Croeso nôl/Welcome back
Welcome back to you all after what we hope was a relaxing break for you and your families. I hope you had a happy and holy Christmas with your loved ones. On behalf of all the staff, thank you all for the thoughtful cards and gifts we received. We have enjoyed welcoming the children back to school and hearing them excitedly tell their news to their friends and staff. I would like to wish you all a very happy and healthy new year.
We look forward to continuing to work with you to provide the best possible experiences for our pupils. Within this newsletter there are some updates, key dates and links to great resources.
It is lovely to see how happy the children have returned looking very smart in their winter uniforms. We extend our warmest welcome to our new learners including those in Dosbarth Amroth. We wish you a very happy and enjoyable time at our school.
RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE SCHOOL
As a Catholic School in the Diocese of Menevia, we have embraced the Catholic Schools’ Pupil Profile, which teaches the children a set of eight pairs of virtues to be understood and nurtured - enabling them to grow in wholeness as fully rounded individuals in the image of God. The pairs of virtues are:
- Grateful and generous
- Attentive and discerning
- Compassionate and loving
- Faith-filled and hopeful
- Eloquent and truthful
- Learned and wise
- Curious and active
- Intentional and prophetic
They will change every half-term; this half-term the virtues are 'Eloquent and truthful'. The Department of Spiritual Life will have a part to play in the promotion of these values. This term's mission is below:
HEALTHY LUNCH BOXES
As parents or carers you play an important role in setting an example and teaching your children from a young age about choosing healthy food and drink. This will help them to have a nutritious diet that meets their growing needs and it can help make sure that they continue to eat healthily as they get older. We have seen some very healthy lunchboxes since our return to school. Alternatively, the 'Snack Trolley' is returning to school this term where children can buy a healthy snack for 30p a day. More details to follow. There is some useful information for parents issued by Welsh Government should you need it; please see the information below:
Attendance
At Mary Immaculate, we continue to be committed to helping children attend school as much as possible, despite the challenges we all have faced throughout the pandemic. The last few years have been tough. Young people have missed more than just classes, and in 2022/23 we want you to know that they are returning to a safe environment. When your child walks into school every morning, you can be assured they will be supported personally, emotionally and academically. We’re here to provide them with the social and educational development opportunities to shape their futures and become the best versions of themselves.
School is more than grades, timetables, and homework – it’s friendships, shared memories and character building. But we understand that school isn’t always easy. If your child is anxious or worried about coming to school for whatever reason, help is available. If you would like an informal chat about how we can help support your child, please contact your child’s class teacher via Seesaw. We have two members of staff that are trained as Emotional Learning Support Assistants.
We’re incredibly proud of the way our school community, staff, parents and carers, and particularly our children, have navigated the difficulties of the last few years. Our learners’ wellbeing is our ultimate priority, and we know that that everyone will continue to work together as a community to help improve our children’s attendance and wellbeing wherever possible.
We have set a whole school target of 95% this year which we are keen to achieve. Our Attendance Ambassadors are doing a great job introducing new initiatives. They were chosen from the pupils who achieved 100% attendance last year. We have seen an improvement in our attendance since we returned to school, thank you for your support with this.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR THIS TERM
- Monday 9th January - INSET Day
- Monday 16th January - Urdd Netball Tournament
- Thursday 15th January - World Religion Day
- Wednesday 25th January - Dydd Santes Dywnwen!
- Wednesday 25th January - Feast of St Paul the Apostle
- Friday 3rd February - Dydd Mwsig Cymru
- Friday 3rd February - National Number Day
- Friday 3rd February - Urdd Football Tournament
- Friday 6th - 12th February - Children's Mental Health Week
- Tuesday 7th February - Safer Internet Day
- Thursday 9th February - Dance Competition for Pembrokeshire Schools
- Friday 10th February - Y5 (Whitesands) Assembly
- Monday 13th - Friday 17th February - Career Discovery Week
- Wednesday 15th February - Dosbarth Druidston's play (more details to follow)
- Friday 17th February - INSET Day
- Monday 20th - Friday 24th February - Half-term
- Wednesday 22nd February - Ash Wednesday
- Monday 27th February - 3rd March - Wythnos Gymreig
- Wednesday 1st March - Dydd Gwyl Dewi/St David's Day
- Wednesday 1st March - St. David's Day Parade, Haverfordwest (Details of year groups involved and arrangements for the day to follow)
- Thursday 2nd March - World Book Day
- Friday 3rd March - School Eisteddfod
- Monday 13th - 17th March - British Science Week
- Friday 17th March - St Patrick's Day - Green Day
- Wednesday 22nd March - World Water Day
- Thursday 30th March - Dosbarth Newgale's Assembly
- Friday 31st March - Break up for Easter
- Monday 3rd April - 14th April - Easter Holidays
- Monday 17th April - Cluster INSET Day
Please note there will be no clubs during the last week of the spring term. Other dates will be communicated with you in the weekly newsletter as they occur throughout the term.
Credits:
Created with an image by photka - "Lunchbox with sandwich, fruits, vegetables, and water, top view with copy space"