Dear Parent/Carer   We’ve got some exciting news to share with you.     Parentkind – a charity that supports school fundraising - have teamed up with Asda, who is making millions of pounds available to donate to primary schools across the UK through their ‘Cashpot for Schools’ initiative. To support English Martyrs', all you have to do is opt-in through the Asda Rewards app, shop and scan in store or shop online at Asda.com . A big Thank You to all parents, carers and friends of the English Martyrs' community who have already registered.   Between 2nd September and 30th November 2024 – every time you shop with Asda using your Asda Rewards app, Asda will donate 0.5% of the value of your shop to your chosen Primary school. Also, every time somebody opts-in to support English Martyrs', Asda will give an additional £1 to our school Cashpot.    The supermarket has joined forces with Joe Wicks to support the initiative – look out for the TV advert, radio ads and social media coverage!   It’s as easy as 1,2,3 1. Download the Asda Rewards app, register and opt-in to Cashpot for Schools (make sure you have the latest version of the app installed) 2. Choose our Primary School – either searching by name or postcode (NE5 2SA) 3. Shop instore across Asda and George, or online at Asda.com and start filling your Cashpot as you shop   Asda does the rest, all money raised will be donated to schools. Funds raised will go straight back into school projects, such as developing our outdoor areas and purchasing new and exciting resources for our pupils.   Remember, anyone can sign up – so start spreading the news and raising funds for our school.   This initiative is on top of the existing Asda Rewards benefits you get as a shopper – so you won’t lose out on any of your own earnings or Cashpot, so everyone is a winner! For more details, visit asda.com/cashpotforschools Thank you for your support, Miss Elliott and the SLT

Dear Parent/Carer     We would like to invite parents/carers with pupils in Years 1 to Year 6 into school on  Wednesday 25th September 2024, at 3.30pm  to find out about the curriculum in your child's class and what to expect, this academic year.      The presentations will last around 30 minutes, finishing at approximately 4. 00pm .     This will be a wonderful opportunity to come into school and meet your child's class teacher as well as discuss our school values, curriculum opportunities, expectations, and how we can best work together as a school/home partnership.      If you are able to attend this event we would ask that you collect your child at their normal finish time end of day and then wait on the school yard. You will then be invited back into school by a member of staff and directed to your child's classroom.    Children are also welcome to attend and will be looked after by our support staff in  another classroom, allowing you to listen to the presentations.      If you have more than one child in school we ask that you choose one class presentation to attend. Following the meeting all information will be uploaded to our school website and the link will be text out to all parents/carers.    After the presentations, there will be an opportunity to attend a 'drop-in' session with the Senior Leadership Team in the Key Stage 2 Hall,  who will be on hand to assist with any problems you may be having with any online communication - which includes; iPayimpact online payments, website access, Tapestry and other online facilities.

The flu vaccination programme will commence in the Autumn term for children in Reception up to and including Year 6.   The health team will be visiting school to carry out the immunisations on the 3rd December 2024.   To ensure your child receives their flu jab please go to the link below where you will be prompted to enter your email address and will need to enter the school code below to register your child:- https://www.northumbriaimmunisations.co.uk/Forms/Flu   Please note for your information the school code is: NB108503                       If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact the school office on 0191 274 7463.

It has been wonderful to welcome our children back to school this week. They have settled into their new classes extremely well and we are all looking forward to an exciting and fun-filled year ahead. Miss Elliott & SLT

Please see message from Northumbria Police, sent to all primary schools: WhatsApp group encouraging self-harm in young people: CNTW NHS Trust has made us aware of a WhatsApp group called “everyone you know x” which is circulating in North Tyneside. It is aimed at Y6 students. There are currently 500 members, and the group encourages members to self-harm. Three young people (two from Gateshead and one from Northumberland) are in hospital following overdose and they have disclosed that there is a social media trend whereby young people are being encouraged to take overdoses on a points scoring system eg, if admitted to hospital, if a liver specialist has been contacted etc. As these young people are not from the North Tyneside area, and there is potential for this to affect other year groups, we are making all schools in our force area aware. Please consider making your students’ parent/carers aware of this group/trend and follow your school’s safeguarding protocols should you be concerned about individual students. The NSPCC website has information about helping children who may have been affected by such content Content promoting self-harm, suicide and eating disorders | NSPCC

Our U11's team started off this year's league games, in great form. The team had to battle with poor weather conditions as they played three league games. The first game, a very close encounter ended up in a 1-0 loss. However, the team showed great character and resilience winning the next two games 4-0 and 5-0! Some great individual performances but above all a great team effort.

We welcomed Ruth and her team into school for her annual  pruning and weaving of our KS2 willow tunnel. This was much needed after a warm and sunny summer, followed by a very wet autumn! The willow had grown very high and needed a lot of expert care. Luckily, the team were able to quickly get the structure looking great, again. Our year 3 pupils, learned about how to look after and maintain the willow as well as being able to work with Ruth, to create some willow shapes and structures. Have a look at what we were able to create , in the pictures below.

We welcomed Ross and the team from Durham University into school, for a special assembly. Children from years 4, 5 and 6 were able to find out about the historic University at Durham but also what studying at any university might be like. The children asked some fantastic questions about what it might be like to study for a degree. They were surprised at how many different options there are to study different subjects. The children were excited to find out that you can live at the university - at Durham you can even live in a castle! We were able to see what a lecture looks like, find out about the different jobs at universities as well as what careers a degree could lead to. Children commented: I loved the assembly, I didn't know there were so many subjects to study! It really made me want to go to university, it would be so exciting to study and live with others in the halls. I would love to go and study one subject so I become an expert. I think university would be amazing and I really hope to go and study when I am older. Our Year 6 pupils will soon take part in a visit to Durham University and work with the Education team - they will take part in a University experience day which has been specifically planned for our pupils. They will take part in a lecture, visit the halls of residence, the university library and even find out what happens at a graduation ceremony.

In our monthly school Mass, we welcomed Fr. Mariadass into the school Hall to celebrate Holy Mass. Pupils from KS2 and some parishioners joined together for a lovely mass where we remembered those who have passed away as well as all of the Holy Souls. We reflected upon the examples some of the saints had given us as well as loved ones in our own families who are no longer with us - but who have taught us many important lessons and have shaped our lives. There was some beautiful singing and our readers helped lead us in prayer and reflection.

Our Catholic social teaching theme this year is 'Young people demand change'. This Harvest Festival week we have supported CAFOD by joining other schools around the country to brighten up, dressing in bright colours and collecting food donations. We have collected food for Joe's place this year, a local charity who helps to feed the homeless. Over the week the children have focused on the key message that 'working together and starting small, we can make a difference and help create a world where everyone's rights are respected, and everyone can live life to the full. Once again, we would like to thank all of our families for your kindness, generosity and support.

At the end of October term 1A, some of our Year 6 pupils took part in an adventurous activity residential in the heart of the Lake District. Our pupils spent 2 nights at the YHA, in Borrowdale which was a fantastic base, surrounded by the beautiful views and nature of the Lake District. We worked with Live4Adventure who are experts in delivering adventurous activities for groups. Our pupils took part in rock climbing, Ghill Scrambling and Canoeing. They even all managed to climb Castle Crag which is one of the famous Wainwright hikes in the lake District. Pupils commented how amazing the experience was - trying new things, working together to complete challenges and feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment in what they had done. New friendships were formed and it was amazing to see how much support and encouragement was given to help each other achieve! We are sure that as well as some fantastic memories, there were so many experiences and skills learned that can be used and will stay with the pupils in the future.

Our Year 6 Girls were invited to attended a special event at the Nissan Skills Foundation. The Nissan Skills foundation aims to raise interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in schools. This was an opportunity for the girls to take part in the ‘Girl Powered’ workshop – The initiative aims to create a more inclusive environment for all students within the robotics and engineering community. As well as raising the aspirations of local youngsters to show that social issues, economic background and gender are not barriers to a potential career in Engineering and Mathematics The workshop included: A hands-on robotics challenge 2 STEM team activities The chance to take the Girl Powered pledge Inspirational female keynote speaker The workshop was a great hands-on experience and a wonderful opportunity to ask questions and find out about a career in STEM.