Grange First Weekly News Spring 1 Week 6 - 13.2.26

World Book Day Dress-up day! On Thursday 3rd March 2026 it is World Book Day. We will be reading the book The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds. The theme of the book is words and the power that they have so our day in school will be very much focussing on vocabulary and having fun with new, interesting and powerful words. We would like the children to fully enter into the spirit of being “Word Collectors” so we are going to have a ‘Dress-Up’ Day with a difference on World Book Day. Instead of coming to school dressed as a Book Character, we would like the children to come to school dressed up as a word that is new or interesting to them. For example, this could be a word that they have found in their reading book that they didn’t know the meaning of; a word they have recently heard that they didn’t know the meaning of. Take a look at some of the examples or if you google ‘vocabulary parade', you will find more ideas.

🎤 Taylor Swift Tribute Night – Tickets Still Available! 🎤

We still have a few tickets left for our Taylor Swift Tribute Night, and we’re excited to announce that we’re now opening booking to friends and family outside of the school community. 🎟 Tickets cost £8.50 – book now to avoid missing out! If you know any Swifties who’d love to join us, please feel free to share the booking link with them. 👨‍👩‍👧 Important information: All adults must have a ticket All children to be supervised by an adult (with a maximum ratio of 3 children to 1 adult)  No under 4s 🥤 On the night: Alcoholic and soft drinks, snacks, and a selection of Taylor Swift merchandise will be available to buy. It’s set to be a fun-filled evening of music and sparkle, so don’t leave it too late to book! 💖✨

Accelerated Reader Champions for January

In Year 3, Willow Class read the most books but Sycamore read the most words and they read for 1 minute a day longer on average!

Wow Maple Class totally smashed it in January! Well done! Come on Cherry Class- let's see what you can achieve in February!

Safer Streets

Thank you to all our Grange families who park considerately a few streets away from Grange First School so that our children can arrive at and leave school safely. I was out and about before school on Thursday and was disappointed to see a number of cars ignoring our Safer Street zone. I will continue to be out regularly to monitor this and will ask drivers to respect the restrictions. I urge anyone who sees a car parked without a permit or blue badge to report this to the council. If we all do this, it increases the likelihood of a patrol being sent. I have also received a complaint from a local resident (see picture above) who was unable to leave for work on time because cars were parked across their dropped kerb, blocking access. Please be considerate of our neighbours and help us keep our community safe.

Parents’ Evening – Monday 16th and Thursday 19th March

Just a reminder to book your appointment with your child’s class teacher via the School Cloud Link. Booking opens on Monday 9th February at 9am. Mrs Milne has emailed you all with information about how to book using School Cloud.

What have we been doing in school this week?

Year 2 had a wonderful visit to Woodhorn Colliery Museum on Tuesday as part of their Deep Down Underground topic. The children loved learning about how important coal mining was in the North East of England and discovering what life was like for miners working down the pit. They also explored why we have fewer coal mines today and asked some fantastic questions throughout the day. A big thank you to the museum staff and our parent helpers for making the trip such a memorable experience.

Year 4 have been busy making scones this week- we've got some potential bakers in our midst! They worked in groups to create their own unique flavours: cheese and chive, cherry, sultana, cheese and cherry, cherry and coconut.... They worked so independently and everyone managed to master the rubbing in method. They were DELICIOUS! Thank you to our wonderful kitchen staff for popping them into their ovens for us!

Year 1 enjoyed an exciting visit to Shildon Railway Museum as part of their learning about how steam power changed the world. They were amazed by George Stephenson’s steam-powered locomotive and loved seeing the historic trains up close. Thank you to the museum team and everyone who helped support the visit.

Nursery enjoyed a visit from the police this week. They loved the blue flashing light on their car!

Safer Internet Day

This week we marked Safer Internet Day, organised by the UK Safer Internet Centre. Mrs Gardner, our Computing Lead, led assemblies across school to remind children how to stay safe online, including how to protect personal information, how to use AI and know what to do if something makes them feel uncomfortable. We are proud of how well they engaged with this important topic and of their knowledge about how to be responsible digital citizens.

We have sent a guide along with this newsletter which will help you to manage your children's digital lives. We hope you find it useful.

This Week in OPAL

Mud, mud, glorious mud! We've had a very wet and muddy time in OPAL again this week! One girl got stuck in the mud! I had to carry her into school and leave her wellies behind. I had a tug of war trying to remove them!

TreeTops

REDUCED PRICES & SUBSIDISED COSTS: If you are entitled to Tax Free Childcare, then in effect this will reduce the cost of childcare by 20% (equivalent to £4.80/£10 a day). See : https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare. If you receive Universal Credit, you may be able to claim back up to 85% of the cost of childcare. Check here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/universal-credit

What do we want to be when we grow up?

We have had a fabulous time finding out about jobs we can do when we are older. The children loved all of their hands on experiences and have been buzzing with excitement! A HUGE thank you to all of the family members who made this week possible. You have inspired our children to be whatever they want to be when they grow up. We will be creating displays around school about what the children would like to be when they grow up. You will have the opportunity to see them when you come to school for parents evening next half term.

Big Bird Watch

Every year in January and February, the RSPB ask pupils across the UK to count birds in their school grounds. We have been out observing and counting them all week. It hasn't been the best week of weather to do this unfortunately but we did still manage to spot some.