Week 21 - Friday 15th February 2019

Welcome to our newsletter for week ending 15th February. We have one more week in school before our half term holiday. School finishes at normal time on Friday 22nd February.

Money Skills

We have been lucky this week to have visitors into school to talk to children about money skills. Reception and Year 1 had visitors from Nat West Money Sense team to help them think about how we use money. They also talked about the choices to make regarding what to do with money and understanding how money can be spent, saved or donated and also the differences between needs and wants. Year 6 also had a visit from the Nat West team and learnt how to plan a party! As part of the session they learnt how to identify what makes a good party, plan and organise a party by making decision about what to include within a set budget.

Reception, year 3 and year 6 were treated to a session from Bridgend Credit Union who helped the children understand the importance of savings. Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 will have sessions from the Nat West team next week. The Credit Union will also be back and talking to years 1, 2, 4 and 6

Thank you so much to the Nat West team and Damian Faulkner for coming into school and talking to the children. The children do love a visitor!

Cross Country Competition

There is a Cross Country competition for children in years 3 to 6 on Saturday 16th February. The competition will be held in Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen Comprehensive and will start at 10am. Registration will take place at 9.30am and children will need to arrive at this time if they wish to attend. All children in years 3 to 6 are welcome to have a go at this last event of the school year.

School visitors

Reception have had a particularly busy week with visitors this week - earlier in the week they were fortunate to have 2 amazing police horses visit them. The horses were spectacular and the children were amazed how big they were. Thanks you to South Wales Police for bringing the horses to school.

Reception children have also been visited by a local diary farmer who showed the children how to make butter!

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.

Parents Evening Bookings

We have sent out emails this week inviting parents to book their parents evening appointments online. Parents evening meetings will be held during week beginning 1st April (apart from Miss Mullins year 1 class which will take on 6th and 7th March. If you have not received an email or need some assistance booking the appointment please contact the school office.

Bullying questionnaires

As part of a review of our anti bullying policy we have recently undertaken questionnaires for parents and children to find out their views on bullying.

316 children in years 1 to 6 have all taken part in the anonymous survey today and we have analysed these results. The main headlines from the survey results are:

• Children understand what the different forms of bullying are
• Most children feel that bullying could occur at break times on the yard
• 71% of children would tell their teacher if they felt they were being bullied
• 80% of children would tell their parents if they felt they were being bullied
• Many children felt that any bullying issues are resolved when you tell someone but 28% weren't sure if the issue would be resolved
• 90.5% of children like school, 89.2% felt happy in school and 89.2% felt safe in school

We also undertook a parents survey recently on bullying, however we received a very small amount of responses. Generally the responses we had felt their child hasn't experienced bullying in school. If bullying had occurred it is most likely at playtime.

The results from both surveys will be looked at by our School Council who will develop a presentation to children in school and also look at developing an action plan to address any issues that have been identified. Overall the results are positive and will be used to inform our policy review and feedback to children.

Nursery children

Children in nursery will be making and tasting cawl together next week. Please can nursery children bring in one vegetable on Monday morning.

Lost Property

We have yet again a vast amount of lost property in our reception area. Please do pop in and have a look through the clothes if your child has lost anything in school. The clothing will be donated to the PTA clothing collection if not collected in the coming weeks.

Milk Dispenser

We are delighted to let you know that our new milk dispenser will be used after half term for children in foundation phase. Currently children in foundation phase are provided with a small plastic milk bottle and we have been working towards eliminating this massive plastic waste. After half term children in foundation phase will receive the same amount of milk but it will be dispensed from a chilled milk unit into a re-useable plastic cup. All the cups will be washed after every use in our commercial dishwasher.

Solar Project

It is an exciting time at Oldcastle as we will shortly have contractors on site starting work on the installation of infil solar panels on the canteen roof. The project is so exciting and we are looking forward to see the change to the canteen roof and start generating our own electricity to run the canteen. We also have a stand alone solar unit with a display that will show children how much energy is being generated through solar power.

PTA Newsletter

The PTA have developed a Spring term newsletter and this is available to view on our website by clicking on this link. The newsletter provides information on money raised and upcoming PTA events.

Car Parking

We have received communication from a local resident from St Marie Street regarding car parking in the street. Please can we ask all parents to respect the residents in the nearby streets and in particular do not wait in their car with the engine running. Thank you for your assistance.

Lollipop Man

We have learnt that the lollipop man from the Cowbridge Road crossing has fallen ill and we understand that there is no lollipop crossing facility at the moment. We wish Leighton a speedy recovery.

Headteacher Award

The following children were presented with a Headteachers Award during assembly today. This weeks theme is overcoming a challenge.

• Year 1 Mrs Morcom-Lewis - Joey
• Year 1 Miss Mullins - Tyler
• Year 2 Mrs Roberts - Mila
• Year 2 Mrs Evans - Freya
• Year 3 Miss Minkowski - Charlie
• Year 3 Miss Davies - Elliot
• Year 4 Miss Jones - Niamh
• Year 4 Miss Craven - Faith
• Year 5 Mr Clements - Charlie
• Year 5 Miss James- Caleb
• Year 6 Mrs Coleman - Aaron
• Year 6 Mrs Taylor-Jones - Lily

Attendance of the Week

Class of the Week for the best attendance was awarded to 2R (97.3%) in Foundation Phase and 3ND (98.5%) in Key Stage 2. Our whole school attendance target is 95.9% for the year. This week’s attendance was 94.8%.

Diary Dates

• Saturday 16 February - Schools Cross Country years 3 to 6
• Week beginning 18th February - 6T swimming
• Half term - 25th February to 1st March
• Back to School - Monday 4th March
• Monday 4th March - Eisteddfod
• Week beginning 4th March - 6C swimming
• 6th and 7th March - Miss Mullins parents evening
• Friday 15th March - School Council Fundraiser 'Red Nose Day'
• Friday 22nd March - Year 5 trip to Big Pit
• Tuesday 26th March - Reception trip to Cefn Mably
• Week beginning 1st April - Parents Evening Week
• 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