Week 12 - Friday 29th November 2019

Welcome to our weekly newsletter and week 12 of the school year.

Bank holidays 2020

Due to the 75th anniversary of VE Day the early bank holiday has been moved from Monday 4th May to Friday 8th May. As a school we realise that parents may have already made plans for original bank holiday on Monday 4th May so we have decided to use an additional inset day for this date.

Therefore school will be closed on Monday 4th May for an inset day and Friday 8th May for a bank holiday.

Year 5 Parliament topic

As part of the year 5 topic on parliament, pupils have visited the Senedd in Cardiff and learnt a great deal. Today some year 5 pupils presented their ideas to children in years 3 to 6. This afternoon children in all key stage 2 classes were able to vote on who they wanted as their prime minister!

All children in year 5 were involved and made the process very realistic! They had 4 different parties:

• Vision - the party that has a plan for everyone
• Transform - the party that wants to make a difference
• Tomorrow - the party that wants to shape the future
• Progress - the party that will move the country forward

We look forward to seeing the results next week.

Fundraising

We are 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.

Criw Cymraeg

This week the Criw Cymraeg had a very enjoyable but difficult time choosing the Welsh mascots for Oldcastle. We had lots of entries to consider and were impressed by the designs and ideas put forward. After lots of discussion we would like to congratulate Amelia from 2GL and Angelina from 6E on their mascots being chosen to be used around the school to help promote the Welsh language. Da iawn chi! Below are our winning poster designs for our Criw Cymraeg mascots.

Our words of the week will be;

Ydw/ Nac ydw- Yes/ No

https://flipgrid.com/s/fd63c4a5ce0d

Our phrase of the week is;

Wyt ti eisiau chwarae? Would you like to play?

https://flipgrid.com/s/5f06157272cf

Schools cross country competition years 3 to 6

Well done to all the children who attended and took part in the Schools Cross Country competition last Saturday. A number of children from each group took part and had a fantastic time. There was a 1st place from Dan in year 5 - well done Dan! These children took part in the events:

Years 3/4 Boys

• Lewis, Ethan, Issac and Eli

Years 3/4 Girls

• Timeau and Gracie-May

Years 5/6 Boys

• Daniel, Dexter and Finlay

Years 5/6 Girls

• Grace and Iris

The next event takes place on 1st February and it would be lovely if more children could take part. We will keep you posted nearer the time about the exact details of the event. The school are extremely grateful to the parents that help co-ordinate the event for Oldcastle.

Christmas Concerts

Christmas concerts start next week - we are looking forward to seeing the concerts and would like to thank staff and children for all the hard work they have put into the concerts. We hope you enjoy. At each concert we will be selling raffle tickets to win a hamper, the money collected will be used for our canteen refurbishment. The PTA will also be selling refreshments at the start of the concerts - thank you to members of the PTA who have given up their time to provide this service to parents.

Nursery

• Wednesday 11th and Friday 13th December - 9.30am

Reception

• Monday 16th December - 9.30am and 2pm

Year 1 and 2

• Thursday 5th December- 9.30am and 1.30pm

Years 3 and 4

• Monday 9th December - 9.30am and 1.30pm

Years 5 and 6

• Tuesday 10th December - 9.30am and 5pm

School Savings Club

The Credit Union would like to thank the staff, children and families of Oldcastle Primary for continued support of the school savings scheme.

As we enter the Christmas season, the credit union would like to give the children the opportunity to withdraw from their savings. As always, they offer the option of cash (up to £100) and / or Bank Transfer. Your child does not have to withdraw any of their savings, as we will continue school savings in January. Our last collection will be on the 11th December, before re-starting in January.

To make a withdrawal through school, we kindly ask for 1 weeks’ notice and require the trustee / guardian fills in the withdrawal consent form. The forms will also be available at the office on collection days. Any withdrawal requests through school will need to be brought in by 11th December.

Once the holidays begin, your child can pay in / withdraw money at our branch in Sarn or Bridgend but, please note, cash withdrawal requests may require 48 hours’ notice, so it’s always worth contacting the office by phone before visiting. The Sarn office can be contacted Mon-Fri on 01656 729912, although you will need to check opening times over the Christmas season.

For any queries about your child’s account, I can be contacted either through the main office or by email at damianf@blscu.co.uk

Christmas Tree Festival

Oldcastle yet again has the pleasure of being part of the Parish of Coity, Nolton and Brackla’s annual Christmas Tree festival. The theme for this year’s festival is ‘A Christmas Carol’ and the school have decided to base our tree on the carol ‘It was on a starry night’.

We would like the children to be involved by creating decorations at home, based on the carol using recycled material. The decorations should be no bigger than 10cm. Here are some ideas for decorations;

• Stars - made out of foil,
• Crowns - using cardboard,
• Bells - out of old yogurt pots

Decorations will need to be in school by 6th of December. We look forward to seeing your creations.

PTA

The PTA are planning a school disco for Wednesday 18th December. Disco times will be:

• Nursery - 2.20pm to 3pm
• Reception - 3.15pm to 4pm
• Year 1 - 4.15pm to 5pm
• Year 2 and 3 – 5.15pm to 6pm
• Year 4, 5 and 6 – 6.15pm to 7pm

Tickets are allocated upon submission of the google form - please click here PTA Disco Tickets

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

Headteacher Award

The following children were presented with a Headteachers Award during assembly today. This weeks theme is 'Good Manners'

• Year 1 Mrs Morcom-Lewis - Heidi
• Year 1 Miss Vaughan - Jamie
• Year 2 Mrs Roberts - Loic
• Year 2 Miss Lewis / Mrs Guy - Theo
• Year 3 Brotherton / Mrs Burr - Malakai
• Year 3 Miss Davies - Chase
• Year 4 Miss Radford - Daniel
• Year 4 Miss Craven - Jayden
• Year 5 Miss Jones - Evelyn
• Year 5 Miss James - Daniel
• Year 6 Mrs Coleman - Anya
• Year 6 Mrs Evans - India

Sickness Policy

Please can we remind parents that in line with advice from the Health Protection Agency, children who have vomited or had diarrhoea must not return to school until 48 hours has passed since the last episode of sickness or diarrhoea. Please refer to the advice on our website. Health Protection Agency Poster

Admissions to Reception class

Bridgend County Borough Council have opened their application process for children joining reception class starting in September 2020. Applications are online - apply here.

Roofer / General Builder

We are currently looking for a roofing company and general builder to undertake a range of jobs for us. We require builders to be CIS registered however we can advise on this if required. Please contact the office on 01656 815790 or email s.peters@oldcastleprimary.co.uk if you can help.

Nursery children had great fun learning outdoors this week - they measured puddles and looked for insects.

Diary Dates

• Monday 2nd December - Nursery trip to Gower Heritage Centre
• Thursday 5th December - Reception trip to Brecon Mountain Railway
• Thursday 5th December - Years 1 and 2 Christmas Concert - ticketed event at 9.30am and 1.30pm
• Friday 6th December - Elf Day fundraiser for Alzheimer's Society - children may wear own clothes, Christmas jumper or dress as an Elf!
• Friday 6th December - Choir concert in Brackla Community Centre
• 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 4th May - Inset Day
• Friday 8th May - Bank Holiday
• 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 4th May 2020
• Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd June 2020
• Monday 20th July 2020