Gwersyllt CP

Dear Parents/Guardians,

A couple of lovely events this week. We had our monthly visit to Pendine for a group of Year 6 pupils. This really is a wonderful partnership and I know the pupils bring such happiness to the residents there. 

We had a visit from M&M productions on Wednesday. They performed The Little Princess and all the pupils from Year 2 upwards thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Speaking of the arts, It is lovely to see some of Dosbarth Masarnen’s peace Garden creative planters and flowers in Noddfa’s yard. IF you get the chance to have a look by the back yard. This was given by the class has a gift from one site to another. I look forward to seeing what grows from this.

New Waste Law – April 2024

You may be aware that from the 6th April, it became law for all businesses and public sector organisations to sort their waste for recycling. This has led to a reduction in general waste collections and an increase in recycling. If any children still bring packed lunches from home, they will now need to keep all of their waste from home in their lunchboxes to dispose of at home as the canteen is only disposing of food waste from school-provided meals. The children will be made aware of this change and we are using this as a learning opportunity for children to reduce their use of non-recyclable packaging.

Unbeatable Eva – May 17^th – https://www.unbeatableeva.co.uk/

The school will be holding a non-uniform day on Friday May 17^th for the Unbeatable Eva foundation. Unfortunately, Eva was diagnosed with DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), a little known but, in every case, terminal form of childhood cancer. Sadly, Eva passed away and her parents have set up a foundation to raise awareness and support other children and families with DIPG. The family are local to Wrexham and have reached out to the school to help support this foundation. The school Council would like to raise money by wearing purple (Eva’s favourite colour) or bight clothes on this day. As this is not going through school all donations can be cash on the day. Many thanks

Kitchen Environmental Health survey

Well done again to Alyson and the team who were successfully awarded a score of 5/5 in the kitchen inspection this week.

Enjoy the weather, stay safe and see you next week

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Family engagement

Again, a huge thank you to all those that have attended our recent family events. They have been extremely well attended and on some occasions we haven’t been able to say yes to everyone due to the limited places we can offer. We have another coming up shortly. On Tuesday 14^th May- 2pm-3pm– we are having a tea party for KS2 families and pupils. It will be an afternoon of tea, cake and craft. Again the places are limited so please get in touch soon if you are interested.

Breakfast Club

We are having a few issues with pupils being left for breakfast club prior to the booked slot. Obviously this presents an issue, as no one is there to look after the pupil and gates are open to the busy main road. Can we ask that pupils do not come before the slot that is booked (usually the 8.20am free slot) and if this is the case, that they have an adult wait with them. 

Also a quick reminder that monies need to be paid via Parent Pay. Unfortunately, we cannot accept cash.

Leavers Service and Evening

I can’t believe we are getting to that time…Our Leavers service and celebration will take place on Thursday 18^th July from 6pm to 8pm. This will include a celebration service followed by some time on the field (weather permitting)- hopefully with live music and a little more. More information to follow nearer the date.

Cofion cynnes,

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are reaching the end of April and as I type this, the sun is streaming in through the windows. The lovely weather, when we get it, makes such a difference and reminds me of how lucky we are with the outside space that we have.

Year 1 and 2 have been working hard to redesign their outdoor continuous provision (thank you to all the donations for this) and over the past two weeks the pupils have started using it daily. Our Early Years space continues to provide such great opportunities for the pupils and our Ysgol Goedwig (Jaxon’s Wood) is a fabulous setting for our afternoon Forest Schools sessions.

Mrs O’Toole and I were lucky enough to be in and out of sessions this week (inside and outside of class), speaking to pupils, looking at their work and enjoying the activities they complete with them. I was really impressed – not only by their work, but their attitude to it and more so, the way they co-operated in class.

Speaking about working together, a huge thank you to all those that took part in the coffee mornings last Friday and Earth Day event on Monday. They were over-booked and packed occasions, but it was great to see the pupils enjoying time with you reading, completing craft and enjoying a drink.

Have a lovely weekend,

Cofion cynnes,

Dear Parents/Guardians,

A busy this week with a lot of activities going on

Save the planet

Dosbart Collen- Our Nursery class have been getting clued up on how to save our planet. This Friday, they created placards and marched around the school to spread the word. It was difficult not to get swept up in their rally and we are looking at what we can do to increase our success in recycling. Watch this space.

Scooter sessions

Many of our pupils in Years 3 and 4 enjoyed the opportunity to learn skills on their scooters this week. On Wednesday morning Hannah from Active journeys worked with 30 pupils teaching the tips, trick and technics to drive better and with more safety on their scooters. We were fortunate that the weather stayed relatively dry for the morning and the pupils enjoyed them thoroughly. 

Diversity Lessons

Our Police school Liaison Officer PC Stu came in on Tuesday to work with our older pupils looking at Diversity and Race. He spoke with Year 5 and Year 6 separately focussing on differences, similarities and tolerance and understanding. As always the pupils benefitted greatly from PC Stu’s sessions and experience.

Coffee Morning

Finally, thank you those that came in for the Coffee morning. We had a good attendance and pupils and parents were able to share the opportunity to enjoy some crafts with a warm drink in hand. A huge diolch to those who came.

Have a lovely weekend

Cofion cynnes

Dear Parents,

What a wonderful week this week has been. So much has been going on and we have finished it with a high. This years St David’s Day Eisteddfod has seen some of the most remarkable cooking, performing, creative skills… I could go on! This morning we started the day with Foundation Learning skills displaying what they have done and can do in the hall, and this was followed up this afternoon with KS2 performance and competition entries to rival many things I have seen before. Well done and thank you to everyone for their hard work and effort.

Bike maintenance 

We have arranged for Mobile Bike Mechanix to come in and provide bike maintenance for all the pupils that may wish to take it up. The team will be in on 12^th March at approximately 8am. All bikes can be left with them at the bike shelter and they will provide an MOT to ensure they are safe and roadworthy. Pleas use the link below to register if you wish to use the service.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/r/evhQC6Je1L

Health and Safety

Speaking of safety we have had to make the decision to keep the majority of site as safe as possible during the nursery pick up time. I understand that this may be of frustration for those parents picking up at this time, however, after assessing our procedures it was brought to light that opening gates across the two yards was an unnecerssary risk. Thank you for your understanding

Dates

A few dates for your diary:

7^th March – World Book Day (come dressed as favourite book character)

12^th March (Bike Mechanics)

13^th -15^th March – Glan Llyn (Yr 6)

15^th March- Comic Relief – Wear Red for a donation (link to follow)

18^th March- PTA non-uniform day for Easter Bingo

20^th March 1.30pm- Year 1 and 2 Easter Performance

21^st March- Easter Bingo

Have a lovely weekend,

A Message from Mrs O’Toole, Assistant Headteacher

We have had a very busy first week back and the children have been involved in many exciting and varied learning activities. Here are just a few examples;

In Dosbarth Collen they have been reading Martha Maps It Out and finding out about the local area using Google Earth. They have also been discovering rhyming words and counting to 5.

In Dosbarth Ceiriosen the children have been reading The Gruffalo. In Jaxon’s Wood children have made log pile houses and painted Forest Masterpieces in the style of Uccello. They have also been using a coding game to help a mouse to find his house! 

Dosbarth Llwyfen have started their new topic Polar Adventures. The children have shared what they already know about the North and South Pole. They are now deciding what they would like to learn and what sort of activities they would like to do.

Dosbarth Bedwen have also started the topic Polar Adventures and talking about what they already know about the North and South Pole. The children have been practising for the Eisteddfod too.

In Dosbarth Derwen they have looked at Volume and Capacity in Maths. They have been busy rehearsing their Eisteddfod poem – Walking with my Iguana. Their new topic is India and the children are excited about discovering all they can about India.

Dosbarth Onnen’s new topic is Incredible India. They have been looking at the features of the country as well as the temples. They have also been practising Eisteddfod poems.

Dosbarth Masarnen have been busy this week. Their new topic is Ireland and they have begun by hearing the story of The Giant’s Causeway. Alongside this they have been budgeting for an imaginary trip to Ireland and practising for the Eisteddfod.

In Dosbarth Afallen the children have listened to battle cries from William Wallace, Henry V and Boudicca before planning their own speech.  The poem ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe has been their choice for the Eisteddfod and they have been practising in groups.

Finally, Dosbarth Celyn have created a World War 2 timeline and commenced their creations of purses for their Child’s War Journals. In an exciting Science experiment, they lit a light bulb using tin foil, cardboard and coins. They are also taking part in weekly Cricket Coaching with a former pupil, Jamie Griffiths.  

I am sure you will agree that our children have had an incredibly busy and enjoyable week with a vast array of learning opportunities!

Have a lovely weekend,

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The end of the first half term and it feels like we have squeezed so much into a shortened length of time. Thank you as always to everyone for your help and support and to the pupils as always for being wonderful. I hope you all have a restful week ahead and we will see you back on the 19^th February.

Class performance

Well done to Masarnen who put on a class performance on Wednesday afternoon to showcase some aspects of their expressive arts topic. We had a gallery of line drawing to enjoy, readings, some fantastic solo performance from Evelyn, Leah and Neslihan, along side the opening act of Nigel, our school crossing patrol, performing ‘It’s a Wonderful World’.

I particularly enjoyed the orchestra, led by Hallie, performing ‘Ode to Joy’. Well done all!

Crossing Patrol in the Morning

We have notice a small minority dropping pupils off on, or very close to, the school crossing area. Can we politely ask that this does not happen. At it’s busiest it can be a dangerous area to cross and this is not helped if cars stop to let pupils out. Thank you in advance.

Communication

Today we will be making to letters available for parents to read. The first will come out on forms regarding an increase in price for Breakfast Club. this is not from the school, but from the county, who oversee this provision. For Gwersyll this means- 

Playmates– Price as usual

8am-8.20am– £3 charge

8.20am-to end– Free of charge

This will take effect from 1^st of April 2024 (School opens after Easter on 9^th April 2024)

Finally, I am going to place a letter on the school website for Parents from all Primary Headteachers (Secondary Headteachers have created a similar letter). This letter is written to give parents insight into the current cuts to school budgets and the potential impact that these cuts may have. The link is here : https://wordpress.com/post/gwersylltcp.home.blog/4986

Your support, now , more than ever, is warmly received and if you are interested in becoming a Volunteer or a Parent Governor, please do let us now.

Have a lovely break,

Mr J Moore

Wrexham Primary Headteachers’ Federation    

9^th February 2024 

Dear Parents and Carers,   

Budget Cuts – The Impact on our Schools 

The Wrexham Primary Headteachers’ Federation is an organisation representing all the headteachers in primary and special schools in Wrexham. Members are appointed by their local cluster of schools to represent the views of headteachers in discussions with the council. 

Having consulted with all our colleagues, we are writing to ensure that all parents and carers are fully informed of the significant consequences currently facing all our schools in relation to our budgets and the subsequent impact on the services we will be able to provide.  

You will no doubt be aware that the impending cuts across services in Wrexham County Borough Council will include education and specifically the amount of money that is available for schools. In this coming financial year beginning on April 1^st, there will be considerable financial constraints imposed on our schools.  This will present significant challenges and place every school, primary, secondary and special in a very difficult budgetary position. 

Inflation, energy costs and increased staffing costs, have resulted in a considerable impact on local government spending. There has been a slight increase in the Welsh educational budget, but the extremely high rate of inflation has meant a considerable cut in real terms. Of greatest concern to headteachers and governing bodies is the impact this will have on learners across Wrexham.  Increased energy costs have already placed an enormous burden on school budgets and primary schools are having to pick up the increased costs in relation to the “free school meals” initiative.   

These are unprecedented times as regards school finances and budgets, and headteachers have never known the situation to be so dreadful.  We are worried about the likely impact: 

• redundancies causing a reduction in staffing 
• larger classes  
• fewer trips and extra-curricular activities that are either subsidised by schools or require high levels of staffing 
• support for pupils with additional needs will be seriously affected  
• less support for children needing extra help with literacy and maths interventions 
• less support for children who need wellbeing interventions 
• less support for children with behavioural difficulties, leading to more disruption and exclusions 
• less support for children with complex needs in mainstream schools 
• fewer resources for the children to use 
• the stifling of innovation at a time of great change and opportunity including the New Curriculum for Wales, new examination qualifications and important national initiatives 
• repairs and upkeep of school buildings will suffer 
• general health and safety in schools 
• negative judgements from Estyn as a result of reduced services 

As headteachers, we want to assure our families that we will always do our utmost to maintain the core provision in our schools, protecting teaching and learning by placing our learners and staff at the heart of everything we do. However, we believe headteachers and governors will have to make a choice between providing the current level of service or balancing the books.  Therefore, it is inevitable that in many cases, schools will not be able to provide and sustain the same level of support and services due to the significant shortfall in our funding.    

If this happens in your school over the next year, we would ask you please to remember that much of this will be completely out of the control of your headteacher and governors, but part of a much wider financial issue.    

As headteachers we are grateful for the ongoing support from Wrexham’s education and other county officers in helping us to navigate our way through this situation.  However, your support and understanding during these challenging times are invaluable. We have made representations locally and nationally to councillors and members of the Senedd and we will continue to do this.   

This letter has been written in consultation with all primary headteachers in Wrexham and your local headteacher will be happy to discuss any concerns you may have.  However, please be aware that we are all at an early stage of the budget planning process and we may not yet be able to answer some individual questions. 

Yours faithfully,    

Wrexham Primary Headteachers’ Federation 

A Welsh version of this letter will be available soon.  Apologies for the delay. 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The Senedd

This afternoon was the first of our Senedd afternoons for KS2. On these afternoons, all Ks2 pupils will split into 5 different groups (with the exception of School Council and the Wellbeing group whom also meet) to lead the school in certain areas.

These areas will be the 4 core purposes of the National Curriculum plus a special selected group who will look at the curriculum as a whole.

The groups are:

*Healthy and confident

*Ethical and Informed

*Ambitious and capable

*Enterprising and creative

*Curriculum group

The idea behind this is to promote pupil voice in the school, draw out those leadership skills and enhance provision of the 4 core purposes and beyond at Gwersyllt CP.

This year will be a test run- in July we will re-look at it and tweak it ready for September 2024.

Hidden Sentence

This year Gwersyllt CP, and our very own Mrs O’Toole in particular have been supporting the Welsh government in looking at families, and in particular children, who are adversely affected by family members going to prison. Our staff have been trained in this and the work has been hugely purposeful and of great importance across Wales. Please see the links below for further details

https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/news/welsh-children-with-a-parent-in-prison-benefit-from-support-at-school

https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/for-schools

Medication

Please ensure that all medication required for pupils is handed in at reception and the necessary forms filled in. Medication must be over seen by a member of staff.

Playmakers

And finally, our playmakers have been trained up for the rest of the year and beyond. They completed the training on Friday  26^th January and received their certificates on Monday. Well done all.

Have a lovely weekend,

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Here we are at the end of a long, busy and successful term. It has been full of hard work, various events and lots of smiles and laughter. None more so then this week when we have enjoyed Year 3 and 4’s Christmas performance, Year 5’s service, Year 1 and 2’s Crafternoon and the Early Years party.

A huge thank you to the pupils for being an absolute pleasure to be around, you should be very proud of them. Thank you to all of you for your continued support and a big thank you to the staff for their hard work and effort and making Gwersyllt CP a great place to be.

All that’s left to do is to wish you all a fabulous break and we will see you on January 9^th at the normal time to start the new term.

Have a great couple of weeks,