Dear Parents and Carers,

We’ve reached the end of the first week of the Summer term and it provides me with another opportunity to update you regarding the resources available for home schooling. Last week, I refreshed the information I wanted to share with you in terms of the online resources, which my teaching staff and I are eager for you to support your child in accessing regularly. As the lockdown period lengthens, this becomes ever more important in order to ensure the transition between this period and their return to school happens as smoothly as possible. Like I’ve said previously many times, the challenge is maintaining the balance for all concened in the household!

This week we have rolled out Google Classroom to all classes from Reception up to Year 6 (Reception added as of today). This is an really innovative resource, which allows teachers to interact regularly with their pupils by setting work, giving feedback and then allowing the child to respond to that feedback. Unfortunately, we still are missing quite a few pupils from each respective class. I understand enrolment is not straightforward, but I’d be grateful if you could inform me if you are experiencing log-in problems, so that I can try to address them with you. If you are experiencing difficulties, please follow the steps in my email on Tuesday. Additionally, it may be useful for you first of all check that you are not logged into any other Google account on Google Chrome and that you are logged into Google correctly, via your child’s Hwb log-in and password. This is very important in order to be set up correctly. Here is a link to a video we’ve made that may be of use in overcoming problems. https://twitter.com/rhosstreet/status/1253606372937211905?s=20

Here are the codes for each class. Please ensure that your child is enrolled by Monday, so that he or she can start following the activities.
All characters are lower case letters or numbers:
Reception: xglni3k
Year 1: lcllwvt (lower case L)
Year 2: hkkfzd4
Year 3: 6hs6xn5
Year 4: boyhoru
Year 5: 67sehet
Year 6: vzght6y

Please see the information below the newsletter, regarding the agreed protocols for staff, pupils and parents that I’d be grateful could be followed.

Other resources shared this week in addition to those in last week’s newsletter include a COVID-19 time capsule document, which seems to have been well received, as well as some great resources put together by Chester FC, for Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 respectively. All these resources are attached to the email sent home today. Also, on our Twitter feed you can see links to a competition run by North East Wales Archives for the best ‘Letter to Future Children’ written by school-age pupils living in Denbighshire & Flintshire. In addition to this on Twitter, Freya’s mascot ‘Scooch the Pooch’ has been shortlisted in a competition poll best Mascot for the Welsh Schools FA, so please pop along to our Twitter feed to vote for her entry.

Please continue to share on twitter and please continue to liaise with me directly by email if you have any need for support, advice or want to share something.

Have a great weekend! May the sun continue shining and may you all be safe, well, happy and in good health.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Google Classroom Protocols
Staff
• To regularly monitor the classroom comments
• To set work regularly
• To mark work, respond and guide appropriately.

Pupils
• To remember Internet Safety rules
• To not post silly inappropriate comments
• To only comment under the guidance of the teacher’s instructions
• To complete the work according to the instructions given and on time according to deadlines set
• To respond to any suggestions given by the teacher in his/her feedback.

Parents
• To appreciate that this is a forum for pupils not for them
• As comments are viewable to everybody, any parental concerns / questions should not be aired via this forum, rather by email to BDJ
• To support their child in completing activities as instructed by teachers and on time.

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you’re all continuing to cope with the situation in which we find ourselves, are keeping safe and have been enjoying the lovely weather over the last few days, while exercising social distancing protocols of course!

We’ve now nearly reached the end of the Easter break and you’ll be aware that the current arrangements for lockdown have been extended by at least another three weeks. This means that school remains closed other than for Key Worker childcare purposes, so I continue to appeal for your support in ensuring that the pupils access the range of home learning resources that we have prepared for them.

Once again, I acknowledge that there are challenges for all families with regard to home learning. However, there is an expectation from my teaching staff and indeed from myself that pupils are committed to applying themselves to the tasks set by their teachers. The teaching staff are also committed to monitoring the work submitted, responding to it and ensuring that there are new tasks set on an ongoing basis.

May I appeal for your support in ensuring that time is set aside for them to log-in and focus on the activities in order to ensure that their ongoing progress can be interrupted as little as possible. This of course needs to balanced carefully with keeping everybody’s physical and mental wellbeing as a priority. Perhaps a timetable for the day could be planned that helps you manage your approach to this.

Once again, I will share with you below the bank of online resources which are available for your child to access in order to support their learning. For many of these online platforms a user name and password is required and these were shared before school closed.

I fully understand that the level of access to the resources below is dependent on the ICT equipment you have at home, but most of them should be accessible via laptops, chrome books, tablets and smartphones.

1. Google Classroom
We are trialling Google Classroom in Years 4 and 6 initially.
Unfortunately, the setting up of Google Classroom has proved problematic for some households. This is because machines are becoming confused with multiple Google accounts and multiple Hwb accounts’ details in the computer’s browsing history.
Messages like ‘Class Cannot Be Found’ are seen, even though the class is there and functioning.
In order to ensure that Google Classroom works correctly please make sure you have followed these steps:
• Press ctrl H
• Clear all browsing data
• Shut down Google Chrome
• Restart Google Chrome
• Log into Hwb with child’s user name and password
• Open Office 365 in Hwb to access emails
• Follow the link from the email invitation
• Log into Google Classroom using the Hwb user name and password
Hopefully, following these steps will ensure safe passage into Google Classroom.
I’d be grateful if you could support your child if they are in Year 4 or 6 in following the above, so they can join the online classroom.
We are in the process of setting up a Google Classroom for Years 2, 3 and 5 and I will provide information regarding this early next week.

2. Manga High – https://app.mangahigh.com/en-gb/login
This is a Maths based learning environment, which is structured according to the curriculum. There are many age appropriate resources, which pitch the difficulty of questions according to ongoing answers given by your child. Tasks will be set by each class teacher from Reception up to Year 6. Within each topic, there are ‘teach me’ features which help explain concepts and processes. This is a perfect tool for home learning and I highly recommend it.

3. TT Rockstars – https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school/student
This is another tool, familiar to the children which focuses on times-tables. Regular brief visits to this website is what I would recommend. This for the use of Year 2 – Year 6.

4. Purple Mash – https://www.purplemash.com/sch/rhosstreet
The pupils also have had plenty of experience using this online environment. On this website, teachers from Reception up to Year 6, will set a series of ‘to-dos’ which are activities and tasks for the children to complete tallying with their thematic or Science work. Within Purple Mash, there are also a whole range of resources across the curriculum, which they can access and choose activities themselves. There really is a wealth of material available here! Please ensure that when work is completed, that pupils click on the button ‘Save and Hand in’ in order to submit the work.

5. HwB – https://hwb.gov.wales/
The Hwb platform is a Welsh Government learning environment, which again gives access to a range of resources. On logging-in, you will see that there are endless possibilities for home learning and through Office 365, which is available via HwB, resources such as Word Online, Power Point, Excel and Sway are available for the pupils to access for any written work or presentations they may want to put together as part of project work (see point 6) and these save automatically onto their ‘one drive.’
Other resources include Just2Easy and the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
You can also install Minecraft for Education for free via the homepage.

6. Paper Based Project Work – Pupils in the Juniors, have also come home with a workbook for them to produce a project of their own choice inside. There are guidelines included at the front of the workbook, with a list of possible activities they can complete in relation to their chosen context. They can use online tools as well if they wish via Hwb and/or Purple Mash. As this will be open ended, pupil led work which will of course be overseen by yourselves, we appreciate that there may be a variety of approaches and that is fine. All I ask, is that the pupils are guided to stick to the success criteria, but otherwise make the activity work for them, their interests and their preferences.

7. Reading – Foundation Phase pupils have had a selection sent home. Junior children will be expected to access their own collection of books at home and to read as regularly as possible. It would be beneficial to provide opportunities for them to talk to you about what they have read. On Twitter, I have also signposted links to some free online reading resources.

8. Twitter – There has been a wealth of content shared online that pupils and parents can access. The danger of course, is that there is so much out there that it can become a little overwhelming. However, I have endeavoured to try and pick out highlights that I have spotted or had drawn to my attention by staff, to share on the school’s Twitter account @rhosstreet. I will continue to do this from Monday and hope that these ideas are used as an opportunity to keep things fresh in tandem with the above activities.

It has also been a pleasure to see so many of you share activities on Twitter with us and I know that other families and pupils have greatly appreciated being kept connected via these means. Please continue to send photos and news for me to share with everybody. It really does lift our spirits. You may have seen that a tweet about Alys’ ‘Bedtime Welsh’ activities has caught the attention of Carol Vordeman, so you never know who is watching out there!

I very much hope that the structure and framework provided above gives our pupils the opportunity to continue their learning in an effective way, through these challenging times. Any ongoing queries you have, can be emailed to myself and I’ll refer them to the appropriate staff member. bryn.jones@denbighshire.gov.uk
Please remember that the relationship between our school and the families of its pupils remains a partnership, even if the nature of that partnership has become very different of late. My staff and I remain here to support, advise and help in any way we can, so please do not hesitate to get in touch with me and I will do whatever I can to help, or ask somebody else (usually Mr Davis!) if they are better placed to do so.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

In normal circumstances, I would be writing to you acknowledging the Easter break is upon us. While that fact remains true, we also all know that for the vast majority of pupils, school has now been closed for a fortnight. However, we also know that the site will continue to remain open over the Easter break, to provide emergency care for pupils with only Key Workers as carers in the household. These are strange paradoxical circumstances for strange times.

Now that the Local Authority has been able to gather a picture of the emergency provision needed across Denbighshire, the model of care is now shifting to a local hub as of Monday for the Easter break and beyond. The hub for the Ruthin area is to be housed here at Rhos Street along with Pen Barras. Parents and carers of the pupils who have been attending over the last fortnight have been requested to re-register for this provision and I have emailed all of those families with details.

If any further families meet the criteria of emergency care; that being that all carers in the household are Key Workers, have nobody to care for their child and need to access this emergency provision, then please urgently email me directly. I will provide you with a copy of the Local Authority’s letter that includes all the details you need in order to apply for a place. Please do not send your child to school, unless you have a confirmed place for this provision as the person in charge will not allow them to attend. The initial registrations made via the link I sent out when the school initially closed, are no longer valid. Once again, I appeal to you to stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.

We’ve reached the end of a second week of home learning and from the feedback I’ve received from teachers, it’s clear that some of you have engaged very enthusiastically with the range of materials, resources and activities that have been provided. Twitter has once again been a delight to keep an eye on from my point of view. We have now reached the Easter break, so where home learning is concerned, we will pause for a while, not set any new tasks, refrain from sharing new ideas and give everybody a much deserved break – pupils, staff and yes – parents! If pupils want to keep ticking along with their activities, that’s fine. After all, we’re all pretty restricted in terms of the range of things we can actually do! Please also feel free to continue to share on Twitter. In times of lockdown, this is such a positive way to keep connected. In two weeks, we will start afresh and rejoin this new and unpredictable journey that is home learning! This includes all the pupils, including the ones who haven’t yet engaged as much as they should! You know who you are kids and so do we! 

I would like to extend my gratitude to those staff members who have been in a position to come into school and care for the children. Their efforts do not go unappreciated and their contributions over the Easter break in supporting the childcare here at the Ruthin hub are crucial, as we try to support our Key Workers. Likewise, I’m grateful to the teaching staff for also supporting our learners from afar, setting and responding to pupils work. We will look at ways to develop the engagement further between teacher and pupil following the Easter break as we experiment with the potential of Google Classroom. I also want to thank Chair of Governors, Chris Johnson for his support and he has penned a message to the school community, which you will find overleaf.

I mentioned Google Classroom above and pupils in Years 4 and 6 have been set up to explore, interact and see what teachers have left for them. Google Classroom is accessible through Hwb and in their email inbox a link will take them to the resource. Follow the instructions in the email, but please ensure you are logged out of any other Google accounts on the device first, as the link will not work otherwise. I fully anticipate and expect there to be gremlins, but please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Between myself and Mr Davis, we will try and iron out any problems with this issue or any other log-in problems you have with the other resources. As I’ve said many times, any, queries, problems or support you need – just email me and I’ll do my best to help you out or find somebody else that can.

I think it’s pretty clear by now that it will be a while before we are in a position to welcome everybody back to school and return to normal. This is especially sad for our Year 6 pupils who could well be denied many of the opportunities afforded to them in their final year here at Rhos Street. However, thanks to Jo Jones, Ffion’s mum, Leavers’ Hoodies are being organised and she would be grateful if any parents yet to contact her with their order, do so at their earliest convenience. I look forward to presenting them all with their hoodies whenever that may be.

We all have a challenging few weeks ahead of us. I can think of so many times in the past, when the school community has pulled together in an amazingly positive way. I have no doubt we can continue to support one another once again as we face these uncertain times.

Look after your loved ones. Stay at home, stay safe and stay strong.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Fellow Parents,

In these challenging times I am sure I will not be the only parent who finds it strange to see school so quiet, when it is usually such a vibrant and happy place. I have enjoyed seeing on Twitter all the different and imaginative ways everyone has been adapting to the change. To see so many smiling faces as our children respond to the new situation has been great. I also know that this isn’t an easy time for anyone, and accepting that sometimes the days are so difficult is often very hard. However, I am constantly reassured by everyone’s support and know that we are not alone. We will continue to support each other and the Rhos Street Community will come out the other side together.

With that in mind I would like to express my deep thanks to all the staff who continue to look after the children both in school and online. I would also like to thank Mr Jones for keeping our spirits up, and keeping us connected to the life of the school via Twitter.

As we head into the next few weeks where the Easter holidays were supposed to be (I am not sure what we call them now), I would like to wish everyone all the best. Stay home, and stay safe. We are in this together and will get through this together.

Best wishes

Chris Johnson
Chair of Governors

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has reached the end of the first full week, following the closure of our school and since the notice was given by the Welsh Education Minister, we have not only seen the closure of public buildings but we have been directed in no uncertain terms to stay at home by the UK Government.

You will have sensed no doubt, through communications from the school last weekend, that our provision here in school for Key Workers was solely for those who needed emergency childcare and I sincerely thank you for the responsible way the school community has listened and adhered to that important message. We have gladly provided that care this week and will continue to do so as long as it’s needed or until the local care model changes.

The school community has therefore been operating in a different way this week, as our pupils have been experiencing home learning. It is something new for us all – for pupils, parents and teachers. It’s not going to always work, but then sometimes it’s going to be great, memorable and very rewarding. The important thing is that we don’t worry or stress about it. We are currently dealing with anxieties about things which are far more important than literacy, maths, science and topic work. The important thing is that your children – our pupils, are happy, reassured and safe. It is equally important that you parents feel the same.

You have all been given a wealth of resources and the key is to make them work for you. The weather this week has been amazing, so I hope you’ve all taken advantage of it, especially after the drenching we’ve been subjected to this winter. The most important thing to support in these strange uncertain times, is the wellbeing of the children. Yes, they need to keep learning, yes we need to keep them ticking over, but we need to keep it fresh, lively and interesting. You will have seen, I hope, that I’ve been tweeting ideas, resources and activities each day. I have done this to give you the chance to try something different, because Purple Mash, Manga High, TT Rockstars and Hwb all day will test anybody’s patience and while there is a place for regular, short visits to these platforms, there’s a lot more to life in these times of lockdown! I’ve had running battles with my youngest son this week trying to get him to do some work and trust me – trying to teach one of your own is a very different experience to teaching someone else’s child!

It’s been a genuine pleasure to have so many members of the school community engage with the @rhosstreet Twitter. To see your photos, your activities, your creations and just to get to see your faces has I’m sure, lifted the spirits of all who’ve scrolled through the many tweets. I hope the numbers of families that engage continue to increase, because we miss you all. On Saturday night at 8.30pm, it’s Earth Hour, where we’re encouraged to switch off ALL electricity for 1 hour. As in previous years, any tweets of your experences would be welcomed! Then, from Monday, please feel free to continue to send photos of the children’s learning activities, be they indoor, outdoor, online, on paper, creative, physical or scientific. Send over your rainbow pictures, show the pupils reading in silly places, share their projects and send us their smiles!

If you have any queries, need some advice, support or further ideas, please email me and I’ll try to point you in the right direction.

In the meantime, stay safe, stay at home and stay strong!

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

If feels strange writing a newsletter in a school that’s missing its pupils. There are no photos to share, nor notice to give of forthcoming activities. We are now in a period of limbo, as we wait for information on how this building will be used in the coming weeks. We can only speculate how that will manifest itself or when. All I know is that we will be open soon for the Key Workers who need us. Whether that is to support the local area or solely for our own pupils is yet to be decided. A week that started with our pupils televised on the national news became no less surreal as it wore on. It ended with good news though, because in the Rotary’s District writing competition which covers North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside and Southport, Theo was awarded 2nd place for his essay “A connection that grew.” Congratulations!

What has been appreciated, particularly over the last few days is the groundswell of support we’ve had from the school community through emails and messages. Thank you very much. I’m sorry I haven’t had the opportunity to respond to them all in the whirlwind of the last few days. It’s been very challenging for everybody, but I’m grateful to the staff and the pupils for their calmness and their efforts as we’ve tried to make sense of what’s going on. There’s been a lot of work taking place trying to get everything in place for pupils and indeed for staff to be able to work in an effective way going forward.

What is clear though, that although we may be working in a very different way over the next few weeks, we are still here, hoping to engage, support, encourage and provide for our pupils in any way we can. Through the home resources shared so far, through twitter and through email we will stay connected. We will share ideas for further activities, highlight further resources and keep things as fresh as we can. It won’t be the same, but with your support, we can keep these brilliant children learning.

Twitter has always been a positive way to highlight our activities and while I am eager to restrict the response to any queries privately via email, I would welcome any photos or news you want to share of your children working at home and will gladly share them. Feel free to interact that way, so that we can keep tabs on one another in this period of uncertainty. Please be aware though, if you have a twitter account that is locked, your interactions will not be viewable.

Good luck with the home activities. I hope the pupils enjoy them. Say hello to them all from me and the staff. Look after yourselves and stay safe.

I’ll be in touch – you know I’m never quiet on Twitter! When I have news to share with you about ongoing developments, I will do so immediately.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Parents & Carers,

PTA Mother’s Day Fair – In the wake of the country moving into the ‘delay’ phase of managing the Coronavirus outbreak, we will not go ahead with the PTA Mother’s Day Fair after school. There were too many logistical factors that made holding the event unfeasible. We apologise for the inconvenience.

Bake Off – Thank you to all the pupils who entered our Bake Off today. Over 30 entries were received and have been judged by Lynn and Anna today. Winners were announced at the end of the day.

Sport Relief – Thank you to everybody for taking part in Sport Relief today. Thank you also to the School Council for organising the activities.

Hand Washing – All visitors to school: On entering the building, please wash your hands at our designated hand-washing station. Many thanks for your co-operation.

Family Service – Unless Government directives regarding public gatherings change, Year 3 will deliver their Family Service next Friday. Parents and relatives are welcome at 9am.

Urdd Dance – Well done and congratulations to the Urdd dancers for their 3rd place in the County Eisteddfod. Mrs Lewis was very proud of them all.

Coronavirus – Again, following the outcome of yesterday’s escalation of the British Government’s response to the Coronavirus, may I ask that any pupil who is suffering from a persistent cough and/or high temperature be kept off school for a period of seven days.

County Urdd Event – This provisionally takes place next Saturday, 21st March and the Recitation Group is required to be at Ysgol Brynhyfryd at 9am that morning.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher

Dear Parents & Carers / Annwyl Rieni a Gwarchodwyr,
The days are getting longer, the daffodils are appearing and we’re seeing a bit more of that yellow thing that can appear in the sky, so I think we can say that Spring has reluctantly arrived! It’s a busy time in school with national events like the Urdd, St. David’s Day, World Book Day and Sport Relief all falling within a few days of one another. They are always great fun, even though they need co-ordination and support from staff, pupils and parents alike. The diary is no less busy in the lead up to Easter and I have provided you with provisional dates overleaf.

Mae’r dyddiau’n mynd yn hirach, mae’r cennin Pedr yn ymddangos, felly dwi’n meddwl y gallwn ni ddweud bod y Gwanwyn wedi cyrraedd! Mae’n amser prysur yn yr ysgol gyda digwyddiadau cenedlaethol fel yr Urdd, Dydd Gwyl Dewi, Diwrnod y Llyfr a Sport Relief i gyd yn disgyn o fewn ychydig ddyddiau i’w gilydd. Maent bob amser yn llawer o hwyl, er bod angen cydlynu a chefnogaeth gan staff, disgyblion a rhieni fel ei gilydd.

Yours sincerely / Yn gywir,

Bryn D. Jones, Headteacher / Pennaeth

World Book Day – We had some brilliant costumes this year once again! It’s a great way to promote a love of books and reading. Well done all!

Urdd Eisteddfod – I was extremely proud of the pupils who represented the school in the Eisteddfod last week. Their recitations were fantastic and of a high standard. They should be very proud. The group and dialogue teams also performed excellently after all their hard work!

Coronavirus – The outbreak of the Coronavirus is an opportunity to reinforce existing practice here in school. The protocols of handwashing thoroughly,binning tissues and use of personal, clean water bottles have been reasserted. We are employing a calm but focused approach here in school

Achievers – Students of the Week were all of Reception, Seb, Henry, Lily-Mae, Leyla, Mia, Riley, Trystan, Barkley, Illy, Olivia, James, Leo, and Faye. Welsh awards went to Joe, Lily and Tilly.

PTA Mothers Day Fair Bake Off – See the poster overleaf about our special Bake-Off which will be judged next week. Any help with stall in the Fair would be appreciated.

Digital Leaders Competition – Congratulations to Belle, Mia-Rose, Jade, Henry, Kian, ConnieT, and Poppy for winning thir respective classes Safer Internet Day competition. Our Digital Leaders judged the entries this week

Sport Relief – Next Friday, it’s Sport Relief, so pupils can come in sports kit, will take part in special circuit training sessions and a contribution of £2 is requested towards the charities involved.

Balance Bikes – Any donations of unneeded balance bikes would be very gratefully received by Giggles. Many thanks.

Free Press – The Mothers Day pictures drawn by the pupils will be in the Free Press on Wednesday, 18th March.