Category Archives: News

School Opening – Update

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Dear Parents and Carers - Ltr to Parents update - June 2020

I do hope this letter finds you and your family well.

As I am sure you are all aware, the Education Secretary announced on Wednesday 3rd June that there will be a wider opening of schools for all pupils on the 29th June. We continue to await guidance from the Department for Education and the Local Authority about how this can be done safely for our school. As we await this advice I would like to reassure all members of the school community that we will reopen only when it is safe to do so.

I am sure you have many questions about the wider opening of the school. Over the next week I will send out further information that will hopefully answer all the important issues and anxieties you may have. As soon as the Welsh Government publish the national guidance and we have a meaningful plan in place I will communicate this directly to all parents and carers.

As a parent myself, I would want to know exactly what school will look like before I make a decision on sending my child back to school. What is clear is that attendance is totally optional and there will be no sanction or fine for parents choosing not to send in their children. Should you decide, once you have all of the relevant information that you wish for your son or daughter to stay at home, that is absolutely fine and I assure you I will understand and respect that choice.

I’m sure you can appreciate there is a huge amount to organise and think through. I will write to you all soon when a firm plan is in place and we know how many pupils to expect. Opening up the school further will only take place when I am satisfied we can keep pupils, staff and families safe.

Thank you for the time you have given to reading this letter.

Take care and stay safe,

Neil Foley - B.Sc. MA.

Pennaeth Headteacher

Coronavirus : advice for young people

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Young people in Wales have had to make big changes to their lives because of coronavirus.

It is okay to feel frightened and worried about these changes and how they might affect your housing.

There is still lots of help and support available – we’ve given the details of national organisations that can help you below.

Keep up to date with current Welsh Government coronavirus advice on Gov.Wales

 

Coronavirus : advice for young people

5×60 – Battle of the Denbighshire schools!

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The battle will consist of weekly challenges set out by your 5x60 Officers. Each challenge will last for 7 days, and a point will be given to each pupil posting a reply with proof of the completed challenge. (2 points will be given to any teacher taking on the challenges!)

Proof could be a simple video clip, a tik-tok video, or just a photo! Points will contribute to the pupil’s school, as there will be Primary and Secondary league table!

We are hoping these challenges will help to promote getting outside, being active, and keeping fit and healthy, which we feel is more important than ever at the moment, given the circumstances we find ourselves in.

The challenges will be open to any primary or secondary aged pupils in a Denbighshire school.

Our staff will keep log of scores and comments from participants, and will share the league standings weekly!

Challenges will be set out every Monday at 12 noon, starting on June 1st, and will finish every Sunday night. We have a list of challenges that will take us up to the start of the summer holidays.

 

 

Further information regarding cancelled trips

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Dear Parents / Carers,

Re: Further information regarding cancelled trips - Download the letter COVID-19 trips update May 2020

This is a message to the parents of pupils who were due to take part in a school organised trip. There are currently no updates in relation to the insurance claim submitted on behalf of Prestatyn High School. The Local Authority are liaising with the Welsh Government on behalf of all schools who find themselves in this situation.

The school submitted a claim for the losses linked to trips on the 9th May 2020 and since then we have not had any further updates in relation to this claim from the school’s off-site insurance provider. The school have been in contact with the Welsh Government who are looking to support schools, as stated earlier, on a national level with providers and insurance companies.

School staff will continue to progress the insurance claim on a daily basis and keep you informed. We understand that this is a very difficult time for everyone but unfortunately, until the school gets any confirmation or update about the claim, we are unable to progress this position at this time.

We are monitoring this on a daily basis and we will continue to update you regularly.

 

Yours faithfully

Neil Foley - B.Sc. MA.

Pennaeth Headteacher

Mental Health Awareness Week in 2020

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The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week in 2020 is kindness. Something which is now more important than ever with the current situation. To mark the week, join us by taking part in the Kindness Challenge!

The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week in 2020 is kindness. Something which is now more important than ever with the current situation. To mark the week, join us by taking part in the Kindness Challenge!

We’ve all had to make huge changes to our daily lives because of Covid-19. While everyone is following government recommendations around social distancing, we still have the ability to look out for each other.

Now more than ever, small acts of kindness can go a long way in helping everyone cope with our current reality. Research shows that kindness can reduce levels of stress and anxiety (Curry et al. 2018), increase happiness and self-esteem (Tashjiian, 2018) and that in only one week, counting one’s own acts of kindness can improve happiness (Otake, 2006).

Therefore, for Mental Health Awareness Week (18th – 24th May 2020) we want you to join us in our bingo-style Kindness Challenge! We’ve come up with small tasks that you can carry out by yourself from home to show kindness to others and yourself.

Here’s how you can take part:

  • Save the kindness bingo grid to your mobile or computer.
  • Highlight each task as you complete it (by editing the image on your social media app or on an editing tool like Paint)
  • Share it on social media alongside pictures of you completing the tasks to show others how they can spread kindness too!
  • Tag Mental Health UK using @mhealthuk on Instagram and Facebook or @mentalhealthuk on Twitter and LinkedIn.
  • Nominate your friends to take part in the Kindness Challenge by tagging them too!
  • Use #KindnessChallenge and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek.

https://mentalhealth-uk.org/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-week/ #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

Share your experience of COVID19

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The Children’s commissioner of Wales has asked for all pupils to share their experience of Covid19. They would like you to complete a questionnaire. 

It will help Government to respond in the best way to the situation as it develops, and to inform how they work with and talk to children and young people during this crisis and beyond. We need your help to ensure as many students as possible tell us their views.
Please could you take 15 minutes to complete the following survey:

Headteacher Letter – Important Update!

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Dear all pupils, parents and carers Once again,

 

I write to you during these very challenging times. I hope that you and your families are well, staying safe and remaining at home where possible to protect the NHS. I would like to thank you all for your continued adherence to the advice from the Government and also for practicing social distancing in the community. As we are now past the peak of the infection, there is light at the end of the tunnel. To reach the goal of returning to some form of normality, we will have to continue our efforts and community spirit that has got us this far. Kirsty Williams, Minister for Education announced last week that schools are not going to be opening fully at the start of June. When we receive further information on the details of any form of phased reopening, I will contact you immediately. In the meantime, the school will continue the current working practices that we have engaged in over the weeks since lockdown began. I have summarised all of the things we do below.

 

We will continue to:

 

• open every day for the registered children of keyworkers*

• open every day for registered pupils, identified as requiring further support by the pastoral teams and the local authority*

• provide online work for all learners via Microsoft Teams and other methods

• provide timely feedback on any work returned

• reward and recognise the excellent work and efforts of our amazing pupils

• track, monitor and encourage all learners to engage with our distance learning programme

• regularly make contact with you to ensure that all pupils and students are safe

• provide as much support we can for the community

• encourage pupils to do physical and creative tasks to broaden the scope of what we expect pupils to do

• provide mental health support via our pastoral teams and links on the website

 

*Please register online through the Denbighshire website if you qualify and have not yet taken a place for in school education.

 

We are delighted that so many pupils and students are engaging in distance learning and we hope that the introduction of a more structured timetable will help all learners manage their time whilst at home. We have included physical and creative tasks into our new way of setting work so that pupils enjoy and make the most of their time during this difficult lockdown.

A small but significant number of pupils and students are struggling to access online work due to a lack of hardware or connectivity issues. We have delivered many devices to the homes of our learners to assist with this and I am working closely with the Local Authority to ensure we can gain further hardware and 4G internet access for homes.

The school continues to provide vital PPE to local health settings, deliver food to local families and donate money and essentials to local food banks. I would like to say a special thanks to all staff and parents who have donated funds via ParentPay. The total collected and distributed so far is £1,500 and this has gone a long way in supporting the most vulnerable in our community. We would welcome any further contributions if you can spare it. If any parents or families are struggling, or if you know of anyone in the community that needs additional help, please contact the school and we will support in any way that we can.

On the issue of GCSE and A-level grades, teachers and Heads of Department are working hard to ensure that all pupils and students gain the qualifications they deserve this summer. I am in constant dialogue with WJEC and Qualifications Wales to ensure the process is fair, transparent and focused on what is best for our young people. Further information as we get it from Welsh Government will be placed on our website.

If any pupils wishing to apply to our 6th Form that have yet not done so, need to contact Mr. Vernon via school as soon as possible so that we can process your application and hopefully allocate you a place for September.

We know this will go on for a while longer, therefore it is essential that you continue to ensure our pupils are engaging in the work set by their teachers. This will minimise the impact of not being in school.

 

Stay home and please stay safe. Please contact the school if you have any questions or issues.

Warm regards

Eisteddfod yr Urdd introducing… EISTEDDFOD T

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Following the disappointment of having to postpone the Denbighshire Eisteddfod 2020 until 2021, Eisteddfod T will be seen and heard on television, radio and internet between May 25 and 29 this year.

There are traditional competitions (singing, reciting, dancing) and some completely different (sports, cooking, comedy, family competition).

For more information and a full list of competitions follow this link http://s4c.urdd.cymru/en/

The deadline for entries is noon, May 11th.

The Eisteddfod, but not as you know it.

Turn your sofa into front row seats!

A PHS teacher is using 3D printers to support NHS workers

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A Prestatyn High School teacher is using 3D printers to make personal protection equipment visors in support of our frontline NHS workers.

Dan Nuttall, Subject Leader of Product Design at Prestatyn High School, has used the school's 3D printers at work to make specialist visors for NHS staff.

Mr Nuttall used industry standard design specifications to develop the visors.

 

Mr Nuttall said: “It is great to be in a position to support the NHS and help their fight against Covid-19.
The NHS is very close to my heart as my wife works as a district nurse in the community, It  was just nice to help, even in a small way”.

 

Using a small team of volunteers and donations from community business partners the PHS team have now made over 650 units.

 

Headmaster Neil Foley said: “Amazing work! A special thanks to Dan Nuttall, the technology department and all the volunteers for designing and producing the visors that are out in healthcare settings.”

 

The school and Mr Nuttall would like to thank all of the teaching and support staff that volunteered throughout the process.

Thank you to Gwasg Helygain for the kind donation of the acetate stock. http://www.gwasg.com/