Croeso to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
The month of May is specially dedicated to Mary, Jesus' mother and our Heavenly mother. During this month, we are asked to think about Mary, say special prayers to Mary, have May altars, sing hymns to Mary, have May processions with statues of Mary-all to tell Mary how much we love her – and to ask her to help us to stay close to her son Jesus and to try to live as Jesus shows us.
Feast of the Ascension Whole School Mass (Solemnity)
On Thursday 9th May, Fr Nicholas will be coming to school to say Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord.
Keeping our Children safe
This morning, we conducted a full Emergency Sheltering practice in school as per information shared in last week's newsletter. We sounded the emergency 'lockdown' siren and all classes moved quickly, quietly and sensibly to their safe hiding spaces. Registers were taken and all children and staff were safely accounted for and reported to the office. All classes remained still and silent until they were notified of the safe 'secret' code to come out of their place of safety. Da iawn pawb! You were amazing!
SPONSORED DANCEATHON
This year, we will be holding our annual school sports day events on 14th and 16th May. All sports days will be held on Belle Vue Park. Unfortunately, due to site health and safety reasons, there will be NO PARKING on the school yard. In the event of bad weather, school will inform parents via email and Seesaw if the events need to be postponed. Thank you.
TUESDAY 14TH MAY- EARLY YEARS-PUFFINS, PARROTS AND PENGUINS' SPORTS DAY- 10AM (RESERVE DAY- Tuesday 21st MAY 10AM)
TUESDAY 14TH MAY- YEARS 1 & 2- WRENS, ROBINS & OWLS SPORTS DAY 13:30 (RESERVE DAY- Tuesday 21st MAY 13:30)
THURSDAY 16TH MAY- YEARS 3 & 4- CLYWEDOG, CONWY & ALYN- 10AM (RESERVE DAY- Monday 20th MAY 10AM)
THURSDAY 16TH MAY- YEARS 5 & 6- DYFI, GWENFRO, DYFRDWY & GWAUN 13:30 (RESERVE DAY- Monday 20th MAY 13:30)
Criw Cymraeg on duty!
Llongyfarchiadau / Congratulations and Diolch to our Year 5 & 6 Criw Cymraeg members who undertook a Learning Walk with Mrs Astbury and I on Tuesday. The children conducted themselves very professionally and were very thorough in assessing the learning environment in all classes to support the development of Welsh for all learners. The Criw Cymraeg also questioned the children in Welsh to assess their understanding and fluency and were very impressed indeed. Please see some quotes below:-
"I was very impressed with the Welsh and I was surprised that the children could extend their sentences.” Jian (about Year 1/2)
“Speechless at how well they are doing with their Welsh!” Zoe (about Early Years)
“I was impressed with the children’s independence especially LS using her whiteboard to write full sentences in Welsh.” Mrs Astbury (about Years 3 & 4)
"I liked the Helpwr Heddiw wall in Gwenfro because it helps the children when they’re asking questions.” Zofia (about Years 5 & 6)
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 94.4%
Dosbarth Palodau-89% Dosbarth Parotiaid-91.2% Dosbarth Pengwiniaid-90.4%, Dosbarth Robin Goch- 94.4%, Dosbarth Tulluanod-91.6%. Dosbarth Dryw- 87%
Joint Key Stage 2 winners this week are:- Dyfi and Alyn with 94.4%
Dosbarth Clywedog-90.2% , Dosbarth Conwy-91%, Dosbarth Alyn-94.4%, Dosbarth Dyfi-94.4%, Dosbarth Gwenfro-92%, Dosbarth Dyfrdwy-92.1%, Dosbarth Gwaun-89.8%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET - 96%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE- 90.2%- a decrease this week sadly!
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: Dwi'n ffrind i ti- I'm your friend
Early Years- Maria went for a picnic with Lucja and her sister and their mums and they had sausages! Daniel is going swimming, Zofia is going to Banana Bens with Patrycja, Maks and Lucja, Isabelle is going to the Delph for her cousin's 14th birthday and Enzo went to the park on his scooter with his sister and dad.
Years 1 and 2-Evelyn has moved to Wave 2, Veronika came 2nd in a gymnastics competition, Dorian is going to Poland soon, David started Taekwondp and has a certificate, Lauren went to Chester and Szymon has a new cousin. Neave has been selected to participate in a gymnastics competition in Buckley, Joanna B has a ballet show this week, Elena is starting swimming lessons, Sarah has new glasses and Lena D is having new glasses.
Years 3 and 4-Rozalia came 2nd in a fencing competition in Stratford last Sunday, Pati is going camping this weekend, Aiden's sister arrives back in the UK from university in Italy, Isabella has a dance competition, Noah is moving to under 10s at rugby, Julia M is going to be in a show Alice in Wonderland on 7th July. Andy has a football game, Abigail's nana has a guinea pig, Joia's mum has returned from Ghana with her baby brother, David is now on yellow Taekwondo belt and Vanessa M is starting new acro gymnastics. Serah's tooth hs fallen out, Mitchell and Clara are going around to Arthur's new house this weekend, Franel is moving up to Cubs and Logan's cat has had kittens.
Year 5-
Year 6-Florence & Bella Rose's dad is graduating as a prison officer
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