Dear Parents and Carers,
The process of phasing back the pupils here at Rhos Street School is now complete. I am delighted that we have today welcomed all classes from Nursery through to Year 6 for the first time since the school was closed in March, due to the pandemic. Although we are yet to see how the home dismissal of everybody at the end of the day fares, everybody has been so co-operative and has followed the guidelines, procedures and signage so far, so I’m confident that all will be well. Consequently, we will be in a good place on Monday for what I consider to be the ‘official’ start of the school year. This newsletter should provide you with the final information required before next week. I understand that a lot of information has been shared with you over recent weeks, which I appreciate is a lot to take in, so please continue to bear with me!
New Restrictions in Wales – You’ll be aware that announcements are being made in Wales today, regarding protocols for numbers of people in gatherings and also on the wearing of masks for indoor public places. This has implications for our procedures at the end of the school day, in respect of Year 5 and 6 pick up. As parents are permitted to wait in the hall to avoid congestion outside, from Monday we will now respectfully request that masks are worn by all adults in the hall at this time. If you have an objection or an exemption for wearing a mask, then please wait outside the hall and we will dismiss your child to you out of the door.
We do have a significant number of parents and relatives who are coming into the main reception to the school office and under normal circumstances, that would be fine. However, as this is also an indoor public place, I am asking you to refrain from any non-essential visits and instead make a phone call or send an email. If it is essential that you visit the office by main reception, then once again, I respectfully ask you to wear a mask.
Now that everybody is back, I must continue to stress the importance of social distancing, for everybody to be patient, punctual and positive with one another. I am aware that Pen Barras have some problems with congestion on their side and I understand they are making attempts to mitigate those complexities. However, it may be useful for those who are able to take an alternative route onto the site to do so, in order to support Pen Barras’ attempts to overcome their difficulties.
PE Timetable – Now that we are ready to ‘go for it’ from Monday, I am now in a position to share the PE timetable with you. Children can come into school in their PE kit on their designated days. Please see the table below:
Monday – Year 1, Year 2, Year 3
Tuesday – Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 4
Wednesday – Year 5, Year 6
Thursday – Nursery, Reception, Year 3
Friday – Year 4, Year 5, Year 6
Music Lessons – Letters have been shared, giving pupils the opportunity to register for music lessons. Infant pupils applications will depend on the capacity of the Denbighshire Music Cooperative to offer lessons for their instrument of choice. Please ensure all remaining forms are returned on Monday.
FAO Year 6 Pupils – Ruthin Town Juniors U11s are recruiting new players for the coming season! If your son / daughter or someone you know is interested in joining the squad, please get in touch with coach Dale Prince (07843 084724 / daleprinnce76@yahoo.co.uk ) for more information.
New Pupils – We have been delighted to welcome a significant number of new pupils, with 13 additions to other classes on top of our new Nursery intake. A big welcome to everybody – pupils and parents alike to the Rhos Street community.
Blended Learning – I think it is important to be mindful that the possibility of classes, contact groups or indeed the whole school having to be sent home due to COVID-19 restrictions remains high. We have to be prepared. We are currently setting up new Google Classrooms for the 2020-21 academic year and will ensure that pupils will be undertaking activities via this platform in school. This will make sure they are logged on and set up for every eventuality. Once this process is complete, it would be useful for everybody to be also prepared at home, by ensuring that your child is also able to log on to your personal devices, so that we can iron out any complications in advance of potential restrictions. Your co-operation here would be appreciated and also I hope, reduce some of the pressure on parents if you once again have to take a lead with home learning in the future.
Little Princess Trust – Over the summer, Emily Debicka raised £787 after donating 14 inches of her hair to The Little Princess Trust! What a fantastic effort! Well done to her. Link for donations:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/julie-debicka
Air Ambulance – Trystan Evans, marked his 8th birthday, walking up Moel Famau 8 times raising money for Air Ambulance. Trystan was joined by his sisters and friends. What a generous thing to do! They raised £510. Link:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/maria-evans11
Returning forms – Please ensure that consent forms for flu immunisation have been returned on Monday, as well as any forms requested for new pupils who have joined us for this year. Many thanks.
Yours sincerely,
Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher