🌈 LIGHThouse - issue 36

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To help make sure you don't miss out on any important updates for your child's school, check out the summary below of what you can find in this issue:

Teacher's creativity gives PMLD pupils new lease of life (Castle School)
Transition days get Year 6 ready for the 'big school' (Bishop's/Duke's)
Transition with a difference as Warkworth pupils go 'coasteering' (Warkworth Primary)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar brought to life for our littlest learners! (Early Years)
Gadget Shoes and Boo-able Villains at JBP! (Josephine Butler Campus)
Art and Design students visit Northern Print (Duke's Secondary)
Grace Darling pupil scoops KS" creative writing prize (Grace Darling Juniors)
Duke's Sixth Form is now on Instagram (Duke's Sixth Form)

Teacher's creativity gives PMLD pupils new lease of life
One of our phenomenal teachers at Castle School is helping her pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) to take miraculous steps towards a better, more independent way of living by getting creative with items typically found around the house.

Gillian Robinson has introduced the concept of ‘Active Learning’ into her classroom to help give a sense of freedom back to pupils who are typically dependent on those around them to support their needs.

Using everyday items such as buckets, A-frames, Tupperware boxes, blackout curtains and plumber’s piping, Gillian has created a sensory paradise for her learners to support their mobility and cognitive skill development, alongside their emotional and social wellbeing.

Read the story in full...

Transition days get Year 6 ready for the 'big school'
All this week, Year 6 pupils from across our Bishop's Primary campuses have been taking part in transition days at Duke's to help them get acquainted with their new school ahead of September.

Teachers planned lots of fun sessions to give pupils a flavour of the different lessons they'll be studying. They also had a tour around the campus so they could get used to finding their way around.

Don't forget, you can find lots of virtual transition materials on the Duke's website so you can revisit them throughout the summer holidays. Click the button below to find out more.

Find out more about Year 6/7 transition

Transition with a difference as Warkworth go 'coasteering'
As the Year 6 pupils at Warkworth Primary prepare to make their leap into secondary school, they celebrated the end of their time at Primary by taking a literal leap into the sea!

All this week, pupils have been working with KA Adventures at Beadnell to try their hand at coasteering, paddle boarding and surfing. Everyone had a fantastic time and we'd like to thank the team at KA Adventures for making our transition so memorable!

More news from Warkworth Primary

The Very Hungry Caterpillar brought to life for our littlest learners!
The children in our two-year old provision at Grace Darling Infants have been learning about how caterpillars become butterflies. They've read stories like 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and made their own caterpillars from Playdough.

To bring this to life even further, teachers purchased some caterpillar larvae and some butterfly gardens so the children could see the transformation taking place. The plan is to release the fully grown butterflies once they hatch from their cocoons on the last day of term! Watch this space!

Find out more about Early Years at NCEAT

Gadget Shoes and Boo-able Villains at JBP!
Earlier this week, Year 5 pupils at Josephine Butler took part in a Scholastic Schools Live event with author Liz Pichon. Lots of the children were already fans after reading books from her Tom Gates series, so were really keen to hear about her new book.

During the session Liz talked about her journey into writing and the challenges of being dyslexic. She also did a live tutorial guiding the children to draw some of the characters from her new book. The children absolutely loved the session and have already started thinking of ideas for some new gadget shoes!

Art and Design students visit Northern Print
Students from Year 10 GCSE Art and Design visited the professional studios at Northern Print to complete a woodblock printing session. All Covid precautions were followed and the students were able to get fantastic, grade boosting prints from it!

Inspired by Glasgow-based fabric company, Timorous Beasties' crustaceans collection, students carved the shapes of crabs, lobsters and other sea life into plywood boards before using industry quality inks, paper and presses to create a range of works. This allows students to see just how fruitful the creative industry can be, as well as improving their current printmaking skills.

The art department are incredibly proud of the work they achieved and how well the students represented our school.

More news from Duke's Secondary School

Grace Darling pupil scoops KS2 creative writing prize
At Grace Darling we are extremely proud of one of our pupils, Toren. Toren wrote a creative narrative titled 'A Storm of Secrets' and won the Bishop's KS2 creative writing competition!

His story followed the adventures of friends Jerry and Boris and was full of suspense, surprises and lots of interesting humour. In winning the competition, Toren had the chance to hear his own story brought to life and read by an actor, this was an exciting experience that Toren really enjoyed. We are looking forward to seeing what exciting pieces of writing Toren creates next.

Duke's Sixth Form is now on Instagram
To help you stay up to date with all of the latest news and to provide new students with sneak previews of what to expect in September at Duke's Sixth Form, we've joined Instagram! Follow our brand new account @Dukes_Sixth_Form

PS don't forget, it's Sixth Form transition day on Monday 12th July!

Follow @Dukes_Sixth_Form