Please help us by reading the following information and ensuring children stay away from school for 48 hours following any sickness.

Letter from Mrs Littlewood sent today - 

I write to advise you that a number of children within our school have been sent home suffering with vomiting and/or diarrhoea and that we also have a number of children absent from school with similar symptoms.

I am advised by Shared Regulatory Services Communicable Disease Team that this illness is likely to be caused by a virus known as Norovirus. Norovirus is also known as ‘Winter Vomiting Disease’ because it is common during the colder months of the year. It is a highly infectious virus which is one of the most common causes of vomiting and diarrhoea in the United Kingdom.

I am advised that the following precautions will reduce the spread of this illness in our school and would ask for your cooperation in preventing further illness:

• While in your care, if your child vomits or has diarrhoea or is feeling genuinely sick do not send them to school. They should then not return to school until 48 hours (2 days) after their last symptom, for example if the last time they vomited was Tuesday 8.00pm they can come back to school on Friday. This is because you can still excrete and pass on the virus to other people even though you may feel better.

• If you receive a telephone call from the school advising that your child isn’t well please make arrangements to collect your child as soon as possible.

• Particularly while this illness is in our community encourage your child to wash their hands regularly with liquid soap and warm water and dry them thoroughly. This is very important after they have used the toilet and before eating food.

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Welcome to the first week of October in Oldcastle Primary School.  

Thursday was World Teacher Day.  Thank you to all our amazing staff for all that you do for our school community. 

Discovery Week - Monday 23rd October to Friday 27th October

We are excited to launch our Discovery Week from 23rd to 27th October.  Discovery week is about igniting curiosity and inspiring creativity within Science and Technology. Throughout the week, pupils will have the opportunity to participate in a range of interactive and engaging activities and experiments. 

Each year group will have a specific focus and an outcome to achieve at the end of the week. We invite parents into the big hall at the end of the day on Friday 27th October to view the completed work. 

Please read our timetable below and find out if your child's year group will require any donations to help with their projects.

Siarter Iaith Award

We are currently working towards achieving the Silver award for the welsh language scheme - Siarter Iaith.  We achieved the Bronze Award in July and were delighted to receive positive feedback from the assessors.

• In Oldcastle Primary school the Criw Cymraeg have established a Welsh ethos which is continually developing.  Classes have Welsh language words and phrases visible and a Cwtsh Cymraeg which is welcoming and uses appropriate vocabulary. Vocabulary is consistent and visible throughout the school. Children are eager to show visitors their Welsh environments and can provide explanations about Welsh resources around the classrooms. The main entrance area has a colourful display which is specific to the Criw Cymraeg and QR codes can be used which show the school’s Cymraeg Campus journey.

• Welsh across the curriculum is well planned for with a focus currently on mathematical vocabulary. This was displayed in classrooms eg shape vocabulary. PE vocabulary was visible in the school hall as well as the promotion of food and lunchtime vocabulary in the school lunch area. In the music room, relevant vocabulary and language patterns were on display for children and staff, Working Walls had a wide range of Welsh displayed in all classrooms.

We are delighted to receive fantastic feedback following the successful achievement of the Siarter Iaith Bronze Award. "In Oldcastle Primary School the Criw Cymraeg have established a Welsh ethos which is continually developing".

More information on our journey towards achieving the silver award can be viewed here.

Parents Evening Appointments

Parents evening appointments for reception to year 6 will shortly be sent to parents .  Bookings will be first come first served and will be made via a link emailed to parents from our website.  The email you receive will be from notifications@primarysite.net.  If you have changed your email address please contact us to let us know an updated email address. 

Appointments will take place week beginning 23rd October.

Nursery parents will be invited into school to view children's work and have an opportunity to chat with Mrs Evans. More information will be sent to parents shortly.

Schools Cross Country Competition Year 3 to 6

The Schools Cross Country competition starts from Saturday 7th October.  Please find details from the organisers below.

School Attendance

Attendance at school is important. Our whole school target for attendance is 95%, this week attendance was 94%. 

Panto Trip - Years 1 to 6

We have provisionally booked this years Panto in Porthcawl for years 1 to 6 on Wednesday 20th December 2023. This years Panto is Beauty and Beast.  The trip will take place during the school day and children will require a packed lunch on the day, they will also be able to take a small bag of sweets and a carton of juice. The cost of the trip is £11 per child, the school is making a donation towards the cost of the transport in an attempt to keep the cost down for our families.

We are required to provide final numbers by October 28th, if you wish to secure a place for your child please log on to your ParentPay account and arrange payment by October 27th. Once we have confirmed numbers with the venue on October 28th we cannot guarantee further places, please ensure you have made payment by this date.

Microbot

Thank you @bbcmicrobot And @microbit_edu for our new micro bits kits. We can't wait to use them as part of our coding studies! Diolch yn fawr. 

School Vacancy

We have vacancies for Lunchtime Supervisors.  Please click here for more information.

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.

School Swimming

Year 5 will be completing school swimming in the coming weeks.  5R will swim for one week from 16th October and 5P will swim from 23rd October. Children will require a swimming costume, towel and goggles.

Brynteg Open Evening - Years 5 and 6 

Please find below an invitation from Brynteg School regarding an Open Evening on 12th October from 4pm to 6:30pm. During the Open Evening, you will get the opportunity to meet the Headteacher, Mr. Davies, myself (Lauren Mackie, Deputy Headteacher), Mr. Steven Vicker (Year 7 Year Leader), Mrs. Tina Kersahw (Year 7 Assistant Year Leader) and lots of other members of staff from all of our areas of learning, as well as some of our current pupils. 

Our Sixth Form Prefects will take you on a guided tour of the school and you will also be invited to attend a presentation about Brynteg School from Mr. Davies and myself, where you will be able to ask any questions you may have. In order to ensure the evening runs as smoothly as possible, you will be required to arrive using the following school entrance: 

Oldcastle Primary: Please enter using the entrance off Ewenny Road (opposite Heronsbridge School). There is a car park at the top of the driveway for you to use should you require it. 

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.  

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. 

Rugby Competition

Well done to our rugby team  who competed in the Urdd rugby competition in Newbridge Fields on Thursday.  Well done for coming a respectable 3 in your group.

Keep Mi Sessions

Some Reception families have taken part in our Keep Mi sessions this week.  The project supports learning and play at home and provides families with a range of resources to use at home.  We were delighted to receive these photos to show how the boxes are being used at home.

Year 2

PTA Fundraiser - Personalised Christmas Cards

Your child will have come home with a template this week to order personalised Christmas products. This template can be used to create a design for personalised Christmas cards, mugs, bags etc. Please help your child to create a festive design on the template.  

·       Make sure your design is within the borders.

·       Use bright colours, paint, felt tips, crayons and coloured card.

·       Don't use glitter, 3D objects (pom poms etc), Sellotape, staples, glossy or metallic paper.

·       All designs must be PORTRAIT, not landscape.

·       Write your child's name and class in block CAPITALS at the top of the template in the space provided.

Please return templates to school by Friday 20th October. 

You will then receive a personalised order form displaying your child's design and how it will appear on the cards. There will be full instructions on how to order cards, mugs and tea towels etc online. 

More information can be found at https://www.classfundraising.co.uk/. 

Please help the PTA raise funds and support this fundraising project.

Girls Football 

• 7th October - Years 3 to 6 Schools Cross Country

• 16th October to 20th October - 5R Swimming

• 18th October - Individual Class Photos

• 23rd October to 27th October - 5P Swimming

• 30th October to 3rd November - October Half Term

• 6th November to  10th November - 6I Swimming

• 13th November to 17th November - 6M Swimming

• 15th November - Governors Annual Report to Parents Meeting 5.30pm

• 4th to 6th December - Year 6 Residential Tripto Culmington Manor

• 21st December to 8th January - Christmas Holiday

Parents Evenings are planned for week beginning 23rd October 2023 and 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.