Welcome to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
Lent 2024
Cafod Prayer for Lent- 1st March
Creator God, we thank you for all that you have made. Lead us to care for the earth, our common home, and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. May we produce the fruits of your kingdom. Amen.
Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus- St David's Day- March 1st
Today we celebrated the feast day of our Patron Saint of Wales by dressing in Welsh colours/ clothes and having a special Mass in school. The Mass was led by our Criw Cymraeg and celebrated by Fr Jaspher. Diolch pawb for a beautiful Mass reflecting our pride in our wonderful country and our inspirational Patron Saint- “Be joyful, keep your faith and your creed, and do the little things”- 'Gwnewch y pethau bychain'- Do the little things.
A very special blessing
After Mass, Fr Jaspher kindly agreed to bless the beautiful new sign for our 'Rainbow Garden of Hope' generously donated by Mrs Fe Llobrera, mother of Zoe. We are very grateful for your kind and thoughtful gesture and are looking forward to having the sign installed in our special garden which we developed after the Covid pandemic. Diolch o galon
Criw Cymraeg attended the St David's Day parade in the city centre today also and had amser arbennig! Da iawn pawb!
On Friday 8th March, we will be holding our annual Eisteddfod and children can once again dress in Welsh colours. More information to follow via Seesaw. Diolch.
Websites to promote and practise Welsh within your family
Diolch a Hwyl fawr
We say a fond farewell and big diolch to Mrs Tracey Redman who has been working Dosbarth Dryw since September. Mrs Redman is leaving St Mary's today to take up a new position. We wish her pob lwc and thank her for her hard work in St Mary's
Eco Team News
Friends Events- please note change of date
Diolch for all the generous Easter egg and prize donations received this week!
Attendance Matters
Please note school starts 08:55 and finishes at 15:15.
Please remember, children should not worry about having to stay off school if they are poorly. Children should only attend school if they are fit and well enough to do so. Routine appointments, holidays during term-time, days off for birthdays however, are not valid reasons to stay off school.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding with this very important matter.
Foundation Phase winners this week are:- Robin Goch with 96.7%
Dosbarth Palodau-89.6% Dosbarth Parotiaid-90.4% Dosbarth Pengwiniaid-90.2%, Dosbarth Robin Goch- 97.6%, Dosbarth Tulluanod-97.3%. Dosbarth Dryw- 96.4%
Key Stage 2 JOINT winners this week are:- Dyfi and Gwenfro with 99.2%
Dosbarth Clywedog-91.3% , Dosbarth Conwy-95.5%, Dosbarth Alyn-98.8%, Dosbarth Dyfi-99.2%, Dosbarth Gwenfro-99.2%, Dosbarth Dyfrdwy-95%, Dosbarth Gwaun-95%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET - 96%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE- 95.3%- WOW- so close to our target!!!
Please help us achieve our target next week!!
Patrwm Yr Wythnos
The Criw Cymraeg’s ‘Patrwm yr Wythnos’ (Phrase of the week) this week is: Beth sy'n bod? What's the matter? Mae gen i... I've got...
See VIDEO link
Early Years-Freya and Nancy went to see the Gruffalo, Noah went to Hickory's for his tea, Ines is going to visit her Grandad, Elliot went to Birkenhead park and saw lots of daffodils. Maria is going to Emilia's house to play and they are both going swimming. and Elliott has a trophy from cycling club
Years 1 and 2- Kharis is having a new car, Elena is starting ballet, Lily M is going out to a restaurant for food and Lena S and Daniel are going swimming. Hania has passed Wave 4 and Evelyn is going swimming. Amelia W's babcia is looking after her whilst her parents go on holiday, Finn is going to football club on Saturday, Logan is getting a bouncy castle and Franek moved to Wave 4. William came into school super excited as he had lost a tooth! Nicolas has moved up to Wave 7.
Years 3 and 4- Benj got Man of the Match for Brymbo Lodge and Rene and Dylan have been to a Lego event in Manchester called Bricktastic tournament. Grace is starting Cubs, Cody won MVP trophy on Sunday in basketball, Max has cousins visiting on Saturday, Niamh has a swimming gala on Sunday and Ricky has moved up a wave in swimming. Dylan and Owen also went to Bricktastic on the weekend. Clara went to the beach on the weekend, Rupert has been on holiday to Morocco, Pola and Sophie went to see a movie together and Franek's brother has started talking.
Year 5- Evie is going glamping, Molly H hurt her back in gymnastics and ended up in hospital and Matilda is going on holiday soon. Alexandra is going to be a puppet goat in her drama show, Sophie is going to an Abba tribute concert and Noah has had a new kitchen fitted!
Year 6-Issy G is competing a the fencing youth series on Sunday and Sophia got player of the match in netball.
Tocyn Enfys Winners
Llongyfarchiadau to Abigail and Aimee who are February Winners in the Tocyn Enfys Draw.
Local Support for Families
At this difficult time of austerity, please see some information about local services that are available to provide support to families in need.
Please contact school if you find yourself in a difficult situation and need some help/ support to signpost you to an appropriate service. Your requests will be handled in confidence and with sensitivity. Diolch. Mrs Acton.
If you need help from our foodbank there are a few simple steps to follow. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IS TO GET A FOODBANK VOUCHER.
In order to provide the most appropriate help for the circumstances of your situation we work with local agencies. If they feel you are struggling to put food on the table, they will issue you with a foodbank voucher. The local agency can also provide long term support if needed to help address some of the issues behind the reasons for your crisis. Agencies we work with include: Citizens Advice, housing support officers, children’s centres, health visitors, social services and some local charities.
1. GET IN TOUCH WITH US.
If you call or email our foodbank we can talk through your situation and put you in touch with a relevant local agency.
2. ARRANGE A VISIT TO THE REFERRAL AGENCY.
They will discuss your situation and supply you with a foodbank voucher where appropriate.
If you can’t afford food, you can call 0808 2082138 (freephone) to speak to a trained and independent Citizens Advice agent (Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm). Please note this number is for people who do not have enough money for food – if you are a local organisation or charity that works with people who might need the food bank, please contact us directly.
Alternatively, please call 0300 330 1178 to speak to Wrexham’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau, who will be able to issue you with a food bank voucher if necessary.
3. BRING YOUR FOODBANK VOUCHER TO YOUR NEAREST FOODBANK CENTRE.
You can find a list of our local centres and opening times here. When you arrive, we’ll welcome you with a warm drink and our trained volunteers will chat with you about your situation. We’ll also discuss any dietary needs you may have and exchange your foodbank voucher for a parcel of three days of emergency food. We’ll also help to support you in any other ways that we can. Most of our foodbank centres offer a cafe style environment and our aim is to provide non-judgemental support at the point of crisis.
If you have any further questions our FAQ’s page may help, or feel free to give us a call.
Yellow and blue (YaB group ltd) is a social enterprise non profit project. Underpinning community projects including positive pathways, food provision and social isolation beating events and activities. With a digital vision within the community - we aim to support vulnerable groups whilst creating a vibrant, supportive and uplifting experience. Creating moments, chances and smiles when people need it most.
Please get in touch by emailing:- info@yellowandblue.org
Pupil Development Grant
The Welsh Government funded Pupil Development Grant is available to help towards the costs of a child’s school uniform and equipment, for those on a low income. Any child eligible for free school meals in the year groups listed below are eligible. However, those receiving free school meals due to transitional protection arrangement would not be eligible.
Depending on the school year your child will be entering in September 2021 you could receive a grant of £125 or £200. Link
Anyone eligible for free school meals and in the following year groups will qualify for the grant: Entering reception class in primary school, Entering school years 1 to 11, In a special school, special needs resource base or pupil referral unit and are aged 4 to 15.For any looked after children of compulsory school age who are not receiving free school meals, please email uniformgrant@wrexham.gov.uk for an application form.
Welsh Courses for Parents
Are you interested in becoming a volunteer in school?
Here at St Mary’s we are very keen to involve parents, grandparents and family members in the life of the school. We are always looking for volunteers to help out a wide range of activities such as school trips and walking the children to sporting events. We are also very happy to invite volunteers to share special skills, interests or experiences to enhance the children’s opportunities or provision e.g. gardening, sewing, sharing job skills/ experiences etc.
If you would like to be involved in any volunteer work for the school, please click on the link and complete and return the forms attached.https://stmarys-wxm.co.uk/about-us/forms/volunteer-form-2/
Please note:- All volunteers will be subject to DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance. Thank you
Many thanks.
Welsh Government Announcement
Physical punishment of children is now illegal in Wales. Children have the same protection from assault as adults. This is to protect children and their rights. To find out more visit: http://gov.wales/EndPhysicalPunishment