Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,
It was gorgeous weather outside at the front of the school this morning as everybody arrived. Hopefully the bright sunshine is reflecting the positive steps made this week. Thank you once again for your co-operation in helping things go so smoothly. Diolch yn fawr.
Infants’ Return to School – Seeing the smiling happy faces of the Infants returning was a tonic this week. It was also a boost to see them keen to return the next day too. The relief among parents was palpable as they finally got to hand over their children at the gate once again. It augurs well for the provisional return of our Juniors on March 15th and that day can’t come soon enough!
St. David’s Day – On Monday it is St David’s Day, so we invite the pupils to come in dressed for the occasion. I’m sure we’ll see clothes in red white and green, national costumes, rugby or football shirts, leeks and daffodils aplenty. I’m sure everybody will look magnificent and proud to be part of our Welsh community!
World Book Day – World Book Day is also an annual event that will take place on Thursday the 4th March. As is traditional, pupils can come to school dressed as a literary character, but as ever there is no pressure to go out and buy costumes. You can be as creative as you like with what you have at home and participation is of course, voluntary.
We also invite Junior pupils to get involved in these two events at home if they wish and send in their photos for us to share.
PTA Sponsored Challenge – Thank you for your ongoing participation in the PTA Sponsored Challenge. There is still time to get out and about and clock up the miles so keep going! Many thanks for all the contributions so far.
PTA Thanks – The PTA have received a £250 donation from local business Lewis and Hunter Contracting. We are extremely grateful for their kindness. Diolch yn fawr iawn!
Reading Club – Infant Reading Club restarts Monday!
Students of the Week – Well done to all of Reception, Jacob, Grace, Leala, Leila and Jay (Yr 1&2), Eva-May, Zakk and Merry (Yr3), Issy, Cain, Shreya and Henry (Yr4), Lacy, Ben, Ella May, Elliott, Tiffany and Tyler (Yr 5) and Bhupinder, Benjamin, ConnieT and Noah (Yr 6).
New Yard Update – The local authority have informed me that the appointed contractor for the new yard GH James Cyf are now preparing to complete the works. An internal fence will be installed to safeguard our pupils while the works take place. Councillor Hilditch will communicate with you once confirmation of the proposed start date of the work is known.
Staff COVID-19 Lateral Flow Device Testing – As part of the return to face to face learning for pupils, we are introducing a number of additional measures to provide an added level of assurance for parents and staff. This includes the introduction of twice weekly testing for staff members. All those working in schools will have access to Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs). This enables them to undertake a test for coronavirus at home twice a week. The LFDs provide a result within 30 minutes and don’t require a laboratory to process.
The testing will take place on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. If a member of staff tests positive, the whole of the contact group will need to self-isolate. This means that you, as parents / carers, could be contacted on a Sunday or Wednesday evening advising you that your child must self-isolate immediately. In the meantime, the staff member will be tested again using a laboratory test (a PCR test). If this second test is also positive, the self-isolation will need to continue as advised by Public Health Wales. If the PCR test is negative, the school will contact you to arrange for the children to return to school the next day.
We will work with Denbighshire to ensure that in those instances of a positive test, that we can get a message to you as soon as possible. These arrangements are to provide additional assurances regarding the safety of your child.
Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,
Bryn D. Jones, Headteacher / Pennaeth