Through Our Contribution, we consider what we can do to

give back to our community through volunteering our time and efforts.

Reception

Reception’s Thrive day focus this half term was ‘Our Contribution’. During their Thrive day, Reception made tasty winter cookies. Reception gave their winter cookies to the hard-working dinner staff at school as a thank you for all the delicious food they have made for the children this half term.

Year 1

The children in Year 1 have been learning all about giving to charity and supporting those less fortunate, particularly at this time of year.  After learning that some children have very few toys, the classes wanted to do something to help. As part of their Thrive activity, some children donated toys they no longer play with for school to pass on to a charity shop.  Each child wrote a message of hope for the new recipient and drew a picture to brighten their day.

Year 2

The children in Year 2 have been learning about what food banks are and the importance of them around this time of year. After learning that some people struggle to access food and may not get a warm meal in the winter, the class decided to design posters to encourage food bank donations. They took their posters home to discuss this with their parents/carers and encourage their families to donate to the food banks. 

Year 3

Year 3’s Thrive day focus this half term was ‘Our Contribution’. As part of this day, they looked at Age UK’s previous Christmas campaigns, which highlight how this time of year can be especially isolating for some elderly people. Therefore, the children spread some Christmas cheer to ensure every resident at Hadrian’s House received a handmade card and listened to them singing some festive songs.

Year 4

This half term, Year 4’s Thrive at Throckley focus has been ‘Our Contribution’. The children learnt about Thanksgiving in America and discussed what they were thankful for. They made thankful turkeys to display their thoughts. The children also wrote on a leaf something that they are grateful for. Year 4 added the leaves together to make a ‘gratitude tree.’ These activities led to a conversation about how lucky we are to have all these lovely things and how not everyone is as lucky, even people in our community. The children chose to help people less fortunate than them by collecting food and blankets to donate to the homeless.

Year 5

As part of their Thrive at Throckley learning around ‘Our Contribution’, Year 5 had a special visit from a deaf awareness trainer who brought along their hearing dog (Barney) to help teach the children about deaf communities. Jo from Deaflink North East explained how Barney assists in alerting her to important sounds such as doorbells, cooking timers and fire alarms. The children also learned how to communicate more effectively with deaf individuals and how technology can help them. They gained a deeper appreciation for the challenges faced by people with hearing impairments and discovered simple ways to be more inclusive in their daily interactions. Following this, the children created leaflets that they distributed during their class assembly to raise awareness about deafness in the Throckley community.

Year 6

This half term, Year 6 children focused on the theme of ‘Our Contribution’. As part of their Thrive activity, the children designed lovely cards for children who are spending Christmas in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. The children hope that their kind messages will spread joy to the children who are spending time in hospital during these winter months. A lovely way of supporting those in our community Year 6!