Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Derwent Hill
With the half term holiday in our sights, many of Year 6 are heading towards an outdoor and adventurous week at Sunderland's Derwent Hill centre. They will be accompanied by Mr Ashton and Mrs Smith who are equally excited by the thought of a week of activity in this glorious weathe so we wish them all a wonderful time.
Amazing Ambassadors
On Friday and Saturday members of Year 5 had an experience they'll treasure for life. Having worked with Dance City, they were invited to join other dancers to perform at the Magic Rugby weekend. I have been told that the roar of a crowd of 40,000 rugby enthusiasts didn't put the dancers off their stride at all, performing their routine superbly. Both Mr. Traves and Mrs Houston were very impressed by the excellent behaviour and attitude of the Year 5 before, during and after this auspicious event. Congratulations everyone.
Governors' Day
Tuesday is Governors' day-the day we welcome Governors into school to spend time in classes and talking to teachers and children. We look forward to working with them.
RSPB Workships
On Thursday the RSPB outreach workers will be holding workshops for Years 1, 3 and 5. As we have such extensive grounds around our school, we frequently catch a glimpse of a shy little wren, robins, sparrows, blue tits and magpies as well as the colonies of seagulls tapping on the field to attract worms to the surface. Children are always interested in nature so will really enjoy these workshops.
Meet and Greet Change of Date
For those of you who keep well ahead with the school calendar, the Meet and Greet has moved from Tuesday 3rd July to Thursday 5th July.
A Glorious Wedding Celebration
Her Majesty would like to thank all her subjects for the wonderful, and very colourful, costumes and hats designed to celebrate the marriage of her much beloved grandson Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle. She will be presenting awards for the best hat in each class on Monday. Her subjects will, this lunchtime, enjoy a grand picnic on the lawns of Castle Seaburn.
PE Kits
During the past few weeks the number of children without a PE kit in school has increased. This means that these children are not taking part in PE lessons and, therefore, not experiencing the full curriculum. We have had spare kit but this too is disappearing when children borrow and don't return it. There are a handful of children who never have PE kit in school and continually miss lessons-this is sad for the children.
Exercise is important for children's well-being and provide them with interests and skills they can use for life. Added to which we have just received the statistics from the child measurement programme. According to these statistics, the proportion of children in our school during the past three years who are overweight or obese is rising year on year. Current figures show 31% for Reception aged children (the 3 year statistics incorporate Years 1 and 2) and in Year 6, 37%.
Please ensure your child brings a kit into school every Monday.
RUGBY HONOUR
At the weekend, Year 5 will be representing our school at the huge rugby festival taking place in Newcastle. With Paul Allen, our dance teacher from Dance City, they've been rehearsing intensively for three weeks as, when they perform, our dancers are at the front of 177 children. We know they'll do a wonderful job, both on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon as Paul is delighted with their progress in learning the routine. Good luck crew!
Following on from our successes in hockey, basketball and tennis, yesterday, Seaburn Dene Primary became C league champions. The league is for schools of a similar size and, not only did we become champions, but we are currently 10 points ahead of the second placed team, Benedict Biscop, who have a game in hand but can are no danger to use now. Similarly Dame Dorothy have two games to play, but with a 10 point gap cannot overtake us at the top of the league.
Congratulations to all players who have been part of the school team this season and well done Mr. Traves for another wonderful achievement. And I understand our supporters have been very loyal too, encouraging from the sidelines. Thank you to you all for transporting the team and inspiring them to do so well.
Now the school team will go on to play against the champions of other leagues. We'll keep you informed.
What a lovely Bank Holiday weekend it turned out to be. And it makes it so much easier for trainers to deliver the Bikewise programme to Year 5. Traditionally, the weather is usually cold, windy or damp (or all three) but, for once, the teams of cyclists and trainers are enjoying the warmth of a sunny day.
Just a quick reminder about sun awareness. Children need the sun for Vitamin D but sensible precautions should be taken to protect them by putting sunscreen on before school and wearing a hat outdoors.
SATS NEXT WEEK
Although it doesn't seem more than a few weeks since last year's SATs tests, our current Year 6 will be taking their SATs tests next week. Children and staff have worked really hard throughout the year and are well prepared. But they also need to know that if they do not attain the standard, it's not the end of the world. All of our Year 6 have many wonderful qualities, will do well in secondary education and, as adults, will become valued members of the community in which they live. Good luck to all of Year 6-we are proud of you.
Date | Test |
Monday 14 May | English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1: questions English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 2: spelling |
Tuesday 15 May | English reading |
Wednesday 16 May | Mathematics Paper 1: arithmetic Mathematics Paper 2: reasoning |
Thursday 17 May | Mathematics Paper 3: reasoning |
Results are due in July.
OFSTED
This week we were given a section 8 inspection (1 day). I would like to thank all those parents who responded to the OFSTED questionnaire, as this contributes significantly towards the final judgement. At this point we are unable to provide feedback to either parents or staff as the report is not released for some weeks-well after the May half term holiday we've been told. The staff have lived on chocolates and biscuits this week so thank you also for your contributions to satisfy our need for sugar. We're all on diets and back to the gym as from next week!