Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
On Monday evening Mr. Howe had a fall while running. He has broken his leg, detaching all the ligaments and, as I write, is in hospital waiting for the swelling to reduce before he undergoes surgery. Of course, we all wish him a speedy recovery and already are missing his dry wit.
However, school life continues and my wonderful team have all volunteered to take on Mr. Howe's responsibilities until his return. For your information here are the people you may need to contact:
Year 4 morning teacher Mr. Traves
Behaviour Mrs Wilson
Complaints Key Stage 2 and Foundation Stage Mr. Smith
Key Stage 1 and Year 6 Mrs Wilson
Responsible for day to day issues in my absence-Mrs Cruddas/Mr. Smith/Mrs Wilson
My thanks go out to all staff, as everyone is doing something extra to cover Mr. Howe's duties. They do not get extra time to undertake these so we would appreciate your patience if you need someone to get back to you.
Moving up....today is the day when all our children move into their new classes so there's great excitement and anticipation. This is one of the things that makes our school different. Not only do children and teachers get to know each other really well before the Summer holidays but we can also spend a month working on a whole school topic. Click here for a more detailed overview of the topic
This year all our classes are creating their own island. Some classes will be exploring a story such as "Where the Wild Things Are", making masks and dances about Max's journey, while others will be creating island myths, belief systems and looking in depth at the geographical features of the island. The teachers are so excited about this theme that they are bound to inspire superb work which you'll be able to see during the last week of term at the Showcase.
Meet and Greet
You are all invited to attend our annual Meet and Greet on Wednesday 5th July. Flyers are being sent out to remind you.
Big Bags and Rucksacks
Large bags and rucksacks have crept back into school again. As gorgeous as they are, our cloakrooms are not built to store them as they take up a huge amount of space. Neither do they reduce lost property. Homework should be carried in book bags and PE/swimming kit in a PE bag or carrier bag and packed lunch in a lunch box. From September we will not be allowing other bags into school, except on trip days. All stationery is provided so please leave pencil cases at home.
P.E. Kit
All classes have PE lessons at least twice a week. Kit should be brought into schools on a Monday and left until Friday. Too many children "forget" kit so sit end up sitting out of lessons. We expect all children to be well prepared for learning in all subjects. Only children with a letter from parents, stating a genuine medical reason, will be allowed to miss a P.E lesson. The school is going to create its own spare kit bags for all age groups. If you have kit that is as good as new but your child has grown out of it, please send it to the school office so that we can create our spare kit bags. This kit will be washed by a member of staff after every use.
Prevent Radicalisation-It's been a very distressing few weeks nationally, so I want to assure you that we are all trained to identify children and adults who are being radicalised into extreme beliefs and actions. A frightening amount of contact with newcomers to extremism comes via the internet. It's a very tiny minority of the population who experience attempts at radicalisation so, whilst parents would be wise to keep checking and questioning what children are doing online, keep calm and don't worry. Training will be completed this week when Governors meet on Wednesday.
Following a wonderful hot weekend, the weather continues to be Mediterranean-like today then we're back to normal tomorrow. It was a relief to see so many children wearing hats as they walked through the school gates-we have to do whatever is necessary to keep cool, calm, collected and sun safe.
The school's planting project means that we have glorious pots around the school grounds. Thankfully, they have survived the heat of the weekend. Children love being responsible for watering them so they'll continue to flower profusely during the Summer months.
SPORTS DAY
Thank you to everyone who supported or helped out on Sports Day. It's always a highlight of the Summer term to see families enjoying a fun day and children of all sporting abilities having a crack at each activity and race. The Gladiator inflatable seemed to be very popular. The after school match between Leo and Mr. Smith being one of the joys of the day. I haven't laughed so much for years!
Thank you also to Mr Crossley and his dog training group. Apart from being adorable, the dogs were able to put on such a good show displaying their discipline to the word of their trainers. We all enjoyed it immensely.
As always our band of helpers did a much appreciated job in keeping spectators fed and watered. Thank you all-you are the "unseen" workers of the day.
But the biggest thank you has to go out to Mr Ashton for organising the day which went like clockwork. Parents would not believe the amount of work taking place behind the scenes and, although he would not like me to fuss, I have heard that Mr. Ashton was in school at 6.30am on Thursday just making sure everything was in the right place for a successful day.
For a selection of photographs click here.
WE Wonder Walk
I've just heard that the WE walk raised £279.30 to be divided equally between the WE Kenyan charity and British Heart Foundation. Well done to the organising group from Year 6.
HOCKEY
Tomorrow (Tuesday) Years 3 and 4 are heading to the Sandhill Centre for the afternoon to experience playing on a proper hockey pitch. This is an essential part of their training so that they are well prepared if a Sunderland schools' hockey tournament takes place in 2017-18 (and we hope it does) Mr. Wilson is enjoying his time with the two classes and his enthusiasm for the sport is infectious.
COAST SCHOOLS
On Wednesday Years 2 and 3 will continue with their coast school experience. It was so wet for the first session that they had to stay in school, but the forecast is far more positive for the week ahead. Fingers crossed.
MOVING ON UP
Next Monday all our children will be moving up into their next class-it's hard to think that a year has passed but, here we are again, approaching the Summer holiday!
SPORTS DAY
This is one of our favourite weeks of the year-Sports Day week! With the Met Office promising Sunderland a sunny, mild day and a dog exhibition planned for 9.30am to kick (or bark) us off, it should be a wonderful family experience.
Mr. Ashton is keeping us all up-to-date with arrangements-it's going to be a fabulous event. The dog training exhibition, organised by Gil Crossley, will begin at 9.30am. Children will then return to their classrooms to prepare for the carousel of activities, the first event of the day, which begins at 10.30am. Children having a family picnic will spend the lunchtime with parents, the rest of the school will have their meal in the dining hall. Registration after lunch take place in the classroom before the elite races. Once all the races are complete, the classes will help to tidy the field then return to their classroom. Children will be dismissed individually from the class fire door.
As always there are some hilarious additional activities. Children will be able to buy a ticket from Mrs Halliday on the yard when their class has their allocated time slot. The extra activities include a Gladiator duel inflatable, an inflatable assault course and the Hot Shot Challenge.
Apart from during the lunch break, children need to stay with their class at all time. They are not allowed off the premises at lunchtime. Apart from water, children are not allowed drinks (nor food) except at lunchtime and after they are dismissed. Physical challenges and mounds of snacks and sweet drinks are never a good combination!
The forecast continues to look dry for Thursday. Here's to a memorable day.
CLASSES AND TEACHERS
There are to be no changes to our teaching staff for the Autumn term. As we are offering 30 hours for eligible nursery children from September, the Nursery class and reception class will be in separate areas of the school. The Breakfast and Supper Club will be refurbished by the council, as it is to become the nursery whilst, what is currently the Reception class quiet room, will become the Breakfast and Tea Club room. The Reception class will have the rest of the FSU to themselves.
We have allocated teaching staff to classes but have not yet allocated our nursery nurse, apprentices or teaching assistants.
Nursery Mrs Wilson
Reception Mrs Taylor
Year 1 Mr. Ashton
Year 2 Mrs Cruddas
Year 3 Miss Bliss
Year 4 Mr. Howe/Mrs Tough
Year 5 Mrs Houston
Year 6 Mr. Smith
PE /interventions Mr Traves
Music Mr. McNally
The Different Faces of Britain
Today is a special day where we come off timetable to look at the diversity of modern Britain. Some staff are taking a look at food, others music, traditions and religions. Assembly today will be about Walter Tull, the grandson of a slave who became a footballer for Spurs and the first black British officer to lead troops into battle during the First World War. He died in battle and was posthumously awarded the Military Cross by David Cameron.
Relax Kids-On Wednesday we welcome Hayley Ramm from Relax Kids. She will be working with Year 3 and some "ambassadors" from Year 4 on developing techniques children can use when feeling stressed or anxious.
Gurdwara visit-On Wednesday afternoon Year 4 will visit a Sikh temple in Newcastle guided by Cloud who has worked with the class in school. This is part of the children's Religious Education curriculum but also fits in perfectly with our Different Faces of Britain theme. Mrs Tough has sent out a letter of information to parents/carers of pupils in her class.
Durham Cathedral Leavers' Service-Year 6 will be attending the Leavers' Service at Durham Cathedral on Thursday morning. Our invitation comes directly from the Bishop of Jarrow as the service is for Church of England schools. We appreciate being welcomed to this marvellous event.
We Wonder Walk-fingers crossed for a dry morning so that this rescheduled event, organised by a group of Year 6 children, can take place.
Learning the Ukulele-Mr McNally, our enthusiastic music teacher, persuaded me to invest in 30 ukuleles so that everyone has a chance of learning how to play an instrument in Friday music lessons. They were introduced to children just before we broke up from school and, after just a few minutes, sounded great with children twanging away to familiar songs. I am sure that, with Mr. McNally's guidance, many of our children are going to be proficient in this very "on-trend" instrument. It was a brilliant suggestion!
Coming up-next Thursday (15th) is Sports Day. The long range forecast is cloudy with a little rain so let's keep our fingers crossed that the rain clouds will blow far away to sea. We always push ahead,if we are able to do so without putting children in any danger, to avoid the problems that arise if we postpone the event. Don't forget to return your lunch slip.