Christmas has well and truly arrived in Oldcastle this week with the start of our Christmas concerts.   Once again we are very grateful for the support received from local businesses and parents that allowed us to have such stunning Christmas trees on display in the school.

Our year 6 pupils have had a very busy week with their activity week in Culmington Manor in Shropshire.  Children took part in a variety of activities throughout their three day stay including camp craft skills, blind trail, underground maze, bouldering and so much more.  The disco on the second night is also a highlight and didn't disappoint this year.  Children came back exhausted but happy having thoroughly enjoyed the trip - we hear that the food was amazing and children loved a full english breakfast every morning!   We are very grateful to our staff for taking the children on the residential - thank you Miss Lincoln, Mrs Burr, Miss Matthews, Mrs Morris and Miss Matthews - its nearly the weekend for you to recover! We kept  parents up to date on the adventures of the year 6 residential via our social media sites but below is a snapshot of what the children go up to.  

Children who didn't attend residential also had some special treats this week and enjoyed pizza making, films and a trip to the doughnut shop! The pizza looked amazing as did the doughnuts!

Message from Mrs Littlewood

Please see below details of an email sent to all parents earlier today.

Dear parents

I trust this email finds you well. We want to inform you of an important development within our school community.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mrs Burr, our Deputy Head, has made the difficult decision to step down from her role due to family circumstances. We understand and respect the priorities that family holds, and we appreciate the dedication and hard work Mrs. Burr has shown to our school community during her tenure.  We are pleased that Mrs Burr will continue to teach at Oldcastle and will return to a classroom in January. 

In light of Mrs Burr's decision, we are fortunate to have a capable and experienced member of staff to step into the role of Acting Deputy Head during this interim period. Miss Hodgson, our Assistant Head, will be taking on the responsibilities of the Deputy Head position throughout the rest of the academic year. We have full confidence in Miss Hodgson's ability to maintain the high standards set by Mrs Burr and to contribute positively to the continued success of our school.

The process to appoint a substantive Deputy Head will be initiated in the new year, and we will keep you informed of the progress in due course. We understand the importance of stability in leadership and rest assured that we are committed to selecting a candidate who will uphold the values and standards of our school.

We appreciate your understanding and support during this transitional period. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us. Your involvement and cooperation are invaluable as we navigate these changes.

Christmas Concerts

This week we have seen  8 Christmas concerts  performed and we are so proud of the children for performing in front of their parents and carers.  Our pupils and staff  have worked so hard to create wonderful concerts and we love seeing the smiling faces on the stage at each concert.  This week nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 have all performed twice for parents and carers.  Next week we are looking forward to seeing the year 3, 4, 5 and 6 concerts 

Tickets will be £1 per person and payment can be made in cash on the door at the time of the concert.   Please can we ask that correct change is bought where possible.

• Nursery - Our First Nativity 

• Reception - Happy Birthday Jesus 

• Year 1 - Christmas Show    

• Year 2 - Christmas Around The World 

• Year 3 - Christmas Around The World 

• Year 4 - A Star For Christmas 

• Year 5 - Christmas in the 80's 

• Year 6 - Christmas At The Movies 

Christmas Concert Raffle and Refreshments

The PTA have being selling refreshments in the Christmas concerts and we hope you enjoy a cuppa whilst watching the Christmas concert.  They are also offering the sale of raffle tickets  with a chance to win a hamper.  Thank you for all the donations we have received towards the hampers - they look fabulous.  

Thank you to our PTA and helpers for supporting the concerts

Christmas Tree – School Cash Back Scheme

If you are trimming up this weekend, please remember that Ty Cerrig Christmas Tree Farm in  Bonvilston, CF5 6TR currently have a scheme where our school can earn money. The scheme enables participating schools to receive money back from your tree purchase - simply select our school from the drop down in the appointment menu or mention our school name when you pay at the farm to earn cash back for Oldcastle School. 

Please see the website for more information.

https://www.tycerrigchristmastrees.co.uk/

Choir Performance

We are excited to share some wonderful news regarding our school choir. Our pupils have been given a unique opportunity to collaborate with Shane Greenhall, the lead singer of the acclaimed rock band Those Damn Crows from Bridgend.  The school choir will be singing a special version of "O Holy Night," which will be recorded and videoed right here at school. These recordings will then be sent to Shane Greenhall for him to edit and mix the audio into his own masterpiece. The final product will be featured on their Christmas Crowcast Special, broadcasted live on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

We believe this collaboration will be a fantastic experience for our pupils, providing them with the chance to work with a professional musician and showcase their talents on a broader platform.   We can't wait to share the recording with you.  Children in the choir have been practicing really hard and sound amazing.

Oldcastle Toddlers

From Wednesday 17th January we will be starting a new Toddler Group in Oldcastle Primary School. Pre booking is essential please message us through our new Oldcastle Toddlers Facebook page to book a place. Places are limited.

Please like and share the Oldcastle Toddlers page.

Facebook - Oldcastle Toddlers

Reading Workshops

Mrs Burr will be holding reading events for parents in the new year.  The sessions will provide parents with an overview of reading within Oldcastle Primary School.  The sessions will be held on the following dates - please complete the short Google form if you would like to like.

• Nursery to Year 1 - 11th January - 9.15 am to 10am and 3.30pm to  4.15pm   Booking Form

• Year 2 to Year 6 - 18th January - 9.15am to 10am and 2.15pm to 3pm  Booking Form

School Attendance

Attendance at school is important. Our whole school target for attendance is 95%. This week the attendance across the school was 94.7%.

Dinner Money

Payment for school dinners should be made via the Bridgend Council website.  Please ensure your child's account has funds at least 48 hours before they require a school dinner.

Throughout the year we will implement the following values each month.

• September - Determination and Perseverance

• October - Respect and Responsibility

• November - Friendship and forgiveness 

• December - Compassion and Hope  / Understanding and Patience

• January - Community and Service 

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

• March - Learning and Effort

• April - Showing gratitude

• May - Care and Generosity

• June - Honesty and trust

• 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

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. 

Contact details

Please ensure we have up to date contact details for you to ensure 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.  

After school musical theatre performance

The after school musical theatre group did an amazing performance to the whole school earlier this week.  The children were confident and should what fantastic songs and dance moves they have been learning in the club. Well done to the pupils and Mrs Hodge and Miss Hughes.

2C have been very busy today and were keen to show their posters to Mrs Peters. Fantastic work on a subject they obviously feel very passionate about.

Year 2 had great fun today building a sledge for Santa!

Netball last week

Nursery

This week we performed our Christmas concert for our families, we were amazing and looked fabulous in our costumes.  We read Christmas stories and dressed up, we made junk models, did yoga and had phone with numicon.  We even made number bonds to 10!

• 13th December - Christmas Dinner Day

• 18th December - Nursery and Reception The Little Elf Event

• 20th December - Pantomime Years 1 to 6

• 21st December- Last Day in School 

• 22nd December - Inset Day

• 8th January - Return to School

The next Parents Evenings are planned for week beginning 11th March 2024.

Inset Days 2023/24

Inset Days have been approved by Governors for 2023/24 and they are as follows:

• Monday 4th September 2023

• Friday 22nd December 2023

• Monday 19th February 2024

• Friday 22nd March 2024

• Monday 3rd June 2024

• Monday 22nd July 2024

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 - Thursday

• Reception -  Thursday

• Year 1 - Wednesday

• Year 2 - Monday

• Year 3 - Thursday

• Year 4 - Tuesday

• Year 5 - Wednesday

• Year 6 - Monday

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.