Thank you to everyone who sent in donations for the refugees from Ukraine. These have now been taken to All Saint’s Church, Rothbury.
Dr Thomlinson’s are supporting the local collection of items to support refugees from Ukraine in Poland. All items will be taken to All Saint’s Church, Rothbury.
We are looking for donations of:
Personal hygiene items, such as deoderant, soap, shower gel, shampoo, hair conditioner, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, face or hand cream.
Items for children, such as colouring books, crayons, small puzzles, soft toys.
Food items, such as sweets, baby food, packet food, canned food, paper towels, cutlery, disposable plates.
Other items, such as sleeping bags, mats, blankets, powerbanks, batteries, torches, new items of clothing.
Dear Parents & Carers,
I hope this email finds you well. It has been a productive week at Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School.
Trip to Barter Books
On Tuesday a group of keen readers led by a number of pupil school librarians went on a trip to Barter Books to restock our 50 Book Reading Challenge (a reading challenge that our Year 8s take part in). Mrs Lamont said that she was really impressed with the attitude of all the children who went on the trip. I was especially pleased as I was presented – on the trip’s return – with a hardback copy of The Sea by John Banville (my current favourite author) that the children had found during their trip.
Youth Parliament Elections
Children at Dr Thomlinson Middle School took part in the Northumberland Youth Elections on Thursday, 17th February. The children voted for candidates for both the Youth Northumberland Parliament and the Youth Northumberland Cabinet. A huge thank you to our School House Captains who organised the whole process at our school. They were very helpful and the voting was completed very successfully. It was great to see so many of our children involved in this important democratic process.
30 Lucky Children win a free book
Courtesy of Vision Education we had 30 copies to give away of the excellent book: “You are a champion – how to be the best you can be” by Marcus Rashford. We conducted a prize draw during Celebration Worship and 30 pupils drawn from the hat won a copy of this highly recommended book.
World Book Day News
Thursday, March 3rd is World Book Day and Mrs Watson updates on our school activities below:
World Book Day celebrations are beginning straight after half term. Although the actual day is Thursday 3 March, we are starting early! Firstly, we have four competitions that the children can choose from and complete over half-term if they wish:
-
Decorate a potato as your favourite character from literature.
-
Paint a stone illustrating your favourite book cover.
We have had some wonderful entries in the past and it has become something of a Dr T’s tradition!
-
Take a photo of a parent/relative reading their favourite book in an unusual position/place.
-
Write a book review of your favourite book.
There will be prizes for the best potatoes, stones, reviews and photos. The closing date for all entries is Thursday 3 March.
We know that some students enjoy to dress up or face paint as a favourite character. It will be lovely to see you in role on the day, but please do not feel the need to spend money on expensive costumes- be creative with your disguise! There will be prizes for this too. Also, every child will receive a £1 voucher to exchange for a special WBD book, or money off a book of their choice from participating shops.
Author Events
There are other various activities planned for celebrating World Book Day. One event we are especially looking forward to is acclaimed author, Emma Carroll, dropping in for a ‘virtual visit’ on Wednesday, 2 March. We were lucky enough to scoop this opportunity when we signed up to complete a whole school Readathon in the summer term.
We are expanding our School Library
Other exciting news is that we have increased the number and range of books in the Library, both fiction and non-fiction. All pupils are now visiting the School Library in their tutor groups at least once per month, and of course, it is open every lunchtime for all.
Hopefully there is something here for everyone, including parents!
Thank you to Mrs Watson and everyone at our school – adults and children alike who do so much to further develop our strong culture of reading.
TOP Award Winners for Week beginning 14th February
The theme for this week was Creation
5T – Violet
5H Hannah
6O Lily & Poppie
6M – Jessica
7I – Michael
7L – Toby
8N – Alexander
8S – George
P&Q Winner Week beginning 14th February – Emily in Yr 6
Well done to these award winners
I hope you have a good weekend and a restful half term. We look forward to seeing all our pupils back at school on Monday, 28th February.
Take care,
Liam Murtagh – Headteacher
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope this email finds you well.
This week we have celebrated Children’s Mental Health Week. The theme for this year is “Growing Together” and the theme recognises that we are always growing, both physically and emotionally and that part of this growth can involve times when we encounter difficulties or failure. To help support our children in their growth we have looked at “Growth Stories”. These stories (found via this link) show that Human beings change and grow – we do it all the time and in many ways. Emotional growth is often a gradual process that happens over time, and sometimes we might feel a bit ‘stuck’. At these times, we are reminded of how much we need others in our lives to help us to keep growing.
In exclusive interviews with presenter and Place2Be Ambassador Josh Smith, familiar faces from the world of TV, music and sport have shared their stories of emotional growth with us.
These videos can be used in class, or at home with your child, to help start a conversation about growth and the different challenges we may face.
We have also looked at the importance of kindness in supporting well being. “Kindness is a silent smile. A friendly word. A nod of encouragement. Kindness is the single most powerful thing we can teach others”. Therefore everyday this week we have looked at the importance of remembering that acts of kindness can have such a positive impact.. Just always saying hello to other people or always being ready to smile or nod a greeting is being kind. These small gestures are not huge things that will take up time in our day but they are things that make a real difference to how other people feel.
Prayer for Children’s Mental Health Week
Dear Lord,
Everyone is going through their own struggles. Help us to recognise that everyone around is growing both physically and metally. People around us will sometimes be worried and sad; people around us will sometimes be scared and feel vulnerable. Let us all realise that we can best help people; we can best grow together; we can best help people flourish by being kind, friendly and respectful with each other throughout our school day.
Amen
TOP Award Winners for Week beginning 7th February
The theme for this week was Trust
5T – Abi
5H Nicholas
6O Eva
6M – T-Jay
7I – Sarah
7L – Lily
8N – Lucy
8S – Skye
P&Q Winner Week beginning 31st January – Emily in Yr 7
P&Q Winner Week beginning 7th February – George in Yr 8
Well done to these award winners.
Take care,
Liam Murtagh – Headteacher
Dear Parents/Carers,
It has been a productive week at Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School.
Road Safety
On 24th January Year 8 watched a drama performed by the Theatre Company called “Riot Act”. The drama was educating children on Road Safety. The play was very well received by our children.
It is important to remember that children of all ages are at risk of being hurt or killed when walking near roads. It is a sobering fact that, on average, six children are killed or seriously injured on UK roads every day. Please take some time over the weekend to remind your children of the importance of remembering and practising road safety.
Children’s Mental Health Week
Children’s Mental Health Week is taking place on 7-13 February 2022. This year’s theme is Growing Together.
During this week children are being asked to consider how they have grown, and how they can help others to grow.
The week is organised by the Place2Be Further information and help can be found at https://www.place2be.org.uk/
Year 6 study the Victorians
Our Year 6 children really enjoyed the visit of “That History Bloke” on Monday January 31st. The subject was the Victorians.
Top Award Winners for the Week beginning January 28th.
Our core value for this week was Wisdom
5T Gabrielle
5H Darcy
6O Elsie
6M Harry
7I Alice
7L Libby
8N Noah
8S Eli
TOP Award winners for the week beginning January 31st were not available at the time of writing this email. These winners will be published next week.
Our P&Q Winner this week was Emily in Year 7. Laney in Year 7 won last week’s P&Q award.
Congratulations to all our award winners.
I hope you have a good weekend.
Take care,
Liam Murtagh – Headteacher
Pupils enjoyed a multi-cultural lunch today to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
