Learn, believe, achieve together
Dysgwch, credwch, cyflawnwch gyda’ch gilydd
CONTENTS
- Message from the Head
- Staff Changes
- Helo! Shwmae! Criw Cymraeg yma!
- Holiday Dates
- Inset Days
- Important Dates / Events coming up
- Class Assembly Dates
- Uniform
- Attendance
Message from the Head
Dear Parents / Carers
I am sure you will agree that this term has flown by. We will soon be saying goodbye to 2025 and ringing in a New Year.
This term has been another busy one with lots to celebrate.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas Tree Festival, it was wonderful to see the hall so full. We raised a fantastic £894.15 ~ Thank you so much.
Can I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Staff Changes
This term we say goodbye to Mrs A Moss who is sadly leaving us to begin a new role with the Diocese of St Asaph. We wish her all the very best and thank her for her dedication and hard work during her 14 years at Venerable Edward Morgan.
We also sadly say goodbye to Mr A Allen, School Caretaker, as he retires at the end of December. Mr Allen has worked tirelessly to keep the school clean, tidy and safe for us all. He has dealt with faulty boilers, snow, high winds and even helped navigate us through a global pandemic. We can't thank him enough for his dedication to the job and the care he has shown for the school and it's pupils. The staff and pupils are going to miss him but we wish him a happy and well deserved retirement.
We welcome our new Caretaker, Mr D Bond, in the New Year.
Helo! Shwmae! Criw Cymraeg yma!
This term we have been working hard making Welsh themed bracelets to sell, to raise funds for the Siop Cymraeg. This is our little Welsh shop that pupils can spend their Tocyn Iaith (tickets for speaking good Welsh) at. The bracelets had these messages on them, do you know what they mean?
- Cymru
- Wal Goch
- Nadolig Llawen
- Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
- Cymru am Byth
- Lechyd da
- Seren
Hwyl Fawr!
Holiday Dates
Autumn Term 2025
- 19th December 2025 - School closes for Christmas Holiday
Spring Term 2026
- 5th January 2026 - Staff Training - School closed to pupils
- 6th January 2026 - School opens after Christmas Holiday
- 13th February 2026 - School closes for February Half Term Holiday
- 23rd February 2026 - School opens after February Half Term Holiday
- 27th March 2026 - School closes for Easter Holiday
Summer Term 2026
- 13th April 2026 - Staff Training - School closed to pupils
- 14th April 2026 - School opens after Easter Holiday
- 4th May 2026 - May Day Bank Holiday - School closed
- 22nd May 2026 - School closes for May Half Term Holiday
- 1st June 2026 - School opens after May Half Term Holiday
- 17th July 2026 - School closes for Summer Holiday
- 20th July 2026 - Staff Training - School closed to pupils
Inset Days
- 5th January 2026
- 13th April 2026
- 20th July 2026
Important Dates / Events coming up
DECEMBER 2025
- 8th at 2pm - Infant Christmas Concert 1 - (excluding Nursery)
- 10th at 10am - Infant Christmas Concert 2 - (including Nursery)
- 11th at 2pm - Upper Juniors Christmas Concert 1
- 12th at 2pm - Upper Juniors Christmas Concert 2
- 17th - Christmas Dinner and Jumper Day
- 19th - Christmas Pyjamas and Hot Chocolate Day
- 19th - School closes for Christmas Holiday
JANUARY 2026
- 5th - Staff Training Day - School closed to pupils
- 6th- School opens after Christmas Holiday
- 21st - Year 5 attend St Richard Gwyn Production
- 26th at 5pm - Information Evening for Parents / Carers of Year 3/4 pupils visiting Glan Llyn
FEBRUARY 2026
- 6th at 10am - Dosbarth Maple Assembly
- Week Commencing 9th - Assessment Week
- 11th to 12th - Years 3/4 residential trip to Glan Llyn
- 13th - 'Show & Share' Morning (8:55-9:15am)
- 13th - School closes for February Half Term Holiday
- 23rd - School opens after February Half Term Holiday
- 23rd - Bookings open for Pupil Progress Evenings - Please book here from 23rd February 2026
- 23rd at 5pm - Information Evening for Parents / Carers of Year 5/6 pupils visiting Nant BH & Cardiff
- 27th - School Eisteddfod
MARCH 2026
- 5th - World Book Day
- 6th at 10am - Dosbarth Ash Assembly
- 9th to 11th - Year 5/6 residential trip to Nant BH
- 13th - Interim Reports go home to Parents
- 16th - Whole School Photos - Individual & Siblings (school pupils only)
- 16th at 6pm - Full Spring Term Governors Meeting
- 18th and 19th - Pupil Progress Evenings - Bookings open 23rd February 2026 - Please book here from 23rd February 2026
- 23rd to 25th - Year 5/6 residential trip to Cardiff
- 27th - School closes for Easter Holiday
Uniform
Our Uniform Supplier is:
- Address: Monkhouse, 14/16 New Street, Mold, Flintshire, CH7 1NZ
- Tel no: 01352 756636
- email address: mold@monkhouse.com
Thank you to our parents for ensuring our pupils are in the correct and proper uniform as we start the new academic year, they all look so smart. As the children grow and new uniform is required, please see points below which should help you when ordering.
- You can view our uniform in store
- Do not leave it too late to order as some items may take a while to arrive
- Click here for a direct link to the Monkhouse website and our uniform page
- The website can also be accessed by going to: Monkhouse.com, and clicking on Find my School in the top search bar, the school can be found by choosing the letter V or by keying in Venerable Edward Morgan
- Click and collect to the school is set up for Wednesday. This service is totally FREE and included with every order are FREE return labels, you will be notified by text /email so you will know when your parcel is ready for collection, parcels will be handed to the children to bring home with them
- The website will also give all the opening times, address, phone number, email address etc, in the summer they open on Sundays as well, there is loads more information on there to help you
We ask that all children wear the uniform and encourage them to maintain a good standard of clean and tidy dress in school. The uniform is designed to be practical, maintainable and good value for money. Parents are asked to ensure that all items are labelled clearly with their child’s name. All children are expected to wear black school shoes and not trainers. Children can come to school in PE kit on PE days (Sky-Blue PE T-Shirt & Black Shorts - on colder days leggings and jogging bottoms & sweatshirt / tracksuits are advisable) for pupils in KS2 this is a Tuesday, for pupils in KS1 this is a Monday. Trainers can be worn on these days. For safety reasons we ask that the children do not wear jewellery in school and it is important that children are properly dressed for physical activity.
Attendance
We want every child who comes to Venerable Edward Morgan to be happy and feel like they belong to our school family. In order to achieve this pupils need to attend school as often as they can.
Poor attendance can have a negative impact on your child’s self-esteem and friendship groups. Poor attendance will also have a negative impact on your child’s progress through the curriculum. They can’t make achievements against this curriculum if they are not here.
So …Why does every day attendance matter? Well… here is some data to highlight the impact poor attendance can have.
- Half a day off in a week = 90% attendance
- 1 day off in a week = 80% attendance
- One and a half days off in a week = 70% attendance
- 2 days off in a week = 60% attendance
However, we do understand that there are times when attendance is not possible. We put these into 2 categories. Authorised and unauthorised.
Authorised absence
If your child is unwell we would expect you to make the judgement as to whether they would be well enough to attend school. Please let school know on the first morning of any absence so school can record the correct attendance mark promptly. If they are unable to attend school then they will have an “I” recorded to signify they are off ill. We can also give a recording of “M” for a medical appointment. However, we kindly ask, where possible, that all medical and dental appointment are made after school hours or during school holidays. We would expect, again where possible, pupils to be able to come to school before and after their appointments.
We do like to help where ever possible and so if your child has more than 10 days (20 sessions) absence the school may contact you to see if there is anything we can do as a school to help you.
Unauthorised Absence
If a child does not attend school and we do not receive notification as to why from either a phone call or letter, then it shall be recorded as unauthorised. Late after registration is also counted as an unauthorised absence, if no reason is provided. Any incident of 10 sessions missed through unauthorised absence will be investigated by the school and may result in a referral to the education inclusion team.
Request for Leave of Absence
It is possible to request leave for your child for a special occasion or holiday.
The decision as to whether the absence can be authorised lies solely with the head teacher. Parents do not have an automatic right to withdraw pupils from school during the school term for a holiday. The head teacher will make the decision and may include the following contributory factors:
- Time of year
- Length of time
- Overall percentage of attendance
- Impact on the child's learning
You are able to request up to 10 days absence which must be done where possible at least 28 days before the period of leave. The head teacher will then assess each case on its own merits and report back to you detailing as to the reasons why the request has been approved, or indeed, unapproved.
There are other circumstances where absence may be approved, some of which will not affect attendance, such as Educational and/or residential visits, educated off site etc…
Click the button below to download the Leave of Absence Form
Punctuality
Being on time for school is another way you can support your child being ‘School Ready’. For some children arriving late when the class routine has started can be very unsettling and can have an impact on the rest of the day. Children really hate being late for school. It can make them anxious and upset about attending school. If you have problems in getting your child to school on time you must let the head teacher know as soon as possible.
Our school gates open at 8:45am and the bell rings to signal the start of the school day at 8:55am. It is advisable to have your child in school for 8:45am. If you need to drop your child off earlier we have a breakfast club which starts at 8:15am and pupils in Reception to Year 6 are able to attend. Please ask in the office how to book. Lateness can add up to a lot of lost learning.
I hope this helps you understand why attendance and punctuality is so important to us at Venerable Edward Morgan – but more importantly why it is important for your children.