School News
Dear Parents, Carers and Friends,
It has been absolutely lovely this week seeing the sun shining and the children enjoying playing on the field. The brighter weather has certainly put a smile on our faces. Please do remember that it can still be quite chilly, so children should continue to bring cardigans or jumpers to school.
Curriuclum
We have also been excited to begin work on our new topics across the school. It has been wonderful to see the children so engaged, especially when learning outdoors and exploring their environments. I am incredibly proud of how passionate the classes are about making a difference— whether that’s improving our school grounds, helping our local community, or thinking about ways to protect our planet. We are really excited to share some new developments in our curriculum. We are looking to introduce a woodwork workshop for the children! As part of this, we are appealing for any tools or equipment that families may be able to donate. If you have anything—particularly items similar to those shown in the examples on Dojo—that you feel could benefit the school, we would be extremely grateful if you could send them in. Thank you, as always, for your continued support.
Rugby Success!
We are incredibly proud of our rugby team this week. Some of our Year 5 and 6 pupils were lucky enough to take part in a Dragons rugby tournament at Rodney Parade, where they achieved an impressive second place out of 10 schools. They were praised by coaches and other schools for their passion, enthusiasm, behaviour, and outstanding teamwork. The children worked so hard and were fantastic representatives of the school throughout the entire day. Well done to you all for representing Derwendeg so brilliantly—we couldn’t be prouder! Lovely to see the skills gained during our Rugby Hwb shining through.
Secret Garden Performance
Just a reminder that we have The Secret Garden theatre performance coming into school on Monday 27th April. We have asked for a contribution of £4.50 via ParentPay for pupils to attend. Without your kind donations, we would not be able to offer these wonderful experiences to the children. Pupils are welcome to bring a small bag of sweets to enjoy during the performance.
ParentPay
As we look ahead to upcoming school trips and activities, we kindly ask all families to make sure they are signed up to ParentPay. This will help us manage permissions and payments more smoothly. If you need any support setting up your account, please contact the school office — we’re happy to help!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support.
Kind regards,
Mr Lloyd, Mrs Lloyd and the Derwendeg team
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 5th January
Friday 13th February
Monday 13th April
Monday 20th July
April
Monday 27th April – Whole school Secret Garden show
Wednesday 29th April – Year 5/6 visit to London
May
Monday 4th May – BANK HOLIDAY (SCHOOL CLOSED)
Monday 18th May – Spain trip
Friday 22nd May – break up for half term
June
Monday 8th June – Year 6 leavers photos
Wednesday 17th June – Dosbarth Glas Ystrad Mynach Library visit
Thursday 18th June – Dosbarth Porffor Ystrad Mynach Library visit
Friday 19th June – Dosbarth Enfys Ystrad Mynach Library visit
Monday 22nd June – Year 6 swimming sessions start (3 week block)
Tuesday 23rd June – Bible exhibition Bethel Chapel – Gwyrdd
Wednesday 24th June – Bible exhibition – Bethel Chapel – Glas, Bible exhibition – Bethel Chapel – Porffor, Bible exhibition – Bethel Chapel – Enfys
July
Wednesday 1st July/Thursday 2nd July – Lewis school Transition days
Monday 6th July – Spain visit to our school
Friday 17th July – break up for Summer holidays
School Menu
Click here to see the school menu.
Week beginning Mon 27th April will be Week 2
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: 92%
Weekly total
(Week ending 17th Apr): 94%
Dosbarth Oren: 94%
Dosbarth Melyn: 96%
Dosbarth Gwyrdd: 93%
Dosbarth Glas: 96%
Dosbarth Porffor: 97%
Dosbarth Enfys: 97%
Congratulations to the classes who surpassed our school target of 93%. 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: Ada N & Isla G
Dosbarth Oren: Oaklyn E & Frayah P
Dosbarth Melyn: Zayden P & Nory H
Dosbarth Gwyrdd Skye W & Theo B
Dosbarth Glas: Seren W & Bessie C
Dosbarth Porffor: Halle-Jo P & Afon R
Dosbarth Enfys: Troy T & Cadence M
Dosbarth Seren: Scarlett-Rose N
Headteachers Award
This week’s Headteacher Awards go to:
Eva-Leigh
Cadence
Jouson
Aneira
These children were chosen for displaying our school values and will be treated to a hot chocolate and a chat with Mrs Lloyd. Da iawn bawb!