Croeso to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
Prayer on the 80th anniversary of D-Day
Click on the link to listen to a prayer to commemorate D Day- LINK
Rest in Peace
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 10th June at 12 o'clock.
May she rest in peace, Amen.
Dosbarth Conwy & Clywedog attend D Day parade in Wrexham
Year 3 / 4 and representatives from Year 5 went along yesterday to the D-Day parade and Memorial service in Wrexham marking the special 80th year anniversary.
It was very moving and the children were very respectful, their behaviour was exemplary. They wore medals and ribbons which they had made at school and took flags.
The children met cadets and war veterans and were even invited to be a part of the wreath laying ceremony with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
We will never forget them... Belonging to a part of history. Making learning come to life. Learning from our past.
Year 6 Diocesan Leavers' Mass
On Wednesday, our Year 6 classes from across the Diocese of Wrexham will be joining together for Mass in the cathedral. Bishop Peter will be celebrating Mass and all schools will be taking a special part in the service. Our children are taking on the very important role of welcoming all schools and guiding everyone to their seats and some children have been chosen to read the Prayers of Intercession. It is always a beautiful celebration and opportunity to reflect on the times we have shared together, and to ask God to be with us as we journey on to high school in September.
Diocesan Sports Day
On Friday 14th June, representatives from KS 2 will be taking part in the Diocesan Sports day in Colwyn Bay. 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!
Park Hall Farm Trip
What a wonderful day at Park Hall Farm with our Nursery and Reception children! I was lucky enough to join the 3 classes on their trip and was so proud of all the children. They had a wonderful time and were impeccably behaved! Thank you to all parent helpers - I'm sure you all slept well after such a fun-filled and action-packed day!
New Nursery Stay and Play sessions
On Tuesday 11th and 18th June, our new Nursery children are invited to a Stay & Play session in the Nursery class. It will be great to meet the children and their parents. 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
Friends' Summer Sing-A-Long
Thursday 20th June
Foundation Phase- Reception -Year 2
KS 2- Years 3-6
A professional whole school photograph will be taken on 19th June by Tempest Photography
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:- Dryw with 98.1%
Dosbarth Palodau-89.2% Dosbarth Parotiaid-87.5% Dosbarth Pengwiniaid-93.6%, Dosbarth Robin Goch- 96.2%, Dosbarth Tulluanod-94.6%. Dosbarth Dryw- 98.1%
Key Stage 2 winners this week are:- Dyfi with 98.4%
Dosbarth Clywedog-96.3% , Dosbarth Conwy-90.3%, Dosbarth Alyn-93.4%, Dosbarth Dyfi-98.4%, Dosbarth Gwenfro-93.6%, Dosbarth Dyfrdwy-92.9%, Dosbarth Gwaun-92.9%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET - 96%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE- 93.8%- another increase on last week-good 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
Class Assemblies 2023-24
Today Dosbarth Clywedog led the whole school assembly all about the pioneering female aviator Amy Johnson. The children absolutely incredible and delivered their lines with confidence. We all loved the Amy Johnson song which was buzzing around my head after the assembly! Da iawn pawb. Parents are going to LOVE watching the assembly at 2:30 this afternoon.
Next week's assembly is being led by the Messengers of Christ.
Please see the list of class assembly dates for the school year ahead below:-
Early Years- Alice went to a family wedding and stayed in a fancy hotel with a pool, Isabella went to Yorkshire to spend time with her family, Kuba is going to football next week, Sam has moved to a new house and has a slide bed, Maria went camping, Harri & Alfie went camping and Max is going to Banana Ben's with his mum & brother.
Years 1 and 2- Noah went on holiday to Anglesey and a crab crawled across his hand, Jacob is playing in a football match this week, Freya went to a football session with her best friend, Lennon is moving to U6 football team, Nelly is going to Greece on holiday, Reid went to a cinema to watch Garfield and Lucja is going to Freya's party. Elliot went to Legoland and London, Evelyn had a visit from the tooth fairy, Melanie's auntie has a new house, Mariana went to London, Maria is going to Portugal, Tommy's aunty raised £300 for charity, George raised £19 doing a outside street toy sale and bought a new football and goalie gloves with the money, Antoni has moved up a group in Taekwondo, Hunter is going to Turkey and Hania has achieved the OGC Proficency. Lucja and Jan's grandma can now walk again. Szymon went to London and loved Big Ben, Lily is going to Alton Towers, Dorian went to the trampoline park and to the beach, Daniel's dad has had a new orange car, Finn went to Chester, Gabriel went to a funfair and to the beach, Franek went to Legoland and Joshua went to Chester and is having a football match.
Years 3 and 4- Lots of Year 3 & 4 children are making their First Holy Communion over the next couple of weeks and both Rene and Saorise made their communion in Llay last weekend. Rozalia came first in a Youth Series for Fencing UK, Max completed the Race for Life with his mum in 35 minutes, Aiden has ordered all his stuff ready for Year 5 and has also ordered a drone, Gabriel made is First Holy Communion on Sunday, other chldren are making their communion this weekend , Pati is dancing in Mold this weekend and Ricky got a special award- Most Improved Player at his football club.
Year 5-Ella, Ivy and Sophia got medals for taking part in a dance show, Ivy won a trophy for the best newcomer in the show, Adam and Aimee made their first communion, Ivy is having a Ten Pin bowling party, Noah and Diego took part in a football match, Michalina is going to Disneyland Paris and Sophia's auntie is coming to stay.
Year 6- Matthew played in two football tournaments and got into the final in Airbus and winning the Europa in Brickfield, Rhema is going to Austria, Serwaa has been to the beach, Maja is going to Spain and Boe came first in a dance competition in Liverpool.
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