Educational Events and Visits

Christmas Productions 2017

Well done to all children across the school for successfully completing their dress rehearsals for the Christmas productions. The children all looked amazing in their costumes and it was obvious that the children had spent time practising their lines and songs at home as well as in school. Anyone with tickets to watch the afternoon or evening performances of A king is born by Reception, Shine star shine by Classes 1 & 2 and No ideas for Christmas by Key Stage Two, are in for a real treat!

Christmas Fair

Thank you to everyone who made our Christmas Fair such a huge success this year. The event couldn’t be done without the support of parents and friends of the school. Thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets and for all of the tombola donations.

Children in Need 2017

Well done to everyone who donated for Children in Need this year. During the week, the children met Pudsey and took part in a competition to decorate a Pudsey Bear picture. We also had a cake sale and non-uniform day so raised lots of money for an excellent cause whilst having fun!

Fancy Dress Disco

All of the children had a fantastic time at the fancy dress disco. The children spent the evening dancing with their friends and eating yummy hotdogs! There were prizes for the most unusual costumes, it wasn’t easy picking a winner from each class because they were all so good! It was fantastic to see so many brilliant costumes, it was difficult to see who was hiding underneath some of the them!

Durham Cathedral

Class 2 had a fantastic day at Durham Cathedral on Wednesday 18th October 2017. The children took part in their ‘Stories of St. Cuthbert’ workshop. The children dressed up during the day and had a tour of Durham Cathedral. During the afternoon the children learnt about St. Cuthbert’s life.

‘I liked the activities and the dressing up costumes’ Ebony.

‘The prayer stones were good’ Charlie.

‘The dressing up was fun’ Macey.

Harvest Festival Assembly

The children performed a variety of songs, prayers and poems to a full audience on Tuesday 17th October 2017. The school harvest table looked beautiful with a wide range of foods, fruit and vegetables. On behalf of everyone at the school, thank you to everyone who donated so generously. The parcels will be delivered to the nominated person and we are sure they will be greatly received.

The Arty-Fact theatre presents…Eureka!

The children in school were treated to a performance by the Arty-Fact theatre on Monday 16th October 2017. The production was set in ancient Greece and covered a variety of maths topics from 3D shapes to percentages. During the performance the children participated with answering a range of maths questions and completed some sequences that had missing numbers.

‘I liked the part when he pretended to go in the bath. It was funny!’ Sophie.

‘My favourite part was when the cream was built’ Chloe.

‘The puppets were really good!’ Oliver.

‘I liked the different props they used‘ Finlay.

e-Cadets internet safety competition

Congratulations to the winners of the internet safety competition. Our e-Cadets launched a competition for all children from across the school to make an e-safety poster. We received lots of entries and the e-Cadets had the difficult task of choosing a winner from lots of fantastic designs. The winning posters were colourful and had the key internet safety messages on them. Well Done to the winners and thank you to everyone that took the time to enter.

Auckland Castle’s pop-up palace.

Wednesday 13th September 2017 was an exciting day for Class 2, the children took part in Auckland Castle’s pop-up palace! The children were able to experience sitting on the throne and handle artefacts. The children were able to dress up as Bishops during the day. We had a drama activity where the children heard the myth of Pollard and the Boar. During the day the children completed various art tasks including decorating their own mitre (hat), creating their own Bishop’s Boar and also a self-portrait in the style of the Bishops of Durham, using chalk and charcoal.

Stain glass windows in Reception

Friday 23rd June 2017 saw the children from Reception create their very own stain glass window. This colourful addition to the classroom links to their topic this term, which has been all about mini beasts. The children enjoyed choosing their own colours and making the pretty patterns.

Pointillism in Class 1

Class 1 have completed some beautifully designed artwork this week using the technique Pointillism. The children drew a design in their art books and used a variety of colours to create their finished piece. The children even created a large scale work of art outside on the school yard.

Hall Hill Farm

The children from Classes 1 and 2 had a brilliant day at Hall Hill Farm on Tuesday 20th June 2017. The visit was organised as a follow up to their work in class which has seen the children learning about animals and habitats. The children had the opportunity to handle and feed the animals as well as learn about life on a working farm.

The Botanic Gardens

Children from Classes 3 and 4 had a brilliant day at The Botanic Gardens in Durham on the Tuesday 13th June 2017. The visit was linked to their Science topic this term, which has seen the children learning about Plants. The children had the expertise of head gardener Mike during the visit and had a hands on experience with a variety of living things, ranging from stick insects to giant lily pads! If you are wondering, the mystery object is an elephants tooth!

Design Technology & Afternoon Tea

The children in Year 3 had a fantastic afternoon designing, making and eating their own Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 7th June 2017 . Not only did they create an invitation and menu but the children then made a healthy sandwich and a pizza with a variety of toppings! The children discussed the importance of food hygiene and what it means to eat a balanced diet.  The children were able to evaluate the lesson and explain what they would do differently next time to make their food ever better.

‘The coming of the Vikings’

Tuesday 23rd May 2017 saw experts from the Palace Green Library spend the day sharing their knowledge with pupils’ from Year 5. The hands-on session considered what life was like in Viking Britain. Throughout the day the children took part in a variety of activities including:

• Handling artefacts
• Looking at Viking weapons
• Creating their own runestone with scraper foil

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Thursday 18th and Friday 19th May 2017

The children from Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 enjoyed a performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Bishop Auckland College. The children were thrilled with the musical talents of the college students and how the much loved classic story was brought to life.

Robinwood 2017

This year our residential visit to Robinwood in Alston was enjoyed by a total of 49 children from across Year’s 4, 5 and 6. The three day visit was packed with exciting activities ranging from caving to canoeing. The children displayed excellent communication skills, teamwork and resilience during the visit. The arrival of snow only made it more magical! Next year’s visit to the centre is already being organised.

Red Nose Day 2017

Well done to everyone in school for supporting Red Nose Day 2017. The children have raised money in a variety of fun ways including coming to school dressed in red, a cake sale and designing a red nose. Well done to the children with the winning nose designs.

British Science Week 10^th – 19^th March 2017

British Science Week was celebrated across the key stages with a variety of exciting lessons and experiments. The children went on to create artwork based on their class science topic, the artwork has gone towards a whole school display in the hall.

World Book Day

The children celebrated World Book Day on Thursday 2nd March 2017 by coming into school wearing a variety of costumes. It was wonderful to see children and staff alike sharing their love of reading. Can you spot a character from your favourite book?

Science Roadshow with Professor Brainstorm

All of the children had a brilliant morning with Professor Brainstorm. The sessions were full of exciting experiments that at first appeared to be magic however the children later got to see they were all possible due to Science!

Show racism the red card

Classes 5 and 6 spent Monday 23^rd January 2017 taking part in a variety of anti-racism workshops with the ex Sunderland legend Gary Bennett. The workshops aimed to educate young people about the causes and consequences of racism and to explore the various forms racism can take. All children now have a better understanding around the effects racism can have on people. The children even made it into the local newspaper!

The Bowes Museum

Classes 3 & 4 had the exciting opportunity to visit The Bowes Museum twice in the spring term with thanks to the Start Fund Project. The project was based around the Mark Clarke exhibition and the Alzheimer’s Society, which allowed both classes to work with local artist Vicky Holbrough on creating dry point prints and the author of ‘Grandma’ Jessica Shepherd. We are currently looking for a permanent home for the artwork in school so everyone can admire the children’s work.

St. Helen’s Church

Classes 3 and 4 walked to St. Helen’s church as part of their RE lesson on Christian Symbols. The children spent the afternoon locating symbols they had studied in previous lessons, observing and sketching symbols and having a chat with Father Alistair.

Theatre production of ‘The Sword in the Stone’

The children enjoyed the production of the Sword in the Stone. Some children were even chosen to have a starring role!

Stone Age to Iron Age Educational Visit

The children from Class 3 took part in an educational visit at The Palace Green Library to introduce them to the topic on The Stone Age. The children took part in a variety of activities during the day including an interactive trail of the gallery and also handling prehistoric artifacts.