Contents
- Pantomime Fun!
- New OPAL areas
- Drop In Workshops
- Please be Polite!
- TreeTops
- What I want to be when I grow up
- Taylor Swift
- Coffee Morning
- Gosforth Voices and Band
- Dates for your diary
Pantomime Fun!
Our PTFA generously funded an Outside The Box performance of Peter Pan this week, and it was a real treat for both the children and staff. The children absolutely loved it and are still talking about their favourite moments and the parts that made them laugh the most. The whole school, from Nursery through to Year 4, sat completely captivated for an hour and fifteen minutes. It really was a fantastic experience for everyone involved. Thank you, thank you, thank you to our wonderful PTFA for making this possible. We enjoyed it so much that we have already asked if they would support a return visit next year for Outside The Box’s production of Cinderella!
New OPAL Play Areas
Our OPAL Play Team have been hard at work again, arriving early on Tuesday morning to create two exciting new play areas on our field. The children now have a hideout with a seated area and a music venue, complete with an assortment of objects that make different sounds when struck with a beater. We are really looking forward to some wonderful musical performances in the weeks ahead! We would love to add more radiators to our musical wall, so if you are having any building work done at home, or know someone who is, please keep us in mind. Your support is always very much appreciated.
Please remind your children not to play with OPAL equipment before the start of the school day. It is not safe for children to ride scooters when the driveway is busy with people arriving at school. The Forest area, which runs alongside the driveway, is not safe for children to enter without an adult, and it is never safe to run there due to tree roots and low branches. Thank you for your continued support in helping us keep all children safe.
We are delighted that so many of our children bike, scoot or walk to school; it’s wonderful to see such active travel choices. However, we have limited storage space: one bike shed outside Nursery, another on the driveway, and a scooter rack outside Year 2 (Juniper Class). It is therefore important that bikes and scooters are taken home each evening. We currently have over 20 bikes and scooters that have been left in the driveway bike shed since before Christmas. As a result, the shed is already very full at the start of the day and children are struggling to find space. Please could you ensure that any forgotten bikes or scooters are taken home by next Friday. Any items still remaining after this date will be assumed to be no longer wanted and will be added to our OPAL resources. Thank you for your support and understanding.
Drop in Workshops
A huge thank you to everyone who attended our Phonics, Spelling and Times Table Workshops this week. The children loved working alongside you and showing you how they learn this important knowledge at Grange, and we hope you found the sessions useful and informative. We would really appreciate your feedback to help us continue to improve these workshops. Please could you take 2 minutes to respond using the following link: Workshop Feedback January 2026 – Fill in form
Please Be Polite!
The vast majority of our Grange families continue to park safely and sensibly near school -thank you so much. Ensuring our children can arrive at school feeling safe is always our top priority. Unfortunately, a small number of incidents have been reported since we returned to school two weeks ago. These include adults being abusive to each other and parking without consideration for local residents or our Safer Streets Scheme. Please continue to be polite, respectful and kind to one another when dropping off or collecting your children. Your cooperation helps keep our school community safe and welcoming for everyone.
TreeTops
Our wraparound care, TreeTops, provides excellent, affordable childcare for our children. Sessions run at breakfast time, 7:45–8:45am, and after school, 3:15–5:55pm. Children are taken directly to their class at the start of the school day and are escorted to the club either by our Learning Support Assistants or a member of the TreeTops staff. If children are attending a club, they can still join TreeTops before or afterwards. There is always a variety of activities to suit different ages (3–9 years) and interests. These include:
- Arts and crafts (currently Deadly 60 is a favourite!)
- Role play and story sharing
- Construction and junk modelling
- Table football,
- Bench ball and sports activities on the field
- OPAL Play with loose parts
- Small world play and board games
Children are also provided with a healthy breakfast or after-school snack. If you are interested in securing a place for your child, please contact a member of our office team on 2852954 or email office@grangefirst.co.uk. We still have some availability.
What I want to be when I grow up!
Thank you to those of you who have replied volunteering to help us at our 'careers fair' in What I Want To Be Week'. If you haven't heard back from me, you will over the weekend! I still need lots more of you to volunteer for this event to go ahead. Please come and talk to our children and inspire them about the world of work! Drop me an email at clare.clougher@grangefirst.co.uk
If you are interested in volunteering, please email me at clare.clougher@grangefirst.co.uk as soon as possible. We would love to hear from marine biologists, hairdressers, police officers, dentists, poets, artists, musicians, vets, builders, chefs, bakers, engineers, dance teachers… or anyone else willing to share their experiences!
Taylor Swift
Our PTFA are ... Calling all Swifties! 🎶💫 Get ready to Shake It Off at our Taylor Swift Tribute Night - a fun-filled evening for parents and kids alike! 🗓 SAVE THE DATE Friday 6 March 2026 | 📍 Grange First School More information and ticket links coming in next week's newsletter. We have a limited number of tickets available, so make sure you are ready to get yours as soon as they go on sale next Friday, 23 January. It’s going to be Enchanted!
Coffee Morning
Join us for our Coffee Morning next week! Mrs Gregory has invited the Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Team to attend and talk about resilience and relationships. They will also be happy to answer any questions you may have. Come along to enjoy the company and support of our Grange parents and carers, and treat yourself to a cup of tea or coffee and a chocolate biscuit. We look forward to seeing you there!
Gosforth Voices and Band
Diary Dates
January
Wednesday 21st January Coffee Morning 9am- all parents welcome Saturday 31st January Nursery Open Day (for prospective parents)
February
Tuesday 3rd February Maths Workshop at 4.30pm with our Maths Lead Mrs Dixon- all parents with children from Rec- Year 4 are very welcome to attend Thursday 5th February Maths Workshop at 8.55am with our Maths Lead Mrs Dixon- all parents with children from Rec- Year 4 are very welcome to attend Tuesday 10th February Year 1 visit to Shildon Railway Tuesday 10th February Year 2 visit to Woodhorn Colliery Museum Week beginning 9th February ‘What I want to be when I grow up’ week- I will be inviting parents to contact me in the new year to come and talk about your job with our children. We want to inspire them to consider lots of different roles. HALF TERM 16th – 20th February
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