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.

• Teachers Learning too!

  Fri 15 Feb 2019
  Our teaching staff regularly attend training in order to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.   Recently they took part in an after school training session led by Claire King from Professional  Learning  Solutions and Miss Sewell.  The training was inspired by a conference which Miss Sewell attended  about Jonathon Lear’s theory of Guerilla Teaching. The teachers focused on their own traits and personalities and how those things impact on their teaching. In their phase teams, they discussed their understanding of their hopes, aspirations and expectations for their learners.  They created signposts, directing others towards the different phases in school and all of the positive elements they may find there. This  training linked into the personal learning and thinking skills that we value as a school and which we use to ensure children are prepared for the world we live in, not just academically, but personally.  Using previous metacognition training, the staff then came up with   criteria for what each skill will look like in each year group.  Each teacher will be trying out one of these skills within their lessons and then feeding back to the others in the next session.

  

• Spring Disco

  Fri 15 Feb 2019
  At Throckley Primary we know how to have fun when all of the hard work is done!  All of the classes in school celebrated the end of the first half of the Spring Term with a big Disco!  Everyone enjoyed     dancing and playing games with their friends and teachers.  We hope all of our families enjoy the half term break and we look forward to seeing all of the children back in school on Monday 25th Feb 2019.  Rising 3s are due back in school on Wednesday 27th Feb 2019. 

  

• Safer Internet Day 2019

  Fri 08 Feb 2019

  This week the whole school has participated in age appropriate activities about how to stay safe when using the internet.  Parents/carers then joined us for a showcase of the work and for an activity-based learning session with their children.  Thank you to everyone who joined us and to Mr Julian Hughes for sharing his expertise about how to keep our children safe when they are online.

  Nursery - listened to the story of Zap & Zoom.  They discussed stranger danger and made a          pictogram of their favourite technology devices.

  Reception -  watched the video of Zap & Zoom and learned about the importance of passwords.  They used this discussion as a stimulus for code cracking using padlocks and keys.

  Year 1 - took part in a drama based on different technology scenarios.  They then drew a mind image about their understanding of what the internet is and toured the school to spot technology devices. 

  Year 2 - completed comprehension questions based on e-safety and spent time learning about the word ‘permission’ and thinking about what it means.  They also made paper chains with messages  related to the theme of ‘Together for a better internet’.

  Year 3 -  used the Safer Internet Day resources and took part in a drama activity based on ‘consent’ and what it means to ‘not give consent’. 

  Year 4 - used a diamond 9 diagram to prompt discussions about key issues of online safety.  They then looked at statistics about how children use the internet and used them to solve worded problems.  They then created artwork about trusted people we can go to if we have a problem online.

  Year 5 - read internet safety scenarios and then wrote about the scenarios from different points of view.  They then drew around each other and used the body shape to write about how people feel on the inside and how the actions of others affect people from the outside.  They then used Power Point to create a pledge.

  Year 6 - looked at the world’s use of social media and had group discussions about how we can all work together to improve the internet.  They used their prior learning of green screen and iMovie to support this activity.

  

• OWL Trust Fencing Competition for Y3 & Y4

  Fri 01 Feb 2019
  Last week some of our children in Years 3 & 4 competed in a fencing competition with three other schools in the OWL Trust.  The competition was very exciting and our team came away with the Fair Play award.  Mr Kidger and Miss Thorpe were impressed with all of the children who participated in this competition.  Thank you to Premier Sport for organising and running the event.

  

• NSPCC National Number Day

  Fri 01 Feb 2019

  We have had an amazing time today while celebrating National Number Day.  All across the school, the children have been wearing lovely costumes (Thank you!) and taking part in fun activities.  See below for how the number activities progress as you move up through the year groups:

  Nursery - practised recognising their numbers by spotting them in all sorts of places in the classroom and by painting giant numbers and making number crowns.

  Reception -  made abstract number art in a range of materials and decorating their classrooms with paper chains that the children have ordered from 0 to 20.

  Year 1 - played Bingo with a difference!  Instead of calling out the numbers, Mr Metcalf called out clues to the numbers (such as what number is made from 2 tens and 3 ones).

  Year 2 - completed a carousel of fun number games - They played some games with their friends and some games on their own.

  Year 3 -  linked number day to their current topic by running a Stone Age Café in the morning (counting money) and then baking Stone Age bread (measuring for the recipe) in the afternoon. 

  Year 4 - completed lots of fun maths puzzles such as emoji missing numbers and magic squares (where all of the rows, columns, and diagonals add up to the same number!).

  Year 5 - designed their very own board game and added mathematical challenges for the players to answer throughout the game.  They also used Anglo-Saxon runes to create mathematical codes using all four operations to see whether their friends could crack the code.

  Year 6 - solved metacognitive number puzzles, such as Suguru and  Suduko and sorting themselves into categories based on the number that they have been assigned for the day.

  Please see the Galleries section for more photographs.

  

• Nursery PE with Balance Bikes

  Fri 25 Jan 2019
  Thanks to the work of School Council and to the Primary School Sports Funding, our school has        purchased a set of balance bikes and helmets.  The older children in School Council felt that it was very important for the younger children to learn to ride a bike.  This will help them when they get older and start to ride bikes in our bikeability sessions.  Riding a bike is also a great way to get exercise and to help the children to stay fit and healthy.  Following this suggestion from School Council, Mr Elliott ordered a set of brand new bikes in sizes which can be used by both Nursery and Reception.  Children in these year groups will be learning how to ride the bikes all throughout the Spring and Summer Terms.

  

• Newcastle School Games Netball Competition

  Fri 25 Jan 2019
  After spending a full term training hard, our netball team attended their first competition of the year hoping to proceed to the Newcastle City finals. Over the course of three tough matches, they exuded resilience, determination and teamwork. Their coach, Miss Dockey, was especially proud of their excellent sportsmanship and the way they supported each other during the games. During the afternoon, all of their hard work and practice paid off as they won all of their games (4-1, 3-1 and 1-0) against other schools in Newcastle.  They have successfully progressed to the finals later on in the year. Watch this space!

  

• School Council Meeting with Governors

  Fri 25 Jan 2019
  Our School Council met with Governors this week to tell them about how they are helping the school to meet its School Development Plan objectives related to health & well being.  The children talked about the work they are doing to improve the allotment, support healthy meals at lunchtimes and to encourage more active play times.  The Governors asked lots of questions and Miss Liddle was so impressed with the thoughtful answers that the children provided and how they truly represented the views of their classes.  School Council was particularly proud of the new set of balance bikes that they have asked the school to purchase.   

  

• Rising 3s enjoying their session in the hall.

  Fri 18 Jan 2019
  Mr Meyer is working with our Rising 3s in special sessions where they are given exciting opportunities to be active and interactive, and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. During the sessions, the children are able to use a large range of equipment and to choose from several different activities.  These sessions will support them to try different ways of moving and to learn how to handle various types of equipment.  The children love these sessions and Mr Meyer is amazed at the progress that they have already made in developing these important skills.

  

• Years 5 & 6 Social Media & Cyberbullying Film Project

  Fri 18 Jan 2019
  Our Y5 & Y6 classes have worked with an educational IT expert today to create two videos for Internet Safety Week.  The Y5 video focused on Cyberbullying and the Y6 video focused on the safe use of Social  Media.  The children used the following apps to create their films:  Green Screen by Do Ink, Clips, iMovie, Socrative Student and Adobe Spark Post.  GEM Education completed a survey with the children before the session so that the films are based on the true experiences of the children here in Throckley Primary School.  Parents/carers will have a chance to see the videos during our Internet Safety Week showcase on the afternoon of Thursday, 7th February 2019.  More details about this showcase will follow in the near future.