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A Great Start!
We’re almost at the end of September already – time flies! Everyone
has made a brilliant start to the new school year! As ever, our
staff (Team GPS!) are giving 100% to make sure that your child’s
experience of school is positive and fulfilling. The children have
settled down and are working hard – their behaviour and attitude
have been superb! Everyone – staff & children - is excited and
upbeat, determined to make this another winning year! Thanks for
your support as a parent/carer – the children look so smart in their
uniforms, and we are very impressed with the excellent attendance
figures so far this year – keep it up! |
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Welcoming our new
staff!
I know you will join me in welcoming our new staff to Grangetown.
Miss Stabler joins us as a newly qualified year 1 teacher. Miss Tose,
also newly qualified, has joined our Early Years team. Mrs Smith, a
Teaching Assistant, is now part of our Early Years Team. Miss
Gaffney joined us during the Summer term, and is part of our Admin
team. Miss Horn is teaching part-time in Early Years & Key Stage 1.
All of our new colleagues have enjoyed their first month at
Grangetown, and they look forward to meeting you as term progresses. |
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Year 6 visit
Victorian times!
On Thursday 22nd September, Yr 5 and 6 went to Beamish as a start of
their Victorian topic. It was great weather, and a great experience
for the two classes, with different activities, each one amazing in
unique ways. The pupils were in separate groups, and set of on their
own adventure through the old Victorian town.Each group had a chance
to visit the mine, school, farm, dentist, sweet shop and the garage.
At the end of the day, all the groups browsed and bought souvenirs
for themselves or people at home. Overall, it was an amazing day
out. Katherine Galley, yr6. |
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It’s All About Me!
Our topic this half term in Foundation Stage is “All About Me” We
have been reading and sharing stories about starting school and
discussing the different feelings we may have had on our first day
at ‘big school’. We have painted portraits of ourselves looking
very carefully into the mirror at our features. The portraits are
displayed above the children’s pegs, I am sure the children would
love for you to pop in and see them (we still have some to follow!).
This week we have made friendship bracelets and we have devised some
class rules to make sure we have the best time we can in our class.
Over the next few weeks we are going to be exploring our senses by
tasting foods, going on listening walks and feeling different
materials. An extra-special thank you to all of our parents for
helping to settle the children into a new school year –we have
really enjoyed the past few weeks! By the Foundation Stage Team |
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Can you dance the Macarena?!
Recently year 6 went to
Southmoor School to take part in European Languages Day. Lots of
other schools came too, including Hill View and Valley Road. We did
lots of fun activities including watching a French Cinderella play
by some of the Southmoor pupils. After that, we learned the
“Macarena” song, and the dance moves. Then, we tried Spanish tapas
which was lovely! Soon after, we played French bingo and I (Eva) won
- so I got a marshmallow. Finally, we played boules (a French game)
and our team won. Overall it was a great day! By Eva and Natalie. |
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Early Years
Parents’ Workshop
We held our first Early Year’s parent’s workshop of the year, on
Wednesday 28th September, for our Reception parents. We
demonstrated how we teach phonics at Grangetown and our parent’s had
jobs to do as well! We shared tips about reading with your child at
home and answered many questions about phonics and reading. We would
like to thank you for your continued support and we hope that you
found this session very useful! |
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All Aboard!
In Year 1 this term we will be looking at the topic ‘Journeys’. This
has linked nicely to our Literacy work on the books ‘Oi Get off our
Train’, ‘The Train Ride’ and ‘All Change’. We have also linked this
topic to some of our Art work; the children have created a suitcase
collage with things they would like to take on a journey. In
Geography and History the children have started to look at the
history of different types of transport and where in the world you
can go on a journey to. The children will also take part in a
balloon release and send messages via helium balloons; we are hoping
to receive as many replies as possible! Miss. Hough, Miss. Stabler,
Mrs. Appleton & Mrs Christie. |
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The Great
Exhibition!
Our topic this term is entitled ‘The Great Exhibition’. We are
reading a very moving book about a boy called Jim; it is set in
Victorian London and follows Jim through his struggle to survive
free from the workhouse. London in the 1860s is a dangerous and
lonely place for a small boy all alone! As we read we are
discovering lots about life in Victorian England and carrying out
our own research to discover even more. Our ‘slant’ is more towards
Art and DT than just historical facts, so we will be having lots of
fun creating replica artefacts and maybe even inventing some of our
own using mouldable materials such as papier-mâché and modroc. To
launch our topic we visited Beamish Open Air Museum and to close we
shall hold our own Great Exhibition. By Mrs Collins. |
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African Adventure!
In Year 2 this term we will be having fun exploring our topic ‘An
African Adventure’. Our main focus will be developing geographical
skills, looking at Africa’s culture, climate and customs, comparing
these to places in the United Kingdom. We will be looking at stories
from other cultures and using these as a stimulus to help us write
our own stories and poems. We will then spend time looking at the
story of the Lion King. The children will have lots of opportunities
to work in a cross-curricular way and at the end of the topic we are
planning on having an ‘African Parade’ to celebrate all of our
fantastic learning. Miss. Grainger and Mrs. Napier. |
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Here Come the
Vikings!
The Viking topic of ‘Longbows and Longboats’ is well under way in
year 3. So far the children have learned about which countries the
Vikings came from and how they travelled in longboats. They
understand that some Vikings were settlers and some invaders. We
are currently making a Viking boat as part of our classroom display.
The children are very enthusiastic about the work they are
completing in their topic books. We are also planning on having a
real live Viking visit the school to work with the children.
There’s lots to look forward to! Miss A McLoughlin. |
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St Aidan’s
Centenary
On Tuesday 28th September St Aidan’s church celebrated its
centenary. As part of the church’s celebrations the KS2 children
were invited to the church for a special assembly, and to give them
the chance to see the Flower Festival. Father Collins led the
assembly, he told the children all about the building of the church
and showed lots of photographs of the different stages of its
development. The children sang Happy Birthday to St Aidan’s, and
Daniel of year 3 blew out the birthday candle! The children spent
time looking at all the beautiful flower displays and to finish sang
the loudest Amen they could, leaving it echoing throughout the
church! Many thanks to Father Collins (who is not 100 years old!). |
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Yikes!...it’s the
Terrible Tudors!
In Year 4 our topic this term will be the Tudors. Throughout this
topic we will be looking at Henry VIII, his wives, rich and poor
people, childhood in Tudor times, crime and punishment. So far we
have studied Henry VIII and his family including a brief look at his
wives and children. The children have written reports on Henry and
have started a collage of a Tudor picture. We are going to be having
visits from ‘Gladrags’ a company who specialises in Tudor
information, artefacts and music. Also, we are hoping to have a trip
to a museum in Durham for a Tudor day. So far the children are
working really hard and are so enthusiastic to learn, with many
bringing in library books and information found at home. |
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Come and Join Us!
We are now taking applications for September 2012 entry to Nursery
and Reception, and for January 2012 entry to Nursery. To secure your
place, please contact Mrs Minto at the school office (call in or
ring 5537647).
-Jan 2012 Nursery (3 before 31.12.08)
-Sep 2012 Nursery (3 between 01.01.09 -31.08.09)
-Sep 2012 Reception (4 before 31.08.09)
All new starters to our Reception class will receive a free royal
blue sweatshirt, complete with our new badge!
Prospective parents are welcome to come and visit us. We were
recently inspected by Ofsted, and they were full of praise for Early
Years at Grangetown: “Children can work
independently, are happy and increasingly confident in all areas of
the provision and their behaviour is good”.
Ofsted, March 2011. |
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Our Winning Line-Up for 2011-12!
We published this in July’s Newsletter, but we thought you might
like to see it again.
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Class |
Teacher |
Teaching Asst |
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(Nursery &
Rec) |
Miss Booth,
Mrs Mitchell, Miss Tose |
Mrs Dobson
and Mrs Smith |
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Year 1
(2 classes) |
Miss Hough,
Miss Stabler |
Miss
Christie and Mrs Appleton |
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Year 2 |
Miss
Grainger |
Mrs Napier |
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Year 3 |
Miss
McLoughlin |
Miss McBeth |
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Year 4 |
Miss Heddle |
Mrs Dawson |
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Year 5 |
Mrs Collins |
Mr Newby |
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Year 6 |
Mrs Millican
/ Mrs Miller |
Mr Newby |
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¨
Mrs Cole, our Deputy Head, will be supporting
Special Needs across the school.
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Mrs Davies will be teaching drama, singing,
and music in years 3,4,5,6.
¨
Miss Horn will be teaching classes in Early
Years and Yr 1. |
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Connexions Year 6
A couple of weeks ago, our year 6 class went on a visit to
connexions at Sunderland University. We had a great time! First, we
watched John Kilcoyne (the man in the shed on Brainiacs), do lots of
different experiments – with big bangs and loads of smoke. Then we
did a range of different activities including building a spaghetti
tower and making perfume and aftershave – I loved mixing the
chemicals together. We also learned what it would be like to be a
journalist and had to write some interesting headlines. We had a
really good day! By Bailey Atkinson, yr 6. |
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Daisychain – the
best Daycare available!
Do you need a daycare place for your child? Daisychain is open 51
weeks a year, from 8.00 a.m.-6.00 p.m. The fees are very
competitive, and offer excellent value. Our daycare staff are
hardworking, caring and skilled – they will ensure your child is
happy and safe. If you’re interested in a place in Daisychain,
please speak to Ms Heslop, our Daycare Manager. Pop in, or ring her
on 553 7652. You can also discuss your childcare needs with Mrs
Minto in the school office (5537647), or Miss Booth in school. |
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Our Amazing
Line-Up of After School Clubs!
Tuesday
Messy Play with Miss Booth and Mrs Dobson
Gymnastics Club with Miss Tose and Mrs Smith
ICT Club with Mrs Mitchell and Miss Stabler
Cross Stitch with Miss McLaughlin
Wednesday
Choir with Mrs Davies (2.30-3.15)
Boys football with Mr Newby
Girls football with Miss Appleton & Mrs Appleton
Let’s Dance with Miss Hough
Keep Fit with Miss Grainger
Design Club with Miss Heddle
Cookery Club with Miss Christie and Mrs Dawson
Film Club with Mrs Napier
Thursday
Netball with Mrs Davies |
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