Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Giving something back and remembering

  Fri 25 Jan 2019 Mr J Howe

  The Purdy Trophy

   

  It is a real pleasure when people want to give something back. It is with that very thing in mind, that I'm delighted to announce the first Seaburn Dene Primary School's 500 Word Writing Competition to win The Purdy Trophy.

   When Miss Purdy left us in the summer she had a vision: to maintain the creativity which we cherish in our pupils and sustain their excitement and passion about reading and writing. Hence  - this competition was born. It is open to all of our children, no matter what their ability from Y1 to Y6 and builds on the popularity of the Chris Evans' 500 Words competition -  now one of the most popular story-writing competitions for children  in the world. 

  The inaugural year's theme is very simple: write a letter. That letter could be a fictional piece from a character in a fairy tale, a heartfelt plea from a soldier on the frontline, a letter in history, a letter to yourself in the future, a letter - hidden away, a message in a bottle...the list is endless.

  Our judge - Miss Purdy - will look at the entries against three criteria:

  1. Composition - the story/narrative within the letter.

  2. Effect - the effect this story has on the reader.

  3. Presentation - neatness and accuracy of handwriting.

  After that it’s very simple. Entrants write their original story on any subject or theme in 500 Words or fewer  - as a letter - and submit it to their class teacher. If they win, their story will be win the Ks1 or KS2 trophy and be in the running for The Purdy Trophy and the grand prize.

  Miss Purdy's aim in this competition is to celebrate the wonderful imagination and creativity of our children. I will be launching this on Monday in our assembly, with details to follow.

  The closing date for entries is Friday, March 1 - which gives children the February half term to really explore what this letter could look like. Go on give it a go.

   

  50 year anniversary

   

  As part of our grand plans for our 50th birthday, I had the opportunity to speak to the original head at Seaburn Dene when it opened in 1969. While our celebrations will coincide with the official opening in October, Miss Annie Sanderson was keen to point out that school actually opened in April 1969 to children. Now 92 and living locally, she was delighted to hear of our events and keen to visit the school she opened all those years ago, after transferring from Redby Infants to take the helm. Then the school was almost double the size in numbers, with huts in the yard and a uniform not too dissimilar (apart from the grey caps) from what it is today.  I look forward to talking to her further and finally welcoming her back to the school, which she talked of so fondly.

• Honesty, exploration and determination

  Fri 18 Jan 2019 Mr J Howe

  Some fantastic news on the sporting front. A massive congratulations to Year 5. Yesterday they took part in the Sunderland Hoops 4 Health basketball tournament, led by the Newcastle Eagles and have made it through to the grand finals on February 8th in front of the Eagles' home crowd, after going unbeaten at Sunderland University. Behind-the-scenes there is an awfully lot of hard work by both the staff and children for an event like this. This morning, Mr Traves was speaking to our colleagues at Monkwearmouth Academy to use their gym for after-school practices, on top of lunch time sessions with the team. It's all in the preparation. Thank you to both Mr Ashton for his enthusiasm, and Mr Traves for his dedication and both for giving up their time to train the team. It shows in their fantastic performances.

   

  Hockey for Year 3 and 4 begins in earnest next week. This year we will be entering the Y4 hockey tournament as, by then, we will have honed our skills to a high standard. Sports Premium funding from the Government has enabled us to deliver these sports and children's skills are deepening with our year-on-year commitment.

   

  Assembly

  The theme for school assemblies this week has been honesty and the values which underpin our school vision. I introduced it by sharing Aesop's Fable: The Boy Who Cried Wolf, while on Thursday we looked at our school vision statement: "A great place to explore, discover and learn." Focusing on exploration, I shared the little-known but inspirational story of the first man to walk in space, Alexey Leonov, in 1965. His story is one of lurching from one near-disaster to another, but we tried to bring it back to our willingness to explore new ideas, new opportunities, new experiences in our school and the challenges we face when these don't go - quite - according to plan.

   

  Cold Snap

  Despite the brief flurry of snow on Thursday, there seems no significant snow forecast by the Met Office for the North East coast for the next 5 days, despite temperatures hovering around zero.  We are not expecting extreme weather, but the temperature dip is a constant reminder of the need to wrap up warm and particularly wear the appropriate footwear.  As in years past, if - over the winter months - we have significant snow fall, we do everything we can to keep the school open while others around us close. Listen to local radio stations for information and, once they are up and running again, keep an eye on text and email messages. If you don't hear from us assume everything is running as normal. Staff travelling a distance may be late but there are sufficient staff who live locally who will keep the school open until everyone arrives safely.

   

  A reminder-the school colours are navy blue and grey.

• 2019 - our 50th Anniversary Year

  Fri 11 Jan 2019 Mr J Howe

  The leaves are still carpeting the grass in the quad and winter threatens to bite, but amidst all that it has been a relief to return to the routine of school life.  It is relatively short term, but already we have set our sights on organising events long into 2019, including World Book Day, our Y3/4 musical Pantastic Sports Day, Year 6 Leavers' Production and Awards and, unbelievably - our school's 50th birthday. Our school officially opened on the 16th October 1969 and we will be marking that event in style, beginning in the summer term.

  If you know anyone who attended Seaburn Dene Primary School in 1969, we would love to make contact. You can contact the school office with any details of past pupils who attended our opening day.

   This week has been Sex and Relationship and Design Technology week-a rather unusual combination yet it works for us.  Next week, Year 4 are re introduced to hockey, with Mr. Wilson leading the training, ahead of  their next competition. Street Dance returns for the last half term with a competition at South Shields' Customs House in February to look forward to, while Y5 are competing in basketball next Thursday and the school football team returns to league action. In amongst this will be competitions in High 5 Netball and gymnastics for Y2!

  With only 5 weeks before the next holiday, we will have to put our foot on the pedal and squeeze all our learning into a very short half term, before our Y4/5 head off to Kingswood in Hexham for their first residential there.

  I will leave you with a message we shared in assembly today, about the true meaning of kindness.

  Have a very happy 2019 everyone!

   

  

• Welcome back and School Uniform Reminder

  Tue 08 Jan 2019 Mr J Howe

  It really has been wonderful welcoming all the children back to Seaburn Dene at the start of 2019. This week we have been sharing stories and messages in assembly around "resolutions". The theme has been rather than give something up, saying "I will.." which fits in perfectly with our Growth Mindset attitude at school.

   On that note, I would like to thank you all our parents who make sure their children arrive at school in the proper school uniform. We are really proud of our school uniform and expect all children to wear it. However, I have noticed increasing numbers of children who are not wearing correct school uniform—mainly this is children forgetting what’s allowed and what isn’t or neglecting to come to school with a PE kit. Furthermore, our expectations around uniform extends to hairstyles and jewellery, below is a reminder of the uniform and expectations for ALL our children.

  • Footwear with uniform should be black, practical school shoes - not trainers.
  • PE kit is a plain white or blue t-shirt with blue or black plain shorts and an optional school hoodie -  NO football strips allowed.
  • Distinctive hairstyles, including tramlines and coloured, dyed hair are not suitable for school.
  • If ears are pierced, only one pair of studs may be worn for safety reasons. These should not be worn on PE days, but if they cannot be removed, they must be covered up with tape which each child should keep in their PE bag.
  • Socks and tights should be plain –  black, black or grey.
  • No jewellery (except watches), nail varnish or make up.

  I have reminded the school of our rules and class teachers will re-enforce our message to maintain high standards. Individual letters will then be sent home to children who continue to wear the uniform which is not in line with school rules, which ultimately could be reflected in their end-of-year report. Thank you for your support.