Welcome to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
Jubilee Year 2025
“For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope.” Pope Francis
The Feast of St Peter & St Paul -29th June
Please pray for us to grow in faith every day so that we can spend eternity with you and God in heaven.
Please pray in a special way for all of our priests and for our Holy Father, that they may remain close to the Lord. Amen
Teddy Bears' Picnic - New Nursery families
This week, our new Nursery children joined us for a teddy bears' picnic in the outside classroom. We had a lovely picnic and lots of fun getting to know each other ready for September.
First Holy Communion Mass
All children who have made their communion in their parishes this year, are invited to wear their Holy Communion clothes to school on Friday 4th July. In Fr Nicholas' absence, we are delighted that Bishop Peter will be celebrating a very special whole school Mass for us in school. It is always a wonderful opportunity to mark this very important event in the children's faith journey. The children should bring a change of clothing for a little party in the afternoon.
Transition day- Class Organisation for September 2025
Year 6 Leavers' School Journey
Today, Mrs Gillett, Miss Edwards, Mr O'Toole, Mrs Sinclair and I took our Year 6 classes on school journey to Cardiff. We have an action packed schedule of activities planned, including a trip to Big Pit, St Fagan's a visit to Cardiff castle , as well as a speed boat ride, bowling and a day at Barry Island beach. Fingers crossed the weather stays fine for us.. We are all very excited for a trip of a lifetime!
Archie Fest and Summer Picnic
Once again, we are looking forward to our annual family summer picnic on the yard. please see posters below for information. In addition, during the day on 9th July in school, we are also hoping to hold a special 'ARCHIE FEST' where we will be having a football crazy day to celebrate our friend Archie who has been very poorly recently. We are liaising with Katie Skellon of SKELLON EVENTS ( a former member of staff and parent of our school) who organises high profile events locally. She will be getting back to me with some great plans so we can have a super day fundraising for the family's chosen young person's cancer charity, in addition to supporting the family at this very difficult time. More details to follow next week.
New School Dinner Menu
ECO NEWS
Criw Cymraeg- Non- negotiables
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Attendance Matters
Please note school starts 08:55 and finishes at 15:15.
St Mary's Attendance Race 2024-25
Please remember that 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:-
Dosbarth Tylluanod with
Dosbarth Palodau- 96.2% Dosbarth Parotiaid- 95.4%- Dosbarth Pengwiniad-93.8%- Dosbarth Robin Goch- 96.9% Dosbarth Tylluanod- 99.3% Dosbarth Dryw-92.5%
Key Stage 2 winners this week are Alyn with 97.2%
Dosbarth Clywedog-96% Dosbarth Conwy- 94.8 % Dosbarth Alyn-96.3% Dosbarth Gwenfro-90.9% Dosbarth Dyfrdwy- 93.3% Dosbarth Gwaun- 94.5%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET- 96%
THIS WEEK'S WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE -94.9% - fab news! a 2% increase on last week!
Forthcoming events and dates for your diary
Weds 2nd July- New Nursery Parents' meeting 6pm/ Year 1/2 First aid day
Friday 4th July- First Holy Communion Mass in school
Weds 9th July Archie Fest (during school day) and Summer Picnic (after school)
Friday 11th July- Reports to Parents/ Leavers' Retreat day
Monday 14th July- EY trip to Xplore/ Report feedback evening (optional)
Tuesday 15th July- Year 6 Leavers' Mass (cathedral) Parents of Y6 invited
Weds 16th July- Leavers' party
Friday 18th July- Last day, Own clothes day, Leavers' assembly
SCHOOL OFFICE HOURS
Please be aware that there is no cover in the school office between these hours:-
08:30-09:00 (mornings)
11:45-13:15 (lunchtimes)
15:10-15:20 (afternoons)
School Dinners- please remember to pre-order meals at home each day
Nursery & Reception-June had friends round for her birthday tea, Emily went to the cinema to watch Stitch with her friend Isabella. Mila-Grace met friends in the park, Mariana went to the beach with her family., Luca’s cousin Finn is going to be 10., Alex’s cousin Willow is going to be 18 and his cousin Lincoln is 5., June’s brother has had his birthday, he is 3.
Years 1 & 2- Seth has been to a wedding in Scotland.Joanna has gained stage 2 certificate for ballet. Daniel and Hunter went to a sleepover at Beavers all weekend.Chinua is going to London on Saturday. Anwen has been camping . Harri and Luka received a medal in football. Luka got a trophy at football presentation night and went to see Dinosaur that Pooped a Rock Band in Liverpool
Years 3 &4-Matti went to his Nana’s wedding on the weekend. Jaden won a trophy in football for being the player or the match. Finn had his first sleepover with Beavers. Kelly has a sleepover at her friend's house. Blossom has a sleepover with her cousins. Franek has passed all the challenges in swimming. Dorian went to Liverpool to watch a football match. Melaine has 20 eggs incubating at home.Lily is very excited to see Dua Lipa in Liverpool!David, Ariana, Nicolas and Leon were all graded in Tae Kwando.Maya is going to a taster to a Theatre Class. Artur went to Oulton Park to watch the racing.Julian and Zion competed to get his next grading in Taekwondo.Dylan and Rene had a sleepover at Rene’s house.George made his First Holy Communion.Okedinachi has moved to Wave 2 in swimming. Clara and Cassiephea went to AirHop.Paulina went swimming.Vanessa had a gymnastics competition. Sophie won Star of the Week in gymnastics.Florence went to AirHop.Andy and his brother had a game of futsal.Abigail celebrated her mum’s birthday on Monday - Happy birthday!Scarlett went to watch How to Train a Dragon in the cinema.Akain had a certificate for doing well in his number exam- da iawn!Florence competed in her dance exam- pob lwc, Florence!
Year 5 & 6-Olivia went to the fun fair!Max had his birthday party and Thomas, David, Dylan, Noah and Ricky went.Hanna went horse riding for the first time.Joia completed her ballet and lyrical exam. Niamh went to a wedding in Scotland and had a lovely time.
Please email school/ Seesaw class teachers to share good news for our weekly newsletter. Thank you.
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.
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
Support the Friends of St Mary’s
to raise much needed funds for the benefit of all our children Friends of St. Mary’s School are now registered with easyfundraising, which means you can raise FREE donations for us every time you shop online. Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself!
These donations really mount up and make a BIG difference to us, so we’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign up and support us. It’s completely FREE and only takes a moment.
Do it today- Sign up by clicking on the link below
Please encourage your family and friends to do the same.
Credits:
Created with images by apimook - "Cute Teddy Bear sitting alone with white cement wall on wooden table" • irontrybex - "small children are waiting for the first holy communion" • muratart - "Panoramic view of the Cardiff Bay - Cardiff, Wales" • phonlamaiphoto - "Gold star trophy" • Maya Kruchancova - "cupcake with sparkler on old wooden background" • Irina Schmidt - "Adoralbe little toddler girl with rainbow and heart painted with colorful window color during pandemic coronavirus quarantine. Child painting rainbows around the world with the words Let's all be well"