: Jack the Ripper, Writing Fiction, Andy McNab's Seven Troop, Goal-Glory Days, Top Gear Annual, Stephanie Meyers The Host, The life of Mary Wollestonecraft, The Consolations of Philosophy and many more!

Lost!
Chantal Hopkins 7KR has lost a light blue coat.
Tom Hooper 7KR has lost a P.E bag - last seen on Friday 27th November.
If you have seen either or both of these items please tell Miss Rees.
Thank You.

Year 7 Hockey
Well done to the Year 7 Hockey Team who played at Mold this week. It was their 1st tournament and they had mixed results for each game.
Unfortunately we had to leave early so we did not mange to finish the tournament.

Christmas Biscuit Stall
8th December 2009 Room D4 at break time.
Biscuits cost 30p each. Courtesy of Year 10 engineering.

Christmas Concert 15th December
Rehearsal Schedule - All members need to turn up to the following:
Choir 12.40 - 1.10 Wednesdays on - 2nd December, 9th December
Mon 14th December Periods 4 & 5
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 3, 4 & 5

*********************************************
Mynydd Isa Field for Youth Christmas Fayre
will be held on
Saturday 5th December at Mynydd Isa Community Centre
10am - 2pm
***Gifts * Stalls * Crafts * Competitions * Raffles * Games***

Tag Rugby National Finals
Well done to the KS3 & KS4 Girls Rugby teams who represented Flintshire in the National Competition in Llandovery. Both teams were put in difficult groups with mostly South Wales teams. Both teams played extremely well and we were unfortunate not to have been given a couple of results; if the teams had, then both teams fortunes would have improved. The KS3 team came 9th and KS4 team came 16th overall. Great effort girls and we'll go for it again next year!

Monday 

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm
Junior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm
Maths Club Yrs 7 & 8 3.10 - 4.00pm
Mandarin 3.30 - 5.00pm
Cross Country Training 3.15 - 4.15 YEARS 7, 8 & 9 ONLY
Yr 9 Interhouse Netball
12.30 - 12.45 KS v PR
12.45 - 1.00pm DT v GN
Hockey Club - All years - 3.15 - 4.15pm (Yr 7 pupils who would like to play in the tournament to attend)
Climbing Club Yr 10 & 11 3.15 - 4.30pm

 Tuesday  

Book Club 3.10 - 4.00pm Yrs 8, 9 & 10 ONLY
Drama Club 3.15 - 4.00pm - Drama Studio
Tag Rugby National Finals Llandovery FC 6am - 7pm app
Yr 7 & 8 Football Lunchtime

Wednesday  

Language Club 12.30pm Room 5
Choir 12.40 - 1.05pm
Senior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm
Cross Country - Lunchtime
Yr 9 Interhouse Netball
12.30 - 12.45 KS v DT
12.45 - 1.00pm GN v PR
Yr 7 Hockey Tournament @ Mold 3.15 - 5.30pm approx
Streetdance 3.15 - 4.15pm
KS3 Badminton 3.15 - 4.15pm

 Thursday   

String Group 12.30 - 12.50pm
Yr 7 Book Club
Christmas Fayre 6pm - 8pm Dining Hall
Cross Country Training 3.15 - 4.15 YEARS 7, 8 & 9 ONLY
Yr 9 Interhouse Netball
12.30 - 12.45 DT v PR
12.45 - 1.00pm GN v KS
Yr 9 & 10 Football Lunchtime
Yr 10 & 11 Netball Practice 3.15 - 4.15pm

 Friday      

Last Friday I arrived in school to find a plethora of super heroes and villains ( and that was just the staff!). Miss Elliott's gorilla costume scared me half to death in the staff briefing. Around the school things did not improve. There were several batmen and women, supermen, pirates, a hulk, even ironman was there to protect me. The atmosphere in school was fantastic. The afternoon featured a sponsored walk in perhaps the only dry two hours of the whole week. Keep checking our website for pictures:

www.argoed-hs.flintshire.sch.uk

Thank you to all those who made such a special effort in support of the House Charities and Children in Need.

On Tuesday this week Year 8 had a special day solving Math's problems on Math's Puzzle Day. The visiting presenter said that she had visited seventy private and state schools and our pupils were the best behaved of any school she had ever been to. "Its always a pleasure to come here," was her direct quote. I would just like to thank everybody involved for the brilliant way they represent the school.

Simeon Molloy
Headteacher

Governing Body Annual Parents Meeting
The above meeting will not be taking place.

Christmas Fayre
The H.S.A are looking for prizes for their Christmas Fayre Raffle. They would be very grateful for any donations. Please pass any donations to Mrs Sant.
Thank you.

CHRISTMAS FAYRE 3RD DECEMBER
6PM - 8PM

Children In Need
A BIG thank you and well done to all pupils who contributed to the day last week. There were some fabulous outfits, many photos were taken and will be uploaded onto the school website soon.
A special thank you to 8JD who held a cake stall and raised an amazing £40, and 9KS who also raised £12.80 by guessing the number of sweets in a jar. 7KR raised a fantastic£60 doing various activities! An outstanding total of £550.61 was raised for
Children in Need. Well done!

Yr 9 Hockey Playnight
Well done to the Year 9 Hockey Squad
Who came 2nd overall in the Flintshire Playnight.

PE Corridors
Pupils are reminded that they are NOT allowed in P.E corridors at break or lunchtime unless they are taking part in a club. Pupils who are caught there will be given a detention as property is being damaged.

LOST!
Timothy Williams 11NM has lost a navy & royal blue jacket.
If you have seen it please inform Miss Matthews. Thank you

Christmas Concert 15th December
Rehearsal Schedule - All members need to turn up to the following:
Choir 12.40 - 1.10 Wednesdays on - 2nd December, 9th December
Mon 14th December Periods 4 & 5
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 3, 4 & 5
Strings 12.40 - 1.10 Wednesday 2nd December
Mon 14th December P4
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 3,4 & 5
Senior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm Wednesdays, 2nd December, 9th December
Mon 14th December p 4 & 5
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 1,2,3,4,& 5
Junior Band 3.10 - 4.00pm Mondays - 30th November, 7th December, 14th December
Tues 15th December Final Rehearsal Periods 1,2,3,4 & 5
For all rehearsals during period 4, you MUST register first before going to the hall or you will be marked absent.

Year 9 Engineering Awareness Day at Deeside College
On Tuesday 24th November, 14 year 9 pupils and Mrs Griffin went to Deeside College to learn about Engineering. While we were there, we went on a tour around the Engineering department which had aeroplanes and cars for students of the college to work on. We also made a lift out of wood and plastic and we had to connect an electronic motor and wires to the lift and see if it worked. We were all successful in completing the task and all our lifts worked correctly. One of our groups was placed in the top 5 out of 40 groups of school pupils from around Flintshire and received a Commendation. We would all like to say thank you to Deeside College and we all enjoyed our day!
Faith Miller 9DT

Well done to all pupils who attended the course. You worked very hard and were an asset to Argoed High School! Mrs Griffin

Congratulations to year 10 & 11 upper school Rugby Squad who won 14-7 against Elfed.
The upper school Hockey team played their first full sided game of the year and despite working hard and playing fantastically, lost to a very good Hawarden team 2-0.