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

Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

Another crazy-busy week comes to a close. Personalised assessments have been going on as well as some fantastic Science-Week activities. Add a leavers’ blessing, a hint of Laser Combat and a soupçon of Summer Fair and you have a recipe for school staff drinking a lot of red wine this evening!

Summer Reading Challenge
The Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s biggest free reading for pleasure programme for children. Taking place annually, the Challenge encourages children aged 4 to 11 to keep reading during the summer holidays.
Children’s reading can ‘dip’ during the long summer holidays if they don’t have regular access to books and encouragement to read for pleasure. This can be a problem for schools to put right in the new term. The Summer Reading Challenge helps by regularly reaching over 700,000 children each year, motivating them to visit the library and keep reading during the holidays, and in turn helping them to maintain their reading skills and confidence.
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge, ‘Gadgeteers’, is all about science and innovation. Developed in partnership with the Science Museum Group, the Challenge will inspire children to use their curiosity and creativity to discover the science behind the everyday, and celebrates the role of the imagination in both reading and the sciences.
To join the Gadgeteers all the children need to do is read 6 library books over the summer holidays, and each time they visit the library they get fun rewards, including a medal and certificate if they complete the Challenge. It’s fun and free to take part, and we will also have some great activities in our libraries to support the Gadgeteers theme.

Personalised Assessments
We have been conducting the statutory personalized assessments this week with classes from Yr.2 to Yr. 6. Feedback on your child’s performance in the tests will be provided online from Friday 15th July and accessible through Hwb using your child’s access credentials. Online feedback reduces the environmental impact of printing large numbers of sheets, reduces costs to the school and also gives parents access to example questions to see exactly the types of question that their children have been answering. I will share specific instructions for accessing learner feedback on the 15th of July.

Science Week

A brilliant week of science activities this week, delivered by Xplore Science UK. The children had a fantastic time learning all about space, the stars and planets or building and testing solar-powered machines. Lots of great active learning went on and the opportunity to take part in activities that I’m sure the children will remember for a very long time. A big thank you to Mrs. Lewis for organsiing it all. There are lots more great pictures on our @rhosstreet Twitter account.

Nant BH and Pentrellyncymmer
We have had a positive response to our indication of interest letters for the two visits and are intending to go ahead with both trips. Letters with hoe information will be coming out soon. Subsequent to that, the payment will be set up Parent Pay which will allow payment to be made either in one single payment, or several installments, depending on what suits individual parents and carers.

Flu Vaccination
Letters have gone out today inviting pupils from Nursery to Yr.5 (Yr.6 pupils will be offered the vaccination at Ysgol Brynhyfryd in Yr.7) to receive an Influenza vaccination on October 5th. Please complete the form, indicating your preference, and return it to school by Thursday 14th July. Many thanks.

Breakfast Club – Autumn Term
As I shared with you previously, when we return in September there will be some changes to the Breakfast Club at Rhos St. Breakfast Club will open at 8.00am and will serve breakfast until 8.30am. Breakfast Club will close its doors at 8.40am. School will open to admit pupils at 8.50am, as usual. There will be a charge of £1 per pupil, for the childcare aspect of the provision, with a maximum charge of £2 per family (irrespective of the number of siblings). Parents and carers with children qualifying for free-school meals will not be charged for attending Breakfast Club. Breakfast Club charges will be collected through Parent Pay and will be set up ready for September.

Ruthin Tennis Club – Open Day
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Ruthin Tennis Club is holding an open day on Sunday 10 July. All ages are invited to use the club courts, and the club’s coach will be running a number of free tennis classes for children and teenagers to try tennis out. To book a free place for one of the coaching sessions or to register to use the courts for free during the open day, please use this link: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/ruthinltc/Events/Event/9b8ee589-b7bf-403b-9590-da66c60ccd36

Achievers
Our fabulous achievers this week are: Florence, Sam, Aurora, Verity, Nimrod, Teddy, Eliza, Lucas, Oliver, Mia-Rose, Meredith and Tyler.
Welsh awards went to: Aliza, Oscar, Jude, Charlie, Sebastian, Henry, Jade and Billy
Cadie shared her dance award and Fletcher shared his football medal. Well done to all our achievers this week!

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Mehefin 24ain / June 24th 2022
Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

The sunny weather seems to be deserting us for a while, let’s hope not for too long. Lots more great things going on this week, school trips away, pond making and if the muffled sounds from the hall are anything to go by, secret preparations for the Yr. 6 Leavers’ Service are afoot!

Sun Protection
Despite the sun showing its fickle side today there will, hopefully, be lots more sunny weather as the term draws to a close. Please see the following precis of our Sun Policy:
• Clothing
• We will actively encourage all pupils to wear a sunhat (ideally with a protective back flap) when playing outside.
• Pupils will wear t-shirts during PE or outdoor lessons to cover up their shoulders.
• We will encourage staff and parents/guardians to act as good role models by practicing sun safety
• Parents/guardians will be asked to ensure their children wear appropriate cover clothing during sunny periods
• Sunscreen
• The use of high factor (40+) all day sunscreen will be encouraged across the whole school day and during
outdoor school trips or visits.
• We will remind parents/guardians to provide their child(ren) with sunscreen for school trips and events.
• We WILL NOT hold a stock of sunscreen in the school.
• Foundation / Key Stage 1
• Parents/guardians will be asked to apply sunscreen to their children before they come to school.
• Parents/guardians will be asked to sign a form giving permission for their children to bring their
own sunscreen to school and apply it themselves.
• The sun cream must be labelled with the pupil’s name and will be stored in crates and kept by the class teacher.
• The crates of sunscreen will be made available to the pupils during break times and lunch times.
• Pupils will be supervised with the application of their sunscreen.
• Key Stage 2
• Parents/guardians will be asked to apply sunscreen to their children before they come to school.
• Parents/guardians will be asked to provide their child(ren) with their own sunscreen to bring to school so
that they can apply it themselves.
• The pupils will be encouraged to apply sunscreen themselves before playtimes and lunchtimes.
• Pupils will be supervised with the application of their sunscreen.

Parent Governor Applications
We are opening applications for two Parent Governors at school. I have sent out today information regarding the role of governor as well as a nomination and application form. Prospective governors are asked to complete a short personal statement in support of their application. If you would like to discuss any aspect of the role of Parent Governor with either myself or the Chair of Governors Julie Debicka, then please contact the school office.

Ruthin Carnival
Please see attached flyer for Rhos St’s plans for the Ruthin Carnival on Saturday 25th of June. Meet-up is at 10.30am next to the BP petrol station. Participants are asked to wear blue and bring blue, preferably noisy, things.

PTA – Own Clothes for Chocolate
We will be holding an own-clothes day on Friday 1st July to support the Rhos St PTA. We are requesting a donation of chocolate which will go on the Chocolate Tombola at the Summer Fair on Friday 8th of July.

Water, Water Everywhere!
Thanks to the fantastic efforts of Tony Dallolio and his team we have water in the polytunnel and Garden Area, this has proved invaluable, particularly in the recent hot weather, in keeping our garden thriving. We are hoping to add an automatic watering system in the near future to keep our much-loved plants happy over the summer holidays. Pupils worked with Mrs. Reece and Brad, from Denbighshire Countryside Services, this week to lay the liner in the pond and begin the filling process using water from our water butts. We are hoping to attract lots of wildlife to the pond and provide a habitat for local aquatic and amphibian species.

Achievers
This week’s achievers are: Hannah, Finley, Emilia-Grace, Daisy, Isaac, Lola, Oscar, Jacob, Penny, the whole Yr. 3 class, Riley, Llinos and Tiffany.
Welsh awards went to: George, Ruby, Belle, Billy J, Elissa, Lily-Mae, Emily and Joe.
Mia shared her football award, Hari, Henry and Emi-Lee shared their rugby awards and Henry also shared his Race for Life award. Being Brave in your vaccination awards were shared by Maisie and Mia.
Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Mehefin 17eg / June 17th 2022
Dear Parents and Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,

Lots and lots going on again this week: school trips, water talks, sports day and the Garden Area is flourishing under the expert care of Mrs. Reece and the green-fingered pupils of Rhos St. Plenty more activities and events scheduled in this hectic term. Phew!

Sports Day

It was lovely to have the opportunity on Wednesday to get back to old-school sports days. We were extremely lucky with the weather and got both the Foundation Phase and KS2 evets under our belts without a hint of rain. Many thanks to all the staff for organising the events so well and supporting the children through the highs and pressures of sports day. A big thank you also to the parents carers and relatives that came along to show their support on the day and made it such a special experience. A huge thank you also to the PTA who provided the refreshments stall and also the lollies / slushies (it was very hot) for all of the young athletes. The biggest thank you goes to all of the children for their sportsmanship and effort in all of the events.

Wizz Kids

The Reception and Yr. 1 class had a fantastic visit to Wizz Kids on Thursday. Lots of energetic fun and excitement on slides, in ball pits and climbing everything in sight. There were some very tired, but satisfied children on Thursday evening.

Ruthin School – Science and Humanities Taster Day
Yr. 5 had a brilliant time at Ruthin School on Thursday. They got to take part in lots of great activities and had a great time. Many thanks to Ruthin School for organising the transport and the event.

Garden Area
Things are developing nicely in our Garden Area with flowers and vegetables aplenty. The talented gardeners of Rhos St school are certainly showing their mettle.

ICT Migration
From Monday 20th June to Wednesday 22nd June Denbighshire ICT will be migrating all of our ICT devices onto their system. This will be a big step forward for us in terms of managing all of our devices at school, but may mean that we are unable to communicate via email during this period. The migration may also affect our telephone system for a short while, but I have been told that returning the telephone system will be a priority.

Cymraeg Campus
After a tantalising wait I can finally confirm that Rhos St has been awarded the Bronze Cymraeg Campus award. A huge thank you to Mrs. Lewis for putting together all of the evidence that we needed and also to the Criw Cymraeg for all their hard work in helping develop and support Welsh language at Rhos St. A great achievement and testament to all the hard work from staff and pupils alike in learning and using Welsh. I’m sure that this is the first of many Welsh awards to come.

It’s a Boy!
Huge congratulations to our lunchtime supervisor Vicky on the recent birth of her son Tobias. Very best wishes to the whole family.

Fund Raising
A huge thank you to all of the school community for supporting North West Cancer Research in our own-clothes day last week. We raised a fabulous £153 which will be added to the donation from our daredevil staff members Becky and Emma who will be completing their sponsored abseil down Liverpool Cathedral in the near future.

Achievers
Our fab achiever this week are:
Ted, the whole Reception class for being brilliant on their trip, the whole Yr. 1 class for brilliant on the same trip, Lola, Oscar, Jacob, Leila, Lilly, Thea, Charly, Jay, Kalyani, Kamal and Beau.
Welsh awards went to:
Hiyan, Aurora, Mia-Rose, Eva-May, Cain and Miley.
Taekwondo belts went to Maddie, Eva and Emily

A special Headteacher’s Award was given to Morgan Haylock for his heartwarming sportsmanship and demonstration of the very best of values. During his race at Sports Day Morgan was just about to cross the line in first place when he noticed his friend take a fall. He instantly turned back from crossing the line and went back to help his friend. This wonderful, selfless act was noticed by the staff parents and children and gives a wonderful example of the best of values. We are so proud of him!

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Andrew Davis, Headteacher / Pennaeth