News & Stars and Very Cool Cycling! From John & the PHS Team Friday 7th June

Hi everyone,

Happy Friday, Happy June and Happy Last-half-term-of-the year!

Yes, we’re in the last half term of the year, which is usually a lovely, busy and warm one! Full of nice activities, but also full of arrangements for next year – transitions, plans and often new things happening, which in itself can be scary, but all to the good eventually, and essential. It’s always odd to come towards the end of a school year, and to see pupils “moving up” the school…

I hope there’ll be times when you are able to visit this term for something. If your student is that age, the Leavers’ Assembly and The Prom are all pretty special, but there will be Coffee & Catch-up sessions, Consultation afternoons and all sort to come

I do hope you had a good half term and had some nice weather! 😊 😊 😊 It’s great for school to be back and it’s been a lovely atmosphere this week. All the best for a lovely weekend. Take care!

J

😊 from John & the PHS Team 😊

School Photos

We hope that by now your son or daughter has had their photos done by our smashing photography team! They were really lovely last year, and looked amazing, and I do hope that you have managed to receive something worthwhile for your family that means something to you.

Let’s hear from our three Super Steering Groups which deliver our Key Drivers through the curriculum –

Communication, Wellbeing and Independence

Literacy

Becky, our Literacy Lead, is going to get us going! It’s always good stuff! This week it’s about reading at home, something very important and the best sort of homework there is! Good stuff, Becky!

This week we wanted to talk a little about reading at home – We know it can be tricky to encourage students to read at home, and after working so hard at school the last thing we want to do is put pressure on weekend time! ‘Reading for Pleasure’ is a hot topic in schools the past few years but it’s something we’re genuinely passionate about, and we want students to be excited about the characters and stories they encounter – whether they read by themselves, an adult reads to them or it’s an audiobook. There is still SO much good that can come from being exposed to stories.

Sometimes having stories with familiar characters in, or a book of a favourite film, can help to engage students. We’ve had a trawl through Pickatale, an online reading platform we have access to, to find just that! Just look at some of the titles we found

You may remember we’ve talked about Pickatale a few times in our blog before, and you’ll have received log on details to access the books at home. There’s options for different levels of books and many come with audiobook function so it can read words aloud. You have access to all of these above on the free app or web page. If you are interested in any of these books just type the title into the search feature, and here’s a link to a brief (2.5min) overview of the website/ app and how you can access at home if you need it:

Happy Reading!

Personal Development

Another one of the best things about our school! Let’s hear from Jo and the team about one of my favourite days of the year – the This Is Me festival, which shows what we’re all about. Read about and cheers, Jo!

PD Parent Consultation

We would love to hear your views on the wider subject of Personal Development, which includes many aspects of preparing young people in areas outside traditional academia.  This of course is such an important and integral part of what we do and plays a vitally important role in supporting our pupil’s development in all areas.

We often communicate through the school’s weekly blog about the work carried out in Personal Development.  We are currently carrying out a review of the work involved in Personal Development and would value your feedback if you can spare a few minutes to complete the following survey.

This Is Me Mini Festival – Save the Date!

As part of “National School Diversity Week” and “Pride Month”, we have been working hard to prepare for this year’s event. The festival will be on Friday the 5^th of July, it is a celebration of all Protected Characteristics and will include workshops, activities and entertainment all day. A letter will be sent home in the next couple of weeks with the official “Line Up” and finalised details.

Here are few photographs to remember the wonderful time students have had in the previous years, fingers crossed for a sunny day third year in a row!

Physical Development

And of course everything that is fabulous in the world of Physical Development too! This includes physio, hydro, MOVE, PE, HI, VI, a lot of OT and all sorts of key areas for us, including all of the Outdoor Learning, John Muir Award and many other aspects…

Let’s look at some PE first off…

Huge shout out to the amazing students who has been attending the Newcastle United Football foundation community event throughout the year and achieving a winner’s trophy, Nathan and Richard have seen some improvements, especially with girls working more as a team! Well done, Percy Hedley Girls!

And now more Physical Development Stuff with Cycling! Let’s hear from Steph!

Summer Cycling!

Key Stage 2 ELTBA classes enjoyed taking part in a cycling session with some cycling coaches as part of their Mindful Movement this week. These sessions aim to introduce and develop cycling skills whilst having lots of fun! Learning to ride a bike has lots of advantageous for their physical development as it helps with balance, coordination and spatial awareness. Some of our pupils have little or no previous opportunities to ride a bike, but we are so lucky to be able to offer this activity to our wheelchair users due to our fantastic adapted bikes. They were great at directing the adult and experienced the thrill of cycling. Take a look at 2RC in action!

John Muir Adventures with Natalie continued…

 I’ve been loving the weekly updates about what’s happening with the John Muir Award group from Natalie. Let’s see what they’ve been up this week – hopefully they got out and weren’t washed out!

John Muir is back this week after the heavy rainfall we had before half term (We stayed in and watched an adventure movie as an end of term treat, admiring the rain from afar!) This week, we went somewhere different to experience another new environment. The group went to Rising Sun Country Park and had a lovely walk all the way to the farm where we seen a variety of animals and visited the little café. We did get caught in a very random bout of heavy rainfall, but luckily it didn’t last long so we got away unscathed!

Here are a few photos of our time out this week and some lovely photos that Lisa kindly took for us to look at, as she visited the John Muir Country Park over half term (Featuring her very cute dogs). We also have a couple of snippets from some leaflets Lisa picked up for us. Thank you, Lisa 😊

Science Week Preview from Joel!

Percy Hedley School Science Week

Science Week is a special event dedicated to celebrating and promoting science. It’s a chance for everyone to dive into fascinating topics, conduct experiments, and understand the incredible ways science shapes our world. Whether you’re passionate about biology, chemistry, physics, or technology, there’s something for everyone!

Why Science is Awesome

Science helps us understand the world and solve real-world problems. It sparks innovation and drives progress in medicine, technology, and many other fields. Plus, it’s incredibly fun and satisfying to see the results of your experiments and projects

Top Tips for Getting Science Week…

Ask Questions: Be curious! Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions. Science is all about exploring and understanding, so there are no silly questions

Try New Things: Whether it’s a new experiment or a topic you’ve never explored, give it a go. You might discover a new passion

Work Together: Team up with friends to tackle challenges and projects. Collaborating can make science even more fun and you can learn a lot from each other

Talk to Experts: There will likely be scientists and educators around who are thrilled to share their knowledge. Don’t miss the chance to chat with them and learn from their expertise

There will be plenty activities within school plus some visitors coming to school. Keep an eye for letters going home. Within the week, we are looking forward to getting our students out in the community to explore Science and take students on a Science Trip!

Finally…it’s that time again – our Third Prom!

This is from Rebecca!

Just a reminder that our Upper School Prom is coming up on Friday 12^th July.  All our students within our Upper School should have received their invite with the details of the evening.

Please ensure that you have sent us your reply in to allow for us to arrange with our suppliers for numbers.  Please also let us know if you plan to stay with your child.  Any children needing personal care or support with feeding will need to have a carer with them to support with this.

RSVPs can come to either percyhedleyschooladminteam@percyhedley.org.uk, or your class teacher, or by ringing the school office on 01912161811

…..from John & the Team here at PHS

And just a reminder of this great news that came from a lot of hard work!

Award We’ve Gained – the PQSM!

Huge congratulations to everyone who has worked on us getting the PQSM Award. The team managed to get the highest version of the award at the first attempt. It’s a really good sign that we’re improving all the time at maths, as we are in all the STEAM subjects

Well done and great stuff – the assessors said really nice things about the school and the work that we do. We’ve got it from 2024 to 2027!