News, Stars & Welcome to the Summer Term from John & the PHS Team! Friday 19th April 2024

Artists of the Week – marvellous stuff!

Hi everyone, and a happy summer term welcome to you!

It’s always a lovely time of year when the summer term starts, with better weather and light, and people used to their ways of doing things usually by now. There’ll be a lot of things to look forward to! I hope you’ve had a lovely Easter and a lovely holiday – it’s good to be back at school and doing the blog with you

Please do look out for Eileen’s Family Liaison blog, as well as Maria’s regarding Online Safety – and there are lots of other things both on our website and on the wider Percy Hedley Foundation one too. And there are some great things in our blog this week too! I hope there’s something you like

Couple of other things before you go:

Our next day for themed lunch is St George’s Day! Hooray! Something nice to look forward to there!

And our calendar has been updated online – there are lots of new entries and dates for your diaries too

All the best, happy summer and enjoy!

J

😊 from John & the PHS Team 😊

School Photos

This is from Beth and Hannah and they were really lovely last year

It’s that time of year again – school photos!  Building on the success of last year’s fundraiser for FoPHS, we are offering this lovely event again.  Photographs will be taken and edited by one of our talented teachers, Beth Edwards.

Based on feedback from last year, we are now streamlining the process, and will be taking the photos on set days, so children can look their very best! A letter has been sent/emailed home today with more information. Please follow the link on the letter to sign your child up.  The deadline is 26^th April, and we will not be able to accept responses after that. 

Dates for photographs are:

29^th April  – ELTBA

13^th May – Engagement

20^th May – Accreditation

Any queries, please contact Eileen Robinson on e.robinson@percyhedley.org.uk

First, let’s hear from our three Super Steering Groups which deliver our Key Drivers through the curriculum

Literacy

Let’s hear the latest in literacy from Becky and the team

Some very happy news from the Literacy Team this week, as we have been able to secure a significant pot of funding to further invest in our phonics programme, ELS. The team completed an audit last half term with our local Department for Education English Hub, and we are pleased to announce that we have been awarded funds to future-proof Essential Letters and Sounds and further develop our delivery.

Part of this funding will be used to more than double our current phonics library. That’s a LOT of fully decodable books, and we hope to be able to offer a greater choice to motivate and inspire our students!

Parent letters will be coming out next week with planned training dates so please keep an eye out for those too! 

Woohoo!  A definite win for us there! Well done guys!

Personal Development

And now let’s hear from Jo what’s happening in PD this term. Lots of really important stuff planned – can’t wait to see this all happening in classes!

PSHE

We are preparing for the term ahead and beginning our “Changing and Growing” topic across school. I will be popping along to coffee afternoons to show share our curriculum with resources used to support the teaching of this topic.

KS2 – “Changes at Puberty”

KS3 & 4 – “Puberty”

P16 – “National School Diversity Week planning”

If you would like to discuss this further, please email me at  j.ferguson@percyhedley.org.uk or contact your class teacher.

Physical Development

And of course everything that is fabulous in the world of Physical Development too!

Look at this guy!

It’s been great to see the whole school take part in the Active Mile, organised by Richard and Nathan

North Tyneside’s Active Mile!

On 18th April 2024 schools across North Tyneside and surrounding areas took part in the annual active mile. This inclusive event encourages young people (and older) to participate in a range of activities to become more active. Last year 74 schools took part! 

We hope that this can encourage all children to improve their health and wellbeing by doing 15 minutes of physical activity outdoors each day. Immediate benefits include sharper focus and greater concentration, and longer-term benefits include increased physical fitness and children who are more aware of their own health and wellbeing.

The challenge for our students was to complete 10 laps of our school yard to complete the active mile. Next week’s blog will have the total number of miles we managed to do as a school.

Well done to all of our students and staff at Percy Hedley for taking part in this fantastic event! 

Richard

It’s been great to see this week!

Subject of the Week – Chris’ Biscuits for Dunking!

Dear Parents

We are excited to announce our school wide STEAM challenge! This half term, we challenge our students to find the most dunkable biscuit – a task that’s sure to engage their creative minds and scientific curiosity.

This challenge is a fantastic opportunity for our students to apply their learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) in a fun and practical way. By experimenting with different types of biscuits and finding the best accompaniment to your everyday cuppa! They will not only have a great time but also develop important skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork.

We encourage all students to participate in this challenge, whether they are budding scientists, future engineers, or creative artists. It’s a chance for them to showcase their talents, learn from each other, and most importantly, enjoy the process of discovery and innovation.

As parents, your support and encouragement are crucial in helping our students make the most of this challenge. You can help by discussing the project with your child, providing them with the necessary materials, and cheering them on as they conduct their experiments. A parents’ guide has been created and can be found using the links below along with a results sheet that you can use:

Fun-Science-Big-Experiment-Parent-Teacher-guide.docx

Results sheet.docx

(If you would prefer printed versions of these documents please contact: c.taylor@percyhedley.org.uk)

We believe that this Big Experiment STEAM challenge will not only be a memorable experience for our students but also a valuable learning opportunity that complements their academic studies. So let’s get ready to dunk, discover, and delight in the wonder of science and biscuits!

Thank you for your support

Chris Taylor, Head of Science

Artist of the Week – from Kasia!

Artist of the Week is such a great thing to be doing, and I really want to steal all their work and put it up in my office when Kasia’s done with it!  Well done Russell’s class this week!

This week’s Artists of the week are 4RR!

Over the past spring term, 4RR have been learning about painting using primary and secondary colours. They have been exploring the colour theory and mixing colours using ready mixed paint to create Yayoi Kusama inspired sculptures. On a weekly basis the students happily engage in their Art activities and grow in their creative skills! 

Well done to Drae, Riley, Olivia, Logan, Bobbie and Matty for completing another Art project!

Finally

Here are a few pictures of our Easter celebrations at the end of last term from our lovely people in the kitchen.

Thanks to our kitchen, and we all hope you had a lovely easter

…..from John & the Team here at PHS