The Year 5/6 Winlaton West Lane Tag Rugby Team had a fantastic afternoon playing a "friendly" tournament against another local school Parkhead Primary School!

Our sincere thanks to all the parents and staff who supported the pupils at this event and to Winlaton RFC for allowing us to use their club facilities.
Also, a huge thankyou to the referees / coaches and The "Little Warriors" ARLFC club

Please check out our REALLY FUNNY photostory of the event - you may recognise some familiar faces!

Click on the link below to continue!

finished photostory to upload to website and ready for viewing.wmv

From Wednesday 19 - Sunday 30 October - 'Juice', NewcastleGateshead's award‐winning festival for children and young people is back this October half term with a fantastic programme of events, workshops and special opportunities for children and young people of all ages. Juice Festival will take place from Wednesday 19 - Sunday 30 October. The full programme is available at www.juicefestival.co.uk.

Live Theatre presents First Draft as part of Juice Festival, Thursday 20 - Saturday 22 October. Enter the imaginations of 9 and 10 year olds from across Tyne & Wear as six stories are transformed from doodles into short plays performed by a team of professional actors. See www.juicefestival.co.uk

For families: FREE: Cbbc's Live 'n' Deadly show is coming to Gateshead next month as Saltwell Park plays host to one of the fantastic roadshows on Sunday 9 October. Fans of the show can get up close and personal with some amazing wildlife and have a go at some awesome adventure activities at this free ticketed event. To apply for free tickets visit bbc.co.uk/cbbc or call 0370 901 1227 by 2 October.

For under 5s: balletLORENT's Underneath the Floorboards is a magical dance show for under 5s, which is at Northern Stage 19 - 22 October. Workshop opportunities are also available. For further information please email amy@balletlorent.com or visit www.balletlorent.com.

For everyone: Something extraordinary is happening this November as LUMIERE returns to the beautiful medieval city of Durham. For four nights only, dozens of artists, lighting designers and community groups will bring a sprinkle of winter magic to the city with a breathtaking series of installations and projections that will illuminate Durham's buildings, streets and bridges. The festival takes place 17 - 20 November, visit http://www.lumieredurham.co.uk/

A big well done to all of the children, all of the parents, Mrs Exley and Mr. Inerdale for making sure the children enjoyed Sport's day (s) in the end, despite the weather. Thank you to everyone for your patience and cooperation.

The children had a great time racing against their friends and carefully balancing a potato on a spoon! Congratulations to those with 1st, 2nd and 3rd stickers and well done to everyone, because as Sarah Page says; 'It's the taking part that counts!'

Year 6 Prom 2010.wmv

We are able to offer the Opportunity to purchase a copy of the new Microsoft Office 2010 for your child at discount prices:
Microsoft Office 2010: The latest version of the office suite is available via www.software4students.co.uk for the discount price of £38.95. This is the Office Professional Plus package and represents good value for money as it normally retails at over £200.

Software4Students Poster_2009.pdf

Seeds Songs Jan - March 2011.pdf

Microsoft Word - Challenge yourself to a 5.pdf

C4LNewsletter_Feb2011_acc.pdf

Get Set is the official London 2012 education programme for schools, colleges and other education providers in the UK. Driven by an interactive website featuring a whole host of flexible resources for 3-19 year olds, Get Set will give children and young people across the UK the chance to learn about Olympic and Paralympic Values and play their part in the 2012 Games. For details of how you can get involved please see attachment.
Get_Set_2011.pdf

FREE Beginners' singing sessions at St. Peter's Church Hall, Ponteland, Tuesdays 6-8pm, starting 8 February and excluding half term. See attachment for details.
Singing.pdf

Avison Ensemble presents 'In celebration!', a children's concert and the final presentation of the Avison Ensemble's Young Musicians' Awards 2011 and a celebration of some of the best young musical talent in the North East. Tickets are FREE for Children, Under 18's, Students and Youth group/Schools leaders. Please see attachment for details.
The Avison Ensemble presents (2).pdf

Baltic has a range of FREE family activities. Come and help create a magical garden, make a miniature book to take away, and work with Baltic artists in a large scale half term activity. For details see
http://www.balticmill.com/whatsOn/activities/Kids.php

For ages 7+: Mission to Mars is at Northern Stage, Thursday 24 - Saturday 26 February, 10am and 2pm. Fun, fast paced and packed with emotion, Unlimited Theatre's new show is based on the real science of planned Mars missions. Join Stefan and Gail as they defy gravity and go further through the solar system than we've ever been before. Tickets at
http://www.northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/mission-to-mars

For under 5s: FREE: Come along to the Mouse House Gallery in The Great North Museum: Hancock for Saturday storytimes. Sessions include stories, songs and learning through play and take place every other Saturday at 10.30am and 11.30am. For dates, see;
http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/greatnorthmuseum/thingstoseeanddo/event/2011/02/12/saturday-storytimes-in-the-mouse-house-gallery/

Various venues in Gateshead are running events, workshops and activities for people of all ages. Work with an artist to make a cushion cover or a piece of unique jewellery (ages 16+), illustrate your own character for a cartoon strip or story (ages 8 - 12), enjoy a stage production of Oliver Jeffers' The Way Back Home (age 3+) and more. Further details can be found at; http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/

Click on movie below

December 9, 2010.wmv

Click Movie Below

October 12 , 2010.wmv

Year 5/6 treated parents, carers and relatives to a musical extravaganza this week. Everyone was a star as they sang and danced their hearts out. Their performances have apparently attracted the attentions of Simon Cowell, who is to take time out from his busy schedule to view a video of the performance. How many of our children will he launch into stardom?

However, rumours that he would headhunt Miss Hamill and Mr Gormley to choreograph and direct the next series of X Factor have disappointingly been proven false.

View some photos from the performance by clicking below.

Primary School Christmas Musical.wmv

On Monday 22nd November, a group of Eco Warriors from West Lane visited Gateshead CLC to design their very own Eco friendly school, in a competition hosted by Open City, the architecture education organisation.

The children were given a series of tasks to complete, using a wide range of computer programs, using designing, drawing and writing skills. So busy and engaged were they, they didn't even ask for a morning break!

Eco comp.wmv

The children were given a series of advice sheets to help them with their designs.

C5 - Light.pdf

D1 - Energy.pdf

D4 - Water.pdf

D3 - Waste.pdf

Reception went dotty, spotty and absolutely potty for Children in Need! The children made super Pudsey masks, put on crazy clothes, painted their faces and put their hair in mad styles and colours!
Well done everybody! Great effort and super fundraising for a great cause. Pudsey will be very proud of you all!

Children and staff were delighted to welcome Gillian Cross, the acclaimed children's author, to our school on Monday. Best known for the Demon Headmaster series which was also televised, Gillian held workshops with many of the children from Key Stage 2.

Using role play and simple props, like a scarf or a pair of glasses, Gillian stimulated discussion and some excellent writing. Examples of the children's writing will be added to the website over the next few days, so keep your eye out for them appearing.

Check out some other photos of the day:

Cross.wmv

On Friday 12th November, as part of our book celebrations, we had a fancy dress day, when children were encouraged to come dressed as a book character. How many can you recognise?

Fancy dress.wmv

Our latest book activity was to pair up classes across the school, with older children reading to younger children. This has always been a favourite activity of the children and this year was no exception. Everyone in the school took part, from Nursery to Year 6.

See some more images here:

Reading exchange 2010.wp3

All age groups met this morning to take part in the great West Lane book quiz.

Tensions were high as the competitive spirit of children (and staff) became apparent.

As the excitement rose, the quizmasters, Mr Gormley and Mrs Exley, made an excellent job of keeping the team captains under control.

Scores were close all the way through until, with the answer to the very last question, we had a winner - Alnwick!

Final scores were: Alnwick 34, Bamburgh 32, Chillingham 31, Durham 31

Thanks to everyone for a magnificent quiz.

Now have a try yourself.

Quiz questions.doc

To kick off our fortnight of book activities, children brought in a range of books to swap, which proved to be a popular idea for all age groups. There was a lot of serious haggling before those swaps were made! We will be sure to repeat this enjoyable activity.

On a dark and stormy night, a group of art club members ventured out on a visit to the Shipley Art Gallery.

Key Stage 2 held their Harvest celebration today, with contributions from all the classes.

Donations are being asked for the Seeds for Africa project, which funds the development of orchards and kitchen gardens to allow children to grow their own food. The school hopes to raise at least £250 for this worthy cause. Please return your envelopes by Friday 5th November.

Harvest 2010.wp3

34 children from across Key Stage 2 took part in this year's pilgrimage to Robinwood, near Alston. The weather was very kind this year, allowing the children to take part in the full range of activities available, although there were still plenty of opportunities to get muddy! Children and staff learned new skills and challenged their fears over the 3 days. The staff even learned how to cope without heating on the first night and Miss Hamill discovered the joys of the local wildlife!

Thanks to all the staff at Robinwood, particularly the night staff, for all their hard work, helping make the event a really enjoyable one for everyone involved.

Robinwood2010.wmv

As a treat for our regular cycle users in Key Stage 2, Mr Innerdale and Mr Gormley took a group of children for a spin along the Derwent Walk. 21 children cycled the route at various speeds but all had a great time.

A big thanks to Gaz Evans for helping us out on the day.

Bike Club will be starting again in spring 2011. In the meantime, remember to wear lots of bright clothing when cycling. And get those brakes checked!

BikeRideOct2010.wmv

On Saturday 10th July, the school cycle club went on a cycle ride from Newburn to Wylam, the second of our cycle rides this term. A total of 16 children from Key Stage 2 turned up for the ride, along with a number of brave parents. We stopped at Wylam for a picnic. The weather was great, not that anyone needed any excuse to enjoy an ice cream from the local shop.

Mr Innerdale and Mr Gormley would like to thank all those parents who attended as well as those who helped with lifts. They would also like to thank Alan Barlow from Bike It for his assistance and his vast toolkit!

Bike clubs for Year 5/6 and Year 3/4 will start again in September and, following the success of this term's bike rides, another bike ride will be arranged for all our club members.

Enjoy riding your bike this summer and remember to always wear your helmet.

Key Stage 2 children enjoyed a week of cycling activities last week. 35 children showed off their skills. There was a time trial event, also mountain biking, sprint and team races. There was also a cycling event during KS2 Sports Day. Here the children were able to demonstrate how they had tested their abilities and their bikes!

After the team races, times for the various events were added up. Following independent verification, Ryan Jones was declared the winner in the Y5/6 classification, with his brother Sam also proving the victor in Y3/4.

All times are posted up on the Tour de France noticeboard outside Room 9.

More photos can be found on the noticeboard.

Key stage 2 Sports Day on 8th July 2010 was a great success. All the children competed in their World Cup country teams and.......Argentina won!!!
This year (for the first time and thanks to significant "encouragement" by the pupils!!) there was a "Teacher Race"!! (Mrs Young took over the microphone for this of course)!

Mr Gormley won!

There was also a "Dad's Race" and a "Mum's Race"!!

Our thanks to all the parents and friends who attended and supported this event.
Also, thanks to all the staff for their hard work and running efforts (under the direction of Mr Innerdale of course!).

Take a look below at our fantastic storyboard of the day - you may find you are on here!
KS2 Sports Day photostory.wmv

Find out what we got up to with the 100% attendance pupils. Thank you to Hayes Travel for their generous sponsorship of this event.

Click on the file below

100% attendence_0001.wmv

Wow, what an afternoon we had! Mr. Innerdale and his helpers did an excellent job of organising a fantastic range of activities and races. We had glorious weather and loads of team spirit. Nursery children, Reception children, school staff AND parents/carers joined in! Miss Potts and Ross Whitfield were so speedy! Thank you to everyone for taking part and watching the children have a brilliant time.

The sun came out for us, and so did the people, and that resulted in a fantastic Summer Fayre on Wednesday 16th June.

There was a really good turn out from the community as a whole and the atmosphere was fantastic.

Issy photographed with the Mayor of Gateshead.

Year 5/6AT's class assembly was about France.

It was a great performance by the class in front of the school and parents.

They were brilliant!

Here are a few words from the children about their assembly

Unfortunately due to a lack of interest, this event has been cancelled.

Events.pdf
Events and opportunities.pdf
Family Gardening May 2010.pdf

Click on the files below to view them.

Annual Parents Conference.pdf
Are_you_a_parent[1].pdf
Flyer[1].pdf
Parents Conference Booking Form.pdf

Microsoft Word - Info Exchange.pdf

Microsoft Word - Poster for Easter 2010.pdf

The Lions of Zulu Land visited our school and we just loved watching their very energetic dances and listening to their wonderful songs during the one hour performance at the beginning of the day.

After the dancing, the 'Lions' came into all of our classrooms and taught us some of their dance moves,

South African songs

and about their language and culture.

At the end of the day, the whole school came back together again and we got the chance to demonstrate some of our new found skills.

What did you think about the Spring Term reward? Please leave your comments below.

Yesterday, 60 Key Stage 2 children tried their hand at making clippy mats from recycled material.

It was a tricky skill to master but some excellent artwork was produced.

Did you enjoy the clippy mat workshop? What skills did you learn? Share your 'comments' below.

Well done kS1 and KS2 children who performed on stage at the sage. The dance festival was a huge success and the children were fantsatic!!!

On Wednesday morning, the Music Workshop Team came to Winlaton West Lane Primary to play music and sing songs with Key Stage 2 about France.

We all enjoyed it and some children got the chance to play instruments and do other activities.

Take a look at the Photostory produced by Y5/6 children to find out more about what we got up to.

(sorry File not added yet)

Parents of low income families can apply for a grant to acquire a free home computer with free Internet connection for a year. There are a limited number of grants that parents may apply for. These will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Parents who think they are elegible (Free school meals, job-seekers allowance, income support etc.) can phone 0333 200 1004 for an application pack.

The new National Family Week 2010 website is now LIVE at www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk. Here you will find even more updates, information and resources to help you plan and prepare for The Week.

Make your Family Week Picnic a GIGANTIC occasion!

The National Family Week headquarters have come up with ideas to make your picnic even more fun. Why not produce a giant form of some type of picnic food? This will add a fun, quirky angle to your event and draw families along and could be a fundraising exercise with the money going to a local charity.

More Record-Breaking Fun in 2010
Join this year's Guinness World Record attempt for the largest three-legged race as part of the Family Week Sports Day.

Family Week Story Time

Following its success in 2009, the Wednesday of National Family Week (2nd June 2010) will once again be the Family Week Story Time. We are encouraging storytelling in all its forms - any story, any time, anywhere!

New supporting partners

Monday 31st May
Family Week Picnic
On the Bank Holiday Monday families across the country will be enjoying fresh air and good food. There will be 9 flagship Family Week Picnics and up to a thousand smaller events run by not-for-profit partners.

Tuesday 1st June
Family Week Film Day
A national celebration of film, encouraging families to watch a film together either at the cinema or at home. Why not host a screening of your own?

Wednesday 2nd June
Family Week Story Time
We'll be encouraging families to share a story, anytime, any place, anyhow! It's a great opportunity to showcase storytelling events in a variety of formats, throughout the day.

Thursday 3rd June
Family Week Road Trip
Families will be encouraged to get out and see the UK. To explore and experience just some of the things that makes this country so special. Tourist attractions and beauty spots can open up their doors offering free entry and a range of activities to create a fun day out for all the family.

Friday 4th June
Family Week House Party
Thousands of families will be holding a house party on the Friday of National Family Week. As an organisation why not organise a party too? It can be as big or as small as you like. The theme could tie in with a celebration that is already happening or just be used as an excuse to have a party.

Saturday 5th June
Family Week Sports Day
There will be 9 flagship Family Week Sports Days as well as thousands of smaller sports days happening across the country, encouraging families to get out and active. Why not host a sports day of your own?

As it is Online Safety week next week, Gateshead CLC are running a parents information session for KS1/KS2 pupils.

The session aims to inform parents of the dangers of using the internet and how they can protect their child.

The session only lasts an hour and will run from 5pm to 6pm.

To find out more or to book a place please contact Janine Brookes at Gateshead CLC Tel (0191) 460 2900. Fax (0191) 460 2900. E-Mail: jbrookes@ictgateshead.org

Last week Year 5/6 visited the Great North Museum as part of their topic work.

Rachel Atkinson and Amanda Tweedy came in to share with the children of Winlaton West Lane, the fantastic work that this charity has done to raise money for children's hospitals in the North East. The children and staff of Winlaton West Lane were presented with a baton to inspire us to think of fun and silly ways we could raise money for this valuable charity.
Amanda Tweedy is a reception Mum and made her son Nathan very happy indeed when she came in to Reception to host a poster competition with Rachel. Any ideas for fundraising activities will be warmly welcomed!

Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile
Sunday 21 March, Saltwell Park from 10.30 hours

The Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile is taking place in Gateshead's Saltwell Park on Sunday 21st March 2010 and is set to be another huge event.

Milers from both sides of the Tyne will be able to come together and rise to the challenge whilst taking in the surroundings of this beautiful Victorian park.
How far you go at the Gateshead Mile is up to you. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or just fancy a fun day out, there's a challenge to suit you.
Choose between 1, 3 or 6 Miles, and bring your friends and family along to join in the fun.
Don't miss out, enter the Gateshead Mile now at www.sportrelief.com or call 0300 123 5070!
www.sportrelief.com

For further information please contact Sport Relief 0300 123 5070

We would like to participate in the second Really Good School Dinner appeal this year.
10p is enough to buy a school meal in the World Food Programme's Appeal and helps to guarantee an education for some of the poorest children in the world. Without this help, many children have to stay at home and work to feed themselves.

As the world's largest humanitarian aid agency, the World Food Programme provides school meals for 22 million children in some 70 countries. It relies entirely on donations to continue its vital work.
Can you spare 10p each day to help feed a child in another part of the world ? 50p will feed a child for a week, only £2.00 to feed a child for a month. Please will you send your donations into school from Monday, 1st February 2010 to Friday, 5th February 2010 inclusive in an envelope marked 'The Really Good School Dinner'. Thank you.
Please follow the link to see if West Lane can fill the virtual dining room with the school lunches that we are able to purchase.

http://www.getreal.uk.com/really-good-school-dinner.html

Thank you

A great opporunity for Super Dads to be involved in activities with their children for seven weeks on a Saturday morning in Gateshead. The start date is Saturday, 13th February 2010. Please see the attached document for further details.

Superdad Flyer actual.doc

If you as a family enjoy drama activities you might be interested in this family drama learning opportunity at Beamish during February half term.

family drama a5.doc

Christmas cards are not just for Christmas thanks to recycling boxes at all libraries, the Civic Centre main reception plus receptions at Shearlegs Road and Park Road. Cards can be recycled until end of January and will be donated to the Woodlands Trust. As well as cards the Civic Centre (only) will also take batteries. Marks and Spencer's, WH Smiths and TK Maxx will all have recycling points in store across Gateshead and the North East.
Keep on recycling.
Thank you

There is a forthcoming Kids n Cash course beginning at the Blaydon Winlaton Children's Centre. Please would you contact the Cetnre directly to book yourself a place on the course. Thank you for your help with this matter.

School will be open as usual travel conditions permitting on Friday, 8th January 2010. If possible, it would be really helpful if children could have a change of footwear with their wellingtons. Thank you for your help.

Please note unless there is a heavy downpour of snow tonight then school will be open as normal on Friday, 8th January 2010. A text message will be sent to you to confirm the course of action we take in the morning.

Thank you for your understanding during these difficult weather conditions.

6th January 2010. School Closed due to adverse weather conditions.

We hope the children enjoy 'snow' work!

On 21st October, Year 5/6 took part in the Park Life event at the Dryden Centre.

It was organised by Gateshead Education Business Links Service as a way to introducing the children to the outcomes of Every Child Matters, the principles of enterprise learning, personal thinking and learning skills.

Take a look at the photostory of the event, to see some of the things the children got up to at the event.

Park Life event 2009.wmv

Well done to everyone who came into school wearing something spotty on Friday 20th November. You helped to raise £263.87 for Children in Need.

Every year our school does something for Children in Need. This year we are dressing up in spotty clothing. The money goes to children everywhere who need help for all different reasons. Watch out for photos and more info coming soon.

As part of our book week activities, KS2 children visited the nursery, reception and the KS1 classes to share some reading time.

Class reading exchange.wmv

We hope you will feel able to use the menu for reference purposes to book your child's school meal from November 2nd onwards.
You are welcome to come into school to sample the meals at any time. Please telephone the school office to book a lunch time appointment.
Thank you
School meals A1 poster Sept 20091.pdf

In June this year, Y5/6PG were extremely pleased to welcome their French pen pals from Baho, near Perpignan, in the south east of France. We had a varied and enjoyable few days of activities and made some very good friends.

Click on the link below to see a series of photos of the visit (may take a little while to upload).

Y5/6PG are hoping to make a return visit to Baho in May 2010.

French visit.wmv

Breakfast and biking seem to go well together!

Bike it breakfast.wmv

Christmas Lunch this year is on Thursday 10th December. See attached flier.Xmas Dinner.doc

Every year Film Education organises a nationwide film festival called National Schools Film Week. It is the biggest event of its kind in the World with 400,000 children watching over 200 films at 2,300 screenings in 560 locations throughout the UK!

As Year 5/6 is currently focusing on film based narratives, we took the opportunity to take part in this festival. Year 5/6 visited the Odeon cinema where they watched Bolt and Bridge to Terabithia.

Everyone really enjoyed both films and they provided plenty of discussion and opportunities for follow up work. It also highlighted just how much can be gained from being together and having fun outside of the classroom setting.

Between 14th-16th October, Winlaton West Lane made their annual trip to Robinwood Activity Centre, just outside Alston in Cumbria. The children were very excited, since they had heard such wonderful reports about it from previous year groups, and they were not disappointed.

Robinwood photostory.wmv

Last Wednesday, 6th October, parents and children from West Lane cycled to school to take part in the the "bling your bike and have a breakfast" initiative. Over 20 children came to school with their bikes decorated in a variety of imaginative ways to make them more visible now the nights are drawing in.They then had a delicious breakfast provided by Alan Barlow our "Bike it" representative. Alan then had the difficult task of choosing the most brilliantly blinged bike. He eventually chose Liam Jobling and Connor McDonald. So congratulations boys, but also well done to everyone who turned up .

All the hard work put in by Year 6 pupils and staff finally paid off yesterday when Year 6 entertained family and friends with their end of year production called School Daze.

To round off our science work, today we took part in the Great Plant Hunt at Sunderland Musuem and Winter Garden.

Sunny skies ensured we all had fun at our annual Summer Fayre.

This half term Year 5/6AT worked with Claire Sotow to create cushions for everyone to use in the outdoor classroom.

Last night the red carpet was laid out for pupils at Winlaton West Lane as they arrived in style in a fleet of limos for the Y6 Prom.

The school entrance and upper school hall were given a Hollywood makeover for the Oscars themed bash.

The children looked fantastic in their beautiful gowns and formal suits and wouldn't have looked out of place at any star-studded Hollywood event.

Check out the photostory of the nights events.
Year 6 Prom 2009.wmv

Earlier this term, West Lane's rugby team won the "Wooden Spoon " tag rugby event at The Newcastle Falcon's rugby ground. As a rerward for their success they qualified to play during the half time interval of the Newcastle versus Bath Guiness Premiership match at Kingston Park. Although we lost [as did the Falcon's!] it was a great experience to play on the same pitch as the professionals in front of several thousand spectators! For a more detailed account of the day written by team members, see extended entry.

We hope our pupils will be able to take advantage of the free swimming in Gateshead. Please see the further information attached. Download file

A range of different characters were made in this year's competitions.

The standard of decorating continues to be very high and the judging ever more difficult.

Yesterday Jimmy the ExpoChef visited Winlaton West Lane.

Jimmy provided a morning of cookery demonstrations which aimed at giving the children the confidence to cook with healthy food.

Most children got the opportunity to try new and unusual foods and at the end of the workshop, each child was provided with a recipe booklet with ideas on how to create simple, nutritious meals and snacks.

As you can see from the photographs, West Lane pupils had great fun today in the snow & they all have their fingers crossed for more snow tomorrow.

On Friday 14th November, the school entered into the spirit of the day and non-uniform and hats were worn by both teachers and pupils!

As you can see, there was an amazing range of hats - which one do you like best?

With a crash of drums and a flash of light Joseph and the rest of the cast entertained parents and staff alike at the Year 6 leavers' assembly.

This year West Lane decided to slightly change the format of our Sports Day. Inspired by the fact that 2008 is an Olympic year, we decided to split the children into 6 countries U.S.A, Russia, Brazil, Australia and of course China and Great Britain.
We also split the sports days into key stage 1 and 2, with the carousel events in the morning being slightly more Olympic orientated [ie more traditional field events]. The afternoon’s competitive events were well supported by parents and culminated in the exciting finals of the relay and long-distance runs. In addition the Friends of West Lane provided refreshments and raised some money for the school. Everybody appeared to have a great time as the weather stayed fine and the school is very grateful to everyone who helped in whatever way they could.
After everyone's score was totalled up the overall winners by a very narrow margin were the Samba sportsman from Brazil. For a full set of results see extended link.

A big thank you to all the parents and pupils who supported Year 5/6 at the Leavers' Fayre and throughout Kidz n Biz week.

Today Y5/6 received an unexpected visit from the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Paul and Lenny from the local Fire Service took time out of their busy schedule to give a talk about fire safety. Amongst other things they discussed the triangle of fire and ran through the procedures for staying safe in the event of a fire.

Below are some of the comments that Y5/6 made about what they had learnt during this talk.

Click to view pupils comments about the fire safety talk

We just love to dress up as our favourite book characters. Do you recognise any of the characters?

Winlaton West Lane are planning to hold a 'French Week' during the week beginning 31st March 2008. Children will have a chance to find out more about France, taste French food, sing French songs and play games from France. This is only a small selection of the exciting activities the children will have an opportunity to experience.

Watch this space!

The first Friday of each month in our school is know as 'Penny Friday'. This is an opportunity for classes to total up the loose change that they have collected in their collection boxes in their classroom. The class with the greatest amount of money on Penny Friday earns for themselves an extra play time at a time of their class teacher's choosing.