Contents
- Week 4 at Grange
- Our School Kitchen
- Eid al-Fatr
- PTFA
- OPAL
- Autism Acceptance Month
- Come and join us for the Cancer Run!
- Old clothes
- Easter Egg Appeal
- Singing and Dancing Superstar!
- Dates
Week 4 at Grange
It has definitely felt like Spring at Grange this week! The children have LOVED their OPAL playtimes and staff and children have been full of smiles! An enormous thank you to our teachers and all of our Grange families who came to parents’ evening this week. We hope you enjoyed looking at your child’s books and finding out about their achievements and progress at school. We really value having this time to talk to you and hope that you found the meeting useful and informative.
In assemblies this week, we talked about us all being special and that we are all amazing inside. We shared a beautiful book called Maybe by Kobi Yamada. The story reminded us that being special is not about being the best at everything. Being special is about being you. The children shared their ideas about what amazing things they might do in the future. Maybe I will decorate all the tall buildings with creative ideas using chalk. Maybe I will make the world a better place by stopping people from cutting down all the trees. Maybe I will help the world by making everyone laugh. Maybe I could be a doctor and save people’s lives. Maybe I will stand up for animals’ rights. Maybe I will discover a new planet. Maybe I could be a Champion of Kindness! The responses from our children reflect their kindness, empathy and aspirations. WOW!
Our School Kitchen
On Friday last week, we received a food hygiene inspection in our school kitchen. A 5-star food hygiene rating indicates "very good" standards, marking the highest level under the Food Standards Agency in the UK. It confirms excellent compliance with food safety laws, including high-standard handling, clean facilities, and robust management documentation. This is down to the hard work and dedication of our kitchen staff- congratulations!
Eid al-Fitr
We hope all our Muslim families have a wonderful time celebrating Eid after their holy month of Ramadan. The children were all very excited and were looking forward to wearing lovely clothes, opening presents and eating delicious food with their families. Please send us a photo of your celebrations- we’d love to see them!
PTFA
There are still tickets available for the Spring Fun Day & Scavenger Hunt on Saturday 28th March from 11am-1pm. Every child must book in advance so that we know how many are coming and because every child gets a prize for completing the scavenger hunt. Please buy your tickets as soon as possible via this link: https://www.pta-events.co.uk/grangefirstschool/index.cfm?event=event&eventId=113875 We would also love any donations of chocolate for our tombola and cakes for the cake stall for the Spring Fun Day. We will also have a Teddy Tombola if anyone is clearing out any cuddly toys still in good condition. We would like donations brought to school on the morning of Friday 27th March.
Bunny Bounce We are also busy planning the Bunny Bounce, which will take place on Friday 27th March. You can either return your sponsor form with cash donations to school or donate via this link. https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/QOJTKZVJ
OPAL
Loose Parts Resources Needed! Do you work in a trade, have building work happening at home, or know someone who does? We are always on the lookout for loose parts to support our children’s creativity and problem‑solving on the Loose Parts Yard. Because so many children enjoy building, designing, and creating every day, our resources get lots of use and we would be very grateful for any donations of materials, including:
- Pallets
- Cable drums or reels
- Tubing, guttering, funnels
- Hosepipes, bore pipes, or any other types of pipes
- Wheelbarrows
- Tarpaulins
- Tree trunks or coins
- Tyres- bicycle, motor bike or go-kart tyres
- Large shallow trays
- Steering wheels
- Computer keyboards
- Portable seats, camping or gardening mats
- Baths
- Any other interesting construction or industrial off‑cuts you may have!
If you or your workplace can help, please let us know. Your contributions make a huge difference to the children’s play and learning experiences.
Welcome to our new cadets who joined the Opal team this week.
Autism Acceptance Month
April is Autism Acceptance month. Next week in assembly we will be talking about what this means. We will be learning about how we are all different and all important. We will learn about celebrating our differences and thinking about how we can support each other.
Come and Join Us!
We would love you and your family to join our school team at this year’s Children’s Cancer Run at Newcastle Racecourse, Gosforth Park! The Children’s Cancer Run is a cross-country family fun run with a Mini (1km), three, and five-mile route to choose from. The charity event is organised by Children’s Cancer North and is once again being supported by Greggs. We are very excited to be participating in this event and would like to invite you to join us for what promises to be a fun filled family day out. All participants who pay for an entry to the run will receive a finisher medal and Greggs snack pack on the day, and all children receive a Children’s Cancer Run t-shirt. The fun continues in the Event Village too, with fairground rides, face painting, live music and entertainment, a Young Scientist Zone, food vendors and more! Please complete an online entry form to join our school team: 1. Go to https://childrenscancernorth.org.uk/event/childrens-cancer-run-2026/ 2. Click ‘Sign up today!’ 3. Select your registration preference (as an Adult, Child, or Family ticket type) 4. Under ‘Create or Join a team’ select ‘Find’ and type in our school name Grange First School Click ‘Join’ next to the school name. 5. Complete the remainder of the registration form and click proceed to payment to complete the registration for you and/or your family. If you have any questions, please send Mr Mac an email at peter.macdermott@grangefirst.co.uk
Old Clothes
We are really short of old clothes especially in larger sizes- joggers, shorts, pants. If you have any donations, please drop them off at the office. thank you.
Easter Egg Appeal
Chloe stopped me on the yard yesterday and asked me if we could collect Easter Eggs in school and then donate them to Newcastle Food Bank. I said 'yes' but asked her to organise it! She arrived at school this morning with the following information for you all:
A Singing and Dancing Superstar!
One of our girls in Year 2 recently took to the stage when she took part in a performance of Matilda with Stagecoach Newcastle. Well done! We are very proud of you!
Diary Dates
March
Tuesday 24th Some of Yr 4 to the Yoruba Cultural workshop Friday 27th PTFA sponsored Bunny Bounce Friday 27th Year 4 trip to the Great North Museum (Don't worry, they will be back in time to bounce!) 25th March Year 2 trip to Newcastle Cathedral Saturday 28th PTFA Spring Fair Monday 30th- Thursday 2nd- STEM Week Julian Hughes from GEM Education will be coming into school to do computing workshops with the children on Monday 30th, Tuesday 31st and Thursday 2nd
April
EASTER HOLIDAY- 3rd April to 17th April
Credits:
© Grange First School