A big well done to all our award winners this week!

Children and staff had such a wonderful time celebrating Children in Need today. Everyone looked fantastic in their pyjamas, and the children enjoyed taking part in a range of fun activities in class. Thank you to all who took part and helped make the day so special.

Year 2 had a brilliant visit from our community nurses, who led a fun and important session all about keeping our bodies safe. We learned the correct words for body parts and talked about how our bodies belong to us. The children especially loved singing along to the Pantosaurus song, created by the NSPCC to help children understand the PANTS rules. You can listen to it here: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/pants What does PANTS mean? P  – Privates are private A  – Always remember your body belongs to you N  – No means no T  – Talk about secrets that upset you S  – Speak up, someone can help Thank you to our nurses for making this session so engaging and memorable.

Year 2 have been celebrating this year’s theme, “The Power of Good”, by exploring how kindness can change the world!  We listened to a beautiful poem about being kind, watched Andy and the Odd Socks share their positive message, and made our own superhero finger puppets with our faces – because everyone can be a hero for kindness! What’s your favourite way to show kindness?

The first day of the Year 5 and 6 lunchtime chess club was a huge success. We will continue to meet every Wednesday lunchtime.

Today, Year 1 were so  surprised to discover that some very special visitors had been in our yard — the Billy Goats Gruff! 🐐 They even built a bridge and left behind some clues to help us with our story work. The children were amazed when we watched video evidence of the troll in our garden. We’ve been practising retelling the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff  in class, and the children have been doing a fantastic job using their storytelling voices and actions. Please ask your child to tell you the story at home — see if they can remember what happened when each billy goat crossed the bridge!

Tonight, our Mini Foodies Club gathered to mark Remembrance Day in a special—and delicious—way. The young chefs rolled up their sleeves to create, decorate, and taste their very own poppy biscuits. Using different coloured icing and chocolate buttons, the students turned simple biscuits into beautiful edible poppies, taking time to reflect on the meaning behind the day as they worked. The results were both creative and tasty!

Year 5 have had a great time playing basketball with the Newcastle Eagles. As well as shooting hoops and learning new techniques, they learned about health and fitness. Some of the children even won prizes. What a fantastic afternoon!

This week, we spent time with our buddies creating poppies for our Remembrance liturgy. We used fingerprinting and collage to make each poppy unique and special. As we worked, we talked about why people wear poppies and remembered those who are important to us. We also learned about the armed services and how they help to protect our land, sea, and air. It was a thoughtful way to honour those who have served and to reflect on the importance of peace.

As part of our Celebration of the Word , the whole school came together to observe a two-minute silence. Our pupils showed great respect and understanding as we reflected together on the importance of peace, gratitude, and remembrance. We are very proud of how thoughtful and reverent the children were during this special moment.

This week, our nursery children have been busy learning all about fireworks, bonfires, and keeping safe during Bonfire Night celebrations. It’s been a week full of colour, sparkle, and excitement with lots of fun learning opportunities along the way! We spent time talking about firework and bonfire safety. The children discussed how fireworks can be beautiful but also very loud, and why it’s important to stay a safe distance away. They had great fun using their bodies and voices to recreate the noises and movements of fireworks! We zoomed, whooshed, fizzed, and popped around the room. We discussed using real sparklers safely and then made some tasty edible sparklers. The children created their own firework paintings and built fireworks display and bonfires in the small world area. It was lovely to see their enthusiasm and hear them share their own experiences of watching fireworks with family.

This week, Year 2 have begun a magical new journey in English — we’re diving into the world of fairytales, starting with Jack and the Beanstalk ! The children have loved exploring the story’s characters, setting, and surprises, and we’ve already had some brilliant discussions about giants, golden eggs, and brave choices. We’ve been working on describing the characters and thinking carefully about their actions — especially Jack! Is he brave or reckless? Kind or selfish? Good or bad? The children have shared some fantastic ideas and are learning to explain their opinions with evidence from the story. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at different versions of the tale and comparing how characters, settings, and endings can change. This will help us think about what makes a fairytale feel magical — and how we might write our own! To help bring our learning to life, we’re encouraging families to share fairytales at home. Whether it’s reading a classic bedtime story, retelling a favourite tale, or chatting about magical adventures — every moment helps spark imagination and storytelling skills. Thank you for supporting our storytelling adventure — let the magic continue!