Dear Parents/Carers As part of the North East Festival of languages, 2025 our Year 4 pupils will be attending a special event at Newcastle Civic Centre on Monday 10th March 2025 . The festival of languages aims to ' Inspire children and young people and empower them to discover a world of language, culture and creativity!' The event year 4 will attend is called 'Welcome to the Arab World' and will involve interactive and fun workshops, including: An Introduction to the Arab World: A fun, interactive session exploring the geography, people, cultures and traditions across the countries of the Arabic World with Jonathan Featherstone, Honorary Fellow, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh and Arabic Teacher at University of Cambridge An inspiring Arabic Language and culture taster session with Saleh Patel, an outstanding Arabic teacher from Horton Park Academy in Bradford, where children will learn some Arabic greetings and phrases and build their confidence to speak An engaging Arabic calligraphy session with Abu Yahya, an outstanding calligraphy artist who has featured on the BBC and has residencies teaching calligraphy, has delivered multiple exhibitions Pupils from 4D will attend the event in the morning and pupils from 4T will attend the event in the afternoon. We will travel to and from the event by private coach. It is important that pupils in 4D arrive in school on time as the coach will leave prompt at 9.05am. Pupils in 4T will return to school for the end of the school day. As the event will require pupils in both classes travelling over lunchtime. All pupils will need a packed lunch on this day. Pupils in receipt of free school meals will automatically receive a packed lunch from the school kitchen. If you have any further questions, please contact the school office and ask to speak to Mr Kennedy. Many Thanks

World Book Day 2025 will take place on Thursday 6 March 2025 . This annual celebration of authors, illustrators, books and the joy of reading is always a fantastic day in school. Pupils will enjoy a range of fun activities throughout the day. We will also explore the book 'I Want a Dog' by Jon Agee as a whole school and create some lovely work based on the text. This year's World Book Day theme is to Read Your Way . Research shows that children feel reading is something they have to do, rather than something they choose to do. Read Your Way encourages everyone to let go of reading pressures and expectations, and empowers children and young people to have fun discovering reading on their own terms. As part of our World Book Day Celebrations on Thursday 6th March , pupils are encouraged to come to school dressed in clothes or costumes inspired by their favourite story book, character or author. We would also like to host a book swap, with pupils swapping a book with another pupil during the day. All we need the children to do is bring a book they are happy to give up. Please make sure your child fully understands the book they being to school will not be coming home as they will be choosing a new book to bring home and enjoy together. Please make sure all books are in good condition with no pages missing.

We are very excited to share that The Oscar Romero Centre will be visiting The Alan Shearer Activity Centre once a week starting after February half term. Pupils will be attending the centre every Monday morning next half term from 9.30am to 10.30am (beginning on 3rd March 2025 and will run up until and including 7th April 2025). They will travel via our school minibus with the staff from The Oscar Romero Centre. We are sure that the pupils in The Oscar Romero Centre will have so much fun, and we are looking forward to enjoying this experience with them. If you have any questions about this, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Allen or Mr Young.

Year 6 SATs Parent/Carers Meeting - Tuesday 4th March Year 6 Booster to start - Thursday 6th March     SATs Meeting   As you are aware your child will be sitting their SATs the week beginning 12th May 2025. We would like to invite you into school for a SATs Parents meeting on Tuesday 4th March starting at 3.30pm. The aim of the meeting is to provide you with some information about the tests and how you may like to support your child at home. This meeting will give you the opportunity to understand what the tests will entail, to have the opportunity to look at some past papers and ask any questions which you may have. The meeting should last no longer than 20 minutes. A power point will be available if you are unable to attend the meeting .    Booster   Year 6 will be running further study (booster) sessions after February half term. This will help prepare the children for their SATs exams. The sessions will run after school on a Tuesday and Thursday evening from 3:30pm to 4:15pm from Thursday 6th March. Children will need to be collected from the Netherby Drive exit at the end of the session at 4.15pm. If your child normally walks home on their own but you would like to collect them after the sessions please inform the school office. Children without usual permission to walk home must be collected.    Thank you,    Year 6 team

English Martyrs’ are today joining thousands of schools across the UK on Friday 7 February 2025 in a Times Tables Rockstars (TTRS) event, for the 25th anniversary of NSPCC Number Day.    Some pupils will have been able to log on to their TTR account in school today, to take part in the challenges. However, the competition is open until 7.30pm tonight for all pupils with a TTRS account.   Pupils will earn points for the school but also for their own class.   HOW IT WORKS Learners will try to answer as many multiplication and division questions correctly as they can. The winning school and class will be based on the highest average number of correct answers per pupil.   Rules:   1.   Every correct answer that a student gives, in any game type, between the hours of 7:30am GMT to 7:30pm GMT each day will contribute to their class and school score. 2.   There is a 60-minute limit playtime per player, per day. 3.   Each class has a minimum player count of 10. If fewer than 10 in the class play in the competition, their total will be divided by 10 regardless.   Pupils simply need to log on and engage with any of the games or activities.

Dear Parents/Carers, We are thrilled to invite your child to a KS1 Movie Night  – a fantastic opportunity for them to unwind and enjoy a fun, family-friendly film with their friends! Here’s what you need to know: Date and Time:  Monday 17th February Movie Details:  The movie will be ‘IF’  Click here  to watch the trailer. The movie is a Certificate U, making it perfect for all KS1 children. Ticket Price:  £3.00 This also includes a drink and a snack for your child to enjoy during the screening. Payment: Online payments only, using your iPayimpact account. Tickets sales will 'go live' on Monday and the office will send a reminder text to inform you of this. Pupils may bring a small blanket or pillow to help them get comfy for the screening. Please ensure any items are brought to in a suitable bag. The film will start promptly after school and pupils will be be taken straight to the hall to watch the movie. We expect the movie to finish at approximately 5pm. Parents should collect children from the KS2 Yard, outside of the school hall at 5pm. All proceeds from the evening will go directly towards supporting the development of our school grounds and equipment, helping to provide an even better environment for your child’s education and play. We look forward to seeing lots of excited faces at the movie night! We will also be hosting additional movie nights, after half term for our KS2 pupils.

Dear Parents/Carers, We are pleased to confirm that we will be hosting our popular ‘family breakfast’ this term on Friday 21st February The family breakfast mornings are very popular among our school community and we enjoy serving delicious hot breakfasts to children, parents, carers, grandparents, and other family members as well as some of our staff! The family breakfast event is open to all pupils and their families. No need to book, please just arrive within the times below. This will take place in the school dining hall and will run from 7.50am until around 8.45am (last orders taken at 8.30am) . Gates to the lower Netherby Drive (KS2) entrance will be opened at 7.50am. There will be no access via the school office. We take cash payment only and small change is much appreciated Children must have an adult with them to join the family breakfast, however pupils in Y6 who walk to school on their own may attend without an adult. Please note – if your child currently attends our own school-based breakfast provision, they can attend as normal on this day. A sample menu is provided below. We aim to keep costs as low as possible, ensuring our breakfasts are not only delicious but also affordable too. ·         Cooked Breakfasts ·         Breakfast Sandwiches: Bacon, Sausage, Egg (Vegetarian options available) ·         Scrambled egg on toast ·         Beans on toast ·         Cheese Toasties ·         Cereals ·         Toast / Bagels (With butter/Jam) ·         Tea/Coffee (adults) ·         Juice/Water/Milk ·         Selection of Fruit   All funds raised at family breakfast events, are used to fund school council projects, improving the school grounds and resources for our pupils.   The KS2 hall will again feature our £1 uniform shop where you can purchase items of pre-loved school uniform for just £1. We have a wide selection of uniform, including jumpers, cardigans, hoodies, trousers, skirts and PE kit. Each item of uniform is only £1 but please bring change along. We will also be accepting donations of any good quality uniform that you would like to pass on. If you have any further questions, please contact the school office. Regards, Senior Leadership Team

Dear Parents and Carers, To mark the end of Children’s Mental Health Awareness week, pupils are invited to come to school, tomorrow (Friday 7th February) in clothes that reflect their individuality and personal style. While we encourage creativity, we kindly ask that children dress in a way that is respectful and appropriate for a school setting. We believe that giving children the opportunity to express themselves through clothing is a fun and meaningful way to highlight the importance of mental health and well-being. We also remind you to ensure that any attire is comfortable for school activities and in line with the school’s expectations for dress code in terms of modesty and safety. We ask that no football strips are worn. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing how the children express themselves!

Children's Mental Health week takes place between 3rd and 9th February.   The theme for 2025 is  Know Yourself, Grow Yourself.  Through this theme we are aiming to equip and empower our children to become more self-aware and explore what it means to them. By getting to know who they are, we hope this will help our children to build resilience, grow and develop.   Children will take part in assemblies and lessons through the week focusing on this theme.   On Friday 7th February we would like to invite the children to come to school dressed in their own clothes, with the theme of ‘showing their unique personalities’ (No football tops please).    You can find out more about this year’s campaign here - About Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week

Dear Parents/Carers We have some exciting developments, taking place on our KS2 Yard as we continue to improve the outdoor environment for our pupils. This work will involve upgrading the artificial grass, around the outdoor gym area as well as improving drainage systems, and safety for all. Due to the location of the works, there will be restricted access to the KS1 yard, during pick up times. In order to avoid congestion and a 'bottle neck' at the bottom Netherby Drive gate, we have made changes to pick up arrangements until further notice. Please read carefully All KS2 (Y3, 4, 5, 6) pupils with siblings in KS1 (Y1, 2) will be picked up from the youngest siblings class. (Normal times for Nursery, Reception and KS1 pick up) Pupils in Year 3 and 4 without siblings can be picked up from 3.15pm from their usual pick up points. Pupils in Y5 and Y6 with no siblings pick up as normal. Pupils in Y6 who walk home - as normal We hope that this will cause minimum disruption and that the work in this part of the school will be complete before the end of the week. We thank you for your patience and understanding in ensuring we leave school, at the end of the day, as safely as possible. Please ensure pupils and young children do not stand or climb on the safety fencing.

Among children – and especially teenagers – TikTok boasts approximately 220 million users, providing a near-endless reel of short clips intended to entertain, educate and more. However, along with its enormous userbase comes a significant number of possible risks: Ofcom have dubbed it the most likely app on which young users would potentially suffer harm. With the platform reaching astronomical levels of success among the younger generation, it’s vitally important for parents and educators to understand the risks it poses. This free guide lets you know about the most prominent potential dangers associated with TikTok and offers expert advice on how to safeguard youngsters who are navigating the site.

Dear Parents Thank you to those of you who responded to the Bikeability questionnaire. Of those who completed the form, we have around 20 pupils who are eligible to take part. Apologies for the short notice, however we have only just had confirmation of the session times, despite having tried to contact the trainers several times last week. Please could your child bring their bike to school tomorrow (Tuesday 14th January) Bikes should be parked up by the KS2 Hall, against the railings (raised area) Please ensure not to block any of the door leading into the hall. Your child will only be able to take part if you have responded to the previous form and they are able to ride a bike without stabilizers.   I have included a checklist for their bikes below - pupils should come so school in their PE kits (Joggers not shorts) You and your child will need to ensure that they are adequately prepared for their training. You should ensure that: ▪ Saddle and handlebars are adjusted to the correct height. ▪ Brakes are functioning. ▪ Tyres are pumped up with no punctures. It is also important that your child is dressed appropriately for the training: ▪ It is a requirement that your child wears a properly fitted, undamaged cycle helmet throughout the scheme. ▪ Think about the weather – if it’s raining you should ensure that your child has waterproof clothing with them. ▪ Ensure your child is wearing shoes with a closed heel and toe (trainers).