Croeso to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
Friday 5th July- Whole school Holy Communion Mass
Today, all the children who have made their communion in their parishes this year, were invited to wear their Holy Communion clothes to school for a very special Mass celebrated by Fr Jaspher. As always, it was a beautiful occasion and a wonderful opportunity to mark this very important event in the children's faith journey. The children are very much looking forward to a little party this afternoon. May God bless you all.
Year 6 Retreat- Friday 12th July
Next Friday, we will be taking our Year 6 children to the cathedral hall for a day of retreat and reflection. It will be a wonderful opportunity for us all to reflect on the time we have shared in St Mary's, discuss our hopes, dreams and concerns and to look forward to the new path ahead. Fr Nicholas will join us for some of the time to lead us in prayer. Children may wear their own clothes to school on this day and will not need to bring any lunch. A pizza lunch will be provided by school as a special treat! (Please remember to cancel any school meals that may have been ordered.)
Getting Ready for September
School Uniform- High Standards
We pride ourselves on the excellent standard of our children's uniform and presentation in St Mary's. We expect that all families follow our consistent rules to ensure that these high standards are maintained. Please see below the information from our school prospectus before purchasing new uniform, shoes and before visiting the hairdressers or barbers ready for September 2024. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.
PLEASE NOTE-Trainers are NOT part of our school uniform therefore, from September, all children must wear black school shoes and not trainers please. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE NOTE:- PUPILS IN FOUNDATION PHASE DO NOT NEED A PENCIL CASE (Nursery- Year 2)
Class Organisation For September 2024
Year 6 Residential to Cardiff- Friday 28th June to Monday 1st July
Last weekend was spent with our fantastic Year 6 classes in Cardiff. We had an amazing time and the children behaved exceptionally well. As always, we were complimented on more than one occasion for the children's manners and conduct. We were so proud of them all. Favourite activities were the speedboats, swimming and the visits to Big Pit, Cardiff castle and the Senedd.Da iawn St Mary's! I would like to thank Mr O'Toole, Mrs Sinclair, Mrs Hall and Mrs Gillett for joining me and for giving up their weekend to supervise this wonderful school journey. Diolch o galon.
Please join us for our whole school Family Picnic on the Playground on Thursday 11th July at 3.30 p.m.
Dates for your diary- seeing us to the end of the school year
New Nursery Parents' information Evening-Wednesday 10th July - 5-6pm
Friends' Summer Family Picnic- Thursday 11th July after school on the playground- see poster
Thursday 11th July- Attendance race assembly where winners will be announced!
Frday 12th July- Year 6 Leavers' Retreat in Parish Hall and takeaway pizza lunch & Annual School Reports distributed to all children
Monday 15th July- Annual Reports to parents discussion evening 3:15-5pm
Year 6 Leavers' Mass for Y6 parents and family members- Tuesday 16th July 10am in the cathedral
Year 6 Leavers' Disco & Beach Party - Weds 17th July 4:30-6:30 in school
Last day of term - Own Clothes day and Leavers' whole school assembly- Friday 19th July
Important - No cover in the office between these hours
08:30-09:00- Mornings
12:00-13:30- Lunchtimes
15:10-15:20- Afternoons
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 95%
Dosbarth Palodau-88.5% Dosbarth Parotiaid-82.7% Dosbarth Pengwiniaid-92.4%, Dosbarth Robin Goch- 95%, Dosbarth Tulluanod-94.6%. Dosbarth Dryw- 94.1%
Key Stage 2 winners this week are:- Gwenfro with 97.1%
Dosbarth Clywedog-93% , Dosbarth Conwy-95.2%, Dosbarth Alyn-91.6%, Dosbarth Dyfi-91.6%, Dosbarth Gwenfro-97.1%, Dosbarth Dyfrdwy-94.6%, Dosbarth Gwaun-95.4%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET - 96%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE- 92.9%- a slight dip again sadly!
Please help us achieve our target next week!!
NEXT WEEK WE WILL BE ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE ATTENDANCE RACE! GOOD LUCK PAWB!
Early Years-Willow is performing at the Stiwt in a show of Rapunzel with Delta and she has a speaking part, Isabella is going to gymnastics and is also dancing in the Alice in Wonderland song at the show in the Stiwt, Alice was going to Rainbows to play football at the park, Hallie was going to Erddig with Rainbows to raise money for a new Rainbow's building, Harri went for a sleepover at Grace's house and had pizza, Luka went to his grandad's for a sleepover and Roche and Harri went to football at the weekend with Roche's sister. Loura is going to Cardiff, Oliver is going with his mum and dad, Nancy went to the beach with his mummy, Reid went to watch Inside Out 2 in the cinema, Owen went to a bug experience and held a tarantula and Noah went to Hickory's and made banana bread.
Years 1 and 2-Hunter received a medal for football, Szymon went to the ice cream farm, Amelia W has a new grey car, Nicolas is in a motocross race on Saturday, Nicholas and Nazif had a video of them doing taekwondo and it has been put on the website, Oyintaena has a new scooter and Gabriel went to the Van Gogh interactive experience in Liverpool at the weekend. hanna has been enjoying kick-boxing, Hunter had a fun moving night, Tommy has been learning new taekwondo patterns, Blossom's big sister is having a baby shower soon, Elliot is going on a caravan holiday, Mateusz is going to Turkey on holiday, Hunter is going to Crete, Melanie is going to Portugal, George is going to watch the football in Chirk and Maria's cousin are coming to her house. Neave went to a gymnastics competition and got 2nd place for floor, 4th for vault and overall 4th place, Kharis went to a gymn competition and got 6th for flexibility, Lily Rose is going bowling, Lena D has a new house, Daniel and Salvador are going to Alek's house and Fiadh's cousin is having a baby boy.
Years 3 and 4-Olivia's mum and dad got married, Joia and Flo are in the dance show Alice in Wonderland, Sofie is starting gymnastics, Daniel went to an animal farm for his birthday and Scarlett is going to be an auntie. Isabella is performing in Llangollen Eisteddfod, Pati had a gym competition and came 4th, Aiden's going to London with his big sister in the holidays and Julia M is performing in Alice in Wonderland and has some new glasses. George has been learning how to play rugby in Cubs and Madison has started Youth club. Joia passed wave 6
Year 5- It's Matilda's mum's birthday and she's having a garden party. Anastazja is leaving to go back to Poland next week, Evie is going to London to see her new baby cousin. Noah's sister is coming back from Greece today, Sophie's show The Olympians was amazing and she loved being part of it and Ella's dog has their birthday at the weekend.
Year 6-Rosie is going to see her Aunty in the eisteddfod on Friday, Sophia got player of the match in netball, Zofia and Filip recorded a video for Ady Jones Taekwondo. Violet is going to Alton Towers
Good news from the Crawford family
Rosie and Tommy are very keen to support their Auntie who has recently published her second book called Disabling Ableism. They were involved in fundraising for Cerebral Palsy Cymru over half term and have supported all of Auntie Sam's book launches and literary promotions. They will be attending the Llangollen International Eisteddfod where Aunty Sam will be appearing on stage.
WCBC School Term dates
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