Welcome to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
Dydd Y Cofio- Remembrance day
Almighty God, We thank You for the gift of peace, and for the brave men and women who gave their lives to protect us. Help us to remember them with love and thanks, and to pray for all those who are still working for peace in our world. Bless us with hearts full of kindness and courage, that we may always choose to be peacemakers. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer Garden display- A big diolch to Mrs Davies and the Year 5 and 6 children for preparing this beautiful poppy display for reflective prayer in our outdoor prayer garden by the school entrance. Please do stop with your children and take some time to pray and reflect during this month of November.
November- Month of the Holy Souls
During the month of November, as a Catholic community, we pray for the souls of the faithfully departed that they may rest in the peace of Christ in Heaven.
Shared Family Mass- Years 3 and 6
On Thursday 14th November, Years 3, 4 and 6 will be coming together for a shared year group family Mass in the cathedral. We encourage all family members to join us for Mass and ask that you click on the link and complete the Google Form if you would like to attend the Mass. Please indicate if you would also like to receive Holy Communion. Diolch yn fawr. LINK
Children in Need- Friday 15th November
Some Spotacular Ideas!
Christmas Concerts 2024
It's that special time of year again and we are once again looking forward to inviting parents and wider family members to attend our Christmas concerts in the junior hall in school. This year, each year group will perform two concerts, giving families the opportunity to do their best to make childcare arrangements for babies and younger children. Wherever possible, we ask that you do not bring babies and pre-school children to the Christmas concerts. The staff work so hard to prepare the children for the concerts enabling them to feel confident enough to perform in front of an audience. Any background noise can be very distracting for the children, and it would be a such a shame for any parent to miss their own child's speaking part. Thank you for your understanding. Please see Mrs Acton if you have any questions or queries. Diolch.
We are pleased and very grateful that Mr Murray (Parent Governor) has offered his services to film our Christmas concerts again and will provide a link to videos of each concert to all families, free of charge. Diolch o galon!
Tickets for concerts will cost £2 each and can be purchased via Parent Pay. Tickets will be allocated on a two per family basis initially, and any surplus tickets will be allocated after this. (Please see letter attached for more details)
Foundation Phase Concerts
Early Years- Tuesday 3rd December & Wednesday 4th December- 10am
Years 1 & 2-Tuesday 3rd December & Wednesday 4th December- 13:30
Key Stage 2 Concerts
Years 3 & 4- Tuesday 10th December at 10am and Wednesday 11th December at 13:30
Years 5 & 6-Tuesday 10th December at 13:30 and Wednesday 11th December at 10am
Erddig Rotary Club- St Mary’s Year 5 & 6 Concert evening- Thursday 12th December- 6pm in Ty Pawb
Once again, Erddig Rotary Club have asked St Mary’s Year 5 and 6 children to perform their Christmas concert in Ty Pawb theatre and we are delighted to accept the kind offer. We will be very proud for our children to perform in a community venue in Wrexham and look forward to sharing our children’s talents, skills and enthusiasm. The Rotary Club will be selling tickets at a cost of £5 each and all proceeds will be generously given to St Mary’s. This will include a glass of festive mulled wine and a mince pie. There will be approximately 100 tickets on sale on a first come, first served basis. (Letter to be sent to Years 5 & 6 in due course.)
Friends of St Mary's Christmas Fayre and Santa dash
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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 Robin Goch again with a fantastic- 97.7%
Dosbarth Palodau- 92.9% Dosbarth Parotiaid- 89.8%- Dosbarth Pengwiniad-91.7%- Dosbarth Robin Goch- 97.7% Dosbarth Tylluanod- 96.4% Dosbarth Dryw-96.3%
Key Stage 2 winners again this week are :-
Dosbarth Alyn with 97.1 %
Dosbarth Clywedog-86.2% Dosbarth Conwy- 94.6% Dosbarth Alyn-97.1% Dosbarth Gwenfro-91.8% Dosbarth Dyfrdwy- 90.4% Dosbarth Gwaun- 93.4%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET- 96%
THIS WEEK'S WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE - 93.2% - a dip on last week showing a number of pre-half term holidays taken
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)
Wrexham Well-being Portal
The place to go for anyone looking for information or support for children and families.
Make a request for support
The Wellbeing Portal offers a way to access a number of services in one go, without you having to repeat your story again and again. If you need support in completing the online request form, please call 01978 292094
Please click on the link
School Dinner orders
Please ensure that school dinners are pre-ordered at home. Teachers should not be ordering meals in school, as previously advised by WCBC. Thank you
Nursery & Reception- Eden went on holiday and Alex went to the beach,
Years 1 & 2- Dewi had lots of fun dressing up as Harry Potter, Noah went to Anglesey, Elliot has a new bike with gears, Nelly went to London with her mum, Alice has 3 wobbly teeth, Nancy has been to Disneyland Paris and met all the princesses, Hallie went to a caravan and loved trick or treating, Isabella went on holiday, Michael went to round the Twist and Freya went to see Paddington in Chester. Seth went up to Wave 4, lots of children have been to see the fireworks, Daniel & Lily M have lost a tooth and Kharis is going Winter Wonderland in London. Willow went to Chill Factor for a ski lesson, Olivia and Loura went to Ninja Warrior action park, Enzo has been super helpful helping his mum paint his house and Sammy went to see the bubble man in Wrexham.
Years 3 &4- Franek passed Wave 5, Melanie went to a bonfire display, Hanna went to the caravan, Sarah has been swimming, Finn had a football medal - player of the match, Amelia went camping, Katlyn has passed wave 2 and Maria has passed Wave 1, Nathan's dad and Joshua's mum have a new car and William is having a sleepover. Melvin O stayed in a hotel for 3 days, Tommy went to Alton Towers and Llandudno, Ariana has another new puppy called Max, Lily went to Blackpool and won a swimming award and raised £102 for a charity by making a raffle! George is excited that his mum has been on TV, Maya won a superstar award in holiday club and being helpful and thoughtful and Aditi had a great week celebrating her birthday with her family. Piotr had a lovely time in Poland, Benj had a grand tour of Everton FC, went to York, Laser Combat and had a sleepover at his grandparents, Dylan and Rene had a very rainy sleepover, Artur, Benj, Dylan and Scarlett went to see the River of Lights in Liverpool, Franek went to see the fireworks, Zio went to the cinema, Julian and Szymon went swimming, George saw volcanoes in Lanzarote, Rupert had a long sleepover at his grandparents and Clara went to Ireland
Year 5 & 6- Ella and Ivy came 2nd and 4th in dance competitions, Annabelle is getting a tortoise, Jian went to Hotel Chocolat, children have been to see the fireworks, Noah went to Zipworld, Sophia's mum is having her birthday, Gabriel went go-karting, Grace went bowling and tried a new restaurant, Lois moved house, Owen is going to Italy for Christmas, Noah had a little brother called Luca, Rozalia attended a Royal Military tattoo, Dylan had a sleepover for his birthday and definitely didn't wake up mum and dad!
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.
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
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.
Keeping everyone safe- Covid 19
Local Authority advice remains that all children and staff who are displaying symptoms of illness or testing positive on an LFT or PCR test should not come to school and continue to isolate.
In addition to the 3 classic symptoms of a cough, high temperature and loss of taste or smell, we are noticing that many children who are testing positive are also displaying some of the following symptoms :- vomiting, headaches, runny nose, sore throat (symptoms similar to the common cold)
Thank you for your support and understanding.
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Credits:
Created with images by • Daniel - nativity scene on wooden background • Gelpi - Image figures for the Nativity Portal • undefined - undefined