Llangewydd Road, Bridgend, CF31 4JW. Telephone: 01656 815560 Email: head.stmarys@bridgend.gov.uk

Headteacher: Mr Lyndon Watkins, BA (Hons), MA (Ed), PGCE, NPQH Deputy Headteacher: Mrs Rachel Azzopardi, BA (Hons), MA (Ed)

This week we celebrate the last Sunday in the Church’s Year, the Feast of Christ the King.

Friday 20th November 2020

Here are some dates for your diaries as we look ahead:

Sunday 30th November – First Sunday of the Advent Season. Friday 18th December – Break up for Christmas Holiday. Monday 4th January – INSET day for staff training. Tuesday 5th January – Spring Term begins for pupils. Friday 12th February – INSET day for staff training, Half Term break begins for pupils. Friday 26th March – Break up for the Easter Holiday. Monday 12th April – Summer Term begins.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Yesterday we remembered our dear pupil Cian Mofidi by unveiling a bench in his memory in the school grounds. His sister Florence led us in prayer and his mother Denise read the Gospel story for us, for which I am very grateful to both of them. The bench will now be used as a quiet place for children and staff to have some reflection time. I trust the whole school community will enjoy using it and remember Cian at the same time.

The time has come for us to elect our next Parent Governor to join our Governing body. This is very important work and I’m very grateful to all our Governors, who are volunteers, for their commitment to the role. If anybody has an interest in becoming our next Parent Governor please get in touch with me at school by e-mail or give me a call to discuss the process. If more than one parent comes forward then an election will take place. I look forward to hearing from anybody who has an interest in this position by the end of next week.

Children throughout the school have begun entrepreneurship projects as we head towards the Advent Season. The Friends of St. Mary’s (PTA) are sponsoring each class for a sum of money and they have a challenge to make products that you and the wider public may enjoy buying and at the same time attempting to make a profit. I trust they will enjoy it and that you too will enjoy purchasing the results of their labours.

A reminder that our After School Sunbeam Club is up and running once again. It runs from the end of the school day until 5pm and it is priced at £7.50 a session or £12.50 for 2 children in the same family. Anybody wanting to avail of this service can book places via 07939458204.

Many thanks once again for your continued effort in sticking to the various COVID19 routines that are in place at the moment. Your cooperation is much appreciated. To date we have had 3 cases that have resulted in classes having to isolate and by continuing to work together we will attempt to keep this number as low as possible as we head towards the Christmas break.

Each class in both the Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 will be contributing towards an Advent Presentation that will build together into one cohesive story. We will offer this in the recorded form for you to purchase towards the end of term. This is the best we can do at the moment in that we are unable to produce the normal nativity stories that you are invited into school to enjoy with us. I trust that you will enjoy our children’s presentations when you have them.

Memorial Service for Cian, 19th November 2020.

You will have received, this week, a pack containing infomation on the Flu Vaccinations that will be carried out on Friday 4th December by the school nurse. Please could you complete the consent form and return it to school as soon as possible. If you do not wish for your child to receive this Flu vaccination we will still require the completed form. Many thanks.

Christmas withdrawals from the Credit Union.

As we approach Christmas, we would like to offer the chance for the children to withdraw some of their savings. Under normal circumstanc-

es we like to offer a choice but we would like to encourage all withdrawals, where possible, to be done as a Bank Transfer (BACs).

To make a withdrawal the trustee/guardian can follow this link to complete an online request: https://bridgendschoolsavings.com/

download-forms/school-withdrawal-form/.