Breakfast Club
We have been offering Breakfast Club in school since the beginning of September. As we head towards the end of term, we are reviewing this service to ensure that it meets the needs of our parents. We are very keen to hear your feedback on what you think we should do going forward. We invite you to complete a short survey at https://forms.gle/j62BuerAnrRLTaLUA to share your thoughts. Please be rest assured that, whatever decisions are taken, the 7.30am before-school care will continue to be offered to all pupils.
Durham Christmas Festival
We are delighted that the school will be represented at the upcoming Durham Christmas Festival this weekend. We have secured a stall in the extremely popular craft and gift marquee on Palace Green. We have been there today and will be there across the week; please come and say hello if you are passing by on Saturday or Sunday. We will be selling some festive gifts and trinkets to raise money to support St Cuthbert’s Hospice.
Senior Christmas Concert
The Senior Department Christmas Concert will be taking place next Wednesday, 7 December at 7.00pm in the Main Hall. You are invited to join us for a mulled wine and mince pie and some wonderful singing and instrumentals, in what always promises to be a fantastic festive occasion. Tickets can be purchased through School Gateway at a cost of £4 for adults and £1 for children. We hope to see you there.
Attendance Award
Congratulations to Neina in Year 12 who was yesterday presented with an award and certificate from Durham County Council to celebrate achieving 100% attendance throughout secondary school.
Pre-Prep Gallery Visit
Pupils in Nursery – Year 2 spent the morning at the ‘Crushed Chilli Gallery’ in Durham City on Tuesday, where they designed, made and fired a Christmas decoration and learned how to score and break glass to create stained glass panels. The children listened well to all the instructions and worked hard to create some brightly coloured artistic pieces.
Sport Update
Pre-Prep and Prep Department
On Wednesday morning the U9 Football team played at a football festival at Newcastle High School. The team played excellently, and all the games were very competitive. The team were organised and showed off their recently developed football skills winning 5 of 7 games.
Senior Department
The U12 and U13 Netball team played in league matches against St Bede’s on Wednesday. Well done to the U12 team won their match 4-2. The U13 played fantastic netball winning by a huge 30–0.
Ceilidh
Pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 took part in a Ceilidh on Friday. The girls had a lot of fun learning the new dances and trying something different together.
Sustainable Christmas Pledges Competition
The Eco-Schools Committee is running a competition asking pupils and their families to take one action this Christmas that has a positive social and/or environmental impact. Ideas may include: contributing to a food bank, buying local produce for Christmas dinner, using recycled wrapping paper, getting a real Christmas tree from a sustainable forest or buying plastic-free crackers.
We would like pupils to bring in a piece of evidence to show the action they have taken, for example a photo or a receipt, and they will then be given a bauble to hang on our Sustainable Christmas Pledge Tree. The competition opened yesterday, and the form group with the most baubles by Wednesday 14 December will be the winner. Good luck.
School Christmas Closure
There will be nobody monitoring telephone calls in school after 1pm on Friday 16 December 2022 until we return in January. If you have any need to contact the school over the holiday, please email [email protected], but please be aware that you may not receive a response before we return.
The entire school site will also be closed down for Christmas, from Friday 23 December 2022 until Tuesday 3 January 2022. A reminder that Monday 9 January 2023 is also a staff INSET Day. All pupils will return the following day.
