We hope that you have all had a lovely week.  The week's are flying by in school and we can't believe that February will be upon us next week.  Thank you for the support we receive as a school -Team Oldcastle are very grateful.

Engagement Survey

We welcome views from our parents and carers and we hope you can help us with our short survey on 'Engagement'.  The survey won't take long and will provide us with invaluable feedback on how we engage as a school.  Please feel free to offer any other feedback via the google form.  Thank you.

Engagement Survey

This week's food pantry bags were bulging with food items. Please contact us or pop into the school office if you would like to order a  bag for next week.  Each bag of food is £5. The scheme is open to everyone. A £1 membership charge is payable on your first visit.  You may either take a purple bag or bring your own bag for life to transport the food - we do have some bags for life in school too if you forget a bag.

Class Newsletters

Class newsletters for the spring term have been prepared by your child's teacher.  Please take a look to find out what your child is doing in school throughout the spring term.

Class Newsletters

Schools Cross Country Competition - Years 3 to 6

We were delighted to welcome one of our sponsors into school today to have their photo taken with some of our cross country pupils.  We are so grateful for the sponsorship to be able to purchase new kit for the children in years 3 to 6 who take part.  Thank you Fox Landscaping for your support.

The next cross country events are as follows and we can't wait to see the kit on our pupils.

• Saturday  24th February - Pencoed Comprehensive School

• Saturday 9th March - Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen (CCYD)

House Tokens

The house token collectors in main reception were looking pretty full this week!  We have counted the tokens and will provide an update to children and parents soon!

Wear Red for Wales and Velindre

We are delighted to support the Wear Red for Wales and Velindre campaign on Friday 2nd February.  Children may wear red to school on this day and we will be collecting donations for the Velindre charity.  By wearing red you’ll be showing your support for our National Rugby Teams ahead of the 6 Nations and raising vital funds for Velindre – Wales’ largest cancer centre. 

Nursery Open Event for Prospective Parents

We are delighted to invite prospective parents to attend an Open Event at the school on Tuesday 30th January. We have two session times at 10am and 4pm available for parents and their children to call in to see our lovely facilities. You will also get a chance to meet Barney our well-being dog! For more information and to book a place please follow this link.

 Nursery Open Event Booking Form 

Applications for full time nursery September 2024

Applications for full time nursery from September 2024 are now open via Bridgend County Borough Council website.  

Please click here to apply. https://www.bridgend.gov.uk/residents/schools-and-education/school-admissions/apply-for-admission-to-school/ 

Baby and Toddler Group

Don't forget  we run a baby and toddler group every Wednesday morning from 9am to 11am.  Baby and Toddler Group 

School Attendance

Attendance at school is important. Our whole school target for attendance is 95%.  This week's attendance was 94.6%.

BCBC Attendance Meeting - Next Monday

Parents are invited to attend an attendance meeting on Monday 29th January from 9.15am to 10am.  The session will allow parents to understand the importance of good attendance. The session will be run by BCBC Early Help team.

If you would like to attend please complete this form BCBC Attendance Meeting

School Start Time

Please can we remind parents that school starts at 8.55am and children should arrive in time to enter through their classroom door.  Children who arrive late cause disruption to the class. Thank you for your support in ensuring children arrive at school on time.

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.  

Barney was thrilled to see a copy of the ‘Dogs in School - Pedagogy and practice for happy, healthy and humane interventions’ book by Swansea Universirty lecturers.  He particularly loves the front cover and section all about him! #schooldog 

Thank you PC Matt for visiting today and speaking with our year 3 class about internet safety and year 4 about Friend or Foe. We are grateful to you talking to our children.

Year 6 trip to National Museum of Wales - year 6 had a fantastic trip to Cardiff on Thursday to visit the National Museum of Wales as part of their unit of work  Creation vs Big Bang.

Year 3 have been enjoying a visit from Mrs Gray from Bridgend Music Services and learning how to play P Bone.  The sessions have been funded by Welsh Government.

This week in Nursery we have been learning about Santes Dwynwen and making cards.  We have been working hard on our numbers and making number lines using numicon.  We have also learnt what seeds need to grow.

Enrichment Friday

Wales Young Poet Award

You may be interested in this competition run by Poetry Wales.  The award is open to anyone who is a minimum of 10 years old, as of the 31st Dec 2023. 

Theme for 2023 is Peace, which poets are encouraged to interpret in any way they choose. Poetry Wales are working together with the Wales Centre for International Affairs Peace Schools Scheme to provide resources and support for discussing and exploring this theme. 

Please follow this link for further information about the competition and how to enter. Poetry Wales Award

Free menstrual products subscription

If you’re under 25 years old and live or attend school in Bridgend County Borough, you could receive free menstrual products thanks to our partnership with Grace & Green, a leading provider of eco-friendly period products. 

Sign up to receive products directly to your home address or collect from a local pick-up point. 

https://www.bridgend.gov.uk/residents/children-and-young-people/bridgend-youth-support/free-menstrual-products-subscription/

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.