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• Elfed High School

Elfed High School headteacher Alistair Stubbs and Garden Project members Libby Allit, Joshua Robinson, Abbie Lawton, Illiam Pendlebury, Dan Smith, Lowry Jones and Lilly Julian, receive a donation from members of the Buckley Freemasons.

The Flintshire high school has received a generous donation that will help a project to grow.

Buckley Freemasons have donated £430 to Elfed High School to en-able the School Garden Project to purchase a greenhouse.

The cheque, gifted by Grand Master Andrew Turvey, secretary David Turvey and treasurer Alan Gardner presented the generous amount to headteacher Alistair Stubbs, assistant headteacher Chris Jones and the Garden Project Leaders, Miss G Smith and Mrs J Bennett.

Miss G Smith said: "The purchase of this greenhouse will help the students expand on their knowledge of growing their own fruit and vegetables. The aim is for the students to grow enough produce so that they are able to take it home and share it with their family."

Mrs Bennett and Mrs Smith, started the Garden Project earlier in the year. It has been a great place for students to get involved with growing their own fruit and vegetables as well as learning how to care for plants and flowers and how to maintain the garden.

This opportunity has allowed students from all years to take part in the project and has given them the platform to expand their practical skills as well as improving their wellbeing. The project has also supported students who wish to proceed with a career in horticulture.

Students have already planned their planting calendar for the spring and are looking forward to using their new greenhouse. Without the support from the Freemason, this would have not been possible.

• Ysgol Penygelli, Coedpoeth

Pupils from Ysgol Penygelli, who used some of their own decorations at St Tudfil's Church, in Coedpoeth.

The pupils at the Wrexham primary school had a very busy week decorating their own tree decorations. Some of the children took these up to St Tudfil's Church, in Coedpoeth, where they used them to decorate a tree at the church's community tree decorating event.

• Ysgol Treffynnon

Ysgol Treffynnon students in their Christmas jumpers.

The Flintshire high school’s annual Christmas Jumper Day went ahead this year with the emphasis on it being more of a festive wellbeing event for students in these difficult times.

Students at Ysgol Treffynnon were invited to come to school in a Christmas jumper and donate any amount they could afford at a central location.

Staff also took part, and an impressive £161 was raised for the Save The Children charity.

Rebekah Rae, additional learning needs teacher and Student Voice lead, organised the event. She said: “We know times are hard this year with the cost of living crisis, so our senior leadership team insisted that this be more of a wellbeing, enjoy the festive period opportunity rather than an all-out fundraiser. Therefore, to have raised so much under the circumstances is brilliant, and an indication of just how generous our students and staff are.

“I would like to thank everyone who took part, and our families and carers for their continued support, it is very much appreciated. We are delighted to be able to send a Christmas donation to this wonderful charity again this year.”

• School hosts public speaking workshop for talented students

Students practice their public speaking skills in front of each other.

A GROUP of more able and talented (MAT) students from schools in Flintshire and Wrexham took part in a workshop to practice their skills ahead of a competition in a few weeks' time.

Argoed High School, whose public speaking team were crowned Welsh Champions at the English-Speaking Union (ESU) Public Speaking Competition last year, organised the workshop to give students an opportunity to meet public speakers from other schools, and learn the art of crafting a speech and questioning in preparation for the ESU competition next year.

Teams from Ysgol Bryn Alun, Elfed High School, Connah's Quay High School, Ysgol Maes Garmon, and Ysgol Y Grango joined the Argoed's team for the day to debate whether the voting age should be lowered to give 12-year-olds a voice.

Every team in the competition has three members, each with a specific role. The Argoed team members are Ethan Topley (Questioner), Niamh Howes Patterson (Speaker) and Ruby Parry (Chair), who were all selected due to their engaging performance in the school's recent production of Matilda.

Mike Lofts, assistant headteacher, organised the workshop. He said: "We wanted to organise our own competition to give the students a practice run ahead of the national ESU competition next year and we have replicated the format so that the students know what to expect.

"All the students displayed an array of skills brilliantly, such as thinking on their feet, using counter argument, and providing a convincing viewpoint. It was an excellent day; students were able to plan their approach to their talk and they all seemed much more confident by the end of the session.

"This type of competition not only develops public speaking skills, but also the ability to listen, comprehend, and formulate a reasoned response. Developing all of these crucial communication skills at a young age is such a valuable experience for life, and, importantly, the world of work.

"We are looking forward to our competition on December 23 and wish all the teams the very best of luck."