Year 2 had an exciting day out at Alnwick Castle on Monday. They visited the Knight's Quest in the castle grounds where they stepped back through the ages to experience the world of a medieval knight. They learnt all about the life of the medieval knights and how the castle served as a Knight School! They became school trainees and dressed up as a knight or a princess. They learnt how a knight would start their life in a castle as a page and then move up to the role of a squire. It was the duty of a knight to learn how to fight and so serve their lord according to the Code of Chivalry. They meet the Dragon Master to learn all about dragons and master the sword. They also got the opportunity to make their own amulets of clay to wear around their neck before going into battle. After their training session they entered the Dragon's lair which was a dark and mysterious place, they make their way past the ghouls and ghosts, through the hall of mirrors and finally came face to face with Northumberland's fiersome dragon!!!

Children dressed as a knight or a princess.

Children as school trainees mastering the sword!!

Year 2 visited the Marine Biology Centre at Tynemouth one sunny Tuesday, where they handled different seashore creatures such as crabs, prawns and starfish. Afterwards, they had great fun exploring the rock pools.

Children looking at seashore creatures.

Children having great fun exploring the rock pools!

Throughout the week children from Bill Quay have had the opportunity to visit the CLC at Gateshead to take part in various ICT workshops. Year 4 and 5 got the opportunity to explore digital music by using Sony Jam Trax software, to record their voices and compose their own music. Mike showed them how to choose different electronic instruments to create layers of music. Everybody's final track was super and we can't wait to receive the CD! They also had great fun playing on the Wii and recording their achievements. The children will use the data collected to create tables and graphs.
Year 2 had great fun using ShayPeds toys to explore 2D and 3D geometric shapes. They also used a software program called Photo Shoot as well as the SheyPeds, to create a short film.

As well as visiting Gateshead CLC, children from Bill Quay have also had the opportunity to visit the CLC at Heworth this week. Year 4 and 5 had great fun using Kar2ouche to write a story about George and the Dragon, adding characters and background to their storyboards. They also used the software program 2animate to created their own animation being creative and hands-on learning, the children had great fun and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Year 2 had a fun packed day when they visited the CLC. To start the day off, they popped on 3D glasses and watched a short 3D interactive film 'Under the Sea'. They then listened to a story about the King of Spain who entrusted his treasure chest to Sailor Sam whose ship went missing in the open sea, with the treasure onboard. Using 2simple 2draw software, the children drew their own pictures of the treasure chest under the sea. After lunch the children wrote their own story ending of what happened to the Kings treasure using 2create software. They also got the opportunity to program and control a Bee Bot, to find missing treasure on a treasure map. The Bee Bot is a small dome shaped portable controlled technology robot, which provided an ideal entry path for the children to the world of robotics. The children had a fantastic time using lots of new software and technology!

Year 2 children programming and controling a Bee Bot in order to find missing treasure on a treasure map.

After a great day out at the Dryden Centre on Tuesday Lucy, Caleb, Matthew, Beth and Willow, from Year 2, thought it couldn't get any better. However, on Friday they got the opportunity to go along for a celebratory screening of their stop motion animation on the big screen in the new Odeon at the Metro Centre. They also got another chance to meet Oscar Springer animator and filmmaker; maybe they will be joining him on set in the future!!

Children in the new Odeon going in to see their animation.

Lucy, Caleb, Matthew, Beth and Willow from Year 2, had a great day out when they took part in 'Let's Create and Animate' at the Dryden Centre. They had the opportunity to work alongside Oscar Stringer animator and filmmaker. The children shared their ideas and worked together to plan for their own stop motion animation. They created models, using simple bold designs, with large features making it easier for them to animate. Using software program 'I Can Animate' and a web cam, the children created their own animation. Oscar encouraged the children to preview their animation and evaluate their work as they went along. After they had created their animation they added sound using software program 'Movie Maker' bringing their animation to life. Being creative and hands-on learning, the children had great fun and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Children working together creatng their own animation.

Children working together to add sound to their animation.

Year 2 went to Dryden to attend a Music Celebration Day. They played a variety of Gamelan instruments including a giant going. Holly said 'The going was very loud.' Children experimented with stringed instruments, Rio played the Double Bass! Finally we learned all about pitch, pulse, rhythm, chords and how to identify musical scores.

Children from Year 2 visited the Life Centre to take part in a Materials Workshop. They carried out practical investigations to test the hardness of materials and to sort materials according to their properties. Renee said 'I loved doing the experiments'.

Children carrying out practical investigations!

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!

This term, Year 2 pupils were treated to an alternative Nativity when Zoo Lab visited school! Pupils were given the opportunity to hold some of the animals which may have been in the stable in Bethlehem, but are often forgotten. These included: cockroaches, snakes and rabbits! Lucy Strophair said, "It was really good, because the man brought in some creepy animals. We got to hold a few and learnt about the story of Jesus. My favourite animal was the bunny rabbit, but I was scared of the tarantula!"

Year 2 pupils getting the opportunity to hold some of the animals.

Year 1 were also treated to a visit from Zoo Lab, they learnt in a fun way about the animals that live on the forest floor in the Rainforest.

The children enjoyed touching and holding everything from millipedes to snakes!!!

Year 2 visited Heworth Grange and completed a number of PE activies with the help of Heworth's Year 9 pupils. Our Year 2 children enjoyed the obstacle activity the best!

On Friday 23rd October, Year 2 visited the Heritage Centre at St. Mary's Church in Gateshead, where the children had the opportunity to learn lots of interesting facts about the Great Fire of Gateshead. They also enjoyed the role play and dressing up in clothes belonging to 1854!

A great day was had by all.

Road safety officer Rob Hindhaugh has been visiting Year 2 over the past 6 weeks to learn the children about simple road safety. The children took part in 4 outdoor sessions and 2 classroom based sessions to help them become more aware of safety on quiet and familiar roads in the local area, and make the right choices when crossing them.

Children finding a safe place to cross.

Year 2 visited Gateshead CLC on Wednesday 18th March 2008 where they learnt how to use a program called Super Dooper Music. They composed sound tracks to accompany the Aesop fable, The Lion and the Mouse. They also had the opportunity to record the sound tracks they composed as well as recording themselves retelling the story.

Children having fun recording!

On Thursday morning Year 2 went to the CLC at Heworth. They used a program called 2e-mail. They watched and discussed a video about how to be safe on the Internet. Then Mrs. Martin taught them to send, reply and delete e-mail messages in their Inbox. They enjoyed watching their e-mails arrive and would like to send e-mails again.

Children sending and receiving email.

Year 2 visited Gateshead CLC on Tuesday 24th February. They were doing some work on 2D x 3D shapes using Shayped Characters from the books about Shayped Island. The objective of the lesson was to use Photo Story Software to create their own story about the Shaypeds and they were able to record their own voice overs to accompany the pictures. Chloe said - it was great using the laptops!

Despite the snowy weather Year 2 went to the Life Centre on Thursday to take part in a workshop linked to their topic Materials. They worked alongside the scientists in the science lab testing soft and hard materials. Then they watched an interactive arctic show where some children had the opportunity to take part. Later, they got the chance to explore another exhibition where they learnt about the five senses.

Children working in the lab.

Children taken part in the arctic show.

Linked to our topic of 'Materials' we visited Shipley Art Gallery. The children took part in a Felting Workshop where we used sheep's wool to make our own pictures and designs. We were also given the opportunity to look for examples of different material in the exhibition.

Children taken part in the materials workshop.

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!

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.

On the 5th November Zoo Lab came in to school to work with Year 1 and 2. It was a fantastic, fun learning experience which was linked to science. The theme of the session was 'Halloween' and the children were given the opportunity to view and handle some unusual creatures including, a spider, a large snail and a snake.

On the 15.10.08 year 2 attended a Stretch workshop in Newcastle. Stretch is a sculpture made up of different length of elastic which the children could pluck, climb through and strum to make different sounds. Tyne Tees News also attended this event and in Novemnber the children are going to be asked to eveluate it.

Year 2 and Year 3/4 children visited Heworth Grange Comprehensive School to take part in a Multi Skills Challenge against other schools in the Gateshead area. This involved completing a variety of PE challenges including, golf, obstacle courses, football and basketball. Unfortunately Bill Quay didn't win but they had great fun taking part. Congratulations to both classes for completing the tasks!

They look like they are having fun.

Excellent jumping!

When year 2 visited Hebburn fire station. They had a tour around the building, watched a fireman slide down the pole and use the hoses. It was very exciting finding out about the fire station.

Year 2 went to the discovery museum to learn about The Great Fire of Gateshead which linked in with their History topic. They watched a puppet show which told the story of The Great Fire of Gateshead. The children really enjoyed it and they learnt a lot.

Year 2 went to ‘Stories at Saltwell’. They all dressed as their favourite book characters and listened to stories for various storytellers. They even heard the story of The Three Little Pigs in French. There were lots of entertainers there including a flame thrower and an acrobat. Cameron added “I liked the acrobat the best, especially when he did a backwards flip!”.

Tom Mulholland came into work with year 2 for three afternoons last week on a vehicles topic. The children all made their own land yacht which they personalised, some children made limousines and racing cars. Mr Mulholland then linked their work to the science topic of Forces and the children investigated ways of making their vehicles move.

What a great racing car.

The year 2 children used balloons to make their vehicles move.

Welcome to Year 2 our class teacher is Mrs Bone.

The beautiful city of Durham was the destination of Year 2/3's latest visit. They went to the Archaeology Museum on the banks of the River Wear to take part in a Greek Workshop.
Pupils learned about the Ancient Olympic Games and the events included within them. They then made laurel wreaths - the sign that someone had won their event. No gold medals in those days!
Greek artefacts were handled and examined, while children tried to determine what they were used for. They then had to work out what this object told them about Greek life.
In addition to this, the children learned to write their names using the Greek alphabet and to make some lovely posters decorated with Greek designs.
After lunch they all went on a walk through Durham to admire the Cathedral, Castle and the beautiful cobbled streets.

Emma having great fun taken part in a Greek Workshop.

Year 2/3 had a fantastic day out last week when they visited Cragside House & Gardens linked to their topic work on Lord Armstrong. They had a guided tour around the house and saw lots of interesting rooms. Crayside House was the first home to have hydro-electric power and Lord Armstrong was very interested in using hydraulics for moving and lifting things. They found out lots facts about Lord Armstrong's life and really enjoyed looking at his fascinating home.
Did you know his nephew inherited £600 million when Lord Armstrong died in 1900 and that he had lost all the money within ten years? They were very shocked by this!
Many of the children had already been back to have another look around as they loved it so much.

As part of our literacy topic, we have been writing non-chronological reports about The Great White Shark. We have a fabulous display in the class why don't you come and read our reports and see our wonderful shark?

Year 2/3 visited Shipley Art Gallery to take part in a workshop linked to their science topic. they looked at different materials and then, using wool, created felt by rubbing different coloured wool together with soapy water.

Children having great fun rubbing different coloured wool together with soapy water!

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.

Year 2/3 visited the Sage where they enjoyed taken part in a workshop, learning to perform local folk songs and traditional North East songs.

There's certainly some budding musicians in the making!

As part of their topic work they also had the opportunity to look at the bridges and building along the quayside.

Year 2/3 and Year 4 went to Caedmon Hall to see a production of Pinocchio. The set, costumes and acting were very good and the pupils were wowed with some of the props used. When Pinocchio was inside Monstro the whale the children helped to created an echo sound.
When asked about the performance Aaron and Imogen from Year 2/3 said "It was funny and colourful and the actor who was Pinocchio really looked like him."

Year 2/3 visited Sunderland Museum and the Winter Gardens and became rainforest explorers, looking at different plants and animals found within the rainforest. They used geography skills to follow a map and solve clues including using a compass and a globe.

It was a super day out!

Year 2/3 visited the Seven Stories where they dressed up in costumes to create a character of their choice. Pupils then had to think of a name, age, likes and dislikes for the character as well as a suitable job. They then explored different settings based upon books found within the gallery to help them think of their own settings.

I wonder what Steven's character was called?

Year 2/3 have been sampling Mexican food and drink at Chiquito's Restaurant in the Metro Centre. Pupils tasted a sour margarita which is made from lemon, lime and tequila (no tequila for the tasting session though!). " It was really sour" said Emma after tasting the margarita. Each pupil had a tortilla, chicken, onions. pepper, corn on the cob and a few chips. This was served with salsa and cheese so every pupil could make their own fajita. "I really liked all of it. The food was delicious!" said Harrison.

These fajitas taste good!

What a terrific time we had in Year 2/3 this week. A terrifying tarantula, marvellous millipede, scary scorpion, slinky snake, fantastic frog and super stick insect were all visitors into the class. Zoo Lab allowed the pupils to touch and look at the different animals, which are similar to those found in the rainforests of the world.
As you can see it was really exciting although some pupils (and teachers) were a little bit scared of some of the creatures!

A many legged millipede

A very beautiful snake - "It isn't slimy and it feels very cold," observed Elle.

A Rose tarantula.

A big scorpian - we wouldn't want to be stung by that tail!

Class 3 were lucky enough to take part in an Aztec and Mexican themed dance workshop. Pupils learned a little bit about the history of the Aztecs and then danced Aztec steps and played maracas to match with the music and dancing. Some lucky children even dressed up as Aztec boys and girls.

Can you spot the kings?

Pupils dancing and shaking their maracas in time to the Latin American music.

Cooling down.

Year 2/3 were wowed by fossils found within rocks during their rocks and fossils workshop. They had to match the fossils to the pictures of the animals and plants including a mammoth's tooth! All pupils extended their ability to sort rocks based on different criteria and had to test rocks to find out what each rock was called.

Busy matching the fossils to the pictures.

Hard at work sorting the rocks!

A great, fun workshop which they all enjoyed!

We have a mixture of Years 2 and 3 making 26 pupils altogether.
This term we are studying 'Mexican Magic' looking at, Mexico and the Aztecs. We are going to be creating lots of fantastic art work as part of our topic. We will even be sampling Mexican food by visitinig a Mexican restuarant!

Year 3 learnt African dance and the story behind it. Traditionally, Africans dance to celebrate marriages and other happy occasions. The dances show the different jobs the people are doing and their journey to the mines or fields. They also used African drums using the difference between the centre and edges of the skins, to create different sounds.

Year 3 have been busy turning their classsroom into Bill Quay's Pizzeria. They have looked at different types of pizzas, investigated various bread bases and tasted toppings. Pupils then designed and created their own pizzas and evaluated them for taste, texture and presentation giving suggestions for furture improvements.
There were some wierd and wonderful healthy pizzas created including:
Banana, hotdog, tomato and cheese with a touch of strawberry.
Carrot, ham, strawberries and cheese.
You will be pleased to hear they also made some more conventional pizzas like ham, cheese and tomato with pineapple.
As you can tell by the pictures some were more tasty than others!

Year 3 busy preparing their pizzas

Some wierd and wonderful healthy pizzas

Jack seems to be enjoying his pizza!!

The girls are definitley enjoying theirs!

On Thursday 19th April Year 3 went to see 'The Ruthless Romans' at Whitley Bay Playhouse. They were amazed by the evil emperors and were wowed by the Barbarian Boudicca. As part of the show pupils wore 3D glasses, so arrows and stones looked as though they were flying through the air and hitting them! It was an absolutely fantastic performance, which many of the children want to see again - including the teachers!

We looked at the Roman fort, the Roman wall and the Baths during the Roman period.

Year 3 visited the Customs House to see 'Charlottes Web' which is their class novel this term. They will be doing follow up work to compare the book to the film and using drama and freeze frames to analyse the text.
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On Friday 23rd March we went to see the Emmaus Road Show. Pupils were taken back in time travelling on a 3D coach trip to learn about the Easter story, an aeroplane flight to Israel and a space shuttle launch to discover what stories are held in the Bible.

Year 3 had a fantastic time visiting the Arbeia Roman Fort in South Shields.
We looked at the differences between Roman dentistry and how we look after our teeth today. Ouch, it was pretty painful having a tooth extracted nearly two thousand years ago! Their mouthwash wasn't very nice either.
We looked around the Fort and identified the difference between a commander's living quarters and those of the ordinary soldiers.
Everyone became archaeologists, carefully digging up Roman artefacts and identifying what they could be. We even found a human skull!

Year 3 pupils took part in a Tennis Challenge competing against other primary schools in the Heworth area.
We completed skills challenges to score points for the team and then played matches against the other schools.
It was a fun, enjoyable morning and we were really proud of how well we did.

Year 3 were visited by a Roman called Claudia.
She told us all about Roman life - how they dressed, what they ate, how they bathed and what the lives of Roman soldiers were like. Children dressed up as rich and poor Romans and Julian became a Roman soldier, the chainmail was extremely heavy!
Aaron said, "I really enjoyed the stories she told, they were really funny".
Jack Brown said, "I loved learning about all the different weapons used by Roman Soldiers".

Year 3 visitied Bill Quay methodist church with Year 4 to interview Minister Farrah about the different services, clubs and activites that the church offers in the local community. They are going to create a directory of different religions in the area including the information they have collected.

Hello and a warm welcome to Year 3. Our class teacher is Mrs Messenger and this term we are learning about what Bill Quay was like in the past. We have lots of exciting visits planned and will give you regular updates about what we have been up to.

Year 3 children had a very exciting day at Thornley Woodlands Centre. They saw a fox, several squirrels, Magpies, Jays and numerous other types of birds whilst looking out from the special hide into the woodland.

Here are several members of the class looking carefully and keeping quiet to make sure they don't frighten the animals.

What a busy week Year 3 have had this week (even more so than usual!). They have all been tackling the very overgrown garden, clearing all the nettles, thistles and other unwanted plants from the wild area.

It has been really hard and enjoyable work, but the difference they have made in a couple of hours is remarkable.
Just a reminder of how it looked last week.

Read on to find out more...

Class 3 have been busy combining work in Humanities, Art, Science and PSHCE to improve their school grounds. We noticed the garden had become very overgrown and we were finding it very difficult to use without being stung by nettles and pricked by thistles - ouch! We therefore decided that the improvement of our garden should be our project for the next two months. Green fingers are needed by all for this one! Read on to find out more and to see our progress.