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may 2023

We have reached the end of another action-packed half term across our school community. It has been a pleasure to see so many fantastic activities and initiatives both inside and outside the classroom including school clubs, trips, residential visits and a wide range of authentic learning experiences.

As always, this is only possible thanks to the incredible hard work of our dedicated staff team and the continued support of our families. Thank you so much for this.

In this month's newsletter, you will find a variety of excellent updates and important events and dates for the diary.

Have a happy and healthy half term break with friends and family.

Mr Raymond

Attendance & Punctuality

Our school is committed to ensure regular attendance at school is a priority which will in turn provide pupils with the best possible chances in life to succeed and to achieve their goals.

Punctuality is also a legal requirement and pupils must attend on time. Persistent lateness has a detrimental effect on a child’s learning and also disrupts other pupils within the class and throughout the school.

Can parents and carers please ensure:

All pupils arrive by 9am to start the school day promptly.
Pupils remain in school for the full day - Early collections will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.
Contact the school office on the first day of absence and to provide reasons for their child’s absence. This is recorded by the Attendance Clerk on Sims.
That if a pupil arrives after 9am, parents must sign the "late book" and must enter through the main doors of the school. This is monitored on a regular basis and recorded by the Attendance Clerk. Those parents who are consistently late will be contacted by the Attendance Clerk in the first instance and then coordinate with the Attendance Coordinator to decide on the appropriate action.
All requests for holidays must be completed on the school's holiday request form by parents/carers. A decision on whether to authorise the request is dependent on the following contributory factors:

Time of year
Length of time
Overall percentage of attendance - The BCBC policy states that this must be 95% or above in order to authorise a holiday request
Reasons for absence
Impact on the child’s learning

Many thanks for your continued support and cooperation with this vital aspect of school life.

Sun safety

It has been wonderful to finally see the sunshine. However, please remember the dangers associated with over exposure to the sun.

Please ensure that your child has a sunhat and water bottle during sunny weather.
Please apply long lasting (10 hour protection) sun cream in the morning to avoid the need for reapplication.
Please note, staff cannot be responsible for applying sun cream to pupils.

Staffing update

good luck

Miss Maddocks

Miss Cole

(Year 2)

Mrs Childs

(Reception)

We would like to wish Miss Maddocks the best of luck as she starts a new job after half term. Miss Maddocks started at PPS as a student teacher and successfully secured a job here as an NQT. She has been an asset to the school over the past 9 years, including teaching pupils in both Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2, leading maths across the school, overseeing the management of Upper Foundation Phase and coordinating many projects including creative schools and Oracy 21.

Her energy, enthusiasm and her mischievous nature will be missed greatly, but we know she will continue to inspire pupils in her new school. After half term, Miss Cole will teach in UFP:CM, and she has enjoyed her time in this class this week. Mrs Childs, who has previously worked at PPS, will teach in Reception instead of Miss Cole. Mrs Childs has also been in this week to get to know the Reception pupils.

School Clubs

We have launched new clubs for the summer term, which have proven to be extremely popular! We are delighted to have 265 children attending an after school club and are very grateful to staff who have volunteered their time to make this possible. We are also offering a range of lunchtime clubs for children from Y1 - 6. Many clubs are full but if you would like your child's name to be added to the reserve list, please email clubs@pencoedprimary.co.uk

Sketch club

basketball club

cricket club

pupil News

Congratulations to Sophia in year 4, who travelled up to Stoke on Trent last weekend as part of the Welsh team for the National Level 4 British Finals. Sophia qualified to perform on bars and beam. The Welsh team won Gold overall! A superb achievement!

Congratulations to Grace in Reception who has been busy acting and dancing! She has taken part in the Sarah Burnell School of Dance in the Song and Dance section at Swansea Dance festival and at their annual show, Grace has also performed in 'Grease' and she has been cast into a supporting role for a new BBC drama called ‘Lost Boys and Fairies’.

School news

FOundation Phase sports day

Foundation Sports Day was a huge success! The sun was shining and the pupils showed us all what a talented bunch they are! A special well done to all of the Nursery pupils who tried their best in their first PPS Sports Day. It was great to share this event with so many of our families. Thank you to the staff for the organisation and rehearsals that go on behind the scenes. Also, a shout out to the parents who kindly gave up their time to help sell refreshments. Team spirit all round!

rotary club 'youth speaks'

Well done to Elijah in year 6, who represented the school as part of the Rotary Club's 'Youth Speaks' competition. Elijah chose to talk about school uniform, outlining his opinion about the positives and negatives of wearing school uniform. He spoke with confidence and passion, and added some humour to keep the audience entertained. We were very proud of him!

year 5 llangrannog residential

Year 5 had a fantastic weekend at Llangrannog. They took part in numerous activities including go-karting, skiing, high ropes, climbing, zip wiring and quad biking. The weather was glorious and made the walk to the beach even better! A huge thank you to the staff who gave up their weekend to supervise the trip.

Football Tournament

A fantastic day at the Bridgend football tournament in Penybont FC. The squad did themselves proud before bowing out on penalties in the semi final! A great effort!

Basketball Tournament

Mr Hopkins and Mr Watkins were excited to take the basketball squad to the first fixtures of the season. The team travelled to Litchard Primary, where they played against Pen y Fai, Coychurch and Litchard. A great start to the season!

Year 6 Greenpower project

Greenpower Education Trust is a UK based charity with an outstanding track record in kick starting careers in engineering. They help unlock potential and spark enthusiasm for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) through the excitement of motorsport.

Teams of students aged 9 to 25 from across the globe compete at Greenpower events in the UK and other countries including USA, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and China. Mr Hilton and a group of our year 6 pupils have worked extremely hard to design, build and decorate their very own car. The team travelled to Cardiff for 'race day', where they competed against other schools. Mr Hilton and Mrs Halse said behaviour was remarkable and our pupils showed great team spirit. Well done to all involved! A special thank you to Mr Hilton and Miss S. Williams for coordinating the project, and to one of our lovely parents, who saved the day using their horsebox to help transport the precious car! Also, a shout out to some of the engineers at Pencoed College, who kindly came to the rescue when the group were experiencing a technical fault just days before the race!

swimming

Learning to swim is an important life skill and we are lucky to have a swimming pool in our local community. Year 4 have benefitted from lessons there this month, and we hope they will continue to build on these skills. Click here to find out more about free swimming sessions at Pencoed Swimming Pool during May half term.

police Liaison visit

PC Matt, our school liaison officer visited this month to talk to our older pupils about the dangers associated with drugs. He also met with year 4, to discuss the theme of 'Friend or foe?'. We value these important partnerships with our local police community.

Lower foundation phase trip

Nursery and Reception classes visited St Fagans National Museum of History earlier this month. They explored the different houses and buildings, looking at how life in Wales has changed over time. They also enjoyed stopping off in the park!

Coronation celebrations

Pupils across the school enjoyed celebrating the Coronotion of King Charles III earlier this month. The rain didn't dampen the pupils' spirits, with street parties and dancing moving inside! There were plenty of activities on the go including crown making and designing a new Coronation stamp to help mark this historic event.

family engagement

griff our therapy dog

Griff and the pupils enjoyed a mindfulness session in our outdoor classroom recently. With the help of Griff, our Well-being Officer taught us that being outside can calm our mind, relax our body and improve our mood.

watch me grow

Mrs Jenkins and Mrs Patrick have enjoyed working with Croesty Primary school as part of the ‘Watch Me Grow’ programme. Fantastic to see our pupils working with other pupils from the local community. We are proud to be part of a ‘cluster’ approach to Family and Community Engagement.

Baby & Toddler sessions

Mini royalty

Our Baby and Toddlers also enjoyed celebrating the Coronation of King Charles. They created their own beautiful crowns...fit for a King or Queen.

well-Being

StAFF RECOGNITION AWARD

Mrs Patrick - Awarded for embracing her new role as Family Engagement Officer with so much enthusiasm.

Well-being CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

Mrs Jenkins - Awarded for being instrumental in providing a link to Bigmoose that will support staff and families in the future.

Mental health awareness week

The theme for this year focuses on anxiety.

Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem.

Click here for more information.

bigmoose partnership

On Friday 12th May all pupils and staff took part in our London Marathon Mini Mile World Record attempt. This was also part of our May for Moose health and fitness attempt. We were privileged to have our new school partners' Bigmoose' attend the event. We are waiting to see if we have been successful in being part of a new World Record. Thank you for sponsor money already received. Please send in any further sponsorship by Wednesday 7th June, and see 'Dates for your Diary' below for information about another upcoming Bigmoose event.

A huge thank you to Mrs Joanne Jenkins for her continuous efforts in fundraising for this important charity.

Dates for your diary

Friday 26th May - 1.30pm Little Stars Sports Day
Friday 26th May - End of Half Term
Monday 5th June - Pupils return to school after half term
Thursday 15th June - Bigmoose Life Stories event - School Hall - 6.30-8.30pm. A ticketed event to support our partnership with mental health charity Bigmoose. A series of guest speakers will be sharing their inspirational stories. Refreshments available. Tickets will be on sale from next week.
Friday 16th June - KS2 Sports Day - LKS2: 9.30am & UKS2: 11am
Thursday 6th July - Year 6 transition day @ Pencoed Comprehensive
Friday 14th July - Summer Festival (3.30pm-7pm)
Thursday 20th July - Year 6 leavers concert - 9.15am
Friday 21st July - Last day of the school year for pupils

Remaining Inset Days:

Monday July 24th

photos from this month

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 Raymond, Mrs Maund or Mrs Brennan (Designated Safeguarding Leads). In addition, advice can be sought from Mrs K. Lamprey, Designated Governor for Child Protection.
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/

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
Phone: 01656 815730

For regular updates

please check Class Dojo

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