School Assembly

Today Mrs Burr led the virtual assembly for the whole school and launched 'Oracy October' to the children. During the month of October, children will be focussing on developing their oracy skills - this involves developing their speaking skills and listening effectively.

Some classes provided an update on their token collection and it was lovely to see that so many tokens had been collected over the last week. The token collection point in main reception is filling up nicely!

Mrs Burr wished Miss James well and good luck during assembly as she leaves us to start her maternity leave. Keep in touch Miss James and enjoy your maternity leave.

Building work - Toilet refurbishment

We notified you earlier this week about some building work that will be taking place in Oldcastle from next week. For a number of years we have been keen to complete a refurbishment project on our nursery and reception toilets. The toilets have been deteriorating over time and are in desperate need of redevelopment.

We are pleased to let parents know that we are now in a position to proceed with the works and we are delighted to be able to make these improvements to the toilet facilities for our youngest children. However, due to the need to complete the works in a timely manner the refurbishment project will need to be completed during term time and will start from next week.

As a school we have a range of plans in place to be able to provide appropriate toilet facilities for those affected by the closure of the toilets in this area. We have developed a robust risk assessment to ensure the safety of our pupils, parents, staff and contactors. Due to the location of the works please note the following alterations to our normal operations.

• Nursery parents will be able to drop off and collect their children at the usual nursery door. An area of the yard will be cordoned off for the contractor but this will not hinder entry and outdoor learning opportunities for the nursery children.

• Reception L will enter and exit the building via the door to the right of main reception and will not enter the nursery / reception yard.

• Please can we ask that year 4 parents are mindful of the additional parents and children in this area.

• Year 2 parents will not be able to walk around the back of the nursery yard to exit the school as the area is designated for contractor use and the gate will be locked.

The contractor has informed us that the work will take approximately 6 weeks to complete. We will ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum for children, parents and staff and we thank you for your support during this time. We can’t wait to be able to share progress of the new toilet facilities with you as they develop.

Thank you for your understanding whilst we have the work completed.

Radio Show

Our radio champions have prepared a new radio show this week - please take a listen via this link. Oldcastle Sounds Radio Show

Enrichment

A busy afternoon with enrichment today we had to change some of our outdoor activities due to the weather but there was still plenty of fun to be had.

Netball Year 5

We currently have a limited number of places available in our year 5 netball after school club. The club runs every Tuesday until 4.15pm. If your child would like to attend please dop us an email to ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk Places are available on a first come first served basis and are limited.

Assessment Procedures - years 2 to 6

As part of our assessment procedures at Oldcastle Primary School, pupils will participate in Welsh Assembly Government National tests during the Autumn term and the Summer term. All pupils from Years 2 to 6 will take part in online tests for Procedural Maths, Reasoning Maths and English Reading.

Results of the tests will be available to parents after all tests have been completed - more details will be provided at a later stage. The tests are designed to provide a snapshot of the children learning and a small part of the ongoing assessment process at Oldcastle. The children do not need to do any preparation for these test. Should you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us using the ask email address - ask@oldcstlepirmary.co.uk

Message to nursery and reception parents

Nursery and reception parents are invited to meet members of the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) on Tuesday 11th October from 3pm to 4pm. This is a good opportunity for parents to find out more about the PTA and become involved in our school community. Children are welcome to attend and refreshments will be offered at the informal get together. in the main hall. More information on the PTA can be found here - Oldcastle PTA

School Swimming

Swimming lessons are offered to children in years 4, 5 and 6 over the autumn term.

Year 4 will swim every afternoon for a period of two weeks on the following dates:

• 4P - week beginning 3rd October and 10th October

• 4R - week beginning 17th October and 24th October

Year 5 will swim every afternoon for a period of one week on the following dates:

• 5I - week beginning 14th November

• 5M - week beginning 21st November

Year 6 will swim every afternoon for a period of one week on the following dates:

• 6Y - week beginning 28th November

• 6H - week beginning 5th December

Children will be required to bring a packed lunch on these days along with their swimming kit, towel and goggles. The bus will collect them from school and take them to Ynysawdre Pool and then bring them back to school in time for the end of the normal school day.

School Community Forum

We will be holding our next meeting of the School Community Forum on Wednesday 5th October. Please let us know if you are able to attend the School Community Forum which will take place at 9am till 10am. Please complete the form below to indicate if you are able to attend.

School Community Forum Form

The School Community Forum involves members of the school community meeting once each half term at school to give their opinions, suggestions and support as we review and develop aspects of school life and approaches to teaching and learning. We believe that discussing the proposals for the school with community members, will enable us to ensure the best provision for our children.

Discussions will focus on aspects of school life, such as:

• Vision and Values

• Curriculum, Learning and Teaching

• Outdoor Learning

• Parent engagement and awareness

• Family Engagement

• School Priorities

• National Education Agenda

We hope that the School Community Forum will support us to drive our school priorities and ensure that our links with the local and school community are firmly established. We welcome opinions, views and ideas and would be delighted to share our vision and values with you. School community opinion is important to us please get involved.

Collection from school clubs - netball, rugby, digital and art / crafts

Please note that parents who are collecting children from netball, rugby, digital and arts and crafts clubs are not permitted to drive and park in the school car park. This is due to the volume of cars entering the car parking and children / adults using this exit route. Children will be dismissed via the pedestrian walkways / classroom door.

Parents using after school club are permitted to park in the car park at collection time due to the staggered collection time.

Thank you for your co-operation.

PE Days

Children should wear P.E. kit to school on the day their class has a P.E. session.

• Reception - Monday

• Year 1 - Tuesday

• Year 2 - Monday

• Year 3 - Tuesday

• Year 4 - Wednesday

• Year 5 - Thursday

• Year 6 - Wednesday

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.

Schools Cross Country - Years 3 to 6

The Bridgend Schools’ Cross Country League is returning this half term. Arrangements are as follows:

1. 4 races available to pupils in years 3 to 6

2. First race begins at 10am so arrive by 9.30am

3. No dogs or smoking (or heaven forbid smoking dogs)

The schedule of meets prior to Christmas is as follows:

• Saturday October 22^nd – Bryntirion Comprehensive School

• Saturday November 26^th – Brynteg Comprehensive School

• Saturday December 17^th – Porthcawl Comprehensive School

Contact details

We regularly email and send App messages to parents - please ensure we have up to date contact details for you to ensure you keep up to date with school news. You can either email us with change of details (ask@oldcastlprimary.co.uk) or complete the change of details form.

Inset Days 2022 / 23

Inset days for this academic year are as follows:

• Monday 5th September 2022

• Monday 7th November 2022

• Tuesday 8th November 2022

• Friday 31st March 2023

• Friday 26th May 2023

• Monday 24th July 2023

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 01443849944

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

Brynteg Open Evening - Years 5 and 6

Girls Rugby