One final week left before school closes for the Christmas break, it promises to be a busy one.
This week was busy enough- Most of the classes enjoyed going to the cinema, Year1,2,3 and 4 watched the new Disney fare called Wish whilst at the time of writing Year 5 and 6 are off enjoying (I hope and assume) the new Wonka film.
We have been entertained by the Early Years Christmas performance and, again as I write, are preparing for the Year 3 and 4 Crafternoon. We have also tucked into Christmas dinner.
Next week offers us our Year 3 and 4 performance, the Year 5 service at the congregational church, the Year 1 and 2 Crafternoon, the Early years Christmas treat and more parties then you could shake a stick at. We will also have our end of term house winners and our pupils of the terms alongside attendance awards.
Just one reminder seeing as it is so busy. There will be no clubs with the exception of British Sign Language held next week.
A quick thank you for your support with the Christmas fair. As always, the PTA did a fantastic job of organising it, that coupled with your attendance and enthusiasm has meant we have raised a fantastic total of just shy of £1000 for the pupils of Gwersyllt CP. A huge diolch yn fawr from us all.
And a huge thank you from me to the PTA team.
Community cupboard
Talking of raising money, I am delighted to be able to let you know that the team at Groundworks have raised a whopping £442 for the school community cupboard. This was done through a group of young people creating Christmas related goods for sale at Alyn Water. We are extremely grateful ti the group for this donation and know it will make a big difference in supporting the community.
As last week, please keep an eye on the list the newsletter below for all Christmas events coming up in the next couple of weeks.
…finally
Just a request that pupils are not bringing in toys, jewellry/cosmetics or other items with them from home. As well as being a distraction many of these will get lost, broken or cause fall out within the class. This will be a huge help to the classteachers.
Firstly, thank you for all your kind donations this morning for the PTA to enable them to collect together prizes and munch more for the Christmas Fayre. They are greatly appreciated and make such a difference.
the Christmas fair itself will be held in school (where it is warm) on Wednesday 6th December. It will be held in the Learning Plaza, the Studio (Playmates room) and into the Hall. We are promised many different stalls, some hosted by the pupils and an appearance by Santa. there will of course be a raflle that will usually be drawn at about 4:30. Don’t worry if you cant stay though, we will make sure it gets to you if you win.
The fair will open at 3pm so those picking up younger pupils can collect and start entering through the front. I hope everyone enjoys it and a huge thank you in advance to our wonderful PTA for planning and organising it.
We are getting to that time of year when things ramp up for Christmas. Dates have been picked, songs are being practised and materials bought for a variety of crafts.
This week has been a little quieter than last week, with a bit more routine returning to the days. Having said that, we have welcomed in Pat Oakes the Fun Food Chef to look at Mexican food with Onnen, Derwen and Masarnen. It was a wonderful opportunity for the children to see how healthy food can also be tasty and to see the process of making through to eating.
Year 5 and 6 visited the High school to look at Hearts dissection as part of the wider topic ‘Give a Little’. We also had the first tournament for our football team who looked fantastic in their new football kit.
Pupils are starting new topics now link to the area of Expressive arts
From Year 1 to 6 these are or will be:
Year ½ (Llwyfen and Bedwen)- Beat Band Boogie
Year ¾ (Onnen and Derwen)- Now that’s what I call Music
Year 4/5 (Masarnen)- /theatres, concert sand galleries
Year 5/6 (Afallen and Celyn)-Lights, Camera, Action
First quick reminder to order school dinners for pupils in advance using the parent pay app. Can we also ask that discussion is had with the pupils about what they would like to eat. We are still seeing a lot of food waste as children do not want the food that has been selected for them. This makes it difficult as we don’t have enough of the food prepared for them of the alternative they would prefer. Many thanks.
Pick-Up
If your child is being picked up by an adult who is not previously well known by school please call through to school to make us aware. This makes the process a lot easier, as occasionally we have to make contact at the end of the day to check that it is ok.
Events this Week
A really busy week this week. Firstly, I am delighted to say that we raised upwards of £126.00 for Children in Need on Thursday. Hopefully a message will appear on the BBC tonight to recognise this. The pupils also looked great for Welsh Day and I am proud to say that we have created our very own school song ‘Yn Cymraeg’. It was also Anti-Bullying week and the pupils have spent some of their time in class digging deeper into this important message. Alongside this, we have had many Music workshops, managed to fit in a good chunk of English, Maths and Topic work.
A huge welcome back to the children after a week away. It is lovely to have them back again. We have picked up where we have left off and it is getting busy already. Please see below for information of two events next week:
Children in Need
Due to Welsh Day (see below) we will be raising money for Children in Need on Thursday 16th November. Pupils can wear spots or pyjamas and a link will be made available via parent pay for a donation (see Newsletter item below). There will be Children in Need related activities through-out the day.
Welsh Day
On Friday 17th November we will have the first of our termly Welsh Days, not including Eisteddfod of course. Pupils can come to school wearing Wales related clothes or wearing red items. The whole day will be full of activities about Wales and Welsh culture. We have booked in the Welsh Whisperer who will be working with Masarnen, Afallen and Celyn to create a Welsh school song.
We need some help…
The school are looking to secure a grant to turn the lower orchard into a community gardening area. The money we are requesting is a substantial amount and in order to access it we need a short list of people we can ask to come and help create it with an outside agency over a number of days. As of yet, we do not know when this will be and it doesn’t need to be the same volunteers every day. We have a group of staff that have placed their names on the list of volunteers, as well as, some community groups. If you think you would be available to help out, even if it is just for a day, please let us know and we will add your name to the list. We don’t have the grant yet and can’t guarantee the weather will be nice, but we can firmly state there will be free tea/coffee and biscuits for those that help. Thank you in advance.
Dates
Just a reminder for the dates in December:
Nursery and Reception Christmas performance- 15th December 2023 at 10am
Year 3 and 4 Christmas performance- 18th December 2023 at 1.30pm
Year 5 Christmas Service- 18th December 2023 at 6pm
Christmas dinner- 14th December 2023
Provisional date for Party food dinner- 22nd December 2023
New Date – Year 1 and 2 Crafternoon – 19th December 2023 at 1.30pm – more information nearer to the time.
Remembrance Service
We hels our remembrance service at 10.45am this Friday to pay our respects. The Gwersylt service commences at approximately 10.30am on Sunday at the cenotaph.
Finally… We have started recommencing our wonderful visits with Year 6 pupils and the residents of Pendine. please see the picture below to see an example of the work that the puils have been carrying out
The end of a long half term (School is closed to pupils on Friday) and a wonderful one it has been.
The pupils will return back to school on Monday 6th November ready for another 7 weeks packed full of activities (some of them seasonal of course). When they return, they will initially continue with their Health and Wellbeing topics. From approximately the end of November, the school topics will then turn their focus towards Expressive Arts and all that comes along with performance, crafts and music. We will update you on their topic titles nearer the time.
Remembrance
The week we return, we will be selling remembrance items to raise money for the poppy appeal (please see below for Poppy Merchandise). We will also have a Remembrance Service on Friday for the pupils. The yearly service will take place at Gwersyllt Cenotaph on Sunday 12th November.
School Communication
We are aware that, on occasion, parents or guardians may get a lot of communication via the school. Though we can do little about reminder texts for permissions or payments we can limit the amount of texts that are sent out for events or other reminders. In the near future we are going to attempt to give you an option to opt out of these messages, meaning that you will not receive reminders about some aspects of the school day and running. These will be communicated once via Newsletter and text. Please watch this space.
...And finally,
A huge thank you to all the parents who came to parents evening this week- we hope you found it informative. Thank yo ufor your kind offerings for our Harvest service. Also, a huge thank you to the parents who came to support the impromptu performance about chocolate by Onnen and Derwen. We hope you enjoyed it. And of course, thank you to the staff and pupils of those classes for putting it on. What a wonderful way to finish our final half term.
Please see photos below
We hope the pupils have a lovely break and stay safe.
The end of the penultimate week this week, just a reminder that Friday 27th October is a training day and will be open to staff only (except Playmates/Holiday club)
Harvest Assembly and Community cupboard
On 25th October the school will be having a Harvest assembly. During this we will talk about the meaning of Harvest and how crops are shared with those who may need them. Towards the end of this , each class will bring a box of food to the front of the hall as an offering to the community cupboard. If you can spare just one item of non perishable food (e.g. Pasta, a tin of fruit etc) could this be brought into your child’s class on Wednesday morning please. Thank you so much, your support is greatly appreciated.
Pendine visit
The school are continuing our invaluable links with the community and particularly Pendine.
Hopefully by now you have had your parents evening meet booked in. Please be aware that when you arrive their should be some seating for you to sit on and in Year 1 and above, your child’s books to look at. During the discussion you should have the opportunity to look at your child’s one page profile and amend there or take home to add too (if required). Those in Year 2 or above should also get their child’s reading age. We hope you will find the time worthwhile.
Just a reminder that the final day of the school half term, Friday 27th October, is a staff training day. School will not be open to pupils on this day.
Nursery and Reception Christmas performance- 15th December 2023 at 10am
Year 3 and 4 Christmas performance- 18th December 2023 at 1.30pm
Year 5 Christmas Service- 18th December 2023 at 6pm
Provisional date for Christmas dinner- 14th December 2023
Provisional date for Party food dinner- 22nd December 2023
Please note that, after conversation with the Governing Body, Year 1 and 2 pupils will take part in an Easter Performance in March (TBC) with a Christmas concert to follow next year.
These are the set performances. Classes and year groups may decide to do more informal services or performances throughout the year as part of topics or celebration events.
FSM
Just a reminder that it is worth checking if you are eligible for free school meal status. Despite every child now having access to a free school meal it is worth signing up for this if eligible. Extra money is provided for uniform, school trips (including up to £200 plus for residential trips in later years) and various other grants. It also allows school to access further funding fot he pupils’ education. If you think you may be eligible, please mention this to your child’s class teacher or myself in parents evening.
Currently, we are comparing extremely well to other Wrexham schools in our overall attendance. A huge, thank you for this- Being in and being prompt makes a massive difference to a pupils experience and understanding through their school life.
This week
There has been a lot going on this week. Dosbarth Masarnen enjoyed a long walk in the local area to see the Iron age hill fort. The pupils throughly enjoyed it and getting out into our locality is certainly something we wish to do more of in the future. The pupils camer back and did some outdoor learnig inspired by this.
Year 5 and 6 enjoyed a double whammy of Life saving skills and British sign language sessions with some very welcome visitors. A gentleman called Derek Tune does the Sign language and is someone we have welcomed back a few times.
Of course our forest schools sessions continue to flourish, and we made soem intereting use of the wet weather on Wednesday. Please see below:
We have also been lloking at Mayan clay creative art in Dosbarth Onnen and Dosbarth Derwen
School council meets have commenced and minutes and agenda notes can be found on the website soon.
Just a reminder that we have the Disco coming up on the 19th October and Parents Evenings the following week.
I hope that everyone is finding the introduction of class dojo of benefit- either as a communication tool or a god insight into the rewards your child is receiving. all these points are totted up weekly and announced in Friday assemblies. the winning house at the end of half term will have a small treat. The winning house at the end of the term will have a larger reward.
I have to say the pupils behaviour is something to be incredibly proud of. Whether this is linked to the introduction of class dojo or not, it is a pleasure to be able to reward the pupils so frequently for the small and big things they are doing that make such a difference. Diolch pawb!
Harvest Assembly
We have decided that this year, the Harvest assembly will be in school for pupils only, held by myself. Previously, we had communicated that this would be a Year 1 and 2 assembly for parents. I am meeting with the governors next week to ink in a pupil assembly/concert that we will perform for the parents and guardians of these year groups. Apologies for the change and watch this space for updates.
Breakfast Club
A reminder of the times below:
7.30am-8am– Playmates
8am-8.20am– £2 charge
8.20am onwards – Free
Please don’t send your child before the allotted time. Thank you
Charity work
Year 6 have been looking at the topic ‘Give a Little’. Off the back of this a couple of our Year 6 pupils have taken it upon themselves to raise money for Nightingale hospice. A huge thank you and well done to them. We are very proud.
School trips
School trips are commencing with some regularity now (and many more experiances are being brought, and bought, in). Last week, we were fortunate enough to go on a couple of great trips. Our annual trip to Pentrellyncymer was filled with the usual outdoor activities and enjoyed immensely by pupils and staff. Hopefully, news of next years trip will arrive around April next year.
The Year 6 pupils also had a fantastic time at RAF Cosford. It was the first time we have been here for many years. It is a trip we hope to go on again in the very near future.
Gwersyllt CP 
