Children's Mental Health Week

This week we have been embracing Children's Mental Health Week which is dedicated to nurturing the emotional well-being of our young learners.

The theme this year, "Know Yourself, Grow Yourself," encapsulates the essence of our approach to fostering mental health awareness and personal development. This focus encourages our pupils to embark on a journey of self-discovery, promoting a deeper understanding of their unique qualities, strengths, and areas for growth.

Throughout the week, our staff will guide pupils through a series of engaging activities and discussions designed to enhance self-awareness. The concept of "Know Yourself, Grow Yourself" extends beyond the confines of our classrooms, encouraging pupils to reflect on their experiences, emotions, and aspirations. By cultivating this sense of self-awareness, we aim to foster a supportive environment where every child feels valued, understood, and capable of achieving their full potential.

As we progress through this enlightening week, we invite parents and carers to engage in conversations with their children about self-awareness and personal growth. Your support and involvement are instrumental in reinforcing the positive messages and skills being developed at school.

Reception really enjoyed practising mindfulness this week and thinking about their emotions.

Nursery had a lovely chat about emotions.

Year 4 did drawings to illustrate feelings and emotions.

Year 3 discussed what they like to do on their own and with friends.

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.

Please note the event is an adult only event. Our school choir will depart following their performance.

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

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 Room - Barclays Community Ambassador

We are delighted to welcome Luke from Barclays Bank into school next Wednesday afternoon.  Luke is passionate about helping people and wants to support you in any way he can.  Luke will be able to offer advice on a range of subjects from setting up an electronic device  to staying safe online to all sorts of life money skills.  Luke does not provide any banking support and you do not have to be a Barclays customer to pop along.  We do hope that you are able to pop into the Community Room on Wednesday between 1.30pm and 3pm. We will even provide you with a cuppa!

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 - Can you help?

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 96.2%.

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 

PTA Meeting 

The PTA held a meeting in school on Thursday evening this week.  During the meeting the PTA provided information on forthcoming events that are planned in the next couple of months.   Please read on to find out about these exciting events.  

The PTA are pleased to report that they have £13,000 in the PTA fund and the school are extremely grateful to have received funding from the PTA for the following:

• Year 6 leavers hoodies

• Donation towards new chairs for the main hall

• Christmas Fun Day 

• Donations towards school bus transport

All donations to the school are discussed with the headteacher to ensure effective use of funding.

PTA Feedback

The PTA would like to gain your opinions on events and fundraising activities that they offer, as well as types of fundraising events you would like them to consider. Please let us know your thoughts via this google form.

PTA Google Form

Forthcoming events

• Friday 14th February - Bake 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 or other homemade item!  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 

Food Pantry 

The food pantry has been particularly busy over the last week, and we are delighted that many parents and carers are able to benefit from the pantry.  We are still finding a way to ensure that there is food available to parents, no matter what the day of the week, and we hope to resolve any supply issues shortly. 

Just a reminder that the pantry is £5 for 15 items - we do ask that you limit to 2 fresh and 2 frozen items to allow more people to benefit from the items.

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 held a useful parents' group discussion on Thursday morning to find out parents' views on how we can help with the cost of living situation. Below are the key points discussed in the meeting:

1. Main Barriers: The parents highlighted heating bills, food bills, and taxes as significant barriers for families.

2. School Support: Parents acknowledged the school’s efforts, especially regarding the pantry. They noted it was becoming less stigmatized to use the pantry, and appreciated it being open all the time.

3. Suggestions for the Pantry:

   • Vouchers

   • Donation Pot

   • Food Variety

4. Signposting to Agencies: Parents felt that the school does a good job of signposting families to other agencies through the newsletter and website and suggested continuing or expanding this.

   • Barclays coming into the school to offer support was shared and will be promoted.

   • Financial signposting was a topic for further development.

5. Toy/Item Swap:

   • Suggestions included unwanted items, gift sets, and charging a small cost for new items to make the swap more functional and accessible.

6. Subsidized Events and Trips:

   • The school’s effort to subsidize events and trips was appreciated.

   • It was also suggested running more trips to save families from having to pay for them independently.

7. Community Support:

   • The fashion show was discussed as a way to support the wider community and develop community links.

8. Uniform Swap: Parents appreciated the uniform swap and suggested expanding it to include more items to help families further.

Next Steps and Considerations:

• Encourage use of the community room

• Engage parents using the pantry

• Regular Meetings: Schedule a meeting every half term to continue exploring ways to support parents and the wider community.

For more information on Cost of Living Support, please look at our website - Cost of Living Support

School Dinners Menu Change

Tuesday 4th March - Pancake Day - pancakes will be served as part of the menu on this day

Wednesday 5th March - St David's Day Menu 

• 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.  

Swimming News

Well done to Maisie and Lottie from year 5 who between them collected 9 medals from the Surf Living Saving championships held in Swansea pool last weekend. Farley in year 3 collected 5 medals in the competition gaining a couple of Welsh records too!  They are all very committed to their sport spending most of their Sunday competing in the pool events.  Well done everyone we are very proud of your achievements.

Squash News 

Many congratulations to Heidi who has been selected to represent Wales in the upcoming Squash 5 nations competition in France. Fantastic news. 

Circuit Training Class

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

• 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

Year 2’s have been busy learning all about 3D shapes in maths this week. They've been on a shape hunt and completed tally charts after finding lots of different shapes around the school. The children matched shapes with corresponding nets and built 3D shapes using polydron. 

This week, reception have been learning about different habitats. Through block play, the children have created a wonderful world for all the animals.

This week in nursery

This week in the Nursery we have been talking about our emotions as part Children’s Mental Health Week.  Thinking about what makes us happy and sad. We have been enjoying the outdoor environment looking for trees, plants and insects.  We were then able to sort them.We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, sequencing the story, thinking about the days of the week and counted the fruit that the caterpillar ate.  We have also begun to learn about symmetry and made symmetrical patterns.  We have learnt the importance of washing our hands. We celebrated Welsh Language Music Day by singing some of our favourite Welsh songs. 

Enrichment

Learning maths in Reception

Year 1 investigated flood defences this week!

Barney chilling in his bed!

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.