School Assembly

We heard from a number of children in the virtual assembly today what they had been learning in class this week. We are very proud of the children for standing up in front of the camera and talking to the rest of the school, particularly those children in nursery and reception who confidently told the school what they had been doing in the week. Nursery children have been looking around the school with their teacher this week to see different parts of the school as well as looking for different colours. We've loved seeing them exploring their new school.

Miss Lincoln is looking forward to providing the school with an update on the token collection in net weeks assembly. The House Captains will be counting the tokens to give us a total - the junior leadership team will be having a think about the rewards for this half term which we will share with pupils towards the end of the term.

School Community Forum

This week we held another meeting of our School Community Forum. We are grateful to the parents that attended and provided us with valuable feedback. The aim of the forum is to provide a link between the school and our school community. The forum will meet every half term and discuss a variety of school related issues. We understand that not all parents / carers are able to attend the meetings but if you would like to be involved or provide any feedback to us please use this feedback form to pass on any comments or suggestions. Feedback Form

At this weeks meeting the following was discussed:

• A discussion was had regarding the timing of the meetings and the attendees felt that that the morning time was most suitable for them. This will be regularly reviewed following any further feedback.

• The Positive Behaviour Policy was approved by school governors towards the end of the summer term and Mrs Burr provided attendees with a short update on the changes made. The policy now includes more detail on consequences / steps following negative behaviour and links in with the reward scheme used in school. Parents were positive about the policy and felt that their children understood the policy. The policy is available on our website.

• This September we launched our new Literacy Scheme - Literary Leaves. The scheme is working really well in class with children engaging in the new books adopted by each year group. More information on the books being read in class can be found below. The teaching staff are currently completing training on a new speaking and listening scheme called Voice 21. Voice 21 is an oracy scheme designed as a powerful tool for learning;. By teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.

• Parents were asked if they would find a parental session detailing how maths is taught throughout the year groups useful. The teaching of maths has changed over the years and parents might find this a useful way of understanding how their child is taught maths at Oldcastle. All parents present suggested that this would be a useful session and suggested explaining maths terminology used in school would also be helpful. Mrs Burr will look into the sessions and provide details to parents.

• Assessments were discussed and parents reassured that the welsh government assessment used in school provide a snapshot of the children's learning and a small part of the ongoing assessment process at Oldcastle. Results of the tests will be available to parents after all tests have been completed - more details will be provided at a later stage.

• Positive feedback was received from parents regarding the enrichment sessions on a Friday afternoon. Parents said that the children were all excited to take part in the sessions and valued the variety of activities offered.

• Mrs Diehl, Family Engagement Officer, provided an update on the Language and Play sessions offered to nursery parents last year when parents could come into school and take part in an activity session with their child. Mrs Diehl will circulate a short form soon to determine demand for these sessions in the future. Parents who were present said that they have fond memories of the language and play sessions as well as the Reading Cafe sessions that were previously offered.

• Mrs Peters provided an update regarding the PTA. Various events are currently being planned and these will be released to parents shortly. The school is fortunate to have an active PTA and encourage all parents to become involved.

The next meeting of the School Community Forum will be held on Tuesday 5th December at 9am - all welcome.

Literacy Scheme

Our new literacy scheme has a focus on class books and your child may have mentioned to you the books they are reading in their class. Parents were provided with details of the books in the recent class newsletters but here is an overview of each year group. There are a variety of books that children will read throughout the term and these will be used to aid writing, spelling and comprehension.

Reception

• Look Up!

Year 1

• Writing and Reading - Cave Baby and Billy and the Beast

Year 2

• Writing - Wolves and The Journey Home

• Reading - The Spider and the Fly and Lost Species

Year 3

• Writing - The Lost Garden and The Tin Forest

• Reading - Arthur and the Golden Rope and A Necklace of Raindrops

Year 4

• Writing - Winter's Child and The Iron Man

• Reading - The Lion, the Witch and th Wardrobe and The Undefeated

Year 5

• Writing - The Island and The Lost Thing

• Reading - The Listeners and The Good Thieves

Year 6

• Writing - Windrush Child and The Arrival

• Reading - Caged Bird and On The move

Books will be kept in school and there is no need for parents to have a copy of the books at home. Children are so enthused by the new approach to literacy that we wanted to remind you of the books the children are talking about at home. The class newsletter are uploaded to our website and can be viewed via the Class Pages section.

Building work - Toilet refurbishment

The building work on the nursery / reception toilets started this week and we are delighted with the progress made so far. We are extremely grateful to our nursery and reception staff who have adapted to the change of toilet provision and still kept a smile on their faces. Thank you team for being so amenable. Our children in this area are also superstars and have also adapted to the change of toilets very well. Thank you also to the parents and children from Miss Walters' Reception class for helping us with the new drop off and pick up collection arrangements. We understand that this work programme during term time is disruptive and inconvenient so we are very grateful for all the support - we know that the improvements to the area will make a massive difference to our young children and staff.

Flu Vaccination Programme

Don't forget its the flu vaccination programme next Monday 10th October for children in reception to year 6 whose parents have returned the consent form. Only children with a completed consent form will be eligible for a flu vaccine.

School Photographs

Individual child photos will be taken on Wednesday 12th October. If your child has PE on Wednesday please send them into school in their school uniform and send their PE kit separately.

Year 6 Cycling Proficiency

Children who are participating in the cycling proficiency sessions have been notified of the day that they need to bring in their bike and helmet. The session will be either Monday or Tuesday next week.

Nursery and Reception Parents Invitation

Nursery and reception parents are invited to meet the PTA at an event after school on Tuesday 11th October. Parents are invited to pop in to the main hall from 3pm and meet members of the PTA to find out how you can become involved. Parents and children are welcome.

Parents Evening

Parents Evenings will be held after half term and following parental feedback we will offer parents the opportunity to book either an in person appointment or a telephone appointment. Further details on parents evening will be sent out next week. The booking process is handled by our website and emails will be sent from notifications@primarysite.co.uk. We will advise parents next week when bookings will become live.

Enrichment

Friday afternoons are all about enrichment sessions. No lovely Thai cooking smells or fencing this week as 4P are swimming but still lots of exciting activities taking place throughout the school, at the Recreation Centre, Bridgend Tennis Centre and Newbridge Fields.

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.

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

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.

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

Term Dates

Autumn Term finishes on Friday 23rd December 2022.

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

More information on Safeguarding at Oldcastle can be found on our website.

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

We were thrilled to learn about two children who took part in the Cardiff Half Marathon children's race last Sunday. Aled from year 4 and Gethin year 1 ran the 2K course on Sunday and we were delighted to hear that Aled came 26th (the 19th boy to finish) and Gethin came 47th out of 350 runners!! Amazing achievement - well done boys we are very proud of you.

One of our staff members - Mrs Moore (Administration Officer) - also took part in the Cardiff Half Marathon and completed the course in less than 2 hours! Great achievement Mrs Moore!

Some of our Digital Club children have put together a lovely stop motion video take a look here Stop Motion Video - well done Amelia and Carys.

Year 4 participated in a live lesson from LYFTA showing the children all about NASA and mission Lucy as part of National Space Week

Year 4 have had a busy week and came into school to find their classroom had been 'taped' off and that a ‘mystery object’ had been found on the school yard. All this was created by the class teachers as part of their topic and created lots of discussion topics!

Year 5 have also had a busy week planning and writing sequels to their class book ‘The Island’. The children have produced some fantastic written work using adventurous vocabulary, idioms and dialogue within the text.