Friday 24th October 2025
Dear Parent / Annwyl Rhiant,
It is hard to believe that the first half of the Autumn term has come to an end. The children are most certainly ready for the half term break and a chance to ‘recharge the batteries’.
They have applied themselves to their learning with great endeavour and resultantly have enjoyed wonderful learning opportunities. I hope that you were able to join us this week for a parent/teacher meeting to celebrate this learning.
Thank you for supporting the children to continue to look smart and well-polished in both their school uniform and PE Kit this half term. Many visitors to the school comment on how well presented the children are.
Thank you for supporting the children to enjoy ‘Love Your Garden’ week, Shwmae Day and Show Racism the Red Card Day this half term.
Flu Vaccination
The NHS recommends that your child has a flu vaccination every year.
It’s very important to protect your child from flu to make sure they stay as healthy as possible. The best flu vaccine for most children is a nasal spray. This is the vaccine that will be given on the day.
The online consent form and additional information can be found here: E- Consent Form Link
To help make sure the vaccine is suitable for your child, and they don’t miss out, please take time to read the information and follow the link to complete the electronic consent form as soon as possible, before the planned vaccination date.
The nose spray flu vaccine that contains porcine gelatine is the best protection against flu for children. If you want to have your child protected against Flu, but you do not want them to have the nose spray, you can request the gelatine free injection instead on the consent form and you will be invited to a clinic.
Family Learning
Family learning has grown again this year, and we’ve been thrilled to see so many of you taking part and having fun with your children. We will be inviting the parents/carers of the remainder of the classes to join us on the following dates:
Tuesday 18th November – Birch Class (Mrs Smith)
Monday 24th November – Oak Class (Miss Charles)
Tuesday 25th November – Rowan Class (Mr Howland)
Please come to school at 1.45pm for a 2pm start on those dates.
PE Uniform/Day Policy
We would like to take this opportunity to remind families of our school policy for PE in preparation for the new academic year.
The compulsory elements of the uniform are as follows:
- PE Kit Indoor-Navy Shorts/White Round-Neck T-shirt
- PE Kit Outdoor-Navy Hooded Sweatshirt/Navy Jogging Bottoms/Trainers
Children do not need to have a school logo on these items.
In addition, children are not permitted to wear any jewellery during physical sessions. This includes all PE lessons, afterschool clubs and trips that include physical activity.
Our school policy is written and agreed upon by our governing body and follows health and safety advice.
Please ensure that children can remove their own earrings and other jewellery, as staff are unable to assist with this. If your child is unable to do this, please ensure that they do not wear their jewellery on PE days.
Children are asked to wear their PE Kit to school for the whole day on their PE Day. Please make sure that your child wears the correct PE kit. The ‘Class PE Days’ are detailed below:
| Class | Teacher | PE Day |
| Bluebell Nursery (AM & PM) | Mrs Khan | Friday |
| Rose | Mrs Winkler/Mrs Hall | Monday |
| Tulip | Mrs Watkins | Tuesday |
| Daffodil | Miss Morgan/Mrs Cochrane | Thursday |
| Sunflower | Miss Coldrick | Thursday |
| Elm | Miss Lewis | Thursday |
| Willow | Mrs Crilly | Wednesday |
| Maple | Mrs Rowlands/Mrs Stokes | Friday |
| Rowan | Mr Howland | Wednesday |
| Birch | Mrs Smith | Friday |
| Oak | Miss Charles | Swimming in Lieu of weekly PE |
Jewellery Policy
Our children are permitted to only wear a pair of ‘stud earrings’ to school. No other jewellery is permitted; this includes hoop earrings.
Punctuality/Lateness
Children who are persistently late on arrival at school are very much disadvantaged in both their wellbeing and learning. Being late for school makes children anxious; it also means that they miss vital parts of the daily learning. It is difficult to ‘catch up’ on this missed learning and inevitably children perform less well than their peers. Please make sure that your child arrives at school on time. The Education Welfare officer is monitoring ‘lateness’ very closely this year and continued lateness leads into the same process we use for monitoring attendance.
Attendance
Firstly, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of you who continue to support your children in attending school regularly. Thanks to our shared efforts, we have seen a significant improvement in attendance compared to this time last year. Together with Newport City Council, we are committed to maintaining these positive levels throughout the academic year.
You may have received a letter from us if your child’s attendance has fallen below the Welsh Government’s target of 95%. We understand that some parents have had questions about this, and we want to reassure you that these letters are simply to keep you informed of your child’s current attendance level. If attendance drops below 90%, we will monitor it more closely and may invite you in to discuss how we can work together to support improvement.
At Maesglas Primary, we are dedicated to promoting high attendance, strong academic achievement, and the overall well-being of our pupils. We believe that being in school every day plays a vital role in helping children enjoy their learning and thrive socially and emotionally.
To help illustrate the impact of absence, consider the following:
Missing just one day per week over the school year results in a 20% loss of learning time—equivalent to one full year of school missed over five years.
An attendance rate of 95% means a child misses two full weeks of school.
An attendance rate of 92% means a child misses three full weeks of school.
Our goal is always 100% attendance, and we appreciate your continued partnership in helping us achieve this.
Harvest Festival Donations
Thank you for your significant generosity when sending ‘Harvest donations’ to school prior to our Harvest Festival. We would also like to thank Tesco (Risca) for kindly donating the Harvest Loaf, which set the backdrop for the festival. The donations were very gratefully received by Liberty Church and used in their foodbank.
If you, or anyone you know, needs support from a foodbank, please contact the school and we will put you in touch with the Liberty Church based in Gaer.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Reverend Bronwyn and friends from Tredegar Park Ministry for leading our service.
Dates for Diary
Monday 3rd November: Start of second Half Term
Monday 10th November: Anti Bullying Week/’Odd Socks Day’ (Children to wear odd socks)
Tuesday 11th November: Flu Immunisations – https://linktr.ee/schoolfluab
Friday 14th November: Children in Need Day (children to dress in Pudsey themed costume/own clothes)
Monday 17th November – Thursday 20th November: Y6 Cycling
Monday 1st December – Thursday 18th December: Y6 Swimming
Wednesday 3rd December: Riverfront Pantomime (R-Y6)
Wednesday 10th December: Christmas Dinner Day (Children served traditional Christmas Lunch)
Wednesday 10th December: 6.30pm Community Carol Service at St Thomas’s Church
Thursday 11th December: National Christmas Jumper Day (children can wear Christmas Jumpers/own clothes to school)
Concerts
Wednesday 10th December: Reception Christmas Concert – 2.00pm
Friday 12th December: Year 5 Christmas Concert – 1.45pm
Monday 15th December: Nursery Christmas Concerts – 10am and 2pm
Wednesday 17th December: Year 1 and 2 Concert (Year 1 parents only 9.30am)
Wednesday 17th December: Year 1 and 2 Concert (Year 2 parents only 2.00pm)
Thursday 18th December: School Parties/Last day of term
Tuesday 6th January 2026: Spring Term Starts for pupils
Planned INSET (school closure for pupils) Days Reminder
- Friday 19th December 2025
- Monday 5th January 2026
Thank you for your continued support this half term. We will look forward to seeing the children on their return on Monday 3rd November.
Kind regards
Mr A Smith
Headteacher/ Prifathro