Christmas Thoughts

 "Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not the  expensive gifts that call for time and money. We can communicate this joy simply, with a smile, a kind gesture, a little help, forgiveness. And the joy we give will certainly come back to us...Let us pray that this presence of the liberating joy of God shines forth in our lives."
Pope Benedict XVI

On behalf of all the staff, have a lovely Christmas and peaceful New Year!

"Joy is t    "

Church Dates

School may be closed over the next few weeks but Advent preparations and Christmas celebrations will be continuing in the parish over the festive period. Here are a few dates which may be useful to you over Christmas:

• Carol Service: Sunday 18th December at 6pm at St. Joseph's Church
• Carol Service: Saturday 24th December at 7.30pm at St. Cuthbert's Church
• Vigil Mass: Saturday 24th December at 8pm at St. Cuthbert's Church
• Day Mass: Sunday 25th December at 9.30am at St. Joseph's Church
• Day Mass: Sunday 25th December at 11am at St. Cuthbert's Church

Green Flag Award

As you will know Ms johnston, our Eco Warriors and many of our parents and friends have been helping get St Cuthbert's ready for our Green Flag assessment day which was yesterday. After a morning of interviews with staff and children Eco Schools have awarded us the prestigious Green Flag Award which means we are well and truly environmentally aware and proactive. We will be given an actual green flag which we will have flying proudly from school when it arrives.

Nursery & Reception Nativity

Our Nursery and Reception classes performed a brilliant version of the Nativity story this week fro friends and families in school. A photographer from the News Guardian was there and he has taken a photo of our Reception children which will go in the News Guardian next week.

Carol Service

Thank you to everyone who came to our Carol Service at St Cuthbert's Church last night. It was wonderful to see the wide range of skills and talents our children have, there won't be many carol services where children are playing ukulele and glockenspiels!

Industrial Action

St. Cuthbert's will be closed to both staff and children this Wednesday 30th November due to industrial action. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and will keep you up to date if there are any last minute changes to the situation.

Wet Mornings

We are getting to the time of year when the weather can be unpredictable and blustery! If it is a rainy morning we will open the school doors at 8.45am and you can leave your children in the school hall where they will be supervised by a member of staff. Can I also ask that older children wait in the hall until they are collected by their class teacher as we have lots of groups of children around school and it is difficult to keep track of who is where. This means that the hall will be busier than at present so our little ones won't have the space to run around. The school gates will eb open at the usual time.

Travelling Crib

All classes have begun sending out our travelling cribs, we've had an early start this year due to the early break up for Christmas. This is the first time I've come across this beautiful tradition and I think it has been a pleasure listening to children talk about how they have shared time with their families talking about the significance of the crib. A lot of children have also brought the work they have done with their families in to share in school, again, it is brilliant to see such strong parental support.

Wet Playtimes Games

We have been getting the wet playtime games and toys out again as the bad weather approaches, but a lot of our games and toys are showing their age and missing bits- as is to be expected with well used toys. We'd be delighted to accept donations of any suitable toys or complete games you might find if you are doing a pre-Christmas clear out of toys and games at home.

Year 1 Tea Towels!

The wonderful Year 1 tea-towels that were created and ordered during Enterprise Week have arrived and children will be bringing theirs home to you very soon. We ordered a few extra so if you'd like to buy another one or missed out first time around then you can place an order with Mrs Clark-Sutton. They cost £5 each or two for £9.

Glass Decorations

Most of our children have completed their glass Christams decorations and they are looking lovely~ they will be a gret addition to your Christmas tree this year. We will be sending the decorations home with the children a little closer to Christmas when they have all been finished.

Eco News

Ms Johnston and our Eco Team have launched a competition to find a nmae for our fantastic Eco Garden. Ms Johnston has also been very busy counting all the Morrison's vouchers~ you have donated almost 10,000 in total! Thank you for all the amazing support from parents, children and friends in getting the garden up and running and continuing to help in all our eco tasks. We have made our application to be recognised as a Green Flag school and will keep you updated with our progress.

PTFA School Calendar

SAles of the PTFA school calendar are going very well. The first batch of calendars have been printed and handed out to children already. The orders that are sent into school are collected on a Thursday and we will be getting one batch of calendars each week- they are printed to order. If you have ordered your calendar but haven't received it yet it will be on it's way. If you are sending in orders can you please, if possible, send cash as the money goes straight to the printer.

Spotty Day

We had a very successful and fun 'Spotty Day' and managed to raise a fantastic £155 which we have sent off to Children in Need. Thank you for your support and generosity.

St Cuthbert's Go Wild!!

On Saturday 12th November 2011 St Cuthbert’s children, parents and staff got out of their cosy beds to prepare their Eco Garden ready for the winter.

On the bright, crisp, morning we got quite a lot done such as;

· digging trenches,

· putting bulbs,

· building hedgehogs homes

· finding safe habitats for badgers to hibernate.

At lunchtime we all stopped for some delicious school-made soup. Our whole school brought in at least 3 pieces of vegetables which we washed, peeled and chopped for super, sensational soup.

After lunch and some face painting Year 5 boy Joe interviewed people to ask how the day had been going and he received lots of positive feed back.

This is the second Eco day our school has hosted and we would like lots, lots more of them.

Written by Jemma (Yr5), Molly (Yr6) and Joe( Yr5).

Eco Day

We will be hosting our next Eco day in school this Saturday morning from 10am- 2pm. We will be working in the garden area and getting al those autumn jobs finished off before winter sets in. We'll be tidying, planting bulbs, finishing the path and gate and enjoying some nice homemade soup! If you can make it your support would be fantastic!

Year 2 Class Assembly

Year 2 will be having their class assembly next Thursday afteroon at 2.45pm in the school hall. They have been finding out all about Remembrance Day and what it means for us today, parents and friends of St Cuthbert's are welcome to come along and join us.

Year 4 Visit CLC

Our Year 4 class were also out and about last week and visited Marden City Learning Centre. The CLC is a fantastic resource which provides children at North Tyneside schools with the opportunity to use the most up to date computer equipment and software to help enhance their learning experiences. The class worked on making movie presentations about bones and have been blogging all about their work on the school Learning Platform. 

Year 3 Visit Segedunum

Our Year 3 children made the trip to Wallsend last week to visit the Segedunum Roman Fort. the children had a wonderful time and learnt a lot more about life in Roman times. Thank you to all the helpers who came along and supported the trip.

Our

Enterprise Sale

Thank you to everyone who came along to our first ever Enterprise Sale today at St. Cuthbert's. Our children made and sold all sorts of wonderful things to eat and wear! We've finished counting up our profits and, once everything was taken into account, we have made a profit of £550.56. This is an amazing effort from all the staff, children, friends and families involved with St Cuthbert's and the money will go to help St. Cuthbert's Care and CAFOD. You can find out more about each organisation by clicking on the name.

Enterprise Sale

Our Enterprise Sale starts at 3pm this afternoon in the school hall. We will be opening the gate on Lovaine Place and the Key Stage 2 door at 3pm and all parents are welcome to collect their children from their class when they come into school. If you do collect your child can you make sure the class teacher has marked them on their class list. When you are finished at the sale exit will only be through the Key Stage 2 door so that we can keep an eye on all our children and make sure they are safe. All money raised will be shared between CAFOD and St Cuthbert's Care. We'll let you know how much we raise here on the blog later on this evening.

Friday Evening Football Results

Well done to our Under 11 football team for getting their season kicked off tonight at Valley Gardens. The team played well but were beaten 3-1 by Priory Primary School in their first match before managing a 0-0 draw against Cullercoats in their second game. Brilliant effort folks and a big thank you to the parents who supported and helped out with lifts. We'll keep you updated with results from Ashignton in the next round of the Bishop Cunningham Cup next Monday evening.

High Borrans Trip Meeting

we'd like to invite paretns from Years 5 & 6 to a meeting in school about our visit to High Borrans this school year. The meetin will be in school on Monday 17th October at 3.45pm and we'll go through the details and dates of the visit.

School Football Team

Our Under 11 team will be in action for the first time this year this Friday at Valley Gardens. We have two matches to play and will keep you up to date with our results.

Reception Class in The Press!

Keep an eye out for your local News Guardian over the next week or so as our Reception Class wil have  their photo in it.

Bikeability

Year 5 will have the opportunity to take part in the Bikeability cycle proficiency scheme over the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately the second date clashes with the Year 5 class assembly so we have to move the assmebly so we have to move the assembly from Wednesday 19th October to the morning of Tuesday 18th October at 9.30am.

Enterprise Week

Monday 17th October will see the start of St Cuthbert's Enterprise Week. The children and staff will be hard at work all week trying their best to turn £20 into as much money as they possibly can. Our Enterprise Week will end on the Friday afternoon (21st October) with a sale in school. Each class will have made some wonderful things for you to buy and they'll no doubt be competing against each other to see who makes the greatest porfit! All our profits will go to charity, shared between CAFOD and St Cuthbert's Care.

Harvest Festival

We'll be holding our Harvest Festival in school on Friday 21st October at 9.30am. Part of our Harvest Service is donating food parcels to Night Bite, a local charity who provide food for people in need. We would welcome any donations of tins of food you are able to make for the festival.

Recption Class Visit The Allotment

A convoy of prams, parents and Reception children made the walk to the local allotments last week and had a fantastic time! They were so excited telling everyone about hte vegetables and chickens they got to see on the day. Thank you to all the parents who helped out on the day and an extra special big thank you to Faye's Grandad who invited our Reception class children and hosted tehm for the morning.

Thank You

Thank you for all the donations towards the PTFA barbeque that came into school at yesterdays non uniform day. Most people chose to donate money which has been used to purchase food and prizes for the tombolla stall.

Punctuality At School

If you are running late for school for any reason can you please bring your child into school through the main office and let Mrs Wright know that your child has arrived. Mrs Wright will then make sure your child is marked present in the class register and they can make their way to class themselves. Mrs Julie Ekoecha, our school Education Welfare Officer (EWO) has been in to school to discuss lateness and the effect it can have on children's education. She has told us that she will be doing random monitoring of punctuality at school in the near future.

After School Clubs

Last week saw our first after school clubs of the year and was a great success. Can I please ask that in the future weeks parents coming to collect their children from their clubs wait in the school hall and the staff will bring the children to you when they are finished. Can we also please ask that you come into school through the main office door and not the entrances the children use in the morning. Your cooperation will help us keep track of which children have left and who they have left with.

PTFA Barbeque

We’re hoping for lovely weather tomorrow for the PTFA ‘New School Year’ barbeque at school today, Saturday 24th. Gates will be open from 12noon and we should be finished and cleared up for 2pm. There will be hot dogs, burgers, name the teddy, games and lots to do! Tickets are £1 per adult (you get a  burger or sausage as well) and 50p per child (you get a hot dog & drink!)

Parents Evening

Next Wednesday 28th September is our first parents evening of this school year. It is a fantastic opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and discuss  how they have settled back into school and what they will be doing this year in school. 

School Calendar

You should have received a letter asking for your permission to allow your child to take part in the school calendar our PTFA have proposed to print and sell in school to raise funds. Thank you for the  responses that have been returned to school, if you haven’t returned your response yet can you do so by next week please as we would like to get started on putting the calendar together.

First Communion Meeting Last Wednesday

Thank you to all our parents who attended the First Communion Meeting with Father Stott on     Wednesday night at St Cuthbert’s Parish Hall.  The new programme which is now in place for all schools in the diocese marks a new and exciting approach to First Communion preparation. If you have any further questions about First Communions Father Stott is very happy to help you as much as he can, or, you can speak to Mrs Cottiss, Mrs McArdle or myself at school.

School Mass

Father Stott came into school this morning and   celebrated a beautiful ‘Start Of School Year’ mass with the children, staff and friends of St. Cuthbert’s. It is wonderful that we have mass in school and we have so many friends and parishioners  who join us in these special celebrations.

First Communion Meeting

Our first First Communion meeting for parents will be held next Wednesday 21st at St. Cuthbert’s Church hall. The meeting will begin at 6pm, will last about one hour and will explain the programme in more detail.

Letting School Know Of Absence

If your child is sick at all can you please ring school on the first day of absence to let us know. If the absence is due to a sickness bug please remember that they must be clear of symptoms for 24 hours before they return to school.

Milk & Dinner Money

Can we remind you that if you wish your child to have milk at school the cost is £9 per school year and payment is due now. Can we also remind you that if you’re child has a school dinner payment of £9 per week is due each Monday morning.

PTFA Barbeque

Our fantastic PTFA are hosting a ‘new school year’ barbeque in school on Saturday 24th September. There will be hot dogs, burgers, name the teddy, games and lots to do! We’ll be opening the school gates at 12 noon and finishing at 2pm. Tickets will be available in school, £1 per adult (you get a    burger or sausage as well) and 50p per child (you get a hot dog & drink!)

Non Uniform Day

We will be having a non uniform day on Friday 23rd September. Children are asked to donate £1 per family.

Garden Competition

Miss Johnston and many of our parents, children and friends have put a fantastic amount of time and effort into the new garden area in school. We are getting closer to the official opening of the garden and we would like suggestions on a name so we will be running a competition to name the garden. Details will be sent home very soon.

School Clubs

Make sure you remember that our school clubs begin on Thursday night next week. All clubs start straight after school and finish at 4.30pm.

Morrisons Vouchers

We are now collecting Morrisons ‘Let’s Grow’ Vouchers in school so the next time you do your shopping in Morrisons and they ask if you’re collecting them say yes and pass them on to us :-) The vouchers are brilliant in helping us get much needed gardening equipment.

School Mass

Father Stott will be getting our school year off to a beautiful start by celebrating mass with us in school next Friday 16th September at 9.30am. All parents and parishioners are  welcome to join us.

Big Thank You

We would like to say a big thank you to Mr  Connolly who has been working hard to get the decking area in our garden ready for the start of the school year. He’s done a fantastic job and the garden is looking fantastic. Thank you to all the parents and friends who have been working on the garden and who continue to maintain it.

First Communion

Anyone who wishes their child to make their First Communion needs to speak to Father Stott at the end of mass at either St. Joseph’s at or St. Cuthbert’s as soon as they can. Mass times are:

Saturday- St. Cuthbert's at 5.30pm.

Sunday- St Joseph's at 9.30am and St Cuthbert's at 11am.

If you have any questions about First Communions you can speak to Mrs Cottiss, Mrs Mc Ardle or Mr Dillon.

PTFA

St Cuthbert’s PTFA will be holding their first meeting of the school year next Monday 12th   September here at school. The meeting will begin at 7pm and run to 8pm. Joining the PTFA is a   wonderful way of supporting our school and the work they do is greatly  appreciated by the     children and staff of St. Cuthbert’s .

Year 3 & Year 6 Swimming

Our Year 3 and Year 6 classes will begin their swimming sessions at  Tynemouth Swimming Pool next Monday 12th September. We would be grateful if you could make a voluntary contribution of £1.50 each per week to cover our transport costs.

Term Dates Letter

We have made a list of the main dates for this term for your fridge door. We will do this at the start of each term and we’ll give you good notice if any of the dates or details of events change.

Welcome Back!

Well the holidays are over and everyone returned to school fully refreshed and excited this morning. I am privileged to eventually take up my post as St. Cuthbert's new Headteacher and had a lovely warm welcome from the children and many parents and carers this morning. We'll be sending out different bits of information about the year ahead over the next few weeks and you'll also be getting a data information form which we would like you to complete and return to school as soon as you can please.
I hope our school blog becomes a useful way for us to keep you up to date with what is happening at school and celebrating the wonderful work our children and staff do.

( I must warn you that the look of this blog will more than likely change a few times over the next few weeks as we play around with all the new design features!)