Welcome to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Let us Pray- Gweddiwn
The first Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham- 24th September 2024
The Vatican has granted permission for Our Lady of Walsingham to be celebrated as a new feast day in the dioceses of England and Wales, starting this year on 24th September. The feast celebrates the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk, one of the great pilgrimage centres of medieval times. The lady of the manor of Walsingham, Richeldis de Faverches, was instructed by a vision of the Virgin Mary to build an exact replica of the house in Nazareth in which the Annunciation had taken place. The vision occurred, according to tradition, in 1061. the original house was destroyed at the Reformation, but during the 19th and 20th centuries, pilgrimage to Walsingham was revived for both Catholics and Anglicans.
Let us pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Walsingham. Pray for us. Amen
Pupil Voice Results
Our pupil voice elections took place on Tuesday morning and this year Miss Davies set up an online portal for the children to place their votes and for the votes to be counted and collated. What a great way to save paper as an eco aware school- da iawn pawb! Please see the results below which were announced in assembly today. We look forward to working with these children to help move our school forwards and to ensure that the pupil voice is heard loud and clear in St Mary's. Thank you to everyone who put themselves forward for the different positions- we greatly appreciate your efforts and enthusiasm. There's always next year!
Good News! Da iawn Criw Cymraeg and everyone at Ysgol Santes Fair! Here's our certificate!
Change of date
Friends of St Mary's (Parent Teacher Association Committee -PTA) Annual General Meeting- Monday 14th October 15:30 in school
Everyone is welcome- parents, grandparents, carers and friends of the school
Come along to help us review last year's events and hear about the funds we raised. Share your ideas on how we can come together to fundraise and bring our community together this year. We would love to hear your ideas and work with you to support our school!
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ECO Request to all families
We’ve got some exciting news to share with you!
Parentkind – a charity that supports school PTAs - have teamed up with Asda, who is making millions of pounds available to donate to primary schools across the UK through their ‘Cashpot for Schools’ initiative. To support our PTA, all you have to do is opt-in through the Asda Rewards app, choose our school, shop and scan in store or shop online at Asda.com.
Between 2nd September and 30th November 2024 – every time you shop with Asda using your Asda Rewards app, Asda will donate 0.5% of the value of your shop to your chosen Primary school. Also, every time somebody opts-in to support our Primary school, Asda will give an additional £1 to the school Cashpot. Plus, it doesn’t stop there – Asda are also giving £50 to every school to get them started.
The supermarket has joined forces with Joe Wicks to support the initiative – look out for the TV advert, radio ads and social media coverage!
It’s as easy as 1,2,3
1. Download the Asda Rewards app, register and opt-in to Cashpot for Schools (make sure you have the latest version of the app installed)
2. Choose our Primary School – either searching by name or postcode
3. Shop instore across Asda and George, or online at Asda.com and start filling your Cashpot as you shop
Asda does the rest, all money raised will be donated to schools to spend on the things they need the most. We are aiming to spend our donations on school equipment.
Remember, anyone can sign up – so start spreading the news and raising funds for our school.
This initiative is on top of the existing Asda Rewards benefits you get as a shopper – so you won’t lose out on any of your own earnings or Cashpot, so everyone is a winner!
For more details, click on this link
Junior Bake sale- Thursday
Well done to Niamh and Lois for organising a bake sale, raising a super £80 in aid of CAFOD. This will earn the girls their charity badge for Brownies- da iawn!
TOCYN ENFYS DRAW
CONGRATULATIONS TO Noah and Ella FOR WINNING THIS MONTH'S TOCYN ENFYS DRAW
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 Parotiaid AGAIN with a fantastic- 97.6%
Dosbarth Palodau- 93.3% Dosbarth Parotiaid- 97.6%- Dosbarth Pengwiniad-95.4%- Dosbarth Robin Goch- 93.3% Dosbarth Tylluanod- 94.4% Dosbarth Dryw-97%
Key Stage 2 joint winners this week are :-
Dosbarth Clywedog & Conwy with 97.1%
Dosbarth Clywedog-97.1% Dosbarth Conwy- 97.1% Dosbarth Alyn-96.7% Dosbarth Gwenfro-96.3% Dosbarth Dyfrdwy- 92.3% Dosbarth Gwaun- 93.1%
WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE TARGET- 96%
THIS WEEK'S WHOLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE - 95.4%
Autumn Family Clean Up Day
Please click on the link to access the form
Forthcoming events and dates for your diary
Family School Clean Up afternoon- Wednesday 2nd October
PC Ellis workshops with Y5 & 6 - 30th Sept/ 1st October
Feast of St Francis of Assisi, World Cerebral Palsy Day - Friday 4th October
Own Clothes day- Wrexham Eisteddfod local fundraiser- Friday 4th October- £1
Tempest Individual Photos- Monday 7th October
First Parent Drop in session- Monday 7th October- 9am
Friends' AGM- Monday 14th October at 15:30.
Please download the school calendar or access it via the school website
LINK TO WEBSITE & INSTRUCTIONS
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)
Being mindful of this, we ask that parents/ carers do not arrange to contact the office or pick up your child/ren between these times, as we are unable to guarantee that anyone will be available to attend to the gate. Should there be an emergency and you are unable to contact the office via telephone, please contact your child’s teacher via Seesaw.
Whilst we recognise that this may be inconvenient, we really do not have any other option at this time and ask for your patience, kindness and understanding.
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
Patrwm Yr Wythnos
The Criw Cymraeg’s ‘Patrwm yr Wythnos’ (Phrase of the week) this week is: Croeso/ Welcome
See VIDEO LINK
Nursery & Reception- Suzie is excited to start Rainbows and Eliza has started ballet and tap lessons.
Years 1 & 2- Mia is going swimming on Sunday, Elliot is getting a bike for his birthday,Lucja, Sasha and Jan went swimming together, Isabella is going to Spavens, Nelly went to an arcade and to the fair, Yemi and Nathan are going to a water park, Kiki's tooth has fallen out, it's Tom's birthday soon and he is going to buy a racing car, Sasha is looking forward to going to the big pool, Lennon is going to the pool for his birthday and Nancy had 5 squirrels following her to school on Monday. Oliver is going to Elliot's birthday, Joanna is having swimming lessons on a Saturday, Harry got a medal in football and has learnt to ride his bike. Sammy's great grandmother is 100 on Thursday!
Years 3 &4- Thea has enjoyed sharing her new gym routine with her class, Benj received 2 medals, one for cricket and one for rugby, Clara has been busy making her own comic series, Julian went to the Wrexham match- a super win for Wxm FC, Dylan was successful with his swim trial and has got into the Wrexham swim club, George had a tent sleepover with Cubs and had fun kayaking and swimming in the canal, Tommy's mum has a new car, Veronika is going to be a bridesmaid, Nicolas won 2 motocross trophies and Nicolas, Nazif, Ariana and David are doing taekwondo grading on Sunday. Alfie-Jay has a new horse, George is getting the keys to his new house on Friday and Maya's mum is getting a new job next week.
Year 5-Joia won 2nd in the under 10s fencing competition last weekend and Rozalia won 1st in the under 12s competition.
Year 6- It's St Joseph's open evening this week and lots of Year 6s are going, Airayanne's Gran is coming over from New Jersey, Janelle met with some old friends from Chester, Grace is going to be an altar server and Aimee won medals in her dance competition.
Please email / Seesaw with any special good news or remind your child to tell their class teacher so that all good news can be shared on 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)