Happy Holidays
July 2020
Hello from Miss Hill and all of the staff
We're all thinking of you and thought you might like to see what some of the team have been up to over the weekends! We've all been reflecting on our time both in school and at home over lockdown. We have missed you all very much! We're all going to be very busy over the summer getting everything just right for September and we are SO excited to see you all. We are certainly going to miss our wonderful Year 6 children very much in September - we hope you all keep your promises and come to show us how smart you look in your new uniforms! Remember you are all lifetime members of our Western Family and we love to keep in touch with you and your lovely families.
We are wishing you a wonderful summer. We hope you enjoy reading your letters from your new teachers and watching the videos they have made to say hello to you. Other members of the team have written letters below which we hope you enjoy too! We are all sending you lots of love and a big virtual hug. Happy holidays!
Hello from Miss Dixon
I am missing you all so much and can't wait for September when we can all be back together again in our lovely school. I have been a busy bee for the past few months working hard with Miss Hill and the rest of the staff team at Western. I know they are missing you all as much as I am!
During lockdown, we have been spending much more time at home so I thought you might like to hear about some of the ways I have been spending my weekends. Using the online sessions led by the brilliant animators at Disney, I started learning how to draw Disney characters. It definitely challenged me and I have to admit that some of my pictures are better than others, but I thought you might like to see some of my attempts. If you have access to technology and would like to give it a go, all you have to do is google Disney animation and choose your favourite character. The animator will guide you through the process and it doesn't take very long. My family saw how much I enjoyed it and decided to give it a go and I also got Mrs Larty and her family in on the action too! If you do give it a try and you would like to show me your creation, please ask an adult at home to email a photo via the school office.
I have also been enjoying reading and I hope you are too! Some of the teachers and I have also been swapping ideas for things to watch on the TV, now we are spending more time at home, and we have great fun discussing programmes and films we have watched. It's a bit like a book club! I watched Toy Story 4 for the first time during lockdown (and cried) and my daughter and I are looking forward to watching the Artemis Fowl film next. If you have seen either of these films I'd love to chat to you about them when I see you again.
One of the ways we are keeping in touch as a family is to have a weekly quiz on Zoom! To help me out, Mr Temperley very kindly shared some of the questions and answers he uses as he regularly hosts a quiz night with Mr Craven and Mr Fellows! I know some of the Year 4 children also have a weekly quiz that they have organised themselves. It's a great way to have fun and increase your general knowledge.
My neighbours and I decided to have a street collection to raise money for the Bay Food Bank. One of my neighbours collected the donations and kindly went shopping before visiting the Bay Food Bank to hand over all of the donations. A few families have shared some of the wonderful things you have been doing as a family or in your community to help others and spread a little joy. If you have a story you would like to share of the special acts of kindness you have shown to others during lockdown, please ask an adult at home to get in touch and let us know as we'd love to make a fuss of you when we see you in September.
I am not known for my gardening skills but I have been practising over the past few months and I think even Mrs Lawson will be proud of me. The photos below show what I have achieved. We are also growing sunflowers but mine is in last place at the moment! Can you spot them in the last picture? I can't wait to let you know how big they have grown by September.
I hope to have inspired some of you to learn or improve a new skill as I am definitely not a natural gardener or artist!
Sending you all lots of love,
Miss Dixon xxx
Hi from Mrs Common
We are missing you all so much and I just wanted to say hello. We have been working hard at school to make sure that we can continue to look after our Western family.
I have also been working hard at home trying to stay healthy and strong while my gym is closed. All of my family likes to stay fit and we have been challenging and helping each other to make sure it stays fun! I thought you might like to see one of the fun things we do to stay strong. Could you try it? Maybe you have a teddy you could hold on to? Or a big, heavy book? Grown-ups that means you too! Give it a go and see how many squats you can do…. Could you challenge someone in your house? If you think of any of your own challenges you could challenge me when I see you in September.
Community Spirit
Mrs Johnston, our Vice Chair of Governors, has been working around the clock with a few of her friends making face masks, scrub bags and scrubs to help the NHS staff and also friends and family. She is doing the most amazing job so I thought you would like to see some examples of her handiwork. Can you spot one of our brilliant members of staff modelling a mask?
Mrs Rowson has also been helping the national effort at weekends by shopping for and delivering essential supplies to vulnerable people in the community. Mrs Rowson rocks!
Hello from Mrs Walton
I just wanted to take the opportunity to say hello to you all, but especially to our wonderful Year 6 children. It saddens me that we cannot all be together right now, as your time at Western comes to an end and you begin your transition to High School. We have known most of you since you were very small and I know all the staff at Western will be sad to see you leave. I hope you enjoyed your time in school for the special ‘Leavers Week’ I know I loved seeing you all!
During lockdown, I have been thinking of you all and how you are getting on and what you have been up to. It has been great to speak with many of you on the phone and to chat with those of you who are currently in school. Since we are unable to chat everyday like we used to, I thought I would take this chance to share some of the things that my family and I have been up to in our spare time since lockdown began. Firstly, I (like many) have found myself spending a lot more of time in the kitchen. My twins and I love to bake on a weekend and we have just about perfected our homemade made brownie recipe; it’s super quick, easy and absolutely delicious, check out the recipe below if you fancy giving it a try with your family.
Like Miss Dixon, we are also fans of drawing in this house and especially love to draw Disney characters. In fact, we are huge arts and crafts enthusiasts and have completed a few projects since lockdown began such as: making our own jewellery; constructing dreamcatchers for our bedrooms; creating sock puppets; building bird boxes and many more.
Recently, we have loved nothing more than heading to beach late on an evening when it is really quiet and watching the waves. My daughters love to dip their toes in the water and search the shallow rock pools in the hope of finding some crabs. We were very lucky last time and managed to spot many crabs along with a few jellyfish!
I can’t wait to see you all in September.
Love to you all,
Mrs Walton
Walton Brownies
Ingredients: 275g margarine, 375g sugar (you can use less!), 4 eggs, 75g cooa powder, 100g self raising flour and 100g chocolate chips.
Add all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix - couldn't be easier! Bake for 40-45 minutes at 180°c.
Hello from Mrs Larty
Hello from Mrs Duigan
I was so looking forward to coming back to Western and my Western Family after my maternity leave, but when the time finally came everyone was in lockdown! I have been in school most days since the start of the Easter holidays and have enjoyed seeing all of the children.
My twins turned 1 in the first week of June and we had a Zoom birthday party for them with cake. Everybody on the Zoom video ate cake in their own house at the same time! I haven't been able to see my family in Scotland for a long time now, but we do WhatsApp video calls every day so they can see how my babies are getting on. Have any of you had 'lockdown birthdays'? Did you think of some interesting and different ways to celebrate?
One of the things I noticed during the lockdown, when everything was so quiet and there were hardly any cars on the roads, was birdsong. My little girl's first word was 'bird' and she loves to point to birds outside. I realised that I was not very good at identifying different birds so I decided to make that one of my projects. Every time I saw or heard a new bird, I looked it up on the RSPB website to try to find out what it was. I've now become much better at knowing all the different birds I see when I'm taking the twins out for a walk. One of the more unusual ones (I heard it before I saw it) was a woodpecker!
Why don't you have a go? https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/identify-a-bird/
We also celebrated the 75th anniversary of VE Day. In school, the children who were in all contributed to a fantastic art display. At home, my street had a street party, but everyone stayed in their own gardens.The houses were decorated with bunting and we enjoyed some home-made scones in the garden.
It has been lovely to see some of you and I can't wait to see the rest of my Western Family in September.
Lots of love
Mrs Duigan xxx
1st birthday Zoom party
VE Day Garden Party
Hello from Mrs Robson
Over the last three months I have been working hard at home but during the evenings I have been spending a lot of time working hard in my garden. We have finally finished the garden and have a nice place to sit when the sun comes out. I have also found a love for gardening and have made some lovely planters and filled them with flowers.
I bought myself a bike a few weeks ago and have been going on lots of bike rides along the seafront; I even came through Wallsend and saw some of you when you were out on your walks with your families which was nice. I have loved being out in the fresh air getting some exercise.
Over the past few weeks, I have been helping my daughter Bethany set up her own baking business; she makes amazing cakes! Have any of you been baking with your families? My whole family love baking and sharing our ideas. Our favourite quick bake is making scones; maybe you could try baking together and make a nice treat for after your tea? We have celebrated 3 birthdays in our family during lockdown so there has been plenty of cake to share around; we have had BBQ birthday teas as we have not been able to go out for food. They have been great as we have had some nice weather.
I can't wait to see you all and hear all of your stories.
Lots of love to you all
Mrs Robson
Hello from Mrs Orr
We are very lucky to live next to the beach and have had lots of fun exploring. My eldest daughter, Gabriella, loves to take photos; I give her my phone and let her snap away! I really enjoy seeing the things she has noticed, like a tiny seahorse suspended in some glass or beautiful flowers in bloom. What would you choose to photograph?
Recently we have enjoyed some time at Plessey Woods and discovered the trees where the fairies live! We have also been strawberry picking and had so much fun we are going to go again! My youngest daughter, Sophia, loved choosing the reddest, juiciest, shiniest ones for her basket- but not as much as she enjoyed eating them!
We have spent so much time in the garden, enjoying the sun when it has been shining and playing in puddles after it has rained. Like many of you, we have also enjoyed cooking and working as a team to produce some delicious food! Gabriella made pasta for the first time! If this is something you would like to try it's very easy to do - here is a link with the instructions: Fresh Pasta. We have also had great success perfecting our pizza creations too! What are your favourite toppings?
Like you, we have spent a lot of time in the house and have tried to keep busy so we don't get too bored! We have done lots of drawings, watched a lot of films, made dens, video called grandparents and family, tried lots of different craft activities and read lots and lots of books!
I can't wait until September to see all of your smiley faces and hear your stories of how you have spent your time during lockdown!