We will be entering the last week of term next week - the past few weeks have been busy and have flown by.  Don't forget we have an inset day on Friday 22nd March where school will be closed to pupils.  We return to school on Monday 8th April.

Parents Evening

Thank you to all the parents and carers that visited the school this week for parents evening.  We know how valuable both parents and staff find the interaction and we are very grateful for your support.

House Colour Rewards

Next week we will hold our Rewards Day when we celebrate the total number of tokens collected over the last few months.   This time 20,248 tokens have been collected across the four houses!!  What a staggering amount - well done everyone.  We will announce the house rewards and token amounts to children and staff on Monday morning.  

Young Writers Competition

We are delighted to inform you that children who attended our Creative Writing club have been chosen to showcase their poems by the Young Writers Association in their upcomnig publication called “Once Upon A Dream - Amazing Poets”. This is a collection of anthologies, featuring young writers from all around the world!

The children's poems will be featured in the published book and a copy of this will remain in the National Archives of the British Library. This is an incredible achievement, highlighting the children’s creativity, passion and enthusiasm for writing, and we are sure you will be as proud as we are of their achievement. 

Many congratulations to our young inspiring writers and Mrs Brotherton for inspiring our children. We can't wait to share their poems with you all soon.

Year 6 End of Term Production

The year 6 end of term production is always memorable as children start planning and preparing for the production.  This year we are delighted to announce that the production will be Annie!  

We will be announcing all cast members over the coming weeks - this week we announced the roles of Tessie, Kate and the Orphans. Please click on the clip below to reveal who will be playing this role.

Tessie

Kate

Orphans

Annie

Schools Cross Country Years 3 to 6

Well done to all the children who attended and competed in the schools cross country event last Saturday. We are really proud of your commitment on a Saturday morning!

Keith Grice Rugby Tournament

Well done to all the boys who represented Oldcastle Primary School in the Keith Grice rugby tournament on Thursday in Pyle RFC.  We are so proud of the way you played. Such a shame to be eliminated on a coin toss following your great results. Not sure your parents will be so pleased with your kit - here's a before and after photo! We are vry grateful to Mr Durston for stepping in to lead the coaching duties on the day and Mr Lewis for his support for the event.

Match Report  written by the Team

In the Pyle tournament there were a bunch of good teams that had some great players but Oldcastle did well in levels of teamwork and skill.  There are some things we need to improve on eg rucking and listening to the calls.  Everyone had a great day and we scored some great tries.  Unfortunately we could not come away with the win because there were some great teams in the tournament.  We had drawn the exact same points in our groups so it had to be a coin toss!  Unfortunately we called tails and it was heads! 

A big thank you to all the parents who showed up in the terrible conditions.  We would like to give a big thanks to Miss Lincoln  and Adrian and Barrie who helped with the coaching and events of the day.  Well done to Lewis, Theo, Matthew, Charlie, Caleb, Boaz, Aaron, Logan, Jackson, Kai ,Gethin, Osian and Gruff.  Also a big well done to Osian for getting the cleanest kit award!

Football Match

Our football team played a game against Penybont Primary School today.  Well done to all that played and represented Oldcastle winning 1 out of 3 games.

Netball Match

Our year 6 netball team played a match against Penybont Primary School this afternoon.  Team 1 results 14 3 to Oldcastle  - Player of the Match Seren Team 2  won12. 8 to Oldcastle Player of the Match - Darcey. Well done to all the team.

School Attendance

Attendance at school is important. Our whole school target for attendance is 95%.  This week's attendance was 93.6%.

PTA Disco

Wow what a turnout for the PTA disco today!  Overall over 260 children danced and enjoyed Zack Franks disco!  Thank you to our amazing PTA for putting on the event - we look forward to updating you on the money raised next week.

Change to recycling law in Wales

From 6th April there is a change to the recycling law in Wales. All workplaces in Wales must separate their waste for recycling. The changes are not only focused on improving the quality and quantity of recycling but are vital to delivering Wales’s commitments to reach zero waste and reduce our carbon emissions by 2050.

As a result of the law change we will have a new waste regime in school following the Easter holidays.

Children will be encouraged to place their fruit waste in the food bins in allocated areas and there will be no bins on the yard - please help us by taking your rubbish home.  Our eco committee will be helping to get the message across to children.  Children who have sandwiches will be encouraged to take their waste home with them in their lunch box.

Schools may be fined if the new recycling regime is not followed so we value your support in this positive change to waste in schools.

Request for help with our classroom home corners

As part of our Foundation Learning we are continuously working to develop our play based learning. Our current focus is to maximise learning within our Classroom Home Corners. Please see below for more information on how you can help us.

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

This week in Nursery we have been learning about living and non-living things, heavy and light, how to look after our environment by recycling.  We have also been making butterflies using loose parts.  We have had another busy week!  

Year 2 have been busy with outdoor play making Rockets Moon buggies and playing with moon sand 

District Rugby Success

Well done to Theo and Lewis from year 6 who both played in the semi final of the DC Thomas Cup For Bridgend School District rugby recently.  The team came away with a win 8-4 against Swansea schools and will now play in the final in the Principality Stadium. Well done boys and good luck for next week 

Baby and Toddler Group

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

We love seeing the babies and toddlers coming each week to the Toddler Group - over the last couple of weeks the children and parents have been very creative!

Circuit Training

Some parents have asked for further details on the circuit training class that you would have seen taking place on a Monday night in school.  The class runs every Monday 6pm to 7pm by Liz and Tony.  For further information please contact them via Facebook Circuit Training Class or drop them a message on 07875 171351  or simply turn up.  The class is £5 per person and suitable for all.

GIRLS TENNIS OPPORTUNITY - Information from Bridgend Tennis Club

We want girls across Britain to pick up a racket and start playing tennis on their terms, with Prime Video LTA Youth Girls. The course costs £35 for 6 sessions of coaching, as well as a t-shirt, tennis racket and tennis balls so they can keep practicing at home or at your local courts.  Delivered by our award winning coaching team, the 6 week introductory course is packed with games and exercises to build confidence and skills on court, all whilst having fun with friends  

Upcoming courses are listed below:

• PRIME GIRLS 4-6 YEARS 

• WEDNESDAY’s @ 4pm beginning April 10th

• SATURDAY’s @ 12.30pm beginning April 13th

• PRIME GIRLS 7-9 YEARS 

• WEDNESDAY’s @ 4.45pm beginning April 10th

• SATURDAY’s @ 1.15pm beginning April 13th

• 
  

• PRIME GIRLS 10-14 YEARS 

• WEDNESDAY’s @ 5.30pm beginning April 10th

• SATURDAY's @ 2pm beginning April 13th

For more information or to book a space, please follow the link to our coaching page:

https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/BridgendTennisClub/Coaching/Junior/LTAPrimeGirls

Football Sessions

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

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

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. 

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.