It has been a really busy and enjoyable start to the spring term with so many great things going on both inside and outside the classroom. It has been particularly pleasing to welcome so many parents into school for our Funky Phonics and health and wellbeing family learning programmes and our y1-6 open afternoon. I hope you enjoyed this opportunity to come in and look at your child's work with them and many thanks for your feedback on this. 

A special mention must be reserved for two brilliant updates. Firstly, our netball team won the URDD South Wales tournament at the House of Sport in Cardiff yesterday and have qualified for the national finals day in Aberystwyth. This is a huge achievement and we are very proud of the girls' achievement. Secondly, our Eisteddfod events over the past two days have been fantastic. All of the children have behaved impeccably in the hall and have celebrated their own achievements, but more importantly, also congratulated their friends. 

In this month's newsletter, we also celebrate a wide range of further events and updates across the school. This includes information on pupil news, classroom activities and wider school updates. Please also note the dates for the diary section at the bottom. 

Many thanks for your continued support - Have a lovely half term break with friends and family. 

Mr Raymond

'Late on the Gate'

You may have seen Gemma Stone, the local authority Education Welfare Officer currently working with the school, outside the main entrance after school drop off. She will be visiting the school regularly to undertake 'late on the gate' monitoring and to speak to families about support in regards to punctuality and attendance. As always, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs H Middleton or Mrs Julie Jenkins if we can support in any way with attendance/punctuality.

Gate Closure

Due to health and safety reasons, the main gates will be closed shortly after 9am each morning. Please ensure that you arrive on-site before this time.

Attendance Awards

5 children were awarded a special attendance award for improved attendance and puctuality - a huge well done to them!

polite reminders

• Please remember to park respectfully and responsibly when parking in the local area for dropping off / picking up. 

• A reminder that ball games should not be played during drop off and pick up, and the playground equipment including the climbing frame and trim trail should NOT be used outside of the school day. 

• Finally, please ensure that your child dismounts their bike/scooter before entering the school yard. 

Thank you for working with us to ensure the safety of everyone on site. 

PARENT/CARER MEETINGS - WEEK BEGINNING MONDAY 10th MARCH

We will again be offering the option of a face to face meeting or a phone call with your child's class teacher.

We will also be providing an interim progress report which will provide specific information about your child's learning.

Information about how to book a face to face meeting or a phone call has been issued - please check your child's class Dojo page for further details. 

SAVE THE DATE - FACE TO FACE MEETINGS:

10th March - 1/2NS, 2CJ, 2CC, 4CD, 4HC, 3/4LC, 6KM, 6AW

11th March - 1GP, 1RB, 3SM, 3JM, 5MC, 5LA, 5/6LR

12th March - RHH, RER/MR

LRC classes - flexibility between Monday 10th - Wednesday 12th

eisteddfod tournament

As part of our Eisteddfod events, our older pupils took part in a netball and football tournament to earn points for their 'House'. It was a competitive afternoon and pupils played with enthusiasm and passion despite the cold weather. The netball winners were Team Garw, and the House Captain did a great job leading the team to victory. The football competition went right up until home time, with the win narrowly going to Team Llynfi. Thank you to Miss Abell and Mr Hopkins for organising these events. 

urdd games

Pupils from Nursery to year 6 have had the opportunity to take part in a Welsh games session provided by the Urdd. Pupils learnt different Welsh games and enjoyed doing some folk dancing. 

urdd netball tournament

Our netball squad took part in the Urdd tournament in House of Sport in Cardiff yesterday, and we are thrilled to announce that they won! Huge congratulations to team 1 for winning the whole tournament, and an amazing effort by team 2 winning all their group games to progress to the quarter finals. All the girls represented PPS amazingly. A shout out to Macey B, getting 'girl of the game' for the final ⭐️ and a shout out to Isla, who played fantastically until a classic netball finger injury. Thank you to everyone who gave lifts and supported us. 

special visitors

As part of our Eisteddfodd week celebrations, we were extremely lucky to have had some special visitors to the school... 'Bridgend Male Voice Choir' and 'Dawnswyr Pen y Fai'. The choir performed for the pupils, filling the hall with their wonderful voices. Then year 4 and year 5 pupils performed their Eisteddfod songs for the choir. The finale was a combined effort with the choir and pupils joining to create their own special rendition of Sosban Fach! 

The following day, pupils in y2-y4 were treated to a performance of Welsh folk dancing by 'Dawnswyr Pen y Fai'. Year 2 and 3 then performed their folk dances for them! 

Thank you to Mrs Newton for arranging these visits! 

Nursery News 

Mrs Roberts and the Nursery staff have had a lovely week being greeted by all the children looking fabulous in their Welsh costumes, rugby and football shirts and red items.

Thank you to everyone for such a wonderful effort.

We’ve had a fantastic time carrying out lots of Welsh activities including painting daffodils, making daffodils and leeks out of recyclable materials, looking at maps of Wales, talking about our special Welsh emblems and learning about St David himself. 

The full time children also took part in their very first Eisteddfod. They sang some of our Welsh songs in front of the older children and they also watched the older children sing their songs and carry out their folk dancing. Da iawn pawb! 

family learning workshops

Thank you to our parent/carers from 1GP, 2CJ and 2CC who have attended the family learning workshops this month. It has been fantastic to welcome so many families in to work alongside their children. We hope you have found the sessions useful. 

Please check the 'Dates for your Diary' section below to check when your child's class has been allocated a workshop.

• Monday 24th - Friday 28th February - Half Term

• Monday 3rd March - Pupils return after half term

• Wednesday 5th - Friday 7th March - Y6 residential visit to PGL Liddington

• Thursday 6th March - World Book Day 

• Monday 10th & Tuesday 11th March - Y6 Cycling Proficiency (Only those pupils who have signed up)

• Monday 10th & Tuesday 11th March - Parents Evenings (Please sign up via Class Dojo)

• Friday 11th April - End of the spring term

• Friday 11th July - PPS Summer Festival 

• BCBC Term Dates - https://www.bridgend.gov.uk/residents/schools-and-education/term-dates/  

Family Learning Programmes

• Wed 5th March - 4CD

• Wed 12th March - 3/4LC

• Wed 19th March - 3JM

• Wed 26th March - 3SM

• Wed 2nd April - 4HC

(Please note that there will be an additional 'showcase' event for Years 3/4 on 9th April - more details to follow)

• Wed 30th April - 6KM

• Wed 7th May - 5LA

• Wed 14th May - 5MC

• Wed 21st May - 5/6LR

• Wed 4th June - 6AW

• All sessions will take place in the school hall at 9:15am and will be approximately 1 hour.

Remaining Inset Days

• Monday 28th April 

• Monday 21st July 

Safeguarding

• At Pencoed Primary School, we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children. If you have a concern about the safety or well-being of a child, please report this immediately to either Mr A. Raymond, Mrs H. Middleton, Mrs K. Maund or Mrs A. Brennan (Designated Safeguarding Leads).  In addition, advice can be sought from Mrs A. Williams, Designated Governor for Safeguarding.

• If you are a parent or a visitor to the school and you are worried about the safety or well-being of a child or family please ask to speak to the Designated Safeguarding Leads or a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

• Please access our child protection and safeguarding policy here - https://www.pencoedprimary.co.uk/school-policies-1/ 

Contact Us

Please let us know if you have any comments regarding the contents of this newsletter or any other matter relating to Pencoed Primary School. All issues will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. If you would prefer to make a personal appointment, please do not hesitate to contact us:

• Email: admin@pencoedps.bridgend.cymru

• School contact email: contact@pencoedprimary.co.uk

• Phone: 01656 815730