Summer Term Letter 3
17th July 2025
Dear Parents
As we approach our last day of this school year, it is time to say goodbye to our Year 6 class. They will all be missed at St Mary’s, but it has been a joy to watch them grow and blossom before our eyes. Their leavers performance of 80 Days Around the World was excellent – it was evident how hard they have all worked on the show. All school staff wish them the very best for this new chapter of their lives.
Tomorrow, Friday 18th of July, is the last day of the year. School is closed to pupils on Monday 21st of July. There is a county designated INSET day on Monday 1st of September so all pupils will return to school on Tuesday the 2nd of September 2025. There is a scheduled INSET day on Friday 3rd October.
As this year closes, in addition to the announcements last week regarding staffing changes, we can also now confirm that Mrs Joel, who has been a Teaching Assistant at St Mary’s for 21 years will be leaving us tomorrow. Many of you may already know that Mrs Joel is getting married next week and will start her married life as Mrs Pine in a beautiful area of Somerset, England as her husband is a member of the Armed Forces. Mrs Joel has been a dedicated and loyal member of the staff team at St Mary’s – she has supported learning with almost every year group, nurtured and cared for generations of families, hundreds of pupils and parents and made long lasting friendships as a lifelong member of the St Mary’s family. Thank you, Mrs Joel, for all that you have done for our pupils, parents and staff. We wish you and Mr Pine good health and happiness for your forthcoming marriage CONGRATULATIONS!!! We will miss you very much in September – it will be very odd without you being a part of the school, but we are very happy for you as you move into this next phase of your life.
Information for September 
CHANGES TO THE CAR PARK: Over the summer holidays, the entire carpark is being redesigned to create more space and be in line with current health and safety regulations.
The work includes extending the main entrance by moving the pillars and gates; removing the roundabout; creating a free flow drop off system and removing all current silver low level fencing around the car park, and creating a walkway accessible from every car park space, which will lead to the new entrance point (for the morning and afternoon for drop offs and pickups) which is the gate at the bottom of the car park leading on to the junior yard.
This will be very different to what is currently in place, so we ask that you take the utmost of care whilst using the car park to learn the new system, whether that be driving or walking.
PENCIL CASES: All pupils in Years 3, 4,5 and 6 are required to bring their own pencil case in daily. This should include black pens, pencil rubber, sharpener and a ruler. Pencil cases can stay at school but will need to be refilled throughout the year as items are used up.
School starts at 9:10am when class teachers take the register. If you arrive after this time, your child will be marked in as late. If you arrive after the gates have been locked, please bring your child to the main Reception via the electronic entrance gate to sign them in. A child who is 10minutes late per day, misses 32.5hours of education in a school year. We ask you to arrive early to school to minimise the disruption to their learning and also the learning of those who are already in class. Persistent lateness may result in a referral to the Education Welfare Department.
Attendance is compulsory at school for pupils over the age of 5. To maximise progress with learning, we expect our pupils to attend school regularly and for at least 95% of the year. This percentage is in line with the Welsh Government target figure for learners. Pupil absences are carefully monitored by the local authority. If a pupil is absent, parents are asked to telephone the school on the first day of any absence. If no contact is received regarding a pupil absence, parents will receive a text or an email alerting them to the absence and request that parents contact the school to explain the absence. Any unexplained absences will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’. Medical and dental appointments should, as far as possible, be arranged out of school hours. Permission to take pupils on holiday during term time must be requested in writing from the Headteacher and will only be authorised if overall attendance is very good.
Uniform is to be worn for all children (Nursery to Year 6). New uniform can be purchased at Picton Sports, Heol Aur, Dafen Industrial Estate. Book bags can be purchased at Picton or at school. However, before you buy anything new, please call into school and take whatever you need from our pre-worn uniform stock. Uniform consists of
- white polo t-shirt
- blue jumper or cardigan with school logo
- grey or black bottoms – trousers/tailored shorts, skirts/pinafores (no leggings/tracksuit bottoms)
- black school shoes or black trainers
The P.E kit consists of a blue crew neck school t-shirt with logo on front and dark coloured bottoms. The P.E timetable will follow in class newsletters in September. Please write your child/ren’s names on ALL uniform (and reapply after washes) to help to make it easier to return to the correct owner if lost.
Water bottles are required daily and can be refilled at the water fountain. Please write your child’s name on them.
After school clubs will not be available in the first week of Autumn term whilst new clubs are being arranged. Further information regarding the new clubs will be issued during the first week back.
I would like to thank you as pupils, parents, extended family members and friends for your continued support of our school. I am very proud of our achievements this year both at school, in the community and our parish. We are thankful for our pupils and enjoy teaching and nurturing them as they progress through the school. Have a happy and enjoyable summer.
We look forward to welcoming you back to school on Tuesday 2nd of September 2025.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Howells
Headteacher