St John's Chapel Forest School Fun! Yesterday the children had a fantastic time in Forest School. They worked together to create their own river using natural resources, exploring and discussing the different features of a river as they built. It was brilliant to see their creativity and teamwork flowing just as well as their handmade waterways. After all their hard work, we gathered around the fire and cooked hotdogs, which were very much enjoyed by everyone. A perfect end to an adventurous afternoon outdoors.

Hamsterley Primary School Thank you to everyone who came to our Stay and Play session yesterday! The children had lots of fun enjoying the activities and playing together. If you haven't joined us yet, we'd love to see you at our next session, which will be held on Wednesday 11th March at 1:30pm.

Hamsterley Primary School Wow! Well done everyone you have worked so hard!

Stay & Play @ Hamsterley Primary! Come along to Hamsterley Primary School on Wednesday 28th @ 1:30pm for a fun and welcoming Stay & Play session! Perfect for children aged 0–4 Enjoy activities, playtime, and a chance to meet other families Completely FREE! We'd love to see you there everyone is welcome!

Hamsterley Primary School Despite the cold and wet weather, Class 2 embraced the outdoors today. They engineered a water channel for the digging area, built a cosy shelter to keep out of the rain, and made plenty of wonderful muddy recipes.

Hamsterley Primary School Forest School Adventures! Last week, Class 1 also took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch. We explored the school grounds, patiently watching and listening as we tried to spot different birds. The children used their number skills and subitising to help count each one they saw brilliant teamwork and observation all round. After our birdwatching, we made our very own bird cookies to help feed our feathered friends, and finished the session with a story.

Hamsterley Primary School Tonight in garden club, we got creative and ecofriendly by making our very own seed paper! We recycled scrap paper, soaked and squashed it with water, then flattened it out before sprinkling our seeds into the mix. Once the sheets are fully dry, they'll be ready to plant over the next few months just in time for spring

St. John's Chapel and Wearhead Primary Congratulations to all of last week's winners! Well done everyone!

Woodland Primary EYFS at Woodland enjoyed looking at photographs we have taken and discussing activities we like or do not like.

Woodland Primary Owl Class at Woodland had an amazing time studying the rivers at Hamsterley Forest with their friends from our other Partnership schools. They took measurements to find out about the water speed and depth and also found out about the natural features of a river.

Hamsterley Primary School On Wednesday, our Class 2 pupils had a fantastic time meeting up with our partnership schools, Butterknowle and Woodland, for a brilliant geography field trip to Hamsterley Forest. We enjoyed a lovely walk along the river, exploring and identifying features of a river in its upper course and the children spotted lots of them! Afterwards, we headed down to the riverbank to carry out our river survey. Although the high and fast flow meant we couldn't let the children enter the water, our incredibly brave Mrs Fowell from Woodland stepped in (literally!) to collect the measurements for us. Today, the children have really enjoyed writing up their fieldwork findings in Geography. What a great learning experience for everyone!

Hamsterley Primary School Over the past few weeks in art, Class 2 has been exploring landscape art and learning about atmospheric perspective. We've been experimenting in our sketchbooks with sketching pencils, fineline pens, and watercolours, practising hatching, pressure shading, and mixing pigments to create depth and tone.

Butterknowle Primary We had a wonderful time visiting Hamsterley Forest for our river study alongside our friends from Woodland and Hamsterley Primary Schools! We enjoyed exploring the river, learning together, and sharing a fantastic day of outdoor learning.

St John's Chapel Primary School Atmospheric Perspective in Classes 2 & 3 This week, we explored atmospheric perspective! We experimented in our sketchbooks using fine line pens, soft pencils, and watercolours practising hatching, shading with pressure, and mixing pigments to create depth and tone.

Durham Dales Partnership 'Stay and Play' Sessions First session: 28th January at Hamsterley Primary School, starting at 1:30pm We're pleased to share that each of our schools will be offering Stay and Play sessions this term! Parents and carers of children in Nursery and Reception are warmly invited to come along. These sessions are also open to any other children in our communities aged 0 to 4, so please feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested. All sessions are completely free we hope to see you there!