I would just like to welcome everyone back to school. The team have been super excited to have our children and families back and it has been lovely to see everyone bouncing into school each morning.
Now that we no longer have ‘bubbles’ one of the highlights has been to see the children mixing and playing together at playtime and lunchtime. We have also been able to come together in the school hall for Collective Worship and Assemblies (for the first time since March 2020) which has been great!
As always, we have a very busy and exciting Autumn Term planned so I thought I’d share with you what is going on this term and what we have planned so far. Dates and more details will be shared with you in letters via our website nearer the time of each event – this is just to give an overview of things to look forward to!
After School Provision:
With the closure of SCAMPS, we have taken over the provision of both After School Childcare (£4 per session) and are also offering a wide range of After School Clubs (£6 per session). The clubs will change each half term and have already become very popular – please book early to ensure your child gets a place. We will be sharing our activities on the website.
The Mad Scientists:
Every Wednesday morning is Mad Scientist morning with our children coming together in their Year Groups rather than their Learning Zones. Each year group is being taught by a different teacher and this week the children and staff have really enjoyed this new way of teaching and learning. It has allowed children to work with a different group of friends and allowed our staff to widen their skills and subject knowledge of a different year group’s curriculum.
Living Lab:
We are in the process of turning the quadrant between Early Years and what was the SCAMPS area into a Living Lab. In the quadrant we aim to have chickens and rabbits (which will help us to learn about the food chain, life cycles and habitats) and also to carry out a range of science experiments through outdoor learning opportunities.
MacMillan Cancer Coffee Morning:
As a team we feel it is really important for us to support this essential charity as many of our families, staff and their families are affected by Cancer. We are aiming to hold a coffee morning on Friday 24th September at 9am for parents, grandparents and members of our community. If the weather is ok tables and seating will be outside with a one-way system through the hall to collect drinks and cakes to keep the event as Covid secure as possible.
Weardale Outdoor Education Centre Visits:
Week commencing 11th October 2021, every child in the school will be visiting the Weardale Outdoor Education Centre. The activities have all been planned to reinforce and embed the super powers for each Learning Zone. Our trip in the Summer term was fantastic so we are all really excited about this trip.
Harvest Festival:
We are looking forward to being able to visit our local churches again and are planning to hold a Harvest Festival Service in the Methodist Chapel during October.
Twisted Tales for Terrible Children:
On Thursday 21st October we will be welcoming Gavin Cross into school. Gav is delivering a performance in the Church Hall that evening but will be spending the day delivering storytelling workshops across all Learning Zones.
War Week:
Week commencing 8th November 2021 will be War Week across the school where all Learning Zones will be learning about the subject. This week also incorporates Remembrance Day.
Rap Music Workshops:
Kema Kay, a renowned rapper, will be working with the Emerald Learning Zone over the course of a few weeks to deliver exciting and engaging music lessons.
Inter-faith Week:
National Inter-Faith Week occurs in the middle of November and we are hoping to organise a festival to celebrate world religions.
Christmas:
Our plans are not yet firmed up for Christmas but we are really looking forward to welcoming parents/carers back into school for a range of performances.
And Much More:
This is just a glimpse into the plans we have for school throughout the Autumn Term. There are lots of other events, visitors and visits in the pipeline which we hope to firm up over the coming weeks.
All details for specific events will be shared in advance on our website – keeping watching!
Mrs D Cross
Head Teacher
