Congratulations to Jack who has been presented with the British Heart Foundation Fighting Spirit award for 2017. Jack always has a smile on his face and is a real inspiration to us all. Well done Jack!

There has been great debate recently over the use of fidget spinners in schools and I am aware that many schools have banned them. Year 4 decided to take this as an opportunity to inspire some fantastic persuasive writing and wrote letters to me about whether they should be banned or not. Here is the work of Tilly and William – they have written very strong and persuasive argument to keep them in school. Have a read and see what you think!

Well one to all year 4 pupils for this fabulous work!

Over the last term, some of our most talented writers have been busy writing their poems for this year's National Young Writers Poetry Competition. The themes this year were "Safari Animals" for the Foundation Phase and "Once upon a Dream" for KS2 pupils. With in excess of 35,000 entries from across the UK, we are delighted to announce that 24 of our pupils from years 1-6 have been successful in having their poems accepted for publication in the National Young Writers Poetry Book!

Once the pupil's poems have been sent back to us, we will share some of their work with you on our website. Many congratulations to all pupils that spent time crafting their work and entering the competition. A fantastic effort!

Children at Pencoed Primary are at the forefront of using technology to enhance their work, and that’s official!

Following an extensive external assessment I am pleased to announce that the school has been awarded the prestigious ICT Mark. This award recognises our positive approach to the use of technology and the benefits it is bringing to our children. We believe that technology can be used in every aspect of learning and that it is essential our children are equipped for the modern world.

The award recognises the school’s success in developing the strategic use of technology in both administration and across the curriculum.

Mark Chambers, Naace CEO, said;

“Pencoed Primary School thoroughly deserves the accolade of an ICT Mark accreditation. They clearly demonstrate how important it is to take a whole school approach to using technology in schools. We look forward to working with Pencoed to demonstrate how technology can have a substantial impact on learner outcomes in the future.”

29 Tachwedd 2016

Y Pennaeth

Ysgol Gynradd Pencoed

Penprysg Road

Pencoed

Penybont ar Ogwr

CF35  6RH

Annwyl Bennaeth

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr, Taf ac Elái 2017

Diolch yn fawr am y siec o £387.42 oddiwrth yr ysgol tuag at gronfa Eisteddfod yr Urdd Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr, Taf ac Elái 2017.

Diolch yn fawr unwaith eto am eich rhodd ac am eich cefnogaeth i’r Urdd.

Thank you very much for the cheque of £387.42 from the school towards the target of the Urdd National Eisteddfod Bridgend 2017.

Once again thank you for the donation and interest in the Urdd’s work.

 Yn gywir

Governor Elections

I can confirm that the parental ballot has now been counted and verified and the result is as follows:

1. Dale Patrick                        49

2. Chris Scurrah                      40

3. Sharon Goulden               39

4. Kirsty Davies                      30

5. Lean Mullan                       17

Therefore Dale, Chris, Sharon and Kirsty have been elected onto the governing body as parent governors, congratulations. Many thanks to all parents who showed interest in these posts.

Pencoed Primary School is a Lead Creative School!

Pencoed Primary School is proud to have been chosen to participate in the Lead Creative School scheme. The Lead Creative Schools Scheme aims to promote new ways of working in schools, providing the opportunity to develop an innovative and bespoke programme of learning designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

As a Lead Creative School we will have access to creative people, skills and resources to support us and to develop creativity and basic skills throughout the school. Yesterday Miss Maddocks and the pupils were involved in interviews to appoint suitably qualified and experience creative practitioners to support the school thorough this exciting project. We will keep you updated as the project develops.

Many thanks to the representatives from Pencoed Primary who were amongst  the 3,000 children and adults representing local schools, colleges and clubs during the  ‘proclamation procession’ in  Bridgend town centre on Saturday 8 October. This procession marked the official countdown to the Urdd National Eisteddfod being held in the county borough next summer.

We look forward to preparing for this exciting event and will keep you updated!

The school is committed to promoting good health and general well being and we are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the 5th leaf in Bridgend’s Healthy Schools Accreditation Scheme.

The underlying principles of the scheme are:

• The importance of pupil participation in core areas of school life which affect health and well-being
• The importance of the understanding and commitment of the whole school community
• A positive approach to health

Well done to Mrs Richardson and all the pupils involved.

Once again we will be collecting foodstuffs as part of our Harvest celebrations. This year we will be donating all the food to the Bridgend Food bank. This is a local charity that provides emergency food to local people in crisis.

We will be collecting food to give to the charity from Monday 3^rd October, ready for our school assembly on Friday 7^th October. Please hand any donations to your child’s class teacher.

For more information on the support the food bank gives, visit their website www.bridgend.foodbank.org

Many thanks for your support. Our efforts can make a real difference to others.