Year 3 had a Roman afternoon on the 28th November. This was a chance for the children to share their learning about the topic. Parents were invited to join in and they tried out some Roman honey biscuits that the children had made and watched our Roman legionaries marching. 

A very big thank you to the children who represented the school for us in this year's Remembrance Parade. Tom, Katie, Abigail, Evie, Ffion, Cora, Alex, Bryan, Ellie, Ruby, Cordilia, Grace,Toby and Morgan took part in this historic event for us and perhaps there will not be a similar occasion until 2039/2045 with the beginning and end of the Second World War.

The children each wore a sash bearing the name of one soldier from Pencoed who went out to fight in the Great War and who never came back.

The Revd. Hodges drew attention to the statistics for those lost in the Great War estimated at ten million troops and a further seven million civilians - truly shocking numbers only eclipsed by an estimated eighty million civilians and military personnel lost in World War 2. The figure becomes even more alarming when we realise that there are just over sixty million people in Britain today.

Some of our junior children had been invited to RAF St Athan to explore the base and to help them with their confidence and team building skills. They had a fantastic day exploring aircraft in and outside one of the maintenance hangers. One of the planes, a Percival Pembroke actually flew President Richard Nixon to Cuba at the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s.

The children were also able to explore some of the military vehicles at the base. Here are some quotes from the children after making the visit:

'I loved RAF St Athan because it was so brilliant' Kamile

'My favourite part of the day was when we had a photo on the RAF trucks' Imogen

'I liked everything about the day but my favourite things were sitting in the trucks and giving a salute in the end' Jayden

'I loved everything. I had a fantastic day with my friends' Ethan

'When we went to St Athans I enjoyed playing games with Rob because I find teamwork games really fun. When we were all trying to get under the rope it was really hard!' Abigail

 

There are more pictures to see in the web site gallery

 

Lucy has had some fantastic news. After a lot of hard work and training she has made it into the National Welsh Gymnastics Squad, and she will now train at the National Sports Arena Wales in Sofia Gardens in Cardiff. Well done Lucy!

Four of our Year 5 children have been working really hard and have made superb progress on their individual mathematics learning programmes.

Summer, Ruby, Thomas and Ieuan have all gained special Mathlettics certificates in recognition of their great learning.

Active Travel award for Croesty Primary

 

Croesty Primary has become the latest school in Bridgend County Borough to earn the Bronze Active Travel Award from Sustrans Cymru in honour of the way pupils and parents are choosing two wheels over four to make the daily school run.

 

The number of children who usually travel to school by car has fallen by 23 per cent over the last two years.

During the same period of time, the percentage of pupils cycling to school has quadrupled from six per cent to 24 per cent, while there has been a surge in the percentage of pupils scooting to school – up from two per cent to 26 per cent.
 

The school has a group of enthusiastic pupils who promote the benefits of Sustran Cymru’s Active Journeys programme among their classmates, while the school celebrate ‘Wheelie Wednesday’ every week to encourage pupils to cycle or scoot more and have also held ‘Glitz your bike’ and ‘Glitz your scooter’ days where youngsters can add a bit of bling to their wheels!

 

Thanks to successful grant applications from Bridgend County Borough Council, more than £1.5m worth of Active Travel improvements have been made in Pencoed over the past three years.

 

The investment has gone into numerous road safety measures such as creating several new paths that can be shared by walkers and cyclists.

 

Active Travel will be further boosted in the area by the recent announcement that Bridgend County Borough Council has been awarded an additional £500,000 of Welsh Government funding to construct an off-road route for pedestrians and cyclists along Coychurch Road in Pencoed to complete the link between Coychurch and Pencoed Comprehensive School. Work on the scheme starts in late October and will be completed before the end of March 2019.

 

Roger Dutton, Sustrans Schools Officer, said: “The significant reduction in the number of Croesty pupils who usually come to school by car confirms that our Active Journeys programme and the improved safe routes network in Pencoed are making a difference.

“If it’s possible to leave your car at home for the school run then doing so is not only beneficial for the environment and your children’s health, but it also energises them for the start of the school day!”

 

Councillor Richard Young, the council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said: Well done to the Croesty pupils on achieving this award. Their enthusiasm for Active Travel is infectious and it’s wonderful to see that better access to safe and convenient routes is having such an impact.”

 

Councillor Young added: “One of the most notable improvements made in Pencoed recently to facilitate Active Travel was the creation of a ‘glow in the dark’ path through the Woodlands playing fields.

 

“Because it’s made of a particular surface, it harnesses UV light during the day and then gives off a gentle light to help make the route visible in the dark. It’s a creative way of encouraging Active Travel which will really come into its own as we approach the winter months.”

 

 

Photo caption: Croesty Primary School pupils collecting their Bronze Active Travel Award from Sustrans’ Roger Dutton (centre) and Pencoed Town Mayor Doug John.


Ends - for more information, contact Communications Officer Bob Phillips on 01656 643663. Email: bob.phillips@bridgend.gov.uk Website: www.bridgend.gov.uk

The footpath on one side of Coychurch Road is being developed over the coming weeks and there will be some disruption. It might be worth avoiding Coychurch Road for parking and trying somewhere else. The swimming pool car park might well be worth exploring. The pathway is open in the morning until at least 09:15 and it is open until 16:30 in the evening which is good for after school club pick ups.

Thank you to everyone who made a donation on Friday 28th September for the fight against sepsis. We made a fantastic £182.07 and I'm sure those who joined the run on Sunday will have made much more again.

Croesty were very proud to be represented at the official opening of the first defibrillator for Pencoed. Our school had made a significant contribution towards the fundraising for this life saving piece of equipment for the town.

The defibrillator is located on the out side of the British Legion Club.

Fans of ITVs X Factor cannot fail to have noticed Thomas Pound's performance this weekend. Thomas is a former Croesty pupil and was destined for the dramatic arts at an early age playing key roles in some of our Christmas Productions. Thomas has asked to come back to Croesty to sing for our children and he'd be most welcome - it will be great to see him!

We wish him every success in his X Factor journey.

 

Thomas visits Croesty! Friday 28th September