“When you counsel someone, you should appear to be reminding them of something they had forgotten, not of the light they were unable to see.”
Baltasar Gracián
Message From Mr Sutherland
Message From Mr SutherlandLast week I was fortunate enough to attend The Glasshouse to watch our dance groups go through their paces. Our boy Street Dancers performed a mash-up to illustrate how music and dance has changed through the decades and our girl dance group shimmered and sparkled on the stage and wowed the audience with a flawless routine of “One Night Only”. This was a wonderful example of children having an opportunity to experience things that they may not usually experience – in this case, performing on a big stage with a professional crew. The Glasshouse is a fabulous venue and the fact that we are able to give our children exposure to events such as these I believe speaks volumes about our commitment to a wide variety of artistic endeavours. Thank you to all the parents and carers who attended – I know from speaking to many of you just what it means to your children and to you to participate. They were both such positive experiences.
Also last week we had a representative from the Metrocentre into school to talk to all our children about some of the effects of climate change and, in particular, the Metrocentre’s drive to offset some of the carbon footprint generated by their employees travelling to and from work. To that end, they have been working specifically with Mrs Berry and our Climate Crew and, once the assembly had finished, helped to plant 8 trees on the school grounds as part of this initiative. They helped to choose the trees themselves and have been tasked to ensure they are nurtured and grow to look over us all for years if not decades to come.
You may remember that I sent you a letter about the Poverty Proofing organisation from Children North East who recently visited our school for a week and helped to audit our provision. I attended the feedback session culminating from this work earlier this week and the outcomes were extremely positive. Their findings show that children, staff and parents feel that we look after our school community really well and strive for an inclusive educational environment for all. I am extremely grateful to you for providing honest, constructive feedback and we had over 60 responses from parents which is fantastic. You are telling us that there are lots of things we do really well but also things that we could be a little more mindful of and improve. This is mirrored by comments from our children and I can assure you that school leadership will review the final audit document when published and look to make changes where we can. I will ensure that you, as parents and carers, receive a copy of the relevant aspects of the report as soon as I can. However, I believe the report and its findings validate our inclusive approach to life and Dunston Hill but also allows us to listen, reflect and improve – which is what we will do.
That was such a busy term and I am surprised we managed to fit everything in! After the Easter break we move into summer term with lots of exciting things in store so please make sure you regularly check emails, our website, our Facebook page and this newsletter for up to the minute information. Your support means everything to us and we thank you for helping us make Dunston Hill Community Primary School the very special place that it is.
Have a wonderful Easter break with family and friends. We will see you back for the start of summer term on Monday 28th April at the usual times.
Best wishes
Whole School Information
Comic Relief
Our children looked fantastic on Red Nose Day with their funny hairstyles and wonderful outfits. We raised a grand total of £376.95. Thank you for your generous donations.
British Science Week
Once again, our Science Week was a huge success! Children across the school showed enthusiasm when completing a range of activities linked to the theme ‘Change and Adapt’. As well as finding out how animals are adapted to their environment, children carried out a range of investigations involving change. Our Year 1 children made suggestions of what that they would need to change to make their rockets go faster. Year 2 explored the question, ‘How have coins changed over time?’ which focussed on magnetic properties. Our Year 5 children carried out a STEM activity which involved investigating which materials are safe to flush down the toilet. Using a range of materials, they recreated their very own flushing system!
Early Years Parent/Carer Stay and Craft sessions
Easter Egg Competition
A reminder about our Dunston Hill Easter Egg Competition! This year, we are eggtastic about our Easter Egg Competition, with the theme of ‘Love where you live’. So, let’s get creative!
Entry options:
Child only.
Parent/carer only.
Deadline: Thursday 10 April when Mr Sutherland and Miss Tuart will select our eggscellent winners!
Easter Tombola
Alongside our Eggciting Easter Egg competition, we will hold an Easter Egg tombola after school on Thursday 10 April outside the Computing Suite. We would greatly appreciate any chocolate egg donations.
Family Learning
A big thank you to all families who participated in this half-term’s Family Learning sessions. The parents/carers and children had a fantastic time.
Nursery and Reception Parents/Carers – Counting Coins is a 4-week Family Learning course that will give you ideas with how to support your child’s numeracy skills at home. You will learn how to introduce your child to money and the value of items in a fun and engaging way. This will be Tuesday afternoons from 29 April for 4 weeks, 1:45-3:10 pm.
Years 2-6 Parents/Carers – Silk Painting. This will be each Friday at 9-10.45am for 4 weeks, starting Friday 2 May.
Toddlers – This will continue every Wednesday 8.50am-9.45am. We would love to see you there.
Year 6 SATs
Monday 12 May 2025 | Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar – Paper 1 Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar – Paper 2 |
Tuesday 13 May 2025 | English Reading |
Wednesday 14 May 2025 | Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic) Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning) |
Thursday 15 May 2025 | Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning) |
Attendance
School attendance is essential. If your child has attendance less than 90%, they are classed as persistent absentees and their attendance in school is monitored and targets set. Children with 100% attendance will receive a certificate on the last day of term. School attendance is so important, and Mrs Cox, our Family Support Worker, is always ready and willing to help any families that need additional support. If you have concerns re: attendance, please get in touch with her.
A REMINDER holidays taken during term time are not permitted and will be unauthorised.
School Lunch
The menu for the week commencing Monday 7 April 2025 is Week 1. School lunch cost £2.80 per day payable in advance using the school app Schoolgateway.
There is a slight change to Thursday’s menu, we will be serving traditional roast beef or Quorn fillet with Yorkshire Pudding, chocolate crispy egg nests or lemon and raspberry muffins. Tuna mayo wrap and jacket potato is also being served.
As part of our Healthy Schools programme, we ask that children not bring crisps, chocolate or fizzy drinks in their packed lunches.
Due to allergies, please ensure that no peanuts or items containing nuts are brought into school, including in the form of Snickers, chocolate spread or peanut butter sandwiches. This is especially important to remember for children bringing in packed lunches or snacks.
UNIVERSAL INFANT FREE SCHOOL MEALS (UIFSM) are applicable for all children in reception and years 1 and 2 (KS1). However for pupils currently in year 2, in order for the free school meal to continue when they commence year 3 in September 2024, parents will need to apply to the means-tested scheme and can do so via Gateshead Council’s website at Free school meals – Gateshead Council , by telephoning 0191 4333729 or by completing the free school meals application form.
Forest School from Monday 28 April 2025
Children should come to school dressed in clothing suitable to the weather, a warm coat, gloves and a hat when cold. On their bottom half, they should wear black trousers you are happy for them to get dirty in, a school hoodie and a white T-shirt. They should bring their wellies to leave in a plastic carrier bag.
Monday – Reception
Thursday – Year 1
PE from Monday 28 April 2025
Children should come to school dressed in their PE kit; school hoodie, white t-shirt, navy or black shorts/tracksuit joggers and trainers for the full day.
Monday – Year 1, Year 3 and Year 6.
Tuesday – Reception, Year 2 and Year 5.
Wednesday – Year 1, Year 3 and Year 4.
Thursday – Year 2 and Year 6.
Friday – Year 4.
Swimming
Year 5 children will continue to swim from Monday 28 April 2025.
Summer Term updates
Look out for our Summer Term overviews coming out in the first week from your child’s class teacher – we are very excited for another funfilled term ahead.
Lower Key Stage Two
Upper Key Stage Two News
Times Tables
There continue to be a number of different Times Table Rockstar tournaments across school and this is certainly supporting the progress our children are making with their speed and accuracy of times table facts. Successes are currently celebrated in individual classrooms and next term we will also celebrate in our Friday Celebration assemblies! Please continue to encourage your child to access the games weekly and challenge themselves to increase their knowledge and speed. Ask your child to share their heat map with you. How many speedy green facts do they have?
Climate Crew
It’s all happening with our Climate Crew this half-term! As well as tree planting around school, the children have been brilliant ‘travel ambassadors’ helping children and teachers to record journeys and receive their badges to celebrate reducing our carbon footprint by walking to school. Look out for our banner at the school entrance! Members of our School Council and Climate Crew will be taking part in a litter pick around Dunston on Tuesday 8 April from 2pm.
Sports News
Year 3/4 Quicksticks Hockey
Lately, some of our Year 3 and 4 children attended a hockey event, playing against children from other schools in Gateshead. They displayed excellent teamwork and represented Dunston Hill perfectly. One of our teams finished in 2nd place overall against a number of other schools and some tough competition.
Dance Festival
Our Street Dancers were back for another year on the stage! The boys have worked so hard during their after school sessions and they have really made Miss Conway and Mrs Cox proud. The theme this year was RESPECT and the boys certainly showed this during their dance as they paid their respects to music over time. They had everyone up on their feet! We also have our ‘Dunston Dream Girls’ who have been working with Happy Feet after school. They performed an amazing dance at the dance festival and really lit up the stage with their dazzling costumes and huge smiles!
Blaydon District League Football
Last week, we had round 2 of the boy’s football league. They played amazingly during both matches and won with impressive scores of 4-1 and 3-1. We are now second in the table and hope to play just as well during the final round. Wish us luck!
SEND/Nurture
Don’t forget you can reach out to Miss Tuart (SENDCo/Deputy Headteacher) should you wish to discuss your child’s needs and/or provision: sendco@dunstonhillschool.co.uk.
You can also reach out to Mrs Cox (Family Support Worker): fsw@dunstonhillschool.co.uk
Some fun Easter activities should you wish to access over the Easter holidays: 11 Calming Easter Activities {Including Free Bunny Breaths Printable + More} – Calm Ahoy Kids