Week 18 - Friday 29th January 2021

Thank you !

Wow, what a week we have had and we just wanted to say -THANK YOU - to our pupils and parents for all your support this week. We understand how difficult it is at the moment having the children at home, working from home, juggling many things to keep everyone happy but we are overwhelmed this week with the support we have received from parents. Our school community has grown together over the period of the pandemic and every member of staff has received support from a range of avenues this week. Please remember we are here to help so please do email or call us if we can help families in any way.

As a school, we are so proud of our staff for getting to grips with different digital resources over the closure period. We use Google for Education and Seesaw platforms for home learning and all staff have adapted to help us deliver a wide range of learning techniques across all age groups. Thank you Team Oldcastle.

Welsh Government Announcement

You may be aware that the Welsh Government has announced today that they hope schools will return from 22nd February. As soon as we are provided with more details regarding operational guidance and exact information about the return we will make this available to parents. Once again thank you for your support and patience in these difficult times.

Check-In Sessions

This week we launched our Check-In Sessions through Google Meet for children in all year groups. This is obviously something that has gone down well judging by the number of pupils that have been signing into the sessions. We know we've had some bumps along the way and it was a challenge for parents and pupils to access the sessions but we hope we have solved problems along the way. The sessions have been a great way to keep in touch with our pupils and provide an ideal opportunity for pupils to ask their teachers any questions they may have. Today, there has been lots of activity and dancing in the check-in sessions - some great moves by pupils and staff!

Mrs Littlewood and Miss Hodgson have popped into all the Check-In Sessions throughout the week and have been thrilled to see so many smiling faces. We really do miss seeing the children in school every day so it has been fantastic to see over 314 pupils in the sessions.

Here's a reminder of the session times for each class. Please do contact us if you need any help with accessing the session.

Well-being Packs

Over the last week we have been very busy ordering and putting together well-being packs for every child in the school. Judging by the feedback we have received from parents these have been favourably received! We do feel it is important for us all to look after ourselves and take time to relax with a good book or puzzle book and we hope our children enjoy some time away from their devices and school work. Every child received a hand delivered pack this week with a reading book, puzzle or colouring book, stationery and a small bag of sweets. Team Oldcastle really pulled out all the stops and managed to get these delivered to our children earlier this week. The response from parents via email, Twitter and Facebook has been wonderful and it has really brightened up our week to hear such lovely messages. These messages have been shared with all staff so thank you for taking the time to let us know how thrilled your child / children were with the pack. We have a small number that we haven't been able to deliver and these parents have been contacted.

Chromebooks

To date, 150 children have borrowed a Chromebook from school. We are delighted to be able to help families at this difficult time with the loan of a Chromebook for children to complete home learning. Children in years 3 to 6 are familiar with using Chromebooks in school and we really do feel this has helped the children participate in their home learning tasks. As a school we are committed to ensuring children have access to digital technology and it is through this investment that we are fortunate to have a supply of resources in school. We have recently gained approval from school governors to purchase additional digital technology for our foundation phase which allow children to have access to devices when they return to school and continue using the Seesaw learning platform.

Years 5 and 6 Live P.E. Lesson

We have an exciting new opportunity for our pupils in years 5 and 6. From next week we are linking up with Brynteg Comprehensive School for live P.E lessons. This is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to support physical development and future transition to secondary school. The live lesson will take place on a Wednesday afternoon at 2pm with the first session taking place on Wednesday 3rd February at 2pm.

In order for pupils to participate in the live lesson we require consent from parents. Please complete the google form sent by email before midday on 3rd February if you agree for your child to take part. The lesson will be an excellent opportunity for the children and we hope many will be able to participate. Only Oldcastle pupils and members of staff from Oldcastle and Brynteg PE department will be accessing the live lesson.

We hope our pupils in year 5 and 6 join in and have fun with this exciting collaboration with Brynteg.

NETFLEX

We have also partnered up with Brynteg to bring all pupils some new and exciting physical activities. Daily physical activity is very important to help keep a healthy mind and body during this difficult time. To support this from the 1st of February we will be launching our very own “NETFLEX”. This platform has a wide range of physical activities for you to participate in. From YOGA to rugby there is something for everyone! Get your family members to join and let the NETFLEX fun begin. More will be revealed when we launch on Monday!

Australian Bush Fires

This week we received email correspondence from the Australian Red Cross who provided an email in regards to our fantastic fundraising efforts last year in raising £734 for the bush fire fund. If you recall one of our year 5 pupils started a campaign with Mr Thompson and Bridgend Council to encourage people to fundraise to help people and animals affected by the bush fires. Niamh was so successful in her campaign that she went on the win a Mayor of Bridgend's Citizenship Award!

As a school, we are very proud of Niamh’s commitment to helping the residents and animals in Australia. We were so impressed with her letter that we were very keen to be involved and do whatever we could to help.

How lovely to receive a letter from the Red Cross a year later reminding us of our fantastic fundraising effort.

Niamh wrote a lovely poem as part of her commitment to helping people and animals affected by the bush fires:

The fires are burning forests

As far as the eye can see

I would like to at least do something

would you help raise money with me!

Children's Mental Health week

Children's Mental Health Week will take place between 1st and 7th February and this year's theme is 'Express Yourself'. At Oldcastle, we are delighted to support this cause and our teachers have been developing some fantastic learning resources for pupils to take part in during the week.

On Friday 5th February we are suggesting that children wear something to 'Express Themselves'. We look forward to seeing how our children 'Express Themselves' in the check-in sessions. Please send us your photos via email, Google Classroom, Seesaw or our social media sites.

Expressing yourself is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity. This could be through art, music, writing and poetry, dance and drama, photography and film, and doing activities that make you feel good.

It’s important to remember that being able to express yourself is not about being the best at something or putting on a performance for others. It is about finding a way to show who you are, and how you see the world, that can help you feel good about yourself.

For Children's Mental Health Week 2021 we will be encouraging children (and adults) to explore the different ways we can express ourselves, and the creative ways that we can share our feelings, our thoughts and our ideas. More details will be provided via Google Classroom and Seesaw.

Thrive

During the last school closure we shared with parents resources that are available through Thrive - social and emotional development for children. Thrive is used in Oldcastle Primary School as a tool to support and encourage the development of confident, curious, creative and capable children and young people who are open to learning and better equipped to deal with life’s ups and downs.

Please have a look at our website for further useful Thrive resources - Thrive

Critical Worker In School Provision

A letter has been sent to parents this week from the Director of Education reminding parents of the criteria for critical workers provision in school. Welsh Government guidance has also been issued this week stating that parents should critical worker school provision is available when your work is critical to the COVID19 response. We are also informed that parents/carers who are critical workers should, however, keep their children home if you can.

• Those employed in the 'blue light' services - frontline NHS, ambulance, police, fire and rescue service, teachers and support staff working in schools, prison officers and social care workers.

Where possible we would be grateful if you could adhere to the guidance provided above.

The booking form for in-school provision for critical workers is sent to parents on a Monday for the following week. The application process will close at midday on a Thursday.

Building development on Ewenny Road - School Competition

We have been contacted by Valley2Coast Housing Association to inform us of building work that will take place on the corner of Ewenny Road and St Marie Street. The association are developing 7 single bedroom flats on the site of the building previously known as MPN Windows. The housing association are keen to inform local residents of the development and further information can be found on their website via this link Valleys2Coast

Poster Competition

As part of the development, Valleys2Coast are asking Oldcastle Primary pupils to get involved with a poster competition. The company would like to decorate the hoarding around the development with posters designed by pupils from the school. The top three posters will win a prize of shopping vouchers!

Posters should be A4 in size and be based on either of the following themes:

• Keeping safe on a building site

• My dream home of the future

Work is due to start on the site from the beginning of February and hoardings are likely to be erected in the springtime. If you would like to enter the competition please take a clear photo of your drawing or send a digital file to ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk by 22nd February 2021. (A great project over half term!)

Some websites that might be useful with information are:

https://www.ivorgoodsite.org.uk/

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/ipc-early-years-all-about-me/ipc-early-years-all-about-me-construction-area/building-site-construction-area-all-about-me-early-years-age-3-5-ipc

Half Term - Don't forget it is half term 15th to 19th February.

Inset Days

Inset days for the school year have been approved and these are:

• Monday 12th April 2021

• Monday 7th June 2021

• Monday 19th July 2021

• Tuesday 20th July 2021