Wow! What a year. It has probably been the most challenging year most of us will ever experience. As my first year as Head Teacher it has most definitely been an experience. Having said that, as I reflect upon the last 16 months since March 2020 I feel so proud of everything our school community has achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic. It would be easy to focus on the negatives but there have been so many positive outcomes, too.

We have found so many creative solutions to problems, we have worked with different people and become closer as a team and we have successfully navigated our way through the maze of COVID-19. The staff in school have had to cope with a huge array of change over the last year including: a new Head Teacher; a global pandemic; becoming part of the Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Learning Trust; the introduction of our remote learning platform and the setting up of our Learning Zones and superpowers. Under normal circumstances any one of those events would have justified a detailed Change Management Plan and you would never choose to implement them all in the space of one year!

Our team has grown and developed over the last year and I feel incredibly proud of every single one of them. We have welcomed Mr Storey and Mr Clarke to the team who have both made huge contributions to the school. Every single individual, without exception, has gone above and beyond what could reasonably be expected of them and they have done so without complaint or a moments hesitation. The measure of a team is how well it responds when the chips are down and I can honestly say that after working in the NHS and in Education over the last 35 years I have never worked with a more dedicated and committed team. They all embody the ‘family first’ ethos of the school and they literally live and breathe our core values.

They have supported each other (and me) through hard times, sad times and hilarious times, too, and I don’t think any of us would have got through this period without each other. Who knows what our next Ofsted or Church inspection will bring but regardless: to me our team will be ‘Forever Outstanding’.

Our children are always at the centre of every decision we make and every event that we plan and we have some amazing ideas for September and there is a lot to look forward to! But first let’s enjoy a well-earned summer break. I hope you all have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you all in September.

Mrs D Cross

Head Teacher

2020-2021 in pictures:

 

Leaving Stanhope Barrington will be very hard because of all the amazing memories I’ve made, the amazing teachers/staff, all the laughs I’ve had and doing the activities outside of school (with school). I’ve loved being a part of different events like: a tennis tournament; the gymnastic festival; violin performances; frisbee workshop and even coffee mornings.

Stanhope Barrington has been an all-round incredible school! I will be sad to leave but I’m looking forward to the challenge of Comp. I’ve loved being a part of this school and it’s been an amazing experience!

Grace

The books we read in childhood can be some of the most meaningful and impactful of our lives. Treasured books have a way of teaching, inspiring and shaping imaginations by introducing us to places, times and characters that end up staying with us for a lifetime. I still think of characters such as Anne of Green Gables, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, Nancy Drew, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and Anne Frank not to mention the Black Stallion and the animals of the Wind in the Willows as friends! So, with that in mind, here are some book recommendations from our children of some of their favourite books:

The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness  by Michelle Paver

A boy, a girl and a wolf in the Stone Age times go on quests to uncover secrets of Torak (the boy) to vanquish the evil Soul-Eaters.  ‘I really enjoy reading these books and can’t wait for Wolfbane, the final book, to come out.’ – Xavier (Diamond Learning Zone)

A Dinosaur Ate my Sister by Pooja Puri

“It’s funny and exciting.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

Captain Underpants by Dave Pilkey

“It is funny and a great comedy book for children.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

Midnight Gang by David Walliams

“It’s a good read for all ages to enjoy.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

My Secret Diary by Jacqueline Wilson

“It takes you into the life of a teenager in the 60’s and I recommend it for all ages.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

“It is a really exciting adventure fantasy that I personally really enjoy. It is also really creative.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan

“It is a mix of myth and modern. It is amazing and it includes suspense.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

“It is such a joy to read, and it is funny and it’s great for kids.” –Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

World’s Worst Children by David Walliams

“I think it’s a really good book because it is funny and makes me laugh.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

Lightning Girl by Alesha Dixon

“It is an interesting and funny story.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

“Sometimes a door is closed for a reason and because fairy tales are more than true, not because they tell us that dragons are real but because they tell us they can be beaten.” -Pupil from Diamond Learning Zone

Boy at the Back of the Class  by Onjali Q Rauf

‘It’s a really happy story that starts sad about a refugee called Ahmet. My favourite part was the friends he makes through the story. The author has two new books as well!’ -Kadie (Emerald Learning Zone)

Horrible Histories by Terry Deary

‘The gruesome parts are really good and I am learning lots from it.’ -Lewis (Emerald Learning Zone)

A Dog’s Purpose by W Bruce Cameron

‘It is about a dog called Bailey who finds an owner called Nathan and they have great adventures together.’ -Zach (Emerald Learning Zone)

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey

From the maker of Captain Underpants these books are a must for comic book fans. Finley finds them hilarious reading and has collected the whole collection. Dog Man is also great for those who love drawing, Finley copies the drawings in to his own notebooks. – Finley (Ruby Learning Zone)

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell

This is a story about two daddy penguins who want to have an egg. I could listen to this story lots of times because it has a good ending. Jack (Amethyst Learning Zone)

Detective Dog Nell and Hospital Dog both by Julia Donaldson

Both are fabulous tales about very clever dogs who provide a service to help their community but when disaster strikes their quick thinking and smart minds save the day! Amazing rhyming and beautiful illustrations make them a fave in our house! – Iliza (Amethyst Learning Zone)

Immi by Karin Littlewood

This is about a girl who finds small colourful objects when she is fishing for her supper. Abel loves this book because it has a special ending.  Abel (Opal Learning Zone)

The Jolly Pocket Postman by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg

This is about a postman who goes on adventures. Abel loves this book because it has an envelope on every other page with things inside for him to explore. Abel (Opal Learning Zone)

Duck in the Truck by Jez Alborough

This book is about a duck who gets his truck stuck in the muck. Abel loves this book because it rhymes and he finds it very funny. Abel (Opal Learning Zone)

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson

This book is about a Stick Man who gets lost and is trying to find his way back home. Abel loves this book like all of the other Julia Donaldson books because it rhymes and he loves the adventure Stick Man goes on in order to find his way home. Abel (Opal Learning Zone)

We hope you enjoy these book recommendations! Please let us know if you selected a book from this list and share your thoughts.

A few months ago I saved the life of my cousin, Lewis, by slapping his back when he was choking. When that didn’t work I did the Abdominal Thrust which stopped him choking. Mrs Cross was so impressed she gave me an award from Durham Police and then they came into school to teach all of the children about first aid.

On Wednesday 16^th June Jamie and his friend taught us how to save someone’s life. They taught our whole school. It was really good because everyone got to find out how to save someone’s life.

I was grateful to Jamie for teaching us and very proud of myself.

By Jake Emerson

We’ve been reading a book called ‘Wonder’ in class which has inspired me to write my own book. I felt a connection between me and August (the main character in the book), who has a physical condition that makes him look different. Although I don’t have a physical condition that people can see I do feel different to all of my friends because of a physical condition that you can’t see. I am colour blind.

My book that I have written raises the awareness of colour blindness. It tells you about how it affects my life, such as feeling confused and left out when colours are used in the classroom, in sports and in other scenarios and things you can do to help me.

I love football but sometimes when watching it on TV the team kits are too similar to me and I struggle to find the difference between the two teams. Sometimes I can only tell the difference by the shorts! In school I find some PowerPoints hard, especially ‘Twinkle’ and when colours are used. Miss Hepple tries to help me when possible and apologises when she can’t do anything about the colours, like in science, literacy and maths.

People know that I am colour blind, because I’ve learnt to be brave enough to tell them, and so they help me when they can but for those people who don’t know they are colour blind or don’t want to tell people then life could be even more confusing and difficult!

In the book ‘Wonder’ there are precepts – rules about really important things. One of them is “When given the choice between being right and being kind – chose kind”. I think it is really important for people to understand colour blindness, so my precept would be “When you chose to use colour please don’t think just about you, think about others too”.

I hope you enjoy reading my book, I’ve enjoyed writing it.

Malachi

As part of the continual improvement plan for our website we are introducing Speaker’s Corner. The idea is for different people to write a blog each week to share their thoughts, ideas and opinions. We will be asking children, staff, parents, members of our local community and visitors to our school to contribute to Speaker’s Corner. However, you don’t need to be invited to contribute – just email anything you would like to say to admin@stanhopebarrington.org.uk and mark for the attention of the website.

Perhaps the most well-known Speaker’s Corner is in Hyde Park in London and has been used as a traditional site for public speeches and debates since the mid 1800’s. In 1872 an act of Parliament set aside this area of Hyde Park for public speaking. It has been used as a platform for freedom of speech by many famous people including Karl Marx, George Orwell and the suffragettes. Speaker’s Corner is still a popular venue today for people to exercise their freedom of speech.

As such, we thought it would be a great name for our new ‘blog’ area of the website.

I hope you enjoy reading our blogs at Speaker’s Corner and please feel free to contribute and share your thoughts, ideas and opinions.

Mrs Cross

Head Teacher

Happy New Year! We are eight days into 2021 and already so much has happened! We have welcomed all pupils back to school for only one day and then it was swiftly back into lockdown. There was a flurry of activity among staff and the school community to put arrangements in place so that children of key workers could come into school while remote learning provision was rapidly deployed for pupils learning at home. There has been snow and ice and cold. We have officially welcomed a new Head Teacher. Needless to say, it’s been busy and has required a lot of team effort.

The KFC theme this term is fellowship and it is especially appropriate in this challenging time. The Greek word Koinonia means ‘that which is in common’ and is often translated as ‘fellowship’ or ‘community’. Other translations include ‘union’, ‘partnership’, or ‘being yoked together’. A yoke is a shaped piece of wood that goes across the shoulders, often linking two animals. By combining their strength, it helps work to be done and burdens to be carried. Fellowship expresses the quality of relationship within the Christian community. A central element of being a family is interdependence: all are needed and valued and each person is important to the whole. At Stanhope Barrington every member of the school community is valued.

2021 promises to be unique and one that will require strength, perseverance, grace and adaptability. We are fortunate at Stanhope Barrington to be part of a strong community. A community that pulls together to support one another when life is turned upside down. So as we move forward lets remember that we are all in this together although the path ahead of us is unknown. It reminds me of a quote from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien:

“Do not trouble your hearts overmuch with thought of the road tonight. Maybe the paths that you shall each tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them.”

I wonder what the next 357 days of 2021 will bring? Whatever comes our way I know we will meet the challenges TOGETHER…

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

Wow what an amazing term – in so many ways. It has been a real privilege to be the Acting Head Teacher here at Stanhope Barrington C of E Primary School. It has also been a huge challenge. As you know we converted to an academy on 1^st April 2020 right in the middle of a national pandemic and lockdown. As such the real impact on the school was not really felt until we returned to school in September. In September, we had to reopen the school in a Covid secure way to ensure the safety of our children, families and staff. I cannot thank everyone enough for sticking to our Covid Risk Assessment and supporting us to keep everyone safe.

We are one of the very few schools who have not had to close a bubble or indeed the school and that is thanks to the hard work and dedication of the whole team. The logistics of staggered starts, playtimes, lunchtimes and collection times has put real pressure on our teaching teams who have risen to the challenge and gone above and beyond in delivering high quality learning opportunities for our children. Our focus throughout has been the emotional well-being of our children and it has been lovely to see so many of our children skip into school each morning. They are really happy to be back and have adapted so well to our new school routines.

Towards the end of the first half term we carried out baseline assessments to identify gaps in learning and after half term we implemented our Catch Up Programmes to support children. I am delighted that following the end of Autumn Term assessments, it is apparent that these interventions have been extremely successful with huge amounts of progress evident. We will continue with the Catch Up Programmes over the Spring Term.

We have also had to develop a Remote Learning Plan in the event of a school closure or bubble closure. This plan will outline exactly what will happen and what will be provided in terms of home learning and will be available on our website in the new year.

We have all thoroughly enjoyed advent and the celebration of Christmas in school this year. Initially, it felt like Christmas in school would be a much reduced or restricted affair but our team have been creative and innovative and we have been able to deliver a range of exciting and fun activities which the children have enjoyed immensely.

During this, my first term as Acting Head Teacher, I have experienced so many emotions but the one that will remain with me over the Christmas holidays is that of being so overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity and support we have received from our Stanhope Barrington family and community. The extremely kind donations have literally left me lost for words and the kind words of support and appreciation have kept me going through some tough times.

This is a special place to live; a special place to work; a special place to learn and a special place to belong.

I wish you and your families a very safe, peaceful and happy Christmas and look forward to welcoming you all back to school on Monday 4^th January 2021.

After an extended period of time away, we are delighted to welcome everyone back to school. This has been an unprecedented time of uncertainty but somehow we have all found our own unique ways to navigate through this very strange time. We have made memories and have figured our way through worries and massive changes to every detail of our lives.

It has been wonderful to see the children back at school, again. Their exuberance and joy at seeing their friends and teachers has been nothing short of uplifting. The whole school community has been incredible at making sure that the school’s reopening plans have worked, thank you! It makes me so proud to be part of such a special place and community.

As I was leafing through my notebook today, I noticed a Bible verse that I jotted in the top, dog-eared corner of the page dated 16 December, 2019. I have no recollection of writing it or why I wrote it on a page that contained a list of things to do in the run up to Christmas, but it struck me as poignant and relevant to what we are all experiencing now. It was from Joshua 1:9…

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

So, as we put one foot in front of the other and take one day at a time remember that we are all in this together. I wish everyone faith, hope and strength for the year ahead.

Sarah I., Foundation Academy Councillor

Hello everyone, my name is Caroline, and I have been leading Forest School sessions at Stanhope Barrington C of E Primary School.

I hope you are keeping well, and finding things to keep you entertained in this strange time of ‘lock down’.

With the weather being so beautiful, and as I have a great love for the outdoors and all things ‘Forest School’ related, we’ve spent a lot of time outside as a family. As a mum to three energetic children, I am often on the look outlook for creative outdoor things to do with them. Here’s some of the things we have done recently that you might like to try at home too:

Make a mini kite:

1: Make a diamond shape from newspaper/tissue paper/plastic bag.

2: Sellotape/glue a cross shaped frame made from lightweight sticks (willow works well) to the diamond cut out.

3: Attach some string to the centre of the cross (to hold onto whilst flying it)

4: Add a tail to the bottom point of the kite, using ribbon or more newspaper. This helps the kite to balance in the wind and stops it from going round and round.

Now go outside and enjoy flying your kite. We found ourselves bursting into song, Mary Popping style: “Let’s go fly and kite…”

EXTRA: Make a bigger kite! Experiment with different lengths of tail / how is it best to attach the string / make the diamond shape out of different materials. Which flys best?

Balance stones:

Collect some stones on your daily walk and see how high a tower you can make.

How many stones can you build with before it topples over?

Have a competition with others in your home.

Make a den:

Using sticks, chairs, cardboard boxes, old sheets/blankets, string, rope etc. Try and be creative.

When I was a kid I loved to make dens (in fact I still do) and to imagine that I was living on a deserted island. Perhaps you could create a story, whilst sitting in your den, about where you imagine your den to be and the adventures you get up to. I always wanted to be part of the adventures in ‘Swallows and Amazons’.

RSBP Challenge:

In the forest school sessions at school we had been completing the RSPB challenges. This can also be done at home by signing up to the Family Wild Challenge.

It is a free resource and there are plenty of activities that you can get involved with which will help you connect with nature; bug house building, bird box making, bug hunting, bird cake recipe etc. Take a look and work towards your RSPB Wild Challenge Bronze award.

I hope you have as much fun doing these activities, as we have.

Take care,

Caroline