Headteacher's Blog 15fed Rhagfyr 2023 

Christmas Concert week was amazing!

The Church was a fantastic setting to hold the Nativity - we are so lucky to have such a beautiful building on our doorstep to use - especially for the main Christian celebration events such as Christmas. 

The children did a brilliant job of projecting their voices, singing beautifully and being confident in front of the vast audience. Much thanks to all the staff; to put together a concert which involves all children from Nursery to Year 6 is not an easy task but they triumphed.  It was a lovely end to 2023 - who didn't feel all warm and Christmassy inside after seeing the performance!

Not only did we have our concerts, but we also a Christingle service in St. Mary's Church. Yet again the children took part sharing the meaning behind it and the history of the Christingle with their confident voices and lovely singing.

The Christmas lunch also happened this week with all the staff assisting to ensure a real family feeling. 

Onwards to next week and our final week of 2023!

Cofion, Mr. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair

The Christmas spirit has been all a round this week in Dosbarth Disglair. They have been solving mathematical Christmas problems and creating repeating patterns. The nativity was enjoyed by the children and their families and lots of giggles shared! Our lovely student teacher, Miss Ramos, enjoyed her last day with us and I know the children will miss her very much and wish her the best in her next placement.

Headteacher's Blog 8fed Rhagfyr 2023 

Well the frosty weather didn't last long. Back to rain this week. The schools are looking very festive despite the weather with Christmas trees up in both schools.

We've had a very exciting week in Nercwys. The men arrived to install our new play tower which was completed on Friday morning and it looks stunning. The wet weather means it is so boggy around it that we can't use it just yet. More wood chips are on their way to assist. This meant that the garden and the yard was out of action all week but the children had a mature attitude towards this minor inconvenience. 

The Christmas Fair took place on Thursday evening, organised once again by our new Friends of Nercwys PTA. It was a resounding success which saw true Christmas and community spirit pulling together to make it a memorable event. Father Christmas even made an appearance!

Cofion, Mr. Moore

What a fun and busy week Dosbarth Disglair have had. They have been so excited watching from a distance the amazing climbing frame being erected and can’t wait for Monday to try out! They have carried on learning about the time as well as finishing crafts for the Christmas fair to sell which was a superb success; they we’re all excited to share their news about it today during circle time. They have been creating bird feeder chains using fine motor skills to thread ready to hang up on the trees this cold weather. They have enjoyed various Christmas stories and used as part of guided reading. The nativity has been practiced in the Church and can’t wait to perform next week.

Dosbarth Dewi have been working hard practising the Christmas Concert. We’ve been to church to start putting our finishing touches to the concert and we can’t wait for you to see next week. I’m so proud of the whole class, they’ve learnt the songs and their lines! Da iawn!

Headteacher's Blog 1af Rhagfyr 2023 

And just like that ❄️December has arrived. The frost 🥶 is making our special places look amazing and wintry. Snow, at the moment, is not landing or affecting us and hopefully we will make it to the holidays without any disruption🤞.

Clwb Cwtch held their first session in Nannerch giving the opportunity for parents with babies/toddlers to learn simple Welsh phrases. It also introduces a few new parents to our wonderful school and we may even see them start here in a few year.

Nercwys held a non-uniform day where pupils brought in a bottle for the Christmas Fair and had a lot of fun with, not one, but 3! mischievous elves. The next couple of weeks are going to be interesting! The clothing donations collection held by the Friends of Nercwys was collected and we raised over £110! The next collection will be around March next year so keep an eye out 👀.

Cofion, Mr. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair

The children have had a busy week in Dosbarth Disglair creating their own clocks, writing similes linked to the nativity characters and fun with amazing alliteration sentences linked to what could be in Santa’s sack! Some mischievous elf’s turned up in the class and kept on hiding in the silliest of places, not sure how they managed to get covered in paint and sand with all the children in the class! The children explored the ice outside safely and had fun creating pictures and exploring ice in the mud kitchen.

Headteacher's Blog 24ain Tachwedd 2023 

It has been a great week for both schools. Mrs Taylor (New Headteacher) visited Nannerch last Friday and visited Nercwys this Wednesday. She spent a bit of time getting to know the pupils and the staff 

Christmas concert rehearsals are very much the focus so that we can give a great performance and celebrate this special time of year. 

First experiences music continues to be successful in both schools with clear improvements week on week. 

The date for the ‘Friends of Nercwys’ Christmas Fair at Nercwys has been confirmed as Thursday 7th December 5.30pm. It has been shared widely on social media. 

We had a visit from Jennie Downes (St. Asaph Diocese Education department) who delivered a lovely collective worship assembly for our pupils. She shared with us the reasons for having special items on our prayer table🕯️. The children were exemplary; demonstrating beautiful respect to a visitor. Jennie was full of praise for our children and staff. 

Hope everyone has a great week!

Cofion, Mr. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair have been very productive making and creating this week. They have began to create their Christmas crafts for the fair as well as a lovely Christmas windows display for Soar Chapel. They have learnt the meaning of Christingle and began the topic of time and calculations. The rehearsals for the Nativity have began and all children have been eager to join in with the singing.

Dosbarth Dewi were missing the conifer tree that we had cut down this week. We've been asked questions like how old was it and why it was cut down. This led to us thinking about the other trees in the garden and how long they have been there. We did an activity of measuring the tree trunks and using this measurement to work out how many years the trees have been in the garden. 

We are practising hard for our Christmas concert and the singing is sounding beautiful. We can't wait for you to hear it in Church in a few weeks.

Headteacher's Blog 17eg Tachwedd 2023

It seems that 🎄Christmas🎄 is definitely in the air now with all the usual Christmas TV adverts on the television. There seems to be quite a few Christmas emojis but not many relating to the actual event 🌟 just over 2000 years ago. I can't even find a 'donkey' emoji!

As we move towards the Christmas period we see our schools starting their rehearsals for the Christmas plays which always prove to be popular with the children and the parents.

Today we are all dressed in our own clothes with 'Yellow' and 'Spotty' items worn to show our support for BBC Children in Need. The money we have all contributed towards will be sent straight to Pudsey so he can spend it where it is needed most. Thank you for your generosity.

Cofion, Mr. Moore

What an exciting week of learning Dosbarth Disglair have had. They have been focusing on odd and even numbers as well as learning new strategies when adding numbers. They had a great lesson outside working on pace and endurance through a fun stick man game. They worked hard on creating a story map to help them write their own stick man story. It was lovely to see so many children wearing own clothes or dressed up in aid of Children In Need. Children have been eager to start practising the Christmas concert and begin to play their parts.

Outside was a lovely area to find outdoor senses, they even heard and saw a goose fly above!

It's been really fun this week starting our Christmas concert practice in Dosbarth Dewi. We all know our roles and it's amazing how after a couple of practices we're getting in to our characters. I can't wait to carry on practising with the class and see all these characters come to life. 

The Christmas Fair is fast approaching, and the Dosbarth Dewi Elves have been hard at work creating their Christmas craft to sell. We've had a great time outdoors with clay and some natural objects from the garden. We can't wait for you all to see what we've been up to at the Fair. 

Headteacher's Blog 10fed Tachwedd 2023

What a lovely week back in school after the fun of the first half of the autumn term. The pupils in both schools have been busy learning about Remembrance. They have created prayers, poems and paintings. They also researched the meaning behind various aspects of the service and servicemen who gave their lives.

Both schools held a poignant service and I was really proud of how each pupil showed their respect by observing a minute silence.

I really enjoyed seeing the pupils perform their sign language songs which they learnt in just 1 hour! Roedd yn anhygoel!

Dosbarth Disglair

What a busy week Dosbarth Disglair have had this week! They performed a lovely song and a poem at the church for Remembrance Service; they were very proud of the poppies and wreath they had created. They have been focusing on the Story ‘Stick Man’ planning their story as well as creating their own Stick man journey maps. This weekend it is the Hindu festival of ‘Diwali’ which is the festival of light, the children have been busy creating Rangoli Patterns using bright petals and thinking about symmetry.

Dosbarth Dewi

This week we’ve had some amazing visitors from New Directions. 

We had a British Sign Language session and had an amazing sing-along to Stand By Me. We also played a game guess the animal. We all had fun and we’ve been learning to sign our names. 

Our other visitor was here to teach us life-saving skills. 

We’ve learnt a lot about first aid and how to help in an emergency. 

We had an amazing time in the garden making eco-bird feeders in the garden. It was messy fun and everyone enjoyed scooping out parts of oranges. 

Headteacher's Blog 27ain Hydref 2023

I don't think we could squeeze any more things into our week than this week! It has been a brilliant way to end the first half term of the year. The Harvest🎑 services in both churches were well attended by parents and a big thank you to everyone for their generous donations for the 🥫🥫Foodbank🥫🥫.

The highlight of the week for the pupils was the 🎃Pumpkin Party🎃 where pupils from both schools partied the evening away together. The recently formed 'Friends of Nercwys' PTA did a brilliant job in planning and organising the event. The decorations looked amazing - including the massive spider🕷️ making its way around the entrance. I'm looking forward to more of these events at both schools in the future.

And - the pupils were working✍️ hard in class as usual this week too!

What a busy week they have had in Dosbarth Disglair with learning about different shapes and the story of Feeding the 5000 which they acted out in the Harvest Service at church. They have also been learning about compassion which is one of our Christian values. The pumpkin party organised by the PTA was a great hit and so lovely to have Nannerch pupils joining in the fun. The children were very excited with their ‘shake and a cake’ Snack which raised funds for MacMillan charity.

Dosbarth Dewi

We've had an exciting week, which has been Science and Technology based. 

As a class we've looked at the life-cycle of a pumpkin and at the moment we have a munchkin pumpkin decomposing in the classroom. Our plan is to hopefully watch it rot and then grow a new plant from the seeds in the Spring. 

On Wednesday we were so lucky to have a visit from Sniff and Snails, who delivered an amazing session about the 'Crumble', we learnt so much about programming and had some fantastic fun creating decorations for the Pumpkin Party with our programming. We hope you all enjoyed seeing them. Thank you so much Sniff and Snails, we can't wait for you to come back. 

Headteacher's Blog 20fed Hydref 2023

A late entry to the blog as it is now Monday.

Friday, as we all know, was a very interesting day. The rain having not stopped caused mayhem around the county and staff struggled to get to both schools. The decision was made to close both schools, which is never taken lightly, and always focuses on safety of both pupils and adults - along with parents. Thankfully everyone made it home safely.

This week saw our autumn term parent evenings across the federation and it was great to see so many parents coming in to see their child's work. If you didn't get to make it last week you can arrange a time with your child's class teacher which is convenient to both.

However - the rain was not the highlight of the week. The amazing amount of work happening in both schools was the highlight for me.

What a fun week they have had in Dosbarth Disglair this week, following their milkshake instructions to help make yummy strawberry 🍓 banana 🍌 and 🫐 blueberry milkshakes with of course cream and sprinkles! They have been aboard the Nercwys number bond bus learning all the pairs that make 10 and 20 as well as learning to balance outside with balloons 🎈 that kept blowing away!!

Headteacher's Blog 13eg Hydref 2023

Autumn arrived today disguised as Winter with the amount of ☔ rain! We were so lucky with the warm weather recently and both schools have taken full advantage. 🌾Harvest is now in full swing with our children preparing for the service in each village. It is great to hear the children singing their harvest songs 🎶 in full voice- you would think there were 🌟200🌟 children in our school! 

Cofion, Mr Moore.

Dosbarth Disglair

Our Special Grandparents Day was enjoyed by all and it was lovely to see so many grandparents in our beautiful garden. Dosbarth Disglair have also celebrated World Sight Day and have been busy creating eye animation using Stop Motion. The pupils have been focusing on instruction writing which will help them create their yummy milkshakes next week! Their instructions will aid them next week to create their individual algorithms.

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been looking at Fat Bear Week in Alaska. We've been voting and we're happy that Grazer the bear won. We've have done some class research about bears and found some amazing information about where they live and their diets. As a class we watched bear cam from Alaska and saw the bears looking for their breakfast.

To celebrate Grazer's win, the class asked if they could do some learning about 'We're going on a bear hunt.' We changed the sections of the story with music that sounded like the onomatopoeia. It was amazing to see the creativity of the class with the instruments and we made an amazing ensemble. 

Headteacher's Blog 6ed Hydref 2023

That was a really fun week! From Monday in Nannerch, where I heard all kinds of musical tunes being beaten out on the xzlophones 🎵 with the music service and ended on Friday with being told off by Foundation pupils for being late arriving at Nercwys at lunchtime 🤣 (I had been at Nannerch all morning).

On Wednesday I went to St. Asaph for a school leader's meeting with the Diocese.  It was great to hear about work being carried out in other Church in Wales schools and meet the Diocesan team.

I hope everyone had a fun and varied week like mine!

Cofion, 

Mr Moore

Dosbarth Disglair

We have been so busy this week in Dosbarth Disglair focusing on measuring using standard and non standard measure. They created outdoor owls using natural materials which they measured. They loved rolling the pumpkins and measuring the distance, some were natural bowlers! The milkshake cafe has been so much fun to create and the children have been enjoying taking orders, answering the phone as well as serving. They liked tasting the various milkshakes with extra squirty cream ready for when they design their own next week.

Dosbarth Dewi

This week we have been using the Seek app to identify the different species of plants in our school grounds. 

It's amazing to see the variety of species we have, we're going to use the information to start looking at invasive and native species.

Headteacher's Blog 29ain Medi 2023

Well, here we are at the end of September already! It is great to see our newest and youngest pupils have settled in so well to life in our schools. It is like they have always been here - part of our family. They are so keen to share with me what they are doing and demonstrate their new skills.

Despite the usual weather patterns of rain then sun, the pupils have all had chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful outdoors again this week. 

We were also lucky to welcome Mrs John into both schools (bringing a wave of joyful happiness) as she visited to launch the Children's University initiative. 

A full Governing Body meeting was held Thursday evening in Nercwys where we welcomed new members. There will be another meeting shortly as my secondment from Wrexham comes to a close at Christmas; the process is underway to find a permanent headteacher for the Federation.

Cofion,

Mr Moore

Dosbarth Disglair have been busy this week. They have created lovely Nativity pictures for the Diocese Christmas card Competition. They have been working on travelling skills outside and gemau buarth. The children were eager to use their story map to finish the story of the Owl Babies as well as create outdoor 🦉 owls from natural materials. The phrase of the week in Welsh was ‘Sut wyt ti?’ The children picked up the phrase as well as the their responses to the question. Nursery and Reception have been learning the ‘t’ sound and looking at measuring and sorting activities.

Headteacher's Blog 22ain Medi 2023

Another week where I have enjoyed seeing our pupils fly in to school (some actually with their coats on like capes🦸), ready to learn and with huge smiles on their faces😄.

The immense amount of ☔rain has affected some parts of our day but we have all found some little bits when the rain cleared so we could get outside - where we enjoy the most🌳. The pictures below show how keen we are to get outside!

Dosbarth Disglair have been working on their oracy skills this week, learning the Welsh words for their family members and using as part of a phrase. The younger children have enjoyed being outside collecting sticks and matching to the correct number and the oldest ones have been concentrating on place value.

The story of the 🦉 Owl Babies has been embraced and the pupils have began to sequence the story as well as create their own story map to aid them to re-tell the story in their own words. Thankfulness has been a big topic and they have created their own prayers from the owl babies perspective thanking God for the wiggly worms to eat, a warm nest to sleep and juicy mice 🐁 to eat.

Dosbarth Dewi

I've been so proud of how Dosbarth Dewi have settled into the school year! They are coming to school each day happy and ready to learn. I was really impressed when we did PE this week; everyone practiced the new skills and I think we have some future football stars. 

This week we've been learning about famous pieces of art created using digital media. We've been discovering how to use an app similar to artists. It has been fantastic to see the creativity of the class as they explore all the tools the app offers. 

Headteacher's Blog 15fed Medi 2023

I wondered if we might have had a quiet start back to the year but I was mistaken. An exciting trip for KS2 classes to the Rhug Estate in Corwen was full of surprises for me. I never realised the estate was what it was. I always seem to look at the shop side. 

I must say that, as always, our pupils represented our schools perfectly and the management team from Rhug were equally impressed.

Next week sees our first 'Friends of Nercwys' meeting which I am looking forward to seeing what extra opportunities we can provide for the children. I am reliably informed that there will be biscuits and tea available too.

Dosbarth Disglair have had a lovely full week with of learning and having fun . They have been blackberry picking, tasting and creating their own pink paint! They found out about how their hearts work and beat faster as they exercised. They were eager to learn a welsh song about or body parts as well as write personal facts about themselves.

Wow what an amazing and fun week in Dosbarth Dewi! 

We were so lucky to be invited to the Rhug Estate by the National Gamekeepers organisation. We got the behind-the-scenes tour; looking at all the things the estate does to boost wildlife around the grounds. We all also met Rich Tea  the deer whom, we all got given the opportunity to feed.  We learnt so much about our cynefin. 

Sniff and Snails came to visit class this week too. It was a fantastic session that focused on how technology is improving lives now and possibilities for the future. We are so grateful that Sniff and Snails will be coming back throughout this term to work with the children to develop a STEM project using the Crumble kits we have in school. 

Headteacher's Blog 8fed Medi 2023

Well, Autumn Term 2023 finally started! (and the weather turned up)

This week began with the entire Federation staff descending on Nannerch to have a packed training day with Mike Rosser and Barbara Lees-Ransford. 

It was brilliant to see the children's faces on their return to school this week. So many smiles and happy faces. It doesn't take long to forget we have ever been away. A lot of activities have taken place in this short week and we even have a trip for KS2 next week.

Cofion, Mr. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair have settled in wonderfully after the holidays, they were eager to share their holiday news and adventures. We have welcomed our new Nursery and it’s been a delight to watch the older ones help them and be so nurturing and caring . The topic this term is ‘Magical Me’ which has helped us with our learning journey focusing on sharing likes and dislikes as well as information about themselves; this shows with our rainbow 🌈 clouds they have made. Miss Gunes was amazed with their job aspirations for the future, from vets, gold diggers and even a soft play worker !!

Dosbarth Dewi

It has been amazing to welcome Dosbarth Dewi back this week. They all seem to have grown so much and have been telling us amazing stories of summer. They have all settled back into the routine of class. 

We've started our year with using out Cymraeg. We've been remembering our phrases to introduce ourselves and created characters in the garden to write about. I've loved seeing the creativity the class showed in learning in the outdoors. 

Headteacher's Blog 14eg Gorffennaf 2023

It has been another busy week in Nercwys. The Year 6's spent three days in our nation's capital: Cardiff. The twitter feed was full of pictures showing what they got up to. It looks like everyone had a fantastic time celebrating the end of their primary school years. I'm a little sad that my ice cream didn't make it back🤷

I'm looking forward to the leaver's service on Tuesday which will be the final piece in the school jigsaw for this year.

The newsletter is on this page - ⬆️ above this blog.

Cofion, Mr. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair have had a fun week exploring angles and corners. They made their own corner/right angle monsters and went on a hunt around the garden 🌱. The older children focused on the ‘igh’ sound and the younger ones concentrated on blending games. We investigated mini beasts 🐜 counting their legs🐛 and working out which mini beasts could make various even numbers. The year two children joined Dosbarth Dewi and created lovely pieces of art work and weaving.

Mrs Gunes had a wonderful few days in Dosbarth Dewi creating beautiful line drawings and painting them. They measured and created their own looms which they were proud to then use to weave. Some children were very creative using natural materials to enhance their weave. It was a lovely opportunity to spend time with the juniors while year 6 were exploring Cardiff.

Headteacher's Blog 7fed Gorffennaf 2023 

Another week another trip. Our lucky KS2 class headed off to the Alun where they competed in a Triathlon which enabled the children to have a go at running, cycling and swimming. Events from 6 July – 19 May – Brownlee Foundation (thebrownleefoundation.org) And as usual our children represented our school perfectly. 

It was lovely to meet so many new parents at the Teddy Bear’s Picnic in the garden on Tuesday. The sun shone and lit up our wonderful part of the world. The children had a great time exploring our garden and making new friends. There was a lot of food on offer which we are very grateful for – I may have eaten too many chocolate brownies. 

Cofion, Mr. Moore 

Dosbarth Disglair 

We have had a very busy week learning about life cycles of frogs 🐸 and 🐞 ladybirds. They have created their own animation using StopMotion showing various life cycles. The children have been working hard on rounding and ordering numbers in the outdoor classroom. We also used our measuring skills to create our salt dough ladybirds 🐞. The teddy bear's 🧸 picnic was a superb day where we had lots of teddy bear activities and games, as well as a lovely picnic. It was lovely to welcome new faces to our beautiful school 🌻 garden.

Dosbarth Dewi 

This week Dosbarth Dewi have been completing a tree survey on the school field to see how the trees we planted have grown. It was amazing to see the wildlife that has been attracted to our field. We discovered what we first thought were caterpillars but they were Alder Leaf Beetle Larvae; we were amazed as we could see them larvae and the eggs on the underside of the leaf. This inspired us to investigate life cycles of different minibeasts.  

 
We had a outdoor learning session focused on creating minibeasts pictures using natural materials found in the garden. It was brilliant to see the children being creative with the materials and using team work skills. The children were fantastic role models for the year 2 children that joined us for the session. 

Headteacher's Blog 30ain Mehefin 2023 

The last week in June came quickly. This week we have had our ‘move-up’ days allowing the children time in their new classes and new teachers. All the children were kind and helpful supporting the nursery pupils who had a full day and the Year 2 pupils who experienced the excitement of KS2. The transitions to high school continued too with all our Year 6 children returning to school full of the buzz from their new school and, sad as it is that they are leaving, we are all really pleased and proud of how excited they are to move on. 

Now the weather has eased off a bit, it meant that the 🏃 sports day was a superb event 👟. All the children demonstrated fantastic ‘sportsmanship’ supporting each other and celebrating successes. The hill was filled with parents cheering and clapping too. Obviously, the best part was the ice-cream 🍦 van on the yard! 

 Cofion, Mr Moore 

Dosbarth Dewi 

This week has been so fun and tiring in Dosbarth Dewi.  

Sports Day 🏅 was fantastic and I'm so proud of how everyone joined in and of course enjoyed their ice creams after. Thankfully 🙏 the weather held for just long enough.  

 
I could tell there were tired legs on Wednesday as we walked up Penycloddiau ⛰️; however, everyone made it to the top and took in the amazing views of Ruthin and Denbigh. It felt extremely special to spend the day with our friends from Nannerch 👭. Hillfort: Penycloddiau - Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB 

The class demonstrated the school values when they welcomed the younger children into class on moving up day. They showed the value of wisdom 🦉 through welcoming the children into the class and showing them the class routines. We did teamwork activities such as den building 👷. The class loved this and they were able to develop vital skills of perseverance and community. I've got to say I enjoyed my time exploring the dens with the class. 

Headteacher's Blog 23ain Mehefin 2023 

The weeks are whizzing by now as we approach the summer break and we are fully in ‘Sports Day’ season. On Thursday Nannerch held their sports day and it was a brilliant success. So many stories of pupils being kind and demonstrating fair play. Nercwys’ sports day is next week and I expect much the same. 

Our Y2 pupils attended the annual ‘Jambori’ event in Connahs Quay where they celebrated being Welsh sharing songs and having fun. It was lovely for the pupils to see Mrs. Meaden there too! 

Cofion,  

Mr. Moore 

Dosbarth Disglair 

This week the children have had so much fun at the Jambori singing Welsh songs and copying the actions, they even got sprayed with water !!! The children made crocodiles 🐊 to represent greater than and less than symbols > < they even used the interactive board to draw their own, choosing which crocodile symbol to use. They have enjoyed the spin the wheel game to support their phonic learning of the sounds sh, ch, th and wh. 

Dosbarth Dewi 

Tess and Macie here (Year 6 and 5) from Dosbarth Dewi.  

On the morning of the 22nd the Year 2's came into Dosbarth Dewi and the Year 6's went into Dosbarth Disglair. In Dosbarth Dewi we built our happy and safe places out of Lego. I built a dog castle because I have a pet dog called Alfie and he always makes me happy.  

In Dosbarth Disglair we went into groups with the younger children and made dens out of different materials. My group made a two-storey house with 3 rooms.  

Recently, in Dosbarth Dewi; we have been doing algebra. Mrs Foster has been brilliant in helping everyone understand all the different numbers and letters when we are at different levels.  

Also, Nercwys Community Council has kindly gifted us with 2 bat boxes, 2 bird boxes, 2 bug hotels and a hibernaculum (hedgehog house).  

We hope you are updated enough, Macie and Tess. 

Headteacher's Blog 16eg Mehefin 2023 

Keeping cool and hydrated has been the order of the week. Lovely weather to get outside when we can, and we are lucky to have such beautiful outdoor areas to enjoy it with plenty of shade! 

On Wednesday we were gifted a wide selection of animal houses by the Community Council. These will be installed around the site to encourage more wildlife such as birds, bees, bugs, hedgehogs and bats! 

KS2 class had been working on their ‘Dragon’s Den’ style product creations and I enjoyed seeing their presentations. All the children worked so well with each other in their group and demonstrated a great understanding of the process. 

Cofion,

Mr Moore.

Dosbarth Disglair 

What an adventurous week Dosbarth Disglair have had. The trip to the 🦈 Sea Life Centre at Rhyl was so much 🤩 fun. The children met some amazing sea creatures 🐠 and even stroked a starfish! The seals were amazing and they learnt so many amazing facts about them while they clapped 👏, splashed 💦, barked and even blew bubbles; some of the children even got wet! Rhyming words was the key focus this week linked to the story of ‘Tiddler’ 🐟 by Julia Donaldson. The whiteboard was also used to build upon prior knowledge of place value as well as more and less. Children have been practising on the big field ready for sports day, and they can’t wait to show their skills. Following the eco week the Community Council kindly donated various big houses, bird houses and an amazing hedgehog house. 

Dosbarth Dewi 

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we've been trying to beat the heat by being inventors of smoothies🥤. The class enjoyed choosing a flavour and mixing them up but also, they created PowerPoints and worked out how much their smoothie's cost💰. The class were also critics and discussed which flavours they liked👍 and which they didn't👎. Everyone did an amazing job and there was great teamwork.  

We've been able to enjoy the outdoors a lot over the last few weeks due to the glorious weather. It's been amazing to take our Welsh Language learning outdoors too. We've had a focus on coding and programming💻 using technology recently through Hwb and Minecraft, so we decided to take our skills outside and give instructions in Welsh to move between places in the garden. As a class we went even further and made obstacle courses and had to find our way to the end using blindfolds. It was great fun. Da iawn pawb. 

Headteacher's Blog Dydd Gwener 9fed Mehefin 2023

A very warm (not too hot – yet!) welcome back after half term to everyone👋. This week has been extremely busy in both settings. The inspection reports have been very well received and many people have contacted school via letter, email and phone to congratulate us. I have passed all the comments on to Mrs Meaden who was really pleased😄.

We have had our governor committee meetings this week and I’m looking forward to the full governing body meeting next week so I can meet everyone.

It was great to see the older pupils working so well with the younger ones at Nercwys this week making their kites🪁. Seeing the ‘family’ together outside was a real privilege.

Cofion,

Mr. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair have had a wonderful week enjoying the ☀️ sunshine. They have been working hard with creating sentence and words that they have cut out of magazines. Reinforcing number bonds with Numicon. They celebrated ‘National Oceans Day by listening to the story ‘Somebody swallowed Stanley’ by Sarah Roberts. The story is about a plastic bag that floats in the sea and the other sea creatures thinks Stanley is a jelly fish! The children learnt about pollution and how they should not throw rubbish on the beach as it can get in the sea and affect the sea creatures and environment. Plastic bags were re- used creatively to make kites which they had fun running around the garden with! The Baptism👶 at Nercwys Church⛪ was full of celebrations with the Reverend Kathy showing the children how a child is baptised.

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been really lucky to have two visits from Forward Futures. Our first was about careers in engineering; the class met James who is a chartered engineer. He talked to the class about how engineering has allowed him to travel to world🗺️ to solve problems and he gave the class a brilliant idea about horse🐎 saddles. Look out in the future for Bluetooth speaker horse saddles on the market. Our second visit was about developing a living wall out of plants. It’s really exciting, we’ll be looking at different types of 🌱plants🌱 to fill the wall. 

Through our work this term on being healthy the class also planted strawberry plants🌱 so that they can grow their own snack for the future. Fingers crossed next year we have a bounty of strawberries🍓.

Headteacher's Blog Dydd Gwener 26ain Mai 2023 

Our  latest Estyn report is available to read now. Nercwys CIW Voluntary Aided Primary School | Estyn (gov.wales)

The lovely weather continues 🌞! This week has been another 🐝 hive of activity in both schools.  

The last six weeks have passed very quickly and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of getting to know the staff and pupils. Thank you to everyone for their dedication and support in moving all the children onwards. Our pupils are so very lucky  to be educated in our unique and 🌈 beautiful settings 🌳. 

At Nercwys it was great to see the eco week unfold with an ‘Eco-obstacle course’ on the huge expanse of the filled, some very ingenious designs on how to filter water and culminating in a very successful Eco Swap Shop.  

Dosbarth Disglair

This week has been all about caring for our planet 🌎 through Eco Week. The children have celebrated National bee 🐝 day and learnt so many interesting facts about them as well as their importance for biodiversity. Eco week was a success with pupils bringing various items for reusing by making junk models and egg-citing number boxes to aid addition. Pupils also helped at the eco stall swapping books, toys and non perishable foods. They even had time to create a buzzy bee 🐝 creation using so many hexagons!!!!

Dosbarth Dewi

This week we have been exploring the theme of Eco-Week. Our first activity was focused on food waste and how we can minimise this at home. We discovered that food scraps can be regrown in different ways at home. The biggest discovery that we made was that you can regrow a pineapple🍍 when we buy one from the supermarket. Good luck to anybody who has a go and keep us posted if it works. 

We discussed how as the planet gets warmer the parts of the planet enter drought or are struggling to access clean water. The class were set a task to design a water filter in groups using cotton wool, sand and small stones. We had really effective water filters and some differing methods of filtering. The filtering took a little while and we had to wait over-night to see how well they worked💦. 

The last half term promises to be just as full and busy with Leaver Services and Sports Day. 

Enjoy the rest and the weather. See you all in June. Hwyl fawr!  

Cofion, Mr Moore. 

Headteacher's Blog Dydd Gwener 19eg Mai  

A return to a full five-day week for all pupils was a chance to get back to normal. There has been a lot of activity outdoors this week at both schools with all our pupils enjoying the benefits of fresh air in these stunning settings we are so lucky enough to be learning in. There were so many pictures shared with me for the blog! I have tried to add as many as I can. Keep an eye on our twitter too as we add more pictures as the week progresses. The last week before a half term is always one with weary pupils so we shall see what this next week brings.

Cofion 

Mr Moore

Dosbarth Disglair

What a fun week in Dosbarth Disglair creating their own animation of Rainbow Fish using stop animation. The children have been solving real life problems using money. They were challenged to write sentences using ‘th’ words which helped them with their extended writing. 

Dosbarth Dewi

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been looking at lines of symmetry of 2D shapes. We took our learning outside and enjoyed creating the shapes using bamboo canes and showing the lines of symmetry through using string and chalk.  

We've also been exploring the amount of sugar in drinks because of a pupil voice question. We were shocked to discover that a bottle of Yazoo Milkshake has the same calories as a can of Coca-Cola. So we could understand how much sugar was in these drinks, we weighed them out to have a visual representation. We have also been investigating our Christian values and placing them on a diamond ranking sheet. 

Headteacher's Blog Dydd Gwener 12fed Mai 

After the fun and pageantry of the 👑Coronation weekend we started out last four-day week for a while and another action-packed week was had by both schools. The weather has been a good mix of warm sun and ⛈️heavy rain. This seems to never stop the children from wanting to be 🌳outside and thankfully the rain cleared quickly so they could. As a Federation I have seen both schools making the most of the outside as and when they could this week. 

I spent a lovely time outside as Dosbarth Disglair hunted for their phonics in the garden and planting up lots of flowers and arranging them along the railing. They look fantastic already and I can’t wait to see them fully grown. 🌼

Cofion, 

Mr. Moore 

Dosbarth Disglair has been full of shimmering sparkly fish this week focusing on the story of Rainbow 🌈 🐠 Fish. The children have discussed kindness and the importance of sharing with others. From creating their own sparkly fish they have thought of other words to describe the shimmering scales of the fish. Garden phonics was a great hit with the children enthusiastic and eager to find as many object in the garden starting with different initial sounds. The plastic milk bottles became unusual face planters which were planted with Nasturtiums they should grow into bright flowing hair! Coin rubbings were done to help the children recognise each one so that next week they can solve problems with money. 

Dosbarth Dewi 

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been learning about 3D shapes. We played fun games in the yard, where we had to match the 3D shape to the real-life object and we explored 3D structures using spaghetti and marshmallows. The class used these experiences to learn what 3D shape nets look like and Years 5 and 6 had a challenging puzzle to solve: matching all the cut-up nets. Amazing perseverance skills were on show! 

We have also been exploring a balanced diet, we looked at the main food groups and how much we should have of each. When we were recording our food diaries the class developed a pupil voice question of 'How much sugar is in our favourite snacks?' Which we'll explore next week. I wonder if we'll stick to our favourite snacks after that? 

Headteacher's Blog 5th May 2023

A fast four days in school due to the bank holiday but so much was packed into them. A flurry of activity has seen everyone preparing for the historic event of the Coronation👑.

There has been an impressive amount of artwork relating to the Coronation, which will be on display in the Church, produced by all ages this week. I was really impressed with the detail from KS2 along with the fantastic 🖌️painting skills which the children took such a pride in.

As we enjoy our long weekend and celebrate the Coronation I shall leave this picture here for you to consider which afternoon tea person you are. For me, I am: C2B

Have a great weekend,

Mr S. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair

We have been creating artwork to celebrate the Coronation to be proudly displayed at Nercwys Church. The church is having a service this Sunday7th May at 11am with refreshments and snacks afterwards.

Dosbarth Dewi 

We have been looking at the Welsh artist Rhiannon Roberts this week. We’ve used her pieces as inspiration for our coronation art work to display in church. We’ve used symbols of London and the coronation and recreated watercolours in Rhiannon’s style. The class have been extremely creative and have created fantastic pieces to display in St Mary’s Church this weekend. 

As this week was a bank holiday, our PE lesson was focused on rounders. The team work skills that the class shown were fantastic, especially when fielding. The whole class really enjoyed playing the game and I can’t wait to see what they remember when we play rounders on Tuesday, next week (🤞 for the weather).

Headteacher's Blog 28th April 2023

Well this week has gone extremely quickly. Children and staff in both schools have been working on their preparations for the Coronation with events taking place at both schools over the coming weeks.  

The children have been outside a lot this week and have been sharing their experiences on twitter as we took part in 🍃 #WalesOutdoorLearning week. Lots of pupil-led ideas where they inspired each other. 

I have managed to learn a few more names this week, met a few more parents and I am starting to get used to the different routines of both schools. 

Monday night saw staff from both schools go to Ysgol Bryn Coch in Mold where we shared examples of work from across all age groups with the other schools in our cluster. It was great to hear so many positive comments about the high level of work and range of experiences our pupils receive.  

As we head off for an extra-long weekend, I hope Mr. Heulog☀️ makes an overdue appearance. 

Cofion, 

Mr. Moore 

Dosbarth Disglair  

Dosbarth Disglir have been busy with repeated addition and multiplication which they enjoyed learning, practically, outside. The school field was the perfect canvas for creating natural calligrams which the children were so proud of. The story of Naomi and Ruth taught the children about friendship and how to be a good friend. The word ‘Coronation’ is a big, exciting word in the class with lots of ideas and creations being made ready for the big day! 

Dosbarth Dewi 

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been learning about the human body. We’ve looked at the functions of the organs and where they are in body. We focused our research on the brain; it was really fun thinking about all the different things our brains control and which part controls them. The children have created information posters to explain the different parts of the brains.  

We’ve explored what our key questions are going to be for this term. The class are really intrigued by trying different sports and exercise; thinking about diet and looking at food; and how we can support our mental health through calming exercises like yoga and meditation. It’s going to be an exciting term. 

Headteacher’s Blog 21st April 2023

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you as the new Headteacher of the Nantlwys Federation.  This has been a very interesting week where I have tried hard to learn a lot of new names and faces. It has been a pleasure to see the pupils working hard and having fun after their Easter break. Everyone I have met in the school community have been so welcoming - Diolch yn fawr!

I have met the new guest in Dosbarth Disglair – Teddy Francis-John – who arrived with a special letter from the Diocese. 

The weather seemed to be improving and we had a couple of sunny days which sadly haven’t lasted but did give the children time to learn and play outside more.  

Reports will be sent out on Friday 14th July. 

Details for Parent Appointments have been emailed: 

Tuesday 2nd  and Wednesday 3rd May

I am looking forward to meeting you all in the coming weeks. If you wish to discuss anything, please get in touch. 

Mr S. Moore

Dosbarth Disglair 

This week in Dosbarth Disglair we had a surprise visitor; Teddy Francis-John has come to help us learn about Jesus. He helped us with the story of Noah’s Ark and the meaning of the story. The children enjoyed the story so much that they used the story to help them solve mathematical problems as well as begin to write their own stories. 

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Dosbarth Dewi 

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we’ve started our new topic focusing on Health and Well-being. As a class we explored the question ‘What does it mean to be healthy?’. The class were amazing and remembered that being healthy isn’t just about physical health but also our mental health.  

We’ve started looking at instruction writing this week. The class were set the challenge of writing a set of instructions for making a jam sandwich. Mr Hunt helped the class to check if their instructions were clear by being a robot following the instructions. The class enjoyed watching Mr Hunt completing their instructions and making their sandwiches. 

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 31st March

What a lovely week in school!

A big thank you to everyone for being Superstars this week. I know everyone was tired at the end of term and following Inspection. I am lucky to have such wonderful learners and a brilliant team. The one thing I did want to do was have an Easter Egg hunt to fit in with our traditions. Everyone managed to find the correct egg for them.

A big thank you to Mrs Gillett and Rev Kathy for doing such a great job of putting the Easter Service together. They also humoured me by playing my favourite song – Fluffy Difference!

Mr Steven Moore has enjoyed his visits to school and I am sure he is going to enjoy his new role.

This week in Dosbarth Disglair has been a very relaxed classroom after our visitors last week. The children have been designing Easter eggs as well as having fun with the Easter egg hunt in the garden. The main focus of this week was to prepare for the Easter Service as well as Mrs Meaden's leaving service. As part of the service the children created Easter artefacts and what they symbolise; these were shared at the church.

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been looking at our gifted tomato plants and discussing if we think biochar is a good thing for the environment. The class researched the benefits and disadvantages of using biochar. We discovered that it absorbs moisture which makes it good for plants in drought. However, we also discovered that it is expensive to make and the process releases greenhouse gases. We will just have to see if it has an impact on our tomato plants by measuring how tall they grow over the next 9 weeks!

We have started buddy reading this week; the children have all got somebody to read with in class. The idea is that they develop their confidence in reading aloud to somebody and support each other to learn new skills. The class have enjoyed the activity so far and have enjoyed sharing their stories with others.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone and school reopens on the 17th April

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 24th March

Wow, what a week!

Everyone has worked so hard to showcase our lovely school. A big thank you to our fantastic learners, parents and the wonderful staff. We have been one big team and this has been obvious to the Inspectors.

We will be able to celebrate a positive Inspection report. I can’t share any detail at this point as it is still confidential but I am smiling alongside the staff. I can share that the lead Inspector said that I could move forward into my part time position happy in the knowledge that the schools are in a good position for Mr Moore to take forward. Mr Moore joined us for the Inspectors’ feedback and was very positive about all he had heard.

A big well done to all the staff and learners for giving of their best throughout the week. Thank you to our lovely families for all your support.

Dosbarth Disglair

This week during inspection Dosbarth Diaglair have been having fun with the story of Michael Recycle, he even came to visit the children to help with their learning. They explored Mass; heavy and light, estimating and measuring as well as balancing the scales. Through the story the children enjoyed finding words that describe Michael Recycle or various adjectives in the story.

As it is nearly Easter they learnt about the Easter symbols, created Easter gardens, cards and played various Easter games. They were excited to find the clothes in the garden that were hidden and learn the Welsh names for them, there were lots of giggles and fun dressing the teddies and dolls!!

Dosbarth Dewi

This week Dosbarth Dewi have been busy creating their stop/animations and green screen videos to share their messages of sustainability. They've worked extremely hard and their work is incredible. As a class they have got lots of messages to share about how to create a sustainable life.

We've also been extremely lucky that today in school we had a workshop looking at a sustainable growing material called Biochar. From this workshop we are going to be growing tomatoes in Biochar and monitoring how they grow.

Don’t forget school meals will also be available, without charge, for Year 1 and 2 pupils from Monday 17th April.

Headteacher's Blog Friday 3rd March 2023

It was lovely to welcome everyone back to school on Monday. The learners are becoming very used to welcoming Visitors into school. We welcomed the Director of Education Mrs Claire Homard and the Leader of the Council Mr Ian Roberts into both schools on Monday. They were really interested in all the children’s activities and chatting to them about their work and school life. Cllr Roberts was particularly interested in hearing about the school meals, any difficulties we were having and was keen to see what the children were served and chatting to them about the food.

We then had the candidates for the Headteacher’s post visit both schools. They were all impressed at our hardworking learners. It was lovely to see their reaction to the fabulous outdoor facilities in both sites. 

Within our Staff Meeting on Friday we discussed the feedback from our School Improvement Advisor following the recent Learning Celebrations/ Book Scrutiny/ Observations of work. We have completed this process for Literacy, Numeracy and for Digital evidence. The vast majority of the report was extremely positive with some suggestions for future improvements.

Everyone enjoyed their St David’s Day celebrations and are looking forward to the Eisteddfod to celebrate all their achievements.

Dosbarth Disglair Blog

We have had a busy first week back in Dosbarth Disglair. In Maths we have been working on more and less, and measuring using standard and non-standard units.

We have put our fact writing skills into practice by creating a leaflet about St David’s Day.

We enjoyed chopping and cutting the vegetables and tasting the Cawl Dewi Sant. We also learned a new song for St David’s Day.

We have had an interesting visitor talk about the Welsh Air Ambulance and have asked lots of good questions about the service and the charity.

As part of World Book Day, we have discussed our favourite books and stories and made book marks.

Dosbarth Dewi Blog

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been learning how to use the stop animation app to create short videos. The class were given Lego and set the task to create a short animation. The enjoyment was clear through the comedy that the class were able to put in to their animation videos.

St David's Day was a great day, the class enjoyed making Cawl Dewi Sant; they were extremely careful chopping up the vegetables and were thorough critics when giving out star ratings. It was also lovely to see the art work created by class, the detail created through using oil pastels was phenominal! Da iawn pawb!

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 17th February 2023

A big thank you to everyone for supporting our Natural Disaster Fundraiser. Well done to our learners for being such fantastic Global Ethically Informed citizens to suggest it. Everyone has enjoyed wearing their own clothes whilst supporting others. We raised £108.50 towards the appeal.

It was lovely to welcome Open the Book to lead our assembly again today. A big well done to all the learners who took part and also Mr Hunt.

Rev Kathy gave us a reminder about Messy Church on the theme of Frozen. They will be making a snow globe, Sven cakes, Olaf socks and Troll in Veg. This is at New Brighton Church from 4pm to 5.30pm on Sunday.

Dosbarth Disglair

This week they have produced some super fact files about Nercwys forest on the computer using Purple mash.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed making and tasting pancakes and learning all about Shrove Tuesday.

In Maths they have been working on whole/ half and quarter turns, we have been practing directions and learning left and right.

Within Topic they have been looking at old Victorian photos of our school and comparing clothes then to our uniforms now.

They have talked about raising funds for others by having a Non-Uniform Day.

Dosbarth Dewi

This week started off fun in Dosbarth Dewi, we had an exciting trip to Bailey Hill. We were able to experience their forest school space and take part in fun around the campfire. We learnt about the castle and were able to build our own castles using natural materials we found and we were making up stories about them.

The class have been planning our vegetable garden for this year. We were investigating how to care for seeds by using the seed packets to find information. We learnt some interesting things such as the best companion plants for our seeds and where is best to plant the seeds in the garden.

Hopefully the weather will continue to be kind for our half term break and that everyone enjoys some family time together. School re-opens on Monday 27th February.

Headteacher’s Blog - Friday 10th February 2023

Another busy week. We had another successful learning celebration with a focus on Literacy this time. It was such a pleasure looking through the Learners’ work with our School Improvement Advisor, Mrs John and Mrs Gunes. We have both schools working together and we can see how supportive working as a Federation is, so much so that one of our partner schools Ysgol y Foel, Cilcain may join us.

We have had Governors subcommittee meetings this week: We have had Health and Safety, and Curriculum sub committee meetings. Staffing and Finance sub committees will be meeting next week with a Full Governors meeting on 15th February.

It has been a real treat to teach the younger Learners today. We have had such a wonderful ‘Forest Friday Den Building’ day in the garden. I have been so impressed with our Learners and their support of one another and their suggestions for improvement. We also listened to and talked about ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’ by Julia Donaldson, we talked about the rhyme in her stories and the author and illustrator. We also did a little tallying in Maths working out the cost of the equipment used in our dens. A great day! The learners were such a delight.

A big well done to my helpers in the assembly they were brilliant at acting out the story and setting the scene and using props. Well done Tess, Kenzie, Gwenno, Seren and Scarlett. They definitely deserved their Headteacher’s award.

Dosbarth Disglair

This week we have been putting our fraction learning into good practice serving whole, half and quarter of a pizza in our Parlwr Pitsa!! We have also been sorting and finding fractions of numbers using objects from the garden.

We have been looking at fact writing in order to produce our very own fact file!

On Purple Mash, we have been learning how to input date to create a bar graph.

Dosbarth Dewi

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been thinking about the word ‘Cynefin’; which is about our connections to our local environment and how we act. We have been working on our project and thinking about how we can be sustainable in our environment. The class thought of ideas like growing our own food and being sensible when we shop to reduce the amounts of plastic we use. Some children are wanting to do an exciting project looking at our own snack in school and monitoring waste. Hopefully, weather permitting we can get the school garden beds ready for us to grow our own foods and plant some seeds ready for Spring.

The class have been exploring newspaper reports this week, they’ve looked at the features of a newspaper and completed a cold task. The class often ask to complete tasks that are based on the news; their cold task has been based on the events in Turkey and Syria. The children’s thoughts have been on the people affected by the earthquake.

Safer Internet Day was on Tuesday, our class theme was based on ‘How to stay safe online’. The class thought about the devices they use and how they can stay safe online. The class thought of ideas such as: don’t share personal information; don’t share passwords; check privacy settings; don’t talk to people you don’t know and tell trusted adults if you don’t feel safe online.

Headteacher’s Blog – Friday 3rd February 2023

The week has passed by quickly for everyone with lots of exciting activities for our learners. It was good to see Mark Waters and his team back in school, it was also lovely to see Della Thomas one of our Governors supporting with the project.

This has been an eventful week for me as I gave my resignation to the Governing Body. This was very difficult to do as I really enjoy the role but as I am not getting any younger, I wanted to reduce my pace of work. My new role is part time so I will have more time for my family. Nercwys is a wonderful school with extremely supportive staff. The learners are all brilliant, everyone who visits agrees. We also have a supportive Church Community who are always willing to help in any way they can. I am glad I have a little more time to enjoy the school.

I was disappointed to miss the visit to Church on Sunday. County had a Health and Safety walkaround in Nannerch, we completed the Nercwys Walkaround a few weeks ago.

We had a lovely Open the Book Assembly again today, we finished the story of Jacob and Esau. A big well done to Tess, Casey and Seren who supported the Open the Book team in acting out the story.

Dosbarh Disglair

This week Foundation Phase have visited Nercwys Church to investigate the features of a Christian Church.

We have also opened our Pizza Parlour in preparation for learning our fractions. We are even taking telephone orders!! The children have been very interested in finding out everyone’s favourite flavours which they will use as part of data handling.

The children have completed their Little Pig diaries and enjoyed the challenge of adding their own details e.g. who the pig met on the way?

Dosbarth Dewi

This week Dosbarth Dewi had an amazing start to the week. They were introduced to an exciting new project about being sustainable in our Cynefin. It was amazing to hear all the children’s ideas about how we can support out local community to be more sustainable and our aim of the project is to find an area of focus to create a digital presentation about their area to inform our community.

It was such lovely weather this week that they were able to have a fantastic hockey lesson. The children really enjoyed playing the game of eggs in the basket, particularly stealing the eggs. Dosbarth Dewi have got amazing hockey skills and I’m sure that they will enjoy progressing to playing hockey games in our future PE lessons.

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 27th January

Another busy week but at least we haven’t had any issues with the weather this week. Everyone continues to work hard and engage with our theme. I loved the learner’s leaflets on their locality. We had two prospective parents visit yesterday and it was lovely to be able to show them the quality of work being produced. They also loved seeing the younger pupils making the most of the garden.

Everyone had a real treat this morning as we had a member of the Crusaders rugby team come into speak to us. It was lovely to welcome someone so enthusiastic about his sport. He discussed keeping ourselves healthy and all we could do to promote our health and wellbeing.

Dosbarth Disglair

This week we have celebrated the Chinese New Year, finding out facts about the traditions and we even attempted writing our numbers in Chinese!

We have also celebrated Dydd Santes Dwynwen by making cards and looking at symmetrical patterns in hearts.

We have learned about diary writing and have been drafting our diaries based on the adventures of the Three Little Pigs.

Dosbarth Dewi

We started off our week looking in depth at our class book 'The Great Paper Caper'. As a class we noticed some instructions for making paper airplanes on the inside cover. We decided that they weren't the best instructions. So we decided that we would make paper airplanes and write our own instructions. Unfortunately, robot 'Mrs Foster' completed the instructions and we discovered that our instructions weren't clear and we needed to de-bug the instructions. We've even used our measuring skills learnt in Maths lessons to measure how far the airplanes have flown. The furthest flew 7.70m, what an amazing distance.

As a class we have been investigating our 'cynefin', we've been looking at all the amazing features of our local area and the whole of Wales. This gave us the perfect chance to think about Santes Dwynwen. The class looked at the story and thought about how Dwynwen felt. They even made cards to celebrate the day.

Headteacher’s Blog – Friday January 2023

What a week with the weather. I hope everyone has managed to stay safe.

It was such a shame we had to close school on Wednesday, but I can assure you that this decision isn’t taken lightly and only after consultation with the Chair of Governors. I eventually got to my IOSH Health and Safety refresher training in Northop by 11.00 am having left the house early.

We always post School Closure on the Flintshire site but there is always someone to answer calls in school, my staff who live in the village always do that. A big thank you to Mrs James who worked on her day off to cover breakfast club in case other staff were struggling to get in.

I always ask the Class teachers to have a day planned online in case of any eventualities now that the systems are in place.

We also enjoyed any outdoor time in the garden as well. The yard was too hazardous but we could use the garden.

It was lovely to hear that some of our learners had been able to enjoy the day and make the most of the weather that is wonderful if you don’t have to go anywhere.

Some families are asking about potential disruption following announcements from the teaching unions. I am afraid I have no further information at this point, I am expecting guidance from Flintshire and my Union but as yet I haven’t received that. I will update families as soon as I receive any further information.

The Open the Book Service was lovely again today.

Chinese New Year Lunch on Monday

Disglair Dosbarth

They have had an exciting week especially with the arrival of snow/ eira.

They have been investigating 2D and 3D shapes and looking at their properties. They have used the shapes to build homes for the three little pigs! They found out facts about the pigs and shared their findings with the class.

In Welsh they have read Y tri mochyn bach and used actions to help tell the story.

The snow has brought so much excitement to Dosbarth Dewi this week, seeing their faces light up during every flurry when we were in class. Diolch to the children who worked hard

during their snow day to do the tasks on Google Classroom, it was brilliant to see how hard you worked.

This week we have started looking at the story 'The Great Paper Caper'. We made predictions about the book based on the cover. It was interesting to see all theories about the story. Some learners thought the book was about deforestation or bears losing their habitats. The biggest surprise for the class was that their prediction the book was set in Canada was incorrect because it is set in Poland.

Dosbarth Dewi have been using this term's topic as 'Into our world' to create information posters about the village. They have made some interesting discoveries about the village, including that the name has changed from Nerquis. In looking at the history the class found out that the parish dates back to the 1600s. They were amazed at how old the village was.

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 13th January 2023

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda /Happy New Year, I hope everyone has enjoyed the festivities and family time.

Our theme for Monday’s Training Day was Wellbeing, we used the hall in Ysgol Nannerch.We had invited Ysgol Nercwys, Ysgol Y Foel, Cilcain, the Bryniau federation – Caerwys and Lixwm and also Ysgol Sychdyn. We also invited Mrs Downes to join us from the Diocese and Mrs Borthwick from Flintshire. The Training Day was led by Mr Paul Griffiths from the Awakening Programme. A big thank you to Paul, he has moved into the area and has kindly given his time to support the schools. Mrs Downes is trying to look for funding to fund a special project with him in Nannerch school. Mrs Borthwick also thinks he will be able to support the County’s work in this area.

A big thank you to all the staff for taking on extra responsibilities and covering Breakfast Club, After School Club and Lunchtime duties to support the school in covering staff absence.

Dosbarth Disglair

It has been lovely in Dosbarth Disglair welcoming all the children back and listening to their holiday news. Father Christmas has been a very busy man! We have been discussing new beginnings and how we could improve on something or try something new this year. The children were eager to discuss their new topic which is 'Cynefin' (Our local area). They have thought of what they would like to learn about Nercwys, these questions and ideas has fed into the planning for the term. At lunchtimes we have been supporting learners to work on their knife and fork skills which are coming on brilliantly. Mrs Meaden gave out some special certificates.

The story of the three little pigs has been a great hit through this story we have used for health and wellbeing thinking of actions and movements to go with the story as well learning the actions in Welsh to go with the story. Problem solving has been taken very seriously in the construction area - was brick the best material to use? Is the story of the three little pigs true? Shall we try and build a house of sticks or straw?

Dosbarth Dewi

We started off our new year by thinking about our goals for 2023. It was really lovely to hear all the children discuss their hopes for the year and the future. There was a variety of goals but most of them focused on the class' activities outside of school.

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been focusing on our topic for this term 'Into this world' and focusing on researching on Nercwys Village. We have been looking at Nercwys Forest, Soar Chapel, St Mary's Church and our school. The class really enjoyed looking at the forest and loved discussing all the trails that they use when they visit.

Christmas Fair

A big thank you to everyone for all your help and support. The school staff were all fantastic.

The Christmas Fair was really successful. Everyone had a wonderful time. The learners had an exciting time planning and creating for the Fair. They enjoyed planning all the activities and stalls. The items for sale that the learners had created will be treasured for years to come. Our Families really supported the occasion and made it a success.

A big thank you to everyone for helping especially Dave and Natasha Buxton who kindly supported by the fair by making hotdogs and popcorn, they gave their time and also donated all the ingredients.

We raised £253.00 which will go towards the cost of the Christmas party and the essential maintenance that was needed to ensure we could use the garden.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone. School reopens on Tuesday 10th January for learners.

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 16th December 2022

Winter has definitely arrived, everywhere is beautiful but sometimes difficult underfoot.

Dosbarth Disglair The beginning of the week was very busy preparing for our Nativity performance – getting costumes, rehearsing lines and songs ready and adding the finishing touches. In Welsh this week we have been learning prepositions, moving Mr Eira on, in, next to, behind, in front of and under the Christmas present. Our investigation on whether plants grow on the moon is going well and we are checking daily for any signs of growth.

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have been so excited preparing for the Christmas Fayre. We've been busy finishing off our crafts to sell and we've been working hard using our numeracy skills to decide on the best price to sell our items for. We've calculated how much it costs for an item and how much it cost to make the crafts for the whole class, this helped us decide our prices

The children were fantastic in the Christmas concert taking us out of this world and then on a journey through Christmas. They all did so well with all of their lines, they had so much to remember and they did so well. Well done to Tess for playing the piano so well. They managed to retell the Christmas story, they were all stars. It was lovely to welcome Parents back for the concert, definitely the beginning of my Christmas. A big thank you to Mrs Gillett for leading the Concert preparations, all the staff who have worked so hard to support her and the learners in their concerts, it is very much appreciated. We have a fantastic team at Ysgol Nercwys. Poor Mrs Gillett was having a panic earlier in the week as Angel Gabriel and King Herod were off but as always it all came together for the night. Mr Hunt the student teacher was ready as the understudy if needed. It was also lovely to see some of our ex pupils last night although I didn’t get chance to speak to all of them.

Wednesday was very special as we had Christmas lunch which everyone enjoyed. We then had a lovely Christingle Service spreading the message of Christmas to all. Everyone made their Christingles on Wednesday morning and went to Church for the Service with the Open the Book team in the aftrenoon. They had organised the event and supplied all the oranges, ribbon, cocktail sticks, candles and most importantly of all sweets. Year 6 had the opportunity to make theirs in Church – Blue Peter style.

The Rev Kathy led the service with Mrs Yeardley. We had a reminder about the meaning of the Christingle service and its German origins. We then watched Mr Bob Dukeson being transformed into a Christingle – everyone had a chuckle as Rev Kathy took the cushions to pad him out and wrap him in orange material. She added a sash and some knitting needles to complete the transformation. The learners led us with some

prayers and we sang some songs from the Christmas play. It was lovely for our Families to join us and see the Open the Book team and the lovely worship opportunities they bring.

Have a lovely weekend and we can all look forward to the Christmas Fayre on Tuesday evening, the learners will perform to open it at 3.30pm. Everyone is so excited about this and Father Christmas has been booked for the event.

We have the Christmas Party on Wednesday and big celebrations on Thursday for the end of term. Everyone can enjoy the well-deserved time with their families.

The Rev Kathy has asked me to share the following information -

Upcoming events at Nercwys Church

Sunday 18th December at 2 pm a bilingual service with Carols 🎼🎹and readings.📜 And messy Church Adventure in Gwernaffield Church hall 4-6 pm Saturday 24th December at 4 pm will be the family Crib service .💫🐑👑👼🏽🎄we need to find Jesus for the scene at the crib ! And 11.15pm for the first Christmas Holy Communion.🍷🍞 Come and join us we love to see you all and there will be refreshments ☕️🫖🍪🧃 Revd Kath

Headteachers Blog Friday 9th December 2022

The week has rushed by in a flurry of activities and Christmas concert practice.

We have enjoyed welcoming the Head of Ysgol y Foel, Cilcain and a member of the Senior Leadership team in Sychdyn, into school. They have watched lessons, had a learning walk and spoken to Learners about our Welsh priority. The Learners made us very proud as they showcased their skills and knowledge. They were so enthusiastic and very proud of their achievements and the school, especially ‘Criw Cymraeg’ who gave a little guided tour. The visitors will then provide a report with all that we can celebrate and our next steps for improvement.

I had to make some space in the office for our visitors amongst the donations for the fair and the Christmas costumes. We have also had a lovely thank you from Soar Chapel for our efforts in supporting their fundraising activity.

This week in Dosbarth Disglair the learners have been continuing to learn to tell the time and are looking at quarter past and quarter to the hour. In their number work they are focusing on odd and even numbers in preparation for doubling and halving. There was lots of excitement when our "Swyddfa Bost" opened this week and our learners have been very busy writing, sorting and weighing letters and parcels. They took part in an outdoor Welsh prepositions activity and were soon able to discuss where Mr Eira was using their knowledge.

Rehearsals are in full swing for our upcoming Nativity play and we have been lucky enough to visit the church for a run-through.

Soar Chapel  invited school to decorate a Christmas tree and our decorations will be on display in the chapel over the festive period.

They have also been busy designing their Nativity scene Christmas cards.

In phonics they are revising the th, sh and ch sounds for independent spelling and writing.

This week Dosbarth Dewi have been learning about weight and mass. This was because they wanted to know about gravity and how it looked like people bounce on the moon. As a class they calculated their weight in Newtons on different planets. The gravity is so strong on The Sun so the class weighed the most there. The children weigh the least on the moon.

In Cymraeg, the learners have been learning about describing people. As a class they have been playing 'pwy wyt ti?' to practice their skills. The class really enjoyed playing the game and trying to work out who their learning partner's character was. The class have been amazing at describing others this half term. The PowerPoints we have used are on Google Classroom if you want to practice at home.

The class have been working hard on creating things for the Christmas Fayre. As the learners are being entrepreneurial they have worked out how much it costs to make each item. They have 

been working so hard to get their Christmas crafts ready to sell and they really hope you all enjoy them.

Everyone is looking forward to next week and the Christmas concerts on thursday 15th December. There will be a collection for the Church who have supported us throughout the year and kindly heated the Church for our rehersals and performances and the Christingle service

Headsteacher's Blog Friday 2nd December 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … and sound like it too!

It is lovely to see and hear everyone starting to practice in preparation for the Christmas Concert. They are also enjoying thinking about crafts for the enterprise fair. A big thank you to staff for covering absences in a way that hasn’t impacted learning and has kept everyone smiling.

What a lovely week for everyone. Dosbarth Disglair visited the Stardome in Nannerch. The PTA in Nannerch paid for the Stardome with no charge to Nercwys as Nercwys pupils have supported the fundraising discos in Nannerch. Diolch Nannerch PTA.

Everyone has loved their visit to Dangerpoint and I was impressed to hear how much they had remembered.

We had compliments from Explore who organised the Stardome and Dangerpoint on learner enthusiasm, attitude ad their knowledge.

Now we are in December, at last, we have moved into Advent. The official countdown to Christmas has begun.

A big thank you for all your kind gifts towards the Christmas Fair.

Dosbarth Disglair

This week Dosbarth Disglair have been focusing on time. They made clocks and are learning the hand positions for o’clock and half past.

They are excitedly preparing for their Nativity and have enjoyed learning about the Christmas Story.

They are also busy getting creative, making beautiful decorations to sell at our Christmas Fayre.

The learners are earning lots of ‘Tocyns’ for our use of Welsh language in the classroom and are becoming confident at responding to questions yn Gymraeg!

We had a great trip to DangerPoint, learning how to keep safe in different settings.

We enjoyed coming into school in our own clothes for a donation towards our upcoming Christmas Fayre.

This week in Dosbarth Dewi we have continued to explore our theme of Eyes to the Sky by looking at the differences between weight and mass. The class enjoyed using Newton meters to measure the weight of objects in the classroom and were surprised by the link between Newtons and Grams. It was interesting watching the class problem solve how to measure certain objects with the Newton meters, particularly reading books.

The class have waited a few weeks for a sunny day after all the recent rain and were extremely fortunate that the Sun stayed out of the clouds long enough to explore shadows this week. Their original plan was to measure our shadows but when they got outside their shadows looked like giants; they decided to go inside and choose objects from the classroom instead. The learners were surprised by the length of some object's shadows, for example the witch teddy had a shadow length of 72cm!

It was really fun to go to DangerPoint again; this time with a twist. Instead of talking about staying safe we were discussing all the things that we could do to be sustainable and help prevent climate change. They learnt some really interesting facts such as it's really inefficient to let wet clothes dry on radiators; the best method of transport is to go on an electric train and that if you recycle one aluminium can it is enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours!

Headteacher’s Blog – Friday 25th November 2022

Everything is getting exciting in school, it is lovely to hear all the Christmas songs. Calendars are being made and plans for the school fair are being discussed.

We had our Schools Improvement Advisor listening to readers in English and Welsh last week. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was very impressed with the learners’ knowledge of books and strategies being used to read unfamiliar words. This week we had three of our Governors in school speaking to learners about the school Vision and Values, learner engagement, their independence, the level of challenge and the process of improving their work. Again they really enjoyed their visit and were really impressed with the learners’ ability to describe all of these aspects of their learning. They were full of praise with some hints to move us forward further. We need to revisit the marking codes – the older learners were totally comfortable with the feedback but they felt it could be simplified for some of the younger pupils. We also need to work a little more on identifying next steps in the learning process.

We did have the football on in school for those who wanted to watch it. As you can imagine everyone was disappointed in the result.

At least everyone had Open the Book to look forward to in the afternoon.

This week Dosbarth Disglair have been so busy meeting pirates from the 'Food Standard Agency'. They were very eager to unlock the treasure chest and learn all about food hygiene as well as how to store different foods in the fridge. They have been focusing on the value 'perseverance' through problem solving and working as a team creating 2D shapes out of lollipop sticks and buttons. They also used the value of 'wisdom' by building on last week's work on material properties. After this they enjoyed creating a protective layer around their egg aliens before the fun egg drop!! Through the story of 'The Worrysaurus' the children were able to talk about the importance of sharing a worry and to be compassionate. They created a worry box for the class as well as creating their own worry chest with pictures of items that would help them feel safe and less worried. The interactive whiteboard was a great hit when they learned about day and night as part of numeracy and science. The children were eager to try on Nativity costumes and practice for the Christmas play and used their pupil voice to discuss what their ideas were for creating crafts for the school fair.

Dosbarth Dewi have been exploring the force of gravity this week. Over the past few weeks, they've been looking at famous people linked with gravity; they've looked at Isaac Newton and Felix Baumgartner. To test their knowledge of gravity and air resistance, the class were placed in groups and given a material to save an egg from cracking. The class were really creative in their approach and used lots of problem-solving skills and their knowledge of gravity and air resistance to keep the eggs from cracking. The best material was the cardboard.

They have also had fun in Welsh this week; we have been learning to describe other people. The class enjoyed making up characters and describing them using their new vocabulary skills. We've also been looking at the Welsh alphabet, the class were amazed to see that letters from the English alphabet were missing.

Mr Hunt has been starting to teach Dosbarth Dewi and they are really enjoying his lessons. They have particularly enjoyed his digital approach to teaching times tables. The class' motivation during the Kahoots and Blookets this week has really shone through. Da iawn pawb!

Headteacher’s Blog – Friday 18th November 2022

What a lovely week in school!

We had a super start with the Motivational Assembly. Everyone really enjoyed themselves especially with all the little extras he had brought with him.

We have had lots to manage with the field and the gate. The Governors have been involved alongside the Police, Streetscene and Community Council.

On Friday our Challenge Advisor visited school and enjoyed listening to both Dosbrath Disglar and Dosbrath Dewi learners reading in Cymraeg. The children should be very proud of their proficiency in both speaking and reading the Welsh language 

Dosbarth Disglair have had a fun filled week, learning days of the week in Welsh and English They have been investigating properties of various materials and predicting which one would be good to protect the alien egg! The children have been introduced to letter writing and have written to different members of staff with lots of interesting questions!!

For P.E on Wednesday the learners had lots of fun playing Venus and Neptune which was a planet version of "stuck in the mud".

Children in Need Day was a busy day with Pudsey craft, literacy and numeracy activities throughout the day as well as face painting and pin the nose on Pudsey!!! They used a 'Green Screen' app to import an image on a Pudsey background working in pairs taking each other's images.

 Dosbarth Dewi  had a relaxing start this week when motivational speaker, Paul, talked to everyone about how to reach their potential. He showed the learners so many amazing pictures from his travels and explained all that he'd learnt from being an explorer of the world. Their favourite part though was being taught how to meditate, it was so relaxing listening to the vibrations from the standing bell and the learners were amazed to have been able to see different colours.

As this week is Anti-bullying week; Dosbarth Dewi have been looking at the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the articles from the UN. The learners then decided which rights bullying would break. It was interesting hearing the children's views on the rights and bullying.

A big thank you to Miss Gunes for adding to the fun for Children in Need by having some face painting as well. Thank you very much for supporting as always with this good cause.

I am sure everyone is looking forward to supporting Wales and England in the World Cup. A big thanks to Emma (Ioan’s Mum) for sending a link for materials to support Wales.

Headteacher’s Blog – Friday November 11th 2022

I think everyone enjoyed their break and have returned to school enthusiastic and eager to learn. We have heard lots of half term news but they quickly settled to their learning.

We had a productive training day with everyone meeting in Nannerch. One of the Welsh Advisors joined us and helped share resources for our ‘Cymraeg pob dydd’ – everyday Welsh that can be used outside lesson times. We then looked at the new Digital Framework, Mrs Foster is the digital lead for the Cluster.

We discussed the approach to Relationships and Sexuality Education and Swimming. The teachers then had some time to complete some preparation work including Christmas concerts.

Dosbarth Disglair

Since our return they have been working hard on their Welsh. They have been sharing ‘Darllen gyda Sam’ and are learning greetings and how to ask how others are feeling and to respond to ‘Sut wyt ti?’ Theyare also learning our colours and days of the week!

They have been finding out facts about stars and have investigated the 2D shapes made by folding down the points of different numbered pointy stars.

In Maths they have been focusing on subtraction.

In Health and Wellbeing, they enjoyed playing the game ‘launch the planet’.

This week in Dosbarth Dewi- They have enjoyed preparing and singing along with the Urdd World Cup Jambori. The class has been buzzing to the tunes of Aderyn Melyn and Yma o Hyd. It has brought back memories for the older learners in class who have been showing us the actions to the songs they remember. It was fantastic to see the class in the colours of the Welsh flag and joining in with excitement.

It has been amazing looking at the homework the class completed over half term. The class has put in lots of effort and the best part is that they have

really enjoyed taking the opportunity to look at the night sky. In topic this week, they have looked at the star 'Polaris' and how it is used to navigate in the dark. This has allowed the class to use the co-ordinates skills they've learnt in maths this week to plot constellations in quadrants on a grid. There have been some brilliant conversations in class this week about why we use co-ordinates and we tried out the 'What 3 Words' app to see what word combinations our classroom had.

Om Friday Reverend Kathy invited us to Church for a Remembrance Service. The children made a beautiful wreath and a pot of poppies to place in Church in remembrance of those who have been in service during conflicts. 

Headteacher’s Blog – Friday October 28th 2022

A big well done everyone, we have got to the end of a very busy half term. The learners have worked hard and enjoyed all our activities this half term. A big thank you to all the staff who have supported their classes so well and supported me and each other in managing any staff absence by taking on extra duties. This is really appreciated. Thanks to Parents for all you have done to support us.

We had a wonderful Harvest Service the children were all stars; they did a brilliant job of reading or saying their lines. Fantastic Welsh from the Infants and their art work was super. A big thank you to Mrs Gillett for putting it together and to Rev Kathy. I think everyone will be looking forward to a traditional Christmas concert this year.

I was proud of all the donations for the foodbank, we have done a brilliant job as a school community.

Many thanks to Parents who made the effort to bring the children to the Nannerch disco, the Parents of older pupils were able to leave them and disappear for a coffee in the pub. I think that worked well for everyone and the children had a brilliant time everyone . I was really proud of them in the way they all interacted together.

I loved taking the Juniors down memory lane with all their memories of the Jambori’s in Foundation Phase.

Dosbarth Disgalir

They have been working hard practicing their phonic sounds ai, ay and a_e.

They have completed lots of work on nouns identifying people, places and objects.

RM Maths has been practiced pretty much daily, I really like that programme. Lots of learners were celebrating as they had certificates. I was really pleased to see we had children who were off working on their RM maths too!

They had obviously done a lot of work in practicing their Welsh pronunciation to say ‘Diolch am y …’ – Thank you for the …

Within RVE they heard the story of ‘ Feeding the 5,000’ and putting it into practice in real terms by contributing to the Food Bank. They sorted food into perishable and non-perishable goods.

Dosbarth Dewi

As October is Black History Month, Dosbarth Dewi have looked at the book 'Hidden Figures'. The book explains how four women fought for equality and helped win the space race. In groups the class have been researching Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary

Jackson and Christine Darden. They have worked collaboratively on the Chromebooks to create a Powerpoint about them to share with the class.

To celebrate Wales reaching the World Cup, the class have been learning songs 'Yma o Hyd' and 'Aderyn Melyn' to sing in the Urdd Jambori. It was nice seeing some of the children's memories coming back to when they last went to the Jambori in Foundation Phase. There was dancing and excited voices for Aderyn Melyn.

Have a wonderful well deserved half term break everyone.

Headteacher’s Blog –Week Ending Friday 21st October 2002

Another lovely week in school. Thursday was the best day for me as I was needed to accompany Year 5 and 6 to the forest to do some apple pressing. The children were so funny as they could see the apples discolouring and weren’t sure until they tasted the apple juice which was the best apple juice I have tasted! Joseph also said that his older sister had planted the apple trees and I was able to confirm that the former pupils had planted them.

Steve the ranger was very complimentary about our learners, he said they had brilliant team-working skills.

We also had a wonderful assembly from Welsh Water / Dwr Cymru reminding us all to be mindful with the water we used.

I love the new self-registration board in Dosbarth Disglair.

Dosbarth Disglair

This week the children have been learning all about how to work as part of a team. They have been problem solving, creating an obstacle course, planning and building. They were eager to demonstrate, discuss and improve them. What lovely Autumn leaves the children found in the garden, these became their Autumn hedgehogs where the children were eager to share facts they knew about them. Ordering the planets in the solar system gave great opportunity for ordering and learning about ordinal numbers. Miss Gunes has created a new self-registration board which should promote more independent skills. The children were excited to collect conkers which helped us with adding and taking away. The older children have been learning about nouns which will help them write their own creative story based on Whatever Next. Dwr Cymru came to visit us to talk about saving water and being more water sufficient. The children liked the various 'Darllen Gyda Sam' activities, where they played Welsh twister, snap games as well as reading Darllen Gyda Sam books.

Dosbarth Dewi

They have had a great week, they had their last Eyes to the Sky meeting. This week Professor Azi and Dr Sarah joined them in class. Professor Azi talked the class about growing up in Iran and how studying Astrophysics has led to her travelling the world and settling in Durham researching the formation of galaxies. Dr Sarah talked to the class about the parts of Space we can find on our planet. She shared how the children can spot these meteorites in grass as they look like stones that have been burned. The class got very excited when she explained that to study them; she zaps the rocks with lasers.

Headteacher’s Blog – Week ending Friday 14th October 2022

The weeks fly by with lots of exciting activities happening in class. We have very engaged learners and we are appreciative of all that parents do at home to support us.

Many thanks to all who attended the Parents evenings. I am sure everyone appreciated their time with the teachers. Please get in touch if there are any other questions or concerns.

We have been talking about our school vision and the impact it has on our life in school.

Dosbarth Disglair.

The younger children in Dosbarth Disglair have been enjoying learning various counting songs, their favourite was 'Five Little Space Men in a flying saucer' with them joining in with counting and actions. The older children have been concentrating on counting in 2's, 5's and 10's and have liked using natural materials to show their calculations in a visual way.

Last week they wrote instructions on making a space helmet, then they created an algorithm using Purple Mash which were proud to share with their groups.

They have learnt about directions, which has supported the coding game they have been playing on J2E they had to programme the rocket to land on various planets.

Gravity has been a fun word to learn, they have been understanding what it means as well as using balloons to understand the concept of gravity they have had fun and exercise.

Kandinsky the artist and one of his paintings 'planets’ has been an exciting visual stimulus the children have each created their own planet picture based on his style.

Dosbarth Dewi

They have  had a really exciting week, last week they started looking at hydroponics in Science and Technology; they placed cauliflower seeds in a cup with moist paper towel to try and get them to germinate. They have been very fortunate that the mild weather has helped  their seeds to germinate. This means they have been able to set up a hydroponics investigation to see which is the best method of growing plants in the future in space.

Wednesday afternoon was fascinating as Laura, an astrophysics student in Durham joined them for a Zoom call as part of our Eyes to the Sky project. She told us all about her childhood in Wales and looking at the stars in Snowdonia, she showed them some amazing photos of the Milky Way too. Laura then explained how recently she's been focused on tracking asteroids in space and re-creating them through 3-D printing. The class had so many questions for Laura about asteroids and telescopes. She has inspired them with her photography skills, so for their virtual gallery lots of the class want to create their own pieces of art based on the images, she showed them.

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 7th October 2022

Another busy week with everyone enjoying their time in school despite the weather. I am so impressed with our pupils and their approach to school life and their care and concern for each other. I had the pleasure of attending a more able and talented Welsh day with two of our Year 6 pupils. I was so proud of them and their skills in engaging with all the activities on offer and for their behaviour. They really excelled.

Dosbarth Disglair

Learners have really enjoyed their Space theme, they have embraced it in all their work. They have been learning facts all about the moon, and made they made their own moon cakes to take home. Learners enjoyed comparing a boiled egg to the layers of the moon, labelling with the words 'crust', 'mantle' and 'core'. Creating and painting the planets, thinking about the colours and textures to create that special effect!!

They have been listening to the music of Gustav Holst, The Planet Suite.

The younger children have been concentrating on sorting activities and the older children counting in 2's, 5's and 10's in a fun way. They used silly alien names for their Venn diagram, they have been sorting the names depending on the amount of letters in the silly names!!!

Dosbarth Dewi

This week Dosbarth Dewi have been using their Welsh skills to create a personal profile about a fictional character called 'Lilly'. They used pupil voice to decide on the character's name, age and family. They had so many suggestions for names of her friends, it's clear that there are some Harry Potter fans in class as some children wanted her to be friends with Bellatrix. They've then been putting these facts into sentences with actions and developing confidence in performing about Lilly. It was wonderful to see talk for writing skills being used to support Wewlsh writing.

It was nice to have a visit from a former parent this week, who spoke to the class about their role with Greenpeace and being eco-friendly to look after the

planet. This visit fitted in fantastically with the class' current language work on poetry as the task that has been set for the children is to write a poem with an eco-message. We have a class of eco-warriors and I'm sure they'll use their poetry skills in the coming weeks to share a very powerful message.

The class started planning a science investigation this week about hydroponics and growing plants in space. They are planning to grow plants using hydroponics and soil and see which grows best. Dosbarth Dewi really enjoyed watching the time lapse videos of how plants grow in soil and in water. The bit they enjoyed the most was watching how the roots spread out in the soil to search for nutrients. They can't wait to find out which grows best, fingers crossed the cauliflower seeds germinate!

Headteacher’s Blog- Week ending Friday 30th September 2022

A big thank you to everyone for donating towards the costs in the garden, we have raised over £100 which is brilliant. The cost of the maintenance within the garden to ensure it met safety standards was £1,400. We will continue to hold events to support this as it is such a fantastic resource for our learners to use.

As a Federation we have received training on the Schools Partnership programme so that we can work closely with two other local primary schools. We will be visiting each other’s schools and have them visit us to share ideas and expertise. This is funded by the Welsh Government following a cluster grant application.

Dosbarth Disglair have been so creative this week making space rockets for their teddies, even one fitted Mrs Gunes! We really chuckled seeing a photo of Teddy at home wearing his, he had obviously just woken up but he was so proud. From this they have begun to learn about instructions and their purpose. They are now starting to write their own instructions. They created papier mache planets and were able to name the planets as well as share facts about them.

The older children became more confident in counting in twos and the younger learners with counting and number formation. They found so many Sycamore seeds in the garden that they were able to create their own helicopter game with the children adding their own creative ideas so they could play their games during P.E.

This week Dosbarth Dewi had an exciting visitor-  Dr Alex from Liverpool John Moore's University. He came to talk to the class about his job as an astronomer. He told the class all about galaxies and nebulas. He explained how he creates simulations about how galaxies are made in huge super computers. The class really enjoyed his talk and had lots of interesting questions for him; some really put him on the spot. He must have been extremely impressed as he went to Ysgol Nannerch afterwards and told Mr Hills how Nercwys learners had displayed brilliant knowledge.

The children have been really creative this week and have been using papier mache to create their own solar system models. They can't wait to decorate them, using all the facts that they've learnt about the individual planets from their leaflets to help them.

We have some future netball stars in Dosbarth Dewi, it is fantastic each week watching their skills and confidence grow. They've started to use the positions to understand where they're allowed in the court and using all our passing skills to pass the ball to their team. It has been fantastic to see the teamwork skills developing.

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 23rd September 2022an

I am sure everyone appreciated the Bank Holiday and an opportunity for the nation to pay their respects to the Queen for the tremendous service she has given to the Country. We have enjoyed hearing their reactions and even a visit to London to be in the midst of everything.

We had a very successful Curriculum evening sharing once again our Vision and Rationale for the Curriculum for Wales. We revisited the process of consulting all the Stakeholders and our journey so far and the reminder that this was an evolving process and that the learners were already contributing new ideas and suggestions for the outline – that they could be the raindrops added to our rural scene. A big thank you to Mrs John, Mrs Foster and the Governors curriculum subcommittee for leading all of this. I will display our Curriculum Vision and Rationale at the forthcoming Parents evenings in case you missed the evening.

I have been on a Headteacher’s conference in Llandudno - my to do list is a little longer as a result! I was lucky enough to listen to an inspirational speaker Sir John Jones. The more I listened the more I appreciate and wanted to celebrate our wonderful team who consistently do their utmost for our learners. Diolch yn fawr pawb!

Everyone is really pleased to have access to our wonderful garden once again, thank you to Mancoed for coming to get it sorted for us. Thank you so much for supporting us in our fundraising to ensure the garden is kept as a safe space for the learners to enjoy.

Dosbarth Disglair have been busy creating their own outdoor aliens and using standard and non-standard measuring techniques to measure their heights. The creating of the space station has been so much fun with lots of shiny paint, buttons and knobs with a great opportunity for oracy skills. In the classroom they have been making funny aliens and becoming more familiar with using an iPad to record their creations. They have focussed on the story of 'Whatever Next' and will be making a sandwich for baby bear to take to the moon and this will then follow on to instruction writing. Through pupil voice Dosbarth Disglair will have a day of fun on Friday wearing their own clothes, playing games, outdoor activities as well as craft activities.

Dosbarth Dewi

The learners have been learning how to play team games. They have been learning this half term about netball, it is fantastic to see Dosbarth Dewi so enthusiastic about the sport and enjoying playing short games against each other. They are working hard to remember what all the different positions mean and trying hard to remember not to move with the ball. Dosbarth Dewi has some future netball stars!

Headteacher’s Blog Friday 16th September 2022

Another busy week in school. It has been lovely walking into classes and seeing how engaged everyone is, we have happy smiling learners enjoying their tasks and activities. Our Schools Improvement Advisor was impressed when she walked around.

Dosbarth Disglair

The learners visited Church to reflect and listen to messages read out by the Rev Kathy which had been left in the condolence book.

The learners investigated does the higher we drop the asteroid or space rock effect the size of the crater. They also wrote special facts about the Queen to celebrate her life. They made a list of foods that teddy from the story ‘Whatever Next’, might take on his picnic, they created a table and used this data to create a graphs pictogram.

The learners enjoyed the game ‘Faint o’r Gloch Mr Estron’ learning Welsh counting through Welsh yard games. They also learnt about colour mixing using shaving foam and various colours to see what happens.

Dosbarth Dewi

It has been an exciting week in Dosbarth Dewi, the learners have started their Science and Technology work, looking at how they could survive in space. Their first task was to think about plants and what they need to grow. This gave them the perfect opportunity to go into the school garden and look at how the vegetables have grown over the summer. They could see that there has been a good habitat for caterpillars over the summer, but they could also see some onions and carrots in our garden beds. The learner can't wait for them to grow some more so that they can taste them.

The learners have been exploring artwork by Peter Thorpe. The whole class were mesmerised by his pieces and discussed the artwork as a class last week and thought about the materials he used to create the pieces. The learners thought they could be pieces of digital art; they could be made with oil paster or that they were water colour paint. They thought this because of how the colours were blended together in the pieces. So, they could work out which one, they had a go at blending oil pastels and water colours. It was so interesting seeing all the colour creations being made.

As a class the learners have been thinking about Queen Elizabeth II and what she meant to us. The learners have written messages of condolence and were able to take these messages up to Church to be shared with the wider community. We have discussed King Charles III and all the changes that are happening, including how our money and national anthem will change.

We have the Curriculum evening at Nannerch to look forward to.

We have had to spend a lot to maintain the garden so we will try and organise some fund raisers to try and support this.

Breakfast and After School Club continue to be busy. Many thanks to all the staff for managing the clubs so effectively. It is wonderful to see so many learners engaged in activities to support their learning in Breakfast Club. The learners also enjoy their learner directed activities in After School Club and they enjoy a Healthy snack.

Headteacher’s Blog – Friday September 9th 2022

I hope you all had a lovely summer. It has been super to see everyone looking smart in their school uniforms. We had so many smiles when everyone came back to see their friends. A big well done to our new Nursery pupils who settled wonderfully in school this week, and to Reception pupils who are still smiling but looking a little tired today as this is their first full weeks in school. Year 3 look very settled in their new class already. I asked some of the children what they had enjoyed the most about their return to school. This is what they said:

Mia and Macie said playing with my friends.

Teddy said- hugging everyone.

Jamie & Brodie- said making number aliens.

Freya said- making new friends

Finn said -Everything!

Seren said -I missed hearing my friends’ voices

Dosbarth Disglair

They have had lots of fun thinking about creating aliens, counting how many body parts and counting the corresponding number to them.

They really enjoyed ‘Darllen gyda Sam’, which is their Welsh reading.

In P.E they had lots of fun playing yard games.

The learners have also been busy designing a Harvest Festival poster

Dosbarth Dewi

It was fantastic to welcome all the children back, and Year 3 to Dosbarth Dewi. It has been brilliant watching new friendships being formed. The children have all been supporting one another to settle in and getting to know the class routines.

Their topic is called ’Eyes to the Sky’. The children created a jamboard to show everything they knew about space. It was fascinating listening to what they knew. They also had some amazing discussions about how long it takes to travel to different galaxies. Thankfully the class have got some expert scientists coming to talk to them about deep space.

As part of their settling in, we have had a ‘circle time’ session about friendship. The class came up with an interesting list of the qualities of a good friend. We have created a class display using our handprints to show all these qualities.

We had some very sad news about the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. We celebrated her tireless devotion to the nation. We shared our memories of her and the significant events that marked her life and ours as a Nation. The Rev Kathy invited us to Church to say a prayer if we wanted and have a chance to reflect.