Your child will continue to receive a free school meal this week and arrangements remain the same. However, the provision of chilled free school meals will end on Thursday 2nd of April. Two free school meals will be provided on the 2nd of April, one for the 2nd of April and another for the 3rd of April. Parents/carers of children eligible for free school meals will shortly receive a letter from the Council detailing how to apply to receive a cash equivalent amount paid directly into your bank account. Please look out for this letter and if you have difficulty in registering or do not have access to the internet, then please do not hesitate to contact the school.
Free School Meal provision will change to bank transfer from April 6
Education Minister announces exam arrangements for years 10 and 12
RCT Message 27/03/2020
The following message is on behalf of RCT Council:
Coronavirus is continuing to spread throughout Wales. Public Health Wales have now confirmed 34 people have died in Wales as a result of the virus and the number of confirmed cases in Wales continues to grow by the day.
The social distancing advice is there for a reason, it is absolutely imperative that we all personally take the responsibility to minimise the contact we have with one another to slow the spread of the virus. We must all work together and help the NHS which will come under huge strain in the coming weeks.
If your children are not in the Emergency Childcare settings please keep them safe at home, this extends to the evenings and weekends. We all have to do this for the safety of them, our family, friends and neighbours, the message is to STAY AT HOME as much as possible.
Year 13 - Student Finance
Following some queries from pupils please find details of the information you need for applying for student finance for University. Follow the link and see the details below for deadlines. You are new students so the deadline is May 15th 2020.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-prospective-students
Please note their offices are now closed due to the current situation but check out the website and links etc as I am sure they will be working from home.
https://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/
It’s time to apply for student finance!
Our full-time undergraduate student finance applications are now open.
The easiest way to apply is online – sign in to your account now!
You should apply before the deadline to make sure your funding is ready for starting your course:
New students – 15 May
Returning students – 12 June
You can apply for funding even if you don’t have a confirmed place on a course yet. Just give us the details of your preferred course and change them later if you need to.
Find out what funding is available in 2020 to 2021
Check out our 2020 to 2021 summary page or watch our ‘Student finance explained’ film to find out what funding you could get.
Twitter - @SF_Wales
Facebook - @SFWales
YouTube - Cyllid Myfyrwyr Cymru | Student Finance Wales
"If your children can stay safely in their home, they should."
Enforced School Closure
Dear Parent/Carer
Following the announcement from the Welsh Government to close all schools by Friday 20th March 2020, extending the Easter holidays by two weeks, we are writing to provide you with information and advice for your child/children to be able to continue with their school work at home.
We understand that many of you are feeling a little anxious, so we hope this provides you with some reassurance.
Our teachers and the school have been working on solutions to help to support your children whilst working at home. Your child will be able to access work via the school website for most of their subjects. Teachers have provided lesson resources and instructions for pupils to be able to continue with their learning.
The Aberdare Community School Website has a variety of resources that your child can use to help them at this time. As a school, we will be updating this regularly with new materials we think students will find useful. The main platform that teachers will be using to provide pupils with work is Moodle. All pupils have access to this using their normal school ICT login details and will be familiar with using this resource in school. The link to Moodle, as well as other useful sites, can be found on the main school website. If your child does not have access to ICT facilities at home, we are producing paper copies of some resources that teachers have uploaded to the Moodle platform so far, these will be available to collect from reception after 2pm on Friday.
Please see below links to a number of useful websites that can be used by pupils to support their learning at home.
The school and its teachers are more than happy to support all of our students. The ability to work independently, regulate own learning and ask for help when needed is going to be key at this time. Pupils should still be keeping a clear focus on their studies.
If you have any concerns or would like any further support, please do not hesitate to contact me using the school email address – school@aberdareschool.co.uk
Yours faithfully,
Mrs K Leyshon
(Assistant Headteacher)
Resources to support remote learning:-
https://hwb.gov.wales/distance-learning/
Distance learning can be delivered through a range of the Hwb tools, which are available to all maintained schools in Wales. These tools will allow teachers and learners with suitable internet connected devices to continue their classroom activities outside of school as required.
https://www.gcsepod.com
https://moodle.com
https://resources.wjec.co.uk
http://www.amazingeducationalresources.com/
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/
https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2020/03/15/how-to-teach-online/
Mathematics - https://vle.mathswatch.co.uk/vle
French - https://www.frenchteacher.net/free-resources/samples/
Biology - https://www.kayscience.com/
English – Young Writers competition - https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/
Home learning - https://www.tts-group.co.uk/home+learning+activities.html
Science - https://cogscisci.wordpress.com/resources/
Physics - https://www.gcsephysicsonline.com/
GoConqr- https://www.goconqr.com/en/a-levels/resources/
Pass my exams - http://www.passmyexams.co.uk/index.html
Physics & maths tutor - https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/
Extremepapers - https://papers.xtremepape.rs/
Quizlet - https://quizlet.com/subject/alevel/
Maxpapers - http://maxpapers.com/
The student room -https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/
Khan Academy - http://www.khan academy.org
BBC Learning - http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/
Futurelearn - http://www.futurelearn.com
PA/Drama and Theatre Arts - https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/
School Closure
As you may be aware, the Minister for Education in Wales has made an announcement yesterday that the Easter break for all schools in Wales will come into effect from Friday 20th March 2020. Therefore, I can confirm that we will close the school to all year groups after the completion of the school day on Friday at 3.00pm. The Ministers announcement can be accessed via the following link
https://gov.wales/statement-minster-education-kirsty-williams-school-closures-wales
You may also be aware of a further statement made by Kirsty Williams, Education Minister in relation to the forthcoming GCSE and A level Examinations. The statement reads
“We are in an unprecedented period, one that is changing hour-by-hour, and governments around the world are having to make quick decisions. We recognise the worry and anxiety that the uncertainty around the summer exam series was causing. Today I met with Qualifications Wales and WJEC to consider options that are in the best interests of our learners. We recognise that there are no easy choices but we have agreed that the best way forward is not to proceed with summer exam series. Learners due to sit their GCSEs and A levels this summer will be awarded a fair grade to recognise their work, drawing on the range of information that is available. We will be working with the sector to announce further details shortly but wanted to give this early certainty. We also won’t be using the results to publish performance measure outcomes in 2020.”
At this stage, we do not have any further details. Furthermore, it does not necessarily mean that students do not have to continue with their studies. However, we will provide further updates as they become available to us. I am sure that the statement will raise questions but I would advise families, students and staff to keep an eye on developments as they unfold.
This is an incredibly challenging situation for us all – there are many unknowns and it is important, especially at this time, to work together and support each other.
Our aim is to support pupils’ education and, as a school, we have been working over the past week to put together a pack for every child in the school so that they can continue to learn at home after the Easter break. All resources will also be available on a dedicated area on the school website and you will receive further information and details about this in due course.
During the closure, you can continue to contact us using the following email address
school@aberdareschool.co.uk
We will keep you regularly updated via our school website and social media sites.
Please take care of each other during this unprecedented time.
Yours sincerely
Mrs C Morgans
Headteacher