Music Partnership North are pleased to be able to extend the offer of online music lessons to the end of term. Now is the perfect opportunity for your child to learn an instrument. By booking a block of 5 lessons they have a chance to try an instrument before committing to a whole term. We also have a limited number of violins, flutes, clarinets, saxophones and assorted brass instruments available for hire at no charge if your child is having online lessons.

You can choose between:

5 x 20-minute lessons = £60

5 x 30-minute lessons = £87.50

Lessons are subject to availability so please click here to register for online lessons this term On the registration page you will need to choose the ‘Centre’ option and then MPN ONLINE from the dropdown box.

No payment is required at this stage. You will receive an invoice once lessons are arranged. However, before lessons can start we will need you to sign and return the consent form that you download when registering. If you have already returned a consent form for ensemble membership you will not need to do this again, just let us know.

If you have any queries about online lessons or would like more information on which instrument to choose, please contact: [email protected]

If you need help with the cost of lessons, you may wish to visit: mpncharity.com

I hope you and your families are well. I would like to share with you further information issued by the Department for Education (DfE) this week about the current and future provision of education during this phase of the pandemic.

The letter, from Mr Simon Taylor, can be read in full here.

Dear Parent/Carer,

Due to Coronavirus our annual Christmas Cake competition and Coffee Morning could not take place so Year 8 pupils made Yule Logs instead.

Our winners were:

First place – William

Second Place: Felix 

Third Place: Lily 

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope this message finds you well.  We have had a busy week at Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School.

Design a star at Christmas and donate money to the Alnwick Food Bank

The Wise Men travelled following a star. We have each put our Christmas wishes on a star that will be displayed in All Saints Church. There is a picture of a selection of these above. These stars – designed by our children –  have been collected by Canon Sinclair and will be soon on display wishing Happy Christmas to our whole community.  We are encouraging children to make a £1 donation to the Alnwick Food Bank for the star they have designed.  The stars are what the school are doing this year instead of giving each other Christmas Cards.  If you wish to contribute to this worthwhile cause and give the suggested donation of £1 to the Alnwick Food Bank then please use this link.

Donate shoes to school to help reflect on a difficult year

This year we have really benefited from the Prayer Spaces at Advent resource developed by Prayer Spaces in School.  Next week we are asking staff and children to bring in a pair of shoes they no longer need to display in the foyer.  The shoes will represent both the journey made by the Three Kings to Bethlehem and also the Journey each of us have made through this very difficult year. It is not known exactly where the wise men travelled from.  Some think a place near Babylon in what was then the Partian Empire – which is approx 1300 kilometres from Bethlehem – a journey that would have taken about 50 days.  To mark this journey and mark the journey each of us made please bring in a pair of shoes that you no longer need, leave them in our foyer next week.  At the end of the week the shoes will be donated to Charity.

Arrangements for next week

Please remember that school is now finishing for children on Thursday 17th December, 2020 at 3:30pm.  School will reconvene on Tuesday 5th January, 2021.

We have Christmas Dinner Day and Christmas Jumper Day on Wednesday, 16th  December, 2020.  Please bring in suggested £1 donation if children are wearing a Christmas Jumper.

Maths Help

Craig Barton is a Maths Specialist who has developed a website used by many teachers looking at common maths mistakes and misconceptions to support teaching and learning.  He is offering a free parent webinar and the focus is common mistakes students make in Years 6, 7 and 8 and how to help at home.

He will dive into the 200+ million answers on Diagnostic Questions to find the 5 most common mistakes made by students of each Year. For each mistake he will suggest some free resources and activities that parents can use with their children at home to help them better understand the concept.

The aim is to help parents feel better connected to school mathematics, and reduce the anxiety surrounding supporting their children.

Each webinar is completely free, and parents can reserve a spot here: https://eedi.com/webinars

 The dates of the webinars are:

• Year 6 parents: Jan 7th at 8pm

• Year 7 parents: Jan 14th at 8pm

• Year 8 parents: Jan 21st at 8pm

We hope you find this useful should you choose to join the webinars.

TOP Awards for Week beginning 7th December, 2020

The following pupils have won our TOP Award for best exemplifying our core value of Justice

Well done to all of these award winners.

I hope you have a restful weekend.

Take care,

Liam