Children from Year 4, 5 & 6 visited Dance City in Newcastle to watch Tees Valley Dance perform Kick Off. Using football as its inspiration Kick off was a light-hearted piece about exploring the games played by two friends. Injuries, arguments, winners, losers, rules and tactics were all incorporated within the dance performance. After the show the children took part in a workshop with the choreographer of the show and members of the dance group. They got the opportunity to perform dance routines from the show and ask lots of questions about the performance.

The children are really looking forward to working with Tees Valley Dance again when they visit school at the end of the month.

Pupils in Key Stage 2 took part in the Fab Food Funhouse Roadshow to raise awareness of healthy eating. The children were spit into teams and completed physical activity challenges, took part in various games and answered questions about healthy food choices to score points for their team. A fun afternoon was had by all!!!

Year 4, 5 and 6 visited the Great North Museum to look closely at the Ancient Egyptian Exhibits housed within the museum. They studied the different art work and sketched the designs which they found interesting. These sketches were then used to create an Ancient Egyptian wall art.

Children sketching their designs.

Year 6 went to Bowes Museum to take part in an Art Workshop based around People in Action. They sketched each other in different poses and then took these as inspiration to create models. Using wire, pupils made a frame of their person then covered it in rolled strips of newspaper. Using Modroc, plaster of Paris bandage to finish their sculpture, giving them a hardened finish. Once back at school, children painted their sculptures to produce a person.

Children working hard creating their models.

Year 5 and Year 6 met with a fireman from the local Fire Station to learn about Fire Safety within the home. The fireman talked to the children about what to do if a fire broke out in their home, reminding the children of the does and don'ts to stay safe.

Year 6 children had a fun afternoon when they visited Gateshead Stadium to take part in a Hula Event. The children learnt a range of tricks with Miss Kellee from LA, who has set up a charity to combat childhood obesity, mainly through hula hop.

Year 6 children learning a range of tricks!

Year 6 children with Miss Kellee.

This week our pupils have been performing their Christmas Shows and they have all been a great success.

There are certainly some budding stars in the making!

Reception Class performed 'Jesus in a Manger' a traditional nativity play, their acting and singing was tremendous!

Year 1 and Year 2 performed 'A Creepy Crawly Christmas' a thoroughly entertaining show along with brilliant acting and singing from all of the children!

Year 3 performed 'A Tale of two Birthdays'. This tale had action, adventure, magical characters, lots of laughs along with a superb performance from all the children!

Year 4 & 5 performed 'Dick Whittington and his Cat' a popular and well-loved story about Dick, who was down on his luck and decided to head for the city of London to see if the streets were really paved with gold. The show had catchy songs, lots of laughs and of course a 'happy ever after' ending. Providing a great recipe for a thoroughly entertaining show along with fantastic acting and singing from all of the children.

Year 6 performed 'Hansel and Gretal an adaptation of the popular fairytale. Hansel was imprisoned while Gretal 'force fed' him in order to, as the old witch put it 'fatten him up for the Christmas pot! It was great fun to watch with its witty script, catchy songs and some real 'character acting' from the children.

Children rehearsing for their shows!

Every year Film Education organises a nationwide film festival called National Schools Film Week (NSFW) which takes place this year on 19th-23rd October. National Schools Film Week is the biggest event of its kind in the world for young people, it is a unique festival which provides schools across the UK with free trips to the cinema with the aim of exposing children to a wide range of films. This years theme is Creativity and Diversity and our Key Stage 2 children have had the opportunity to take part. They have visited Sunderland Empire Cinema and The Customs House, South Shields where they have enjoyed watching a film.

Yesterday, Year 6 children had the opportunity to visit Heworth CLC where they were shown how to use a software program called 'Movie Maker'. They learnt how Movie Maker can help them to build their own movie using videos, photos and music. They were also shown how to include titles and transitions to help make their movie fit together. Year 6 children had great fun trying out this new program which they will be using over the next few weeks during their ICT lessons, to create a movie all about Superheroes, linked to their Literacy topic.

Children working hard creating their movies.

On Thursday Year 6 visited Sunderland Empire to watch Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' performed by the Shakespeare 4 Kidz Theatre Company. Shakespeare 4 Kidz used the most famous lines from the original texts, weaved them into modern language, added some songs and dances into the mix, to tell the blood-soaked story of the murderous Scottish warrior. The children thoroughly enjoyed the performance brought to life in a vibrant fun filled way, by the Shakespeare Company.

Children in Year 5 & Year 6 had a real treat when they visited Gateshead Stadium on 9th July 2009 as they got the opportunity to meet five real-life astronauts. In spectacular style, the team-of-five from Space Shuttle STS119 landed by helicopter at the stadium and were whisked to the sports arena in a limo. The children heard astronaut Mission Commander Lee Archambault and crew members John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Tony Antonelli, and Joe Acaba, dressed in their blue mission jump suits, talk about how they flew to the International Space Station in March to carry out assembly work on board, how they survived in space and how they completed three space walks. The Children had a great day and were very lucky to have met the astronauts, as the space shuttle retires in 2010, this could be the last visit to the UK.

The astronauts arriving in the limo.

The school has a stunning memento of the event - a photograph of everyone with the crew.

Year 6 pupils had a fantastic adventure at the Robin Wood Activity Centre near Alston. They developed their team building, listening and communication skills through problem solving, team challenge and orienteering. They faced their darkest fears in the caves and the Piranha pool, scaled Mount Everest on the climbing wall, climbed the heady heights of the trapeze, zipped down the zip-wire and waded courageously through the stream walk. The giant swing was also great fun, relying on fantastic teamwork to give each team member a fabulous swing at the height they were comfortable with. All the pupils had a go at the activities, as did the Bill Quay staff, even when they were more than a little bit nervous about it.

An unforgettable time was experienced by all!!.

Children developing their team building skills.

A team of 20 pupils from Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 represented the school in the Gateshead Primary Schools Athletics Festival on Friday 26th June. A massive 48 schools took part and events included the cricket ball throw, spring jumps, javlin. long jump, sprints, relay and skipping as well as the long distance run!! The children had great success, with many of our pupils getting through to the semi finals and finals. Julian took away a silver medal in the spring jumps, Alice a bronze in the same event and Zoe a silver in the skipping race.

A fantastic team effort from everyone of which the school is really proud!

Children preparing for thier race.

Year 6 children enjoyed their visit to the Laing Art Gallery on Wednesday 20th May 2009, where they learnt how to use water colours to create a seaside scene.

Children using the water colours to create their scenes.

Year 6 spend all morning at Gateshead City Learning Centre on Monday, where they were shown how to use a CADCAM program called Primary Design. The children had great fun using the program to design their own keyring, which will be cut out on the laser cutter and sent to school at a later date.

Children working on their keyring designs.

Pupils in Year 5/6 Hockey team played In the Gateshead Mini Hockey Tournament. They lost their first match but won all their other matches finishing 4th overall.

Well done, a great team effort!

On Thursday 19th March Megan, Chloe, Lucas, Callam, William, Joseph, Michael, Victoria and Jessica represented Bill Quay School at the Felling Swimming Gala at Leam Lane Swimming Pool.

Well done to everyone who took part, they all tried really hard!

Bill Quay Swimming Team.

Children taken part in the gala.

On the 12th March 6 pupils from Year 6 went to a Science Showcase held at the Metro Centre where they took part in an experiment testing the flight of paper aeroplanes. They made 3 paper aeroplanes of different design and tested them to find out which flew the furthest and why. Members of the public joined in as did other schools.

The children had a thoroughly enjoyable day!

On Thursday 5th March, Ellen Waite, Kayleigh Forster, Callum Doyle, Nathan Hodgson and William Lane represented the Heworth Cluster in the Gateshead / Whickham School Sport Partnership Sportshall Athletics final 2009. This was held at Gateshead Stadium. The girls came 4th overall and the boys were 5th overall.

Well done to all those who took part!

On Tuesday Year 6 visited Sunderland Empire to watch Shakespeare's ' The Tempest' performed by the Shakespeare 4 Kidz Theatre Company. They enjoyed the magical, mystical musical production about Prospero, the former Duke of Milan and his revenge on his wicked brother. When a powerful sea tempest shipwrecks Prospero's former adversaries on an enchanted island they are tricked and tormented by his magical spell. The children thoroughly enjoyed the performance brought to life in a vibrant fun filled way, by the Shakespeare Company.

Pupils in Keystage 2 took part in the Skipping and Cheerleading Festival at Gateshead Stadium. They performed to the 'Kaiser Chiefs' track 'Never miss a beat' where they skipped in time to the fast paced music.

They never missed a beat so well done to them!

Pupils in Year 5 & 6 visited the Tyneside Cinema to watch the screening of their 'News Real' projects. The children enjoyed watching their footage of life in the Victorian times (Year 5) and life during the Second World War (Year 6). They also had the opportunity to watch the screening of other schools in Gateshead News Real projects.

Well done to everyone who took part, there was some real 'character acting' from you all!

Children waiting for the 'News Real' to begin.

On Monday 9th February children from Years 5 & 6 took part in an athletics tournament at Heworth Grange School against three other schools. The children did both track and field events and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was a very noisy afternoon as the children cheered each other on.

All the children taken part had a wonderful time and best of all - Bill Quay won!

Following this event, a representative team will be selected for the finals in March at Gateshead International Stadium.

On Monday Year 6 visited the Centre for Life to take part in a Microbes Workshop. They carried out experiments on the topic micro-organisms, which they are studying, in the lab and waited with baited breath for the results. The children then watched an Ice Culture show where they learnt about climate change and how to survive in arctic conditions. Before it was time to come home the children had a wonderful time ice skating and were given a much needed hot chocolate and a cookie afterwards.

A fantastic time was had by all!!

Children enjoying carrying out experiments.

William taking part in the Ice Culture show.

Children having a wonderful time ice skating!

Can you spot Mrs Lees?

First we got the bus to the City Learning Centre (CLC) where we met and were introduced to Mr Bolger who would take us for the day. We learnt about the National Disaster on the Wilkinson Lemonade Factory in World War 2. Furthermore we found out that out of 192 people only 82 of them survived. Shortly after that we got to see and touch real and replica items of the war. Following this we went on some laptops to use some music software to create a piece of music to go with a short clip from the film Machine Gunners. Finally we had a film taken and we had to shoot. We think Gateshead CLC is great!
Daniel Brunskill Year 6.

Children creating a piece of music to go with a short clip from the film Machine Gunners.

Children in Key Stage 2 had the opportunity to learn about the different ways in which we communicate during the workshop. The workshop used music and song to help the children recognise how communication has developed over time from smoke signals to mobile phones. The children thoroughly enjoyed taking part and singing songs such as Message in a Bottle and SOS.

Children taking part in the Music Workshop.

The school choir have been out and about in the community this week. On Tuesday they sang in Eldon Square and raised £230.00 for the 'Coping with Cancer' Charity. On Wednesday they visited Pelaw Library to perform some traditional and modern Christmas carols .

The school and Mrs Messenger are very proud of their efforts!

Children having fun performing in Eldon Square.

Children singing in Pelaw Library.

Pupils in Key Stage 1 and Keystage 2 performed at this year's Gateshead Gymnastic Festival at Gateshead Leisure Centre on Thursday 26th November 2008 as well as, children from other schools around Gateshead. Mrs Bone worked with Keystage 1 pupils and Mrs Messenger worked with the Key Stage 2 pupils in preparation for the evening. Their performances to 'Jump Around' by 'House of Pain' and 'Walk Away' by 'The Egg' were outstanding.

Well done to everyone who took part!

On Thursday, despite the weather, as part of their Literacy topic based on journalistic writing, year 6 visited the Newsroom of the Evening Chronicle. They had the opportunity to create their own newspaper front pages and headlines, including their own articles.

Children working on their front page articles.

Children in Year 6 had a great day out at Bowes Museum on Wednesday 19th November when they took part in a Portraits and Portraiture Workshop. By studying painting by world famous artist Giovanni Antoni Canaletto, with artist Beth, they learnt things paintings can reveal through expression, setting and pose. The children then used expression, posture and pose to create characters from the paintings. During the workshop the children took turns posing as characters from the Second World War while the others sketched them. At the end of the workshop the children had the opportunity to look around the museum.

Children posing as different characters in the painting.

To make the most of their Bowes Museum visit Vicky, a professional artist from the museum, came into school the next day to show the children how to make sculptures. Year 6 children discussed and planned what character they were going to create based on the Second World War. They chose characters such as Hitler, Winston Churchill, German, American and British soldiers as well as a child evacuee. They talked with Vicky about what their characters actions, pose and stance would be then they sketched their character. When they had finished their sketch they worked alongside Vicky as she showed them step by step how to make an armature (frame) using garden cane, scrunched up paper and masking tape. This frame was then attached to a baseboard using wire, the children then painted their armatures. The children had great fun making them and the finished characters looked absolutely fantastic!

Sketch of one of the characters.

Children making the body of their character.

A finished armature.

Can you spot who the characters are?

Monday 17th November saw the whole school take part in an 'Enterprise Day' in the style of Dragon's Den. Children in Key Stage 2 were organised into mixed age groups with Year 6 pupils taking the lead. Each group designed and created something to sell at the Christmas Fayre. They presented their ideas to 4 dragons who then chose one group to produce a Christmas shaker for the fayre. One of the dragons was Mr Patterson a Governor for maths and business enterprise.

Children sharing ideas on their product.
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Children working together on their Christmas crackers idea.

The winning prototype.

This term pupils in Year 5 & 6 have been taken part in 'News Real' projects organised by the Tyneside Cinema. Both projects have engaged the children in filmmaking in a creative and exciting way. Inspired by watching original newsreels, pupils in Year 5 & Year 6 worked alongside professional filmmakers to create their own piece of newsreel footage on life in the Victorian times (Year 5) and life during the Second World War (Year 6). These projects will culminate with a celebratory screening of the children's films in the Tyneside Cinema, where the news was first screened over 70 years ago as well as in school.

Dates to be confirmed.

Year 5 children working alongside professional filmmakers to create their own piece of newsreel footage.

On Friday afternoon Year 6 children all became teachers as they took part in 11 Million Take Over Day. They taught various subjects such as ICT, Art and Craft, Cookery, Music, Dance and PE. Children throughout the school had a great afternoon and I think Year 6 enjoyed it as well however, they said it was very stressful!

Children having a great time cooking with Abbey, Kate S, Liam and Ewan.

Children learning ball skills with William and Callum.

Bill Quay Tag Rugby Team took part in the Gateshead Tag Rugby Tournament at Low Fell Rugby Club on 22nd October 2008. The team played brilliantly, well done to everyone for taking part!

Year 6 visited Gateshead Civic Centre on the 15th October for the opening of Give Racism the Red Card.

This is what Daniel Brunskill had to say about the trip.

Give Racism the Red Card, is an event which targets racism and tries to stop it. The campaign has been going for many years and Gateshead joined this year to make Gateshead a place with ZERO tolerance for racism. When we got to the event at the Civic Centre there were children from other schools already there then we were joined by children from a secondary school. Then councillors arrived and sat down with Newcastle Falcons rugby player Joe and Dean an ex Middlesbrough player. We then watched a DVD about famous footballers getting racial abuse from the crowd. Some players are using their role model status to stamp out racism by getting everyone involved in Gateshead.
Then Jane from Give Racism the Red Card spoke to us and the other schools given us an example of racism she said "all the people with blue eyes are going home and people with brown eyes are staying". She then asked us how we felt and we said sad, cross and angry. After that a man from South America danced for us and got some people up to dance with him. including children from Year 6. Then Newcastle United footballer Shola Ameobi joined us and we got his autograph and a photo with him. We then had a question and answer session and the best two questions asked won a pair of tickets to see Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion.

Thanks for that brilliant report Daniel!

On Thursday children from Year 6 visited South Shields Museum where they learnt about what it would of been like, living in Britain, during the Second World War. They listened for the sound of an air raid siren and then took part in an mock air raid. The children were then given various artefacts from the war which they linked to the clues on their worksheets.

The children working together to solve the clues.

In the afternoon the children turned detectives as the 'Phantom Claw' had planted a device in the museum. They looked for clues in riddles and codes around the museum to help them find the 4 digit number code, which they needed to enable them to deactivate the device.

The children had great fun finding the code and saving the day!

Children from Year 5 and Year 6 had a fantastic day at the Newcastle Falcons rugby ground last week. They spend the morning touring the ground with Danny, then they watched some of the players training in the gym and saw the player's dressing room. They even had the chance to sit on the bench where Jonny Wilkinson sits before a match. Then Danny took them on to the rugby pitch for some tag rugby training. The afternoon was spent in the computer suite where all the children were engaged in an advertising campaign for the Falcons. They each made an advertising DVD which they were allowed to bring home with them.

Can you spot Mrs Hilton on the bench, thats where Jonny's sits?
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Children having great fun tag rugby training.

They even got the chance to meet the Falcons mascot.

On Friday children from Year 6 visited Monkwearmouth Station Museum where they were introduced to Roy who told them all about what it was like to be an evacuee in the Second World War. After listening to Roy the children turned detectives as they were given bags and suitcases. They then used the clues inside to identify who the bags belonged to and what they were doing during the war. The children had great fun!

Children listening to Roy telling them about when he was an evacuee.

Children using the clues to identify who the bag belonged to.

Welcome to Year 6 our class teacher is Mrs Lees.

Cloudy skies and summer showers did little to stop Year 6 children having fun when they visited St. Mary's Lighthouse in Tynemouth linked to their Georgraphy topic Coasts. They took part in a 'Rock Pool Ramble' and spent time looking at creatures found around the coast in the aquarium inside the Lighthouse. The rain didn't even stop them from making a beautiful mermaid from seaweed they found on the beach!

Children taken part in a 'Rock Pool Ramble'.

Children looking at creatures in the aquarium.

How beautiful does the mermaid look made from seaweed?

Five children from Year 6 Lucy, Amy, Holly, Natasha and Jordan had a fantastic opportunity this week as they visited Lord Lawson School in Birtley to represent Bill Quay in a writing competition. They met Peter J Murray, award-winning author of Mokee Joe, as he launched the writing competition. He read an introduction to a story then the children were asked to come up with a fantastic ending to it, in no more than 1000 words. The top three story endings were then to be selected by the judges. Unfortunately Bill Quay didn't get chosen but, this challenge certainly ignited the children's imagination and they had great fun sharing ideas for their story.

Well done to everyone who took part.

Year 6 have had a fantastic time at Robin Wood Activity Centre. They integrated and developed as a team throughout their stay through problem solving, team challenges and orienteering. The giant swing was great fun, relying again on fantastic teamwork to give each team member a fabulous swing at the height they were comfortable with.

An unforgettable time was experienced by all!

Year 6 children enjoyed a visit from artist Pippa Bell, they spent time with her looking at Maritime paintings. Pippa discussed the different techniques the artists had used to create the sea in their paintings such as ' Divisionism’ a technique used by artists which involves breaking colour into its basic elements and painting in very small and regular dots. From a distance the multiple dots form an optical mixture of colour. She also showed the children the way in which the artists had used oil or watercolours, blending, different brush sizes and brush strokes to create the surface of the sea and the formation of the waves.

Children helping Pippa show the class different painting techniques.

Year 5 and 6 had a fantastic day at the Stadium of Light. They spent time with Phil Cowler, one of the resident teachers at the stadium, working on 'Healthy Living'. Everyone produced a beautiful poster incorporating tips for keeping fit and healthy. The highlight of the visit was the stadium tour and the chance to run through the tunnel onto the edge of the pitch. Newcastle fans were nearly tempted to change their team!

Sixteen pupils from Years 5 & 6 spent 4 days near Krakow, along with pupils from Hungary & Poland. They visited the famous Salt Mines and Krakow city. Despite mislaying the passports for 10 minutes the trip was a fantastic success. A great time was had by all in Poland and we are looking foward to visiting Hungary and Spain next year!

This was part of the Comenius project.

Whilst the rest of their classes were in Poland, Years 5 and 6 went to the Life Centre to link in with Year 5's Science topic - Keeping Healthy. They looked around the museum and took part in a workshop where they had a go at making a plaster cast for a broken arm, making fake scabs, looking at skulls and planning a healthy diet. They all had a great day.

Aidan had great fun making a plaster cast.

Year 6 children took part in a workshop at the Laing Art Gallery this week. First they were met by Simon, a professional artist at the gallery, who showed them work by artist Charles Napier Henry, a well known outstanding Marine and Landscape artist in the North East, from 1841 to 1917. The children looked at how he had painted waves in his paintings then starting with a 'ground' of blue, they worked alongside Simon creating their own painting using ideas from the paintings.

Children working alongside Simon creating their own painting.

Year 4 and Year 6 children had the opportunity this week to take part in science workshops when they were visited by the Hancock Museum. The children had great fun looking at the different stuffed animals the museum had brought along with them. They worked together researching and investigating how these animals are adapted to survive and were encouraged to share their findings and document their discoveries.

Year 4 children researching and investigating.

Year 6 children having great fun looking at the different stuffed animals.

Bill Quay Farm was the setting for an Environmental Workshop, leg by Wendy Morton the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Tynemouth, on Friday 14th March. Year 6 children spent the morning considering many ways to protect and enhance the local and global environment for future generations.
Action Plans included details of how to tackle waste and save energy as well as making a positive impact on the world. The morning concluded with a very entertaining visit to see the farm's new born piglets and kids.

To enhance their scientific knowledge and understanding, Year 6 visited the Life Centre, in Newcastle, during Science Week.
Using their own handmade gliders and rockets, children investigated gravity, thrust and air resistance in a 'Forces in Motion' workshop.
Other exciting experiences included a visit to 'The Dome' where children observed the night sky, and exhilarating trip through a gold mind on 'The Motion Ride' and a chance to test skills and reflexes in the 'Life Arcade'
The children had a fantastic day and were disappointed when it came to an end!

Girls from Year 5 and Year 6 took part in the Sportshall Atheltics Finals at Gateshead International Stadium on Thursday 6th March 2008. The girls joined up with pupils from Roman Road, Wardley and Lingey House Primary schools to represent the Heworth area as 'Heworth Grange' in the finals. One hundred and sixty pupils took part in the event competing in indoor, track and field events.

A fantastic result for the Heworth Grange team who came in 2nd overall.

Well done to everyone!

Bill Quay pupils were visited by the 'Climate Dome' team on 28th February 2008 where they learnt about what the green house effect is and why it matters. They also looked at climate change and what effect it will have on the weather and us. As well as learning about the impact of melting ice caps on us all.

Children exploring the Climate Dome.

Visitors from the Centre for Life came into school and worked alongside children in Year 6 where they made rockets from recycled materials. They fired the rockets and then improved thier design. At the end of the session the children had a competition to see who had the best design and Natasha's rocket won.

Visitors from the Centre for Life working alongside children in Year 6

When Year 5 and Year 6 visited the Metro Centre on 31st January and 1st February 2008 they were in for a surprise. They both followed a maths trail around the malls and realised maths is all around us. They looked at measurement using the metro unit ( a square with a circle and a line in) which can be seen on the railings in the upper malls and identified lots of different shapes. They all agreed it had been a very interesting and enjoyable day. To top it all off Year 5 were chosen to feature in an article in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle about the maths in malls event!

Aiden and Lee from Year 5 working together sharing ideas on the maths trail.

The Year 6 Netball Team took part in the cluster netball tournament at Heworth Grange school. Teams from Wardley, The Drive and Bill Quay improved their shooting and passing skills before competing in the tournament.
The team were fantastic and as well as scoring plenty of goals they were excellent defenders, conceding no goals!

An excellent team effort, well done.

Pupils in Year 6 have been developing their 'control' skills in ICT with the help of Gateshead City Learning Centre (CLC). So far they have spent 2 hours with teacher, Mr Mullen, in school working on Junior Insight Control programme. Following this, they will design and make their own fairground rides to take to the CLC next Friday. During this visit, they will use ICT to control and operate their fairground rides.

Children working alongside Mr Murray in the computer suite.

Mr Mullholland visited Year 6 on 26th November and 7th,11th &12th December to work with the children on Design Technology and support them with their topic work on Shelters. He showed the children how to make a shelter from paper, looking at the strength of paper cylinders which the children made and combined to create the shelters structure. They needed accuracy and patience and lots of ideas to enable them to progress onto making the structure of a bridge, which they did, then they went onto successfully complete the structure of a football stadium.

Children working together making the structures for their shelters.

Children sharing their ideas with Mr Mulholland.

Well Done Year 6 a fantastic structure of a football stadium!

On Friday 23rd November Year 6 children celebrated the end of thier work on the Second World War with a V.E. Assembley. They invited members of the community to join in with the celebrations.

Children enjoying the celebrations!

On Friday 16th November Year 6 had the opportunity to visit Eden Camp where they were transported back in time to wartime Britain. They experienced the sights, the sounds of and even the smells of the blitz. As well as hiding out in the air raid shelters and being under attack onboard a Merchant Navy submarine in the North Atlantic These superb and lifelike exhibits made the visit to Eden Camp a wonderful educational day out.

On Thursday 8th November Year 4 enjoyed their visit from visiting artist Pippa Bell. They had the opportunity to see images of sculpture throughout the years and found out how they were made and what materials were used.
Year 5 also enjoyed their visit from Pippa who came to talk to them about the Victorians. They looked at some pictures of Queen Victoria's Coronation and life in the Victorian times. They also saw pictures of famous Victorians, such as Florence Nightingale. "It was really fun, we learnt a lot" said Kate Hanlon. "My favourite part was learning about all the diseases and what doctors did in Victorian times" said Callum Doyle.
Year 6 children looked at paintings and photographs from the Second World War. Pippa showed them different techniques used in the paintings and explained how the colours helped to express feeling and emotions. The children also had the opportunity to discuss the different aspects of the war through the paintings.

Pippa working with Year 6.

Two groups of children from Year 6 represented Bill Quay School in the finals of the Anti Bullying Song Competition run by the Sage Gateshead. Both performances where fantastic, well done Emma, Emily, Amy, Lucy, Kristin, Holly, Joely, Abbey Jo, Shannon and Frances!

You might have caught a glimpse of some of our super singing stars on TV singing one of the two performances.

Year 6 in their History topic have been looking at Britain since the 1950's. On Wednesday the children visited the Discovery Museum where they had the opportunity to investigate objects, music and people from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's.

The children had great fun investigating the 50's

60's

70's

80's

90's

Last half term the children in Year 6 were visited by the Road Safety Cycling Team every Monday morning, they learnt about keeping safe while cycling around Bill Quay. A member of the Road Safety Cycling Team now runs a After School Cycling Club where the children have been learning about how to maintain their bikes, they have also been doing other activities such as designing safety posters.

The Education Business Links team from Gateshead Council came to run a workshop with Year 6. In groups we made our own company, gave it a name and had to design, make and produce a marketing campaign for a hat. We then had to present or product in order to convince people to buy it.

Well done to Top Hat the winners!

Working alongside people from business links.

Working together sharing our ideas.

That was a great presentation!

Well done to Bill Quay Tag Rugby Team for taking part in Gateshead Tag Rugby Tournament at Low Fell Rugby Club on Wednesday 17th October. The team played extremely well coming first in their section.

Congratulations!
Ross, Ryan, Aaron, Matthew, Conor, Steven, Frances, Emma, Joely, and Abbey Joe .

Five children from Year 6 represented Bill Quay school in the final of the Gateshead Schools Robotics Challenge at the City Learning Centre on Friday 19th October. The children were given the challenge of programming a robot to do 3 different movements. The children worked together sharing their ideas rising to the challenge, with an outstanding performance. Unfortunately they were pipped at the post by Roman Road school, finishing in runners up position.

Well done Matthew, Emma, Lucy, Ross and Ryan!

An outstanding performance Matthew!

Yesterday Year 6 visited South Shields Museum to learn more about their history topic World War II. When they arrived at the museum, they looked at objects that would have been used during the war. The children were given a list of different objects; they had to find information about, around the museum. “I found out that you could buy specially designed glasses to be worn under a gas mask and that there where more than one type of ration book” said Natasha. Jordan Allison had this to say “I think the trip was fantastic we learned lots more about the Second World War.”

As part of their Literacy topic, based on journalistic writing, Year 6 visited the Evening Chronicle Newsroom. Whilst there they created their own newspaper front pages and headlines and shortly they will be writing their own Kron page for the Evening Chronicle.

There are 22 of us altogether.
This term we are studying the Second World War and will be visiting the Discovery Museum. In Literacy, we are learning about journalistic writing. We will be visiting the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and writing our own Kron Page.

Year 6 collaborated with Heworth Grange Arts College to put on a marvellous production of 'Jungle Book' . Music, drama and dance teachers from Heworth came to Bill Quay to assist with choreography, singing and acting. The result was a spectacular performance by all the cast!

CAST

Mowgli Jack Gray
Baloo Daniel Huddart
Bagheera Sarah Morris
Colonel Hathi Ciaran Grant
King Louie James Lone
Shere Khan Jenny Young
Shanti Libby Sinclair
Kaa the Snake Niamh Storey
Vultures Jack Monaghan, Niamh Storey, Beth Overman, Dwayne Mason
Elephants Kay Noble, Abbey Dinsley, Abbie Waite, Heather Jeffries, Erin Atkinson
Monkeys Lewis Gray, Jack Bramwell, Matthew Perry, Matthew Craig
Bear Robbie Graham
Lion Jordan Boyd

Year 6 have had a fantastic time at Robin Wood Activity Centre. They developed their team building, listening and communication skills through problem solving, team challenge and orienteering. Some tackled their darkest fears in the caves and piranha pool, whilst others scaled the heights of the climbing wall, trapeze and zip wire even though it was really quite scary! The giant swing was great fun, relying on fantastic teamwork to give each team member a fabulous swing at the height they were comfortable with.
An unforgettable time was experienced by all!!

Linked to their RE topic, Year 6 had the opportunity to visited Newcastle University Mosque. The children watched while daily prayers were held and then embarked on a tour of the Mosque. After the tour they met a brother of the Mosque where they had the chance to learn more about the Islamic faith and ask any questions they had about the Mosque and the activities that are held there.

Year 4, 5 & 6 had the chance to put rubbish to good use this week, linked to their 'Textiles' topic, when Mrs Dale visited the school and showed them how to use recycled material to weave small trays and baskets.

Children from Years 4, 5 & 6 visited the CLC over 2 days. Year 4 worked on composing a song track and they selected different sound effects to add to it, they also worked on a computer aided design programme producing a key ring. Year 5 also composed their own songs using a software programme called Garage Band. They went on to add their music to a comic strip using the software programme 'I movie'. Year 6 had the challenge of helping Harry Potter rescue Professor Dumbledore, in their quest to help Harry they had the chance to fly on broomsticks, retrieve magic treasures and watch Harry play Quidditch, using the latest technology equipment.

Years 5 & 6 will have the opportunity, over the next four weeks, to work alongside a professional art teacher from Heworth Grange School. They will be working on murals to improve the outside environment of the school.

Children from Years 4, 5 and 6 visited the Winter Gardens in Sunderland to discover a new interactive way for pupils to explore and learn more about rainforests, linked to their humanities topic. Pupils were given Rainforest Explorers backpacks which contained ten numbered objects that matched ten numbered task cards hanging on the plants in the Winter Garden. The children were then given rainforest maps with the locations of the task cards shown, the children were then given the challenge to find the cards and read the information before, finding the object and completing the task.

Year 6 visited the South Shields Museum to see the visiting snakes, lizards and
tarantulas. They met Mick the Burmese Python and listened to the true story of how he came to be at the museum. The children then wrote their own stories about Mick.

As part of the 'Take One Picture Project' year 6 visited the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle on Friday 26th January 2007.
Jed Grimes guided the children around the gallery, focusing on use of colour and light in various original paintings, before discussing 'The Bard' by John Martin, a nineteenth century artist from Haydon Bridge.
The children heard how the painting depicts the last surviving bard, cursing King Edward l before he hurls himself from the rocks to his death, and illustrates a poem by the same name.
Everyone enjoying the visit and were disappointed when it came to an end.

This week saw the first of our class assemblies by Year 6.
They are studying the Aztecs and as part of their assembly they used a range of percussion instruments to play some traditional Aztec music.

Year 6 went to the Sunderland Empire to see ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ a comedy by William Shakespeare. The musical version of the play was performed by Shakespeare 4 Kidz and Year 6 were lucky enough to go behind the scenes to visit the cast.

Year 6 visited the Evening Chronicle Newsroom and created their very own front page newspapers. The children have been working on a 'Journalistic Writing Unit in Literacy, where they have been investigating the features of newspapers and this trip draws the unit to a close.
The children have been working on a 'Journalistic Writing Unit in Literacy, where they have been investigating the features of newspapers

Linked to our project 'Along the river Tyne' we walked from our school to the river Tyne and drew a map of our route, highlighting key landmarks.

Welcome to Year 6! We are a class of 23 children working with Mrs Hall. During the afternoon, some Year 5 children join us and this is when we become creative! This term our topic is 'Along the Tyne' and we are doing lots of art work and music - related activites to do with it. At the moment, we are learning some 'Geordie' songs. We will try to record them soon and post them on to our weblog.