Swimming Gala
We are beyond proud to celebrate our swimmers' incredible achievements at the gala on Tuesday; not only did they make it to the final, but they also secured an impressive second place overall!
Their sportsmanship, unwavering determination, and relentless "never give up" attitude truly shone through, it was a joy to watch. As Christopher Robin wisely said, “Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” This was clearly evident in every stroke they took.
The children competed in four exciting races: the 25m freestyle, 25m backstroke, 25m breaststroke, and the thrilling 4x25m freestyle relay. A massive thank you to everyone for their amazing support – and an even bigger congratulations to all the swimmers for their outstanding performances!
Key Stage 1 White Rose Maths APP
Across school, we follow the White Rose sequence of learning in maths which links with the National Curriculum. The company have now designed a one minute maths app which links to this learning. It is aimed at children in Year 1 and Year 2 however the multiplication and division covers all times tables therefore would be useful for lots of children. It is a free app which can be downloaded through your usual app store.
Children can choose any topic they want to try. They then answer a unique series of questions (so it’s a different set of questions every time). If they’re struggling with a question, a ‘Hint’ button will give a helpful clue by showing the question in a different but familiar way. When the one minute’s up, they’ll see a feedback screen telling them how they’ve done.
There is no log in or account needed, and best of all it's free! If your child uses the App don't forget to record this in their diary as they work towards their maths stars.
World Book Day
Thursday 6th March is World Book Day – children will be taking part in a range of activities across the day to help foster their love of reading. They can come into school dressed as a book character or in their pyjamas. Please ensure your child still has sensible footwear and a coat.
Shortly after World Book Day, on March 19th, we will also welcome author Laura Mucha to school who will be sharing some of her books with us. Laura is a poet, author and performer who works with children and young people of all ages. Her writing has won multiple international awards and has been featured on the TV and radio
She will work with children throughout school and share her love of books and writing. Year 3 and 4 will also work with her to cowrite, edit and perform a poem together.
Maths Week
We had another amazing Outnumbered Maths Week; there were penguins all over school escaping from our book '365 Penguins'.
There was so much teamwork, curiosity and determination shown all over school - especially from our grown ups during our open classrooms. The children loved showing off their Maths knowledge and sharing a learning experience with you all; thank you so much to all the adults who were able to join us during this week.
Reception had a very important challenge from Andy...could they save the dinosaurs before the volcano erupted? A series a Maths challenges were completed and all the dinosaurs saved, well done Reception! Key Stage 1 and 2 ended their week with Escape Rooms of their own, cracking the Dark Code and helping the caveman to return home, combing Maths and logic to solve a series of problems.
What a wonderful week we all had reminding us that Maths is everywhere and just how much fun we can have whilst solving problems together.
Curriculum Information
Early Years
Early Years was overrun by creatures great and (not so) small last half term. We were visited by dinosaurs, dragons, crocodiles and penguins!
Nursery have been continuing with the fire topic and have delved further into staying safe around fire. We have had our own fire pit where we practiced staying safe around a controlled fire. We have learnt all about the amazing people who can help us when we call 999, and who we should ask for if we were ever in hurt, scared or in danger. The children are rounding of their fire topic by learning about fire engines and identifying all the things in Regent Fire which help keeps us safe.
This month, the Reception children were shocked to find an alligator had camped out in the school corridor, but quickly found out the best way to look after him thanks to our friends in Gatorland Florida who gave us a lesson in how to be a responsible gator-keeper. From this, the children created their own 'Gatorland' in the outdoor areas with fully equipped crocodile and alligator experts. More surprises followed with our 'Jurassic Encounter' workshop where the children got the opportunity to explore real fossils, meet and hold animals that have evolved from dinosaurs. The children ended the half term today with a fantastic 'alligator ball' where they danced, sang and even had a special visit from an alligator!
Key Stage 1
Year 1 learnt about the first moon landing and why it is such a significant event in History. The children have learned about the astronaut Neil Armstrong and also how space travel has changed and evolved in the years since he stepped on the moon. Each book of the week was focused around space and the children produced some amazing writing including a letter to Katherine Johnson, thanking her for all her amazing work. And if you need something fixing with a hammer and nail, Year 1 are the ones to call! As part of their woodwork project they have learned to sand, and attach items to wood using wood glue and a nail. They used all these skills to create their own wooden toy rockets. They ended their topic with a wonderful day at the Centre for Life bringing their topic to a close in the most wonderful way.
Year 2 travelled back to 1666 and the time of The Great Fire of London. They’ve been fantastic historians using sources of information and reading Samuel Pepys diary entries to find out about the Great Fire of London. They lived through the fire day by day, thinking about the key events and how the people of London would be feeling. They then used this as inspiration for writing. After learning that the fire started in a bakery, they turned their hand to baking bread, just like Thomas Farriner himself! Not only did it smell delicious but tasted amazing too with lots of butter. In D.T the children worked on creating fire engines, looking at how wheels, axels and chassis work to create a moving object and applying this to their model fire engines. What amazing teamwork and creativity were shown during the final construction of these. And in computing the children have been incredible at writing codes for the microbits in order to create name tags and changing emoji badges. The term ended with a jaw dropping performance of The Great Fire of London play; they wowed audiences with their acting and singing!
Key Stage 2
Last half term the children in Year 3 travelled back in time to the Stone Age period. The children learnt about the past through the story of the “Stone Age Boy.” They researched artefacts to gain an understanding of what life was like in Britain during this period and the types of skills needed to survive. The topic included a wonderful trip to the Rising Sun Country Park where they built shelters and experienced life in the Stone Age. They made Stone Age Flat bread and cooked it on a firepit. In English the children wrote precise instructions for others to follow, they had great fun!
What an incredible start Year 4 has had this term! They kicked off with a deep dive into the wonders of Ancient Egypt, exploring everything from mummification to the mighty pyramids and secret tombs. They have learnt about the many different jobs in Ancient Egypt; the importance of the Nile River; and the fascinating life of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. In art, the children put their creative hats on and made our very own canopic jars while discovering the art of mummification!
For the first two weeks of January, they jumped into the pool every day to learn and practise the vital skill of swimming. Not only did everyone build confidence in the water, but they also focused on water safety, an essential skill for life.
In Guided Reading, they’ve been loving The Boy at the Back of the Class, a heartwarming story that has sparked lots of discussions. In maths, there has been a big focus on perfecting multiplication and division skills and the staff have introduced the crucial Sunday Timetable Tournament – the Tigers and Leopards have been battling it out in friendly competition, keeping us all on our toes!
Dates for Half Term
- Monday 3rd March - School Re-Opens
- Wednesday 5th March 8:45am - Meeting about Robinwood for all those Y4 children going on the trip - this meeting is repeated later in the month.
- Thursday 6th March - World Book Day Children can come in dressed as their favourite book character or in their pyjamas to snuggle down and enjoy a book.
- Friday 7th March - Year 4 trip to Great North Museum
- Thursday 13th March - ‘That History Bloke’ working with Year 2 – Great Fire of Newcastle
- Friday 14th March Closing Date for Nursery Applications for September 2025
- Wednesday 19th March - Author Visit, Laura Mucha
- Thursday 20th March Reception Beach Visit
- Friday 21st March Red Nose Day Children can come into school wearing anything red, or Comic Relief items, for a donation to charity.
- Thursday 27th March 3:30pm Meeting about Robinwood for all those Y4 children going on the trip.
- Monday 31st March - Year 4 Skip4Fit Sessions
- Monday 31st March - Nursery Visit to Tynemouth Aquarium
- Week Commencing 7th April Parents’ Evening Appointments - booking can be done via the APP from Tuesday 4th March at 8am.
- Monday 7th April Whole School Kenya Day Children can come to school wearing the colours of the Kenyan Flag – black, red and green.
- Thursday 10th April Easter Egg Competition – this year’s theme will be animals! Children can decorate a hard-boiled egg to look like any animal. Prizes for each year group will be awarded and everyone who takes part will get a little treat.
School Breaks Up for Easter – Friday 11th April at 3:15pm
School re-opens - Monday 28th April