Tuesday 3rd December

Winter Conditions
I thought it prudent to remind you of our procedures if we experience winter weather conditions such as snow and severe ice. 

Whilst I appreciate the challenge closing the school presents, there may be times when I feel I am unable to make the site safe for pupils, families and staff and decide to close the school. 

If this happens, I will update parents and carers by 7.30 am at the latest. I will do so by updating the school app, our Facebook page and the PCC website. 

Although I will always try my best to keep the school open, I remind you that all parents and carers should complete their own risk assessment. If you feel it is unsafe to travel or walk to school, then you should stay at home. 

Christmas Concerts
We are excited to announce that our Christmas concerts will take place next week! Each concert will begin promptly at 4:30 pm. 

Please note: We are aware that some of you may have seen a 5:00 pm start time listed on the school app. This was due to the app automatically assigning a time when none was specified. We sincerely apologise for any confusion and appreciate your understanding.

Performance Schedule:

• Monday: Dosbarth Barafundle and Saundersfoot

• Tuesday: Dosbarth Whitesands, Dale, and Abermawr

• Wednesday: Dosbarth Nolton and Broadhaven

Important Information for Parents:
We kindly request that all pupils remain in school on the evening of their performance. Staff members will supervise the children and ensure they are provided with a drink and a snack before the concert.

🎟️ Booking Information
With school budgets under increasing pressure, all schools are working to raise vital funds. This year, we are introducing a small entrance fee of £1 per person.

• To ensure fairness, each pupil will initially be allocated two seats for family and friends.

• Once these allocations are complete, any remaining seats will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please purchase your tickets from the school office starting tomorrow morning, Wednesday 4th December

🎁 Raffle Donations Welcome!
We will be holding a small raffle during each performance to add to the festive fun. Donations of raffle prizes would be warmly appreciated – thank you in advance for your generosity!

We look forward to seeing you all there for what promises to be a wonderful celebration of the season.

Daily Phonics Sessions (Nursery - Year 2)

As you may have seen in the news recently, reading standards are declining, year on year across Wales and the rest of the U.K. 

We are committed to improving reading standards across the school as we know how much more progress confident readers make compared to those who struggle. 

To improve standards, we have introduced daily phonics sessions. These short, 15-minute sessions will happen each morning. Pupils will work in small groups and may be taught by a different teacher in a different room.

These sessions begin at 9.05 am each day. Please ensure your child is in school on time each day as they will miss these vital sessions. 

We plan to hold an open event in the spring term to explain more about how the teaching of phonics works. 

Attendance

Sadly, attendance across the school is well below average. In fact, our levels of attendance are some of the poorest across the county.

As a school, we are being challenged to improve attendance. Already, attendance officers have visited me in school to discuss key pupils.

If you believe your child's attendance is below average, please speak to either myself, Miss Chapman or Mrs Williams. We would rather work with you to improve than let the attendance officers take the lead. We are here to support you.  

Over the coming weeks, we will be holding attendance meetings with several families. If you are requested to attend, it is important you do so. The meetings are non-threatening and will simply provide us with a better understanding of the poor attendance and for us to work together to make improvements. 

As a reminder, the attendance target is 95%. This is equivalent to 10 days off across the whole school year. 

We also have a problem with pupils arriving late each morning. If a child arrives after 9.05 am, we have to award a LATE mark which impacts negatively on the attendance rate. Please ensure you arrive as close to 8.45 am as possible. 

To improve attendance, we have launched several attendance initiatives to encourage pupils to improve their attendance. Please support them!

Remember, if your child is unwell, please let the school know the reason for the absence. You can do so by leaving a message on the absence line or by simply completing the absence form on the My School App. 

Tokens for House Points

We have recently launched an exciting new token system to support our house points system. 

Pupils are now able to collect tokens for:

1. Being Ready, Respectful and Safe

2. Welsh - using the language around the school

3. Attendance - being in school for a whole week

4. Above and Beyond - for doing something extra special

These tokens are counted at the end of each week. The house with the most points over each half term will win a prize. At the end of this half-term, the winning house will enjoy a Christmas movie and ice-cream. 

Join the Friends of Waldo Williams (FOWW)

Currently, we do not have an active parent association. A 'friends of the school' organisation usually consists of a group of parents who are committed to working with the school with one vision: to make the school the best it can be. 

Activities usually include organising and hosting different events throughout the year to raise vital funds for the school. These funds are often used to purchase equipment, provide experiences or support families. 

If you would like to join the FOWW, please add your name to the list in the school office. We look forward to supporting the first FOWW meeting after Christmas. 

Free School Meal Information

As you may know, all pupils in full-time primary education now receive free school meals. This is fantastic news for families! However, it has also led to fewer parents registering for Free School Meal Entitlement.

Why is this important? Schools receive significant funding through grants, and a portion of this is directly linked to the number of pupils eligible for Free School Meal Entitlement (subject to eligibility checks). These funds are crucial for supporting your child’s education and enhancing school resources.

In addition, families who are eligible can also receive a £150 school uniform grant.

If you think your child/ren may qualify, or if you would like assistance with the application process, please don’t hesitate to ask. Miss Chapman and I understand that this can be a sensitive matter and want to assure you that all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.

Thank you for helping us secure the support and resources our pupils deserve.