School Dinners and Packed Lunch
We have noticed a significant increase in the number of children switching between school dinners and packed lunches on a daily basis. Please can we remind you that you must inform the school office if your child wishes to change their meal choice with at least two weeks notice. The kitchen places food orders in advance to ensure they have the correct ingredients and quantities prepared each day. For this reason, children cannot switch between school dinners and packed lunches on a daily basis.
School Build Update
As you may have seen, great progress is being made on the new school building by Bowmer and Kirkland. The full concrete slab has now been poured, giving a real sense of the building’s overall shape and size for the first time. It’s an exciting milestone that brings the project to life and allows everyone to visualise how the finished school will look. Work is continuing at pace, with walls now beginning to rise around the halls using a prefabricated system. This modern construction method is helping to accelerate progress, and the speed of development on site is certainly impressive! Back at our current school, the recent removal of trees in preparation for further work, has meant we've revamped the current nursery 'forest' area. This space has already been transformed into an exciting new environment for our youngest children, who are thoroughly enjoying their very own mini construction site, mud kitchen, and new gym equipment. It’s been fantastic to see their creativity and energy in action as they explore and play. Looking ahead, work is due to begin next month on a new substation, which will be located within part of this area, supporting the ongoing development of the new school.
Use of Fidgets and Chew Toys
There has been an increasing number of children bringing fidget toys and chew toys into school from home without prior discussion with staff. We ask that these items are only used where there is a clearly identified need, such as a recommendation from a relevant professional (e.g. an occupational therapist) or as part of agreed sensory support strategies. While these resources can be helpful for some children, they are not suitable or beneficial for everyone and can sometimes be distracting in the classroom. To ensure consistency and appropriateness, please do not send these items into school without first speaking with your child’s class teacher or the SENCo (Mrs Doonan), so that we can agree on the most suitable support for your child.
Messages
- A heartfelt thank you to all the families who took part in the Children’s Cancer Run at Newcastle Racecourse. Your enthusiasm, energy, and support made the event truly special. By coming together, you’ve helped raise awareness and vital funds to support children and families affected by cancer. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces, determined runners, and a real sense of community spirit throughout the day. Your participation makes a genuine difference, and we are incredibly grateful for your support.
- Please can I remind all parents dogs are not allowed on the school grounds at any time; this includes being carried.
- We are aware that many classes have set up WhatsApp groups to share messages. This can be a very useful way of ensuring dates and events aren't missed however please remember these are not set up and managed by school. Information about children and staff should never be shared on any form of group social media; if you have any questions or concerns please speak to a member of staff and we will do our best to help.
Curriculum Information
EYFS
Nursery have had a busy half term exploring the topic of Transport. They travelled the World aboard Emma Janes Aeroplane; making Pizza's in Italy; dragons in Beijing and boomerangs in Australia. They then moved onto the Magic Train Ride, visiting the jungle, moon and even had a visit from a fairy in the magic forest. This week Nursery are exploring diggers; they are using the ongoing building of the new school to support in play and learning.
This half term, the children in Reception have worked extremely hard in their 'Rockets, Robots and Reinventions' topic. They were introduced to the 'Wood Work Room' which appeared in the classroom, then carefully planned, designed and created fantastic models. The children were introduced to the different tools in the area and learnt how to use them safely. The children received a very exciting letter from Izzy Gizmo, asking them to look after her Invention shed! They were challenged to create a rocket car, an umbrella hat, and even a new pair of wings for a bird! They then focused on the story 'No-Bot the Robot' and were extremely busy in the Woodwork Area practicing their new skills. We held our 'Wood Workshop' with our parents and the children; everyone made some fantastic wooden robots, inspired by our book of the week. As well as this, the children created story-maps, posters and even invented what No-Bot could use for a bottom!
Key Stage 1
Year 1 have had a fantastic half term exploring our Gizmos and Gadgets topic. They’ve learnt all about steam power and how it changed the world, with a special focus on the life and achievements of George Stephenson. Through a range of stories and information texts, the children discovered that Stephenson grew up in the village of Wylam, living in a small cottage that still stands today. Some of our children have even visited it with their grown‑ups, which has helped bring his story to life and deepen their understanding of why he is such a significant figure in history. To celebrate the end of our topic, we were very excited visit the Discovery Museum. This trip gives the children the chance to explore real steam engines, inventions, and interactive exhibits that build on everything they’ve learned in class.
This half term, Year 2 have been exploring the fascinating world of bridges, making links to the many fabulous bridges we can see here in Newcastle. Using their DT skills, the children carefully measured, cut, sanded and hammered to create their very own wooden truss bridges. It has taken fantastic teamwork and determination, and we are incredibly proud of the finished results! They have also been learning about Newcastle’s rich shipbuilding history, with the construction of the Carpathia being a real highlight. They explored its history and made exciting links to the Titanic, which has been a truly engaging topic for the children. Everyone immersed themselves in life on board the Titanic, writing thoughtful letters and diary entries as if they had experienced it themselves. Alongside this, they have been showing great determination in Maths as the children develop their understanding of time. After revisiting o’clock and half past, they have moved on to quarter past and quarter to, and are now beginning to tell the time to 5-minute intervals – even creating their own clocks to support their learning!
Key Stage 2
Year 3 had a wonderful time at Rising Sun Country Park, where they imagined they were living in the Stone Age. Throughout the day, the children explored how Stone Age people survived by learning how to make fires, create tools, hunt for food, and build shelters. They showed fantastic teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills while building their excellent dens. It was a fun-filled day of outdoor learning, adventure, and hands-on history! The Penguins and Polar Bears also discovered how people in the Stone Age made flour by threshing and grinding wheat using tools made from wood and stone. This was a fantastic hands-on experience and a brilliant way to bring history to life. The children then made their own Stone Age flatbreads and cooked them over an open fire. There were definitely mixed reviews about the taste, but everyone had lots of fun making and trying them! Back in class, the children wrote their own instructional texts in English explaining how to make Stone Age flatbread. In Maths, the children have been learning to measure length using centimetres and millimetres. They have enjoyed lots of practical activities and loved working in teams to measure and compare their heights. The children also predicted who could jump the furthest before practising their jumps, measuring the distances, and recording the results in tables. They had lots of fun with this activity! As part of our “Gizmos and Gadgets" topic, the children have also taken part in an exciting workshop with Junior STEM Robotics. They identified Lego pieces and used their engineering skills to build machines from Lego. Throughout the workshop, the children demonstrated all of our core values and showed great resilience whenever they encountered difficulties.
This term, Year 4 have had such a busy and exciting time! In English, they loved reading Street Child and imagining what life was like in a Victorian workhouse through descriptive writing. The children used freeze frames to act out key moments and wrote diary entries as Jim, before having fun creating their fables. In Maths, they explored decimals and became experts at presenting data in different types of graphs. In DT, the children got a real taste of the past by trying Victorian food and baking their own delicious Victorian sponge cupcakes. In History, they've learnt all about coal mining in the North East and the Hartley Pit disaster. One of the children's biggest highlights was their trip to Robin Wood, where the children enjoyed climbing, archery, canoeing and even the piranha pool! Meanwhile, the children back at school had their own fantastic time too, with a visit from lots of exciting animals, pizza making, fun around the fire pit and a trip to play mini golf.
Dates for Half Term
- Monday 1st June School Closed – Teacher Training Day
- Tuesday 2nd June Y3 Road Safety workshops start – continue for four week
- Monday 8th June - Class Photographs This photographer has requested a change of date from the 5th June shared with you previously. Nursery picture will be taken before they leave to Kirkley Hall.
- Monday 8th June Nursery trip to Kirkley Hall
- Tuesday 9th June ‘That History Bloke’ working with Year 3 Greek Workshop
- Wednesday 10th June Angels of the North Choir Concert at The Sage
- Thursday 11th June Reception Broxfield Farm Trip
- Monday 15th June Year 1 visit to Winter Gardens
- Thursday 18th June GEM Education working with Year 3
- Friday 19th June Big Gig Concert at Eagles Arena
- Week Commencing 22nd June Healthy Inside and Out Week Children need to wear sports clothing and trainers every day this week.
- Monday 22nd June at 2pm: Year 4 Family Fun Sports Day
- Tuesday 23rd June at 2pm: Year 3 Family Fun Sports Day
- Wednesday 24th June at 2pm: Nursery and Reception Family Fun Sports Day
- Thursday 25th June at 2pm: Year 2 Family Fun Sports Day
- Friday 26th June at 2pm: Year 1 Family Fun Sports Day
- Tuesday 23rd June Sponsored Keep Fit Event with World Athlete
- Thursday 25th June GEM Education working with Year 4
- Friday 26th June Year 2 Trip Alnwick Gardens
- Wednesday 1st July Year 3 Greek Play to Parents 9:15am Performance for 3GM Families 2:45pm Performance for 3RH Families. Each child can bring a maximum of 2 adults to watch the play.
- Thursday 2nd July GEM Education working with Year 2
- Thursday 2nd July End of Year School Report will be sent home
- Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th July Year 4 Transition Visits to Middle Schools Children will need to be dropped off and collected at their new Middle School by parents.
- Wednesday 8th July Meet New Class Day All children from our current Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 will meet their new teacher.
- Wednesday 8th July Nursery Garden Party 2pm
- Friday 10th July Best Attendance Treat Visit for the class with the highest attendance over the year
- Wednesday 15th July Fun Day Fayre - Due to the building work, this replaces our usual summer fayre this year. All children will take part during the school day with bouncy castles, a disco and ice creams. Full details will be sent out soon.
- Wednesday 15th July Year 3 morning visit to immersive Van Gogh Experience Year 3 will have time on the bouncy castles etc in the afternoon.
- Thursday 16th July Year 4 Graduation Event 4:30pm
School Breaks up for Summer on Friday 17th July at 3:15pm
The children return on Wednesday 2nd September 2026 (Monday 31st August is a bank holiday and Tuesday 1st September is a training day.)