Ionawr 13eg / January 13th

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

It was wonderful to welcome everyone back to school on Tuesday after our, much deserved, Christmas holidays. There were a lot of bleary eyes on Tuesday morning as the reality of returning to school dawned, staff definitely included, but everyone is, mostly, over the shock and now back in the swing of school life and ready and raring to face the challenges of the new term.

Christmas Photos
If you have ordered and paid for cast photographs, and have not yet received them, please email me and I will ensure they are sent over. Some ‘idiosyncratic’ spelling and handwriting on the email form, as well as the many and varied vagaries of group emails, may have meant that you have not received the initial email message.

School Closure due to Adverse Weather
As the cold days of January beckon, and threats of possible snow next week, I wanted to make you aware of the protocols should the school have to close due to bad weather. In the event of adverse weather closing the school information will be shared on the school’s Twitter account. It is not always possible to access group emails from outside of school, but if possible an email message, outlining the closure, will be sent to parents and carers. Information on schools closed by adverse weather can also be found at: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/resident/education/emergency-school-closures.aspx

Music Tuition
This term’s music tuition fees are now on ParentPay. Please could all previous term’s outstanding payments be made as soon as possible. Many thanks.

Head Lice
I have been informed that there is an incidence of head lice in the school at present. Please can you check your child’s hair and treat if necessary. Additional advice on detection and treatment can be found by following this link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/

Universal Free School Meals
The roll out of universal free school meals has gone very well, since our return, with all Yr. 1 pupils now having the opportunity to receive a free school meal. There is unfortunately a cross-county issue with the automatic till system, which is currently being addressed, which may lead to incorrect charges being made to Reception class pupils’ ParentPay accounts for school lunches. Please ignore any Reception class school lunch charges. Many thanks.

Absence Request
I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers of the local authority and school policy on term-time absence. Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their children attend school or the alternative provision on a regular basis. The Education Act 1996 makes it a criminal offence for a parent to “fail to secure their child’s regular school attendance at the school”. The view of Denbighshire County Council is that no term time holidays should be approved and headteachers must not grant any leave of absence (holiday) during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Exceptional circumstances are one-off events which are unavoidable and are based on the individual circumstances and the relevant context behind the request.
Examples may include:
• the death or significant illness of a close family member or friend
• the attendance at a wedding or funeral of a person close to the family
• where an absence is recommended by a health professional as part of a parent or child’s rehabilitation from a medical or emotional issue
• observance of a religious holiday or event

Parents do not have entitlement to take their child out of school for a holiday in term time. Please see attached: TAKING A HOLIDAY DURING TERM TIME -A GUIDE FOR PARENTS

Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are:
Tomos, Tahapenes, Amelia, Arlo, Daisy Madalyn, Harri, Neve, Eden, Esme, Bradley and Esme.
Well done to them all!

Yours sincerely /Yn gywir

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth