Weekly Newsletter 17.07.26

School News

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends,

What a truly wonderful year it has been at our school. We are so proud of every single child and everything they have achieved. Everyone who visits always tells us how valued, welcomed and happy they feel when they leave

— and that is down to our incredible staff and our amazing children. We really do have the best team.

Our Leavers

Our leavers assembly was an emotional one, and we just want to say how proud we am of our Year 6 pupils. They have been absolutely amazing, and we are going to miss them so much. At the same time, we are genuinely excited for their futures and everything they will go on to achieve. Thank you also to Mr Cooper, Mrs Rigler and all staff who helped make the assembly so special.

Colour run

We want to say a massive thank you to Mrs O’Connor and the PTA for organising the most amazing colour run event. We did this last year, so we already knew how much fun it would be — but somehow this year was even better. Everyone was absolutely smothered in paint: children, staff, parents… no one escaped!

We couldn’t stop laughing at each other because of how we looked. The number of adults who left saying they thought they had more fun than the children was brilliant. The photos don’t even come close to showing how much fun we had. We can’t wait for next year.

Class Dojos for September

New class Dojos should now be set up automatically, so you don’t need to do anything at the moment. Further details will be shared before September, but for now the most important thing is simply to enjoy the summer. May the lovely weather continue… fingers crossed anyway.

Eco–Schools Platinum Award

We are incredibly proud to share that our school has achieved its 6th Eco-Schools Platinum Award. A huge thank you to Mrs Davies and our fantastic Eco Committee, who impressed the assessor with their confidence, awareness and pride. Our environmental actions, data collection and community links were all praised, and the pupils presented beautifully. Well done to everyone involved — a brilliant achievement for our whole school community.

Summer Library Challenge & Mathletics

Details of the Library Challenge went out this week. Anyone who completes it will receive 20 dojo points when they return to school in September. Year 6 — if you come back to visit us in September with your medal, you can have a dip in my prize box! Mathletics can also be completed over the holidays, and certificates can still be achieved weekly. This is completely optional — it’s there if children want a bit of routine or something fun to dip into.

A Well-Deserved Break

Most importantly, it is vital that everyone has a proper break. Rest, recharge, enjoy time with family and friends, and make the most of the summer. We want to say a huge thank you to all our staff for their incredible hard work and dedication this year, to our parents and families for their constant support, and to our governors and everyone who continues to stand behind our school. And of course, a very special thank you to our wonderful children — they are the heart of everything we do, and we are so lucky to work with such kind, funny, hardworking and brilliant pupils every day. We truly are surrounded by the best people, and we appreciate every single one of you.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.
Kind regards,
Mr Lloyd, Mrs Lloyd and the Derwendeg team

End of year Progress

It has been an amazing year at our school. The progress we’ve made together has been fantastic, and we are incredibly proud of our pupils, staff and families. From stronger learning experiences to exciting new opportunities, this year has shown what our school community can achieve.

Learning & Standards

We have continued to make strong progress towards our School Development Plan:

Standards in writing have risen across the school, supported by our work with the First Steps Writing approach. Pupils are producing more confident, structured and purposeful writing than ever.
In maths, the use of TAPAS warm-ups, a sharper focus on times tables, and the continued development of the CPA approach have led to clear improvements in pupil outcomes.
Collaboration with other schools and key curriculum training has strengthened our new curriculum, helping us refine planning and ensure learning is engaging, challenging and meaningful.

Curriculum Experiences

Pupils enjoyed many memorable WOW Days and authentic learning showcases. These experiences have brought learning to life and given pupils opportunities to share their work with pride. Our Early Years team also contributed to a national case study with Early Years Wales, celebrating our journey and sharing good practice with other schools

Leadership & Pupil Voice

Leadership has continued to grow across the school, with pupils playing a bigger role than ever in shaping school life.

The introduction of our Head Boy, Head Girl, and new pupil voice groups has strengthened pupil leadership and given children meaningful opportunities to influence improvements.
Their ideas and feedback have had a real impact on engagement, school culture and the development of new initiatives.
We are proud of how confidently pupils have stepped into these roles and how positively they have contributed to the school community.

Our New STEM Classroom

One of our proudest achievements has been the development of our new STEM classroom. Dosbarth Engys led the way — planning, painting, decorating and helping to set up the space. Their teamwork and creativity have been outstanding, and the room has already become a hub of problem-solving and innovation. We can’t wait to roll it out to more classes next year.

Care, Support & Attendance

We are proud of the continued development of our ALN provision and the strong support in place for pupils across the school. Attendance has also been a key focus, and we have worked effectively with our new Education Welfare Officer (EWO) to support families and maintain positive routines.

Thank You

Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year. We are so proud of everything our pupils have achieved, and we look forward to building on this success together next year.

Important Dates

Key Dates for 2025-26 – Term Dates

Spring Term: Monday 5 January – Friday 27 March 2026
Half Term: Monday 16 February – Friday 20 February 2026
Summer Term: Monday 13 April – Monday 20 July 2026
Half Term: Monday 25 May – Friday 29 May 2026

Please remember these are the dates of the school year, but below are the dates for the Insets to reflect when the children are in school.

INSET Dates
Monday 5^th January
Friday 13^th February
Monday 13^th April
Monday 20^th July

July
Wednesday 1^st July/Thursday 2^nd July – Lewis school Transition days
Wednesday 1^st July – Dosbarth Coch, Oren & Melyn Class trip
Monday 6^th July – Spain visit to our school
Wednesday 8^th July – Dosbarth Glas class trip
Friday 17^th July – break up for Summer holidays

September
Tuesday 1^st Sept – Inset Day
Wednesday 2^nd Sept – Children return to school
Thursday 3^rd Sept – Whole school Wow da y
Thursday 17^th Sept – Individual School Photos being taken

2026-2027 Inset Days

Tuesday 1^st Sept 2026
Friday 2^nd Oct 2026
Monday 5^th April 2027
Monday 19^th July 2027
Tuesday 20^th July 2027

School Menu
Click here to see the school menu.
Week beginning Mon 31^st Aug will be Week

Attendance Matters
The United Nation Article 28 states ‘every child has the right to have a primary education’. We are linking our attendance performance to this article.

We want our children to have the best possible education to give them the best chance in life. If your children aren’t in school we can’t give them this opportunity and can’t give them the opportunity to ‘be the best they can be.’

School target: 93%
Annual % to date: 91%

Weekly total
(Week ending 10th July): 88%

Dosbarth Oren: 93%
Dosbarth Melyn: 89%
Dosbarth Gwyrdd: 83%
Dosbarth Glas: 87%
Dosbarth Porffor: 91%
Dosbarth Enfys: 90%

It is important all of the children are in school every day to ensure they aren’t missing out on important learning.

Heroes of the Week

Dosbarth Coch: Whole Class
Dosbarth Oren: Whole Class
Dosbarth Melyn: Whole Class
Dosbarth Gwyrdd: Whole Class
Dosbarth Glas: Whole Class
Dosbarth Porffor: Whole Class
Dosbarth Enfys: Whole Class
Dosbarth Seren: Whole Class