Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

As we cross the finish line of the spring term it’s time to pass the baton, A.K.A – chocolate-infused, excited children, over for the two-week Easter break. A huge thank you to all the children for their hard work, exuberance, and positivity this term, I’ve been so impressed with them all in so many ways. Thanks also to our brilliant Rhos St staff who have shown their usual fortitude, surviving all the bugs and illnesses doing the rounds and, as always, giving their very best, in so many ways, for the children here. Thank you finally to our amazing Rhos St school community for their ongoing support. Have a fantastic Easter, from everyone here at Rhos St School, see you all on April 9th.

PTA Easter-Egg Hunt
Huge thanks to the, always brilliant, Rhos St PTA for organising the Easter-Egg Hunt today, Casey, Natalie and Wendy orchestrating the whole event superbly. The children had a wonderful time racing around finding the clues and eggs. They all definitely enjoyed receiving their Easter Egg gift from the PTA too… which may help a little to gain back some of those expended calories.

Foster Wales
Foster Wales is the national network of not-for-profit Local Authority fostering services across Wales, and our Denbighshire team is your local support network. We’re not your standard fostering agency – we’re far more connected. All across Wales, there are children who need us. They need you too. These children are babies, toddlers, teenagers, siblings, and young parents. Each child has a unique story, but our mission is the same for each one: to create a better future. To find out more information please visit: www.denbighshire.fosterwales.gov.wales

Attendance
Why is school attendance important?
At Rhos St we believe that being in school is important to your child’s academic achievement, wellbeing, and wider development.  There is evidence to suggest that regular school attendance is a key mechanism to support children and young people’s educational, economic, and social outcomes. Schools can facilitate positive peer relationships, which contributes to better mental health and wellbeing.
Attendance at school is crucial to prepare young people for successful transition to adulthood, and to support their longer term economic and social participation in society. There is also evidence that the students with the highest attendance throughout their time in school gain the best GCSE and A level results.
Research found that pupils who performed better both at the end of primary and secondary school missed fewer days than those who didn’t perform as well. For example, data from 2019 shows that 84% of Key Stage 2 pupils who had 100% attendance achieved the expected standard, compared to 40% of pupils who were persistently absent across the key stage.
We are committed at Rhos St school to ensuring the very best outcomes for all our learners and believe that attendance is a vital aspect of this. In line with Denbighshire policy no term-time absence will be authorised unless it is in exceptional circumstances.
We will work closely with families to promote good attendance and will, where appropriate, seek the guidance and support of Educational Welfare Officers if an individual pupil’s attendance remains lower than expected. Please can parents and carers ensure that school is advised of any pupil absence by email or telephone message on the first day of absence.

Kick It Sports

Kick it Sports are offering a 6-hour Easter sports club on Monday 25th of March. The cost for the day, 9.00am – 3.00pm, is £20. Bookings and payment can be made by following this link: https://bookwhen.com/kickitsports/e/ev-supp-20240325090000
Kick It Sports will be coming into school, at the start of the summer term, with information about their after-school club sessions on a Monday evening.

Language and Play Sessions
Language and play sessions are free to attend and take place throughout Denbighshire. The sessions are run by Family Link Workers on a weekly basis during term time. All of our sessions have planned activities that help children build language and social skills in preparation for school in a fun, friendly environment.
Language and Play sessions will be taking place at Rhos Street School from 1:15pm to 2:45pm on: Wednesday 10th, 17th, 24th of April and 1st, 8th, and 15th of May 2024.

Breakfast Club
Just a quick reminder that our Breakfast Club is available, during term time, from 8.00am – 8.50am for a cost of £2 -per child. Breakfast is served between 8.00am and 8.30am with entry closing at 8.40am. There is no charge for Breakfast Club for children in receipt of Free-School Meals (not Universal Free School Meals), or for the third child + in a family. For safeguarding reasons please can parents and carers of early-years and infant children ensure that they are brought to the hall door by an adult, not sent up on their own from the car. Many thanks.

Banknote Presentation
The Yr. 6 children were treated to a fascinating presentation from Charles Henshaw, a long-time collector of banknotes from all over the world. Charles shared his collection with the children and talked about the amazing history of banknotes as well as some of the incredible security features which they contain. All the Yr. 6 class were so engaged, and Charles was really impressed with their interest, focus and brilliant behaviour. Charles has kindly agreed to repeat his presentation with the Yr. 5 children in the summer term. The Yr. 6 class were set the competition of designing a Welsh banknote, sadly lacking from the banknotes of the world, which Charles will be judging next term. We are really grateful for his time and expertise and for sharing with us his amazing collection.

Dates for the Diary
25th March Kick It Sports – Holiday Session
8th April Staff Training Day
9th April School reopens
10th April Language and Play Session
11th April Chester Football – After-School Club
12th April Yr. 2 Family Service
15th April Tempest Photography – Individual Photographs
PTA Meeting 3.30pm
18th April Police Liaison Officer – Yrs. 2 & 6
Chester Football – After-School Club
25th April Bronze Young Ambassadors – Charity Sports Fundraiser
May 2nd Rhos St School Eisteddfod
May 23rd Yr. 1 Family Service
May 24th Close for Half Term
Additional dates will be added once confirmed

Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel
Huge thanks to our brilliant school community for all their support with the Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel. There have been over 1,200 active journeys taken over the fortnight with children walking, wheeling, scooting, skating and riding to and from school, making a fantastic contribution to a healthier, environmentally sustainable future for us all.

Weekly Wellbeing I Took His Hand and Followed

My dishes went unwashed today
I didn’t make my bed
I took his hand and followed
Where eager footsteps led
Oh Yes, we went adventuring
My little child and I

Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the sun and sky
We watched a robin feed her young
We climbed a sunlit hill
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was so neglected
That I didn’t brush the stairs
In twenty years no one on earth
Will know or even care.

But that I’ve helped my little child
To noble adulthood grow
In twenty years the whole wide world
May look and see and know.

— Author Unknown

Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are: Leighton, Coby, Arlo, Jude, Freya, Elianna and Caden-James.
Liam, Jess, Maya and Scarlet received Headteacher’s Awards.
Ryan shared his swimming Wave-7 Award. Ella shared her gymnastics trophy. Eva and Ruby shared their gymnastics and baking awards, Grace shared her Best Dancer certificate and Emily shared her Brownie Promise badge. Well done to them all!

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,
The penultimate Friday of the term brings us ever closer to the Easter break and, as usual, it’s been a very busy week: football tournament, active journeys, maths challenge, family service and red nose day…phew! One week to go, not that we’re counting…

Red Nose Day

An amazing turn out for our Red Nose Day at Rhos St today. All of the children looked brilliant in their clothes and costumes raising money for an excellent case. Many thanks also to the children who took part in the Junior competition, designing a unique red nose, and the Infant colouring competition.

Scarlet Fever
We have eight confirmed cases, and several cases awaiting confirmation, of Scarlet Fever / i-Gas at school currently. Please see attached information / advice on identification and appropriate action for Scarlet Fever / i- Gas.

Maths Challenge
Yesterday some of our fab mathematicians from Yrs. 5 & 6 went as far as Ruthin School to take part in the Maths Challenge. They had a brilliant time, and certainly got their thinking caps on. Well done to all of our amazing mathematicians!

Chester Football

Coach Kalvin is unfortunately not available next week for the Chester Football After-School Club. He has scheduled two additional after-school club sessions, after the Easter break, on the 11th and 18th of April.

Parental Consultations
Our parental consultation meetings are scheduled for next week. You should have received your ten-minute appointment with your child’s class teacher to give you the opportunity to view their work and discuss progress to date. The appointment will also be an opportunity to discuss any issues or concerns you may have. Teachers will be confirming medical information, held by the school, during the consultation so please have and necessary details with you for the appointment should there be an update. Yr. 4 parental consultations will be scheduled after the Easter break.

Yr. 3 Family Service
The Year 3 children did themselves proud this morning with their fantastic service all about Roal Dahl, books and the joys and benefits of reading. They spoke, recited and sang brilliantly, showing real resilience in overcoming the pesky microphone issues, and showing us all how much that they have learned about this term’s theme. A big thank you to the children for learning their lines and songs so well, to Mrs. Hughes, Miss. Pugh and the Yr. 3 team for preparing the children so well and to the parents and carers for helping to practice lines and for coming along today to support us here at school.

Vale of Clwyd Football Competition
Our football team did themselves proud on Wednesday this week, winning their group and only missing out on progressing to the next stage by 2 goals. They battled the wet and windy Welsh weather, showing real grit and determination as well as some great football skills, we are all so proud of them. Many thanks also to Leanne and Shanny, who returned from the tournament with a certain ‘windblown’ aura, for looking after the team so well during the event.

Unaffiliated Social Media
I was saddened this week to hear that some children had been upset by others’ use of social media, unaffiliated to the school. The use of unaffiliated social-media platforms is of great concern to us here at Rhos St as their misuse can often cause upset and distress which then leads to ongoing issues at school. I would request that parents and carers closely monitor their child’s social media use to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. If your child receives inappropriate messages or images through these platforms, from another pupil at school, we strongly recommend taking screen shots of the material and sharing with your child’s class teacher, who will then be able to investigate the incident and seek advice through our Police Liaison Officer, should that be necessary. Information and advice from the NSPCC on the dangers of WhatsApp, particularly for children, under the recommended-usage age of 13+, can be found by following this link: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-safety-blog/2023-01-12-is-whatsapp-safe-for-my-child/
Frequently asked questions around the use of WhatsApp can be found by following this link:
https://faq.whatsapp.com/695318248185629
Many thanks for your help and support regarding this extremely important issue.

Dates for the Diary

18th March Parents’ Evening Week
Yr. 6 Life Saving Skills
Yr. 5 Sign Language
Yr. R Hearing Screening
Yr. 3 Author Visit
20th March Yr. 5 & 6 Banknote Presentation
21st March Yr. 6 Autism Talk
Yr. 3 Visit to Ruthin library
22nd March PTA Easter Egg Hunt!
End of Term
25th March Kick It Sports – Holiday Session
8th April Staff Training Day
10th April Language and Play Session
11th April Chester Football – After-School Club
12th April Yr. 2 Family Service
15th April Tempest Photography – Individual Photographs
18th April Chester Football – After-School Club
May 2nd Rhos St School Eisteddfod
Additional dates will be added once confirmed

Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel
Our Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel has been a great success, despite the less than balmy weather this week, with lots and lots of active journeys, to and from school, taking place. Please support us if you can for the final week of the initiative making active journeys to school whether walking, wheeling, scooting, or riding.

Weekly Wellbeing
In this Big Walk and Wheel fortnight, where we all think about our impact on the world that we share, this quote is from form ex – U.S. President Barack Obama:
“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.”
Barack Obama
Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are all of the Reception class, Luna, Niamh, all of the Yr. 3 class, Emily, Morgan, Daisy, Amelia, and Leo. Our Maths Challenge superstars are Claire, Myah, Ruben, Jay, Henry and Charly. Well done to all our amazing achievers this week.

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

What a tremendous turnout for our Rhos St World Book Day event today! All the children and staff looked fabulous in their costumes, there was a books quiz in our morning service and there were lots of great book-related activities in class to celebrate the event.

As the second half of the spring term careens by I’d like to take this opportunity to show how grateful I am to our incredible staff here at Rhos St, who always give their absolute best for the children, in what can be an extremely challenging role. Through the, well documented, pressures under which all schools are finding themselves currently, with its wide range of complex and increasingly diverse causes, I’m sure you will join me in thanking our brilliant staff for their ongoing resilience, kindness, and professionalism.

World Book Day
A huge thank you to all the children, parents, and carers for their efforts in preparing for our World Book Day event. The turnout was amazing, and the children looked incredible!

Scarlet Fever
We have two confirmed cases, and several cases awaiting confirmation, of Scarlet Fever / i-Gas at school currently. Please see attached information / advice on identification and appropriate action for Scarlet Fever / i- Gas.

Parents’ Evenings
Our parental consultation meetings are scheduled for the week beginning18th of March. A ten-minute appointment has been made with your child’s class teacher to give you the opportunity to view their work and discuss progress to date. The appointment will also be an opportunity to discuss any issues or concerns you may have. Teachers will be confirming medical information, held by the school, during the consultation so please have and necessary details with you for the appointment should there be an update. Yr. 4 parental consultations will be scheduled after the Easter break.

Chester Football
The excellent Chester Football sessions with coach Kalvin continue at school, with the turn of Yr. 2 and Yr. 4 pupils on Thursday afternoon. It will be the turn of the Yrs. 5 and 6 pupils on the afternoon of March 14th and Yrs. R and 3 on the afternoon of March 21st. Kalvin will be providing two additional after-school sessions, to replace those previously missed, after the Easter break on the 11th and 18th of April 3.15pm – 4.15pm. Many, many thanks to Chester FC for providing the afternoon sessions free of charge and for the high-quality after-school football club.

Communication with School
We are extremely fortunate at Rhos St to have such a positive and supportive school community, working together with school staff for the best possible outcomes for the children. We are always ready to listen here at school to any queries and concerns and welcome the open, constructive dialogue we have with the great majority of our families. We always encourage parents and carers, should they have any concerns, to discuss them directly with the class teacher in the first instance, as it is the class teacher who is able to provide the most detailed and pertinent information in the vast majority of instances. Further discussion, should it be necessary, can be organised with the heads of phase: Mrs. Liddy, in the case of the Foundation learners and Mrs. Davies in the case of the Junior children. Following this I am, of course, more than happy to discuss individual concerns with parents and carers.
Our core values here at school are respect, kindness and being the best that we can be, we continually promote these values with the children here, as well as doing our very best to embody them as a staff. We feel that the vital home-school relationship is at its most effective and beneficial for the children when these values are also shared and exhibited by our school community.

Flickr
Our Rhos St School Flickr account has been recently updated, so please head over to our website: https://rhosstreetschool.co.uk/ and check out all the latest pictures of our adventures, activities and events. Our World Book Day event pictures will be uploaded soon and available to view.

Dates for the Diary

11th – 22nd March Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel
Yr. R Height and Weight
13th March Football Festival
Yr. 5 Swimming
14th March Chester Football
Maths Challenge
15th March Red Nose Day
Yr. 3 Family Service
18th March Parents’ Evening Week
21st March Chester Football
Yr. 6 Autism Talk
22nd March End of Term
25th March Kick It Sports – Holiday Session
8th April Staff Training Day
11th April Chester Football – After-School Club
12th April Yr. 2 Family Service
15th April Tempest Photography – Individual Photographs
18th April Chester Football – After-School Club
May 2nd Rhos St School Eisteddfod
Additional dates will be added once confirmed

Weekly Wellbeing

‘Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.’

Unknown
Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel
We are taking part in the 15th year celebration of Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel, the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking, wheeling and scooting challenge. The challenge runs from 11-22 March 2024. It’s free to take part and we would love everyone to be involved. What do you need to do: Encourage your child(ren) to walk, use a wheelchair, scoot or cycle to school on as many days as possible during the event.

Achievers
This week’s wonderful achievers are: All the Reception Class, Stanley, Megan, Jaxson, Dolly, Lucas, Jacob, Chloe and Ryan. Eden shared her badminton award and Talent for Writing certificate. Well done to them all!

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

St David’s Day brings us to the first day of meteorological spring and along with some longer days hopefully some warmer weather, despite there being hill-snow in this week’s forecast! The children all looked resplendent in their Welsh colours this morning and have all been learning about the importance and power of empathy as part of our Empathy-Week focus, both in and out of class.

St David’s Day
What a wonderful sight it was this morning to see everyone in their red, green and white in celebration of St David’s Day. This morning’s service was all about the story of St David and there has been lots of work in class about his importance to the Welsh people and all the brilliant things about living in Wales.

Parking
Can I please request the parents and carers do not park in the drop-off area between 2.45pm and 3.30pm as it is required for taxis. We are expecting signage from Denbighshire County Council soon which will codify this for car-park users. Unfortunately, when the drop-off area is used taxis have been forced to use the disabled parking bays, with the associated issues for parents and carers with additional access requirements. Many thanks for your help regarding this important safety matter.

Yr. 2 Family Service
A quick update on the Yr. 2 family service which has moved to Friday 12th April 9.15am – 9.45am (approx.)

Lost Cardigans
We have been informed that two children have lost named blue cardigans, please can you check your child’s clothing to see if they have inadvertently been taken home. Many thanks.

Sky Room
We were so excited to welcome Chloe Dymond, a wonderful artist and painter to school to transform a drab workroom into our amazing Sky Room. Chloe worked with groups of Rhos St children to transform the workspace. We are intending the Sky Room to become an integral part of our nurture work here at school which will be used for nurture activities, ELSA (Emotional Learning Support Assistant) sessions as well as drawing-and-talking sessions to support children in expressing and managing their emotions. As you can see it is quite the transformation…

School Lunches – Menu Update
There are a couple of changes next week to the advertised menu for school lunch:
Monday: Junior Choice
• Hot carvery bap filled with turkey, stuffing, roasties and gravy.
• Yogurt pot – toffee, raspberry, or strawberry.
Thursday:
• Pork roast dinner: apple sauce, carrots, broccoli, and gravy.
• School cake with icing and sprinkles.

Peanut- Allergy

Due to some pupils’ sensitivity to peanuts, exposure to which can have extremely serious and even life-threatening effects, can I ask that parents do not send peanuts, peanut butter or food items containing peanuts into school for snacks or as part of a packed lunch. Many thanks for your support.

Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are: Aidan, Amelia, Jack, Elsie, Louie, Florence, Omran, Evan, Noah and Nils.
Sebastian and Cecily shard their swimming certificates and Neve shared her Brownies – Moonwalk Challenge certificate and Guides – Cariad Challenge certificate.

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

As the half-term holiday draws near It’s great to be able to reflect on a positive, productive period here at Rhos St. There has been so much going on, in and out of school, and as our thoughts move tentatively to the return of longer days and, fingers crossed, warmer and drier weather we can look forward to lots more exciting activities and events as the year unfolds. I hope you all have a great half-term and I look forward to welcoming everyone back on the 19th.

Music Lessons
Music lesson payments are on ParentPay. Please can parents and carers make payment, via the app, for any current, or outstanding, music lessons. Thank you.

Year 4 Family Service
We were treated to a fantastic family service by the children of Yr. 4 on Thursday morning. They gave a wonderful performance, showcasing this term’s thematic work on How Things Work. We learned all about the contribution of Welsh scientists artist explorers and sportsmen and women as well as all the incredible inventions that have come out of Wales. There was some lovely singing, as well as a display of fabulous funky dancing! A huge thank you to all the Yr. 4 children for their hard work, to Mrs. Lewis and her team for preparing the children so well and to parents, carers, family and friends who came along to support us on such an inhospitable day.

Yr. 3 First Experiences in Music Session
Yr. 3 had the fantastic opportunity yesterday to work with Denbighshire Music Cooperative (DMC), as part of their first experiences in music sessions, learning how to play the recorder. I was taken right back to my early teaching career to hear the dulcet tones of 26 recorders in ‘perfect harmony’ (the bleeding from my ears has mostly stopped now). The children had a fantastic time and there will be more music sessions from DMC in the future.

Cornel Gymraeg: Dydd Miwsig Cymru -Welsh Language Music Day
We had a real treat yesterday, as part of Welsh language music day – Dyyd Miwsig Cymru as local band: Tew Tew Tennau came along to play for the whole school. They performed some well-known classics as well as some of their own songs, with a mix of English and Welsh lyrics, as well as providing a question-and-answer session at the end. The children had a fantastic time and were inspired by the live performance. Many thanks to the always brilliant Rhos St PTA for kindly funding the performance.

Weekly Wellbeing
A slight change in tone this week in our weekly-wellbeing section with a cartoon form the brilliant Bill Watterson which certainly sums up how I feel most of the time.

Safer-Internet Day
The 2024 edition of Safer Internet Day took place on Tuesday, 6 February 2024. This special celebration, which takes place in February of each year, aims to raise awareness of a safer and better internet for all, and especially for children and young people. At Rhos St we have spent the week working on activities that develop children’s understanding on how we can enjoy the incredible things that the internet provides, while keeping ourselves safe from some of its more negative aspects. Services this week have focussed on important ways to keep ourselves safe online and work in classes has been around age-appropriate ways to enjoy our digital world safely.

Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are: Carter, Logan, Jake, Daisy, Kitti, Stanley, Poppy, Megan, Auraya, Bertie, Nancy, All of Yr. 4, Linden, Bethany and Zakk.
Mayah and Poppy shared their dance trophies. Well done to our brilliant achievers.

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

The many threats of impending-snowy doom fortunately did not come to fruition this week, and apart from some breaks and lunchtimes spent indoors it has been a productive and positive week with lots and lots going on. We are really excited about our trip to Chester Zoo on Thursday, and enjoyed the welcome return of Kick It Sports, Chester Football and Mr. Oakes, who used to work with us here in Rhos St, working with the Yr. 6 class on mathematical codes.

Update Contact & Medical Information
Can I please request that parents and carers update any contact details with us, if required, as it is extremely important that we hold the most up to date contact information for each pupil. May I also request that any medical information, food intolerances / dietary requirements or allergy information are updated with us in school, including informing us if medication is no longer required, to ensure that we are able to offer the best care that we can in school. Contact information can be updated by emailing myself, or by contacting the school office. Medical information can be updated by completing the, very short, medical form, also available in the school office. Many thanks.

Chester Zoo Visit
The excitement is building for our forthcoming trip to Chester Zoo on Thursday. The long-range forecast is now for possibly unsettled weather so we are requesting that children wear appropriate warm / waterproof clothing, comfortable shoes, school jumper, and also bring a small backpack / rucksack for their drink and packed lunch. It is intended that the visit will be within the school day, with the expectation that we will return to school by 3.15pm. Due to the time available at the zoo there will not be time allocated to visit the shop, so your child will not require any money for the visit. Many thanks again to the always brilliant PTA for funding the transport, by Voel coaches, for our exciting visit.

Snack Money
Can I politely request that all snack money, including any outstanding, is paid, on a Monday if possible and in a named envelope please. Snack money can be paid weekly at £1 per-week, half-termly at £5, for this half-term, or termly at £10. Many thanks.

Dates for the Diary
Here are some updated key dates for this half-term’s diary, additional dates will be added once confirmed.

22nd January Kick It Sports
24th January Yr. 6 Swimming
25th January Chester Zoo Visit
26th January Indoor Athletics
29th January Kick It Sports
Yr. 5 Arts and Crafts Transition Project
31st January Yr. 6 Swimming
1st February Chester Football
2nd February Yr. 5 Family Service
5th February Kick It Sports
6th February Safer-Internet Day
7th February Indoor Athletics Final
Yr. 6 Swimming
PC Llinos Yrs. 3 & 5
8th February Yr. 4 Family Service
Yr. 3 First Experience in Music session
Chester Football
9th February PTA – Wear What You Love Day
Close for Half Term
21st February Netball Festival
Additional dates will be added once confirmed

Yr. 6 Humanities Transition Event
The Yr. 6 children had a great experience at Ysgol Brynhyfryd this morning working on history and religion, values and ethics activities. You will be unsurprised to hear that their behaviour and attitude was excellent.

Codes with Mr. Oakes
It was lovely to welcome Dominic Oakes back to Rhos St yesterday who came in to do some work in developing the mathematicians of the future with the Yr. 6 class. They had their maths skills put well and truly through their paces making and breaking codes.

Chester Football

Kalvin from Chester FC made a welcome return to Rhos St yesterday, working with the Yrs. R and 3 classes in the afternoon and with the Junior footballers after school. We are extremely grateful to Chester FC, who offer our afternoon football sessions free of charge.

Cornel Cymraeg
In this week’s Welsh corner, we have Yr. 4, who have been playing ‘Guess Who?’ in Welsh. All of the Junior children will be following in their footsteps in the near future, playing many of the classic board games using the Welsh language. We will be sharing some vocabulary cards in the near future so that families can play their favourite board games together while practising their Welsh language skills.

Weekly Wellbeing
On the week that brought us ‘Blue Monday’ here is a fantastic quote about resilience by Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

Nelson Mandela
Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are: Flynn, Evie, Ellie, Amelia, Omran, Oliver, Summer and Adriel.
All of Yr. 6 for their fantastic engagement and behaviour at the Humanities Transition event and all of Yr. 4 for their great efforts in learning their parts for the Yr. 4 family service. Well done to all our fantastic achievers.

Yours sincerely /Yn gywir

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

As our penultimate week draws to its conclusion the festive-bustle around school shows no sign, as yet, of abating. A lovely Christmas concert on Tuesday and Christmas singing at Tesco yesterday were fab opportunities to show off the hard work of the children and staff. We have our pantomime, Aladdin, next week, ‘Oh yes we do!’, as well as the, always brilliant, PTA Christmas fair, all designed perfectly to whip the children up into a frenzy of excitement before handing them over next Thursday…you’re welcome!

Christmas Concert
It was wonderful to return to the Tabernacle Chapel on Tuesday for our Christmas concert. It’s been a few years since we had held an event there and I was instantly reminded of what a beautiful building it is and of the very special ambience it lends to performances, particularly at this special time of year. Many thanks to Emrys and Janet Wynne for organising our use of the chapel, and for looking after us so well. Thank you also to the children for their hard work in learning their songs, poems and readings, that hard work shining through, I feel, in their lovely performances in the afternoon and evening. Thank you to the amazing staff of the school for preparing the children so well and to the parents, carers, family and friends for coming along and supporting us, it is never taken for granted, but always appreciated.

Update Contact & Medical Information
Can I please request that parents and carers update any contact details with us, if required, as it is extremely important that we hold the most up to date contact information for each pupil. Many I also request that any medical information, food intolerances / dietary requirements or allergy information are updated with us in school, including informing us if medication is no longer required, to ensure that we are able to offer the best care that we can in school. Contact information can be updated by emailing myself, or by contacting the school office. Medical information can be updated by completing the, very short, medical form, also available in the school office. Many thanks.

Christmas Singing at Tesco
We were invited to bring twenty children along to Tesco in Ruthin yesterday to sing some of our Christmas-concert songs to the festive shoppers. You will be unsurprised to learn that the children performed brilliantly, giving a wonderful recital, and were rewarded with a very kind gift for their efforts. We are intending to take another group of singers to Ruthin hospital next week. I’m sure that their lovely voices will bring a bit of cheer to the patients, staff and visitors.

Weekly Wellbeing
This week’s wellbeing quote is from Winston Churchill, the inspirational statesman, writer, orator and leader who led Britain to victory in the Second World War. It reminds us all that success and failure are different sides of the same coin and that it is the courage to move on from failure that is the key to any success.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Winston Churchill
A Big Thank You
Huge thanks to all the parents and carers who supported our Chocolate for Own-Clothes Day today, we have had a plethora of chocolatey goodies donated for the PTA Christmas Fair on Tuesday, which is requiring no small amount of willpower from the staff not to dive headfirst into. We are so grateful also to all the local businesses who have donated such lovely gifts for the stalls on Tuesday, many of whom have also been selling this year’s hot-ticket item… the Rhos St PTA Raffle ticket! Thank you so much to our brilliant school community!

Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are: Yr. N, Yr. R, Yr. 1, Yr. 2, Yr. 3, Yr. 4, Yr. 5 and Yr. 6 classes who were all recognised by their teachers for their brilliant Christmas concert performances, we are very proud of them all.
Max, Teddy, Morgan, Esme, Sophie and Henry were recognised for their hard work in class.
Louie shared his Elf-Training Diploma and Tae Kwon-Do grading certificate and Sam shared his Tae Kwon-Do grading certificate.

Congratulations to Amelia who performed with her strings group at Brynhyfryd Christmas concert on Wednesday evening, and to Jess who gave a lovely violin recital. What a talented bunch!