Dear Parents and Carers,

This week, preparations have begun to ready the school for the partial reopening, which will take place on June 29th. Staff have collaborated to put together preliminary plans, processes and procedures for us to do this as safely as we possibly can. On Wednesday, we received guidance from Welsh Government to aid us in this task and you have filled an online questionnaire indicating your intentions regarding sending your child to school. Thank you for this information, which is essential for us to plan appropriately in these unprecedented times.

Now that the Local Authority have passed the names of those returning to us, we can now go ahead and make firmer plans regarding the structure of how this will look in reality. I look forward to sharing those plans at some point next week, when I am satisfied that all the measures have been decided and agreed by the relevant people in order to facilitate the safe opening of Rhos Street School. Those plans will be ratified by the Local Authority and the Governing Body.

Of course, over the past few months, Rhos Street has been hosting pupils of Key Workers from the Ruthin area. From June 22nd this provision will revert back to the parent schools and I understand the Local Authority will be communicating this information formally to parents. They will also be outlining the processes for any new registrations for the daily childcare provision which is only eligible to families where ALL carers in the household are Key Workers and have no alternative childcare. Our provision will continue to run from 8am to 3.30pm until the end of term.

Have a lovely weekend, thank you once again for your support and I’ll be in touch with arrangements next week.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

I’m sure you have been made aware of the announcement made by the Education Minister, Kirsty Williams regarding the proposed reopening of schools on June 29th.

Although this date is now agreed, I am awaiting the additional guidance from Welsh Government next week in order to be able to communicate to you how this will take place here at Rhos Street School. The Local Authority will then be preparing an online questionnaire for you to indicate whether you will be sending your child into school, so it may be a little while before the picture becomes clear.

Rest assured, we will be spending the next three weeks preparing to open with every safety aspect in mind and look forward to seeing our pupils again. I am in regular meetings with Headteachers, Local Authority and regional representatives as we collaborate with the intention of making this whole process as smooth, safe and as clear as possible.

I think it’s important to stress that this reopening will in no way reflect what we we previously called normal and the amount of time your child/ren will be allowed to spend in school between now and the proposed start of the Summer break on July 24th will be very much limited and could be as little as half a day or perhaps one full day per week. Like I said above, we await the guidance, but the reopening of schools in Wales has been framed as an opportunity to ‘Check in, catch up and prepare.’ This will give us the chance to reestablish direct contact with the pupils who return and help us prepare for the ‘New Normal’ in September, which will it seems, continue to require a blended approach of home learning and face to face contact with teachers in school.

In the meantime, I will ensure that when things are in place and decisions have been made, I will communicate them with you. The safety of all will be the highest priority and I’m sure I can count on your support, cooperation and trust as we work together in securing the reopening of Rhos Street School as safely as we possibly can.

In the meantime, please stay safe and look after one another.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

The weather remains kind to us, which I’m sure you’ll agree has been somewhat of a tonic in these unprecedented times. A pause in home learning due to the half term break, has hopefully left everybody recharged and ready to go again from Monday! I hope you all continue to be safe and well and that our pupils remain happy and positive.

From Monday, may I reinforce that we wish for all pupils and families in all full time classes to use Google Classroom as a focal point for their home learning. Please ensure your child logs on each day to review the tasks and activities set by the teachers and to complete them, so that they can receive ongoing feedback. Any problems, please let me know.

We once again await an end of week statement / press conference from The Welsh First Minister, as well as the Education Secretary, so we may well by the end of the day, have a clearer picture of the road map ahead.

On the twitter page, is some information regarding a fundraising initiative by one of our Governors, Mr Brian Hubble. Mr Hubble was previously Chair to the Governing Body and has been a supporter of the school throughout my time as Head and for many years previously. He will cycle Route 76, for 76 miles on his 76th Birthday – 76/76/76. There is also a link there if you wish to lend some support to his fundraiser.

Thank you to those who have shared photos of your child holding aloft their Betsi Cadwaladr certificates. Please keep them coming (template emailed last week.)

Other news of note is that Liam Purvis, has cycled and walked 100 miles during the month of May. Well done! He’ll be as fit as a butchers dog! Also, Ruben has been the lucky recipient of a special message from Leicester City player Christian Fuchs, which you will be able to see on Twitter.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

Half term is here! Time for a breather and a pause to home learning activities. There will be no further activities set for the next week, so I hope everybody has a lovely half term break. May the sun shine and may your barbecue sizzle!

Over the last few months we have been hosting Clemence, a young French lady on an internship as part of the project / link between Briec in Brittany and Ruthin. Not only was she an invaluable asset to Rhos Street in the weeks before school shut for mainstream pupils, but she has also been a godsent to the Childcare Hub and has attended every day, supporting the children of Key Workers. It will be such a shame to lose her, but we wish her well and I’m sure a bright future in the French education system awaits. Au revoir!

The Betsi Cadwaladr health board have sent a certificate template for our pupils, recognizing them for staying home, for being brave and for being little superheroes! Please print them off, pop their names on the certificate and send us / tweet us a photo of them proudly holding it, so I can share it. It’s lovely to get to see pictures of the pupils as we miss them so much! The template can be found on Twitter, and has been emailed to the mailing list.

Huge thanks to all of you for your efforts over the last few weeks. A lot has been achieved and I’m very pleased with the development of Google Classroom as a teaching platform. I look forward to seeing it develop further after the half term break. Please keep sending in your tweets and photos of your activities, be they educational or leisure. As we try to bridge the gulf between us, it is a lovely way to stay in touch.

Education Minister, Kirsty Williams has been very clear in saying that any news regarding the roadmap to reopening schools will come directly from her, so if you give her a follow on twitter, you will be among the first to know. As it stands, there is no date set, so we continue to wait for the details.

Have a wonderful Bank Holiday.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones, Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

One thing that is very clear from our recent experiences, is that the ICT skills of our pupils, parents and staff have been very much tested over the last few weeks. Speaking personally, I’ve learned so much about online platforms, video conferencing and collaborative networking, so I can strongly argue that many of us have been taken out of our comfort zone and despite the circumstances, sometimes that’s not a bad thing. We held a Governors’ meeting this week, via Microsoft Teams online and it was great to be able to discuss the many ongoing issues that schools face at this current time with them all. Another new experience!

I’m extremely indebted to the school staff for their efforts over the last few weeks. I have asked much of them, as they’ve developed their skills in using Google Classroom from a standing start and have successfully managed to engage so many of our pupils through this platform and despite the unconventional nature of its introduction, it has been brilliant professional development for them. Google Classroom will also be a fabulous teaching tool when we return to school, with staff and pupils having had a significant amount of experience using it. One thing this crisis will have done, is develop digital competency skills all round!

I’m sure you’ll appreciate, it will not have been easy for school staff, as they’ve been encountering many of the problems you will have experienced at home. Many of our staff have children of their own and have had to juggle their home learning, as well as that of their own pupils’, while sharing temperamental equipment and juggling responsibilities with partners who are also working from home in their own professions. Everybody has pulled together in such a positive way. On top of this, we’ve had a number of our staff volunteering in the Ruthin Hub, providing vital childcare to pupils of Key Workers in tandem with staff from other schools. Their valuable contributions are very much appreciated.

There’s been an increasing amount of talk in the media about schools reopening and sadly it’s now becoming more and more of a political football to be kicked about, despite the fact that strictly speaking, Rhos Street like many of our schools, hasn’t even closed due to its repurposing as a childcare hub. The debate of course, centres around the return of mainstream pupils and I wish more than anything, that there was a switch we could flip and return to normal. For those of us in good health, we can embrace returning with more confidence, knowing that the virus should not affect us adversely, were we to contract it. However, we must think beyond ourselves and consider carefully and plan meticulously for only opening our doors if we feel that the most vulnerable, most at risk person in the school community would be totally safe if we did. I look forward to seeing the proposals and guidance from Welsh Government, which I believe are imminent and I’m sure everybody will work together on a realistic timeline, to see a safe return to school for some of our pupils, their families and my staff, whenever that may be.

Once again, may I remind you all that we are here to support in any way we can. If you’re struggling, please reach out. If you need advice, please get in touch. Please continue to look after yourselves and say a hello from me to your children please. I speak for all of my staff in saying that we’re missing them very much.

I’m hopeful we’re seeing some light at the end of the tunnel now, so please; stay safe, stay at home, stay strong and dare I say it, stay alert!!

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Bryn D. Jones, Headteacher / Pennaeth

Dear Parents and Carers,

With the VE Day Bank Holiday taking place, it seems ever more a shame that school remains closed, denying us the chance to provide some really rich opportunities for our pupils this week, to remember the end of the Second World War. I am sure however, that you will all find a way to recognise this anniversary and I’m aware that some tasks have been set by our teachers along these lines.

We reach the end of another week and await a roadmap from the UK Government, in respect of the relaxation of measures put in place to keep us all and particularly the most vulnerable around us, safe. While those of us in education currently remain in the dark as much as everybody else, we of course are considering carefully the best means of managing the transition back to normality safely, putting the wellbeing of all first and foremost. There is a lot of conflicting evidence out there and we all know it’s easy to pick and choose which evidence is valid, but despite indications that young children are less susceptible to Covid-19, serious considerations need to made on how to protect the large amount of families we have with vulnerabilities in the household, the large amount of staff with vulnerabilities around them and make sure we protect everybody in the school community, children and adults alike. I am very hopeful that those making the decisions in Wales about the transition period will be mindful of these factors. Nothing would please me more, than being able to open the doors of the school to all pupils again, but we all want it done as safely as possible.

I also wanted to pass on my thanks once again to you all for the efforts you’re making to support your children with home learning. I mentioned wellbeing above and it continues to be a great comfort to me in these times that our pupils remain safe, happy and well. We remain extremely eager to support you in any way, but I am very grateful for everything you are trying to do through your engagement with the distance learning. I’m enjoying seeing the enthusiasm in the comments on Google Classroom and am heartened that, while this kind of learning will never be the same as being in school, our pupils will return buoyed by your efforts and we will be able to pick up the baton of their schooling and continue their educational journey with little disruption.

Something that will no doubt lift the spirits of everybody, is the message posted to Twitter from one of our old pupils; ex-Swansea, and current Aston Villa footballer, Welsh international, Euro 2016 semi-finalist and local hero, Neil Taylor. He gives our pupils some great advice and I’m really grateful to him for taking the time to send a message. Huge thanks to Will Jones, another ex-pupil and current parent for sorting it all.

Another bright spot this week, was the news that Maya had won third place in an art competition run by local chartered accountants Hill & Roberts. Well done to her!

Mia-Rose has been making some rainbow candles and would like to sell them to help raise money for the NHS. She is asking for a minimum donation of £2.50 per candle. If anyone would like one, please get in touch and I’ll pass you onto mum!

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend and please continue to stay safe.

Yours sincerely,

Headteacher, Pennaeth

Dear Parents and Carers,

May is here, although I’m sure you’ll agree, current circumstances make knowing what time it is, what day it is and indeed what month it is less of a priority! I can confirm it is Friday though, hence this newsletter and the weekend awaits, with no need to log into Google Classroom for a couple of days!

Many of you will be aware that we have been contacting our families this week, to check how you are, to offer support to you in being able to deliver our home learning activities and to see if there’s any other way we can be of assistance. We want to be able to give you any guidance you need to overcome any difficulties you may have faced, whatever they may be. Having spoken to many of you myself and also gained feedback from the other teachers, we are extremely reassured that our pupils are happy, safe and well, if a little bored and dare I say it, missing school! It’s a relief, knowing their wellbeing is really good because we then know it also puts them in a good place to approach their home learning with enthusiasm (although I acknowledge that many may need a nudge to do so, as they would if they were here in school, which is where your efforts are much appreciated!) Not all phone calls have been made as yet, so bear with us. We will hopefully have reached out to everybody by the end of Monday.

It was also a relief to hear directly and also through feedback from my staff, your gratitude for the efforts we are making to facilitate positive learning experiences for our pupils, despite the obvious constraints and challenges on many levels. We are doing our best and are constantly learning ourselves. Your resilience and positivity as parents and indeed pupils, to overcome the barriers that have been put between us are heart warming and I appeal to all of you to keep going, do your best and above all keep smiling. Distance may well have been put between us in the partial lockdown we experience, but from the phone calls I made, I got a sense of community existing between our pupils be it via Facetime, WhatsApp or indeed on the X-Box! I’ve also seen it myself on Google Classroom this week and it is a delight to see this resource develop and blossom in its use and its potential. Throughout the school, it is a perfect platform for direct communication between teachers and pupils. Pupils are able to comment and that link through their work and the interactions between them is something really positive. If you are still encountering difficulties logging onto Google Classroom, please let me know and I will phone you to try and walk you through the steps of enrolling. If you have any ICT problems and we can help in any way then please let me know and I’ll see if we can assist.

Once again, we met as a staff this week in a virtual online meeting (which remains an interesting experience!) and discussed Google Classroom at length. We agreed going forward, that we want Google Classroom throughout the school to be the focal point of the pupils’ home learning experience from now on. From there, activities can be set by teachers, feedback given and positive interaction between teacher and pupil can take place. It is also a way that pupils’ learning can develop more independence, putting less pressure on you as parents to be directing the home learning. Pupils can get on with tasks, needing less input and intervention by yourselves, which I’m sure you’ll agree can only be a good thing! It is not without its problems, so please remain patient as staff are also developing their expertise in setting tasks. When pupils have finished their work on Google Classroom, if they want, they can go on to their activities on other platforms like Purple Mash, Manga High and so on. This then gives you the opportunity to manage the time spent doing the home learning yourselves and make it work for you better. As I said in my twitter post yesterday, please keep in touch as we’re here to help!

There are also some other snippets and news I’d like to share with you.

Firstly, young Daniel Roberts in Year 2 came a cropper off his bike, fell heavily and had to undergo an operation to manipulate both the radius and ulna in his arm. That’s a proper injury – I saw the pictures! I’m pleased to say he is on the mend and home with his family. I am sure I speak for us all in hoping his recovery is quick!

We have some good news to share, because Luna and Mollie in Nursery now have a baby brother each. We extend our congratulations to the families.

Betsy Cadwaladr Health Board are providing free online courses for parents, called the Solihull Approach. They come highly recommended and I have provided the information you need, as an attachment to the email which is also to be found on the twitter feed.

Have a good weekend and please continue to stay safe.

As ever, my best wishes to you.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher