Ebrill 8fed / April 8th 2022

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

The Easter holidays have arrived and I’m sure that we are all ready to take a little time to reflect and recharge. It has been a really positive term with many projects, long in the planning, beginning to come to fruition. I am immensely proud of the children of Rhos St who have met every challenge and made the most of absolutely every opportunity that has come their way. I wish you all a restful and relaxing Easter, fingers crossed for a little kindness from the spring weather. See you all on the 26th.

Eleri Morris’s Retirement
It a momentous day here at Rhos St as it is Eleri Morris’s last day of work here with us. After 42 years of dedicated service Eleri will be retiring to spend well-deserved time with her family and enjoy her garden. Eleri has been a stalwart presence at the school for over 42 years and has worked with so many children over the years, many returning as parents and even grandparents. Her caring, calm and professional presence will be greatly missed here at school, by staff, parents and children alike. The contribution that she has made over the years, ensuring that the children of Rhos St had the best possible grounding in their journey through education is huge and I’m sure that you will all join me in wishing Eleri a very long and happy retirement.

Natalie Sproston
We also this week have bid a very fond farewell to another colleague Natalie Sproston. Natalie has worked in Rhos St since 2007 and has been a wonderful asset to the school, working in a wide variety of classes and supporting many, many children on their learning journey here with us. Natalie is looking to work a little closer to home, and all of us at school wish her all the best in her future career, and thank her for her professionalism, hard work and friendship.

Old Carpet
We are putting out a request for any bits of old carpet that the school community would be willing to donate. We want to develop our wildlife pond in the Garden Area and I’m reliably informed that pre-lining with old carpet will stop sharp rocks and stones puncturing our expensive pond liner. If anyone is able to help please let us know and we can arrange drop-off or pick-up. Many thanks.

Covid-19
As I’m sure you have seen in the media recently there has been a reduction in the level of regulation around Covid-19. I wanted to clarify the situation with school-based Covid-control measures. The intention of the Welsh Assembly Government is to continue to reduce the regulations towards the goal of ‘living with’ covid-19. In school there is still a legal requirement to have a specific school-based Covid-19 risk assessment in place. This is continuously monitored and reflects local Covid levels, current Government guidance and also infection levels within the school. The current local-infection control stipulates that we continue to avoid whole-school gatherings, such as whole-school assemblies, indoor shows or performances. The wearing of face coverings, at this level, states that face coverings may be worn in and around the school building. Social-distancing and ventilation measures will continue to be an important part of school-based infection control. I will continue to provide updates on current guidance as the situation develops and would like to thank all members of the school community for their ongoing support.

School Meal Prices
The Denbighshire School Catering Service has faced ongoing increase in the prices for all major commercially procured food products, the domestic food market and across all food market supply chains. The Service has seen an average price increase of 8% across food suppliers, but is working with suppliers to mitigate increases. In the face of rising prices the service has agreed to increase the cost of school meals by 5p, this will take effect from Monday 25th April. Even after this increase, prices will still be relatively low compared to other local authority areas, and the service is confident that it is providing value for money in terms of the quality of food given to pupils across our schools. This means that the price of a school meal will increase to £2.45. Examples of the meals provided to pupils by the service can be found at: https://denbighshireschoolmeals.co.uk/primary-menus/

Let’s Play Out: Easter holidays
Let’s Play Out are open access play sessions run by Denbighshire’s Play Ranger Service where children have the chance to play, have fun, get messy and muddy and make friends. These sessions have an open access policy which means that young people will be free to leave the session at any point. Sessions are recommended for children aged 6 to 13 years old. Children under 6 years old are welcome but must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Information is available by following this link: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/leisure-and-tourism/lets-play-out-easter-holidays.aspx

Unreasonable Behaviour
At Rhos Street School, we believe that our stakeholders have a right to be heard, understood and respected. As a school we are extremely fortunate that the vast majority of our community are helpful, supportive and positive and share any queries or concerns in an appropriate manner, working with the professionals in school, as a team, to provide the best possible outcomes for learners. We also understand that people can become angry when they feel that matters about which they feel strongly are not being dealt with as they wish. If that anger escalates into aggression or abuse towards our staff, governors or pupils, we consider that unacceptable. Aggressive or abusive behaviour includes language (whether verbal or written) that may cause staff, governors or pupils to feel afraid, threatened or abused and may include threats, personal verbal abuse, derogatory remarks and rudeness. We also consider inflammatory statements, remarks of a discriminatory nature and unsubstantiated allegations, to be abusive behaviour. Where a stakeholder is aggressive or abusive, we may decide to take action in line with our Unreasonable Behaviour Policy, which may limit or define the specific terms of contact with school.

Buffet
A huge thank you to local company – Pen Y Bryn for supplying a plentiful, and very tasty buffet for leaving staff. They get a big thumbs up from us all here at Rhos St.

Attendance
On our return to school for the summer term, on Tuesday 26th of April, the special Covid-19 regulations put in place for attendance at school come to an end. Monitoring of attendance data will return to pre-covid regulations. Poor attendance or lateness may incur fixed penalty notices or the involvement of the Educational Social Worker. For more information on school attendance please visit: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk and search for behavior and attendance.

Achievers
Our wonderful achievers this week are:
The whole Nursery class – for being so sensible and listening so well while preparing food.
Toby, Florence, Elsie, Isaac, Grace, Lucas, Lola, Hannah, Katelyn, Aidan, Charles, Noah L.S and Jo
Welsh awards went to Aidan, Eva and Jacob
Sophia shared a Brownies award and Holly shared her Rugby – Player of the Match medal.
Piper shared her Little Princess Trust certificate following her generous hair donation.
Eleri got a head-teachers award for hard work and being good – FOR 42 YEARS!
Well done to our brilliant achievers this week!

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth