Week 36 - Friday 2nd July 2021

Oldcastle Primary Sports Week

This week all our children have been taking part in our Sports Week! Well done to all our pupils and staff for taking part and ensuring that the events ran smoothly. We would have loved to operate our normal sports day however we are pleased that we have been able to provide a sports week for the the children.

Children have taken part in a range of activity sessions and we are delighted to share the results with parents.

1st place - Green House (2242 points)

2nd place - Blue House (2227 points)

3rd place - Red House (2182 points)

The final results were announced during the whole school virtual assembly on Friday 2nd July once all year groups have participated in all events. We hope all our children enjoyed. At the end of the newsletter are a range of photographs from sports week.

School Assembly Round Up

In our weekly virtual assembly, Mr Littlewood asks each class to give a round up of what they have been doing in the last week. It is a lovely way for the whole school to find out what they have all been doing.

• Reception showed some love pictures of rainbow fish that they have been drawing and writing about. They also showed off their skills counting in tens!

• Year 1 have been busy preparing their hats for our Mad Hatters Tea Party next week! We've also seen some lovely drawing on the yard of clock faces as they learn to tell the time.

• Year 2 sound they have enjoyed their sports day activities and have been doing laps of the yard!! That's a long way to run! They too have been preparing their designs for the tea party.

• Year 3 told us that they really enjoyed the tug of war in the sports week activities, and they've been learning about different forms of working out division.

• Year 4 also enjoyed their sports week activities and have been planning their hats and created a selfie photo frame!

• Year 5 are usually taking part in their PE lesson on a Friday afternoon but they were keen to find out the results of sports week so popped along this week. It was lovely to hear that they were planning and designing their hats too.

• Year 6 have certainly been busy making postcards in welsh, designing a comic, making a scale model of the school and measuring the yard with the use of their own theodolites! Thank you for Mr Faulkner from Bridgend School Savings for coming in to talk to year 6 about profit and loss.

Mad Hatters Tea Party

It's only one week to go until our Mad Hatters Tea Party. We are so looking forward to the event for our children on Friday 9th July! Thank you for competing the recent google form to let us know what type of sandwich your child would like. Children have been busy in their classes making hats to wear on the day - we can't wait to see them. We will take lots of photos and share these with parents next Friday. The children will be sat in their outdoor area as a class and bubbles will not be mixed throughout the day. We have developed a risk assessment for the event and will be following Covid protocol at all times.

We are extremely grateful to the PTA for arranging this event and we know that they have some surprises for the children!

After School Club

Bookings for after school club from Monday 6th September to Friday 22nd October can be made via this form. After school club will run Monday to Friday until 5.30 pm.

ALL existing bookings will be cancelled and parents will need to apply for a new place. Places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Key workers will be given priority. All attendance should be booked and paid for in advance. Please complete a separate booking form for each child. Places are very limited due to Welsh Government guidance around pupil bubbles.

Late Club will not be offered until further notice.

Refunds will not be provided for non-attendance and once bookings are made they cannot be amended. Places will not be available on an ad hoc basis and can only be booked via this form which will close on Thursday 8th July. The Bookings will be processed following this date and you will be notified via email by the end of the term.

After school club is £7.50 per session per child and will need to be paid through Parent Pay.

After School Club Booking Form

Breakfast Club

We are expecting to be able to begin to offer our breakfast club provision from September 2021 (subject to Covid restrictions). We will be operating a termly booking system to allow us to determine demand. Bookings cannot be altered or amended. At this stage we are finding out what level of demand there will be for breakfast club - places cannot be guaranteed. We hope to release a booking form once we have determined demand and identified staffing levels.

The breakfast club will be subject to the following restrictions:

* Children are expected to attend and have breakfast.

* The club will operate from 8.30am and last entry will be at 8.40am. Children will be taken to class at 8.50am.

* Children will be placed in bubbles to eat their breakfast.

* Due to Covid restrictions no activities will be offered.

* Children will not be permitted to share items.

* There are no toilet facilities in the breakfast club area.

* Numbers will be extremely limited to ensure that the appropriate Covid guidelines are followed.

* A risk assessment will be completed for the operation of breakfast club.

Please complete the form below if you are interested in a place in breakfast club from September 2021.

Breakfast Club Booking Form

End of term arrangements

Teaching staff are currently preparing end of year reports for children and these will be sent home to parents on Monday 12th July. We will be sending a google form link to parents following the distribution of the reports to parents to allow you the opportunity to feed back to teachers and senior leaders.

Children will be meeting their new class teacher on their 'Bump Up Day' on Tuesday 13th July, and we will email parents on 13th July with details of your child's class teacher for the next school year.

Valleys 2 Coast Naming Competition - Deadline this weekend!

Valleys 2 Coast are currently renovating the building at the end of St Marie Street / Ewenny Road. As part of the development they are looking to apply to Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) for a name for the new homes. The site has some history previously as Lesley Griffiths Motorcycle shop and a double glazing shop.

All ideas are welcome, the only condition to the application is the final name will be translated into Welsh but we welcome ideas in English and Welsh. The name would be used for the block of flats/apartments so the address would be Flat 1 (block name), Ewenny Road.

Bridgend County Borough Council will decide the eventual name for the apartments. Please complete and submit by 3rd July 2021. We look forward to hearing your suggestions!

Naming Competition Form

School Savings Club

There will be no school savings club on Wednesday 7th July. School savings club will operate on Wednesday 14th July.

New school year - September 2021

At the start of the new school year we have two inset days planned for Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd September. Children will return to school on Monday 6th September.

We previously notified you of our inset days for the whole of the next year (these are detailed below), and as a reminder half term will take place from Monday 25th October to Friday 29th October. An inset day is arranged for Monday 1st November so children will return to school on Tuesday 2nd November.

COVID signs - a reminder

As we approach the last few weeks of the school year, we ask parents to help us keep our community safe by being vigilant for covid symptoms.

The 3 main symptoms of COVID-19 to be aware of are:

• new continuous cough

• fever or high temperature

• loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste

In the event that your child presents any of these symptoms please arrange a test. Please remember to let us know by phone or ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk if you or your child has a Covid test and let us know the result as soon as you receive it. Please note that if your child presents any of the symptoms identified with Covid, a lateral flow test will not be sufficient. A PCR Covid test will need to be arranged via public health wales (Call 119).

You can now also book a test if you feel unwell but don’t have one of the three main symptoms of coronavirus. Examples of other symptoms could include a sore throat, headache, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting. When you get tested for other symptoms, you don’t have to self-isolate while you wait for your result. You will only have to self-isolate if your test comes back positive.

New email address

The local authority has changed school email addresses recently. Our new Admin email address is now admin@oldcastleps.bridgend.cymru. Our ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk is also available for parents.

Inset Days

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

• Monday 19th July 2021

• Tuesday 20th July 2021

We ask that you refresh yourself with the following information regarding Covid and inform us if your child is having a covid test - please call or email ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk

If your child is off school due to a member of your household having a Covid test please ensure that you let us know when you report their absence.

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

• a high temperature

• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours

• a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – this means they cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

What to do if your child has symptoms. If your child has any of the main symptoms of coronavirus:

1.Get a test to check if they have coronavirus as soon as possible.

2.Stay at home and do not have visitors until you get the test result – only leave your home to have a test.

Anyone you live with, and anyone in your support bubble, must also stay at home until you get the result.

You can now also book a test if you feel unwell but don’t have one of the three main symptoms of coronavirus. Examples of other symptoms could include a sore throat, headache, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting.

When you get tested for other symptoms, you don’t have to self-isolate while you wait for your result. You will only have to self-isolate if your test comes back positive.

P.E. Lessons

P.E. lessons this term will take place on the following days. Children attending school should wear their P.E. kit to school on the day of their lesson.

• Nursery - Friday

• Reception - Thursday

• Year 1 - Monday

• Year 2 - Tuesday

• Year 3 - Wednesday

• Year 4 - Tuesday

• Year 5 - Friday

• Year 6 - Thursday

Inset days from September 2021

Inset days from September 2021 have been confirmed and are as follows:

• 2nd and 3rd September

• 1st November

• 18th February

• 25th April

• 20th June