Estyn Inspection

We would like to remind you that Estyn will be visiting our school between Monday, October 21st, and Wednesday, October 23rd. During this time, they will observe lessons in classrooms, talk with children, and meet as many individuals connected to the school community as possible.

One key element of the inspection process is engaging with parents, and Estyn highly values your input. To facilitate this, there will be a parent meeting after school on Monday, 21st October, at 3:30 p.m. The meeting will last around 30 minutes and offer you the opportunity to share your thoughts, ask questions, and be actively involved in the inspection process.

Below is a Parents and Carers Guide to Estyn Inspections.

Show Racism the Red Card 

On Friday, pupils and staff wore red in support of the campaign  'Show Racism the Red Card'.  If you would like more information on the campaign please click here.

Taste Testing

Our junior leaders had a special Taste Test this week with our catering staff to provide feedback on new menu options that Welsh Government are looking into.  Welsh Government are looking to provide healthier options with increased nutritional value as part of their school meal menu's.  JLT tasted 4 dishes and provided feedback to the Catering Supervisor.  The menu will provide more choices for vegans and vegetarians, but it is still in the planning stages.  Thank you to JLT for providing honest feedback on the dishes you tried.  We will keep parents informed of any changes to the school menu options once finalised by Welsh Government and BCBC.

Barney

We are so lucky to have Barney, our school wellbeing dog.  Parents often wonder whether Barney has time to relax in school well please be reassured that he gets plenty of time.  Here he is taking a nap!

Food Pantry

Our food pantry has been stocked with some lovely items this week. Pop in and fill a bag for £5. Surplus food gets delivered to school every Tuesday but parents may visit the pantry on any day.  Here's a little video to tempt you in. We have also been able to gain funding to purchase a large chiller fridge and hope to offer chilled products soon.

On ocassion we are also receiving some bakery items from Asda as part of our Fairshare allocation.  When we do we will have these items available on a Friday.  

Parents Evening

Parent Evening appointments have been emailed to parents this week.  Please check your emails from notifications@oldcastleprimary.co.uk and click on the link to book an appointment with your child's class teacher. 

Appointments will take place in the week beginning 4th November 2024.

Individual Child Photos

The individual child photos were taken by Tempest Photography on Wednesday and proofs of the photo along with details of how to order were sent home with children on Thursday.  Please order by 25th October if you would like to take advantage of the free delivery to school.  Delivery charges may apply if you do not order by this date.

Schools Cross Country  - Years 3 to 6

The next schools cross country event for children in years 3 to 6 will take place in Brynteg Comprehensive School on Saturday 19th October.  Please arrive at 9.30am for a 10am start.  You should enter through the main entrance at Ewenny Road or the rear entrance at Hoel Gam.

The following event on 16th November has reluctantly been postponed due to a clash with the Welsh Inter Regional competition.

Panto Trip - Years 1 to 6

Parents in years 1 to 6 have been emailed details about our panto trip this year.  Children will be watching Cinderella in the Princess Royal Theatre in Port Talbot. The trip is £12.50 and payment should be made via Parent Pay by 31st October.  Please check your Parent Pay account for details of the trip and how to pay.

Christmas Card Competition

We have been invited to take part in the annual Chris Elmore (MP) Christmas Card competition.  Templates have been sent home with children.  If you have not received one please get in touch with us. 

The lucky winner will have their design showcased to businesses, politicians and community groups.  There is a prize for first, second and third place.  The theme is ‘A Welsh Christmas’. The closing date is Tuesday, 5th November 2024. Please ensure all entries are returned to school by this date. 

Templates will be sent home with children this week to allow them to prepare their designs. Here are some top tips:

• Don’t use glitter as it cannot be reproduced by the printers.

• Don’t make your card too dark.

• 3D cards can’t be reproduced by the printer.

• Make it simple – sometimes less is more.

• If you are drawing a character, make sure he/she fills the space.

• Use bright colours; try not to leave some of the space without colour unless it’s white for snow.

• Stick to the template – it’s important for the printer that the size is the size on the template

• Please keep your design in a landscape format

Brynteg Open Evening

Brynteg Comprehensive School will be holding an open evening on Thursday 24th October for parents and pupils in years 5 and 6.  The evening will start at 4pm.

Birthday Celebrations

We were thrilled to receive a lovely cake from Baobab Bach, our food pantry partner, today. The charity are celebrating 4 years since they started food pantries with the aim of supporting local communities to help reduce food waste, tackle food poverty and support health wellbeing.  We are thrilled to partner with Baobab Bach and offer our own food pantry in school. Pupils who help maintain our food pantry were treated to a lovely piece of cake and thanked for all their hard work looking after our food pantry. Happy 4th birthday Baobab Bach!

Flu Vaccine

The school nursing team will be in school on Thursday 24th October to administer the flu nasal spray to children in Reception to Year 6.  Parents will receive a consent form with your child today, please return this to school as soon as possible.  Please return the completed and signed form even if you do not want your child to have the vaccine.  The nursing team will only administer the vaccine to children where consent has been provided by the parent. 

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%.

School Photos

Don't forget to scroll to the end of the newsletter to view photos from the week.

• 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 at Gethin from year 6 who took part in a swimming competition in Newport representing Bridgend County Swim Squad last weekend.  He came away with Silver in both the 50m backstroke and 100m backstroke and a bronze on the 50 freestyle. Da Iawn Gethin!

Toddler Group

Sadie and Franks

We have been supplied with the following information which may be of interest to you.  Please contact Sadie and Franks if you would like further information. 

• 24th October - Flu Vaccine Reception to Year 6 children

• 28th October to 3rd November - October Half Term

• 20th December to 5th January - Christmas Holiday

Parents Evenings are planned for week beginning 4th November and 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

PE Days

• Nursery - Thursday

• Reception -  Wednesday

• Year 1 - Monday

• Year 2 - Tuesday

• Year 3 - Monday

• Year 4 - Wednesday

• Year 5 - Thursday

• Year 6 - Tuesday

Enrichment

Enrichment cooking

One year 3 group are currently doing thai cooking as part of their enrichment programme.  Today, yellow thai curry and pickle vegetables was on the menu!

Year 2 have been tie dying and cooking today! Plus Barney had a little visit!

Awards Ceremony

3C class prepared 'Awards ceremony speeches' today based around their book 'The Last Garden'. They were to present an award to Zara and they loved acting this out! 

Language and Play

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.