Congratulations to Dylan and Macey in year 6, who were recently elected as our new 'Ambassadors' for this academic year. As part of the election process, they had to write and deliver a speech about why they wanted to be an ambassador, explaining what skills they had to help them to fulfil the role. We are really proud of them both and we know they will do a fantastic job at representing the school. Da iawn! 

A special mention to the other year 6 pupils who took part in the election process. Staff were very impressed with the thought and effort that had gone into the speeches. They were glad they didn't have to vote!

Year 3 and 4 are invited to attend the 'Monster Ball' in the school hall on:

Thursday 24th October, 4.15 PM - 5.15 PM. 

Tickets: £3 including crisps and a drink.

(Pupils will not need any extra spending money)

Pupils are welcome to wear Halloween costumes or party clothes, (we are asking for donations of costumes to share with our families for this event, these will be displayed outside the school). 

Please note: Each phase will have the opportunity to attend one of these after school enrichment events throughout the year. The School Council are currently working on planning the other events. 

All year 2 families are invited to join our ‘Stay and Play’ sessions on Tuesdays from 3:25 - 4:15. During the sessions, families will be able to access our outdoor play equipment, play games and ride their bikes and scooters on the yard. Siblings of all ages are very welcome to join. Please note, all children must be supervised by an adult. We look forward to seeing lots of families there!

This month our Upper School classes had the opportunity to have swimming lessons at Pencoed Swimming Pool. The pupils worked on developing their swimming technique as well as learning about important life saving and water safety skills. The swimming teachers commented on the high numbers of pupils achieving the 'Gold' award! What a fantastic start to the term. Please visit the Halo website here to find out more about free swim sessions. 

Calling all pupils in Years 3 - 6, would you like to run on behalf of our school? 

If your answer is yes, then Mrs Jo Jenkins would love to see you at the Cross Country Schools races. There are 6 races a year, anyone is able to join the races and you don't have to come to 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, Y3/4 boys, Y5/6 girls and Y5/6 boys to be able to score in the team results. 

Save the Dates: 

• Oct 5th Bryntirion Comp

• Oct 19th hopefully Brynteg (Venue tbc) 

• Nov 16th Porthcawl Comp

Earlier this month, pupils from the LRC classes visited Halo Bridgend and took part in the Insport activity day. They tried various sports such as trampolining, rock climbing and frame running. Everyone had a great time! 

Lower School were immersed in their new topic 'Wonderful Wales'. Children took part in Welsh dancing, built castles and designed love spoons. This topic has a focus on developing a sense of belonging or 'Cynefin' in Wales.

Middle School had an Immersion Day to launch their Cynefin topic. 'Cynefin' is the place where we feel we belong, where the people and the landscape around us are.

Throughout the day, pupils had the opportunity to present their own identity using ICT and talk about their feelings and emotions. They played cooperative games with their friends in preparation for an up and coming project on creating their own game.

Upper School have also been exploring the importance of their 'Cynefin' but with a focus on their own identity, looking at how it changes as they grow. The novel for this half term is 'Wonder' which encourages pupils to read with empathy. As part of the immersion day pupils made predictions about the text, created their own 'Wonder' inspired self portrait, thought about the importance of keeping their identity safe online and worked collaboratively to celebrate what was special about each other's identities. 

What a fantastic start to our netball year! Both teams won comfortably 6-2 and 6-1 when playing against Dolau Primary School. They also had the opportunity of being mixed up and experiencing new positions.

Miss Abell was so proud of everyone's efforts and she wanted to say a big 'Thank you' to everyone who came down to support

The school rugby squad had two excellent fixtures against our near neighbours Dolau Primary School last Friday afternoon. The rugby on show was of a very high quality and even more pleasingly, the players all displayed excellent sportsmanship throughout an enjoyable afternoon. This coming Friday, the squad welcome Mynydd Cynffig Primary to Pencoed RFC for a further round of fixtures. 

Last year one of our pupils Barney had some long-awaited and life changing surgery. He was followed by the BBC cameras and his story is now available on iPlayer on episode 5 of the show Saving Lives in Cardiff:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002337c/saving-lives-in-cardiff-series-1-episode-5 

Barney chose to do this to raise awareness and let other children suffering with this extremely rare condition know that they are not alone as he often felt he was.

It is an inspiring watch - As a school community, we are all extremely proud of Barney.

Congratulations to Gus, Frankie and Rowan in year 6 following their selection for Bridgend District Schools Rugby. They played their first game against Cardiff earlier this month and they were presented with their ties after the match. Da iawn! 

ASDA's cashpot for schools initiative is well underway and you have helped earn over £400 already! There is still time to sign up and help raise more for the school. Please note, this is in addition to your own personal cashpot rewards and not instead of. 

Visit www.asda.com/cashpotforschools to find out how to register!