During assembly today Miss Vaughan talked about the significance of Black History month.  Miss Vaughan explained why it is important to learn about Black History Month and why we celebrate the achievements that Black people have accomplished throughout the years. Black History Month celebrates courage, creativity and hope, and we encourage everyone in our school to make sure everyone feels valued and respected.

Wellbeing Team 

The Wellbeing Team presented to the whole school in assembly and explained that their mission is to develop an ethos of happiness and kindness, whilst caring for each other, our community and the wider world. Well done to Izzy, Evie, Mila, Libby and Harriet for standing up in front of the whole school.

The team are looking for new members for this school year and launched a competition for children who are interested in making a difference.  Children who are interested in becoming a member of the Wellbeing Team should design a poster or make a slide presentation which will be presented to their year group.  The entry should explain why you would be a good member of the Wellbeing Team.  You could also suggest ways in which the school can improve the wellbeing of pupils. 

You have until Monday 3rd November to prepare your entries, ready to present to your year group during the first week back after half term.   We will be looking for one new member from each year group - Years 2 to 6.

Parents Evening 

Parents evening appointment will be held week beginning 20th October.  Appointment bookings have been sent from our website provider next week.  You will have received an email from notifications@primarysite.net with instructions on how to book an appointment. Each class teacher will offer appointments over a two day period. If you have not received an email please get in touch via ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk  Appointments will take place on the following days:

• Nursery - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October

• Reception P - Monday 3rd November and Tuesday 4th November

• Reception R - Monday 20th October and Wednesday 22nd October

• Class 1I - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October 

• Class 1M - Monday 20th October and Wednesday 22nd October

• Class 2Y - Monday 20th October and Wednesday 22nd October

• Class 2H - Tuesday 21st October and Wednesday 22nd October

• Class 3O - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October

• Class 3L - Tuesday 2st October and Wednesday 22nd October

• Class 4D - Monday 20th October and Wednesday 22nd October

• Class 4C - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October

• Class 5S - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October 

• Class 5A - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October

• Class 6T - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October

• Class 6E - Monday 20th October and Tuesday 21st October

School Photos

Individual chlld photos were taken by Tempest Photography this week, and the proofs were sent home with the children on Thursday.   The photos can be ordered directly with Tempest following the instructions on the proof.  Please order before Friday 24th October if you would like to take advantage of having the photos delivered to school for free. There will be a delivery charge applied following this date.

Barney also had his photo taken and we love it!

Remembrance Day

This year, our Remembrance Day display will be inspired by the famous installation at the Tower of London.  We plan to create an outline of our school on the stage and then drape netting from the windows. We will then attach the poppies created by our pupils to this netting. 

We would like to invite parents to help us create our display by creating a poppy during parents evening week. We will have a table set up in the foyer for parents to create a poppy so we hope you can get involved. You can also make a poppy at home if you wish and we would love to have any crafters help us out with a crochet or knitted poppy!  The template we will be using is detailed below.

Our display will be created in readiness for Remembrance Day and we would like to invite parents to view the display after school on Tuesday 11th November.

Christmas Concerts

We know it's early to be talking about Christmas, but we appreciate that parents like to be given plenty of notice regarding Christmas concerts.  Christmas concerts will take place on the following days and times.  There will be two performances per year group and parents / carers will be able to apply for up to 2 tickets for each performance.  Performances will take place in the School Main Hall.

Tickets will be £2 per person and payment can be made in cash on the door at the time of the concert.  

Due to health and safety reasons, we are limited in the number of people we can seat in the main hall so numbers will be strictly monitored based around the applications received via this form.

Please complete the Google form below each year group to reserve your tickets for the performances you wish to attend.

Nursery

• Monday 15th December 9.30am and Monday 15th December 2pm

• Nursery Ticket Application Form

Reception

• Tuesday 16th December 9.30am and Tuesday 16th December 2pm

• Reception Ticket Application Form

Year 1

• Friday 12th December 9.30am and Friday 12th December 2pm

• Year 1 Ticket Application Form

Year 2

• Wednesday 10th December 2pm and Thursday 11th December 9.30am

• Year 2 Ticket Application Form

Year 3

• Tuesday 9th December 9.30am and Tuesday 9th December 2pm

• Year 3 Ticket Allocation Form

Year 4

• Monday 8th December 9.30am and Monday 8th December 2pm

• Year 4 Ticket Allocation Form

Year 5

• Friday 5th December 9.30am and Friday 5th December 2pm

• Year 5 Ticket Allocation Form

Year 6

• Thursday 4th December 9.30am and Thursday 4th December 2pm

• Year 6 Ticket Allocation Form

Christmas Tree Donations

As we approach the festive season, we would like to share some exciting news and opportunities for you to get involved with our school community.

We are thrilled to announce that we will be decorating our school hall with a real Christmas tree again this year, and we need your help! We are kindly requesting monetary donations towards the purchase of a real Christmas tree to help us create a Christmassy atmosphere for our pupils, staff, and visitors in the lead up to Christmas.

Alternatively, if you are a local business that would like to sponsor a Christmas tree or Christmas activities in school, please do get in touch with Sara Peters at the school. By sponsoring a tree, or Christmas activity, you can have your name or business logo displayed, showcasing your support for our school.

Please get in touch via our email ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk or by calling us on 01656 815790. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated and will help us bring the magic of the season to our school. 

Panto Trip - Years 1 to 6

Parents in years 1 to 6 have been emailed details about our panto trip this year.  Children will be watching Rapunzel in the Maesteg Town Hall on Wednesday 17th December. The trip is £13 and payment should be made via Parent Pay by 22nd October.  Please check your Parent Pay account for details of the trip and how to pay.

Christmas Dinner Order Form

Christmas dinner will be served on Thursday 11th December. Please inform us if your child requires Christmas dinner, a packed lunch roll from the school or they will bring their own sandwiches.

A response is required for every child. Please complete a separate form for each child.

Normal school menu is not available on this day. Vegetarian and other dietary needs will be catered for.

Please return the form by 10th November to allow us to plan with catering services.

Christmas Dinner Order Form

Christmas Wreath Making - Can you help?

The PTA have arranged a Christmas Wreath Making event for the last few years, and this year we are looking for someone who can help advise on the making of the Christmas Wreaths. We don't expect anyone to have a huge amount of knowledge, but we would like someone to help us out for the session. If you can help, please do get in touch by calling the school or emailing us on ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk

PTA Disco - 18th November 

The PTA are holding a disco on Tuesday 18th November - Tickets are £2.50 each and the PTA will be accepting cash payment at the door. Please do not send money into school, bring the payment with you on the day. All children need to be supervised whilst at the disco.  

You will need to complete a separate form for every child you wish to purchase a ticket for. The PTA are hoping to be paperless so will not be sending tickets home.  Please keep your email to hand and show this to gain entry to the disco.  The PTA will have a list on the door of all tickets ordered.  Tickets are allocated on a first-come first-served basis and are limited due to fire regulations. We cannot guarantee entry to anyone who has not pre-ordered a ticket.  Drinks, sweets and snacks will be available to purchase at the disco.

PTA Disco Google Form

Oldcastle Rocks 2026!

We are being super organised and have popped a date in the diary for Oldcastle Rocks 2026!  Please keep the date free as we are promising a great family day with music and lots of activities.

Flu Vaccine Reception to Year 6

The School Nursing Team will visit Oldcastle on 23/10/2025 to offer pupils the Fluenz Nasal Flu Vaccine. This year the Nursing Team are rolling out an E Consent form to parents.  Parents in Reception to Year 6 have been emailed a copy of the letter and the link to provide consent.  The link is also detailed below, the Nursing Team require a response, even if you do not wish your child to have the vaccine.

Nasal Flu Vaccine Consent Form

Community Food Pantry

The food pantry has been restocked this week and will be restocked every week on a Monday. We invite parents and carers to pop in and fill a bag with 15 items for £5.  The food pantry is available to everyone and we hope that you can make use of the items.  Why not pop in and take a look at the type of items available in the pantry.

Community Room

We invite parents and carers to make use of our Community Room and enjoy a cuppa and a chat.  Why not call in after the morning school run or before the pick up and get together with other parents and enjoy a cuppa.

Schools Cross Country - Years 3 to 6

The Schools Cross Country competition will start back on October 18th and will take place at Pencoed Comprehensive. The event is open to all children in years 3 to 6.  Children and parents should meet at the venue at 9.30am for a 10am start.  Mrs Evans and Mrs Littlewood will be in attendance to coordinate the events. Please note no dogs are allowed on site.

Netball Tournament

Today Mrs Williams took 18 year 6 netball players to a tournament in Litchard Primary School.  The two teams played really well and we are delighted to announce that one of our teams won the Cup following a tense game against West Park.  Well done to everyone who took part today.

Keith Grice Rugby Tournament

Mrs Evans amd Mrs Littlewood took 14 very excited rugby players to Porthcawl RFC today to represent Oldcastle in the annual Keith Grice Rugby Tournament.  The team played very well and reached the Plate final.  After extra time and a golden try the game went to the opposition.  We are very proud of the whole team who gave every game their all.

Contact details - Have any details changed?

Please ensure we have up to date contact details for you to make sure you keep up to date with school news and we are able to contact you during the school day if required.  You can either email us with change of details (ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk) or complete the change of details form.   We will use email and our School App to send messages to parents about activities or events.

Attendance

We are committed to promoting good attendance at school and have a target of whole school attendance of 95%.  This week's attendance was 95.1%.  For more information on the importance of good attendance and how we manage attendance as a school, please look at our website.  Attendance | Oldcastle Primary School 

Nut Free School

Please can we remind parents that we strive to be a nut free school as we have a number of pupils who have a severe allergy to nuts.  

This includes nut products such as peanut butter and nutella. 

• September - Respect and Responsibility 

• October - Compassion and Hope 

• November - Friendship and Forgiveness 

• December - Understanding and Patience

• January - Determination and Perseverance

• February - Honesty and Trust 

• March -Learning and Effort 

• April - Community and Service 

• May - Co-operation and being a good citizen within society

• June- Showing Gratitude and Care and Generosity

• July - Taking and managing risks 

At Oldcastle, we are proud of each other and ourselves. We nurture all of our community so that we grow as confident, responsible and happy people. Oldcastle school is more than just learning.

• We try hard for each other

• We act responsibly

• We treat people how we’d like to be treated

• We work as a team

• We trust and respect each other

• We listen and learn together

• We share knowledge and experience

Together we make the difference

Together we shape innovative experiences 

More information on our values and visions can be found on our website.  Visions and Values

We love to hear about all of the exciting achievements of our pupils during out of school activities. Please share any successes with us at ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk and include a photograph and details of the achievement to be included in future newsletters. 

Kick Boxing

Congratulations to Milana, Mila, Ioan, Sonny and Ceinwen on their success in a  Welsh Kick Boxing competition last weekend.  They all did extremely well and came away with a medal and a fantastic certificate!

Year 4 have been working super hard on their clay project. The final designs look amazing.

Citizens Advice Information

Chris Elmore MP Christmas Card Competition - closing date 4th November

We are pleased to share details of the annual Christmas card competition for Chris Elmore MP. This will be the tenth year of the competition and every year it’s getting bigger and better. Last year a pupil from Oldcastle was fortunate to win the competition! 

The winning design will be used as the official Christmas card for Chris Elmore MP and sent out to local businesses, community groups, politicians, and other friendly faces across the constituency. There’ll be prizes for 1st place and for two runners up. Every child who takes part will get a certificate, too – no one goes home empty-handed! 

This year’s theme is “What Christmas means to you” – a lovely chance for the children to let their imaginations run wild and show us what makes the festive season special to them.  Please use the template below to enter the competition. Designs can be returned to school and we will pass these onto Chris Elmore MP.

Here are a few handy tips:

• Keep it simple – sometimes less is more. If you are drawing a character, make sure it fills the space.  

• Try to use bright colours; try not to leave some of the space without colour unless it’s white for snow.  

• Stick to the template – it’s important for the printer that you stick to the size on the template. 

• Please keep your design in a Portrait format. 

• Make sure your name and class are clearly marked, this is so we can make sure we get your design back to you after we’ve announced our winner. 

• Don’t use glitter as it cannot be reproduced by the printers.  

• Don’t make your card too dark.  

• the printer can’t reproduce 3D cards. 

The closing date for entries is 4th November.

Christmas Card Competition Template

Brynteg School - Years 5 and 6 Open Evening

Glamorgan Cricket

Glamorgan Cricket are  offering the chance to win a family ticket with food vouchers to Sophiaworks at Sophia Gardens Stadium on Wednesday 5th November. 

The competition is open to primary pupils in Years 1-6 and provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase your creativity by designing a firework-themed poster. Posters can be A4 or A3 in size, and any medium can be used, from drawing and painting to collage or digital art. All entries must be submitted in 2-D landscape format via email (a photo can be taken of your artwork) and will be judged by the team at Glamorgan Cricket. The final submission date is Monday 20th October, and the winner will be announced on Thursday 23rd October.

Participants can submit their posters by emailing to sophiaworks@glamorgancricket.co.uk.

Toddler Group

Local Panto

• 20th to 22nd October - Parents Evening

• 23rd October - Flu Vaccine Reception to Year 6 - more information will be sent home shortly

• 27th October to 31st October  - October Half Term

• 18th November PTA Disco

• 21st November - INSET Day

• 4th to 16th December - various Christmas concerts

• 17th December - Years 1 to 6 to the Pantomime

• 20th December to 6th January - Christmas Holiday

• 5th January - INSET Day

Inset Days for 2025 / 2026

The inset days for 2025 / 26 have been approved by school governors and these are as follows:

• Monday 1st September 2025 

• Friday 21st November 2025

• Monday 5th January 2026

• Friday 13th March 2026

• Friday 22nd May 2026

• Monday 20th July 2026

Health and Wellbeing / PE Days for 2025/26

PE will take place on the following day for each year group.  Children should attend school in their PE kit on their allocated day.

• Nursery - Thursday

• Reception -  Monday

• Year 1 - Tuesday

• Year 2 - Thursday

• Year 3 - Wednesday

• Year 4 - Friday

• Year 5 - Friday

• Year 6 - Friday

In the event that you have a concern regarding a child please follow this procedure:

• During school hours please contact Mrs Ceri Littlewood, safeguarding lead at Oldcastle Primary School.

• Out of school hours please  contact  the  out of hours Emergency Duty Team Tel No 01443743665

More information on Safeguarding at Oldcastle can be found on our website.