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may 2024

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. Our current whole school attendance is 94.1% - This is a tremendous effort but it would be great to edge towards the 95% mark by the end of the summer term!

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.
They 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 (8 hour+ protection) sun cream in the morning to avoid the need for reapplication.
Sun safety station coming soon - sun cream will be on offer for parents/carers to apply to pupils as they arrive for drop off.

pupil News

british champion

Huge congratulations to Sophia in year 5, who recently travelled to Stoke on Trent to compete in the British Championships. Sophia gained first place and become British Champion in the Excel 2 grades! What an outstanding achievement! Sophia also helped Wales to get Team Gold! What a day!

transition Medal winners

Well done to our year 6 pupils who won medals during the transition Sports Day at Pencoed Comprehensive. Pupils took part in a range of events and showed their talents and team spirit.

Congratulations to the following pupils for their recent achievements:

Tyler in year 6 for moving from red to yellow belt in Jujitsu.
Jacob in year 4 after being awarded forward of the year by Bridgend Athletic.
Jack in year 6 for coming first place in the year 5/6 category in Bridgend School Cross Country.
Rosie in year 3 for her gymnastics skills - 3rd in floor, 4th overall and her team came 1st!

School news

armed forces friendly school status

We are proud to have been awarded bronze 'Armed Forces Friendly Schools' status. This is recognition of the effort and progress made in supporting the children of our Armed Forces to feel included in our school community and supported to achieve their best.

rotary club 'youth speaks'

Well done to Joshua in year 6, who represented the school as part of the Rotary Club's 'Youth Speaks' competition at Betws Primary recently. Joshua chose to talk about the exploration of Mars, which he did with passion and enthusiasm. His persuasive speech gained him second place, a fantastic achievement, especially considering he had been to A&E earlier that day following a playground injury. Mr Raymond and the staff who went along to support him were so proud, not only whilst listening to his talk, but also when watching Joshua offer support to every other competitor as they left the stage!

Football Tournament

Our Upper School football teams had a great day at the Apollo Teaching football tournament Penybont Football Club recently. The teams represented the school well. Unfortunately, we were knocked out of the semi finals by Coety Primary. A superb effort!

swimming

Learning to swim is an important life skill and we are lucky to have a swimming pool in our local community. This month our older pupils have benefited from swimming lessons, where they have worked on improving their swimming skills as well as learning about important life saving messages.

Click here to find out more about free swimming sessions at Pencoed Swimming Pool during May half term.

Middle School rugby sessions

Some of our Middle School classes have enjoyed taking part in rugby coaching sessions with Leah from Pencoed Comprehensive. A great opportunity for pupils to engage in sport.

bridgend Schools Cross Country

Mrs Jo Jenkins has been heavily involved with the running of the Bridgend Schools Cross Country programme, and is now running it with the support of two others. There are 6 races a year for children in years 3-6. Anyone is able to join the races and you don't have to attend cross country club. Races are on Saturday mornings in local comprehensive schools. We need at least 3 children in each age group; y3/4 girls and boys and y5/6 girls and boys to be able to score in the team results. We didn't have enough pupils taking part consistently for scores in the team categories this year. However, congratulations to Jack who came first in the individual year 5/6 boys race. It would be great for pupils to continue this success during the new season.

Save the date for the 2024/25 season: Bryntirion Comprehensive in October.

family engagement

This month marks the end of our oracy workshops and we have been overwhelmed by the response from our parents/carers. The figures below clearly demonstrate the strength of family engagement at our school, showcasing our commitment in 'working together for each and every child'.

number of months workshops have taken place

number of workshops delivered

number of families who have attended

diy sos - the big tidy up!

What a fantastic community DIY SOS morning! Parents, staff, governors and pupils came together to give our lovely school a big tidy up. A huge thank you to everybody who came along, it really is much appreciated!

well-Being

StAFF RECOGNITION AWARD

Mrs Morgan - Awarded for entertaining the pupils during breakfast club!

Well-being CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

Mrs Patrick - Awarded for always being kind, caring and helpful!

Mental health awareness week

Mental Health Awareness Week is all about raising awareness and promoting better mental health.It provides a great opportunity for people to talk about all aspects of mental health, with a focus on providing support and advice. Click on the link here for more information.

National Walking Month - May

Throughout May, National Walking Month encourages people to get active and walk more.

Walking is an easy and accessible way to improve your health and well-being. With just a 20-minute walk, a number of preventable health conditions, such as depression, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, can be reduced.

Dates for your diary

Half term holiday - Week beginning 27th May
Thursday 6th June AM - Sports Day for Early Years (Nursery & RHH/RGP)
Thursday 6th June PM - Sports Day for Lower School (R/1RB, 1MC/MR, 1ER/TH, 2NC, 2NS)
Friday 7th June PM - Little Stars Sports Day
Thursday 13th June AM - Sports Day for Middle School (2/3CS, 3SM, 3/4LC/BMJ, 4CD, 4JM, Stargazers 1)
Thursday 13th June 11am - Sports Day for Upper School (5LA, 5EM, 5/6RH, 6AW, 6LR, Stargazers 2 )
Thursday 27th June - Year 6 Transition Expressive Arts Day @ Pencoed Comprehensive School
Thursday 4th July - Year 6 Final Transition Day @ Pencoed Comprehensive School
Monday 8th - Wednesday 10th July - Year 5 Residential trip to Llangrannog
Thursday 18th July @ 9.30am - Year 6 Leavers Concert

Remaining Inset Days:

Monday July 22nd

Confirmed Inset Days for the 2024-25 academic year:

Monday 2nd September 2024
Monday 23rd September 2024
Monday 6th January 2025
Monday 21st July 2025

*There will be two further Inset days to allocate - these will be communicated ASAP

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 H. Middleton, Mrs Maund or Mrs Brennan (Designated Safeguarding Leads). In addition, advice can be sought from Mrs A. Williams, 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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