Welcome to our new St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
St Mary's Family Mass at the Cathedral Sunday 12th June
Thank you to all families who were able to join us at the cathedral last Sunday. Our children made us all so proud, as they always do. Representatives from different year groups led us in the readings and the prayers of intercessions and took part in the offertory procession and led the singing.
It was a very beautiful Mass which was a lovely opportunity for us to feel part our parish community. One parishioner who is a former teacher at St Mary's commented on how our school's presence at Mass, 'brought fresh life into the Parish. Another parishioner, who incidentally is another former teacher at St Mary's commented on how everyone she spoke to was very impressed by our children, their wonderful behaviour and how well they read and listened at Mass. What wonderful comments! Da iawn pawb!
Fr Nicholas and I are very keen for us to continue to build stronger links between the school and the parish and are planning to make our family Masses a regular event in the calendar.
Key Stage 2 Sports Days
Thankfully, we were able to hold our junior sports days yesterday. It was wonderful to have all families to share this special occasion with us after such a long time.
Well done to all children! It is always so lovely to observe how supportive our super children are encouraging their friends! Ardderchog pawb!
Friends of St Mary's Need You!
Due to the disruption caused by Covid 19, we have been unable to hold fundraising events and come together as a whole school community. It is so important to us that we are able to continue to enhance the sense of community that we have all worked so hard to build over many years.
As you can imagine, coordinating, organising and holding fundraising/ community events requires a team effort and as such, we really need your help as the parents and families of our school to offer your support and assistance. Without a Friends' committee, we will not be able to hold future events such as discos, bingo, quizzes, summer fairs, talent nights etc.
This would be such a terrible shame, especially as our children have missed out on such a lot of lovely experiences over the past couple of years.
Unfortunately, the Friends' Zoom meeting that was due to take place on Monday had to be cancelled as no parents were able to attend. I have suggested that we hold a meeting for any interested parents straight after school in the dining room. date to be confirmed. Please come along and find out how you can support our school. Thank you
Friends' Discos - Thursday 23rd June
Drop off and Collection Arrangements
Foundation Phase- Reception to Year 2- 4:30- 5:30
- Please enter via the intercom gate (Top Block)
- To ensure the safety of all on site, there will be NO parking on the school yard
- Children to be brought to the entrance to the main school building opposite Year 1 & 2 (Bottom Block) via steps
- Reception children to be collected from the usual collection point outside the classroom
- Years 1 & 2 children to be collected from the Wrens' Class (Mrs Astbury)
Key Stage 2- Years 3-6 5:45-7pm
- Please enter via the intercom gate (Top Block)
- To ensure the safety of all on site, there will be NO parking on the school yard
- Children to be brought to the entrance to the main school building opposite Year 1 & 2 block (Bottom Block) via steps.
- At 7pm, parents to enter school via same entrance opposite Year 1 & 2 block and collect children from junior hall and exit via main entrance (Staff to direct)
Advance Notices
Year 6 Leavers' End of Term Mass
Parents of children in Year 6 are invited to attend the Year 6 Leavers' Mass in St Mary's cathedral on Friday 15th July at 10am. Further information to follow nearer the time.
***Special Occasion*** ***Diary Marker***
Invitation to the Induction Ceremony of Fr Nicholas Enzama as the Parish Priest of St Mary's Cathedral
All families are invited to attend the ceremony on Friday 15th July at 6pm in the Cathedral. Father would like as many children as possible to attend and has asked that we sing one of our favourite hyms during the ceremony- 'Jesus you can use my hands.' We hope that many families will be able to attend in support of Fr Nicholas. Diolch yn fawr. Further information to follow.
Super fun Early Years' fairy tale/ traditional story hunt, fishing, Years 1 & 2 dinosaur WOW day fun, Year 3 Space Wow day adventures and lots of coding fun in year 4 & 6! Thank you to our super 'pupil-teachers' Amelia and Jamie. Da iawn. Some classes even had a trip to the travel agents!
What a lot of fun we have had!
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
PARROTS & PENGUINS' RECEPTION CLASS ASSEMBLY
Next week- Friday 24th June
We are very much looking forward to welcoming our class families to watch the assembly during the afternoon at 2:30.
Please contact Mrs Jones/ Mrs Wilkinson via Seesaw to book a seat to help us with seating/ distancing arrangements. Diolch.
Look who has good news to share this week!
Years 1 & 2- Julian was Man of the match, Julia is staring ballet next week and Dylan R has mastered his dolphin kick. Joia is starting ballet, Florence is getting a new bed and David Gri. and Rozalia passed Wave 5. Ariana is starting football, Jack had a lovely visit to Blackpool and he enjoyed meeting Spiderman at Madame Tussaud's. Sophie has moved to Wave 3 in swimming and Olivia is having singing lessons.
Years 3 & 4- Adnan has moved to Wave 7Matthew is playing in a football tournament, Maks is joining Llay football team, Boe's mum is getting married next year and Violet and Anna are making their First Holy Communion. Also a big welcome to Barney Tait!
Years 5 & 6-Amazing news- after 2 auditions, seren has done it... she has competed against hundreds of girls across the UK and has been accepted into the Royal Ballet School! Wow! Julia finished in fourth place out of 26 in the butterfly swimming competition, Solomon won two football trophies, Natasha is in the county cup and representing North Wales in tennis, Ava has new glasses, Amelia moved up in swimming challenges,Phoebe got her first MP in swimming and Nataniel has a fencing competition this weekend. Zac has started to practise for his grade 1 piano. As part of the St Asaph choir, Ava took part in the Jubilee service and was involved with the opening night concert for North Wales International Music Festival last Saturday. She also took part in the service at St Margaret's church and read her first set of prayers. What a superstar!
Please note:- The new summer term starts on Friday 2nd September2022
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 TinPong - "Young boy running on blue track" • Artur - "Conceptual hand writing showing We Need You. Concept meaning asking someone to work together for certain job or target Colored clothespin papers empty reminder yellow floor office" • ibreakstock - "Disco neon sign" • LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS - "cheerful kid holding magnifier near face while standing with friend in park" • coco - "fleur de jonquille sur fond jardin" • magann - "blue sky with sun and clouds background" • Ermolaeva Olga - "Corgi puppy hugs a British kitten on the floor in the house" • 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"