Pencoed Primary School is an exciting place to be at the moment. To support with the development of IT throughout the school we have appointed some Year 6 pupils to be iLeaders.  The pupils were given an explanation of the roles and then invited to apply. After a rigorous selection procedure, our first 10 iLeaders have been appointed and are looking forward to getting stuck into their new role!

For more information and to meet the new iLeaders go to the "Children" tab on the website.

Welcome back everyone!

It was lovely to see so many happy, smiling faces on the first day of the new term. I hope everyone had a really enjoyable summer break. All of the children were really calm and settled this morning and seemed to get the hang of the new routines straight away.

All classes will be sending out newsletters at the end of the week to give you information about the new topics etc. the children will be learning this term. If you do have any questions, please ask your child’s class teacher who will be happy to help. I will also be sending out a general newsletter on Friday to update you of some key dates for the term ahead.

As you may be aware, Mr. Lambert is not taking a class this year as he has additional whole school responsibilities. He will be in the Year 3/4/5 yard every morning and after school if you need to see him for any reason. Alternatively, you can phone the school and they can put you through to him. He is continuing to take responsibility for attendance throughout the school, which we are continuing to focus on.

Mr. Raymond, our assistant head will be in the Year 2/6 yard every morning and after school. You can also speak to him if you have any queries / questions.

I hope that as Mr. Lambert and Mr. Raymond and I will all be out and about, there will always be someone you can speak to if you have any questions, queries or concerns.

We already had 2 inset days planned. These are for Monday 22^nd September and Friday 10^th October. On both of these days all of the staff are receiving training which will further improve the provision for the pupils.

We have also set the date for Parent’s Evening this term. Monday 10^th November will be Parents’ Evening for pupils in Reception, Years 3 and 4. Tuesday 11^th November will be Parents’ Evening for Years 1, 2, 5 and 6. More information will be given closer to the time. If you do have any concerns about your child’s progress, please feel free to speak to your child’s class teacher before this time.

Many thanks for your continued support,

Suzanne Sarjeant

This year’s BCBC Swimming Challenge was the most successful for a number of years. The Pencoed heats were a hotly-contested affair, and our team finished joint first along with Litchard School. The Year 3 & 4 team qualified for the final, which was held at Ynysawdre pool on Sunday, July 13^th. Lauren Davies, Molly Arnesen, Sadie Owen and Roan Goulden also qualified for their individual events in the final. All the children gave really creditable performances, and Roan actually won the Year 3 & 4 Breast Stroke 25 metre event, becoming the fastest swimmer in the borough in this discipline. Congratulations and thank you to all the children who participated in both events. 

I would like to say goodbye and good luck to the Year 6 pupils who are leaving us on Friday.

You have been a fantastic year group and you have been excellent role models to the younger pupils within the school.  You have worked hard, tried your best and kept us all entertained with your funny jokes and stories. I would like to wish you all the best for the future , as you leave us and move to the next chapter of your education.

Coch, Melyn and Glas competed in a fantastic carousel of events.  Coch came out on top after winning events such as the Races (50m, 200m and Relay), Shot Put, Obstacle races, Gutter Ball and the Long Jump.

We are already looking forward to the KS2 Sports Day in 2015.

As you are aware, the memorial for Mr. Lewis is now displayed outside the main entrance to the school. Mr Lewis joined the school in 1998 and was head of Pencoed Juniors and then Pencoed Primary for fifteen years. He had a huge impact on so many pupils and families throughout his time as head teacher and was well liked and respected by all who knew him.

Many of us, I’m sure, will remember his great sense of humour, his drive and motivation and his love of life. The school council worked closely with the PTA and the staff, pupils and parents of the school to agree on a fitting way to remember him. Along with the plaque, the children want to name a room in our new school in his memory, the IT suite for example. This would be appropriate as Mr. Lewis was a strong advocate for ensuring our pupils had the best emerging technologies and the money that has been donated to us has been used to fund Ipads for the children to use.

Please stop and read the words on the plaque as you next pass by the main entrance. They were chosen by the children and I think sum up our thoughts very eloquently. Mr. Lewis was “a loveable and funny man who is truly missed”.

We are very pleased to announce that Mr. Adam Raymond will be joining us in September as our new Assistant Head teacher. Mr Raymond currently works in Gwauncelyn Primary School where he teaches year 6 and is the Key Stage 2 Leader of Learning. He plays a very active role in sport in Gwauncelyn and has coached the football, cricket, rugby, basketball and athletics clubs there!

Mr Raymond will be supporting the school move forward, particularly with the development of our provision for more able and talented pupils and emerging technologies.

Mr Raymond will be spending some time in the school before September; I know that everyone will give him a really warm welcome.

*******Information regarding the CASHLESS CATERING SYSTEM *****************

Dear Parent/Guardian

Bridgend County Borough Council’s Children’s Directorate is implementing a cashless catering system for school meals, to support schools and parents with the payment and collection of school dinner money.

The system will be managed as a joint venture between the school and Catering Services.   For efficiency of administration the preferred option of payment for school meals with this system is through a secure BCBC online payment system but the school will still have the ability to accept cash if some parents do not have online access.

Clear instructions on how to pay for your child’s school meals online via the BCBC website are enclosed with this letter.  Pupil data within the system will be updated and managed by the school only. 

Pupil free meal entitlement data will be loaded within the system to ensure they remain anonymous at all times, therefore these parents are not required to take any action regarding cashless catering.

Each pupil at the school has a unique numerical identifier allocated to them.  Please keep your child’s unique number safe, to enable you to make payment for school meals.  The unique pupil number will be linked with a photographic image of your child to ensure that when your child presents themselves at the meal servery area, the correct amount is debited from the correct account at the terminal for meals received.  All photographs of pupils are secure within the system.

If you have made us aware of any diagnosed allergies to food, this information will be input into the system, to alert Catering Services staff.

Parents paying online for school meals must be aware that it is imperative that they credit their child’s account at least 24 hours before the expectation of a school meal, as all meals must be paid for in advance, or you must provide a home packed lunch for your child. Any queries about your child’s balance should be discussed with the school.

You will now have the ability to load your child’s account for a week, month or even a term, should you wish to. If your child is absent from school, all paid monies on your child’s account will be carried forward. Your child’s account will only be debited on the days that your child has a meal.

For details of how to pay online, go to the "Cashless Catering" tab under the parenst section.