Reminder - Friday 21st February is an inset day and the school is closed to pupils. We hope you all have a restful half term holiday.  We return to school on Monday 3rd March.

School Assembly

Today, we held a school assembly to say farewell to a member of staff who has worked in Oldcastle for 18 years.  Mrs Sarah Perry is leaving Oldcastle for pastures new.  Mrs Perry has worked as a  Learning Support Officer in the school since finishing college and we know that Mrs Perry will have left a lasting impression on many children, parents and staff over the years.  We wish Mrs Perry all the very best in her new role in the NHS.  Please keep in touch to let us know how you are settling into your new role.

Welsh Week

Welsh Week will take place when we return from half term.  Throughout the week from Monday 3rd March children will be immersed in all things Welsh.  Children will be creating poems, artwork, handwriting, dance routines and much more in readiness for the Eisteddfod on Friday 7th March.  Children may wear their house colours or welsh costume on the Eisteddfod day.  

Nursery Parents Feedback

We are delighted to share the positive feedback we have received regarding our nursery provision. We recently asked our nursery parents for feedback on how they felt their child had settled into nursery and it is pleasing to hear that 91% of parents said their child settled in quickly, and an impressive 92% of children were excited and generally positive about coming to nursery These figures are a testament to the dedication of our staff and the welcoming environment we strive to create.

Many parents highlighted that they had seen significant improvements in their children's communication skills, independence, and enthusiasm for learning. These foundational skills are crucial for future academic success and personal growth, and we are thrilled to see such positive outcomes.  100% of respondents felt that they and their children have been supported in settling into nursery. This unanimous response underscores our commitment to providing a nurturing and supportive environment for every child and family.

The feedback on what has helped the children settle in has been invaluable. The home visits, daily routines, and the patience of our staff during the transition period have been particularly appreciated. Many of the parents have noted the positive impact of friendships, enrichment days, and the variety of activities we offer, from painting and storytelling to singing and role-play in the home corner.  The warm, kind, and friendly approach of our staff has been consistently mentioned as a key factor in your children's smooth transition. 

Thank you for providing such lovely feedback.

PTA Bake Sale

Thank you to everyone that supported the PTA Bake Sale last Friday. We are delighted to let you know that £304 was raised !

Charity Fashion Show 

We are looking forward to the Charity Fashion Show on Friday evening. Tickets have sold out now and we are excited to see our school models on the catwalk!  It is promising to be a great event raising funds for the Mayor of Bridgend chosen charity, Y Bont.  

Following the event we will be sharing a recording of the choir performing at the event as well as the results of the raffle.

Community Room - Barclays Community Ambassador

We were delighted to welcome Luke from Barclays Bank into school on 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.  

Luke will visit us again  after half term on Wednesday between 1.30pm and 3pm. We even provide you with a cuppa!

Community Invitation - Every Tuesday

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 during term time.  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. 

School Governing Body

Our dedicated school governors are instrumental in driving school progress through a series of meetings held throughout the year. Recently, school governors have met for a Full Governing Body meeting to discuss the School Improvement Plan priorities, ensuring that the school and governors review and enhance the educational experience for all our pupils. 

Additionally, a finance meeting was held to scrutinise our school budgets and receive a report on health and safety matters. A curriculum meeting has also been held, where the school provided updates on the review of the school improvement plan priorities and engaged in a discussion of our recent Estyn inspection. As a school, we are extremely grateful to the commitment shown by our governing body.  More information on our Governing Body can be viewed on our website. Once approved by the Governing Body meeting minutes are also included on our school website.

After School Club and Late Club Prices Increase from 1st September 2025

The following information has been emailed to all users of the after school and late club facility. Following a review of our Afterschool and Late Club provision, we find it necessary to make some adjustments to our pricing structure. The increase in fees is due to increases in our operating costs and will allow us to continue to offer the service you expect both now and into the future.

Prices will increase from 1st of September 2025 

• Afterschool Club will increase to £9.00 per session

• Late Club will increase to £2.50 per session

We thank you for your ongoing support and trust that these changes will help us to continue providing you with the service.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

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 94.6%.

Forthcoming PTA events

• 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.

Useful Well-Being Resources

We have been provided with the following well-being resources that parents may find useful.  These materials are designed to encourage resilience, emotional regulation, and effective decision-making:

• R.A.G Resources (For Year 3 and Below): Link – A simple tool to help young children recognise and communicate their emotions effectively.

• Healthy Habits/Zones of Regulation (For Year 4 and Above): Link – A resource to help older children develop self-regulation skills and build positive daily habits.

• Support Your Child with Resilience (For Parents): Link – Practical strategies for parents to help their children develop resilience and navigate challenges.

• Thinking Traps (Parents and Y4 and above): Link - A resource to help challenge some of the negative thinking styles.

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 

Parents Evening 

Please note that the parent's evening week has been moved in the school calendar for a variety of reasons.  Parents evening appointments will take place week beginning 7th April.  Appointment times and confirmation of days will be sent to parents after half term. The bookings will sent via our website and emails will be from notifications@oldcastleprimary.co.uk 

• 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 Grace from year 3 who was awarded player of the match from her football game last weekend!

Circuit Training Class

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

Tennis Camp February Half Term

• Friday 9th May - Proposed PTA Disco

• Saturday 5th July - Oldcastle Rocks

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

Cross Country Years 3 to 6

Well done to the children from years 3 to 6 who braved the wet and cold to represent Oldcastle in the Schools Cross Country last Saturday in Pencoed Comprehensive. We are grateful for the support of the children and their parents on this cold and wet morning. The children did really well with some personal bests. Well done! 

The next event will be held on Saturday 8th March at Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen, Heol Yr Ysgol, Tondu. CF32 9EG 

Nursery Numbers and Play 

This week in Numbers and Play, we read the book ‘The Monkey Puzzle’ by Julia Donaldson.  The children and their grown ups made some symmetrical butterflies and some cheeky monkeys to take home.  They also played a game where they had to use their counting skills to feed the hungry monkey. There was some excellent singing at the end of the session, with the children choosing to sing the song ‘Five Monkeys Sitting on a Bed’. Da iawn pawb! 

Radio Station Interview

Today we welcomed Chris Elmore MP to be interviewed by our year 5 pupils on our school radio station. The children did a fantastic job finding out about life as an MP to aid their topic on bureaucracy. Thank you Chris for coming into Oldcastle Primary School today we are very grateful for your time. 

Here's a link to listen to the radio show - Chris Elmore Radio Show

School Savings Club was busy this week! Thank you to our year six children who help run the scheme!  

Year 2 paraded their tie dye t-shirts in school today. They looked fabulous!

Year 1 created volcanos this week!

This week in Nursery

We have had a very busy half term and have been working very hard. This week we have continued to learn about symmetry and made symmetrical butterflies.  We have painted our salt dough insects which look fabulous.  We have worked to practice writing our names, holding the pens correctly and trying to form the letters. We are very sad to say goodbye to Mrs Perry who is leaving Oldcastle to start a new chapter, we will miss her but she has promised to come and visit us.

Swansea University

We had a visit from Swansea University today, who visited our year 2 classes to look at the use of technology in education.  The children used virtual reality googles to explore the moon and the milky way.  Children loved the experience.

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.