Friday Flyer 14th May 2021 - Ponteland Primary | School

Friday Flyer                                        14th May 2021

Head Teacher Update                                        Key Dates for the Summer Term
We have had another good week in school, despite
the bad weather. Some of our children have been
caught out by the rain this week so please try to
ensure that your child has a coat in school. We like
to be outside in all weather!
This week in our assemblies we have been thinking          Friday 28 May – End of half term
about our value of the month which is integrity. We
have been looking for children who show integrity,         Monday 7 June – Back to school
and have been amazed by how many great
                                                           Week beg 7 June – Year 3 & Reception parents’
examples we have found.                                    evenings

                                                           Wednesday 9 June – School photographs

                                                           Week beg 14 June – Year 6 & Year 1 parents’
                                                           evenings

                                                           Week beg 21 June – Year5 & Year 2 parents’
                                                           evenings

                                                           Friday 25 June – 5pm – Year 6 perform Macbeth

                                                           Week beg 28 June – Year 4 parents’ evenings
                                                           and nursery open week
At the end of this term Mrs Ramsay will be retiring
after many years of service at this school. This week      Week beg 28 June - Children’s Cancer Run will
                                                           be held in school
we have appointed Mrs Blyth to the post of
Foundation Stage Manager. She becomes part of              Friday 2 July – Teacher Training day – school
our Senior Leadership Team and she will lead our           closed
Early Years Team. There are exciting times ahead!
                                                           Week beginning 5 July – Made In The North East
For many families in school, it has been a special
                                                           week – each year group looks at a different
week following the end of the holy month of                aspect of North East heritage.
Ramadan with Eid celebrations. We hope that there
have been lots of opportunities for all of those who       Wednesday 14 July – Year 6 Leavers Assembly
are celebrating to enjoy the festivities of this special
time with family and friends.                              Friday 16 July - End of the summer term

Have a great weekend.
L Blain

Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation writes:

During long months of the pandemic, millions of us turned to nature. Our research on the mental health
impacts of the pandemic showed going for walks outside was one of our top coping strategies and 45% of
us reported being in green spaces had been vital for our mental health. Websites which showed footage
from webcams of wildlife saw hits increase by over 2000%. Wider studies also found that during
lockdowns, people not only spent more time in nature but were noticing it more.

Nature is so central to our psychological and emotional health, that it’s almost impossible to realise good
mental health for all without a greater connection to the natural world. For most of human history, we lived
as part of nature. It is only in the last five generations that so many of us have lived and worked in a
context that is largely separated from nature. And it is only since a 1960s study in the US found that
patients who were treated in hospitals with a view of nature recovered faster, that science has started to
unpack the extraordinary health benefits.

For more tips and information visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-
week/tips
     This website from the NHS provides a directory of mental health helplines offering support
  www.nhs.uk/mental-health/nhs-voluntary-charity-services/charity-and-voluntary-services/get-help-
                                     from-mental-health-helplines/

Year 1 were so lucky to have a visit from a storyteller and puppeteer from Hexham Book Festival on
Wednesday. They told us three wonderful stories and used shadow puppets and a shadow theatre. In our
Rainbow Challenge time some of the children decided to make their own puppets and shadow theatres and made
up their own stories to tell to their friends.

Year 2

Year 3 have loved learning about Stonehenge this week, as part of our stone age topic. We have explored different
 structures around the world as well as the theories surrounding Stonehenge. After that we looked at the types of
    stones used and the formation of Stonehenge - replicating this on paper plates before our attempt to create
                                                  ’biscuit-henge'

This week, Year 4 went on a bug hunt! In Science, they have been learning about invertebrates and this week, our
question was ‘Which invertebrates could we find in our local area?’. They predicted that we would find arachnids,
insects and maybe a mollusc or crustacean. Using magnifying glasses to see the animals clearly, Year 4 recorded
the data they collected to classify the invertebrates which they found.

This week Year 5 became science fiction authors. Everyone designed their own fictional planet and then the
children asked each other questions about their designs to help develop their ideas further. They then wrote
some spectacular ‘explorer logs’ using a variety of writing techniques and rich descriptive vocabulary. They
were a true pleasure to read

Nursery have had an eventful week after welcoming some mystery eggs! At first the children thought they may belong to
dinosaurs, snakes or even alligators! We explored eggs by cracking them to make scrambled egg on toast and then had an egg
and spoon race with hard boiled eggs! We sequenced the story of Chicken Licken before drawing our favourite characters.
When we arrived in nursery on Wednesday morning we were greeted with two little cheeping chicks! We learnt a song with
actions, pretended to be chicks and were lucky enough to watch chicks hatch live from their eggs! We now have ten cheeping

chicks ready for another fun-filled week at nursery!