Dear Parents and Carers,

What a busy few weeks we've had at Romilly!

As we reach the end of what has felt like a very long first half term, I wanted to share some of the lovely things that have been happening across our school, as well as a few reminders about what's coming up.

There is certainly no shortage of things happening at Romilly, and with just one week to go until half term, we're not slowing down just yet!

Harvest Festival – Diolch yn Fawr!

Today we celebrated our Harvest Festival, and what a wonderful occasion it was!

A huge diolch yn fawr to all our families who have so generously donated food to support our local foodbank. This year, we have been particularly collecting cereal, coffee and UHT milk, and it has been lovely to see our school community coming together to help others.

Harvest is a wonderful opportunity to remind our children about the importance of kindness, generosity and looking after those around us. These are values that are incredibly important to us at Romilly.

A special thank you to our House Captains, who have been busy collecting donations throughout the week, and to the staff and children who helped make today's celebrations so special.

We will share the final amount of food collected once everything has been weighed. Thank you for making such a difference to families in our local community.

PTA Boo Bash – Last Few Tickets Remaining! 🎃

There's lots of excitement building for next week's PTA Boo Bash Halloween Discos, taking place on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st October!

Our PTA has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to organise what promises to be a fantastic couple of evenings for the children.

A reminder of the disco times:

Tuesday 20th October

• Nursery – celebrations during the school day

• Year 2 – 3:30pm–4:30pm

• Year 4 – 4:45pm–5:45pm

Wednesday 21st October

• Reception and Year 1 – 3:30pm–4:30pm

• Year 3 – 4:45pm–5:45pm

• Years 5 and 6 – 6:00pm–7:00pm

There are just a few tickets remaining, so if you haven't already booked, please don't leave it too late!

Book your tickets here:
https://www.pta-events.co.uk/romilly/index.cfm?event=event&eventId=123983

A huge thank you to our PTA and all the volunteers who give up their time to make events like this possible. I'm sure the children are going to have a brilliant time!

£1,000 of New Playground Equipment – Thank You, PTA!

If you've seen our PTA's social media this week, you'll have spotted some very happy children enjoying our new playground equipment!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our families and the fundraising efforts of our PTA, we have been able to purchase £1,000 worth of new outdoor play equipment for the children.

Playtime is such an important part of the school day. It's where children build friendships, learn to cooperate, develop confidence and, of course, have lots of fun!

It has been wonderful to see the children already enjoying the new equipment, and we're looking forward to seeing it used across the school.

This is a fantastic example of how the money raised through PTA events goes directly back into improving our children's experiences at Romilly.

Diolch yn fawr to our PTA and to every family who supports their fundraising. It really does make a difference.

Read Write Inc. – Helping Your Child Become a Confident Reader

Reading remains one of our biggest priorities at Romilly. We want every child to develop the skills, confidence and enjoyment that come from becoming a successful reader.

On Monday 19th October, we will be holding two Read Write Inc. workshops for parents and carers.

9:30am – Early Reading and Phonics

This session is aimed at parents of children in Reception and those in Years 1 and 2 who are still developing their early reading and phonics skills.

2:30pm – Developing Reading Fluency and Comprehension

This session will focus on how we help children move beyond early phonics, including reading longer and more complex words, developing fluency and improving their understanding of what they read.

Both workshops will give you an insight into how we teach reading at Romilly, along with some practical ideas that you can use to support your child at home.

We know how much of a difference it makes when school and home work together to support reading, so we would love to see as many of you there as possible.

Pre-Loved School Uniform Sale

We know how quickly children grow out of their school uniforms and how expensive replacing everything can become!

Our Pre-Loved School Uniform Sale is a fantastic way for families to pick up good-quality, affordable uniform while helping to reduce waste and support our school.

The sale takes place at 3:00pm on the first and last Friday of each month.

There are lots of benefits to buying pre-loved uniform. It saves money, helps the environment and gives perfectly good clothing a new home.

Please do come along and have a look. Whether you need an extra jumper, a spare polo shirt or a complete change of uniform, it's well worth a visit.

Thank you to everyone who donates uniform and helps keep this brilliant initiative going.

Important Changes to School Dinner Arrangements

We wanted to let families know about some important changes to school dinners that will come into effect when we return after half term on Monday 2nd November.

Alongside the introduction of our new school dinner menu, there will also be a change to how meals are ordered.

Parents and carers will no longer need to order their child's school meals in advance through ParentPay.

Instead, children will choose their meal each morning in class, with their teacher recording their selection.

To help make this change as smooth as possible, we would be grateful if you could spend a few moments looking through the new menu with your child and talking about the options available.

This will help children know what they would like to eat before coming to school and make the morning ordering process much easier, particularly for our younger children.

View the new school dinner menu here:https://www.romillyprimaryschool.co.uk/page/?title=School+Meals&pid=139&action=saved

Thank you for your support as we introduce these new arrangements.

One More Week Until Half Term!

I think we're all beginning to feel that this has been a particularly long first half term!

It has certainly been a busy one, with so much happening across the school, and I know that our children and staff will be looking forward to a well-earned rest.

Before then, we still have another exciting week ahead, including our Halloween discos and lots of learning taking place across the school.

A reminder that our final day of this half term is Friday 23rd October, and children will return to school on Monday 2nd November.

Free School Meals

All children from Reception to Year 6 at Romilly Primary School are entitled to a free school meal every school day through the Welsh Government's Universal Primary Free School Meals scheme.

There is no charge for these meals.

However, families receiving certain benefits are still encouraged to register for benefit-related Free School Meals, even though their child already receives a free lunch.

This is important because eligible families may also qualify for additional financial support, including the School Essentials Grant, which can help towards the cost of school uniform and other school essentials. Registration can also help secure additional funding for our school.

Find out more and apply for Free School Meals – Vale of Glamorgan Council

https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/living/schools/Free-School-Meals.aspx

A Final Word

As we head towards half term, I wanted to take the opportunity to say a genuine thank you to all our families for your continued support.

One of the things I feel most strongly about is that schools are at their best when children, families and staff work together. That sense of community is so important, and it's something I want us to continue strengthening at Romilly.

Whether it's donating to our Harvest collection, supporting our PTA, coming along to a reading workshop or simply encouraging your child each morning, all these things make a difference.

There is so much to celebrate across our school, and I continue to be incredibly proud of the enthusiasm, kindness and energy that our children bring through the gates each day.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone. Just one more week to go!

Diolch yn fawr,

James Griffiths
Headteacher
Romilly Primary School

Learning, Growing, and Succeeding Together