Children in Reception have been learning about Chinese customs and the Chinese New Year and would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Wheatley for inviting a special guest, Lip Lee, into Class.
Lip Lee told a story about how a dragon helped to bring rain to China during a drought. He also made masks and a dragon, an important symbol of China.
Mrs Gray
Four skilled music teachers from Gateshead Music Services came into Swalwell this morning dressed as wizards. They entertained and educated children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 with their magical, musical spells.
Photographic link
J Anderson
On Tuesday 17th January, Yvonne Hart, Road Safety Officer for Gateshead, visited Reception . She talked about how to cross the road safely and how to be seen at night.
As part of their topic Reception Class have been learning all about the China. On Friday 13th January Miss Lawson came to work with the Class. She showed them photographs, artefacts, maps and decorations she had purchased whilst visiting the country. She explained all about chinese culture and, in preparation ,for Chinese New Year on January 23rd, children made dragon masks and danced down the school corridor.
Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had the opportunity to enjoy a festive music celebration when members of Gateshead Schools Music Service came to entertain them. Christmas music and carols, both traditional and modern,were excitingly presented. The Music Services team provided costumes and instruments for children. Everyone enjoyed this fun, educational, interactive workshop. A great big thank you to all concerned.
Photographs on the website
J Anderson
Singing at Swalwell Community Centre for the pensioners annual Christmas dinner is fun, exciting, sociable and lifts the spirits of local residents like nothing else ! ..So it was with delight that Mrs Wheatley's class raised their voices in harmony to entertain the older folks of Swalwell.
J Anderson
Nursery and Reception children always look forward to fun and games at their Christmas party . Santa made an appearance and gave gifts to all our pupils. A big thank you to Mrs Purvis, Mrs Wheatley, Mrs Gray and Mrs Vanner for organising this event .
Photographs,as usual,can be viewed on the website
J Anderson
Sure Start Childrens Centre invited Reception Class to Swalwell Community Centre to watch a Chaplin Pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk. The children thoroughly enjoyed the show and, as usual, were very well behaved...a credit to the school!
Reception had a visit from Maria, a librarian, from Whickham Library.
She came to deliver the Booktime Packs - two books and a book mark which all children receive at the age of four.
She read a story and told pupils about all the exciting events the library hosts.
Mrs Wheatley
Nursery and Reception performed their Christmas Nativity Play on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. 'A Wriggly Nativity' tells the Christmas story almost entirely through catchy songs, actions and movement. Every child had a part ....Some pupils were narrators whilst others were actors. The hall was packed, on both occasions, with very proud parents, friends and carers. The costumes were spectacular and the children were sensational.....This was one of the best Christmas nativity plays that Swalwell has seen!
Photographs ...click here
J Anderson
Chris Connaughton Week in Swalwell School began with a special performance for Reception children and their parents.
Chris entertained our youngsters by re-telling the tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker.
His use of simple props stimulated the children's imagination, and brought characters to life. This performance linked well to literacy work the children will be doing on other fairytales.
J Anderson
Using Shaypeds materials from Story Chest our children in Reception developed and extended their vocabulary of two-dimensional and three- dimensional shapes. They used laptops and 2simple software to draw 'Sandy Square' and 'Cilla Circle'. Pupils were shown how to change colour and how to add detail to characters.
Photographic link
J Anderson
On Friday 14th October Reception class have been invited to a free viewing of 'Sammy the Turtle' at the Odeon Cinema in the Metro Centre.
Our thanks to all those involved in organising such a fun event, we are sure our children will have a wonderful time.
We had some very special visitors in school today...Guide dogs and trainers! Miss Edwards had initially arranged for members of the association to come into Reception class to link with the autumn term topic 'Pets'. However, the whole school got an unexpected treat when the dogs and their trainers toured the school.
The trainers spoke to children about the life-enhancing experience achieved through a guide dog, and how puppies are trained for this special role. They encouraged children to understand how people with sight loss cope and adapt, and to think how they can make life easier rather than more difficult for blind and partially sighted people.
Reception children enjoyed a full day at Heworth Grange CLC. On Friday morning pupils had the opportunity to reach early learning goals by using remote control, sensors, microphones and digital cameras. In the afternoon they used ' i board' software to listen to stories.
Our thanks to Mrs Martin for a fantastic days work!
Photographs in the gallery
J Anderson
Reception class welcomed Janet, an animal lover, from' Pets at Home' into their classroom today. Janet brought with her a selection of pets and an assortment of equipment needed for keeping a pet healthy and happy. She talked about how to care for animals and allowed the children to handle a hamster,a rabbit and a guinea pig.
Photos ..click here
J Anderson
Yvonne Hart came into school today with Billy the Bear, to talk to children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1/2 about road safety and the importance of holding hands when out and about. She reminded children of the need for adult supervision when crossing a road and the meaning of STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN.
Photos on the website gallery
J Anderson
With the help of our Site Manager, Mr Fitzpatrick, Reception Class have been picking apples from the tree in the school grounds.
Pupils will be looking at a set of instructions in literacy and will then use the apples to make an apple crumble.
Click here to see photos
Alison Ashton, an artist has been working with children in Reception class to make models of dens. Alison then helped pupils to create a huge Magical Den in the corner of their classroom.
The den will be used on many occasions and for many topics: The den has six keyhole windows and through each keyhole the children can see an array of exciting things to inspire their imaginations, discover new stories and to create their own dreams.
Photographic link
J Anderson
Nursery, Reception and Year 1/2 pupils had a super time this morning.
Mrs Porter, Ms Banning and Ms Weaver from Gateshead Music Services came into school to entertain and educate our children.
The workshop gave our pupils the opportunity to perform as a band. They learned all about pulse, chords and the sounds of many different instruments.
A big thank you to the ladies from Gateshead for their continued hard work and dedication.
Reception had a truly memorable day at Heworth Grange CLC on Wednesday 18th May.
They used remote controls and looked at the use of sensors. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed using microphones and a digital camera to record their own progress.
J Anderson
A good day at Gateshead City Learning Centre!
Using Shaypeds materials from Story Chest our children in Reception developed and extended their vocabulary of two-dimensional and three- dimensional shapes. They used laptops and 2simple software to draw 'Sandy Square' and 'Cilla Circle'. Pupils were shown how to change colour and how to add detail to characters.
Photographs in gallery
J Anderson
Reception welcomed a Scottish Piper and a Highland Dancer into their class this week as part of their music and culture lessons.
The Piper gave a short introduction to the bagpipes, showed pupils how they work, discussed their relevance in terms of Scottish and multi ethnic cultures, answered questions and performed several medleys .
The children have had an amazing week and have linked these visits to traditional stories and songs they have been studying.
Click here to see more photographs
J Anderson
The sights and sounds of South Africa reverberated round Swalwell Primary School on Wednesday 4th May, when we welcomed a troop of tribal dancers.
Pupils were entertained in fabulous style when 'The Lions of Zululand' gave an hour-long performance of their traditional music and dance. The Zulu Warriors then enthralled the youngsters by running four workshops.
This was a fantastic opportunity for all our pupils to experience the art, dance and music of another culture.
We would like to thank all family, friends and carers who attended the special afternoon assembly. We are sure you will all agree that this exciting,international, colourful day which allowed our children to experience a taste of a completely different culture ended on an amazing high note.
Photographs can be seen in the website gallery...Click here
J Anderson
The Reception children helped turn Swalwell into a forest school on Tuesday by building an impressive fire pit. Pupils built it all themselves, from carrying the materials, to weaving the willow fences. They enjoyed a fun filled day and celebrated their hard work by showing staff their first fire. A big thank you to all of the children in Reception class for their efforts.
Photographic link
J Anderson
Reception Class had a wonderful time at Blagdon Forest on Tuesday. The trip was arranged by Miss Lawson as part of the Forest Schools programme. The visit was led by experienced outdoor practitioners. Despite the cold weather, our children had an exciting and fun day and are looking forward to developing the school grounds into an area suitable for outdoor activities in the future.
Photographs
J Anderson
Many thanks to Greggs bakers for allowing Reception children to visit their store at Retail Park, Metrocentre. The visit linked with literacy work on 'The Little Red Hen'.
Pupils have read the book, made bread and are about to set up a bakery in the role play area of the classroom. The visit to Greggs enabled the children to see what other goods a baker shop sells.
More photographs can be seen in the gallery...click here
J Anderson
Chris Connaughton, an actor, author and storyteller entertained our Reception children this afternoon with drama performances based on The Elves and the Shoemaker and Three Wishes
Photographs...click here
J Anderson
Nursery and Reception children enjoyed an afternoon full of fun and games at their christmas party on Tuesday afternoon. Santa made an appearance and gave gifts to all our pupils. A big thank you to Miss Dixon, Mrs Wheatley, Mrs Gray and Mrs Cassidy for organising this event . Photographs,as usual,can be viewed on the website gallery.
J Anderson
Swalwell's Christmas productions have wowed audiences. Considering the lack of rehearsals due to bad weather school closures, all our pupils still managed to give a polished, professional performance.
A big thank you to all parents, carers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and older brother and sisters who attended the plays and who continue to show support for Swalwell. Finally, a big thank you to all pupils in Nursery, Reception and Years 1 to 6 .You were fantastic and we are all very proud of you. Photographs can be seen in the gallery in the Christmas performances album.
J Anderson
As part of their outdoor learning, Reception have been making marks in the snow.
Photographs can be seen in the gallery.
Reception class have been feeling, smelling, chopping, cooking and tasting fish. See photographs on the website gallery.
Children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1/2 had a wonderful morning on Thursday. Anne, Keren and Julie from Gateshead Music Service came into Swalwell to show pupils how to make musical patterns using insects as a base. Special thanks to all involved in making this a memorable occasion for our children.
Photographs can be seen in the website gallery.
Mrs Anderson
This week Reception have been using actions to rehearse a set of instructions and can now explain how to make an apple crumble. They used the apples which were picked from the apple tree in the school grounds.
Photographs can be seen in the gallery .. click here
Written by Mrs Wheatley
J Anderson
Reception children will be visiting Whickham Library on Thursday 14th October.
J Anderson
