Western Community Primary School
June/July 2021
Welcome
Welcome to our final newsletter of this academic year. Although the end of year has not been marked in the usual way, with our KS2 summer show, songs on the yard, fun factory and discos we have tried to make the end of the term at Western special for everyone, especially our Y6 children who are sadly leaving us to move onto the next stage in their education.
It has been a whirlwind of a year filled with highs and lows but we could not be prouder of the resilience and positivity shown by the children. Some highlights of June and July have been sports days or in the case of Team Nursery ‘The Olympics’, Bikeability in Year 5, Careers Week and Leavers events in Y6, STEAM day, outdoor transition events, visits from Firefighters and the Police and of course celebrating the outstanding achievement of Mrs Watts who was awarded the Silver Pearson National Teaching Assistant of the Year Award and Mrs Howe who was named Wallsend Teacher of the Month! Read on to find out more about some of the fun learning in each year group.
The staff would like to say thank you and goodbye to our amazing Year 6 children and their families and wish them a wonderful summer and lots of love and luck as they start a new adventure in secondary school.
To everyone else, children, families, Governors, Friends of Western and staff, I would like to thank you all so much for the support you have given to school this year. The messages of support to staff both in and out of lockdown from families and Governors have at times been overwhelming but those messages have meant the world and are so well deserved as staff routinely went above and beyond to support children. It is an honour and a privilege to work alongside such outstanding colleagues and I couldn’t be prouder of the way they have faced the challenging circumstances we have been through.
On a final note I would like to wish you all an amazing summer; we will be so excited to welcome you back to school on Friday 3rd September 2021.
Warmest Wishes
Sarah Dixon
Acting Headteacher
Nursery
Olympics 2021
Nursery spent the week preparing for our Olympic Games. We made flags, medals and a massive cake for the celebrations. We also practised different sports and fitness activities to prepare our bodies and went to the gym for the first time. We were amazing on the day of our Olympic celebrations and paraded around each class, performed an opening ceremony dance, enjoyed our events and celebrated at the end with a medal ceremony and cake!
Pattern drawing
As part of our work on building our muscles we have been really practising forming the ‘o’ letter in an anti-clockwise direction and starting at the top! This will really help us when we learn to write next year in Reception. We have been practising in different ways and using different equipment both indoors and outdoors.
Our Mrs Watts
We are so very proud of Mrs Watts winning her award. It was very exciting when morning Nursery were part of her special awards celebration. Sssshhhhh, don’t tell her, but I think we may have to plan another special Nursery party to celebrate even further!
Reception
We thoroughly enjoyed immersing ourselves in the story of ‘Llama Glamarama’ by Simon James Green. We listened carefully to the story and talked about why it is important to celebrate that we’re all different and special in our own ways.
We talked a lot about what we liked and didn’t like and had a lot of fun getting to know different facts about our friends. As a team we decided to celebrate our individuality by throwing our very own Reception Glamarama. We wrote lists for a party shop, invitations and even created our own bunting. The Glamarama was amazing! We made pizzas, had a dance and even got given a balloon from Larry the llama himself.
Outside, the children worked hard to prepare for the Glamarama. In the mud kitchen, we made all sorts of wonderful treats for people to enjoy at the party. We planned and organised games as well as using the piano to compose pieces of music for us to sing and dance to. As we planned the party we realised we would need to organise transport and so the last thing on our to-do list was to construct a party bus so that we could travel in style.
Year 1
In Geography we have been learning about the seaside. We have studied two very different coastal areas; Warkworth and Blackpool. The children were very much divided in which area they preferred but were able to give very good arguments for and against each location. I wonder if the children will be able to visit one of these places over the holidays.
In Science we have been learning about materials, their uses and their suitability for certain tasks. We became scientists this week and tested a range of materials for their waterproof qualities. We had to make sure that our test was fair and that we only changed one variable. Don't get worried if your children come home wanting to make an umbrella from tin foil!
Our STEAM day was also a great success. Our theme in Year 1 was colour. As you can see from the photographs we did indeed have a very colourful day. I hope your children enjoyed it just as much as we did.
Despite the abrupt end to the year, we have had a brilliant half term. Your children have been truly amazing and resilient. We hope you all have a lovely summer break and I will look forward to seeing them all as shiny new Year 2 children.
Year 2
Division Investigations
In Year 2, we have been exploring the concept of division. We have used manipulatives to investigate the difference between grouping and sharing when dividing an amount. We have also drawn our own bar models to match number sentences and used our learning around multiplication to make links and connections to division. We loved using trial and error to find all of the different ways to divide 20 into equal groups. This took resilience but we relished in the challenge!
999 Emergencies
We have been thinking about the people who protect us within our community. As part of this learning, we have explored the emergency services and who you can contact by dialing 999. Each week we have explored the 4 emergency services (police, ambulance, fire brigade and coast guard) and discussed their roles and how they keep us safe. Our conversations around what makes an emergency and when to dial 999 have been extremely thought provoking and everyone has faced the subject with great maturity.
Perfectly Norman
Year 2 have loved learning the rebirth story of 'Perfectly Norman' by Tom Percival. We began our Talk 4 Writing journey by story mapping the tale and learning actions for each of the sentences. We then explored the grammar of the piece by spotting suffixes, contractions and commas. We have just completed our innovation stage in which we changed different parts of the story to create our own individual versions. We loved practising our innovations by recording our stories on the ipads before writing them.
Year 3
Healthy Eating Week
During the week of 14th June to 18th June Year 3 explored what a healthy lifestyle is and applied their Design and Technology skills to make a fruit salad. We included a variety of fruits and used our cutting skills to make and taste the fruit salad. It was delicious! I am sure many of the children will continue to make the fruit salad at home.
Light
The Secret Garden
Year 4
In Literacy, we have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to analyse the poem ‘The Sound Collector’ by Roger McGough. The children were intrigued by the mysterious stranger who decided to rob all the sounds. Having listened to the poem and thought about the poetic features, we created our own class version entitled ‘The School Sound Collector’ before the children wrote their own ‘Colour Collector’ poem, thinking carefully about all of the colours that the curious outsider had decided to steal.
In Science we have been exploring living things and classifying animals into categories such as mammals, amphibians, vertebrates and invertebrates. We absolutely loved going on an invertebrate hunt around the school yard looking for creatures that fit different classifications. We were really brave and carefully explored the features of worms, slugs, snails, centipedes and caterpillars.
In Maths, we have really focussed on mastering how to tell time to the minute. Some of us found it tricky at first but we were able to make connections to our fractions and our five times tables to help us tell the time more fluently. Our target for the end of the year is to be completely fluent with analogue time and understand how a 24 hour digital clock works. If you have a spare minute, please spend some time reviewing and consolidating your learning at home!
Year 5
They have also been taking part in the Bikeabilty scheme where they have been learning important safety tips when riding their bikes. They have been lucky enough to have been cycling around the local area with the instructors. You may have spotted them! All who have taken part have been super enthusiastic about it.
Year 6
This half term Year 6 have had the opportunity to take part in an exciting Careers Week. Children have been involved in a diverse range of workshops relating to careers in the NHS, animal management, music production and the police. Across the week, the children have bandaged a patient, encountered some unusual animals, learned about the power of forensics and mixed their own music tracks. We have also had visitors from Newcastle University in school to discuss the transition to our next school and introduce us to the different career paths we might take in the future. We couldn’t believe that there were over 52,000 different courses at university!
Eco Council Update
Here are some of our design entries and creations:
Sports Day
Each year group chose to celebrate Sports Day differently this year and despite not having families at the sidelines encouraging them, children did a fine job of cheering each other on. We may not have had spectators but we did have medals!
STEAM Day
Children across the whole school dedicated a day to all things Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths with the overarching theme of ‘Our Future’. Here is a snapshot of some of our amazing learning!
On Steam Day (Friday 2nd July) Year 5 took part in several STEAM-related activities including an evaporation investigation and a living things survey of our school field space. Then, we used the data we collected to create a Clips presentation of our findings and shared our results with our classmates. We really enjoyed getting to try out some STEAM tasks relating to our current learning on Materials in Science and spending time learning outside the classroom.
Online Safety Update
Sharing Images Online
If you are worried about our child taking and sharing photos online you won’t be alone. Many children experience with sharing images of things they are doing and where they are which is not always safe for them. Sharing information about themselves via a photo is just the same as tagging themselves in a location or updating their status to say where they are. CBBC have put together a video using the music from One Direction’s Parody song to raise awareness about information sharing. Show this video to your child so they can find out about the risks of what they are doing in a way that they can relate to.
If you would like more information about photo sharing please look at the websites below where you can find a range of information to help and support you to have discussions with your child.
Children taking photos of other children without their consent and sharing.
We are aware that some of the children who bring their phones to school are using the time before they come into the classroom to take photos of other children in the yard and share them among their friends, we will be giving reminders to the children not to do this and it would be helpful if you could also have a discussion with your child about photo sharing.
If anyone would like to discuss this further or have any concerns please contact Gemma Robson on 01912630202
NCSC - Cyber Sprinters
The National Cyber Security Centre is launching CyberSprinters.
Cybersprinters is a free online game that will teach children how to stay secure online in a fun, interactive way. The world is becoming more digital each year and children are growing up with technology readily available to them in many forms. This increases the risk of being exposed to the opportunities and risks of the internet.
Cybersprinters will support children when they are online. From choosing a safe and secure password to making choices about images and unknown sources, young children are empowered to make the right and smart decisions.
"As a CyberSprinter, children race against their depleting battery to collect cyberspheres and score points. They boost power by collecting padlocks and correctly answering a question on staying cyber secure. If they bump into battery-sucking cybervillians, they face a mini game with a different internet lesson to win back their power."
The game launched on Tuesday 18th May and can be found in the link below.
County Lines Information for Parents
Thrive Update
If you feel your child would benefit from some Thrive activities to do at home please contact Gemma Robson on 0191 263 0202.
Care, Guidance and Support Update
Grassboots
Grassboots which is set by Life Vineyard Church is a project that offers free new/nearly new shoes, trainers or sports boots for children.
They understand how expensive shoes and sports shoes can be for families and that the cost can be a barrier which prevents children from accessing sports and other social activities. They are working hard to remove the barriers that stop young people accessing sport by helping support children with the shoes that they need to take part.
All of the shoes are clean, in new or nearly new condition and come packed up in brand new shoe boxes. We have a wide range of sizes and styles available. We can deliver to families or hubs in Newcastle, Gateshead, and North Tyneside.
Please see that attached flyer for contact information.
I have attached a flyer with some more information. If you are interested, please contact Geoff via facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LVCGrassboots , via email grassboots@lifevineyard.church , or on 07391 06 4097.
Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing
It's been an anxious year for many adults, children and young people alike. We know many of you are worried about the impact of the pandemic on your children.
BRAND NEW!! Online course ‘Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing’ from the Solihull Approach (NHS).
Access for free:
Did you know North Tyneside Council have PRE-PAID for every parent and carer in North Tyneside to access a course for parents/carers (access now for life-long access)? FREE (with access code: QUADRANT at: www.inourplace.co.uk) for residents in our area. There are courses for parents, carers and grandparents about children from bump to 19+ years.
How do I access?
What’s the code?
- If you haven’t used it already here is the access code for all the online courses (funded for residents): QUADRANT
If, like many parents, you have already used this code, log into your account here and this course will be ready in your dashboard to start whenever you are ready.
Can I tell my family and friends?
Absolutely! Share the news with family members and other families in the area so that they too can take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.
How long is it?
‘Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing’ itself is in 2 parts (2 modules long in total):
- Take Part 1….
- …then take ‘Understanding your child’ OR ‘Understanding your child with additional needs’ (11 modules each taking 10-15 minutes to complete, benefitting from time to digest in between)….
- …then take Part 2.
If you like this…
…you might like the other courses ‘Understanding your teenager’s brain’ (short course) or ‘Understanding your child’s feelings’ (taster course) , or other courses in the series. www.inourplace.co.uk
National Carers Week - Spotlight on Young Carers- Update
Young Carers - National Carers Week 7th June - 13th June 2021
You may remember that in our May newsletter, we spoke about National Carers week and how important it is to recognise the role unpaid carers play in our families, communities and society .
During National Carers week, our learning mentor Mrs Robson and our Care, Guidance and Support leader Miss Fox delivered ‘Young Carer Awareness’ assemblies to all of our year group classes in year 2 and above. The assemblies focused on what a young carer is, what their caring role may look like and how young carers might feel having to manage their caring role, alongside the everyday demands of school. Our pupils were asked to identify what they think it might feel like to be a young carer, and we were blown away by the compassionate and caring attitudes of our pupils. Feelings such as ‘proud‘ , ‘frustrated‘, ‘lonely‘ and ‘sad’ were discussed and it was great to know that our pupils wanted to let their fellow pupils know that if they are a young carer, they would show them kindness and respect.
Recent studies have shown that there are over 800,000 young carers aged 5-17 who care for an adult or family member in the UK. Having to care for someone can often mean missing school or having to bail on friends. It can put their childhood on the back burner. Many young carers, and the people around them, don't even realise they're carers.
Within the past five years two new pieces of legislation have been brought in, giving significant new rights to carers in England - the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Care Act 2014.
Young carers have the right to a “carer's assessment”, which is the duty of the local authority. These assessments measure the effect on young carers’ wellbeing - health, education or friendships – and whether they should continue carrying out that level of care.
“There are many children in this country whose burden of care is so extreme that it would be really difficult, if not impossible, for many adults to do those kinds of care-giving roles for other people – but we are expecting children as young as five and six to [do them]. They need to be assessed and... receive services that reduce the amount of care-giving."
If you think your child or a child you know may be a young carer, please feel free to contact the Care, Guidance and Support team here at Western where we can support any concerns you or the young carer may have.
You can also contact your local young carers projects here:
North Tyneside Carers Centre
https://www.northtynesidecarers.org.uk/young-carers/what-is-a-young-carer/
Newcastle Carers Centre
https://www.newcastlecarers.org.uk/young-carers-who-is-a-young-carer/
Loneliness Awareness Week
Loneliness Awareness Week (14-18 June), is when people and organisations join together to raise awareness of loneliness.
Loneliness is something that can affect any one of us at any point in our lives, and this issue has become something even more of us have had to deal with over the last year. With social distancing restrictions steadily lifting, Loneliness Awareness Week continues to be as important as ever. Not just as a reminder that many people will continue to struggle with loneliness and isolation after lockdown, but also to reinforce the importance of social connections.
This year, the Let’s Talk Loneliness campaign has joined together with incredible organisations on some innovative ways to help those dealing with loneliness, as well as tips on how you can help create connections this Loneliness Awareness Week and beyond.
Here are some resources for you to explore if you feel you are affected by Loneliness :
https://www.marmaladetrust.org/lawresources
https://letstalkloneliness.co.uk/support/
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/
Information provided by www.marmaladetrust.org
Samaritans UK
Every year in July, Samaritans branches in the UK and Republic of Ireland hold local events to raise awareness that Samaritans are here to listen to anyone who's struggling to cope, at any time of the day or night.
On the 24th July 2021- Samaritans will be launching their #talktous campaign which aims to raise awareness of what the Samaritans do and how they can help you anytime anywhere 24/7.
Samaritans of Newcastle are proud to offer emotional support to people in our community and beyond
At this challenging time, we are continuing to offer support to those in need. Please do reach out, we are here to listen.
Our team of dedicated volunteers provide confidential and non-judgemental support to those in need of emotional support, and those experiencing feelings of distress or despair.
Our volunteers keep our branch phones answered, emails replied to and visitors seen, as well as fundraising to keep the branch running and assist in our shop to bring in vital funds
Newcastle Samaritans is an important part of the local community and we need your help to remain able to provide support to those in need.
This pandemic is having a serious impact on so many people. Samaritans is a 24/7 service offering emotional support via freecall-116-123 and email: jo@samaritans.org. The Newcastle (Tyneside) branch has a crowdfunding project underway that looks to cover the running costs into 2021. ‘Samaritans Working in the Geordie Community.’ Please support us if you can at the following link:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/samaritans-working-in-the-geordie-community
All information from - https://www.samaritans.org/branches/
Anxious Minds
Did you know that here in Wallsend there is a fantastic charitable organisation that offers residents of North Tyneside mental health support and advice?
Anxious Minds was founded in 2015 stemming from the CEO’s personal experiences with anxiety and depression. This gives us both a detailed understanding of the reality of mental health and a passionate desire to improve the situation.
Our passionate mission and commitment at Anxious Minds is to improve the mental well-being of the people we serve here in the North East. We work to a strong set of core values and principles that are upheld in everything we offer. Fundamentally we believe that individuals who suffer from Mental Health do not receive enough support. We started this charity in order to address this and provide better support.
Sufferers can often feel utterly isolated and lonely, believing that there is something wrong with them. This is not the case. Mixed anxiety and depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain. One of the aims of Anxious Minds is to connect individuals together, to take a positive step into a community of individuals who want to help.
Get In Touch
Call us 0191 262 0305
Email us info@anxiousminds.co.uk
Call in!
We are situated inside the ‘Creative Wellbeing Centre’ at 31 Station Road, Wallsend, NE28 6RL right next to the Metro Station.
You can also find them on Facebook - https://en-gb.facebook.com/anxiousminds.AM
Lateral Flow Test Information
There's some advice for parents of school children about Lateral Flow Tests here bit.ly/LFT-Parents
Lateral flow device testing (LFD/LFT) is a fast and simple way to test people who do not have symptoms of coronavirus, but who may still be spreading the virus.
Please note children in primary schools should NOT take lateral flow tests and we strongly recommend getting children identified as a close contact or showing syptoms of COVID-19 a PCR test.
Values
This term we have been focused on Individuality and Encouragement. It has been lovely to spend time thinking about all of our amazing qualities and the things that make us truly unique. We have been practising saying positive affirmations; realising that giving encouragement to ourselves is just as important as well as encouraging our friends.
“If you walk in the footprints of others, you won’t make any of your own”.
Our values this term have linked closely to our Rebirth topic as we learn about characters learning to be themselves like in Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph and Norman in Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival. Why not trying reading some of these with your family? There are often links on YouTube to listen along.
We have all shown resilience this year and sometimes just a little message of support to someone may brighten their day more than you can imagine. There are a few examples for you to try below.
I can tell you have worked so hard on this.
You did that all on your own.
You make me proud when...
You are amazing, you are important and you are loved.
Free School Meals
If your circumstances have changed, you can check if you are eligible and apply using the online portal via the link below. Just select: 'How to apply', click ‘Apply for free school meals’, register or log in and just follow the instructions: https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/238/free-school-meals
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
School App - SchoolGateway
Here at Western, we use SchoolGateway for all home to school communication. SchoolGateway allows us to message you and also enables you to reply directly to us. This makes communication between home and school much easier for families and school.
As you know, we have now moved to a completely paperless communication system. All letters and school communications are now sent via the SchoolGateway app.
Furthermore, we are now a cashless school. All trips, clubs and activities are loaded and paid for using the new SchoolGateway system.
This is a much more secure and convenient system than paying by cash or cheques. Payments can be made any time of the day and will normally reach the school within one hour. An electronic record is kept of all payments made to your son or daughter’s account for your information. This prevents payments from being lost or stolen.
Cash or cheques are NOT accepted at the school office but you can request a PAYPOINT voucher so that you can pay at your local shop or supermarket. Please click here to find your local PayPoint store.
Downloading the App:
Please download School Gateway from your app store (Android and iPhone). Once you have downloaded the app, you will need to click "Sign Up". It will ask you to enter your email address and phone number. A pin is then sent to your phone, which you will use to activate your account.
OR
For those parents or carers without a smartphone, you can visit the website:
www.schoolgateway.com and click on ‘New User’. Enter your email address and mobile phone number and you’ll receive a text message with a PIN number. Use this PIN to log into School Gateway.
Trouble logging in? It might be because school doesn’t have your current email and mobile phone number on record. Please contact school and we’ll update the details on our system.
Please contact Mr Ashard on 0191 263 0202 or western.office@ntlp.org.uk if you have any problems getting started or have any questions regarding SchoolGateway.
Social Distancing on site
Families should use their appropriate designated gate (West Street/Rutland Road) and ensure that they leave school premises as quickly as possible after dropping children off.
Please do not socialise with other families on school premises or congregate to chat around the gate areas on the street.
Children should be supervised at all times and are not allowed to play on site before and after school e.g. on tyres, hill or yard. This is to ensure mixing is minimised and to keep numbers as low as possible on the yard.
Please ensure you observe social distancing at all times. Only one adult will be allowed on the grounds to drop off or collect for each family.
Please remember not to step on the cross-hatched grids outside classroom doors as they are there to ensure a safe distance between staff and families.
Thank you for playing your part in keeping our school site as safe as it can be for our children, family members and staff.
Term Dates 2021/22
Pease note, school will be closed to all pupils on Monday 2nd May 2022 for a Bank Holiday.
Please see training days and term dates below for the 2021-22 academic years below:
Western Community Primary School
Email: western.office@ntlp.org.uk
Website: westerncommunityprimary.org.uk
Location: Rutland Road, Wallsend, UK
Phone: 0191 263 0202
Twitter: @westernprimary