St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College Coleg Catholig Chweched Dosbarth Dewi Sant

Winter 2015/16

This publication is also available in Welsh

STUDENTS CONTRIBUTE

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

GROWING SEEDS FROM SPACE

ENTERPRISE SUCCESS, FUNDRAISING EVENTS, SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS, FILM STUDIO WORK EXPERIENCE, FIELD TRIPS, PANTO, AND MUCH MORE

GROWING SEEDS FROM SPACEStudents at St David’s are preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space.

TO NEW BBC PROGRAMMEOn Thursday 28th January, a group of students from the Languages and English curriculum area met with Derek Ritchie and Mark Williams from BBC Wales. The students were asked to contribute to a focus group to help Derek and Mark plan a new programme format for teenagers.

The discussions were lively and enlightening; the students learned about the often time-consuming process involved in developing programmes for commission, and our guests were enlightened about social media and 21st century youth slang. The topics covered were wide-ranging, and included: how young people use different social media

platforms to project different identities, the rise of online celebrities, the online reaction to the Paris terrorist attacks, and how social media can be used for positive change such as promoting political debate amongst young people.

Derek and Mark were very impressed with the ‘surprising honesty’ of the students and took away a wealth of information to help them with their programme planning. Mark is a writer for screen and stage and had his first novel published in 2013, whilst Derek has worked in a variety of freelance production and direction roles before joining the BBC a few years ago as a producer for Doctor Who.

Pictured: (Students) Alex Davies, Sodrul Hussain, Daisy fitzgerald, Dan O’Driscoll, Esther Munro, Alice McGrath, Anna Fiteni, Zainab Hussain, and (BBC Wales) Derek Ritchie and Mark Williams.

Our Science students are preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space.

In September, two kilograms of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S where they will spend several months in microgravity before returning to Earth in March 2016. The seeds have been sent as part of Rocket Science, an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency.

St David’s College will be one of up to 10,000 schools to receive a packet of 100 seeds from space, which they will grow alongside seeds that haven’t been to space and measure the differences over seven weeks. The students won’t know which seed packet contains which seeds until all results have been collected by the RHS Campaign

for School Gardening and analysed by professional biostatisticians.

The out-of-this-world, nationwide science experiment will enable the students to think more about how we could preserve human life on another planet in the future, what astronauts need to survive long-term missions in space and the difficulties surrounding growing fresh food in challenging climates.

Dr Beer, Science Teacher at St David’s, says: “Tim Peake’s stay on the ISS has been a wonderful source of inspiration to students of all science disciplines. We are delighted to have been allocated rocket seeds that have spent time with Tim on the ISS and look forward to growing them after Easter. This will enable us to take part in a large experiment that will determine the long–term effect of a space environment on seeds of this type. This information is vital as humanity starts to consider travel to Mars and beyond.”

Keep an eye out for an update in the summer newsletter.

Follow the project on Twitter: @RHSSchools #RocketScience or through the St David’s team: @StDavidsSTEM or @StDavidsSCI

ST DAVID’S STUDENTS TO GROW SEEDS FROM SPACE

FILM STUDIO WORK EXPERIENCE

St David’s College provides students with a huge number of opportunities to be involved in Enterprise activities throughout the year. Just before Christmas, three of our students were chosen to take part in work experience at a local film studio. Here is what the girls had to say about their experience:

“Being a part of Enterprise has been an amazing experience. It was through Enterprise that we were told of an opportunity to gain paid work experience in a real film studio in Barry called Digichemistry.

Working for a real film company definitely developed our camera and editing skills, as well as having actual experience of working long hours and having to meet deadlines for the client. We have learnt so much from this experience, including how to use Final Cut Pro software and how to use sophisticated cameras. It gave us a first-hand experience in the industry that we hope to set our future careers in, which made it clear that this is exactly what we hope to do in the future.

Craig, Mirain and Sam were great to work with and helped us at every stage, but also gave us space to use our own initiative.

It was challenging at times as we were put under pressure to get the work done but we were given plenty of help and we were able to complete a professional

looking documentary that we are both proud of. We were placed in a team full of enthusiastic people, who made the experience even more enjoyable!

Having to go through an interview process and being short listed from our CVs was also great experience. Being chosen over 30 other candidates was a fantastic feeling, and if you ever get the opportunity to take part in Enterprise, be it through work experience, work shadowing, or taking part in the variety of competitions, then we absolutely recommend it. Not only do you have great fun but also learn a whole new range of skills. It also gives you something that you can put on your CV to make you stand out.

We are so glad that we were given this opportunity and if we had the chance to do it again we would take it without any hesitation!”

Charlie Barber, Nicole Flavin and Phoebe Rees

On 8th October 2015, a number of students from the College volunteered their time and efforts to organise a music concert to raise funds for the Syrian refugee crisis. They spent a number of weeks booking bands, organising sound and lighting, tickets, marketing, and catering for the evening. They all worked really hard to pull this event together and learned numerous new skills in the process, and had fun whilst doing it. The concert was a huge success with a number of college students performing on the night including:• The Staff Band• Percy• Eve Nentwig • Pippa Thomas ft. Chloe Donnelly & Jade Wellbeloved• Inside the Mind• BigMech• Theia• Unforgettable Adventures Days• The Cradles (headline band, former students) We managed to raise a total of £364.14 this was split between 2 charities: £169 to Unicef Syria Appeal and £195 to Save the Children Syrian Appeal.

CHARITY CONCERT RAISES OVER £360 FOR SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS

Photo by Georgia Acton Dyer

AS Level student Rhys Payne is currently working hard to raise money for charities both here in Cardiff and overseas. We spoke to Rhys to find out more about some of the projects that he is involved in:

“In January, a friend and I cycled 500 miles in 24 hours (on exercise bikes) in order to raise money for the RYC South Africa Project.

The RYC South Africa Project is a Cardiff-based project run by volunteers who are passionate about making changes in local communities across the UK and in South Africa. For the past five years, the charity have sent a group of young people to South Africa to help build homes, schools and orphanages. This year, they hope to continue with this good work but money needs to be raised in order

to do so. The cost for each person for flights, building materials, etc., is £1250. To raise the funds for this, myself and a friend, Marie Postans - who is also hoping to go to South Africa this year, cycled 500 miles in 24 hours. We raised over £400.

Our latest fund-raising effort is in the form of a ‘Curry and Jam’ night: an evening of food and live music to be held on the 5th March in Rumney Chapel.“

It’s not too late to donate to Rhys and Marie’s South Africa Project. If you wish to donate, please visit: https://my.give.net/rhyspayneSA16

Rhys hasn’t stopped there! His charity work continues closer to home...

“I am also the youth representative for a local group known as The Rumney Forum, who have recently purchased Rumney Library as it was earmarked for closure by the local council. The plan is to turn it into a community space which will house a small cafe that we hope will be run mainly by volunteers and use locally sourced ingredients.

We also hope to use the space for many other community activities. To raise the funds for this project we have already held a pub quiz, and have many more activities planned for the future. ”

THE RYC SOUTH AFRICA PROJECT

“In January, the photography department travelled to London to visit several different photography exhibitions. Visits such as these allow us to connect to the photography, and we are able to use the images as inspiration to influence our own photos, and to improve our skills by replicating pictures that we had found interesting.

The trip was a brilliant experience, as there aren’t many local photography exhibitions. First we visited The National Portrait Gallery along with the Photographer’s Gallery, as well as stopping along Oxford Street for a quick break and a little bit of shopping in Covent Garden. The Photographers Gallery was particularly interesting as the work of various different photographers was exhibited, leaving something interesting to be found by each person.”

Alex Kamionka

PHOTOGRAPHY TRIP

St David’s Engineering club have been working on a coding kit which will allow primary and secondary schools to teach computer code to students. On 16th December they had the opportunity to take their project from paper to reality, when they visited Cardiff University’s Electrical Engineering Department. They used 3D software in order to have their designs 3D printed. After encountering many problems with the physical aspect of the product being realistic, a little teamwork resolved the issues. All of the designs were created electronically which made the day a big success.

The next day started off with a tour around Cardiff University Engineering Department followed by a final print of the students’ designs. This gave the students time to start writing their EESW (Engineering Educational Scheme Wales) report. In order for their designs to be fully functional, the students then had to add the electronics to the insides of their designs.

All students involved enjoyed their time at the university, stating that it was a “brilliant experience”, that they “cannot wait to see the prototype” and that they thought it was a “huge success”.

FROM CODING TO 3D PRINTING

CARDIFF UNIVERSITY’S FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

In November 2015, Neil Davies and Gavin Hatton accompanied 21 Geography and Sociology students to Cardiff University’s Festival of Social Science: A World of Data.

The event introduced Lower and Upper 6th students from across Cardiff to the fascinating world of quantitative social science. It gave them a deeper understanding of the scientific process: how to generate testable research questions, generate data, and how to analyse and visualise it in a useful and meaningful way.

The analysis of numerical data can be a daunting task for humanities students, particularly those in the sixth form. These workshops helped to alleviate anxieties about using numbers in the social sciences.

There were plenty of hands-on interactive workshops, opportunities for the students to generate their own data, and competitions for them to enter to win prizes.

On 5th February, a small group of students had the opportunity to visit the National Assembly for Wales to mark National Voter Registration day. Hosted by Dame Rosemary Butler AM, Presiding Officer of the Assembly, the #Wales2016 voter awareness campaign was launched, with particular focus on youth engagement. The day was delivered in partnership with NUS Wales, Youth Cymru and the Electoral Commission, and was an opportunity for our students and others from across Wales to learn about the upcoming Assembly election, the powers of the assembly, how to register to vote, and to engage in workshops using the Senedd’s committee rooms to discuss different aspects of our democratic process.

“I really enjoyed the trip as I thought it was very interesting. I did not know much about voting and about the youth parliament but while on this trip I learned things such as how to apply to vote, what young people care about and what they want to happen. We also thought about how to make politics more accessible to everyone, such as setting up workshops or making learning about politics a core subject in school to raise awareness. I would definitely recommend a day like this to any of my peers.”

Leah Lock

SENEDD VISIT FOR NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY

“I found the trip to be informative, and was particularly interested in finding out which powers have been devolved to the Assembly from Westminster, and which haven’t, such as policing. Also, the composition of the Assembly, being made up of 60 members, being chosen from two elections. Thank you for the opportunity, it was a nice day”

Kate Moss

“I enjoyed the interactive session we had in the afternoon and I believe it widened my perspective on the possible measures for breaking social barriers and encouraging involvement in politics. Also, the importance of the youth vote was clear from the many informative stalls, amongst which I was persuaded to register to vote.”

Tanya Chiganze

Tuesday 15th March 20166:00pm - 8:30pm

CAREERS EVENTStudents and parents/guardians are invited to attend St David’s College’s STEM Careers Event, aimed at supporting students with their UCAS applications, planning for their careers and preparing for future employment or training.

*Students must attend least 2 talks and visit at least 6 stands to be eligible to win. Your competition entry card will be stamped at each stand/talk.

in partnership

WIN2x £

50

Amazon Vouchers up for grabs*

STEMScience Technology Engineering Maths

A big congratulations to Rhiannon Haigh who was sent a cheque for £25 from the University of Southampton for winning Challenge 1 in their yearly ‘Cipher Challenge’.

The National Cipher Challenge, is a nationwide, online codebreaking competition which runs from October to January.

This year competitors were challenged to help code-breaker Harry track down the Reichsdoktor in post-war Berlin. His enemies were cunning and the story unfolded in a series of short encrypted messages. Competitors worked with Harry to decipher these documents and untangle the truth.

CIPHER CHALLENGE

“Being part of the Performing Arts department this year has been amazing. Together we have produced a pantomime which we performed in front of five different primary schools in the run-up to Christmas: St Francis, Thornhill, Christ the King, St Patrick’s, Hawthorn, and Moorland Primary.

We worked hard to produce, write and rehearse our ‘Peter Panto’ pantomime; ensuring that we created a storyline which was suitable and enjoyable for our target audience.”

PANTO 2015

The Welsh Colleges qualifying golf event took place on Tuesday 10 November at Cardiff Golf club. Following a few days of torrential rain and with winds gusting at 30 to 50 miles per hour, the conditions were exceptionally difficult. Representing St David’s College was Matthew Harris, who plays out

of St Mellon’s. Matthew shot a level par round of 70 to win the event by one shot.

Matthew will now go on to represent St David’s College in the British Colleges final in Newcastle in March. He has also been recently selected to represent the Welsh Men’s Under 21 National Squad. We wish Matthew every success in his upcoming competitions.

GOLFING EXCELLENCE

“Through the process we developed our skills and knowledge, not just in delivering a performance, but also in the technical elements of theatre. We all enjoyed taking part in set-making, creating costumes, and performing to a younger audience. We hope to continue learning new things and having amazing experiences, and we would like to thank the Performing Arts teachers, especially Mr Crowley, for always pushing in pursuit of excellence and for all the help and support along the way.”

Sione James

Students from St David’s have recently been involved in a new digital competition called Syniad. The aim of the competition was to get students actively involved in developing their own app which they could take to market. The students, Druce Roberts, Carlo Landicho, Karl Cuayzon, Rhys Payne, Janrey Mosuela, and Bartosz Borne, had to research to see where there were gaps in the market and come up their very own app. The competition began in December and was sponsored by companies such as Yard Digital, Natwest, and Simply Do. After two very intense workshops in CAVC Ideas Centre, the final was held in London at the Google Campus on Wednesday 20th January, The competition was really tough with eight teams from four colleges across SE Wales taking part. I am delighted to announce that Team Shoot from St David’s College came second and won £250 to further develop their app and take it to market. We are hoping that Business in Focus will to work with the two teams from St David’s in order to further develop their ideas. Watch this space for updates!

ST DAVID’S TEAM WIN £250 IN APP CONTEST

On Friday 20th November, 11 students from St David’s College attended First Campus’ Trading Places day, as part of the enterprise activities organised by the College.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the Trading Places day that was spent in the EE Headquarters in Merthyr Tydfil. I liked the fact that we were put in random groups and were with people we didn’t know. Throughout the day we took part in numerous activities, some more challenging than others.

One activity we took part in was called The Fashion Show. We had to create an item of clothing out of paper, scissors and sellotape. We then had to work out the retail price of the item and decide on a target audience, along with various other factors.

The most difficult activity was building a balloon chair. We were given a short time frame in which to make a plan, devise a pitch, and to make the chair, which then had to be stable enough to sit on. Our chair was purple and pink because the chair was going to be aimed at supporting Cancer Research.

Overall it was a really good day. EE were very hospitable and the Trading Places team were really helpful. I came away with more than I thought I would. You end up meeting so many new friends and learn new skills throughout the day.”

Chloe Woodley

TRADING PLACES COMPETITION

Every year, the College invites over 150 guests to attend the annual Christmas Mass and party, hosted by St David’s. Both students and staff worked hard to provide a real community event where guests from all over Cardiff spent the afternoon experiencing activities including a Mass, lunch, entertainment, and a raffle.

Thanks to the efforts of our Level 1 Vocational students, each guest left the party with a beautifully wrapped gift. They had worked hard in the run-up to the event to raise money through competitions such as guess the weight of the Christmas cake, and guess the number of sweets in the jar. They then used the donations to buy and wrap gifts for all attendees.

The Mass, lunch and raffle was followed by a medley of Christmas songs and carols sung by a number of our students. A big thank you to Jade Wellbeloved, Chloe Welsh, Rebekah Shallom, Jordanna Portelli, Becki Holder, Abena Mensah, Aisha Kigwalilio, Lucy Horrigan, Katie Issac, Myriam Edwards, Kieren Rankin, Chloe Donnelly, Luke Edwards, and Amber Sheen.

SENIOR CITIZENS’ CHRISTMAS PARTY

For the third time in four years, the college Basketball team were Welsh Colleges Champions and go forward to represent Wales in the British College’s Competition in Newcastle. Undefeated throughout the tournament, they beat Coleg Menai Celts in the final. Made up mainly of

lower sixth players, the team showed great skill and effort in all games. Captained by player of the tournament, Shaun Williams at point guard (pictured with trophy).

BASKETBALL CHAMPS

INTRODUCING LUKE HOWELLS - FOOTBALL COACH

SAINTS MID-SEASON FOOTBALL REPORT

It’s just over the half way point of the season and the Saints are sitting in a comfortable position in their league table - just six points from the top with three games in hand over the league leaders.

The league has been more difficult than anticipated after the spilt into east and west divisions last year, and it didn’t get off to the best of starts with a loss to Cross Keys. Considering how much we controlled that opening game it was disappointing to lose and concede goals from two set plays. We quickly got ourselves together with a string of solid performances and wins until the dreaded weather upset the momentum, and led to some inconsistency at the start of 2016.

However, the season so far has been a positive one with four wins and three losses, scoring 25 and only conceding 12 in seven games. We will keep fighting until the end because hard work will beat talent everyday but if talent works hard then we’ll become unbeatable! Up the saints!

Coach Luke Howells

As a past student of St David’s College, it was through Miss Silver’s coaching module that I found my passion and drive for grassroots sports participation; football in particular. After leaving College, I furthered my education at university and in America, studying different methods of coaching.

Upon moving back to the UK, I gained the appropriate qualifications and through voluntary work was being recognised around South Wales as a purposeful and passionate development coach. This led me to find work with professional football clubs, allowing me to work closely with national governing bodies.

Working in such an environment led me to success and I went on to coach foreign players from Asia and in

Europe. From these experiences have been to develop what I would consider a successful philosophy.

I have now been given a great opportunity to lead the football team at St David’s College, a team I once played in under Mr Howells and there is no doubt that we will as successful this year as previous years.

Current student Elliot Morris Devred (pictured centre), has been crowned the Welsh Colleges Squash Champion. He is currently ranked number one at Under 19s and will go on to represent Wales in the British Colleges Finals.

WELSH COLLEGES SQUASH CHAMPION

Congratulations to the St David’s netball team who competed against teams from all over Wales to finish third in the Welsh Colleges Netball Championships. There were convincing wins over Merthyr College, Llandrillo, Ebbw Vale and Bridgend in the pool stages before beating Cross Keys College in the quarter finals. The semi-final was closely contested and saw the St David’s team produce some outstanding netball, but they narrowly lost to a formidable team from Neath Port Talbot College. Well done to all the girls involved!

NETBALL SUCCESS

KEY EXAM DATESMAY 2016End of AS & GCSE teachingAS and GCSE exams startEnd of A2 teaching

JUNE 2016Internal deadline for BTEC assignmentsA2 exams startEnd of AS examsSetting of summer work for A2UCAS launchWBQ introductionEnd of A2 exams

JULY 2016End of term

13th16th27th

6th8th

21st22nd - 24th

29th

8thNote: lower sixth students will be expected to attend lessons in College from 22nd June - 8th July.