Week 10 - Friday 15th November 2019

Welcome to our weekly newsletter and week 10 of the school year. Today we have supported the Children in Need charity with a non uniform day. Thank you to everyone that has supported.

Fundraising

Our Children's Voice Council have decided to support the following charities as part of our fundraising activities this term.

Our children decided that they wanted to support Children in Need today. Thank you to everyone that supported. We are delighted to let you know that we raised £403 for the charity.

As part of our Eco commitment, the Children's Voice have decided to join in with the 'Just one Tree' organisation. They are an organisation that are setting up a nationwide non school uniform day on 22nd November. For every £1 raised they will plant one tree in an area that has experienced massive deforestation. They also provide education and jobs to the villages that are often experiencing extreme poverty. Some of our Children's Voice pupils have been busy creating a video for pupils and parents - we look forward to sharing with you next week!

We are also pleased to inform parents that we will be supporting The Alzheimer's Society 'Elf Day' on Friday 6th December. Children will be able to wear non uniform, Christmas tops or even an elf outfit! All money raised will go to help people affected by dementia. At Oldcastle we are keen to raise awareness of mental health and we are pleased the Children's Voice are supporting the charity.

We hope you are able to support our Children's Voice fundraising charities in anyway you can. We appreciate that there are 3 events quite close together but hope children can raise awareness of the charities by supporting the non uniform days.

Remembrance Day

On Monday we held a whole school assembly and observed a minute's silence for Remembrance Day. Some of our children read poetry to remind pupils the importance of Remembrance Day. We were delighted to show our children the finished Poppy Remembrance Display in the main hall.

Criw Cymraeg

This week the Criw Cymraeg discussed how we are going to promote the Welsh language outside of the classroom. We created posters with useful phrases for areas where food is served and talked about how we could improve the use of Welsh on the yard.

Our word of the week will be;

Ewch! - Go!

This link shows you how to pronounce the word - https://flipgrid.com/s/31a769ce59a4

The phrase will be;

Sut mae’r tywydd heddiw? What’s the weather like today?

This link shows you how to pronounce the sentence - hhttps://flipgrid.com/s/e3ee089d539d

Criw Cymraeg Competition

The Criw Cymraeg would like to develop a Welsh mascot to encourage the children at Oldcastle to speak and use the Welsh language. We would like all children to create a Welsh themed welcome poster which features their mascot and must include the following sentences;

Croeso i Ysgol Hengastell!

Mae siarad Cymraeg yn bril, mae siarad dwy iaith yn sgil!

One entry from Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 will be chosen and the winners work will be displayed around the school. All entries must be in by 22nd of November.

Christmas Concerts

Christmas is fast approaching and we have been planning the dates for our Christmas concerts. Concerts will take place at the school on the following dates. Due to limited numbers in the main hall we will be providing parents with tickets for these events - please keep the tickets safe as they are not replaceable. Tickets will be issued in November. Please note the change to the years 5 and 6 performance on 10th December.

Nursery

• Wednesday 11th and Friday 13th December - 9.30am - parents will receive 2 tickets for each show

Reception

• Monday 16th December - 9.30am and 2pm - parents will receive 2 tickets for each show

Year 1 and 2

• Thursday 5th December- 9.30am and 1.30pm - parents will receive 1 ticket for the morning and 1 for the afternoon

Years 3 and 4

• Monday 9th December - 9.30am and 1.30pm - parents will receive 1 ticket for the morning and 1 for the afternoon

Years 5 and 6

• Tuesday 10th December - 9.30am and 5pm - parents will receive 1 ticket for the morning and 1 for the evening

Christmas Dinner

Christmas dinner will be served on Thursday 12th December. The cost of the meal is £2.20. Please inform us if your child requires Christmas dinner or if they will be bringing their own sandwiches on this day - a response is required for both options.

Payment for the Christmas dinner should be made to your child's dinner account via Bridgend County Borough Council website. Please ensure payment is received before Monday 9th December. Children who receive free school meals will need to order a dinner via the form but payment will not be required. Christmas lunch will not be served to any child with no credit on their account.

Please complete a separate form for multiple children. Please return the form by 21st November to guarantee a Christmas dinner for your child.

Christmas Dinner Form

PTA

The new PTA are looking for class representatives to help raise funds for our children through fun events. There will be no obligation to attend meetings, you would just need to pass messages on to you child’s class to help reach a wider audience. If this is something that you could help with, please contact Angela on 07584620033 or leave a message at the school office.

The PTA are arranging a pre loved Christmas costume and jumper sale on Friday 29th November at 3.00pm. If you have any costumes / jumpers gathering dust at home please drop them into school and the PTA will be able to include these in in their fundraising sale. Please bring any items into the school office from Monday 18th November then come along on 29th November for a coffee and a mince pie and get this years costume sorted.

You will all be pleased to know that the PTA are also planning a school disco for Wednesday 18th December. Tickets will be available shortly.

Twitter

Don't forget we regularly use our Twitter account to let parents know what we have been up to in school. Please have a look @oldcastleschool

Congratulations

Congratulations to Dion in year 3 who has been been selected to be part of the Welsh Kick Boxing Team. Dion recently represented Wales at the European championships and won a gold medal for his age group! Fantastic news - well done Dion. Dion is now training for the Welsh championships.

Headteacher Award

The following children were presented with a Headteachers Award during assembly today. This weeks theme is 'contribution to our STEM and digital days'.

• Year 1 Mrs Morcom-Lewis - Heidi
• Year 1 Miss Vaughan - Nell
• Year 2 Mrs Roberts - William
• Year 2 Miss Lewis / Mrs Guy - Seren
• Year 3 Brotherton / Mrs Burr - Isaac
• Year 3 Miss Davies - Dylan
• Year 4 Miss Radford - Oscar
• Year 4 Miss Craven - Iestyn
• Year 5 Miss Jones - George
• Year 5 Miss James - Annelise
• Year 6 Mrs Coleman - Shon
• Year 6 Mrs Evans - Evan

Nursery

Our nursery children went on a sensory walk this week and listened out for sounds around the school and our grounds.

Diary Dates

• Wednesday 20th November - 5JJ trip to the Senedd
• Friday 22nd November - Just 1 Tree fundraiser - children can wear their own clothes
• Wednesday 27th November - 5BJ trip to the Senedd
• Friday 29th November - PTA Christmas Costume Sale
• Monday 2nd December - Nursery trip to Gower Heritage Centre
• Thursday 5th December - Reception trip to Brecon Mountain Railway
• Friday 6th December - Elf Day fundraiser for Alzheimer's Society - children may wear own clothes, Christmas jumper or dress as an Elf!
• Thursday 5th December - Years 1 and 2 Christmas Concert - ticketed event at 9.30am and 1.30pm
• Monday 9th December - Years 3 and 4 Christmas Concert - ticketed event at 9.30am and 1,30pm
• Tuesday 10th December - Year 1 trip to Dan yr Ogof
• Tuesday 10th December - Year 2 trip to Cardiff Castle
• Tuesday 10th December - Years 5 and 6 Christmas concert 9.30am and 5pm
• Wednesday 11th December - Nursery Christmas Concert - ticketed event at 9.30am
• Thursday 12th December - Christmas Dinner Day
• Friday 13th December - Nursery Christmas Concert - ticketed event at 9.30am
• Monday 16th December - Reception Christmas Concert - ticketed event at 9.30am and 2pm
• Wednesday 18th December - Juniors to visit Pantomime
• Wednesday 18th December - PTA Disco
• Friday 20th December - Term Ends
• Monday 6th January - Back to School
• Monday 6th January to Friday 17th January - 4C Swimming
• Monday 13th January to Friday 31st January - 4M Swimming
• Monday 3rd February to Friday 7th February - 5BJ Swimming
• Monday 10th February to Friday 14th February - 5JJ Swimming
• Monday 17th February to Friday 21st February - Half term
• Monday 24th February - Back to School
• Monday 24th February to Friday 28th February - 6C Swimming
• Monday 2nd March to Friday 6th March - 6E Swimming
• Monday 6th April to Friday 17th April - Easter holidays
• Monday 20th April - Back to school
• Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May - Half term
• Monday 1st June - Inset Day
• Tuesday 2nd June - Inset Day
• Friday 17th July - Term Ends
• Monday 20th July - Inset Day

Inset Days 2019/20

• Monday 4th November 2019
• Tuesday 5th November 2019
• Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd June 2020
• Monday 20th July 2020