Welcome to our new St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
May is the Month of Mary
St Mary's Queen's Jubilee Celebrations
Thank you to everyone for participating in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 's Platinum Jubilee celebration days this week. Everyone made such a wonderful effort to dress up and join in the dance workshops, the outdoor street party and the royal bake off! It was so lovely to come together as a whole school community once again!
Diolch yn fawr iawn to Mrs Price (our school cook) and her team of staff for all their hard work preparing for our jubilee picnic and for our wonderful school staff team for pitching in and helping to make the past two days a great success. #teamstmarys
A big shout out to ice cream lady Mrs. Tee for visiting our school and bringing her ice-cream van this morning. It was a super treat for us all at the end of another busy half term!
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, future events such as discos, bingo, quizzes, summer fairs, talent nights etc, will be very difficult to organise and to facilitate.
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.
Please do consider attending the next Friends' meeting on Monday 6th June at 7pm via Zoom to find out how you can become involved/ offer your support. The more helpers we have, the more scope we have to plan events to enhance our children's experiences and rebuild our extended school community ethos.
If you wish to attend the Zoom meeting, please contact Mrs Beki Jenkins (Chair of Friends) on friendstmarys@outlook.com
We look forward to meeting lots of new members! Diolch.
Friends' Discos return! Yay!
We are delighted to announce that on Thursday 23rd June, the Friends of St Mary's will be holding separate Foundation Phase & Key Stage 2 discos. It's hard to believe that our last school discos were back in February 2020! We can't wait!
Foundation Phase- Reception to Year 2- 4:30- 5:30
Key Stage 2- Years 3-6 5:45-7pm
Poster providing further details to follow
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.
Cool Kids' Club- Holiday Club Notice
Cool Kids' Club is open for Holiday Club on Monday 30th, Tuesday 31st May and Wednesday 1st June. Holiday club will be closed on Thursday 2nd and 3rd June due to the Jubilee bank holidays.
Safety Notice- Users of COOL KIDS' club should park at the top car park behind TOP BLOCK only please. Parents must not use the school drive at any time. Thank you for your cooperation. Diolch.
Another busy week at St Mary's...
What a lot of fun we have had!
ROYAL BAKE OFF WINNERS
A fantastic effort by everyone! Super royal bakers all round!
FOUNDATION PHASE WINNERS ARE:- Parrots
KEY STAGE 2 WINNERS ARE:- Dyfrdwy
St Mary's Sports days!
Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that postponing the junior sports day caused again this week.
The new date for the sports day is Wednesday 8th June, weather permitting.
Years 3 & 4 Sports to commence at 10am and Years 5 & 6 Sports to commence at 1:15 on Belle Vue park.
Diolch yn fawr iawn.
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
Look who has good news to share this week!
Early Years-Nicolas is going to a wedding in Germany
Years 1 & 2- George W went up to Wave 3 last week and Grace G moved up to Wave 4. Madison started Morris dancing and won star of the week, Lilianna is going to Egypt on holiday and sad news- it's Grace Cousins' last day in St Mary's as she's moving to a new school. Olivia was awarded star of the week in judo this week and Logan looks super smart in his new glasses. Mitchell has lost his first tooth and Arianna and Jeremiah start swimming lessons tomorrow. David Gr has his first rugby match, Niamh is getting a new car, Florence has 5 new fish and Pati has new glasses.
Years 3 & 4- Noah has passed Wave 5 and sadly it's Luis' last day in St Mary's as he's moving to a new school. Lots more children are making their First Holy Communion again this weekend, Rosie's mum has a new job and Evelyn is off to Cornwall.
Years 5 & 6- Kasia passed Wave 7, Seren is dancing in Blackpool tower on Sunday, Brandon is having a laser quest party as it's the end of his football season , Ava is going on holiday as it's her dad's birthday, Phoebe is going to a beach house on holiday and Natasha is going camping for her dad's birthday. Jayden went to Wembley and also had a VIP tour of the racecourse before Saturday playoffs, Rebecca has won 4 swimming medals in Llandudno and Thomas came first in a horse riding competition in Hereford. Natalie is going to watch the tennis in Nottingham.
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 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" • TinPong - "Boy runnin on blue track" • coco - "fleur de jonquille sur fond jardin" • kerdkanno - "Various of ice cream flavor in cones blueberry ,strawberry ,pistachio ,almond ,orange and cherry setup on white wooden background . Summer and Sweet menu concept." • be free - "Dreams come true. Kid wear golden crown symbol of princess. Girl cute baby wear crown while stand blue background. Become princess concept. Every girl dreaming to be princess. Lady little princess" • 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"