Week 25 - Friday 22nd March 2019

Welcome to our newsletter for week ending 22nd March. Don't forget to look for our new communication app - The School App in the Play Store or App Store if you haven't already downloaded. This app is used frequently to keep you up to date with activities and notifications regarding your child and the school.

Solar Project

We are delighted to let you know that the solar panel installation has been completed on the canteen building. The panels are now generating electricity and we look forward to providing more detailed information shortly. We will have a television screen in our reception foyer which will let children and parents know how much energy the panels are generating.

Big Pedal - 25th March to 5th April

Get set … Oldcastle Primary School are taking part in Sustrans Big Pedal 2019, the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking and scooting challenge. The challenge runs from 25th March to 5th April. It’s free and we would love everyone to be involved.

On each day of the challenge, schools compete to see who can record the greatest number of pupils, staff and parents cycling, walking or scooting to school. Every morning your child can let us know if you or whoever does the school run has cycled, walked or used a scooter by filling in the chart in school with their class teacher and school council member. It’s a great way to get more of our pupils travelling actively to school and is a simple way to boost their physical and mental health.

We’re really excited to be taking part in the Big Pedal. We hope that encouraging our children to walk, cycle and scoot to school over the next two weeks we will see a huge reduction in congestion and pollution around the school gates, as well as help them to feel healthier and happier. The theme of this year’s Big Pedal is ‘Travelling around the body’, with pupils tracking their progress on a wall chart, learning about the human body and how active travel benefits their health as they go.

More information can be found on the Big Pedal website www.bigpedal.org,uk

Parents Evening Bookings

Parents evening meetings will be held during week beginning 1st April. If you have not received an email or need some assistance booking the appointment please contact the school office.


Nursery Parents - Book Look

Nursery will be holding ‘Book Look’ sessions on the following dates:

  • Monday 1st April
  • Tuesday 2nd April
  • Wednesday 3rd April

A list is available in Nursery please speak to the class teacher to book a suitable time.

School Reports

We are currently in the process of re-designing our school reports which are sent home to parents at the end of the school year. The reports are being altered to include the 6 areas of learning identified in the new curriculum for Wales. These include:

  • Language, Literacy and Communication
  • Mathematics and Numeracy
  • Science and Technology
  • Humanities
  • Health and Well Being
  • Expressive Arts

Our new look school report will also provide feedback to parents how children are performing against the 4 purposes of the school curriculum.:

  • ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives
  • enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work
  • ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world , ready to be citizens of Wales and the world
  • healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society

We are keen to gain parents views on our new look school report and will be holding a Parents Focus Group on Wednesday 3rd April at 9am. We hope you are able to join us and let us know your views on the revised format.

Eco Committee - Eco Code competition

Don't forget about our Eco Code competition where we are asking pupils to design a poster to highlight the schools commitment to sustainability, improving well-being and health eating. All entries need to be received by Friday 29th March and children should include their name and class on the back. An assembly next Friday will celebrate the entries received - we look forward to looking at the children's designs.

Our Eco Code

School Communication

Please note that we will no longer be using Schoop as a communication tool for the school. If you haven’t already please ensure you download our new communication app - The School App to keep up to date with news and announcements for Oldcastle.

Twitter

Just a reminder that we frequently use our Twitter page to provide an insight into school activities and news. Please take a look and follow @OldcastleSchool

PTA

The PTA held a meeting this week to discuss finances, plan forthcoming events and fundraising goals. Forthcoming events include a craft event which will be held on Thursday 28th March from 3pm to 4.30pm. Everyone is welcome and the children will be able to make bookmarks, yarn wool hangings, fabric collage and flowers. The event is free of charge but donations are welcome. Refreshments will be available . The PTA have also sent home raffle tickets - please return raffle tickets and money by 26th March - the draw will be held at the end of the craft event on Thursday 28th March.

Following a discussion at the PTA meeting, the committee decided to focus their fundraising efforts on the internal area of the canteen building. The School Council have consulted with their classes and this is an area identified as being in need of improvement. We are currently looking at different options but hope to make the canteen facility more inviting and open up the facility to have an external area during the summer months. We hope you can support the PTA events over the coming months to help raise these vital funds for our canteen facility.

Newspaper Team / Digital Leaders project

Our newspaper team and digital leaders are working on a very exciting project at the moment. They are identifying the things that they like best about Oldcastle! They plan to talk to classes and put together a detailed list of all the good things about Oldcastle. Once they have all the information they plan to create a very special memory - more information soon!!

Sports Day - Years 1 to 6

We have booked our annual sports day for years 1 to 6 for Friday 5th July. The event will take place in the Athletic Club in Newbridge Fields.

Headteacher Award

Headteacher Award

A Headteacher Award assembly did not take place this week. Instead Mr McNally led an assembly on The Big Pedal.

Attendance

Class of the week for the best attendance was awarded to 2R (96.2%) in Foundation Phase and 6TJ (96.4%) in Key Stage 2. Our whole school attendance target is 95.9% for the year. This week's attendance was 95.2%.

Diary Dates

Diary Dates

  • Tuesday 26th March - Reception trip to Cefn Mably
  • Tuesday 26th March - Year 3 trip to Parc Slip Nature Reserve
  • Thursday 28th March - PTA Mothers Day Craft Event
  • Week beginning 1st April - Parents Evening Week
  • Friday 5th April - choir concert
  • Wednesday 10th April - PTA Disco (Nursery, Reception and Year 1)
  • Thursday 11th April - PTA Disco (Years 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6)
  • Friday 12th April - School term ends at normal time
  • Easter Holidays - 15th April to 26th April
  • Monday 29th April - Back to School
  • Monday 6th May - Bank Holiday
  • Wednesday 15th May - Reception and Year 6 Class Photos
  • Monday 20th May - PTA Clothing Collection
  • Half Term - Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May
  • Monday 3rd June - Back to School
  • Wednesday 12th June to Friday 14th June - Year 6 residential trip
  • Wednesday 19th June - Class and team photos
  • Friday 5th July - Sports Day years 1 to 6
  • Friday 19th July - School Term Ends
  • 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