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

• Looking Forward to Easter

  Tue 29 Mar 2022 Mr John Howe

  The end of last week, (not so much the start of this) has underlined how lucky we are in this part of the North East.  There are signs of spring all around: warmer weather, leaf buds, frollicking frogs and spawn in the pond and a fox feeding cubs on the school grounds (after school).  The children have been actively using the school grounds and it was wonderful to welcome a league sporting fixture to the school, for the first time since the first lockdown, ending in an entertaining 3-1 win for Seaburn Dene.

  At this time of the year, there are always children eager to help out around the school grounds, most notably Yr 1. Our work with Southwick-based community garden Just Let Your Soul Grow has clearly inspired all in the class, with a queue of children desparate to water and tend to the flowers in our quad. - even when it has been raining. I am an enthusiastic amateur gardener, who really needs more time to tend our plants. Time is always our enemy in school.

   

  Being Safe

  Tomorrow, we will an external audit of all our Health and Safety protocols in school. This wide-ranging examination covers all sorts of elements of our work and runs alongside our wider safeguarding in school. The safety and wellbeing of our children, from premises up,  is a priority for the school. Plans to further develop our school grounds continue and we have secured contractors to transform the Y1/EYFS quad into a whole school outdoor science zone. The Reece Foundation (science) contributed almost £9,000 towards this, with the remainder raised by yourselves, via the Friends of the School. We are planning a summer holidays start day, alongside a £100,000 window replacement scheme, undertaken by Sunderland City Council.

   

  Uniform and PE kit

  It’s really important that children have established routines and something that I feel is really important in establishing this is school uniform. We’ve always had a good level of adherence to school uniform but one area which seems to be slipping is PE kit – children should be wearing a blue or white t-shirt (with a school PE or plain blue/navy tracksuit top or hoodie in the cold weather) and dark navy/black jogging bottoms with trainers (for outdoor PE). This also creates mindset where we show the value of PE by wearing a proper PE kit.

  In its wider sense, school uniform plays a key role in promoting pride, self-confidence and a sense of belonging. At SDPS we understand how expensive school uniform can be and so have kept this to an absolute minimum compared with other schools. We also launching a well-stocked pre-loved uniform store, with items available for a nominal 20p. It is therefore, very important, that correct uniform is worn and this includes correct footwear. Children should be wearing black school shoes, not boots and definitely not trainers unless it is a P.E. day and your child’s class comes to school in their P.E. kit. Please ensure that your child is correctly dressed in the morning and that their clothes and footwear are labelled including their coat. I understand, that at times, shoes become unwearable and that there can be a slight delay in the purchase of a new pair but this delay should not extend over a weekend.

   

  Assessments

  This week - across school - children are taking part in termly assessments in English and maths, so we can measure their progress both in-year and compared to their relative starting points in previous years. Assessments provide a snapshot  and sit alongside teacher assessments to offer a picture of children's learning and - as ever - we encourage our pupils to "always try to be that little bit better" and approach these situations with confidence and resilience. We can only ask them to do their best.

• Scarlet Fever

  Fri 25 Mar 2022 Mr John Howe

  Dear Parent/Carer
  
  We have been informed that a child who attends Seaburn Dene Primary School has been diagnosed with confirmed scarlet fever. Although scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, it should be treated with antibiotics to minimise the risk of complications and reduce the spread to others.
  
  The symptoms of scarlet fever include a sore throat, headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. This is followed by a fine red rash which typically first appears on the chest and stomach, rapidly spreading to other parts of the body. On more darkly pigmented skin, the scarlet rash may be harder to spot, but it should feel like 'sandpaper'. The face can be flushed red but pale around the mouth.
  
  If you think you, or your child, have scarlet fever:
  
  · see your GP or contact NHS 111 as soon as possible.
  
  · make sure that you/your child takes the full course of any antibiotics prescribed by the doctor.
  
  · stay at home, away from nursery, school or work for at least 24 hours after starting the antibiotic treatment, to avoid spreading the infection.
  
  Children who have had chickenpox recently are more likely to develop more serious infection during an outbreak of scarlet fever and so parents/carers should remain vigilant for symptoms such as a persistent high fever, cellulitis (skin infection) and arthritis (joint pain and swelling). If you are concerned for any reason please seek medical assistance immediately. If your child has an underlying condition which affects their immune system, you should contact your GP or hospital doctor to discuss whether any additional measures are needed.
  
  Kind Regards
  
  Mr John Howe
  
  Head Teacher

• Week beginning 21.03.22

  Sun 20 Mar 2022 Mr J Howe

  Despite the challenges and disruptions that this week and Covid-19 has brought, there have been many positives and  shoots of brightness.  I only have to look out of the window to see the results of the wonderful work our Y1 group have been completing with Just Let Your Soul Grow - our community gardening partner. The school is a blanket of daffodils and crocus, magpies are nesting in our quad and you can just about hear the woodpecker going about her business in the cemetery.  I regularly remind the children how lucky we are to have such a "green" space, with views to Cleadon hills and beyond  which our location, close to the sea, offers us this. Having visited London recently, you can see the flip side, urban primary schools, bordered by high rise flats and surrounded by a sea of concrete. It is a stark contrast.

   

  Covid-19

  Of course - we have missed our Nursery children and many Y2 children, not to say the other children who have to stay away from school after testing positive with Covid-19. This week, we have seen the highest number of staff  absent with Covid-19, as we move into the grim two year anniversary of the pandemic.  As a result, we reintroduced some further precautions: placing Y2 in a bubble, no shared whole school assemblies, face coverings in communal areas. The remaining staff have really pulled together to ensure your children have been as unaffected as possible by some significant challenges. As we move into next week, staff will be returning and possibly normality?  It has a familiar ring to it.

   

  Wild Oysters

   It was exciting to see Y4 embarking on a fascinating project to help restore oyster reefs to the mouth of the River Wear, to improve the quality of water here.  Through the Wild Oysters Project with Groundwork Trust, Year 4 will help restore native oyster reefs along our coastline, starting with breeding oysters in nurseries at Sunderland Marina. The Wild Oyster project is looking to restore the once buoyant oyster population through a new oyster reef so that this can contribute to building a healthy marine environment. The reef will provide a habitat for other marine life.
  The oysters also do a fantastic job of cleaning the water as each one can filter up to 200 litres of water each day.

   

  Comic Relief

  Thank you for all your donations and support for Comic Relief 2022, the children enjoyed the opportunity of supporting this national, fundraising effort and it was a great end to the week.

   

  Visits

  Educational visits are an important part of our curriculum and I am glad we are back up and running with them. We try to keep costs to families to a minimum, using the Metro - for example when it has been possible. As we move towards Easter, I know there are plans for Y3's second visit to Broomhouse Farm, Y2 are off to the Museum and Winter Gardens for a Victoria Hall Disaster learning experience. Elsewhere, staff are finalising the final arrangements for Y6's residential to Derwent Hill in the Lake District in May, while  - as a school - we are reflecting on our first, successful history trip to York. We regularly discuss other plans, including potential residentials - to give our children the opportunity to "dream big."

   

  Assemblies

  This week the children have been exploring the diversity of our Commonwealth, as part of Commonwealth Day and also learn about the significance of St Patrick's Day. Our Y1 and 3 children should be able to tell you about the finer points of Fiji's flag. Please ask them...

   

  Finally

  It was a pleasure to watch Yr 5 take part in gymnastics this week and really challenge themselves. For those who attended Seaburn Dene Primary School in the past - you will notice the one piece of equipment the children were using. They showed real maturity, support and co-coaching, during this part of the session with Mr Ashton - which he can be particularly proud of.

   

   

   

  

• Well Done Anya

  Tue 15 Mar 2022

  Anya in Y3 is the youngest member of Sunderland's EGS (Environmental, Green and Sustainable Group) and is committed to making our planet a better place to live on. Here is her anti-pollution boat designed for the group who are determined to start this journey on Wearside. Well done Anya!

  

• Week beginning 14.03.22

  Mon 14 Mar 2022 Mr J Howe

  Respect

  Our value this week is respect, which, in itself, is a very simple word. Quite often I point out the respect is a two-way street and on this street it often goes hand in hand with kindness. We talk about how many of us say "please" and "thank you" enough, when someone shows them respect. Or how the adults in our school, myself included, do not simply expect respect as a matter of course, it is something we demonstrate and model too. Mutual Respect - one of the five British Values - is an aspect we have unpacked recently in assembly, alongside tolerance and understanding and respect for people of different faiths and cultures.

  The worsening situation in Ukraine provides a depressing backdrop to these discussions. It is upsetting and alarming for all and must be confusing for our children. Whilst in school, we have been discussing our responsibility to show respect and kindness to others by being patient, kind, not being rude or easily angered for example, how difficult it must it be for our children to balance this with current world events. Our responsibility as adults is to model respect in action and to reassure our children that the current world events are the actions of a small minority – most people across the world do show respect to each other and act responsibly.

   

  Covid-19

  We thought optimistically that we had turned a significant corner. We haven't - yet. This week, staff absence due to Covid is the highest it has ever been, at any point in the pandemic. Our staff are flexible, so are making the best of the situation, however, in Nursery - our full time staff are currently absent, making it impossible to maintain the provision for this week. Parents have been understanding, which I am really grateful for. Hopefully the end of the week

  Equally in Y2, the high numbers of absence among our children has meant reverting back to a bubble for the time being and monitoring the situation. We will keep you all informed when the situation changes.

   

  John Bridge

  The Imperial War Museum in London is a sobering place to visit on a rain streaked, quiet Sunday morning. What struck me reading about the build up to World War Two in one of the many exhibits, is the striking similarities to what is currently unfolding in Eastern Europe. On the top floor is an exhibition dedicated to heroism and bravery. There are the stories of dozens of men and women, recipients of the Victoria and George Crosses. On the fifth row, part way along, is a small display case containing the deeds of John Bridge. John won the George Cross with a bar (twice) for his actions clearing mines and defusing bombs over days under fire in World War Two in Sicily.  He was the first person to be awarded a Bar- to Britain's highest (equal to the VC) honour for bravery.

  John Bridge later became Director of Education in Sunderland, secured Derwent Hill for the children of Sunderland. A humble man, who lived at Roker seafront, he never appeared comfortable discussing his past, certainly wasn't when I interviewed him, as a journalist. He died in 2006, aged 91 and the headquarters of the Fleet Diving Squadron of the Royal Navy is named after him. Our children could learn much about what bravery and heroism actually look like from the experiences of people like him -  and how the real heroes of our world move very quietly among us.