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November 2024

It has been an action-packed and successful start to the second half of the autumn term as we approach December and the Christmas break.

In this month's newsletter, we focus on the wide range of events and activities that have taken place in November and also provide some key information regarding attendance, our Readingo challenge and anti-bullying - Please take the time to familiarise yourselves with these as they are a crucial aspect of our provision.

I'd like to specifically draw your attention to the dates for the diary section at the bottom of the newsletter. With so much going on, I hope this is a useful reference point for our families.

Many thanks for your continued support and cooperation.

Mr Raymond

Attendance & Punctuality

Attendance and Punctuality

Regular attendance is vital to ensure that children make the best possible progress at school. Children who miss school unnecessarily, or who arrive late to school miss out on crucial learning time and experiences with their peers.

As part of our attendance and safeguarding policies and processes, we monitor both punctuality and early collection of pupils very closely. We have identified a growing number of children arriving late to school and being collected before the end of the school day. We are required to keep records of these instances and report regularly to the Local Authority. If your child arrives after 9am registration, you are required to complete a "late slip" providing a reason. If you are later than 9.30am, you will be required to come in and complete a punctuality monitoring form.

Any requests to pick children up within the school day (e.g. for medical/dental appointments) must be communicated in advance via admin@pencoedps.bridgend.cymru. We also ask that parents provide a copy of appointment letters as relevant. Where possible, all appointments should be made outside of school hours. Finally, if your child is not in school due to illness, please be reminded that we need to record the reason for absence and so may ask for specific information to include on your child's registration records.

As always, if we can support in any way please do not hesitate to get in touch with either Mrs Julie Jenkins or Mrs Heather Middleton.

clubs

It has been fantastic to see so many pupils attending clubs throughout the Autumn Term. Next week will be the last week for clubs this term. Therefore, there will NOT be any clubs from the week beginning Monday 9th December. Information regarding Spring Term clubs will be shared before the end of term.

readingo

This month, we have launched our brand new reading challenge - READINGO! It is based on the same idea as BINGO - but instead of ticking off numbers - pupils will tick off different reading challenges. Dojo points are awarded as lines are completed and pupils who complete a 'full house' will be entered into a prize draw and will be invited to have hot chocolate with Mr Raymond.

For more information about how to play click here.

Please email contact@pencoedprimary.co.uk if you have any questions about the challenge.

school news

remembrance sunday

Thank you to our year 6 pupils who represented the school during the Remembrance service. The pupils showed respect and resilience throughout the service in the chapel and during the parade. Da iawn!

book fair

A huge thank you to all the families that were able to visit our book fair recently. It was lovely to see pupils from across the school eager to find a new book to enjoy reading. Your purchases helped to raise £260 worth of books for the school library.

A special mention to the year 6 pupils who volunteered to stay behind after school to help run the fair. Diolch!

Table Tennis Wales

We have establised a hugely successful link with Table tennis Wales and Bridgend table tennis club. Over recent weeks, some of our older pupils have enjoyed participatin in our new club on a Monday lunchtime. Our aim is to give lots more children the chance to play this fantastic support across the year.

Children in need

The pupils enjoyed coming to school in their spots and Pudsey themed clothes for Children in Need and we raised £374.88! Thank you so much for your generous donations! We have always supported Children In Need, but this year the importance of this charity has been highlighted by a previous Pencoed Primary pupil, Ethan, as he has was selected as one of the BBC ‘Challenge Squad’ and performed live on BBC1! Well done Ethan!

Middle School Trip

Middle School pupils enjoyed a visit to Llancaiach Fawr Manor to learn about life during the Stuart Era. The children really enjoyed the experience as they got to make their own plague bags and learn about the civil war. We feel lucky to have had this experience, as sadly, Llancaich Fawr will be shutting its doors to the public in the new year.

upper School Scientists

As part of their Home Learning activities, Upper School pupils were offered the choice of building their own scientific model or conducting their own scientific investigation. They were then asked to present their findings. Staff were very impressed with the range of models and interesting investigations that were undertaken. Thank you parents/carers for supporting with this project.

Sporting Fixtures

This month our netball and football teams played Pen Y Bont Primary at home.

Football: Two excellent games played in great spirit. An excellent 1-1 draw for the A team and a fantastic performance from the B team with the opponents winning 2-0.

Netball: Another superb Friday fixture from our two teams, both coming away with victories. Team 1 winning 11-0 and Team 2 winning 5-1. Miss Abell was so proud of everyone.

Thank you to those of you who were able to come along and support these fixtures.

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK
A range of activities took place across the school to mark anti-bullying week. Thank you to everyone who helped to raise awareness by wearing odd socks.
This poster summarises how we respond to bullying as a school; the full policy can be viewed here: https://www.pencoedprimary.co.uk/school-policies-1/

If you have any concerns about bullying, please speak to a member of school staff - we are all here to help.

pupil news

Congratulations to Lilly in year 6 who recently gained a bronze award in Tang Soo Do for her formation. Well done!

Congratulations to Maisie in year 4 who also recently gained a bronze award in Tang Soo Do, for her sparring. A dynamic duo!

Congratulations to Rosie in year 4 who recently took part in a regional competition for gymnastics. Rosie was awarded fourth place for her floor work and first place as part of a team.

Congratulations to George in year 3 who was recently awarded player of the match when competing for his rugby club. Keep up the great effort George!

Congratulations to Coby in year 5 who had a tremendous weekend recently when he was awarded with the man of the match trophy for both football and rugby - What a brilliant effort Coby!

During half term Grace in year 2 attended Longwell Green Dance Festival. She received four commendations for her performances, including 4th place in the modern solo and a silver medal for her Musical Theatre solo - Superb Grace!

family engagement

toy pop up - Next Tuesday

Our Toy Pop Up will take place in the school hall between 9-11am. All families are welcome to come along!

If you have new toys or toys in excellent condition that you would like to donate, we are accepting donations on Friday 29th November and Monday 2nd December.

pencoed food bank & PPS Cwtch Cupboard

Pencoed Foodbank operates every Monday 1-3pm from the Church Hall. Mrs Julie Jenkins is able to issue foodbank vouchers, and provide food supplies from our 'Cwtch Cupboard', including for over the Christmas period. Please contact her via email or Dojo for further details, juliejenkins@pencoedprimary.co.uk

well-Being

StAFF RECOGNITION AWARD

Miss Conlon - for settling well into her new team!

Well-being CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

Mrs Brocklesby - for supporting pupils and staff throughout the school!

Carers Rights Day - 21st November 2024

Carers Rights Day is an initiative organised by Carers UK which aims to raise awareness of the rights of the 5.8 million unpaid carers in the UK currently caring for an ill, elderly or disabled relative or friend.

We wish to acknowledge our Young Carers here at PPS and the great job they do. If you think your child(ren) qualifies as a Young Carer please contact Mrs King for more information about registering.

Dates for your diary

Thursday 5th December (12pm) - Virtual headteacher catch up (The link will be reissued via Dojo next week)

Christmas Dates

Tuesday 3rd December - Toy Pop Up 9 - 11am in the School Hall
Wednesday 4th December - Christmas Dinner
Tuesday 10th December 2pm - Reception concert
Tuesday 10th December - Upper School Trip to Cardiff Castle: 6AW, 6KM & 5/6LR
Wednesday 11th December - Upper School Trip to Cardiff Castle: 5MC & 5LA
Wednesday 11th December 2pm - Nursery concert
Thursday 12th December - Christmas Jumper day
Thursday 12th December 9:30 am - Y2 Christmas concert
Friday 13th December 9:30am - Y1 Christmas concert
Wednesday 18th December 2:30pm - Middle School and Upper School - Carols in the Yard
Thursday 19th December - LRC Christmas Craft Afternoon
Thursday 19th December - A special visitor for Early Years, Lower School and LRC Classes
Friday 20th December - Last day of the autumn term (Pupils return on Tuesday 7th January 2025)

Inset Days:

Monday 6th January 2025
Monday 21st July 2025

*1 further date to be allocated which will be confirmed ASAP*

Family Learning Workshop Dates (more info to follow)

Tues 21st Jan - RHH Funky Phonics

Wed 22nd Jan - RER/MR Funky Phonics

Wed 15th Jan - 1/2 NS

Wed 29th Jan - 1RB

Wed 5th February - 1GP

Wed 12th February - 2CJ

Wed 19th February - 2CC

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.

REMINDER of changes to Class Dojo: Dojo continues to be our main communication platform and class teachers share key information on their class story page. However, we have made some changes to the messaging facility; teachers can still send messages but they are not able to receive incoming messages.

Class Dojo will still be used for sharing key information via the class and school story. Mrs Julie Jenkins (support for families), Mrs King and Mrs Ryall-Friend (support for pupil well-being) and our LRC class teachers also continue to use the outward messaging function as part of their bespoke roles.

Please see our updated communication guidelines below:

Call the school office on 01656815730 or email admin@pencoedps.bridgend.cymru when:

Reporting an absence
Informing the school of changes to pick up / drop off arrangements
Querying payments for school dinners or trips
Updating medical information
Asking about general school information, dates and events

Email contact@pencoedprimary.co.uk when:

You have a specific query regarding your child for the attention of the class teacher or the school’s leadership team - Please ensure your child’s name and class is stated clearly in the email subject. All relevant information will then be shared accordingly.

Email clubs@pencoedprimary.co.uk when:

You have a specific query related to after school clubs

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/

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