We are proud to present an exhibition of art painted by the pupils of St Mary's Primary School.
MONDAY 18th and TUESDAY19th MAY
Viewing sessions from 2.45pm to 6pm, Monday( last admission 5.30pm)
and 8.45am to 9.30pm Tuesday
50p entrance fee which will include refreshments and a free raffle.
Please use the main entrance.
Congratulations to this week's stars. Well done to you all.
Congratulations to all our star workers this week.They have been working very hard and taking care of their own belongings.
A fantastic effort was made by KS2 on Wednesday 25th March, spurred on of course by Nora and Frank!
Continue reading "Sponsored Walking for St Cuthbert's Care" »
Congratulations for all your lovely work and for trying hard.
Y6 are building up a very exciting relationship with The British School of Tokyo as part of their topic on Japan!
Congratulations to you all, good manners and good work. Wow!
This week we have 14 stars for good work and giving and taking in the class and around the school. Well done. 
On the 4th of March we went to Felling to compete in the West Gateshead Local Swimming Gala.
When we got there we were all extremely excited however, we were also very nervous.
We were all their by 5:15 wearing our school tracksuits and when we all marched round the pool with our banner, on the way we spotted our future medals.
Well done to all these children nominated for good work and respect.
This weeks stars are here below;
St Mary's has been recognised as providing "Exceptional delivery within the PE and Sport Strategy" for 2008.
Didn't we have fun in the snow.
One of our balloons that were released on Sports Day, 4th July, has made its way all the way to Northumberland!
The lady that found the balloon returned the ticket with a letter;
Poem from Mrs Briggs
Sadly Mrs Briggs left our school last term after many years of looking after the children during lunchtimes. She was presented with gifts and cards from all the children and staff and left us with a poem of some of her memories.
Two of St Mary’s ex-pupils have been nominated and then elected as Head Boy and Head Girl. They are Ben Ostell and Ruth Gordon – our congratulations to them both on this marvellous achievement! We wish them well as they go into their final year (13)
They are a credit to both schools!
Best Wishes from Mam x (oops I mean Mrs Ostell!)
This morning David Milliband the Foreign Secretary came to visit Y6 and the pupil council in response to the wonderful letters that they wrote to the Prime Minister and Mr Anderson, MP about the situation in Kenya and our links with St Anthony's in Nakuru. They put on a fab assembly and Mr Milliband and the other visitors were all very impressed.
Mrs Briggs has been one of St Mary's loyal lunchtime assistants for the last 22 years. She is leaving on 23rd May and going to enjoy a well earned rest.
Anyone visiting St Mary's School today will be very surprised to see many of the children wearing different colours to our normal school uniform.
Today was a special day for some children in Reception and Year 1.
The year 6 SATs take place next week! All of year 6 have worked hard and have nothing to worry about. All they need to do is remember to try their very best, make sure they have a good nights sleep and a tasty breakfast before a test and arrive at school promptly. They also need to remember to bring in their P.E Kit and anything they need for Kenya work every day...and remember their things for their party on Friday.
Oh yes and they also need to keep smilling!
Click on this post for the SATs week Timetable.
Dates for your Diary Summer 2008
Today our local MP Dave Anderson visited Y6 in response to their letter they wrote to him about their views on the political situation in Kenya.
Well done to KS1 and KS2 for taking part in the sponsored skip or the sponsored walk.
Congratulations to all the children of our three parishes who made their First Reconciliation this week. 
The whole world will know how much we love our mum's on March 1st when some of our entries will be published in the Evening Chronicle!
St Mary's has been awarded the Basic Skills Primary Quality Mark.
The photos from our session this morning at the CLC have now been uploaded to the Gallery.
Coming soon....podcast of our performance!
Find out how our school celebrates Christmas....
Here's our new member of staff!
Can you think of a good name for him/her?
Use the Comments feature below to give us your ideas.
Look on the right hand side of the site...and see if you can make the cat purr and meaow....
It's that time of year again when the Samaratin's Purse launch their appeal for shoe boxes.
Congratulations to all the parents and children of St Mary's who have sent in Shoe Boxes for Operation Christmas Child run by the Samaratin's Purse. The gifts and items inside these boxes will be distributed to children who are in need.
The staff of St Mary’s invites parents and governors to join them in Breast Cancer Awareness week, by wearing something pink on Friday October 19th and donate £2.00 to the cause.
Why not ask a friend to join you!
Please send donations care of Mrs. Ostell –thank you
Congratulations to our netball teams.
They did very well.
B team - Emma Spoor, Joshua Corrigan, Amber Gill, Lauren Porteous, Hannah McAloone and their captain, Marie Stanley.
A team - Christine Bertie, Jordan Symonds, Madeline Emptage, Rachel Grant and their captain, Elly Mains
The A team came 1st and the B team came 3rd.
Comenius Partnership
We are linked with schools in Germany, Italy and Spain for three years.
During the first year of our partnership all the pupils in each school studied artists of their home region.
Would you like to view our pictures?
On Mercredi 3 octobre quatorze [14] Year 5/6 children went to Dryden Professional Centre to take part in a Modern Foreign Languages [MFL] Showcase organised by Madame Barrett and the Primary MFL Team at Dryden.
Mrs McMillan popped in to see the performance and was very pleased and proud.
“Six weeks zoomed by!”
Dates for your diaries Autumn Term 2007
Mon 3rd Sept INSET Day for staff
Tues 4th Sept Pupils return to school- Home visits for incoming Reception class
Thurs 13th Sept Whole School Mass 9.30 all parents are welcomeNorthumbria Water visit Yr 5
Tues 18th Sept Friends of St Mary’s meet 7.30 in Gibside Hotel, all are welcome
Thurs 20th Sept Music Workshop visit school for Yr 1 and Yr 2
Mon 24th Sept We welcome Reception class full time today
Thurs 27th Sept Year 5 class mass 9.30 all parents are welcome
Tues 2nd Oct School Photographer- Individual, Family Groups, ClassParents information meeting for Yr 2 6pm
Wed 3rd Oct Parents meeting Yr 6 pupils –Kingswood-Dukeshousewood 6pm
Thurs 4th Oct Year 6 class mass 9.30 all parents are welcome
Fri 5th Oct CAFOD Family Fast Day – Walk the World
Tues 9th Oct Governors Working Party Self Review 4pm
Thurs 11th Oct Year 4 class mass 9.30 all parents are welcome
Mon 15th Oct Comenius Visitors in school all weekYr 6 visit to Eden Camp
Half Term Monday 22rd OCTOBER – Friday 26th October
Mon 29th Oct Return to school for pupils
Thurs 1st Nov All Saints Day- Holy Day whole school mass 9.30 all welcome
Mon 5th Nov Pupils find out about another faith this week JUDAISM
Thurs 8th Nov Year 5 class mass 9.30 all parents are welcome
Tues 13th Nov Governors Meeting at 4pm
Wed 14th Nov Basketball Tournament 4-6pm for selected pupils
Thurs 15th Nov Year 3 class mass 9.30 all parents are welcome
Mon 19th Nov Parents appointments for Yr 5 & Yr 6 in hall this afternoon
Tues 20th Nov Parents appointments for Yr 1 & Yr 2 in classes this afternoon
Wed 21st Nov Parents appointments for Rec in class this afternoon
Thurs 22nd Nov Key Stage 1 mass 9.30 all parents are welcomeParents appointments for Yr 3 & Yr 4 in hall this afternoon
Thurs 29th Nov Year 4 class mass 9.30 all parents are welcome
Fri 30th Nov St Andrews Day
Wed 12th Dec Yr 5 & Yr 6 2pm in hall Christmas Production
Thurs 13th Dec Yr 3 & Yr 4 Advent Assembly for parents
Mon 17th Dec Yr 5 & Yr 6 Evening Performance 6pm
Tues 18th Dec Rec, Yr 1 & Yr 2 Christmas Party afternoon
Wed 19th Dec Yr 3 & Yr 4 Christmas Party
Thurs 20th Dec Whole school mass 9.30 Yr 5 & Yr 6 Christmas Party
Fri 21st Dec School ends tonight for Christmas Holidays
End of Term - Return Monday 7th January 2008
Mrs Caroline Hopkinson (Friends of St Mary’s) organises and manages the 200 club on behalf of the Friends of St. Mary’s. It is drawn each month in school by a different class. Thank you to Mrs Hopkinson for all her hard work and effort with this very important aspect of regular fund raising for the school. She will shortly be asking you for your continued support for this academic year from the parents of any new pupils in school.
Holiday Dates for PUPILS
Academic Year Sept 2007 – August 2008
From To Half Term
Autumn Mon. 3rd Sept. 2007 Fri. 21st Dec. 2007 Mon. 22nd Oct. Fri. 26th Oct 2007
Spring Mon. 7th Jan. 2008 Fri. 4th April 2008 Mon. 18th Feb. – Fri. 22nd Feb. 2008
Summer Mon. 21st April 2008 Fri. 18th July 2008 Mon. 26th May – Fri. 30th May 2008
All dates are inclusive.
There is only 1 training day for teachers this year
INSET day – School closed for pupils
1. Mon. 3rd September 2007
Easter Bank Holiday weekend is Friday 21st March and Monday 24th March 2008
Bank Holiday is Monday 5th May 2008
A day will be held in reserve for General Election and will be taken second half of the Summer Term, the date will be sent out nearer the time.
Newsletter Update
“Summer Term has been and continues to be very busy with a huge range of activities taking place. I hope this update helps to show what this has involved.?
·
St Mary's has worked so hard this year and all this work has been well rewarded.
Healthy School Award
First, we have achieved the Healthy School Award from Gateshead. These children represented our school at the presentation by performing a fantastic skipping display to show how we make physical activity fun!
Rights Repecting School Award
Next, we are one of the first schools in the North East to receive an award from Unicef
We have also achieved the requirements to be awarded the Impetus Award; this is a relatively new award. The presentation of this award will be made on Tuesday 10th July at the Civic Centre. Pupils who represented the school at the assessment session are invited to attend the award ceremony. The aims of the Impetus Award are outlined in detail on the Summer Newsletter update.
Welcome back to Mrs. McMillan, Mr McCarthy and Miss Hunt after their trip to Kenya to visit St Anthony's Academy. The staff and children all send their good wishes and thankyou all for your kind donations. Our staff had an exciting stay, Fr Humble joined them and said mass to very large crowds. They visited many interesting places and got very close to the local wildlife!
Once again Dr Maths organised a Maths Trail in Newcastle. This year it was along the Quayside and some of the children from KS2 accompanied by parent helpers had to follow the trail and solve the puzzles. This event is to show the chldren that maths is important in our everyday lives, not just in lessons at school.
Click here to read some of the thoughts about the trail from children in Year 3 and Year 4.
Congratulations to the swimming team who came 2nd overall in the Civic Swimming Gala at Felling Pool on 27th March.
We are delighted to welcome to our school, Sr Sylvia, Lucy Mbuthia and David Wachira. They will be with us from 16th to 30th March.
They teach in St Anthony's school in Kenya. The school now have a new headteacher, St. Anisia.
The previous head teacher, Sr Joyce has been welcomed into our school and parish on several occasions, she has now been moved to a new school with new challenges.
Our visitors are interested in shool life and our lifestyles. It is very different to their own. 
St Mary's has been linked with other schools in Europe for the last 3 years.
We now have 3 new partner schools in Italy, Germany and Spain.
Each year there is a different focus where we share our local interests and cultures.
This year the theme is artists.
St Mary's have chosen Ivan Lindsay, who is a local artist based at Tynemouth.
We are very lucky at St Mary's as we have nice school fields to play in, but these are always really muddy in the Winter. During half term a Nature Trail has been built on some of the area so that the children can enjoy more space and have plenty of excercise while having fun at the same time.
KS1 children are very lucky, not only do they have very elegant new coat hooks and shoe racks but they are also surrounded by a fantastic mural depicting bible stories
On the opposite wall they can have fun finding the rhyming words and phrases, a dog on a log or a wizard with a lizard, although this can take rather a long time to hang their coats up!
All of KS2 have enjoyed their first performance of Panto Pandemonium today! There is still time to catch the show if you have not done so yet on Tuesday 12th at 10am or on Wednesday 13th at 6pm.
Reviews and photographs to follow!!!!
Dear parents and Children
We thank you for all the shoes we collected for the Blue Peter Appeal. We collected an astonishing amount of shoes, around about 250 pairs. Last friday we loaded them all in to Miss Hunt's And Mr Mc Carthy's Cars and took them to the collection point at Clarks shoes in the Metrocentre .As you know we are sending them to Malawi to exchange for money and equipment for the children’s corners in Malawi. Blue Peter gives many thanks to those who brought shoes in to our school to help the Aids Orphans in Malawi. But we don’t stop here! We stop collecting the shoes on the Friday the 15th.
Many Thanks
The Make Poverty History team Fraser,Matthew and Nicholas.
A special well done to Fraser for organising the collection at school! Also thanks to Anna and Kate who helped carry all the shoes to the Metrocentre.
Our annual Book Fair was a great success once again. I hope you managed to buy a few Christmas presents. We raised a total of £625 in sales and so were able to buy books to the value of almost £400 for the school. Huge Thanks from everyone and thanks to my Y6 HELPERS.
Mrs Barrett
What a wonderful time we had selling, buying and eating the tremendous amount and variety of cakes and biscuits kindly donated by all of you. We had so many items left after the first day that we had to sell again for 2 further days. In total we raised just over £175 which we have made up to £200 in school. Thanks to the Pupil Council and Y6 for their help in setting up and selling. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GENEROSITY ONCE AGAIN.
We reached a marvellous total of 78 shoeboxes for the Charity this year. Thank you so much for your continued support. The organisers wish me to pass on their thanks and say we will make a huge difference to the Christmas that some children have this year.
WELL DONE!
Key Stage 2
Panto Pandemonium Monday 11th December 2.00pm
Tuesday 12th December 10.00am
Wednesday 13th December 6.00pm
NativityThursday 14th December Years 5 and Reception children will be at the Metro Centre performing a small nativity play in The Town Square outside Woolworths at 10.00am
Years 1 and 2
Cock-a-doodle Christmas
Wednesday 13th December 2.00pm
Thursday 14th December 2.00pm
On Tuesday 18th July, Whickham Police visited St Mary's and put on a brilliant dog show. The dogs showed their skills and caught a couple of very strange characters!
After settling in well, the children have experienced many opportunities over the year.
One of our most successful ventures has been the Buddy System. The Y5 children tried very hard to welcome your children into school. We hope they remain firm friends next year and who knows after that.
We enjoyed performing our Nativity Tableaux live at the Metro Centre. It was a daunting task in front of such a vast audience, but they rose to the occasion and I was very proud of the children!
This afternoon, Peter Bolger (GGfL Manager) will lead an introductory session outlining our new school website. The session will cover site functionality and interactivity, the context of weblogs and a demo of how to publish to the site.
On the days of the England matches pupils are allowed to come to school in either and England strip or red and white. The first day was on the 9th June and many pupils dressed up.
Mrs Anastasia Patu and Miss Tabitha Kamau, teachers from St Anthony's Academy in Kenya are visitors to our school. They are here until Thursday 15th June. While they are here they have been observing lessons and teaching the children traditional African songs as well as visiting Beamish with Year 6 and seeing how we used to live.
Our link is with St Anthony's school in Kenya. The head teacher is Sister Joyce wgo visited our school earlier.
This week we have six teachers from Germany and two teachers from France visiting our school. Our staff have been to their schools and it has been interesting to compare teaching styles.
They will be with us until Thursday and will be spending time in school and visiting interesting places, such as York and Edinburgh.
We have been linked with Germany and France through the Comenius Project. This is our third and last year with these schools.
