Hydref 14eg / October 14th 2022

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

School is a hive of activity at the moment, almost literally in the Yr. 4 class, with their work on bees! Everyone is busy getting ready for our forthcoming Harvest service as well as bringing their themes for the term to a close. Eight-week half terms are certainly not for the faint hearted and we are all focused on everything that needs to be done before the well-deserved half-term break.

Wildlife Pond
Tony and Liz have been working hard again, this time in making sure that our wildlife pond is as safe and secure as possible. The addition of anti-climb fencing and a padlock will mean that everyone can enjoy the pond safely. We will be working with Denbighshire Countryside services in the near future to begin planting some water plants in the pond area to encourage the local wildlife to make it their home. Huge thanks again to Tony and Liz for all of their hard work.

Tesco Donation
Many thanks to Mike Reade, the manager of Tesco Ruthin, for his very kind donation of spring bulbs to the school. The Gardening Club will really enjoy planting them in the near future and we will all wait with hopeful expectation for the display that they will provide in the spring. Tesco kindly donated compost in the summer and we are extremely grateful for their ongoing support of the school.

Grapes
I have been asked by some of the Foundation Learners’ staff to request that the younger children do not bring whole grapes as part of their packed lunch. Some of the children have struggled with larger grapes and the staff had concerns regarding a possible choking hazard. If grapes are sent in as part of a packed lunch, for younger children, could they please be cut up. Many thanks for your support.

Kick-It Sports
Dave from Kick-It sports visited on Monday to speak with the older children about the forthcoming multi-skills club. He shared some of the great games that children attending the club would be playing and left some flyers with information all about Kick-It sports and a link how to book a place on the four-week course. Kick-It Sports club is due to begin on Monday 24th of October. You can see an information video all about Kick-It sports here: https://t.co/SNzE3Xrbh4 and book a place for your child by following this link: https://t.co/xRJl4prStb

Hello Yellow
We had a brilliant response to our Hello Yellow day in school, in support of the Young Minds mental-health charity.
We talked in service about the importance of keeping you mind healthy in just the same way as it is important to keep your body healthy. It was lovely to see the children in their special clothes for the day. If you would like to support the Hello Yellow – Young Minds charity you can donate, on their website, by following this link: https://t.co/mDgUkQnYya

Diwnod Su Mae
Shwmae Su’mae Day, is on Saturday the 15th of October, 2022! Diwrnod Su’mae is an opportunity to have fun and share the Welsh language – in the shop, leisure centre, work, school, playing fields and with your friends, online or face to face! We talked about it in service today and set the challenge for the children to practice saying Su’mae to as many people as they can today ready for Diwrnod Su’mae tomorrow. Su’mae!

Harvest Service
Our Harvest service is on the 25th of October at St Peter’s church. As in previous years we are collecting non-perishable food items to donate to Ruthin Food Bank. If you would like to donate please ask your child to bring in an item or items to our collection point by the main school entrance. Many thanks! Tesco Ruthin have also very kindly agreed to make a donation for Rhos St to share with the Ruthin Food Bank as part of our Harvest service. Their ongoing support of Rhos St is very much appreciated.
If any parents or carers are available, on October 24th and 25th, to assist with walking up to the church with the Foundation Learners please could they meet us at the school entrance at 9:20 am. Many thanks in advance.

Parental Consultations
Our autumn-term parental consultations begin on Monday. You should have received a date and time for your appointment earlier this week. Please can I request that parents and carers arrive promptly for their appointments, at the outside door to their child’s classroom, as we are mindful that there may be an impact on the time available, within the allocated 10- minute time slot, to discuss your child if appointment times are not closely adhered to. Many thanks for your cooperation.

Achievers
This week’s fabulous achievers are: Will, Omran, Chima, Hugo, Cora, Josh, Claire, Liam and Jay.
Sophie shared her Dance Star of the Week award.
A special mention needs to go to Amelia who took part in the final day of the North Wales International Music Festival on Saturday. She played her cello at St Asaph Cathedral as part of the NEW Sinfonia orchestra. What a fantastic opportunity and what a brave young lady.

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Hydref 7fed / October 7th 2022

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

Preparations for our Harvest service are well under way and the school is resounding with the sound of songs and poems being refined and honed. There has been lots going on to keep us out of mischief, Autumn walks around the local area, trips to the living classroom, buddy meetings and the successful launch of our new gardening club.

Parents’ Evening
We are intending to hold our parental consultation, meet the teacher, evenings in the week beginning 17th of October. An appointment time for your face-to-face meeting will be sent home with your child early next week. If you are unable to make your 10-minute appointment please inform your child’s class teacher and we will do our best to reschedule.

Gardening Club
Huge thanks to Ms. Williams, Layla’s mum, for running our gardening club on Wednesday this week. It was the turn of the Yr. 3 children this week and they all had a brilliant time planting in the polytunnel. I can personally vouch for the fact that their wellie-selection skills are, very much on point. The dates for the remaining KS2 classes are as follows:
Yr. 4 Wednesday 12th October
Yr. 5 Wednesday 19th October
Yr. 6 Wednesday 26th November

I will share future gardening-club dates after half term.

Kick-It Sports
I have been in discussions with Kick-It Sports regarding a multi-skills after-school club on Mondays 3:15pm – 4:30pm, beginning on Monday 24th of October. Kick-It Sports will be initially offering the club to the Yrs. 3-6 pupils, with the possibility of offering sessions for Foundation Learners in the future. The 4-week course costs £18, payable directly to Kick-It Sports, when you book through this online booking form: https://bookwhen.com/kickitsports
You can view the activities that are offered by Kick-It Sports and get a flavour of what they do by following this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XVbM9GR2b9bZs6b0w87YeMgs24DUflpQ/view?usp=sharing
Kick-It Sports will supply the appropriate number of coaches, based on the number of bookings received, and will manage the club in school.

Breakfast Club Payment
Just a polite reminder for any parents and carers who use the school’s breakfast club provision that payment needs to be made on ParentPay for the sessions that your child has attended the previous week. Any arrears over £20 may mean that pupils would not be permitted to attend breakfast club until payment had been received. Many thanks for your support.

Harvest Service

We are intending to hold a Harvest service at 10:00am on Tuesday 25th of October at St Peter’s church. Our harvest service, which was a pre-covid annual event, is now back and we are busy practicing as a school our individual class and whole-school items to share. Reverend Natasha will be welcoming us on the 25th to St Peter’s church and parents, carers, family and friends are all welcome to attend.

Dates for the Diary
Wed 12th – Gardening Club Yr. 4
Thurs 13th – Chester Football Yrs. 3/4 pm / Yrs. 5/6 After-school club
Fri 14th – Hello Yellow Wear Yellow for Young Minds Charity
Mon 17th – Parental Consultation week
Wed 19th – Gardening Club Yr. 5
Thurs 20th – Chester Football Yrs. 3/4 pm / Yrs. 5/6 After-school club
Mon 24th – Kick-It Sports multi-skills after-school club session 1
Tues 25th – Harvest Service St Peter’s Church 10:00am
Wed 26th – Sports for Champions Athlete Event
-Gardening Club Yr. 6
Thurs 27th – Halloween Disco
-Chester Football Yrs. 3/4 pm / Yrs. 5/6 After-school club
Fri 28th – Close for half term

More dates for the diary will be shared after half term.
Achievers
This week’s amazing achievers are: Wren, Raph, Fleur, Stanley, Freya, Daisy, Sylvia, Arlo, Mia-Rose, Riley and Tyler. Neve shared her Rainbow Bronze Award and Elsie shared her dance trophies and medal. We also shared the certificates for the pupils who have worked so hard to complete the summer reading challenge. Well done to all of our amazing achievers!

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Medi 30ain / September 30th 2022

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

As you can see from our Twitter profile it’s all go in school at the moment. We are so proud of our Yr.6 class for being brilliant buddies for the Reception class while at the living classroom. Everyone involved had a fantastic time and it is something that we are very much looking to keep going. As September draws to a close it is great to see children settled in to their new classes, happy and learning.

School Development Plan
Every year we identify targets for us to focus on in school and this year we have decided that we are going to ask our stakeholders what they think we do well at Rhos St and what they think we ought to be working on to make better. We are asking pupils, parents/ carers, governors, staff and teachers to complete the stakeholder viewpoint sheet. When we have received them all we will look at them all and base the things we need to work on any themes that come across. I have attached the School Development Plan – Parent / Carer Viewpoint sheet to this email. It can be returned by email to myself, or printed and returned to the school office. We greatly value the views of all our stakeholders and are looking forward to putting them at the core of what we do here in school.

Gardening Club
Ms. Williams, Layla’s mum has very kindly agreed to hold a gardening club, at Rhos St, on Wednesday evenings 3:30pm – 4:15pm. The club is open to Yrs. 3-6 pupils and will focus on readying the Garden Area for the winter, planting winter vegetables as well as planting and growing in the polytunnel. If you would like your child to take part in Gardening Club please complete the permission form, sent home with interested pupils or available in the office, and return it to your child’s teacher.

Ysgol Brynhyfryd – Open Evening

Ysgol Brynhyfryd are holding a Yr. 6 Open Evening on Thursday 6/10/22 from 4:15pm – 6:30pm. Please follow the link below to book a place for the open evening:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/noson-agored-blwyddyn-6-year-6-open-evening-dydd-iau-061022-thursday-tickets-414511985507

Flu Immunisation
Just a reminder that the Influenza Immunisation (nasal spray) will be taking place on Wednesday 5th of October for pupils in Yrs. R -6 whose parents and carers have returned the permission letter.

Childcare Workshops
Free workshops are available for anyone interested in exploring a career in childcare and early years: Through the Exploring a Career in Childcare workshops, we can help you plan your next steps in business, employment or training. This free, virtual event provides information on training, funding and access to working in childcare. Guest speakers will include various members of Cwlwm partners and educational providers. Follow the links below for more information or contact Joanna Hughes on 01824 706527.
https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/exploring-enterprise https://www.sirddinbych.gov.uk/edrych-ar-fenter

Urdd
Following on from last year’s Rhos St Eisteddfod success we will be holding our own Rhos St Eisteddfod again this year and, Covid-19 permitting, we are hoping to be able to invite parents and carers in to the school to see the work that the children have been doing. Attached to this email is information for parents and carers who wish to join the Urdd movement for 2022-23. Urdd membership is required for children to enter the art and craft work, CogUrdd and Urdd sports competitions, but will not be necessary for the Rhos St Eisteddfod activities which will be an inclusive opportunity for all of the children to take part.

Data Poverty
Denbighshire Libraries are working with Good Things Foundation (external website) to distribute free SIMs and mobile data to local people living in data poverty. Please see the poster attached to this email for more information.

Twitter
Check out our Twitter account @rhosstreet for the latest information and to see the brilliant things that the children have been up to this week!
Also take a look at our @RSSGovernors to find out all the latest from our governing body.
You can additionally get all the latest information from our fantastic P.T.A at @RhosPta

Achievers
This week’s amazing achievers are: Alice, Jake, Kitti, Sophie, Abigail, Samuel, Harry. Hannah, Charlie, Henry, Merry and all of Yr.6.
Aidan shared his purple Karate belt, Llinos shared her Girls’ football medal and Lucas shared his medal.

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Medi 23ain / September 23rd 2022

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

Even a shorter than usual week has felt full to bursting with lots happening all over the school. We are preparing for our Sports for Champions session, have a look at the Rhos St page if you get the chance to find out more about the athlete that will be coming to visit: https://t.co/Lc3fmPeANl. Chester football sessions and the first of our Craze of the Week activities have all got under way, the calendar that was very empty is definitely filling up!

Craze of the Week

As part of our work based on Jenny Mosely’s Circle Time and Golden Time we have begun our Craze of the Week activities. The idea is that every week we introduce a new Craze of the Week for children to take part in at break and lunchtimes. Yr. 6 pupils have kindly volunteered to be Craze of the Week trainers, working with the younger classes to teach them the current week’s craze. This week’s Craze of the Week was chalk and we had some very creative playground adornment to brighten up our lives.

Chester Football
Kalvin from Chester Football began the afternoon football sessions with Yrs. 3 and 4 yesterday. They all had a brilliant time learning new skills and playing some fantastic, fun games. Our after-school football club also started yesterday, with the Yrs. 5 and 6 pupils being put through their paces. A huge thank you to Chester Football for offering us the afternoon sessions free of charge and for providing the after-school club.

Pentrellyncymmer Residential
A very last opportunity for any parents and carers, who would like their child to take part in the Pentrellyncymmer residential visit on 16th – 18th November. We are finalising numbers and Monday will be the last chance to secure a place. Please contact the school office for information.

Midday Supervisor
Anyone interested in the role of Midday Supervisor at the school please get in touch as we are looking for someone special to join our dedicated team.

Vintage Newspapers
Many thanks to Rhos St governor Pat Astburry for loaning us some fascinating newspapers form yesteryear. We are going to be sharing these with the children in the coming weeks. One from 1952 is particularly interesting and pertinent as it shows the funeral of King George VI with some very poignant similarities with the funeral of Queen Elizabeth on Monday.

PTA Halloween Disco

To give you plenty of time to prepare maximum spookiness here is information about the PTA Halloween Disco on Thursday 27th October. We’re all looking forward to a terrifyingly spooktastic event!
Infants 3:30pm – 4:30pm
Juniors 4:45pm – 5:45pm
Adults to stay with infants please.
£2 entry per child on the door.

Twiggle does Turtle
Our service today was all about Twiggle the Turtle and how he learned to control his emotions by doing Turtle.
We will all be practicing how to do Turtle when things upset or frustrate us in school.

Achievers
This week’s amazing achievers are: Lucas, Thomas, Hannah. Thea, Isabella, Esme-Rae, Nimrod, Myah, Charles and Noah. Bella and Grace shared their green martial-arts belts and Sofia shared her orange belt. Noah shared his triathlon medal and Emiliya shared her dance trophy. Well done to all our brilliant achievers!

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Medi 16eg / September 16th 2022

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

Another week of industrious activity draws to a close. Children have settled really well into their new classes and are getting into the swing of being back in school and working hard. We have been very mindful as a school of the historical significance of this week, and recent events, and it has been very noticeable how many children have wanted to talk to each other and staff about the death of Queen Elizabeth and their feelings around it. I sincerely hope that the Bank Holiday on Monday offers, for all who feel they need it, time to process these events in their own individual way.

Sport for Champions
We will be taking part in a fantastic opportunity to promote physical activity in school through the Sport for Champions Event on the 26th October 2022. We will be welcoming professional basketballer Danny Evans to school who will be working with the Reception to Yr.6 classes on an exciting basketball activity session. The event is sponsored and we are asking the children to try to raise sponsorship to complete the activity with Danny. All finds form the sponsorship event will be divided between developing UK Sports and the school, with 60% of the raised funds going directly to support the learning of the children of Rhos St. We are all really excited about this opportunity and am sure that the children will love meeting a professional athlete, talking with them and asking, I’m sure, a million questions as well as taking part in, what we are sure will be, a fantastic, fun activity session. I would like to thank you all in advance for your help and support with the Sport for Champions event.

Chester FC After-School Club
I am extremely pleased to be able to offer an after-school club run by Calvin from Chester FC, with whom we have worked over many years. The after-school football club will be run on a Thursday evening 3:30pm – 4.30pm and will cost £3 per child, per session. The club is open to children from Yrs. 3 – 6 and is on a first come first served basis up to a maximum number of 16 pupils. We are hoping to begin the after-school club on Thursday 22nd September. If you would like your child to take part in the Chester FC after-school football club please complete and return the permission slip sent home with interested children.
We are also delighted that Chester FC have, very kindly, offered us free football coaching afternoon sessions for this term, details to follow.

School Garden Winner’s Presentation

We were extremely proud to welcome the judge from Ruthin Show Society – School Garden Competition, Mrs. Heather Williams who came to school to present us with our trophy and certificate. We are very, very proud of the work that we have done in the garden area and were delighted to have won first prize in the competition. We are hoping to continue the work in the garden over the autumn and winter, making the most of the shelter from the elements in the polytunnel. Many thanks to Mrs. Williams and the Ruthin Show Society.

Teaching Spelling at Rhos St
Mindful of the vital partnership between school and home I would like to outline the Diagnostic Spelling method that we use at Rhos St for the teaching of spelling to help ensure that teachers, staff, parents and carers are able to most effectively work together to support pupils’ leaning of spelling. At the beginning of the autumn term children are given the Diagnostic Spelling Test. The Diagnostic Spelling system, used from Yrs. 2 to Yr. 6, gives the pupils a ‘working’ spelling ‘phase’ which realistically identifies the level at which they are able to independently spell common words, based on the Letters and Sounds Phase Phonic Teaching Programme and the DFES (Department for Education and Skills) Spelling Bank for Key Stage 2. Pupils then work on spelling lists at their individual level, which are tested during the week. The spelling lists include elements of ongoing, progressive word ‘families’ as well as reinforcing key-words which will be revisited several times, within weekly lists, to ensure pupil’s understanding. The diagnostic system allows us to ensure consistency and progression across the school as pupils are tested, using the diagnostic test, at the start of each year the level at which they access the spelling ‘phases’ ensures that they are able to use the spellings that they are learning, to a much greater degree, independently, within their work.

Oliva Alkir – Stained Glass Window
I was honored to attend the dedication service of the Olivia Window at Efenechtyd – St Michael and All Angels church on Saturday. It was a beautiful ceremony and, despite the deep sadness at the loss of Olivia, shared by everyone present, celebrated the incredible person that Olivia was and the positive effect that she had on so many people, not only during her all too short life, but also in the lives that will be saved through the Oliva’s Story road-safety film which is being shown to Secondary pupils across Wales. The window is stunning and is a direct copy of a picture created by Olivia, while she was studying at Ysgol Brynhyfryd. It will leave a lasting memorial to Olivia for all who visit this beautiful church for many, many years to come.
Bank Holiday

As I’m more than sure that you are aware Monday 19th September had been designated as a bank holiday as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Rhos St school will be closed on Monday 19th and will reopen on Tuesday 20th.

Reading and Spelling
May I please request that reading, spelling and sound books, for our Foundation Learners, come in to school every day. Many thanks for your support.

Tesco Blue Tokens
Please think of Rhos St when you are into Tesco in Ruthin, we have two weeks to go on the Tesco Community Fund and the opposition is catching up!

Welcome to Jane our New School Cook
This week we have welcomed our new school cook Jane. We are very lucky to have Jane working with us as I have heard brilliant things about her cooking skills and she is a very welcome addition to the Rhos St and Ysgol Pen Barras catering team. Jane runs a Facebook page on which she shares the meal options available for the next day and also the options available for the following week. Head over to: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=penrhos%20cinio to see what’s cooking!

WANTED – Wellies

Any donations of primary child-sized wellies would be very gratefully received. We are looking to have pairs of wellies available for pupils to borrow when they head off to the Garden Area and Living Classroom. Please drop off any wellie donations in the foyer. Many thanks.

Spare Trousers
Mrs. Bourne has requested any unwanted Reception-age trousers / joggers to keep in reserve for those little emergencies in class. Please drop off any donations in the foyer. Many thanks for your help.

Achievers
Our fantastic achievers this week are: Rupert, Amelia, Hiyan, Aliza, Drago, Billy, Sophie, Jessica, Charles, Daniel and Lilly.
Harri shared his Ruthin Town football certificate and Aidan, Harry and Cadie shared their Reading Challenge certificates.
Well done to all of our brilliant achievers!

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Medi 9fed / September 9th 2022

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

There was a definite air of ‘rabbits in headlights’ when staff returned to school on Thursday last week, but there has been a steady, mostly caffeine-driven, return to ‘match fitness’ for everyone. It was lovely, on Monday, to welcome the ‘beating heart’ of Rhos St back again and see the pupils returning full of tales from their summer adventures. I have been proudly shown more new pairs of shoes than I can remember and have been fully updated on current everts by the Foundation learners. We are all excited to begin the new school year and are looking forward to the challenges and achievements of the term to come.

School Pond

Our plans for the Garden Area have taken another really positive step forward with the completion of the wooden framing for the wildlife pond. Huge thanks to Tony and Liz for their hard work over the summer putting up the fencing. We are intending to add anti-climb fencing and a padlock to keep the area safe and secure for everyone.

Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club has got off to a fantastic start with all of the children settling in to the new routine really well. Just a quick reminder that Breakfast Club opens at 8:00am and closes at 8.40am. Breakfast is served between 8:00am and 8:30am. The ParentPay link for Breakfast Club will be activated on a Friday for all of the families who have accessed the provision during the week. We politely request that payment is made, through the ParentPay portal, before the Wednesday of the next week. The charge, for the childcare aspect of the provision is £1 per child, up to a total of two children. Any families with more than two children attending will only pay £2 per day. Parents whose children are eligible for free school meals (not the new universal free school meals currently offered to the Reception class) will not be charged for the Breakfast Club provision.

We Won!
Huge congratulations to Mrs. Reece and all of the children of Rhos St for winning the Ruthin Flower Show – School Garden Competition. All of the hard work put into the garden area by the children of all classes over the previous months paid off creating a competition winning garden. We have been informed that we will soon be receiving a visit from the organisers of the competition to present the school with our award, which I will proudly share in a subsequent newsletter.

Nurture Room

We have been working hard to turn our previously very boring PPA room into a far more exciting nurture room. There have been some impressive modifications so far, unsurprisingly at Rhos St due to the talents of Mr. Tony Dallolio, to whom we are as always very grateful. The latest of these is an integrated storage cupboard, ready for all of the fun resources that will be used in the room. We have big plans for the Nurture Room, which will be used for ELSA (Emotional Learning Support Assistant) and nurture sessions and is due for even more exciting upgrades in the future – watch this space!

Lunchtime Supervisor
We are looking for an additional lunchtime supervisor at school to work with the Foundation Learners. If you are interested in joining our fantastic team please contact me on 01824702565

Music Tuition
If you are interested in your child receiving music tuition this term please contact the office. We are currently working with Denbighshire Music Cooperative to organize music lessons and need to know numbers as soon as possible. Many thanks.

Denbighshire Music Cooperative will be hosting an online demonstration for the whole school on Monday 12th September to demonstrate the different instruments available for pupils to study.

School Uniform
Please can all school uniform and PE kit be clearly labelled with your child’s name to ensure that it can be returned if mislaid. Many thanks.
Fineline – the clothing supplier in Ruthin have very sadly ceased trading, after many, many years of service to the community. They have very kindly donated their remaining items of Rhos St uniform to us. We are very mindful of the financial pressures on families at the moment and are intending to offer this uniform to any parents or carers who would benefit. Please call into the office to see what is available.
At Rhos St we love recycling and our brilliant PTA offer preloved uniform items, available in the foyer, for a small donation. Please take a look before buying new.

Medical Forms
Please can all medical forms for Nursery class be completed and returned as soon as possible, please still return the form even if your child does not have a medical condition.
Can all parents and carers please update school if your child has developed a medical condition or allergy, recently, or there has been a change to your child’s existing medical condition. Forms are available in the office for this purpose. Many thanks for your support in relation to this important safeguarding matter.

Foundation Phase Communication Sheets
With the official start of the new Curriculum for Wales 2022 and the end of the designation between KS2 and the Foundation Phase, with all leaning now being a 3-16 continuum, staff will focus their attention on sharing information, on the brilliant things that pupils have been learning and doing in class, through our Twitter account and this weekly newsletter. Keep an eye on Twitter for updates on activities and forthcoming events in your child’s class. I will also email important information to the relevant class’s email group where appropriate.

Admissions Information
Please see, attached to this email, information on Admissions to school for academic year 2023-2024.

Flu Immunisation
Please can any outstanding flu vaccination permission forms be returned to school as soon as possible. I have attached an electronic copy to this email if your original form has been mislaid. The nasal-spray flu immunisation is scheduled for 13th October. Many thanks.

Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II 1926 – 2022

It is with deep sadness that we have learned of the death of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.

As a School we send our deepest condolences to all members of the Royal Family.

Messages of condolence
You can send a message of condolence through Denbighshire County Council’s online form by following this link: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/births-marriages-and-deaths/her-majesty-the-queen.aspx These messages will be kept within Denbighshire County Council.
Alternatively you can send a message of condolence direct to the Royal Family on the Royal Family website by following this link: https://www.royal.uk/

Achievers
Our fantastic achievers this week are:
All of the Nursery Class, all of the Reception Class, all of Yr. 1 and all of Yr.2 – for a brilliant first week in their new classes. Well done to all our Foundation Learners.

Paige, Max, Jacob and Fletcher all received Student of the Week awards.
Eliza and Mia shared their football medals and certificates.
Louie, Esme, Mia-Rose, Claire, Ayla, Neve, Lily and Finley all proudly showed off their Reading Challenge certificates
after all of their hard work over the summer. We are very proud of them and are looking forward to sharing more awards
before this year’s reading challenge comes to an end of September 30th.

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

The final newsletter this term, sorry it’s a monster, and time has flown. I wish our Yr.6 leavers the very, very best as they leave the familiarity of Rhos St and set sail for new adventures at secondary school. I can genuinely say that they have been ‘cursed to live in interesting times’ with events in recent years, but am incredibly proud of them all and so glad that they have got to do so many of those things that go towards making their final year at primary school so special.
I would like to thank the whole school community for their support this year and wish each and every one of you a fantastic summer.

Message from Mr. Jones
Hi Year 6. At the end of your final days in Year 6 and as pupils at Rhos Street, I just wanted to send you a few words, to wish you well as you move on to your Secondary School. Whether it is at Ysgol Brynhyfryd or elsewhere, I hope you are happy, successful and continue your educational journeys positively. These are exciting times! I have watched your development closely as individuals over those many years you’ve been at the school, only to miss out on witnessing your final two terms. It only seems like yesterday, when those of you who joined the school as toddlers at the very beginning were in Giggles and the Nursery Class! Nevertheless, I wanted to take the opportunity to send you my thoughts and good wishes. I hope you enjoyed presenting your Leavers’ Service – I’m sure it was great fun. On that note, I hope the whole school community of pupils, parents and staff have a fantastic summer, with fingers crossed for great weather!
From Mr. Bryn Jones

Reports
Your child’s end of year report has been sent home today. Please take time to read through the report and return the reply slip to your child’s class teacher. If you would like to discuss a specific issue with your child’s report then please make an appointment, via the school office, with your child’s class teacher for Monday 18th of July.

Personalised Assessments
We have just finished our two-week personalized-assessment window at school. All of the children from Yr.2 to Yr.6 have been taking the assessments online. Colleagues at Rhos St and other schools have shared how they felt that the assessments this year have been particulary challenging, so we are all extremely proud of the children for working so positively with them. We are sharing the learner feedback produced for each child through their Hwb account. Sharing the feedback online reduces our environmental impact and also offers parents additional functionality within the feedback, giving them access to examples of the questions taken by their children, which is not available on printed feedback sheets. I have included detailed instructions on accessing the learner feedback in the email to which this newsletter is attached. Learner feedback is available for the Numeracy Procedural and Reading personalised assessments. Feedback for the Numeracy Reasoning test, this year, is in the form of teacher feedback not made available by Hwb to parents.

Leavers’ Service

It was lovely to welcome parents and carers of the Yr.6 children to our first Leavers’ Service in a very long time. The Yr.6 children did themselves proud with a lovely performance with great singing and acting. Many thanks to all the parents, carers, relatives and friends who came along to support them.

Outstanding Payments
Could I request that any outstanding payments for school trips, music lessons or school dinners be made before the end of this term please. Any dinner monies left outstanding for Yr.6 pupils will be transferred to Ysgol Brynhyfryd and may mean that in Yr.7 they might not be able to receive food from the canteen until accounts are settled.

Donations
Many thanks to Arlo Jones’s parents for their kind donation of cable reels, they will be put to many and varied use in the outdoor areas. Another thank you to the parents of Maddie Thompson for the very generous donation of foundation phase gardening tools. Thanks also to Sarah Longhurst, Alys’s mum and school governor for her very kind donation of deck chairs. I get the feeling they are going to be very popular amongst both children and staff alike.

Flu Vaccination Consent
Please can all outstanding influenza vaccination forms be returned to school by Monday 18th July. Many thanks.

Uptake Questionnaire
Dear Parent/Guardian,
As part of the Co-operation Agreement, Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru have recently announced the rollout plan to be allow all primary school children to have a free school meal by September 2024.
To help us plan ahead and make sure that every child who would like a free school meal can receive one, we would be grateful if you could complete the survey via the link below and let us know whether you’d like your child or children to receive free school meals under this scheme.
Please could complete a short survey by following this link: https://forms.office.com/r/9Qh57Epbqn
We would appreciate your support in completing this survey and returning by 29th July 2022.

Kind Regards
Education and Children’s Services Department

Year-End Celebration Menu
The canteen has been doing us proud with their celebration menus this term and on Wednesday 20th July they are doing a Seaside Favourites special which includes fish and chips in a box and ice cream pudding – a seagull’s dream!

Summer Reading Challenge

We had a visit on Thursday morning from Roland a gentleman from Denbighshire Library Service to officially launch the Summer Reading Challenge: Gadgeteers. He shared information on the great Gadgeteers characters and also on how children can get involved with the summer reading challenge. Lots of children put up their hands to show that they wanted to take part, a really positive response.

Music Forms
Please could any forms requesting peripatetic-music provision next term be returned by Monday 18th please. Music lessons and group sizes need to be organized before September with Denbighshire Music Cooperative as changing lesson days, lesson times or group sizes is extremely complex. Many thanks.

Breakfast Club Payment
The £1 per day breakfast club charge has now been set up on Parent Pay. Pupils attending breakfast club from September will be registered and parents will be requested to pay for each day of their child’s / children’s’ attendance at the end of each week. I have been advised that we are unfortunately unable to accept Childcare Vouchers in payment for school-based provision. Parents and carers with pupils on the free-school-meals register will not be charged for the provision.

Achievers
This week’s brilliant achievers are: The whole Nursery class, Thea, Louie, Aurora, Daisy, Charlie, Grace, Max, all of Yr.4, Tomos and all of Yr.6 for their brilliant leavers’ service.
Welsh awards went to Maya, Indi, all of Yr.4, Florence, Bertie, Oliver, Thea and Bethany.
Platinum Gymnastics awards were shared by Llinos and Alys. Yr.5 shared their Super Scientist award and Finley finally got his hands on his overdue kindness award, for which he kindly waited patiently!
Well done to all of our achievers!

Thank you, Yr.,6

A big thank you from me for the lovely card which was surreptitiously delivered to me at the end of service this morning from the children of Yr.6. Sharks, camping, pizza and coffee – they know me sooooo well!

Thanks again for all your support, have a fantastic summer.

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth