Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
..of our football team for coming third in the County Durham football tournament. Considering the size of our school, with only one class per year group, this is a remarkable achievement. Mr. Traves and Mr. Ashton said the team played well to draw two matches and lose one in the very last minute, but the players were superb role models in the way they took defeat.
...of our Yr 5 and their skills in dancing. Paul, the Dance City teacher, put our school name forward to perform at the Magic Weekend rugby tournament in front of 60,000 rugby fans and television cameras. It's going to be hard work to learn the steps, as 250 children will have to perform the exact same routine together but have only one live rehearsal! This is an event when we'll need to be aspirational and show high levels of resilience and determination.
We're excited about....
The Easter Chocolate Afternoon tea celebration on Tuesday at 3.30pm, the dance demonstration for Year 5 parents on Wednesday at 3.00pm and the Spelling Bee all day on Thursday.
The Year 4 regional hockey tournament taking place this Wednesday. Mr. Wilson, our coach, is thrilled with the progress children have made and believes they will play really well.
The Spelling Bee on Thursday. After the success of the inter-house times table competition, it's time for children who excel in Spelling to shine.
We're back to school on Monday 16th April. During the first week back we're all looking at what we would do in any emergency and Year 4 represent the school at the Skipping Festival.
Throughout the week we will be celebrating the Easter story during assembly time. Today we will hear the sombre story of the Crucifixion, in class assembly tomorrow learn about Easter traditions in other European countries and on Wednesday Mr. Howe's assembly will tell the story of the Resurrection.
The Big Tidy
During the next couple of weeks we're having a big tidy up around school. With so many children and adults working in such a busy environment, keeping classrooms, shared areas, cloakrooms and resource cupboards tidy can be very challenging. You could support this at home by teaching your child/children how to fold their PE kit to fit into their bags. Some children really struggle with this so have the dishcloth approach (squeeze it into a ball) or, they simply abandon pieces of kit to become lost property.
Parking In School
Do you know we have to pay £3000 a year for weeding and grass cutting and it comes out of our school budget? The damage cars are causing on our grass will simply add hugely to this cost if we don't start taking care of our grounds. I am sure you would rather that we spend money on lovely days and resources for children than repairing grass, especially as the damage is preventable. We have asked the secondary school to stop their parents (and those groups hiring the school and fields) from parking on our grass. They have taken immediate action for this and their own grassed areas, for which we are very thankful. We also need to keep our grounds safe for all children and students so keeping traffic to a minimum is key to this. Parents from our school should not be dropping off or collecting children from the school car park unless:
We would like to thank those parents, who have used the car park to pick up after clubs, for not parking on the grass. It's fine to park on the double yellow lines outside of the kitchen as there are no afternoon food deliveries.
The good news is, that now we have our handyman Ian, we are hoping to make the grounds look beautiful by creating stunning planters in each area. But we're waiting for Spring weather to begin!
We welcome back...former pupil Adam Lowery, who has become a local celebrity. Representing Newcastle University on University Challenge, Adam, having already attained a Masters Degree in chemistry, is now studying for a doctorate (PHD). He will be talking to Years 5 and 6 pupils to encourage them to aim high and let them know what it takes to be a university student. I am sure he is an amazing role model and will show our children how important it is to aim high.
Next Week - On Tuesday( 27th) Easter Chocolate Tea afternoon. On Wednesday Hockey finals for Year 4
On Thursday-Spelling Bee and last day of term.
Last week our football team played in a tournament to qualify for the Durham County finals. They played four games winning three and drawing the fourth-a magnificent result. Now they are in the final and await news of their opposition. We understand that there may be 4 teams in the finalists' tournament to be played next Tuesday (20th) at a sports centre in Darlington. Well done everyone and good luck for next week.
World Book Day Fancy Dress
On Wednesday we'll be enjoying the postponed school World Book Day. We can't wait to finally wear our nursery rhymes and fairy tale costumes. Even Robbie, our Bark and Read dog, will be coming along in costume, although Nicky has warned me that Robbie's not impressed with it at all!
Teach Your Monster to Read
It's free, it's fun and fabulous. Having won awards and become one of the biggest reading online games, this is a perfect game for your reception and Year 1 child and any other child struggling with reading. It works alongside our phonics scheme Read, Write Inc and will build up a child's confidence and excitement about reading. You can use it on a PC, laptop, tablet or phone. Here is the link .
Spelling Bee
Mr Howe has been trawling through class novels to find spellings for the Inter-house Spelling Bee on 29th March. The structure of the challenge will be the same as the times tables challenge except we are providing a whiteboard so that children can write their word before committing to press the buzzer. The main difference is that there will be spot prizes for the audience too.
Tall Ships 2018
This year, as we move into our new classes, we'll be enjoying a whole school topic about the Tall Ships. These majestic vessels will be visiting Sunderland between 11th and 14th July and, already, the school has received a vast collection of activities based on their visit. We'll keep you informed as we move towards the transition in June. Meanwhile, if you'd like to enjoy family activities, the website you need is here.
Chocolate non-uniform day-In return for a chocolate donation children are able to wear their own clothes on Friday 16th March. Your chocolate contribution will go towards the annual Easter Chocolate Afternoon Tea on Tuesday 27th March.
As the snow gradually disappears and we return to our normal routine, we begin to think about Spring, new life and the lead up to the Easter holidays. This week we will be seeing you at our Parents' Evenings on Monday and Wednesday and it's clean uniforms and tidy hair for school photographs on Wednesday-a lovely momento of your child growing up. When I was clearing my home office cupboards over Christmas I discovered class photographs from different stages of my teaching career and there are some WOW! hairstyles. Remember the poodle perm? It's enough to make me blush, yet I was fascinated to see children who are now mums themselves and still in touch. So it's really worth buying a copy of school photographs to enjoy now and bring out on special occasions as your child grows up.
On Friday this week Year 3 are off to Shildon Railway Museum as part of their learning in history. Miss Bliss has sent out all the information you need so all that's left to do is to wish the children a wonderful day of learning.
World Book Day-new date Wednesday 14th March
Due to the extreme weather conditions, school was closed on the official World Book Day. I know many of you made or bought costumes and , as the love of literature is one of our priorities, we are rescheduling SDPS World Book Day to Wednesday 14th March. It's also national Shakespeare Week so a very appropriate time to reschedule. The morning begins with a performance of "The Little Princess" by M&M productions then exciting activities around books, fairy tales and nursery rhymes will take place in class throughout the day. Mr. Howe will send out all the details you need.
In the News
Thank you to staff and parents for arriving on Friday armed with snow shovels and spades to ensure the paths were cleared and conditions safe for children to be in school. We had a wonderful day with some stunning work, including powerful Haiku writing by Year 4. Mr. Howe says he will publish poems onto Pobble when they are "written up" so we look forward to reading those.
The Sunderland Echo came along to see us at work and play and you can see the article by following the link here
Now, as the slush leaves behind a rather grey and sad landscape, we look forward to seeing Spring bulbs pushing through, adding colour into the school gardens. We now have a handyman, Mr Ian Turnbull, working in school once a week so when he gets through his job list and the ground dries up, we're hoping to be planting and growing once again.
Next week-On Monday Years 4 and 6 visit Woodhall Mining Museum for workshops, it's British Science Week so Mrs Houston has prepared a booklet of really easy experiments you can try at home, SDPS World Book Day is on Wednesday and it's a "bring in chocolate" non -uniform day on Friday (16th).
We are open today (FRI). Children should wear warm, practical clothing (jeans, hoodies etc.) to school, uniform isn't necessary today. Access to school by vehicle via Torver Crescent remains difficult and should be avoided, it is best to complete this part of the journey on foot. Dovedale and Dykelands Rds were both clear and accessible. Thanks to staff and parents, pathways around school have been cleared and gritted. We look forward to seeing the children. We finish at 3.20pm, there are no after school clubs or tea club today.
Monday - back to school uniform, but don't forget your layers.