Visit to St Nicholas’ Church

6th January 2020R Smith

Thursday 5th December KS2 visited St Nicholas Church in Boldon. The children were told about the history of the church; the architecture of the church, showing us how we knew it had been extended, the meaning of the stained glass windows and about the history of St Nicholas himself. The priest then used two of our pupils to explain the meaning of Christingle – Jesus the light of the world. He explained how the christingle is made up and what each part represents;

  • An orange, representing the world
  • A candle pushed into the centre of the orange, then lit, representing Jesus Christ as the light of the world
  • A red ribbon wrapped around the orange representing the blood of christ
  • Dried fruits and/or sweets skewered on cocktail sticks pushed into the orange, representing the fruits of the earth and the four seasons.

To finish the children sang Christmas songs!

Thurston

4th October 2019R Smith

On Monday, 9th September, 28 of our Year 6 children headed off to Thurston in the heart of the Lake District. Arriving at lunchtime, we had our lunch and absorbed the beautiful surroundings of Coniston Water. Quickly we were put into groups and we set off on our first activity. Mrs Lauderdale and Miss Lightfoot’s groups set into the forest for a walk; whilst Mrs Greaves’ group headed off micro ghyll scrambling. When the groups returned, they made their beds in time for tea! A delicious feast of burgers, salad and chips was enjoyed by all! After tea we played hide and seek in the dark! It was brilliant! A fantastic first day!

Tuesday morning began with a dorm inspection. After breakfast we were straight out for our day’s activities. Miss Lightfoot’s group gathered their equipment and headed for the lake. They built rafts and set off canoeing across the lake. Once at the other side they pitched up and enjoyed a delicious ice cream before paddling back across the lake. After lunch they took turns to climb up the huge climbing tree. They tackled their fears and proved they were determined and resilient. Both Mrs Lauderdale’s and Mrs Greaves’ groups headed out for mountain day. It was a long, challenging day for both groups but they had a wonderful day and the views were something else! A well-earned tea of pasta bolognaise was enjoyed by all. After tea, we played a fun game of aliens. The children had to find the aliens and their special numbers around the grounds and report both pieces of information back to the teachers – it was hard and tasking but the children showed determination and were not defeated!

Wednesday started with scrumptious bacon sandwiches! After room inspections we headed off out on our activities. Today it was Miss Lightfoot’s groups turn to climb the mountain. A challenging day, but this did not worry them. They climbed with confidence and enjoyed the surroundings of the Lake District. Mrs Lauderdale and Mrs Greaves’ groups teamed up again for a day of sailing. The children had a great time sailing across the lake, taking turns to have a go on the fun boats and the long boat. Both groups developed new skills, such as teamwork, staying positive, motivating one another and never giving up. When we got back we all jumped off the jetty, which was so much fun! After our roast chicken dinner we headed to the barn for a joint birthday barn party! We enjoyed dancing, playing games and eating treats!

Thursday was our final full day! Sausage sandwiches for breakfast set us up for the adventures! Mrs Lauderdale’s and Mrs Greaves’ groups both ghyll scrambled and did indoor climbing – they swapped over at lunch! Miss Lightfoot’s group ghyll scrambled in the morning then headed to Cathedral Quarry in the afternoon. We all had a brilliant day and even though it was very wet, it didn’t spoil our fun! In the evening, we had to crack the code and solve the clues. We played games and had fun in the lounge before bed!

 

Sadly, Friday had arrived, which meant it was our final day and we had to say goodbye to Thurston. We stripped our beds and packed our cases all before breakfast. The final room inspection was carried out and the girls in Blind Tarn were crowned the winners! Our final activities filled the morning. Miss Lightfoot’s group had a go at indoor climbing, whilst Mrs Greaves’ and Mrs Lauderdale’s groups went orienteering around the grounds. We had our final lunch before heading back on the coach for home!

We had the best time!

The Word

30th September 2019R Smith

Year 6 enjoyed a fantastic trip to The Word today! We were taught how to use Google Drive efficiently and now know our logins and passwords, enabling us to access them in the classroom and beyond. The children worked in the cloud, so that in future they can create Google documents and slides. We were shown how to type using all our fingers and practiced this new skill on 2type. After that, we created a Slides document on the Water Cycle, which links into our Geography topic entitled ‘Will you ever see the water we drink again?’ We learned how to add videos, pictures and gifs and developed our designing skills. Finally, we enthusiastically tried to escape the spacecraft on the game 365 Escape, by unlocking all the clues using our Maths skills- well done to Lewis, Harvey and Liam, who managed it in the time given!

Beamish

30th September 2019R Smith

Year 2 visited Beamish to find out what it was like to go to school years ago. We arrived at the school house and were met by a lady dressed in real old clothes. The teacher rang the bell and we were transported back over 100 years to 1913! Boys and Girls had to line up separately and walk in total silence. We enjoyed our experience so much, we did our numeracy on peg boards and handwriting on slate and sand boxes! We even had time to look around Beamish and all purchased some sweets from the old sweet shop.