Wear Red for Velindre

We were delighted to support the Wear Red for Velindre and Wales campaign today.  The campaign raises awareness of the Velindre cancer charity and supports the Wales rugby team ahead of the start of the 6 nations rugby tournament.  

In assembly today Avya from year 4 stood up in front of the whole school and delivered a beautiful presentation about the important work that Velindre do.  We are so proud of Avya for standing up and speaking to the whole school.  

Thank you for supporting the campaign, we are delighted to provide a donation of £ 322.80 to Velinder cnancer charity.

Harry from year 1 looked amazing with his red hair today!

Assembly 

Today in assembly children from year 5 and year 3 stood at the front to tell the rest of the school what they had been learning this week. Well done Reeve, Roux, Lilly, Morgan and Alfie.

Charity Fashion Show - Tickets on sale now! Special Guest announced - Mr David Emanuel!

We are excited to announce that this year our school is proud to support one of the Mayor of Bridgend's chosen charities, Y Bont. Y Bont is an incredible organisation that supports children with complex medical needs, disabilities, or additional needs.

To support this fantastic cause, we are hosting a Charity Night on February 21st in the school hall. The evening will feature a performance by our school choir, Côr Merched Bro Ogwr and a fabulous fashion show in collaboration with Venetia Steele, a local boutique.

We are reaching out to ask if any parents can support this event. You can help by:

• Donating items for the raffle.

• Assisting with hair and makeup for the fashion show participants.

Your involvement will make this event truly special and help us raise funds for Y Bont’s vital work. If you can assist, please contact the school office.

Tickets for the Charity Event are available from the school office or Venetia Steele boutique and cost £15 per person.  This will include a glass of prosecco on arrival and a high tea.

Thank you for your support. Together, we can make a difference!

Our School Models

We were delighted to announce our school models for the Charity Fashion Show this week. Get your tickets quickly to ensure you get to see these lovely ladies show you some amazing outfits from Venetia Steele Boutique. 

We are grateful to all that have supplied raffle prizes for the Charity Fashion Show.  We have some great prizes including:

• A free night stay in Gileston Manor

• Free night stay and £20 gift voucher for the Wyndham Arms

• 2 Rounds of Golf at Coed y Mwstwr

• Signed Wales rugby ball

• 2 Massages

• Dan y Ogof family ticket

• Breakfast for two in Pimento 

And we have lots more too!

Our PTA will be supporting the event and arranging a licensed bar.  We are very grateful to our PTA for their support.

Community Invitation

Don't forget to pop into our Community Room and enjoy a warm drink and warm up in this cold weather.

We are delighted to invite parents and carers to a Tea and Toast session every Tuesday.  We look forward to welcoming parents and carers every Tuesday morning to enjoy a cuppa and a chat.

We truly want our families to feel welcome and make the most of our school facilities, especially during this season when managing heating costs can be a significant concern. Whether you are looking for a place to stay warm, some good company, or just a change of scenery, our doors are open to you.

Thank you for being part of our school community. 

Year 6 Grease T-shirts Sponsorship Opportunity

We are seeking a sponsorship of approximately £600 to cover the cost of supplying Grease t-shirts to our Year 6 pupils. The t-shirts will feature the sponsor's logo on the back, providing valuable branding and visibility for the sponsor.

School Background and Event Details

Our Year 6 end-of-school production is a highly anticipated event where our pupils showcase their talents and celebrate the completion of their primary education.

The Grease t-shirts will be worn by our pupils in the lead-up to the production, fostering a sense of unity, excitement, and pride among the Year 6 cohort. These t-shirts will serve as a tangible reminder of this special milestone, creating lasting memories for our pupils and their families.

Benefits of Sponsorship

By sponsoring the Grease t-shirts, your organisation will have the opportunity to:

1. Enhance Brand Visibility: The sponsor's logo will be prominently displayed on the back of the t-shirts, ensuring widespread visibility among the school community, parents, and guests attending the production.

2. Demonstrate Community Engagement: Sponsoring this event will position your organisation as a supporter of education and a contributor to the local community, strengthening your brand's reputation and goodwill.

3. Support Pupil Wellbeing: The Grease t-shirts will serve as a source of joy and pride for our pupils, fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie as they embark on this significant milestone in their lives.

Conclusion

Your support will not only contribute to the success of our Year 6 end-of-school production but will also have a lasting impact on the lives of our pupils. If you are interested in sponsorsing the t-shirts or would like to discuss further please contact Sara Peters via ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk 

Attendance

We are committed to promoting good attendance at school and have a target of whole school attendance of 95%.  This week's attendance was 96%.

Children's Mental Health Week - 3rd to 9th February

Next week, we will be supporting the nation campaign Children's Mental Health Week.  The theme this year is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself. 

The focus is to encourage children, young people, and adults to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means to them. This will help them grow and develop resilience to cope with what life throws at them. Children will explore the importance of self-awareness and expressing emotions. Below are a couple of resources we will be using in school next week. Parents may find these useful.

Parent Teachers Association 

• Thursday 6th February - PTA meeting - this is an opportunity for parents to attend and find out more about events the PTA have planned and how you can get involved.  Feedback will also be provided on ways in which the PTA have supported the school in recent months. We hope you can come along.  The meeting will be held in school at 5.30pm.

• Friday 14th February - Cake Sale after school.  We hope bakers can support our cake sale and provide us with some amazing creations.  We will accept any cakes or biscuits all we ask is that you provide a list of ingredients and avoid nut products.  There will be a £50 Amazon for the best cake!  We invite all our parents, carers and children to enjoy the cake sale after school on Valentine's Day.

• Friday 21st February - Charity Fashion Show supported by the PTA

• Friday 9th May - proposed date for a PTA Disco. More information soon.

• Saturday 5th July - Oldcastle Rocks. Always a highlight in our school year as we bring the community together to enjoy some fantastic music and entertainment.

Take a look at the PTA Facebook page to keep up to date with events. Oldcastle Primary PTA Facebook Page 

School Admissions

Applications to nursery from September 2025 are now open and can be completed via the Bridgend County Borough Council website.  The timetable for admissions to full-time nursery places starting in September 2025 is for children born between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022. 

Part-time admissions for children starting in January 2026 or April 2026 are also open.  (January 2026 – children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 December 2022 or April 2026 – children born between 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2023) 

Children who will be starting Reception in September 2025 will also need to apply for a place and this application process has been open since November.  The deadline is 14th February.

Applications for children moving to Secondary School are also open and these applications should be completed by 17th January 2025. 

All applications can be completed by following this link School Applications.

Food Pantry 

The food pantry has been really busy over the last few weeks. We are very grateful to receive extra funding towards the food pantry that allows us to purchase fresh food and other items including toiletries, nappies, etc.  Our delivery from Baobab Bach  and a local supermarket will take place on a Monday.

We hope you can make use of the pantry, simply pop into main reception and we will sign you up.  It's a one off membership charge of £1, and £5 for 15 items. All we ask is that you limit the fresh meat items to no more than 2 to allow everyone to benefit.  We have recently purchased a freezer thanks to a grant fund and we will have frozen products available from Monday.

We are also grateful to Fairshare and Asda who supply us with fresh produce every week. We never know what produce we will have but anything we receive will be free to parents and carers every Friday morning on the yard.

Uniform Swap Shop

Don't forget we have plenty of pre-loved uniforms available for parents to help themselves. The uniform is free of charge and is located on clothing rails in main reception. Please pop in and take a look. We also have an ever growing mountain of lost property - please do call in to check if your child is missing an item.

Nursery Open Day - Tuesday 18th February

If your child is due to start nursery in the next academic year please come along to our Nursery open day to view our lovely facilities.

Parents Group - Cost of Living

We would like to invite parents to join us on Thursday 6th February after drop off at 9am to discuss how we can help families with the cost of living.  We are interested in views of parents to understand how we can support families further.  We hope you can join us.

Please let us know if you can make it by completing this google form.   Parents Group - Cost of Living

Supporting Service Children in Education

BCBC have asked us to share the following information with parents:

Dear parents/carers

In Bridgend County Borough Council, we are committed to the Armed Forces Covenant and we aim to support members of HM Armed Forces and their families. One aspect of the covenant is to ensure that the local authority has a knowledge of their Service children. To improve understanding and gather a more accurate set of data of Service children, local authorities in Wales have been working with Supporting Service Children in Education Wales (SSCE Cymru). The SSCE Cymru mission is to provide the best possible educational support to Service children in Wales. They work collaboratively with organisations across the UK to build an evidence base that impacts policy and systems, and provide a suite of resources to support education professionals and Service families across Wales. If your child/children has/have a link to the Armed Forces, either through a parent/carer or an extended family member, please help us gain a clearer understanding of our Service community in Bridgend by completing a short survey. Please click here to access the survey

Childcare Offer February half-term holiday entitlement information from Welsh Government

This information is to be shared with parents of 3 and 4 year-olds whose children started full-time in September 2024 or part-time in January 2025.

Did you know that the Childcare Offer for Wales can be used during the school holidays? With the February half term fast approaching, make sure your online holiday hours Agreement is in place for the holidays. If not, you could miss out on funding if you wish to use the Offer during the holidays. Visit https://www.gov.wales/parents-manage-agreements-childcare-offer-wales to find out more. Or contact our national helpline on 03000 628 628 

• September - Respect and Responsibility 

• October - Compassion and Hope 

• November - Friendship and Forgiveness 

• December - Understanding and Patience

• January - Determination and Perseverance

• February - Honesty and Trust 

• March -Learning and Effort 

• April - Community and Service 

• May - Co-operation and being a good citizen within society

• June- Showing Gratitude and Care and Generosity

• 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.  

Well done to Heidi from year 6 who competed in the Karakal National Squash Championships on the weekend and is pleased to have achieved 2nd place. 

This places her 2nd in Wales in U13. Amazing result!

Circuit Training Class

Parents may be interested in the following https://www.facebook.com/share/1DEJpSaB5G/ 

Bridgend Carers

• Friday 31st January - Wear Red for Wales

• Thursday 6th February - PTA meeting in school at 5.30pm

• Friday 14th February - PTA Cake Sale

• Friday 9th May - Proposed PTA Disco

• Saturday 5th July - Oldcastle Rocks

The next Parents Evenings meetings are planned for week beginning 24th March 2025.

Inset Days 2024/25

• Monday 2nd September 2024

• Friday 6th December 2024

• Friday 21st February 2025

• Friday 11th April 2025

• Monday 2nd June 2025

• Monday 21st July 2025

Health and Wellbeing / PE Days

• Nursery - Thursday

• Reception -  Wednesday

• Year 1 - Monday

• Year 2 - Tuesday

• Year 3 - Friday

• Year 4 - Friday

• Year 5 - Friday

• Year 6 - Friday

This week in nursery

This week in the Nursery we have been learning about Chinese New Year and have made roaring dragons.  We have been looking at pictures of ourselves when we were babies and now.  We have talked about how we have changed. We also read Jasper’s Beanstalk and remembered the story so we could sequence the pictures. We practised writing numbers and built towers from cubes to match the numbers. What a busy week we’ve had!

Fantastic Work

Welll done to Marrianne from year 2 for putting so much effort into her book All about the Solar System.  Mrs Littlewood was very impressed.

Enrichment

Last week's Tennis Group

This weeks tennis group

Bridgend Recreation Centre

Cooking with Mrs Murdoch - Egg Fried Rice

Bridgend Fire Service

We are, once again, grateful to Bridgend Fire Service visiting this week to talk to our year 5 and 6 children about fire safety.  The children loved the interactive session - we imagine there are some budding firefighters in these year groups!  

The fire service asked us to remind parents to check your smoke alarms.  Please call them for a free fire safety home check.

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.