Week 37 - Friday 5th July 2024
The weeks are flying by, and we only have two more weeks in school until the summer break, with lots of exciting learning and activities planned!
Huge congratulations to Mrs Griffiths, who gave birth to a baby girl this week. Enjoy every moment, Mrs Griffiths.
Oldcastle Rocks
We are so excited for Oldcastle Rocks tomorrow! Fingers crossed for dry weather although we will hope to continue with a little bit of rain! The fun kicks off at 2pm with our school choir and then we have a range of talented musicians throughout the day to entertain you. We will have bouncy castles and lots of other entertainment for the children to enjoy.
Activity wristbands are available for the children at £3 and will allow them to enjoy all the fun. Card and cash payments will be accepted - please enter the school via the South Street pedestrian entrance. We have some fantastic raffle prizes, including a Wales Rugby Shirt signed by the current Wales rugby team - tickets are £1 each of £5 a strip! The draw for the raffle will take place before the end of the event so make sure you provide us with your details when purchasing a raffle ticket.
We are looking forward to seeing you.
Bump Up Day - Thursday 4th July
On Thursday, children met their new class teacher for September 2024 on our ‘Bump Up Day’. Children and staff all met in the main hall for Mrs Littlewood to announce who their new class teacher will be from September. There is always lots of excitement during the announcement of the new class teacher and this year was no different.
Our teachers have prepared a welcome video to introduce themselves to parents and you may find this a useful reminder to your child as we approach the start of the school year. We aim to share these videos with parents next week. In the meantime here are some photos from Bump Up Day along with a copy of the class structure for 2024/25.
Year 6 Transition
Our year 6 pupils have also been visiting their new secondary schools recently and finding out which class they will be in when they move to secondary school. The final few weeks for year 6 pupils is a busy period. They are putting the final touches to their end of year production, Annie, we can't wait to see the performances.
Book Look
We would like to invite parents into school on Tuesday 9th July between 3.15pm and 4.30pm to view your children's books. The books will be available in your child's classroom. We hope you can make it to see how hard your children have worked this year.
Class Photos
This week, you will have received an email with a link to purchase your child's class photo. The photos can be ordered for delivery to school as long as they are ordered before Friday, July 12th. Orders placed after this date will be sent directly by Tempest Photography and will incur a postage charge. If you have not received an email, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.
End of Year School Reports
End of year school reports will be sent home with children on Friday 12th July.
School Governor Vacancy
We currently have a vacancy for a Local Authority Governor. Please click here for more information on how to apply.
Local Authority School Governor For more information on school governors in Oldcastle please click here.
Lost Property and Free Uniform
We have a massive amount of lost property once again. Please can you encourage children to look in the lost property area for any items that are missing or lost. We also encourage parents to call in and look through the pile. We have a large amount of lunch boxes, water bottles and even pairs of glasses.
Please also help us by labelling your child's items.
Don't forget we also have free uniform available to parents - we have been putting the uniform rails outside main reception whilst the weather is dry. Please take a look.
Clothes worn to school
As the weather warms up, please can we remind parents that children should dress appropriately to attend school. We ask that short shorts and vest t-shirts are not worn to school. We also discourage the wearing of sandals
Food Pantry
The food pantry is restocked every Tuesday and we have a wide variety of items available. You can call in on any day to collect items.
Food Pantry throughout the summer holidays - The Bridge Community Hub
We are delighted to announce that we have partnered with The Bridge in Bridgend Town Centre who offer access to a food pantry. The Pantry is available to all Oldcastle parents and carers, and operates on a membership system similar to our pantry. Membership is £1, and you can choose 10 items for £4. Please do pop into The Bridge, which is situated in Dunraven Place in Bridgend.
The Bridge also offers a variety of support for families throughout the summer holidays to promote social inclusion and community participation in events.
Parents will be interested to know that the organisation provides a free packed lunch for everyone under the age of 16 throughout the school holidays. Parents can simply pop in and request a free packed lunch. In addition to the free packed lunch, The Bridge offers a 'Feed the Community' option every Wednesday, which allows you to receive a free meal between 11am and 2pm.
Every Monday in The Bridge, activities for children are organised, including t-shirt making, clay modelling and arts and crafts. The activities are offered between 12.30pm and 1.30pm and should be pre booked. More details are available on their social media accounts. Please refer to the poster below.
We do hope you are able to make use of The Bridge Community Hub facilities throughout the summer holidays. As well as the free food and children's activities, they also operate as a child-friendly cafe and would love to see you there.
The Bridge also offers a range of volunteering opportunities. If you are interested, please pop in and chat with the friendly team.
Period Products
Period poverty remains a pressing concern in many communities, with individuals and families struggling to afford necessary menstrual supplies. Amid the cost-of-living crisis, soaring inflation and rocketing energy bills mean many have been forced to prioritise other household essentials over buying products like pads and tampons. Residents of Bridgend County who are under the age of 25 years of age are eligible to sign up to a free subscription for period products. Please take a look here.
Turn 2 Us
Turn 2 Us is a website that parents might find helpful as it contains lots of information on grants and benefits available for families. Please follow this link Turn 2 Us
School Attendance
Attendance at school is important. Our whole school target for attendance is 95%. This week's attendance was 95.2%.
Reminder - if your child is off school please ensure that you notify us by 9.30am.
Change to School Meals
The school dinner menu will change on Friday 19th July. The menu will be sausage or veggie sausage and chips.
School Values
The school values for July will be Taking and Managing Risks
Pupils will learn the following as part of our Honesty and Trust school value throughout June :
Understand what their environment is and how to care for it
Explore being honest and what happens if we are dishonest
Discuss a time when they have been honest/ dishonest - explore feelings
Discuss people who they trust - what makes them trustworthy?
Understand who to talk to if there is a problem - trusted adult/ friend
Understand that everyone is different and has unique views and beliefs
Explore music and share opinions and differences in musical preference
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
School Photos
Year 4 have been busy this term working on their Inventions Project. The project culminated today in a Dragon's Den style pitch to school governors and staff. Mr Faulkner, Mrs George, Mr Prior and Mrs Peters were so impressed with the inventions the teams had come up with up. The children put so much work into the project creating prototypes, presentations, adverts, market research and costings. Well done all you should be very proud of your ideas and work involved.
Line Dancing Enrichment
Year 5
Today year 5 investigated ways to safely transport an egg from their upstairs year 5 classroom window using a select amount of materials. We were only given a tiny square of bubble wrap to help protect. 2 out of 12 were successfully transported to the ground. What a great project!
Nursery
This week in the Nursery we have been reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We have made porridge for the 3 bears, we weighed all of the ingredients to make sure that it tasted just right. We have had fun role playing the story and we have been ordering bears from largest to smallest.
Pupil Success
Well done to Megan, Sophie and Chloe who took part in a street dance competition last weekend and proudly showed off their medals and certificates in school.
Well done to Izzy from year 4 who performed in her end of year show with Stagecoach last night. They did we will rock you in the Sony theatre at Bridgend college in front of a full audience.
Community News
Baby and Toddler Group
Wednesday 10th July will be the last Toddler Group of the school year and we invite all attendees to join us on this morning for a little party. We have loved seeing the babies, toddlers, parents and carers visiting the group, and we can't wait to start this back up in September.
Community Room
Please do call in and make use of our community room. We are happy for parents and carers to come to school and use the facilities after drop off or before pick up. The room is also available if you wish to get together for a group chat!
Summer Tennis Camp
Bridgend Libraries Reading Challenge
Don't forget to get involved with the Bridgend Libraries reading challenge this summer.
Awen Cultural Trust will launch the 2024 Summer Reading Challenge and their summer programme of library activities with a fun-filled, family event at Newbridge Fields in Bridgend on Saturday 13th July from 12 – 3pm. The event is supported by Bridgend County Borough Council.
‘Fun in the Park’ will include inflatables, movement and dance sessions, giant games, storytime and crafts, a treasure hunt and much more. Bridge FM will be broadcasting live from the event. All activities are provided free of charge.
This year’s theme for the Summer Reading Challenge, which has been run by The Reading Agency in partnership with public libraries since 1999, is ‘Marvellous Makers’. The aim is to fire up children’s imaginations and unleash storytelling and creativity through the power of reading.
Over the school summer holidays, Awen Libraries will run a programme of events including African drumming workshops, Craft Junction workshops, Zack Franks Movement and Dance workshops and Carl John, The Magic Man, workshops. Visit our ‘what’s on’ section or pick up a leaflet from your local library.
Useful Dates
6th July - Oldcastle Rocks
16th July - Year 6 Annie performance at 2pm (Year 6 parents and carers only)
16th July - Year 6 Leavers Presentation at 5.30pm (Year 6 parents and carers only)
17th July - Year 6 Annie Performance at 6pm (Year 6 parents and carers only)
19th July - Last day of term
3rd September - Back to School
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
Thursday 2nd May 2024
Monday 22nd July 2024
Inset Days 2024/25
Inset Days have been approved by School Governors for 2024/25 and they are as follows:
Monday 2nd September 2024
Friday 6th December 2024
Friday 21st February 2025
Friday 11th April 2025
Monday 2nd June 2025
Monday 21st July 2025
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
School Vision
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
Safeguarding
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.