Week 18 - Friday 25th January 2019

Welcome to our newsletter for week 18.

School Council Fundraising - Wear Red for Wales and Velindre

Our School Council have chosen to support the 'Wear Red for Wales and Velindre' charity campaign on Friday 1st February. Children may wear red clothing on this day in support of the charity. The aim of the campaign is to show support for Wales ahead of their Six Nations campaign and to raise vital funds for Velindre - Wales’s Premier Cancer Centre. The 2018 Wear Red for Wales and Velindre campaign was a huge success with hundreds of schools, businesses and individuals painting Wales Red and raising over £70,000. To support the campaign we are asking children to bring in a donation in support of the Velindre charity. Thank you for your support.

Cross Country Competition

Well done to those children who represented Oldcastle at the Cross Country competition last Saturday at Pencoed Comprehensive School. Well done to Dan and Grace from year 4 who gained 1st place in their race category. The photo below shows children who took part in the event. Fantastic commitment from Amy, Dexter, Joe, Beatrice, Reuben, Hannah, Annelise, Dan, Elizabeth, Grace, Henry, Will, George, Iris and Freya.

The next competition will be held at Ynysawdre Comprehensive School on Saturday 16th February at 9.30am for children in years 3 to 6. All children in years 3 to 6 can attend if they wish.

Anti Bullying Policy

We are currently reviewing our Anti Bullying Policy and we would welcome views from parents via a short questionnaire. To complete the survey please click on this link. Thank you for your support. The survey will close on Wednesday 30th January, and we will feed back results to you as part of our review process.

Gazette St Davids Day Photos - Nursery and Reception

The Glamorgan Gazette will visit Oldcastle on Wednesday 30th January to photograph children from Nursery and Reception in their welsh costume. Please can children come to school in their welsh costume and bring their normal school clothes in a bag to change into following the photo.

Money Skills Sessions

During the weeks 11th and 18th February we have some exciting visitors coming into school to do some money skills sessions with children from Reception to Year 6. The aim of the sessions is to provide children with a greater understanding of how money is used on a day to day basis but some year groups will also look at how fraud is detected and also how to plan a party using a budget! We will also be looking at the importance of saving and managing money and finances. We will provide more information nearer the time.

Eisteddfod - Monday 4th March

We will be holding our annual Eisteddfod celebrations on Monday 4th March. Children are busy in school working towards the Eisteddfod competitions focusing on welsh art, handwriting and poetry. Children will also be creating a piece of digital art. We are excited to see the results and we look forward to sharing some of these with you. In the morning of the 4th March we will hold a celebration assembly when we will celebrate the Chairing of the Bard (a year 6 pupil who wins the poetry competition). During the afternoon children will have the opportunity to discover more about welsh crafts and culture.

Parent Governor Vacancy

We currently have a vacancy for a Parent Governor. If you are interested in becoming a Governor at Oldcastle Primary please apply by providing a statement of 100 words or less on why you would like to become a School Governor. Please send this information in by email to admin.oldcastleprimary@bridgend.gov.uk or drop it into the school office. Governors play a key role in leading, supporting and improving schools. They act as a link between parents, the local community and the school. They are impartial and make decisions that seek to improve the school. If you would like further information on becoming a School Governor please click here.

School Savings Club

We had 66 savers at our School Saving Club this week saving over £500 amongst them. Don't forget School Savings Club takes place every Wednesday morning and new members are always welcome. The school provides £2 into the account of every child that joins the school savings scheme. School Savings Club is open from 8.45am if you would prefer to bring your child with their savings, or children have the opportunity to visit the Savings Club with their class throughout the morning. We look forward to seeing our school savers every Wednesday and look forward to hearing what they are savings towards.

Headteacher Award

The following children were presented with a Headteachers Award during assembly today. This weeks theme is using good manners without prompting

• Year 1 Mrs Morcom-Lewis - Theo
• Year 1 Miss Mullins - Harley
• Year 2 Mrs Roberts - Chase
• Year 2 Mrs Evans - Faith
• Year 3 Miss Minkowski - Scarlett
• Year 3 Miss Davies - Lily
• Year 4 Miss Jones - Neve
• Year 4 Miss Craven - Zack
• Year 5 Mr Clements - Jayden
• Year 5 Miss James - India
• Year 6 Mrs Coleman - Max
• Year 6 Mrs Taylor-Jones - James

Attendance of the Week

Class of the Week for the best attendance was awarded to 1M (95.2%) in Foundation Phase and 6TJ (98%) in Key Stage 2. Our whole school attendance target is 95.9% for the year. This week’s attendance was 94.2%.

Diary Dates

• 21st January - 4J swimming
• From Monday 28th January to Friday 1st February - 4C swimming
• Friday 1st February - Wear RED for Wales and Velindre
• Week beginning 4th February - 5C swimming
• Week beginning 11th February - 5B swimming
• Week beginning 18th February - 6T swimming
• Half term - 25th February to 1st March
• Back to School - Monday 4th March
• Week beginning 4th March - 6C swimming
• Friday 15th March - School Council Fundraiser 'Red Nose Day'
• Inset Day - Monday 22nd July 2019

Inset Days 2019/20

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