Butterknowle Primary School It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Early Years, as we have decorated our classroom, enjoyed dressing up in Christmas outfits, and been busy delivering lots of presents in our home-made sleigh! We have also embrased the Christmas spirit outdoors, where we have decorated a 'Christmas tree' with 'sticky mud' and created a Christmas theatre, selling popcorn and fizzy pop. We are becoming really confident writers and mark makers, and the joy of Early Years means we can develop our interests and skills in different areas of the classroom and outdoors. This week's favourite spot was under the table, very cosy. Nursery enjoyed the Gingerbread Man story and recreating him out of dough. While Reception shared The Bear and the Piano in Talk Through Stories. Being busy with all these things and much more, including phonics and maths, we are definitely ready for the weekend. Have a good one

Woodland Primary Thank you to all our parents and carers who joined us for our Christingle service at Woodland Primary School this week! We're sure those sweets on the Christingles didn't last long once they got home!

Frosterley Primary School Congratulations to Mrs Gowland and the Afterschool Club! We're incredibly proud to announce that our Afterschool Club, led by the wonderfully creative Mrs Gowland, has won Best School Tree at the Wolsingham Christmas Tree Festival! The children designed, made, and decorated their tree entirely from recycled materials, showcasing true imagination and teamwork. Their eco-friendly creation stood out brilliantly, and this award is a testament to their hard work and Mrs Gowland's inspiring guidance. Well done to everyone involvedyou've made our school shine!

Butterknowle Primary School Key stage 1 children have been out and about in the school grounds this afternoon, carrying out some geography fieldwork. First, they followed a base map to find landmarks, then they looked for signs of seasonal change and recorded their findings on an iPad. Next, the children undertook a geographical enquiry to find the answer to the question 'What trees are in our school grounds?' by conducting a tree survey. Back in class they wrote up their findings in a short report.

St John's Chapel Primary School Breaking News from the Jurassic Workshop! Engineering isn't extinctit's evolving, one brick at a time. Our LEGO Builder Engineer is hard at work, eyes locked on the blueprint and hands busy snapping bricks into place.

Hamsterley Primary School Festive fun in Forest School! Class 2 crafted beautiful Christmas ornaments and finished the day with delicious rice pudding

Wearhead are in the festive spirit! This morning we decorated the Christmas tree together. All the children were invited by the elf to help add the tinsel and baubles to the tree.

Butterknowle Primary School Key Stage 1 pupils have had a busy and creative afternoon. First, in Computing, they created some digital paintings based on the artwork of Kandinsky using the draw, paint and fill tools on a paint program. Next, in RE, the children learnt that Christians believe Jesus was sent to show love. They discussed what 'gifts' they could give to their friends and family such as kindness, friendship, love, help, joy and respect. They wrote their 'gift' on hearts and enclosed them in gift boxes which were displayed on our class tree.

St John's Chapel Primary School Class 1 Winter Fun Today we kicked off the season with a magical science-meets-art activity! Using cornflour and water, our little scientists created their very own "melted snowman". It was messy, squishy, and full of giggles - just the way winter fun should be! From exploring textures to imagining snow melting into puddles, the children loved bringing the beginning of winter to life in the classroom, and of course, we couldn't resist sprinkling in a little Christmas cheer while we worked. Here's to more festive fun, curious minds and creative play as we count down to Christmas!

St. John's Chapel and Wearhead Primary Congratulations to last week's certificate winners. It was amazing to hear so many positive comments from their teachers. It was a week which was overwhelmed with children having a fantastic attitude to learning. Keep up the great work!

Woodland Primary School After their return from Mr Petty's kiln, where they were heated to 1000'c, Squirrels have continued work on the diva lamps which they hope to give as Christmas presents to their loved ones. Next step, glazing!

Woodland Primary School We have been using an ultraviolet light to demonstrate how germs can hide on our skin and that we must wash hands thoroughly to remove germs before preparing food. Once our hands are clean we mustn't touch places where germs love to hide. This is called being hygienic.

Woodland Primary School Our school council have been busy this week organising this year's Christmas fundraiser in conjunction with the TCR food bank. Please read the attached flyer for more information about how you can support us.

Woodland Primary School Year 5 & 6 have been busy filming their own videos. Before hand, they had planned their shots by creating storyboards complete with filming techniques and camera angles. Once filming is finished, they will use software to edit their clips together into a coherent video with titles, background music and video effects.

Hamsterley Primary School Tonight at Forest School Club we got hands-on with our knot tying skills! We practiced the clove hitch, bowline and the figure of eight... And for a sweet twist, we tied our knots using delicious strawberry laces!