Latest news is now shared via our Head Teacher blog which is published in the Parents section of the website. Please also visit our Twitter feed for a window into our curriculum offer and to see the purposeful and memorable learning experiences in each year group. Our Twitter feed can be accessed on the Home page of our website or by clicking on the Twitter icon in the top left corner of this page.

Please find below an archive of the news stories that we published before we started to use Twitter.

• Parent/Carer Survey March 2019

  Thu 21 Mar 2019

  We have sent out a link to our annual Parent/Carer Survey to you by email today.  You can also find the link below.  If you would prefer a paper copy, please ask at the office.  We request that all parents/carers to compete the survey.  Your opinion matters to us and the results of this survey help us to make plans for the future development of the school.  The deadline for completing the survey is next Friday, 29th March 2019.

   

  Parent/Carer Perception of School

   

   

• Reception Visit to Broxfield Farm

  Fri 15 Mar 2019

  Our Reception classes had a fantastic day at Broxfield Farm.  Mr Thompson led the activities during the visit and the children had some wonderful experiences.  The children:

  • Discussed the different seasons on the farm and how they help the crops grow.
  • Found out about how helpful the worms can be and went for a little worm hunt.
  • Picked flowers (weeds!) from the field. They had to try and find a purple, blue and white flower. 
  • Visited the different cows and found out how Mr Thompson cares for them. 
  • Looked at the features of the cows. Mr Thompson wanted them to look at their bright eyes, long lashes, very long tongues, ears and hair styles. 
  • Fed some of the cows in the big shed. It’s their cosy winter home but the children didn’t think it was very warm! 
  • Helped Mr Thompson by making some fantastic scarecrows to scare away the birds from his seeds.

  Miss Liddle and Miss McGregor were not surprised that so many of the children fell asleep on the   journey home after such a busy day!  

  

• STEAM Week (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics)

  Fri 15 Mar 2019

  As part of British Science Week, children across the school have been taking part in learning activities from the STEAM subjects using the themes of transport and journeys.  Here are just a few examples:  researching pivotal scientists, using Google Maps and GPS to solve a transport problem, solving an engineering problem, using bus, train and airline timetables to plan a journey, measuring a tractor, designing a mural about animals and their habitats from places where they have traveled.  These mural designs will be used in the Summer term to create a whole school mural in the KS2 yard.  The photographs below show the following activities:

  • Reception children measuring the height and width of a tractor.
  • Year 6 on a science scavenger hunt around the school to explore real life science. They investigated different locations and considered how they linked to science objectives from the curriculum. They then came up with a question that children could answer linking to the specific area we explored.
  • Year 1 on a 'Senses' walk around the school grounds.  They thought about the ground underneath their feet and all of the things that are there when they are going on a journey on foot.  They used cutouts of their feet to find out all of the things that are within one of their footprints.

  We will be sharing all of this fantastic work with you in a big display in the rotunda during the parent evenings next week.  Please visit the display with your children.  Science Ambassadors from Years 5 & 6 will be available to discuss STEAM Week and to answer your questions.  Thank you to Lloyd Ltd of Throckley for letting us borrow a tractor for the day! 

  

• Year 3 Cricket Workshop

  Fri 15 Mar 2019

  On Wednesday our Year 3 classes had a very exciting morning playing cricket.  Matthew from Northumberland Cricket came to teach them all about the sport. Lots of fun was had learning the skills of this sport and children demonstrated their excellent team work. If your child is interested in taking up cricket out of school, there is a club at Walbottle Campus called All Stars.  Alternatively, the All Stars staff can direct children to other cricket clubs in the area. 

  

• Year 4 Swimming Gala

  Fri 15 Mar 2019
  Some of our Year 4 children represented our school at the Swimming Gala at West Denton Pool on Tuesday 12th March.  We are extremely proud of their sporting achievements and they all swam brilliantly. There were 15 schools that took part - we reached 3 finals and brought 6 medals back to school! Year 4 have thrived during their swimming lessons and they should be very proud!

  

• Year 6 Story Birds

  Fri 15 Mar 2019
  As part of our World Book Day celebrations, Y6 thought about what the event itself represented: the importance of reading and books for children around the entire world. As a result, they designed and created their own story birds which they are going to send to a partner school in Uganda.  The children in Uganda have limited access to story books and our children can’t wait to see how much they enjoyed the stories.  What a great way to help other children enjoy World Book Day!"

  

• Premier Sport Easter Holiday Club

  Thu 14 Mar 2019
  Please see latest news items for more details.

• World Book Day

  Fri 08 Mar 2019
  The children and staff had a wonderful World Book Day filled with fun activities.  Every child designed their own t-shirt based on their favourite book, shared stories with another class in our cosy reading tent, contributed to a story which was written by the whole school, learned about one of their teacher’s favourite books and attended a special World Book Day celebration assembly.  Thank you to all parents and carers for the lovely costumes and pyjamas for the non-uniform day and for providing  support with the t-shirt design homework.  Please visit the website to see more photographs.

  

• Batten Disease Letter to MP

  Fri 08 Mar 2019

  You  may be aware that NHS England have recently announced that they will not be funding the drug which is used to treat the daughters of one of our school families.  The BDFA is supporting this family and others who are affected by this terrible disease to overturn this devastating decision.  If you would like to show your support, please use the template letter for MPs which you can download from the link below.  You can find out more about this issue on the Nicole & Jessica’s Batten Journey Facebook page and this link is also included below.

  Letter template: http://www.bdfa-uk.org.uk/who-we-are/brineura-for-cln2/rare-disease-day-template-letter/

  Link to Facebook Page:  Www.thenicoleandjessicarich.foundation

• Y5 Newcastle University Bee Society Session

  Fri 08 Mar 2019
  Year 5 participated in a special science lesson this week with the Bee Society from Newcastle University.  The children learned about the social lives of honey bees, how they support pollination, how important they are to farmers and our food supply and how they communicate with a special dance!  The six students from Newcastle University led the children in fun activities such as a craft project about the life cycle of a bee and a pollination game.  They then taught the children how to dance like a bee.  Thank you to the Bee Society for delivering this excellent session and for telling the children about their University courses and experiences.  This information about further education supports our Enterprise curriculum and helps our children to understand about their future education and career options.