Croeso to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
Lent 2024
Mothering Sunday- Sunday 10th March
For all the mothers, including the mothers-at-heart, both on earth and up in heaven. We thank God for the the wonderful gift of our mother's love, care and kindness. Let us be forever grateful for the strength she show us each day and for her unconditional love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has asked for a special focus of prayer on 8th March for peace in the Holy Land. In his message, he writes to parishes:
“As we are all aware, the situation in the Holy Land has not improved, with failed negotiations, increasing humanitarian distress and a rising death toll. As Lent begins, I would like to urge that we continue our efforts, not least in prayer. And so I ask that, on Friday 8 March, there is a special focus of prayer for the Holy Land across the diocese. This could take the form of a dedicated time of prayer, perhaps before the Blessed Sacrament, for peace in the Holy Land. It could be as simple as making any regular Lenten devotions you may be having on that day for this intention.”
Today we all dedicated our prayers in school for peace in the Holy Land. Please join us in your prayers in your homes and families and in your parishes. Amen.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2024
Today, we celebrate and thank God for all the wonderful women in our school family and wider community and we pray that women everywhere can enjoy happiness, health and safety, and equality across the world. Amen.
Eisteddfod Ysgol Santes Fair
Today, we held our annual Eisteddfod. Children performed their creative and folk dances, recited Welsh poems, sang Welsh songs and displayed their art work. Prizes were awarded to all winners. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our Welsh culture as a diverse school family. We proudly sang the Welsh national anthem to show how happy and proud we are to live in wonderful Wales! Diolch pawb! Da iawn and diolch to all members of staff for the hard work preparing for the Eisteddfod, judging the competitions and ensuring our children are immersed in our Welsh culture here at St Mary's. ARDDERCHOG!
Parents' Evening March 2024
Copy of letter below; Click on this LINK to book an appointment with your child's class teacher.
Leader Awards Ceremony- St Mary's Nomination for Primary School of the Year
On Thursday evening 14th March, Mrs Jones, Mr O'Toole, Mrs Bennington (Chair of Governors) and I will be attending the Leader Education Awards ceremony. Please keep us in your prayers and keep your fingers and toes crossed! Keep an eye on the Leader social media sites for news of the awards as they are presented from approximately 8pm.
Calling all St Mary's Family- present and past...
Can you help us?
After Easter, our whole school topic is 'A twist in time' and we are going to be delving back into our school history books to find our more about the history of our wonderful school here in Wrecsam. If you or any members of your family or friends attended St Mary's or if you know of any past teachers or staff members, please share this information with them. We have shared the link via our social media platforms @stmaryswxm. We look forward to sharing our learning with you all. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Please click on the link to add your memories. Please see our school social media accounts to share. Diolch.
Websites to promote and practise Welsh within your family
ECO News- Wow Walk to School Competition
Eco Committee have been busy judging our many amazing WOW Walk to School Badge Competition. The winners that have been submitted to the big competition were: Zi Ying, Raissa and Nuria. Da iawn chi!
But of course there were so many beautiful entries we couldn't just choose 3. We narrowed it down to our top 5 who won a prize! Thank you all for entering, we are so lucky to have so many talented children at St Mary's. Llongyfarchiadau!
Friends Events- please note change of date
St Mary's World Book Day Event- Friday 22nd March
We are very conscious of the need to try be aware of the cost of living crisis and its affect on all our St Mary's families. World Book day costumes can be costly and as such, we decided to focus on the REAL meaning of celebrating this special day this year -i.e. nurturing a love of books and literature in all of us.
Therefore, all you need to do this St Mary's World Book day is to wear your PJs and bring along your favourite book to share with your class. For some added fun, the teachers have teamed up to create a little competition to guess who is reading behind the masks- 'The Masked Reader'. This will be shared with all families next week.
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:- Pengwiniaid with 96.4%
Dosbarth Palodau-92.3% Dosbarth Parotiaid-91.2% Dosbarth Pengwiniaid-96.4%, Dosbarth Robin Goch- 86.8%, Dosbarth Tulluanod-91.5%. Dosbarth Dryw- 94.3%
Key Stage 2 winners this week are:- Conwy with 99.4%
Dosbarth Clywedog-99% , Dosbarth Conwy-99.4%, Dosbarth Alyn-91.9%, Dosbarth Dyfi-96.8%, Dosbarth Gwenfro-98.4%, Dosbarth Dyfrdwy-96.1%, Dosbarth Gwaun-93.6%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET - 96%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE- 94.6%- a slight dip again this week!
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: Ga i chwarae efo ti? Can I play with you ?
See VIDEO link
Early Years-
Years 1 and 2- Hania has moved to Wave 5, Evelyn has moved to Waved 3 and George went to Disney on Ice. Melvin D has a new car, Arthur has lost a tooth and Artur is going to Szymon's house at the weekend. Oyintaena has a medal for trying really hard in football training, Lauren's aunty has a new baby, Franek went swimming in his pyjamas, Nicholas moved to Wave 7 and Finn and Nazif both started football and had a medal and certificate.
Years 3 and 4- Rene has a Brick-tastic certificate from Lego, Isabella took part in a dance competition, Pati has a gymnastics competition, Gabriel H's turtle Darvin is 1 this week, Cody's appearance on Blue Peter is now on iPlayer and Niamh got PB in her front crawl at the swimming. Rosalia came 2nd in the Youth series fencing competition last weekend
Year 5- It's Anabelle's mum's first day at work, Shane is going to Portugal very soon and Jian is very excited as the IPL is starting soon.
Year 6- Matthew played against Borras for Llay and won 3-1, Boe was in a dance competition in Liverpool and came 5th and Eni is getting a new car soon! Issy G G got a mention in the Youth Series fencing competition, Amelia's aunty is expecting a baby and Amelia J got a new fish.
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