During Anti Bullying week PC Dixon came into school to discuss bullying and how to deal with it.

On the 27th September, Yr 3 had a FANTASTIC time at Alnwick Castle. They were finding out about medieval life as part of their Medieval Monsters and Northern Knights topic.
The children soon discovered that making animal fat soap was truly gross! However they really enjoyed making tiles.
Everyone agreed that completing the very scary Dragon's Quest and learning how to attack and defend a castle were the highlights of the day.

Altogether: battle cry!

Aaargh!

Gross soap making!

Tile making

The Ladies of the Court

The Scots storm Alnwick Castle, the English fight back but the Scots succeed and enter the castle.

The children and Mr Stevenson really looked the parts in their costumes.

Year 5 and Year 6 were involved in a visit to Ryton Comprehensive School to see a Royal Shakespeare Company performance of Hamlet. The children have been acting out various scenes from the play in class and were thrilled to be able to see these scenes acted out by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

All of Key Stage 2 took part in an enjoyable and very informative assembly on Monday which focused on healthy eating. The Super Strawberries took on the Powerful Pineapples in team challenges which included quiz type games and physical activities.

During Play Your Cards Right the children had to guess the sugar and fat content of favourite food items and in the game of Meal or no Meal the challenge involved placing foods into the correct food group.The Lunch Tucker Trail focused on a healthy packed lunch and it was a race against time to complete a puzzle before the opposing team.

The children found out about the importance of exercise through the physical activities which included side jumps and skipping.

All of the team members put in a tremendous effort and had great fun. Only a few points separated the teams but the Powerful Pineapples came out on top.

This term the topic for Year 3 is Medieval Monsters and Northern Knights. To link in with this Molly and Annie will be working with Year 3 on a very creative and wonderful monster making experience over the following 5 weeks.The children will be designing and making monsters which will then be taking part in Gateshead Council's Art Team Juice Festival.

Year 2 have been working with specialist teacher Tom Mullholland in Science and Design Technology. They investigated the properties and the strength of materials linked to their topic 'forces'.

They had great fun constructing their own vehicles.

Cloudy skies did little to cast a shadow over the fun our KS1 children had taking part in sports day. Everyone completed a circuit of PE activities where they accumulated points as they moved from one activity to another. After a fun-filled morning, Team Russia was our winner.
A big thank you to everyone who came along to support the children, despite the weather!

Mrs Wilson's class had a fantastic day out on Friday, when they visited the Hindu temple in Newcastle. Kirtida, a Hindu Priest,welcomed them into the temple and introduced them to the characters of Rama, Sita and Hanuman. Kirtida then gave the boys an insight into the Hindu culture through a hands on approach during which the boys were able to try some musical instruments, get dressed up in Indian costumes and paint Hindu symbols on each others hands. As there were no girls in the group Mrs Wilson volunteered to dress up in the sari. Before the boys left the temple Kirtida gave them some freshly prepared mango which was enjoyed by all.

On Tuesday 19th July we hosted a Bill Quay's Got Talent Night. Throughout the night we saw outstanding performances from all the acts who took part. The judges were so overwhelmed by the talent they were unable to choose an overall winner and declared everyone a winner! Our special guests 'The Weather Girls' also gave us a fantastic special performance. Well done to everyone who took part, a fun packed evening was definitely had by all.

Reception class returned to the farm to talk about what the different parts of a plant do. They were the first to see the new Tamworth piglets born that morning!

Year 1 met 9 other schools in Saltwell Park to release alien messages into space using balloons! They then took part in songs and games around the park. It was a great day!

This half term, the whole school have taken part in a multi-cultural week, focusing on a country of their choice. As part of the weeks activities pupils have studied the countries, tasted traditional food and taken part in various workshops.

We learnt about the work the charity 'Water Aid' did, particularly in Madagascar. We also thought of ways to save water. e.g. not run the tap whilst brushing your teeth and not to fill the bath so high. Reception class made a song about this to share with the parents.

Year 1 showed off their fabulous African Masks and Totem Poles. They also played the drums and sang a song about clean water.

The children in Mrs Wilson's class enjoyed a visit to the Great North Museum on Thursday 7th July. The visit was planned to help enhance their knowledge of habitats and to study animal adaptations to suit various environments.

The children found the interactive information boards very interesting.

Looking closely at an under water environment.

Following a busy morning spent at the museum, the children made their way to the Exhibition Park to have a look at the bandstand as part of their topic of comparing local Victorian recreational areas.

The children really enjoyed their visit despite the very heavy downpour which led them to seek shelter in the grounds of Newcastle University on the way back to the Metro station.

Year 2 went to Customs House and watched Kung Fu Panda 2 as a treat for their fantastic attendance this spring. A good time was had by all!

Last Friday, some of our Key Stage 2 children travelled to Gateshead Stadium to compete in the Gateshead Primary Schools Athletics Festival. Children from over 40 Gateshead primary schools took part in the tournament! Events included 50m-60m sprints, 600m and 800m races, skipping races, relays, standing long jump, spring jumps, javelin and cricket ball throwing.
Our children did us proud again this year winning gold in the skipping event and the 50m sprint. A bronze medal was also awarded for a great effort in the 50m relay race.

Well done to everyone who took part!!!

A list of 20 things to do over the forthcoming summer holiday break.

Download list

If you are interested in looking at old pictures of our school please click on the link below

www.gatesheadeast.co.uk

Learning to ride a two wheeled bike is one of the milestones in life for many of us. Alan Barlow, our Bike-It Officer, and Mrs Wearmouth taught young children to ride with a novel but proven method which often brings success in under an hour! It really works!

Over the last few weeks our school have been taking part in various creative sessions. Year 1 children's session was linked to our topic of 'Space'. Our visitors watched us perform a rap song about space, before sampling alien food and drink! They made rockets and shot them off into space and constructed moon buggies. After that they made some lovely alien music and wrote a message using an alien code. Everyone made some alien cakes, then answered some questions and we received some great feedback.

Year 2 children's afternoon was linked to 'Habitats and The Seaside'. The children had a great time singing sea shanties for their audience. After performing their own puppet shows, Year 2 designed and sampled ice-cream toppings and ate candyfloss!

On Wednesday 22nd June Year 5 had a visit from a marine biologist who brought in a variety of sea creatures. The children were able to hold all of the sea creatures which included star fish, crabs and lobsters.

The whole class really enjoyed the hands on experience.

Annie and Stewart from the Marine Biology Centre also brought along their interesting creatures to see year 2.

Reception class returned to the farm to talk about the differences between healthy and unhealthy food. They investigated fruit and vegetables and made their own fruit salad using kiwis, oranges, apples, pears, peaches and bananas.

For their next visit to the farm, Reception Class made their own pizza using toppings of their choice. They ate them out on the decking in the sun before finishing off with ice cream and fruit salad.

Everyone enjoyed their creations!

Year 6 had a fantastic day out on Friday when they visited the CLC at Heworth to further develop their understanding and skill in control technology. Mr Jeeves began the morning session with an introduction to control technology using Junior Control Insight software. Using the latest touch screen computers the children had hands-on experience of controlling both on-screen simulations and physical models such as clowns and traffic lights. Later, the children were challenged to complete other tasks with simulations of a 'dream bedroom'. They had great fun in the afternoon when they were shown how to use Photoshop software and the distortion tools to create comical versions of their very own photograph.

Year 2 also visited the CLC and went 'Fishing for Treasure' during their visit. They used 3D Amazing Interactive to draw and create stories. They programmed Beebots to follow paths and instructions to find the treasure.

This week children throughout the school have been taking part in Careers Week to enhance their learning and encourage them to start thinking about the world of work. This innovative week has involved professionals from a diverse range of organisations talking to the children about the jobs they do as well as children visiting them and working alongside them in their workplace.

PC Camsell told us about his job as a Policeman. He told us all about his special uniform and the tools he used to make his job easier. We even got a chance to pretend to spray a criminal!

Reception Class met with Reverent Ranson the Minister of the church and heard all about his very busy job. After telling everyone why he became a Minister, we learnt that he does lots of things including services in church, visiting sick people and going into schools like ours. After that we all had a look around the church and asked lots of questions.

Year 1 visited Bill Quay Farm to learn about being a farmer. Farmer Suzanne told us all about her job in great detail. The children visited all the animals around the farm, including some very happy piglets!

Everyone had great fun learning how to 'Zumba' at our Zumba class!

Richard Adams visited Year 2 and described the various aspects of his job as an Engineer. The children found out lots of information. Year 2 also got the opportunity to visit Danby's Flower Shop were they learnt all about the work of a florist and what skills are required. They observed then worked alongside the florist making and wrapping flower arrangements.

Lisa the Occupational Therapist told us about all the jobs she does to help people every day. We had a look at lots of clever gadgets!

Rebecca the Dance Teacher came in to show us some contemporary dance moves. After discussing the special dance shoes she has to wear, we all stretched our muscles and performed our own special dance to robot music!

Lilian from the library came in and talked about the different roles she does as a Librarian and shared her favourite story with the children.

Pippa's Mum came in from Bill Quay Farm. She showed us her butterfly kit. She told us how a butterfly starts off in a chrysalis, then turns into a beautiful butterfly. Everyone had a look at a real live chrysalis!

In Year 1, Owen's Mum came in to tell us how the brain works. She is a Neuroscientist! She told us all about how she tests to see if the brain is working properly to help people see. It was very interesting!

Year 5 had a fantastic time when they visited Pinocchio restaurant in Newcastle. They got the opportunity to meet the staff and work alongside the headchef to find out what his job entails. They helped him to make pizza's and got an extra special treat as they were allowed to sit in the restaurant and eat them!!

The children in Year 3 visited the Port of Tyne on Thursday to learn about the function of the port and how important it is to our region. They discovered that there has been a port for over 2000 years in Newcastle and that goods come to the port from all over the world. The children also found out about the different occupations which people have here and were amazed to discover that there are over 100 different types of jobs in the port.

The children in key stage 2 enjoyed a visit from PC Collinson who told them what his job involved and even gave one of the children the opportunity to experience first hand what it would be like to work in riot gear!

Everyone was keen to find out about the work of a policeman.

All of the children were given the opportunity to try out PC Collinson's special helmet.

Mrs Wilson's class held an interview with a librarian at Pelaw library and discovered how interesting and rewarding her job was. They were able to help her stamp the correct date in some of the books. One of the pupils was so impressed that she earned enough money to pay her rent and to have lots of treats that he decided he was going pursue this career when he grew up.

Year 6 children experienced the role of a teacher on Thursday afternoon.
Working in pairs they took on the responsibility of planning, preparing and delivery lessons across the curriculum to small numbers of pupils from mixed year groups.

This group of children had a very informative and practical science lesson based on atoms and molecules delivered by Lewis and Shannon.

Lewis divided the children into small groups.

The children decided they would design and build their very own molecule.

Our school came 3rd in the Bike-it competition! Well done to everyone who came to school on their bike or scooter. Our prize was an exciting visit from Ben and Danny who showed us some great tricks!

On Tuesday our budding entrepreneurs from Year 5 introduced their business venture, Fruit to Suit through a whole school assembly.Each pupil took it in turns to introduce themselves and their roles on the management team.

We were shown a very imformative powerpoint which had been put together by the children and we looked at the Fruit to Suit logo designed by Year 5.

Evidence of the hard work and creativity of the children can be seen throughout the school on their eye catching advertising posters.

On Friday morning there was a huge queue of children waiting to try the new snacks and lots of satisfied customers.

Some children wanted smoothies.

Others were keen to try the seeds, dried fruit, spicy noodles and popcorn.

On Wednesday 8th June the boys from Mrs Wilson's class took the metro into Newcastle to visit the Discovery Museum.

Their topic was World War 2 and they soon discovered that the museum housed quite a few artefacts from this period in our history.

The boys enjoyed listening to the audio recordings as they looked at the exhibits. This gave them a real insight into what it would have been like to live through the war as a child. Everyone agreed that the life of a child then would have been very frightening and difficult.

After lunch the children explored other parts of the museum including the Science Maze and enjoyed the hands on approach to learning about motion and gravity.

It was great to see so many families at our Welcome Meeting yesterday. After a very informative presentation for new starters, everyone got a chance to have a look at our school uniform and complete order forms. Lots of questions were raised and answered and everyone got a chance to meet other families and staff members. After a short break for a cup of tea or coffee ( and a run around for the children!), everyone had a look around our lovely reception classroom.

Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 had an exciting visit from the Fire Brigade yesterday! The Firemen showed everyone their fire engine and the uniform they have to wear every day. After a demonstration on how to use the fire hose, everyone got a chance to squirt water all over the yard! The Firemen will be returning to school next week.

Year 6 headed off to the Laing Art Gallery to take part in the workshop: People, Places and Portraits, an art study with a focus on shipbuilding in Wallsend.

Finding out about shipbuilding on the Tyne.

This workshop celebrates the work of the Northumberland - born artist John Martin, best known for his oil paintings of biblical events from the Old Testament.

The Laing is currently holding an exhibition of the artist's work entitled Heaven and Hell
After a look around the gallery the children studied one of John Martin's paintings - Belshazzar Feast. This viewing was accompanied by sounds associated with the painting and the children were invited to imagine what it would be like to be a part of that scene and to think about the sounds they would hear if they were there.

Following this the children were given the opportunity to explore textures and create their own interpretation of their favourite John Martin painting.

Time to create a masterpiece

The creative juices are flowing

At the end of the day Year 6 agreed that it had been a fantastic day.

On Tuesday Year 2 visited the farm. They compared different habitats in various locations around the farm. The children enjoyed taking part in a mini beast hunt and had fun pond dipping.

Taking part in the mini beast hunt.

Exploring what we found in the pond.

Reception Class visited the farm on Monday. They split into 3 groups and had great fun planting runner beans, leeks and french beans. They had a lovely walk around the farm and looked at all the animals. Afterwards, they all sat on the decking for a nice cool drink of juice just before walking back to school. Reception Class will be returning to the farm to learn about animals and water their vegetables.

Planting our vegetables.

Watering our plants

Sitting down for a nice drink before walking back to school

Year 1 visited the Centre for Life this week as part of their topic 'Space' and had great fun taking part in a Space Workshop. They sorted various objects into 'alive' and 'not alive' where they got a chance to stroke giant snails, stick insects, a gerbil and even a hissing cockroach! Next they explored the problems faced by astronauts when they are in space. Everyone put on special Space Goggles and imagined how it would feel to travel through space and land on another planet! They explored the sky and its constellations in the Planetarium and travelled through the solar system. To end their visit, they listened to a great story about a mouse named Valentino. They made their own Valentino and shot her into space!

Sorting objects into 'alive' and 'not alive'.

The hissing cockroach.

What we need in space.

We needed some very cool Space Googles !

Launching Valentino into space!

Year 5 will soon be running a new tuck shop which is to be known as Bill Quay Snack Attack. They have all taken part in a Fruit to Suit training day, which involved a challenge as well as more practical training for the roles they will have when Bill Quay Snack Attack is introduced later in the term.
This is a very exciting opportunity for Year 5 children to set up and run their own business.
During their training day the children thoroughly enjoyed the tasting of the snacks and overall the whole day was a great success!

Learning that team work is a very important part of running a business.

The children are eager to try the new snacks.

Please click on the link below for the clubs available this term.

after_school_clubs_summer_2011.doc

To help raise money for Red Nose Day this year, we all came to school in pyjamas or fancy dress . The day also coincided with events which were taking place in school for The Big Pedal. It was great to see so many of our pupils riding their bikes or scooters to school whilst supporting Red Nose Day. Everyone had a fabulous day and raised £760 for this good cause.

Well done everyone!

Bill Quay School would like to say a great big 'THANK YOU' to everyone for all their support in making the Easter Fun Day a huge success and help raise over £800.00 towards school funds.

We hope to see you all again next year!

Key Stage 2 children watched Professor Brainstorm's 'Amazing Sound and Light show' in the main school hall during Science Week. They enjoyed the practical demonstrations and hands on approach to explore sound waves and coloured shadows. The children thoroughly enjoyed the optical illusion of stretching a banana and reproducing the sound of a chicken laughing, using only a yogurt pot and a piece of string.

On Monday 21st March, Mrs Wearmouth and Mr Collinson took 15 children from Year 2 to Gateshead Leisure Centre for a hula hoop session with Miss Kellee from LA. The session was about promoting hula hooping across Gateshead as a great form of exercise, even the Mayor of Gateshead had a go!

Did you see us on Look North?

The whole school had great fun when they took part in a Science Workshop, led by Mr Mulholland. The children watched and participated in several simple experiments to develop an understanding of the properties of air. The experiments helped to show the children that air has mass, it takes up space, when air moves it has great power and when it is compressed it has great strength.

Children having fun taking part in experiments!

ebeat is the youth website of Northumbria Police. It contains valuable advice and information for parents, teachers and youngsters to help them stay safe and provides links to other websites containing useful information.

Please find a link below for the ebeat website.

www.ebeat.org.uk

During Poetry Week, children listened to, read and wrote their own poems and produced work based on Hero's and Monster's. Paul Cookson, famous poet and author, visited school and all pupils took part in poetry writing workshops led by Paul. At the end of the week everyone got the chance to dress up as a Hero or Monster and took part in a special assembly attended by parents. Each class shared what they had been doing during poetry week and some children recited their own poems, it was great fun!

Children taking part in a workshop.

3rd February 2011

Please use our website to download the Friday Letter.

2nd February 2011

Due to heating failure school will remain closed for Reception, Year 1, Year 2, KS1 unit and KS2 unit on Thursday 3rd February 2011. School will be closed to all pupils on Friday 4th February 2011 so that works can be carried out in hall floor. We will take this as our day in lieu for the royal wedding. Sorry for the inconvenience.

1st February 2011

Due to heating failure school will be closed for Reception, Year 1, Year 2, KS1 unit and KS2 unit on Wednesday 2nd February 2011. We hope to re-open the school on Thursday, please check the website for further information after 5pm tomorrow.

Christmas Raffle Winners

Next Voucher (395 pink) K. McCallum
Christmas Hamper (711 green) A. Brannigan
Bottle Vodka (657 white) E. Powlesland
Toiletry Set (385 pink) R. Atkinson
Ladies Watch (305 orange) E. Williamson
Travel Tongs (245 white) L. Evans
Bottle Wine (299 orange) E. Williamson
Tin Quality Street (35 pink) T. Robinson
Tin Celebrations (714 green) A. Brannigan
Paint Set (105 pink) T. Walton
Christmas Crackers (431 green) A. Munoz-Saiz

17th December 2010

Download Newsletter pages 1, 2 and 3

Download Newsletter pages 4 and 5

December has been a very busy month for Bill Quay.

Our school Christmas Fayre raised £677 and our plays (despite the weather) were all a treat to watch. A big THANK YOU to everyone who came along and gave their support. This year also saw the first Christmas Carol Service held at Bill Quay Church. We have many pupils who have various musical talents, such as singing, playing the piano, guitar, violin and recorder, and the service gave us the opportunity to celebrate their achievements. It was very impressive to see how much progress children have made over the year, and a big 'thank you' must also go to all the staff involved in teaching our pupils.

If weather conditions stay as they are school will remain OPEN. If weather worsens please check website for future updates.

School will be OPEN Tuesday 7th December 2010 as usual. School meals will also be available.

School will be OPEN Monday 6th December 2010 as usual. School meals will also be available.

School will be OPEN today normal hours, 8.55am until 3.10pm. School meals will also be available.

School will be OPEN Friday 3rd December 2010 as usual 8.55am until 3.10pm. School meals will also be available.

Please check the website tomorrow morning before you set off in case there has been any change overnight in the weather conditions.

School will be OPEN today 10am until 2pm, could children please bring a packed lunch with them.

At present light showers are forecast for tomorrow so we are hoping to OPEN school for 10am. This will allow staff time to use public transport to get to school.
Please check the website tomorrow morning before you set off in case there has been any change overnight in the weather conditions or that the children need to bring a packed lunch with them.

Apologies but, due to severe weather warning in place by the met office and dangerous conditions for many staff getting to work school will be CLOSED today.

Please check website again for information regarding Thursday.

School will be OPEN Wednesday 1st December 2010.

Please check the website tomorrow morning in case there has been any change overnight in the weather conditions or that the children need to bring with them a packed lunch.

29th November 2010

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Thank you for your understanding regarding school lunches today. Our school cook was unable to get into work. I do believe we were one of only a handful of schools who managed to remain open. Many staff set off very early in order to get to school and risked the atrocious driving conditions.

After receiving advice from the Local Authority and in discussion with my Chair of Governors, we have made the decision to close the school tomorrow. This was not an easy decision, as we understand that it will cause many of you problems with child care arrangements, however, given the weather forecast, I must consider the risk for many staff who have found travelling to work so dangerous this morning.

Please refer to the school website for information regarding Wednesday.

Thank you for your co-operation,

Mrs T Hilton

Monday 29th November 2010

School will be open as usual, however if the weather conditions change this decision will be reviewed at lunchtime. Could all children please bring a packed lunch to school with them today.

Friday 26th November 2010

School will be open as usual, however if the weather conditions change this decision will be reviewed at lunchtime.

School will be open as usual, however if the weather conditions change this decision will be reviewed at lunchtime.

Children throughout school have been visiting the library and taking part in lots of activities during book week. Year 1 visited the Theatre Royal where they took part in a drama workshop about the Gingerbread Man. They thoroughly enjoyed acting out the story. Year 2 and Year 4 also visited the theatre and took part in drama workshops including Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and Puss in Boots. They also got the opportunity to look around the inside of the theatre. All the children said they had a fantastic time.
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Year 2 taking part in a drama workshop.

Storyteller, Susan Warlock visited school and brought along some super puppets. She talked to the children about traditional tales. Susan had even written a traditional tale of her own to share with the children.

Susan sharing her own tale with the children.

We would like to say a big' THANK YOU' to everyone who sponsored our children, before the end of term, taking part in the Dance A Thon. We raised over £900 for the CLIC Sargent Charity who offer all round care and support for children and young people with cancer.

23rd July 2010

Pages 1-2

Download pages 1-2

Page 3

Download page 3.doc

Pages 4-6

Download pages 4-6

Mrs Wearmouth chose Mia, Charlotte, Kai and Chloe from her hoophop club, to go with her to Wardley Primary school to take part in a Radiowave Hoophop Workshop. During the workshop the children made video's, interviewed each other, wrote diaries and heard all about what Radiowaves do. Radiowaves is a facebook site only for schools. They had a fantastic day.

Thank you Radiowaves!!

10 chick eggs arrived in Reception class from Bill Quay Farm. Reception class have been keeping an eye on them in their incubator, checking the water levels and humidity.

The great news is 9 chicks hatched on Wednesday 19th May 2010.

Reception class would like to introduce you to Lola, Bertie, Fred, Sunny, Violet, Joanne, Charlotte, Rolin and Becks!!

Thursday 6th May: School Closed due to election (polling station)
Wednesday 19th May: School photo day
Year 6 Dracula Rock Performance: 27th May
Monday 21st June: Year 6 induction week at Heworth Grange
Wednesday 21st July: Sports Day
Half Term School closes pm Friday 28th May - School opens Monday 7th June
Summer Holidays School closes Friday 23rd July - School opens Tuesday 7th September

Bill Quay School would like to say a great big 'THANK YOU' to everyone for all their support in making the Easter Fun Day and Easter Disco a huge success and help raise over £700.00 towards school funds.

We hope to see you all again next year!

Easter Raffle Prize Winners

Easter Egg (pink 6) Andrew A (Year 4)

Ferrero Rocher (green 481) Rio Porter (Year 2)

Winnie the Pooh (yellow 630) Ana (Year 3)

Styling Tongs (pink 214) Chris Renwick

Kitchen Caddy (green 22) Joe Newton (Reception)

Lakeland Studios Plaque (pink 49) Erin

The TV Quiz Game (green 652) Christian Illingworth (Year 3)

A number of prizes have not been claimed please contact the school office if you have a winning ticket.

Other Prizes

Buried Treasure L81 Luci Francis (Reception)

Name the Sheep Daisy Kaylin Gwyere (Reception)

Children from Recetion through to Year 6 had great fun making their eggs for the hard boiled egg competition.

Take at look at some of our entries!!

On Thursday evening children from our school represented Bill Quay at the Felling Swimming Gala.

We enjoyed a successful evening, well done everyone!

On Monday 15th March 2010 pupils from year 4, 5 and 6 took part in the Gateshead Schools Dance Festival which was held at The Sage. Mrs Bone and Mrs Welsh worked with the group during the spring term in preparation for the evening. The theme for this years festival was 'Carnivals and Festivals from around the World'. The children danced to 'Hot,Hot,Hot' with a Rio Carnival feel, they looked fantastic and their dancing was outstanding.

Well done everyone!!

The children also got the opportunity to dance for the School Cluster Group at Heworth Grange school.

Pupils were treated to a series of African dance workshops as part of our Multi-cultural week this term. Dancers from Africa touring the UK came to school and led workshops, focusing on hip hop, and traditional African dancing. The dancers performed in front of the school, and pupils were also given the opportunity to perform their dances.

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We celebrated living in Gateshead and the North East this week by holding a 'Tyneside Day'. Children took part in lots of different workshops all about Tyneside. Margaret a local resident came into school and talked to the children about what it was like to live along the Tyne in the past. The children learnt about what trade was like along the river and what famous landmarks could be seen. Mrs Kitson sang songs liked to the North East with the children and they got the opportunity to play some musical instruments as they sang. Children took part in a Music Workshop with Mr Treherne where they leant some popular Tyneside songs such as The Blaydon Races and the Lampton Worm.

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Our school took part in the National Galleries 'Take One Picture' project this week. Using Turner's painting of the Fighting Temeraire in the classroom as a starting point and visual stimulus. Art appreciation tutor Pippa Bell and community artist Susan Warlock came into school and worked with the children on the project, producing some fantastic work.

The Fighting Temeraire Art Project

Download file

For those parents who missed the KS1 & KS2 SATs sessions you can download the powerpoint presentations by clicking on the link below .

KS1
Download presentation

KS2
Download presentation

Keystage 2 had a very exciting day on Tuesday when they were visited by one of the dance teachers from Teesdale Dance and took part in a Dance Workshop. The teacher focused on different dance styles taken from around the world including Irish, Indian, Russian, Spanish and Brazilian. Providing an inspiring day that was both educational and fun and allowed the children to perform as part of a team.

Children performing different dance styles!

School will be open as usual, however if the weather conditions change this decision will be reviewed at lunchtime.

School will be open as usual today, however if the weather situation changes this decision will be reviewed at lunchtime.

A big thank you to everyone who came to our Christmas Fayre to be part of the fun and help to raise approximately £570 towards our school fund.

The Christmas cake weighed 7lb and the winner was Jack Todd.

Christmas Hamper (Yellow 261) Morgan Evans
Gordon Ramsay Book (signed) (Orange 49) Janita Morrison
Bottle Champagne (Blue 671) Jay Herald
Bottle Whisky (Yellow 256) Morgan Evans
Christmas CD's (Yellow 389) Euan Bradley
Christmas Baubles (White 987) Jack Todd
Milk Tray (Orange 306) Jack Corr
Bottle Wine (Yellow 559) P. Forster
Dairy Box (Yellow 442) E. Fay
Cuddly Teddy (Yellow 551) P. Forster

Football Julian Tomlinson

Thank you all for buying and selling our raffle tickets.

Have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We would like to say a great big 'Thank You' to all the dancers from Heworth Grange Comprehensive school who came into our school on Wednesday morning and performed a variety of superb dance routines. Our children were truly impressed with the talent you all exuded.

Bill Quay Primary School had a very special visitor who popped into school just before Christmas.

Can you guess who it was?

16th - 20th November 2009

This week the whole school has been looking at Anti Bullying and our whole school assemblies have focused on why people bully and what can be done to stamp out bullying in Bill Quay School. PC Dixon joined one of our assemblies to talk to the children about cyberbullying and Key Stage 2 children took part in cyberbullying workshops with Miss McMullen, from Heworth Grange School.

To celebrate National Book Week we had a visit from Alan Durant 'the author', a book fair and on Friday, we all dressed up as a book character.

Can you spot the different book characters?

On Tuesday 10th November author Alan Durant visited school and worked alongside each year group throughout the day. He told stories, read poems and answered our questions about being an author, which were sometimes rather tricky!!! He also explained where he got his inspiration from when writing his books such as Burger Boy, Flying South and Spider McDrew. He even found time at the end of the day to autograph a selection of his books.

Children enjoying one of Alan's stories.

Our school council invited P.C. Dixon along for a cup of coffee and a chat this week. They asked him lots of questions ranging from How long has he been in the job?, What would he be if he was not a P.C? to How many criminals have you caught?

They had a lovely morning, thank you P.C. Dixon.

Harvest Festival took place in the hall this year, at the end of half term. Children in both Key Stage 1 & Key Stage 2 took part singing and performing to the community. Reverend Ranson spoke to pupils about thanking God for food at harvest time. Thanks to all the parents who attended and who donated food, which was given to the residents of Cromwell Court.

To celebrate 'Everybody Writes Day' on Friday 16th October, an alien spaceship landed in the school garden! The day involved children writing newpaper articles about the incident and presenting them in an assembly at the end of the day. The children interviewed PC Dixon about the incident and his job. Clues such as an alien spaceship, a letter from the aliens and footprints were used to stimulate pupils' writing.

The forensic scientist examining the spaceship!

The alien footprint!

Children interviewing PC Dixon about the incident and his job.

A big 'Thank you' for the huge support on Wednesday night at the Autumn Term School Disco - it was fantastic to see so many children and adults attending which helped to raise £330 towards our school funds.

The whole school got the chance to visit Woodgate Park for it's official opening by the Mayor of Gateshead, John Eagle, on Friday 19th June. The Park has received a massive makeover by Gateshead Council as part of a £1.2m scheme to transform 22 parks across the borough by 2011. The children enjoyed an adventure packed afternoon (as did the staff) as they got to grips with some of the parks new play equipment. A pirate ship, a huge climbing tower, a big sand pit and an aerial slide being just a few of the parks new attractions.

Children getting to grips with the new equipment!

(Can you spot Mrs Messenger?)

"

In order to boost our school funds on Wednesday 8th July we hosted a Bill Quay's Got Talent Night. Throughout the night we saw outstanding performances from all the acts who took part in fact, the judges were so overwhelmed by the talent they were unable to choose an overall winner and declared everyone a winner! Our special guests 'Girls Aloud' also gave us a fantastic special performance. Well done to everyone who took part, a fun packed evening was definitely had by all.

A Big Thank You to everyone for their support in making the night a great success raising £288 towards our school funds.

Everyone enjoyed taking part in our annual sports day this week, representing different countries around the world. Key Stage 1 children had to complete a circuit of PE activities where they accumulated points as they moved from one activity to another with, America winning overall.

Key Stage 2 children took part in a more traditional sports day based on athletic-type competitions with France hopping their way to victory in the sack race.

Well done everyone!

This year, Michael and Thomas from Year 5, represented the Gateshead area in the Regional finals of the Junior Engineers for Britain Knex Challenge 'The Big Bang Event' at Sunderland University on 1st July 2009. The children were set the challenge of designing a hanger made from Knex to house a super turbo car, a workshop, accommodation for 20 crew and a lifting mechanism to open the hanger door. The model was then judged by Engineers Employers Federation judges and tested on its strength, frame and special features. The overall winners were Santiago Dubov and Shelden Marshall from Roseberry Primary School. The children also got the opportunity to meet Dr John Kilcoyne and Jon Tickle who star in Sky TV's Braniac Show.

Well Done to both Michael and Thomas who made us proud!

This week the whole school has been looking at Anti Bullying in connection with National Anti Bullying Week. On Friday the whole school joined in 'Blue Friday' and came to school wearing blue clothing they also joined PC Dixon in an Aniti Bullying assembly, focusing on why people bully and what can be done to stamp out bullying in Bill Quay School.

PC Dixon talking to the children in assembly.

On Wednesday 24th June 2009 Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children took part in a NED Assembly to raise self esteem.

N Never give up
E Encourage others
D Do your best

They were entertained during the assembly by Chris who did a yoyo demonstration and motivated the children to try hard if at first they don't succeed.

Ben Slinger three times Bike Trial World Champion and Danny Butler the European Champion and twice British Champion, visited our school. The whole school came out to watch the boys put on a fantastic display, jumping off tables then back onto them! Ben jumped off his trailer (about 7 feet high) straight down to the floor within inches of Danny (Phew!). The children were enthralled, it was an amazing show. Just take a look at the photos below to prove it.

Cloudy skies and summer showers did little to stop the fun we had at our annual Summer Fayre. We had lots of attractions for everyone's to enjoy including stocks, netball shoot, nail painting, decorate a biscuit, cake stall, adopt a teddy, tombola and a raffle amongst many others.
A big thank you is given to everyone who gave their time, energy and enthusiasm to help out on the day and indeed to everyone else who came just to be part of the fun and help to raise approximately £750 towards our school fund.

We hope to see you all again next year!

Summer Raffle Prize Winners

Steven Taylors Football Boots = Callum Bone
Clarins Treatment = Ruby Alderson
Piglet = Lucas Barker
Bottle Whiskey = E. Fay
Milk Tray = Thomas Wallace
Little Red Riding Hood = Kayleigh Forster
Watch and Bracelet = Michael Curry
Martini = Aaron Richardson
Spa Toiletries = Lee Stott
Ariel Colouring Box = Callum Fay

Bob Knox from CE Electric came into school to do a special assembly all about how to stay safe around electricity. The children were all very good at identifying possible hazards and were interested to see how electricity can jump. They looked at possible scenarios and how to be safe, such as if they lose a football inside an electric substation. They should ring the phone number on the gate to arrange for someone to bring it back. His main message was to stay away from electric cables and stay safe.

The children identifying possible hazards.

The children in Key Stage 2 enjoyed taking part in a music workshop all about France. They learnt lots of historical fact about France through singing songs such as "Sur le pont d'Avignon" and Green Sleeves.

The children had great fun dancing to the music.

Please click on the link below to read or download our school profile.

http://Schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk/3902197/school-profile/

Spring Term Newsletter 2009

Download Newsletter 2009.pub

Children from Recetion through to Year 6 had a fun day on Wednesday making their eggs for the hard boiled egg competition.

The winners in our competition were:

Reception: Elyse Moore
Year 1: Ewan Atkinson
Year 2: Chloe Mann
Year 3/4: Dominik Allen
Year 5: Ellie McGuiness and Jessica Hudson
Year 6: Alice Cassidy

Well done everyone they were fantastic!

Year 6 Entries.

Year 5 Entries.

Year 3/4 Entries.

Year 2 Entries.

Year 1 Entries.

Reception Entries.

Bill Quay School would like to say a great big 'THANK YOU' to everyone for all their support in making the Easter Fun Day a huge success and help raise £530.00 towards school funds. A big thank you also goes out to everyone who came along to our Easter Disco helping to raise a further £268.00.

On Saturday Abbie, Seyi and Tanith attended the Get Green Conference hosted by Gateshead Youth Assembly held at the Gateshead Civic Centre. They listened to speakers talking about being more eco-friendly and took part in surveys. They won eco-buttons to help reduce their carbon footprint.

A fab day was had by all!

To conicide with the screening of our Newsreel Projects for the Year 5 and 6 pupils, we hosted a Fairtrade Coffee Morning. Delicious light refeshments made by Year 6 pupils using Fairtrade products, were served by them throughout the morning. They included cornbeef and potato pie, cakes, egg and bacon pie as well as scones with cream and jam!

Thank you to everyone for making the screening a great sucess!

Newsreel DVDs

Following the successful screening of our Newsreel Projects, copies of the DVDs are now available. If you would like to order a copy, please contact the school office.

It was Red Nose Day on Friday 13th March and everyone at Bill Quay Primary came to school dressed in their pyjamas, slippers and dressing gowns to raise money for Comic Relief.

Red noses and pyjamas!

The week beginning 9th March was Science and Engineering week. Throughout this week parents were invited into their child's class to take part in a science lesson. Each year group investigated something different including; the strength of structures made from spaghetti and marshmallows, coin cleaning, apple tasting and which shape paper plane could fly the greatest distance. The children had great fun taking part in these science lessons while working alongside their parents.

Children and parents taking part in the science lessons.

JP, Aaron , Seyi and Keir sharing ideas on how to make their structure strong out of spaghetti and marshmallows.

Jack is enjoying taking part in the apple tasting.

During National Book Week each class visited Pelaw Library where they were greeted on arrivial by Lilian the Librarian. Lilian had arranged lots of activities for the children to do as well as reading a well known story to them.

Year 2 children enjoying listening to 'The Gruffalo' story.

On Tuesday 10th March 2009 pupils from year 5 and 6 took part in the Gateshead Dance Festival which was held at The Sage. This year's theme was 'Dances Around the World' and we chose South America. Our routine was based on the Tango.

Well done to everyone who took part!

The week beginning 2nd March Bill Quay school celebrated Multi-Cultural week. The focus of this week was 'stories from different cultures'. Each class chose a country to study and a story to focus on. At the end of the week, each class presented their story and associated art work to the rest of the school. Hall displays are currently being changed to celebrate our work.
In addition to this, pupils were given the option to find out about other countries during the afternoon session, when they visited different classes.

For those parents who did not make it to the calculation evening, click on the link below for an information booklet.

Download file

Click on the link below to downloaded the following Policies.

Policy for Sex and Relationships (Educational)
Download file

Healthy Eating Policy
Download file

Emotional Health and Wellbeing Policy
Download file

Drugs Policy
Download file

ICT Policy
Download file

Gifted and Talented Policy

On January 30th Mrs Wearmouth and Victoria Rose were invited to Sustrains, the UK's leading sustainable transport charity, Bike It Action Day. Victoria gave a presentation about Bill Quay schools 'Bike it Club' and also had the opportunity to meet the deputy mayor of Gateshead Joe Michinson and his wife.

Victoria enjoying the day with Joe and his wife.

On Thursday 5th February Chloe Herring and Mrs Wearmouth went to Houghton Le Spring Library as Chloe had been chosen to represent the school in the BBC 'Off by Heart' Poem Competition. Chloe recited the poem 'Matilda' to three judges while the rest of the children waited for their turn. Chloe also had the opportunity to play on the computer while she waited for the judges to make their decision. The judges were really please with the 12 contestants who represented various schools around the North East area. The eventual winner was Georgina who read The Pig. If you want to catch a glimpse of Chloe reciting her poem the programme Off by Heart will be on BBC2 later on in the year.

Well done Chloe we are so proud of you!

Minister Ranson joined us on Friday 16th January for our Spring Term Assembly. After Minister Ranson had spoke to the children they all enjoyed singing along with him as he accompanied them on his guitar.

Children singing along with Minister Ranson.

A huge 'THANK YOU' to all the countryside volunteers who have been working on our school garden. The Eco-council worked closely with Liz from Bill Quay Farm to design an environment that will be rich in wildlife and match our curriculum. Now work is completed the volunteers have handed over the garden back to school.

The Eco-council and the countryside voluteers.

Harvest Festival took place at Bill Quay Church at the end of half term. Children in both Key Stage 1 and 2 took part singing and performing to the community. Thanks to all the parents who attended and who donated food, which was given to the residents of Cromwell Court.

Reception 'The Little Red Hen'

Year 1 & 2 'Tattybogle'

Key Stage 'Harvest Rock & Roll'

Reception Class Mrs M Lewis

Year 1 Ms D Calder

Year 2/3 Ms C Gaffing

Year 4 Mrs J Ferguson

Year 5 Mrs B Dick

Year 6 Ms V Ender

On Thursday 19th April 2007 Years 4, 5 and 6 took part in the 'Young Engineers Project'. Working in pairs they designed and made various structures using K-NEX such as Cam, vehicles and fairground rides. The children's models were then judged and 2 pupils from each year were awarded a prize.

Year 4 working towards the challange.

Year 4 Winners!!

Year 5 working alongside Mr Brown from the the Young Engineers Project.

Year 5 Winners!

Year 6 working in pairs sharing their ideas.

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<a href="http://www.gatesheadgrid.org/test/Gymnastics.doc">Download file</a>