Croeso to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
Rest in Peace
Apologies- wrong date shared last week-
If you are a past pupil of St Mary's, I am sure that like me, you will have very fond memories of Mrs Barbara Moore, a former teacher at St Mary's, who sadly passed away recently. Her funeral Mass is taking place in the cathedral on Monday 17th June at 12 o'clock. May she rest in peace, Amen.
Year 6 Diocesan Leavers' Mass
On Wednesday, our Year 6 joined all Year 6 classes from across the Diocese of Wrexham for the Diocesan Leavers' Mass in the cathedral. Bishop Peter and Fr Nicholas were the celebrants and Deacon Michael read the Gospel reading. Each school had a very important part to play in the Mass and our children took on the important role to welcome all schools and direct them to their places. Anna, Sophia, Evan, Amelia K, Zoe and Zi- Ying read the Prayers of Intercession and Joshua and Gabriel took part in the candle processions.
It was a really beautiful celebration based around the theme 'Let your light shine.' In the Homily, the Bishop encouraged the children to let their lights shine in everything they do going forwards. He encouraged them to live their lives, take up every opportunity to use their God given talents. He also reminded them of the power of prayer during both good times and times when challenges come our way. We were so proud of all the children and were complimented on their respectful behaviour, their conduct on the altar and when going up to receive Holy Communion, and when helping to clear up the hall after lunch. Da iawn Ysgol Santes Fair!
Diocesan Sports Day
We wish all the very best of luck to representatives from KS 2 who will be taking part in the Diocesan Sports day in Colwyn Bay this afternoon. This is the first time since before the pandemic that we have been able to participate, so we are looking forward to sharing in this wonderful event with other Catholic schools. Come on St Mary's! We will let you know the results as soon as we can. Keep your eye on our social media posts!
New Nursery Stay and Play sessions
On Tuesday, our first group of new Nursery children attended the Stay & Play session in the Nursery class. The children were wonderful and we were so impressed with how they settled and played beautifully in the classroom.
Next Tuesday, we will meet group 2. We will all join together for a Teddy Bears' Picnic on Tuesday 25th June. We are all very excited!
French day at St Mary's- Thursday 13th June
Quelle belle journée! What a great day we all had! Merci for all the wonderful effort and support from all children and parents. The children looked MAGNIFIQUE in their French colours and costumes! It was a wonderful opportunity to get a flavour of France. Well done to everyone. Please take a look at the photos to see what all the classes got up to!
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:- Pengwiniaid with 99.9%
Dosbarth Palodau-96.6% Dosbarth Parotiaid-92.5% Dosbarth Pengwiniaid-99.9%, Dosbarth Robin Goch- 98.6%, Dosbarth Tulluanod-88.5%. Dosbarth Dryw- 94%
Key Stage 2 winners this week are:- Dyfrdwy with 98.7%
Dosbarth Clywedog-93.8% , Dosbarth Conwy-92.3%, Dosbarth Alyn-93%, Dosbarth Dyfi-98%, Dosbarth Gwenfro-98%, Dosbarth Dyfrdwy-98.7%, Dosbarth Gwaun-95.5%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET - 96%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE- 95.2%- a big increase on last week and getting close to our target - amazing news!
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-Tahlia went to gymnastics, Eliah went swimming, Harrison scored a goal in football, Finley went on some rides for his birthday. Elliot is going to Lennon's party, Noah had a nice time celebrating his Grandad's birthday and enjoyed the cake, Reid went to the beach with his family, Freya's little brother came to visit our school ready for September, Harri's tooth fell out and the tooth fairy came, Zofia and her mum went to the park on their bikes and had ice-cream with strawberry sauce, Emilia and Maria went to Banana Ben's and Enzo went with his family, Nancie Mae went swimming and saw Maria riding her bike and Daniel went to the beach in his car. Emily moved up to Splash 5.
Years 1 and 2- Hunter's brother turned 21 on the weekend, Mariana's dad is celebrating his birthday this week, Evelyn has a new hamster called Teddy, Matthew went to the cinema to watch Garfield and George's tooth came out. Szymon went to watch IF, Nazif, Nicolas and Oyintaena have heir grading for taekwondo on Sunday and Nicolas came 8th in his motocross race last Sunday. Kiki had lots of fun feeding geese with her sister, Neave went to a wedding and Joanna B is starting swimming lessons.
Years 3 and 4-Niamh took 4 seconds of her PB in a swimming gala, Pati has family visiting from Poland, Thomas is going to Turkey next week and Antoni is making his First Holy Communion this week. Dylan and Arthur made their First Holy Communion and Arthur has a pet chicken!
TOUR OF BRITAIN
Dosbarth Clywedog had a very exciting day last Friday as they got to watch the start of the 2024 Tour of Britain (Women).
They were given caps and flags to wave off the different teams.
Afterwards they were lucky enough to watch a BMX stunt show, meet the mayor and have a go on bikes around a route on Llwyn Isaf, Wrexham.
All pupils thoroughly enjoyed the morning and were impeccably behaved.
Da iawn pawb!
Year 5- Diego has Wrexham schoolboys' trails, Noah is going to the All Wales' cubs and scouts event all weekend and Sophia's bridesmaid's dress has arrived. Evie is going to see Taylor Swift on Saturday and Molly is having a play date with Evie. Aimee and Adam made their First Holy Communion
Year 6-Sophia had an award and presentation for netball and Issy G's niece is coming over to celbrate her 3rd birthday.
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