Reader of the Month- January 24

2nd February 2024P Mullea

Another month has past us by and the children continue to impress us with their super reading abilities.

This month’s readers we were chosen for their AMAZING reading abilities but also because staff have noticed them working well with others, being good reading partners, helping others to choose new texts and always giving 100% effort with reading at home and in school.

We continue to be impressed and find it tricky to choose just one child a month!

As always the children got to pick a prize to take home, selecting a book from our collection. They were very excited to see the huge new range of texts which had been delivered and spotted some of their favourite authors!

A special mention to Scarlett from Y2 who has just started using AR but is trying really hard on her quizzes, to Lyla from Y1 who always helps her partner to correct mistakes when reading, to Dexter from Y3 who helps others to find new Non-fiction texts and quiz on AR and to Louie from Y5 for his fantastic AR results and for reading at home frequently.

Well done to all of our ‘Readers of the Month’. We hope you enjoy your new books.

 

Mini Police visit Northumbria police horses

26th January 2024Mr R Donnelly

Our fabulous Year 5 mini police team had a very interesting visit to the mounted section of Northumbria Police on Tuesday 23rd January. They were able to meet the horses and learn lots about the work that the mounted section does. They learned about the horses’ involvement in managing crowds at large events, and how they help in searches when someone has gone missing. They even met a horse and police officer who were in attendance for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth. It was a really interesting and enjoyable morning, and as always they were fabulous ambassadors for the school.

 

E-Safety information – MyLOL

24th January 2024L Forster

 

“The #1 teen dating website in the world” That’s the claim of MyLOL, which offers 13 to 19-year-olds the chance to rate each other’s pics, send private messages and contact strangers online. If that sets your alarm bells ringing, you’re far from alone: law enforcement agencies and schools in several countries have seen fit to issue warnings about the platform.

Among the main issues is the fact that MyLOL doesn’t have a reliable age verification method – meaning there’s no foolproof way to stop anyone outside the platform’s intended 13–19 audience signing up for an account under a false age. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide also highlights potential concerns around in-app purchases and the use of geolocation for sinister reasons.

 

Teenagers’ blossoming interest in romantic relationships and their devotion to online networking is a potent combination – and, regrettably, not always a safe one. It raises all kind of worries about the possibility of sharing intimate images or deeply personal information; and that’s simply with contacts their own age – to say nothing of the chance of connecting with an older stranger.

MyLOL – a site which specifically facilitates interaction between 13 to 19-year-olds – has amassed around a million users worldwide, but sadly its safeguarding protocols can’t match that level of success. The ease with which an adult could pose as a teen under a bogus birthdate makes grooming a realistic threat – and that’s far from the platform’s only risk, as our guide explains.

https://nationalcollege.com/

E-Safety Information : 12 Tips for a Tech-Free Christmas

13th December 2023L Forster

There’s no disputing how integral the digital world has become to modern life. It can prove difficult for many young people to stay off smart phones, tablets and other devices for a single day – even one as special as Christmas. In fact, according to a survey by e-commerce platform Groupon, almost 80% of parents and carers would prefer a festive period that’s free from technology

Going online, of course, is useful for checking in with friends and relations who we can’t be with, or for arranging celebrations – but if we allow gadgets to dominate our Yuletide break, that precious time could pass in a flash. This #WakeUpWednesday, we’ve got suggestions for keeping a handle on device use over the holidays, so your family can be truly together this Christmas.

 

With Christmas right around the corner, millions of families are excitedly anticipating the chance to spend some quality time with each other over the festive season. When everyone’s engrossed in their phones or glued to their games consoles, however, genuinely meaningful moments with loved ones can often be difficult to orchestrate.

Our Christmas #WakeUpWednesday guide will lend a hand: providing some advice on helping young people to set aside their devices for a while and live in the moment. Even if going full tech cold turkey feels unrealistic, implementing just a few of these tips could still decrease the amount of screen time in your home this festive season – enabling everyone to make the most of it.

http://nationalcollege.com

E-Safety Information – Disney+

6th December 2023L Forster

More than 150 million subscribers worldwide 📈 Disney+ has enjoyed a steady rise in popularity since launching four years ago: the platform’s deep library of treasured old-school animated favourites, modern classics and original series means that it can offer a rich seam of engrossing content that caters for young and not-so-young users alike 📺

Of course, a consequence of this approach is the presence of the sort of age-inappropriate material one might not expect to find on the platform, given Disney’s fabled status as a purveyor of family entertainment. There’s useful advice in avoiding this pitfall (and more besides) in this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide, as Disney+ comes under the microscope.

In 2019, media titan Disney launched its own streaming platform, intending to challenge the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. Giving (often exclusive) access to shows and movies – such as the legendary studio’s animated classics and the revered Star Wars back catalogue – Disney+ has been a colossal success, proving popular with viewers of all ages.

Despite Disney’s reputation for wholesome, child-friendly content, however, there’s far more material available on their platform – some of which is aimed exclusively at adults. This could easily fly under the radar, given the company’s general image. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide has useful tips to help your family sit back, relax and enjoy what Disney+ has to offer.

http://nationalcollege.com/

Reader of the Month- November 2023

4th December 2023P Mullea

Congratulations to our Reader’s of the Month who were chosen for their attitude towards Reading and taking care of our books and library spaces.

 

A special shout out to Harry in Y6 who is our first Word Millionaire of the year!, How amazing!

Well done to Amelia in Y6 who takes excellent care of our library, spending playtimes and lunchtimes organising the shelves and helping others.

We are also very proud of Hallie in Y3, Archie in Y4 and Scarlett from Y1, who make an extra effort to read at home and take great care of our books.

E-Safety Information – Online Safety Act

29th November 2023L Forster

Protecting children 🧒 Blocking illegal material ⛔ Removing harmful content on major platforms 📱 Those are the three main goals of the Online Safety Act, which entered UK law in October. While demanding more accountability from social media companies in particular, the act revises – rather than replaces – the current digital safeguarding duties placed on schools.

With changes including the creation of new criminal offences and greater options when raising an issue with a platform, there’s plenty for educators to take on board. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide this week provides a bite-size introduction to the Online Safety Act – and highlights some of the key points that schools need to be familiar with in the short term.

 

After a lengthy gestation period, the UK Government’s wide-ranging changes to the legislation around digital safeguarding have become enshrined in law as the Online Safety Act. The first of its kind in Britain, the act aims to improve protection for children online and clamp down on illegal material. Regulated by Ofcom, it will primarily impact social media platforms and companies which host user-generated content.

The new legislation, however, also carries implications for schools and their staff. Although further developments are expected, our #WakeUpWednesday guide summarises the main points of the act that schools need to be aware of so far – outlining some specific areas that the new laws address and what effect, in practical terms, this will have on education providers.

https://nationalcollege.com/

Harton Rockstars are 11th in England

21st November 2023G Booth

Once again, our Key Stage 2 pupils have taken part in the national Times Tables Rock Stars competition ‘England Rocks’. Our boys and girls have superseded their previous achievements and come 11th out of 4080 primary schools!! This is a masssive accomplishment and shows everyone’s dedication to learning their times tables.

Y6F came 27th out of 30,034 classes. Again, a massive achievement!

We are exceptional proud of all of pupils who took part and their amazing times tables knowledge. Superb results!

 

Kielder Observatory

21st November 2023S Lovatt

We were so lucky to have astronomers from Kielder Observatory in school to do work with us about space.

Egg landers – we had to design and make an ‘egg-lander’, imagining the eggs were astronauts who needed to return to Earth safely from space. Could we help them land safely?

Investigating light – we looked at different colours of light, wore special glasses which showed us different colours of light, and used a thermal camera to see infrared radiation which is invisible to the human eye. Finally, we made bracelets with UV beads, which will change colour when exposed to UV rays from the sun.

Space rocks – we looked at real space rocks, which are billions of years old! These rocks fell to Earth as meteorites. We even looked at pieces of the moon and Mars.

 

Planets – we learnt lots of facts about the planets in our solar system and discussed their distance from each other and from the sun, making a human version of the solar system with inflatable planets.

Y5 Hinduism Workshop

17th November 2023A Dawson

Just before half term, Year-5 took part in a workshop about Hinduism as part of the RE curriculum. The children learned about Hindu gods, the culture, dance, music, and also did some dressing up/face painting.