We've had a busy term over the last 8 weeks and we know that everyone is looking forward to the half term break!  We hope you have a lovely restful time during the week and we look forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Monday 4th November.

Today we held a virtual assembly for Mrs Littlewood to thank all the children in the school for being so well behaved and engaging with the Estyn Inspector visitors this week.  The inspectors were impressed with our wonderful children and we are so proud of them all.  Mrs Littlewood ended the assembly by telling the children that she feels very lucky to be headteacher of such a wonderful school and is very proud of both the children and the adults in school.

Estyn Inspection

Thank you for all your support over the last week during our Estyn inspection, we are very grateful.  The inspection team will prepare their report and this will be available for parents to view from 23rd December.

Governors Report to Parent

The Governors Annual Report to Parents for 23/24 is available to view on our website.  The governors would like to invite parents to a meet the governors event on Wednesday 20th  November at 6pm in the main hall.

Governors Annual Report to Parents 23/24

Christmas Dinner Day - Response Required

Christmas dinner will be served on Thursday 12th December.  Please inform us if your child requires Christmas dinner, a packed lunch roll from the school or they will bring their own sandwiches.

A response is required for every child. Please complete a separate form for each child.  Normal school menu is not available on this day. Vegetarian and other dietary needs will be catered for.

Please return the form by 15th November to allow us to plan with catering services.

Christmas Dinner Day Form

Food Pantry

Food Pantry will be back open week beginning 4th November.

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. 

On occasion 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 and are free of charge.  

Parents Evening

Parent Evening appointments will take place in the week beginning 4th November 2024.

Please check your emails from notifications@oldcastleprimary.co.uk and click on the link to book an appointment with your child's class teacher. 

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 31st 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.

Children in Need

We will be supporting Children in Need on Friday 15th November and children may wear  'Wear what they want' on this day.  We will be accepting cash donations for the charity but there is no expectation for children to bring in a donation.  Thank you for your support. 

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.

Asda Cashpot for School

The Oldcastle Primary cashpot is filling up nicely - thank you for your support.  The scheme runs until the end of November so don't forget to scan your Asda rewards every time you shop.

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 93.3%.

BCBC Free Menstrual Products Subscription

In partnership with Grace & Green, a leading provider of eco-friendly period products, BCBC have arranged for residents under 25 in the county borough to directly receive products to their home or pick up at a collection point, ensuring individuals can manage their periods with dignity and confidence.  For more information please follow the link below.

Order Form 

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.  

Good luck to the Oldcastle boys in the District rugby squad playing in Trebanos tonight!

Bridgend Town Centre Heritage Trail

On Thursday our year 5 junior leaders were invited to the launch presentation of the Bridgend Town Centre Heritage Trail.  Izzy, Bette and Gabriella loved learning about the heritage trail and couldn't wait to share with other pupils on their return to school. The trail is brought to life via an interactive map and includes various interesting historical sites situated in Bridgend Town Centre.  The children were presented with information sheets by Bridgend Town Mayor, Ian Williams, and Bridgend County Borough Mayor, Heather Griffiths.

Please take a look at the website and found out more about the rich history behind Bridgend.

 Bridgend Town Centre Trail Website

Half Term events in Carnegie House - free activities for children - booking required

Carnegie House Facebook Page

Carnegie House Event Bookings 

The Bridge Half Term Activities

Bridgend Town Council are seeking your views on Carnegie House

Bridgend Town Council runs Carnegie House as an Arts, Culture, and Wellbeing Centre on behalf of the local community. The Council would like to know what you want to see happen in terms of future arts & cultural events and activities, both at Carnegie House and in Bridgend town centre as a whole. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CarnegieHouse 

BCBC NURSERY PROVISION SURVEY

BCBC  are reviewing nursery provision across Bridgend County Borough as part of their Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA).  

Are you a parent/carer of pre-nursery aged children (0 to 2-years-old) or an expectant parent?  Please let BCBC know your views about nursery provision across Bridgend County Borough.

The assessment supports Bridgend County Borough Council to better understand parents/carers’ use of childcare, the overall supply of childcare in the county borough and any additional factors that may impact on the demand of childcare over the next five years.

You can complete the survey via the following link.

https://www.bridgend.gov.uk/my-council/consultations/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGGEZFleHRuA2FlbQEwAAEdic7utqHuuibsRp_dIq59KlKmVwtL4feRjzc4VvDSfPV5iPy6r7ih-X-o_aem_qtPkzyV0pVVc9cZ6OZJHMg&sfnsn=scwspmo 

Toddler Group continues after half term

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. 

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

• 4th to 6th November - Parents Evening

• 9th November - Bridgend Town Centre Family Remembrance Service

• 15th November - Children in Need

• 20th November at 6pm - Meet the Governors

• 20th December - Last day of 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

Year 6

Year 6 are exploring clay and paint to express their views of their justice and freedom concept. Da iawn year 6. 

Year 5

Year 5 have been making prototypes for wooden toys this week. Children have been working on radio adverts and their designs ready for making after half term. 

Schools Cross Country

Well done to everyone who took part in the Bridgend Schools cross country last Saturday. What a fantastic way to start the weekend! 

This week in Nursery

It’s been another busy week in the Nursery and we are incredibly proud of the children and all that they have achieved in 8 weeks. This week we have been exploring our school looking for shapes, then we made our own shapes with leaves. We have been digging in the sand looking for numbers and numicon shapes and matching them to a number line. We read a book about families and talked about our families using our All About Me Books and then we made super pictures of our families using buttons. We enjoyed making faces using autumnal objects and have great fun exploring pumpkins.

Year 4 Outdoor Learning Walk

Language and Play

In this week's LAP, pupils from Reception, Year 1 & 2, and their grown ups listened to the book ‘Supertato’ by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet.   The story was about how Evil Pea created a time machine to travel back in time to stop Supertato gaining his powers, but it didn’t go to plan and he got his powers anyway!   The pupils had lots of fun making their very own ‘Supertato’ characters, which look amazing. Da iawn plant! 

The Nursery children had their first Language and Play session on Thursday with their grown-ups.  We read the book ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’,  by Michael Rosen.  They made some lovely bear headbands, split pin bears and binoculars which we used to go on our very own bear hunt.  Mrs Diehl is looking forward to seeing everyone after half-term. 

Year 2 March

Year 2 children marched around the school today to raise awareness of their campaign to draw everyone's attention to the plight of animals under threat of extinction. Da Iawn plant!

Year 6 Netball

Year 6 netball players were treated to an end of term hot cholcate by Mrs Williams today! Mrs Williams wanted to thank the team for all their hard work this term.

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.