Welcome to our St Mary's Weekly Newsletter!
Fourth Sunday of Advent Sunday 18th December
This week, we hear how an angel appeared to Joseph to tell him what a special baby Jesus would be. We are going to be thinking about parents and babies from around the world.
PEACE
Let us pray...
Loving God, as we wait for the birth of Jesus at Christmas, we give thanks for the wonderful gift of new life. We pray for all parents around the world and for their children, that they will be healthy, happy and love one another. Amen.
ECO TEAM- Reverse Advent calendar
Our gift of love
Thank you for all the wonderful generous donations received to date. Any further donations should be brought to school by Tuesday 20th December please. Diolch.
Advent Mass- Thursday 22nd December
We look forward to celebrating Mass together as a school family on 22nd December, our final day in school before the Christmas holidays.
Sad news- Rest in Peace
This week we heard of that Mrs Carole Bryan, a former teacher at St Mary's sadly passed away. Mrs Bryan was a much loved teacher and colleague and we keep her family in our prayers at this difficult time.
Christmas Concerts 2022
Well, what a joy it has been to welcome families into school to watch our Christmas concerts once again this year! Preparing for the concerts and performing them before a live audience has been just wonderful! At last, the Christmas 'buzz' has returned to school and Christmas activities have felt 'normal' for the first time since December 2019!
The concerts have all been ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! It has been a pleasure to watch all 12 performances. We are so proud of all children! WELL DONE EVERYONE! You are a credit to yourselves, your families and our school. Da iawn pawb!
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all members of staff for their hard work in preparing the children for their Christmas performances- a great team effort as always! Da iawn Team St Mary's!
Erddig Rotary Club- Year 5/6 Ty Pawb Concert
A big thank you to Mr John Isherwood from Erddig Rotary club for facilitating our Year 5/6 concert in Ty Pawb last Friday evening. It was an OUTSTANDING performance from our children and a wonderful opportunity to come together as a school and wider community. Da iawn pawb!
Year 3/4 Hillbury House Concert
On Wednesday, our Year 3 and 4 children visited Hillbury House Care Home to perform their concert, 'A Magical Christmas Jigsaw' to the residents and staff. Whilst I was unable to attend, I heard from the staff and children that the residents were delighted to have the opportunity to watch the children. There were lots of smiles, laughter, claps and tears of joy! Thank you children and teachers for sharing your love and bringing the gift of joy to so many people this Christmas. Diolch o galon! Please look on our social media pages to view some wonderful photos and video clips.
Friends of St Mary's- Diolch
A big thank you to Mrs Jenkins, Mrs G Davies and other Friends of St Mary's for all their support organising events this year and particularly over the past few weeks e.g. purchasing refreshments for the Film Night, organising refreshments at the concerts, purchasing raffle prizes and selling raffle tickets, liaising with Santa and the elves, ordering and selling calendars etc etc. Diolch o galon. Your support is so very much appreciated and all funds raised go directly to support our children's education and well-being in school.
Christmas Concert Film Link
Updated information- As you are aware, we are not selling concert DVDs this year, instead we are selling links to all the professionally filmed Christmas Concerts. Therefore, if you have more than one child in school, you only need to pay once to access links to all concerts you wish to view.
Please pay £10 for the link on ParentPay by Monday 19th December. We will assume that you only want access to the concerts that your child/ children are performing in and those links will be emailed to whoever is contact number one on your child's school record next week. If you wish to receive links to other concerts, please email the school office and this can be organised as soon as possible.
Please note, parents should download the links onto their own devices or save a hard copy onto a memory stick etc. Any queries please do not hesitate to contact school on the mailbox email address.
Appeal- St Mary's School Centenary Concert Video
Mr O'Toole is appealing to anyone who may have a copy of the school Centenary Concert which traced our school history over 100 years. Please contact school if you have any further information. Diolch
Christmas Dinner Day- Thursday 15th December
Yesterday we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner together in the dining rooms. This was a great treat after the past two years where each class had to stay in their own classes due to the restrictions. We had Christmas music, beautiful decorations and lots of festive cheer! A huge THANK YOU to the cook and all the kitchen staff for all the hard work. It was greatly appreciated by all. Thanks also to all our staff for helping to serve lunches and supervise yards etc on this very busy day! Diolch pawb!
St Mary's Christmas Jumper Day- Nightingale House Hospice- Friday 16th Decmber- £1 per child please
Thank you to everyone to came dressed in their Christmas jumper today and helped us to raise money for Nightingale House Hospice. We always do our best to support this wonderful specialised care facility in Wrexham, which is always so grateful for the funds we raise.
'Nearly New' Bike Raffle- Tickets being sold for £2 each. All proceeds to Nightingale House Hospice
24" wheels- excellent condition- ideal gift!
Please send in £2 in envelope with your child's class/ name or come to the office to buy your ticket! Raffle will be drawn on the last day of term- in secret!
Attendance Matters
Please note school starts 08:55 and finishes at 15:15.
From September, please DO NOT book routine appointments or holidays within term-time. The governors of St Mary's will not authorise holidays taken within term-time.
Please support us to ensure all children are in school on time to receive their education as long as they are fit and well to do so.
From September, gates will be locked at 08:55 by which time ALL children should be in class and ready to begin their school day.
Following the WCBC policy, arrivals after 09:15 when the registers close, should be marked as an absence.
St Mary's Attendance Race
Our Whole School Attendance target is 96%
W/E - 2/12/22-This week's whole school attendance is 90.1% (Lots of illness in school again this week. Fingers crossed we will reach our target soon!!)
Foundation Phase- Winners are Robins with 98.6%
Puffins-87% Parrots-86.3% Penguins- 92.4%
Robins-98.6% Owls-86.7% Wrens-87%
Key Stage 2- Winners are Alyn with 95%!
Clywedog-94.1% Conwy-91.7% Alyn- 95%
Dovey-90.4% Gwenfro-81.5% Dyfrdwy-88.1% Gwaun 89.6%
At the end of the school year, the winning class will have the opportunity to go to the cinema for a well-deserved treat! In addition, on an individual basis, ALL children with consistent 100% attendance for the year will receive a special 'GOLD' medal.
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.
Friends' Santa's Grotto
A big thank you the Santa who managed to visit us 3 times during this very busy time of year! It was a joy to see the children's excitement when they entered the grotto and had the opportunity to chat with Santa and have a photograph with him. He even had a gift for everyone. Thank you Santa! We hope to see you again next year. If you visited Santa, please complete the feedback form attached https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeliBZcJTZAFqdyr7Zaj5worvZCxJllNqqca0h3SAwOh5tNjw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Festive PJ & Film Night- Thursday 8th December
Another excellent event, enjoyed by all. Thank you to all who helped organise and run the event. Diolch pawb!
Friends' Children's A3 Calendar 2023- Fundraising
THERE ARE REMAINING CALENDARS ON SALE
If you wish to purchase a calendar, please send on £8 in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name and class. Diolch
St Mary's Cathedral Parish Raffle
A big thank you to all who organised and attended last week's Parish Christmas fayre. Thanks also to everyone who organised the Grand Raffle which will be drawn after 10:30 Mass this Sunday. Special mention to helpful 'elves'- Mrs Sinclair, Mrs Hall and Mrs Robertson who packaged the beautiful hampers for the draw!
Free School Meals- Are you eligible?
May I remind all families who are eligible for free school meals to make an application via the link ‘Free school meals | Wrexham County Borough Council. This will not only provide your child with a daily free meal in school but will also allow parents the opportunity to apply for a Pupil Development Grant (PDG) | Wrexham County Borough Council to help with the cost of uniforms, resources, equipment and devices etc. By making your application, school will also receive the correct amount of funding from Welsh Government.
Please note:-
Your child is eligible to receive free school meals if you or your child receive the following...
• Income Support (IS)*
• Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA)*
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Income-related Employment Support Allowance (IR)
• Child Tax Credit - providing you’re not entitled to Working Tax Credit with an annual total income below the HMRC set limit
• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit 'run-on' - the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit - if you are working you must be earning less than £7,400 per year (£616.67 per month) to qualify for free school meal
From September 1st, all Reception children in Wrexham can have a free school meal as part of the WG universal offer. However, if you are in receipt of the above benefits, please remember to make an application via the links above as well to ensure access to the PDG and to enable school to receive the additional funding.
I urge all families to take up this wonderful universal offer. Diolch
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
Good news!
Early Years-
Year 1 & 2- Georgie went to the cinema with Brownies, Ariana has lost her front tooth for Christmas, Franek is super proud of his dad for performing in a concert, Nicolas has moved to Wave 3. Scarlett, Sophie and Florence are all performing in Beauty and the Beast with Delta, Madison is excited to watch the show, Dillan moved up to red stripe in tai kwondo. Serah is going to see a giant Christmas tree, Julian won a trophy for the best footballer and Akain is starting karate.
Years 3 and 4- Alexandra will be having a baby cousin next year, Gethin has a new baby second cousin called Finley, Bianca's cousin is coming home for Christmas, Isabella went to her new dance class, Joia is performing in Beauty and the Beast, Pati is going to Poland soon and David has got his yellow belt in karate. Adam W is playing in a football match, Daniel F has a new puppy called Buddy, Aimee was in a Christmas show in Theatre Train and Lois is going to be in a gym Christmas show. Julia is in Beauty and the Beast show and Eleanor is doing a ballet and modern dance show in the William Aston Hall next week
Year 5- Amelia J is going to Poland for Christmas, Maja's mum is back from Poland and she is going skiing in Poland over Christmas, Filip is going to see his cousins in Ireland over Christmas and is also going to London. Izzy G is visiting London too. Bella Rose is in Beauty and the Beast and Zoe passed her gradining in Tae Kwondo with an advanced pass, the highest grading!
Year 6- Grace has a new puppy called Buddy, Ava sung a solo in church and she saw the Lion King and Nataniel is going to the theatre after school.
Good luck to Florence and Bella- Rose and all other children who are performing in Beauty and the Beast in the William Aston Hall at the weekend.
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 Pixel-Shot - "Woman making heart with her hands on white background" • Gelpi - "Image figures for the Nativity Portal" • Daniel Vincek - " Roasted chicken for Christmas lunch" • deagreez - "Portrait of cheerful cute two people with brunette hair embrace recommend ads show thumbs-up wear reindeer design pullover denim jeans isolated over red color background" • phonlamaiphoto - "Gold star trophy" • gpointstudio - "Close up of santa claus's human face ." • Syda Productions - "couple watching movie in theater or cinema" • tatomm - "close up of calendar on the blue table, planning for business meeting or travel planning concept" • arybickii - "Christmas nativity scene of baby Jesus" • WavebreakmediaMicro - "Children having lunch during break time in school cafeteria" • coco - "fleur de jonquille sur fond jardin" • Stanisic Vladimir - "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year greeting card with cute train toy on snow with green background and a lot of snowflakes." • Stanisic Vladimir - "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year greeting card with cute train toy on snow with green background and a lot of snowflakes." • Maya Kruchancova - "cupcake with sparkler on old wooden background" • nito - "coffe and news" • Rawpixel.com - "Children Friendship Togetherness Playful Happiness Concept" • 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"