Dear Parents/Carers,
Harvest Festival
Thank you to all those donated food and/or who attended our Harvest Festival on Wednesday, October 19th. Your kind donations have been given to the Alnwick Food Bank.
U11 Boys Football
On the 1st of November, Dr Thomlinson took an U11 Boys football team to Dukes Academy in Ashington, to play in the Stephen Tait Memorial Cup.
The teams were split into 3 mini leagues with the winners progressing to the finals.
Our first match was against Bede – the match was a close affair with some outstanding play from the Dr Thomlinson defence. Bede narrowly edged the game with a goal seconds before the final whistle.
Next up was NCEA Bishops, one of the strongest teams. The Bishops scored quickly and looked like they might run away with the game; however Dr TThomlinson’s rallied and recovered their composure – pushing for an equaliser and working the Bishop’s goalkeeper hard. The match ended 1-0 to Bishops but was a close affair.
The third match was against St Pauls from Cramlington. Dr Thomlinson dominated the match from the beginning and played some really good football. The match ended 2-0 to Dr Thomlinson but the score could have been greater had St Paul’s goalkeeper not pulled off some fantastic saves.
The final match saw Dr Thomlinson play St Aidans – the match was very close and both teams had chances to score early on. It was St Aidans who finally took their chance with a fantastic strike just before the whistle.
Well done to all boys who took part.
Thank you to Mr Pickup for writing this report
Yr 6 Rugby League World Cup Tag Rugby Festival
Well done to the Year 6 pupils who took part in the Rugby League World Cup Festival at Kingston Park on October 14th.
Our two teams won two games; drew two games and lost two games. Well done to Nick; Ben; Emme; Florence; Maise; River; Josh; Lucy; Charlotte; Matthew; Liam and Thomas for scoring tries in the competition.
I hope you are watching the Rugby League World Cup at the moment. Tomorrow England Men play Papua New Guinea in the quarter finals.
Further East Northumberland Football Trial Success
Many notable footballers have begun their careers by playing for East Northumberland, most famously the Charlton brothers. So we are very pleased Toby in Year 7 has joined Emily in Year 8 in being selected for his respective County age group team.
Reading
Reading is a priority at our school and thank you to all those pupils who took part in our Book Fair every lunchtime this week.
I hope you have a restful weekend.
Take care,
Liam Murtagh
Dear Parents/Carers,
Well done to our Girls Football Teams
With England’s European Championship victory still fresh in our memories (as well as England’s impressive victory over the USA a week ago), it was great to see our Under 11 and Under 13 Girls Football teams enjoy their first competitive fixtures of the season. On Tuesday our Under 11 team played Newminster and Chantry with a goal by India meaning the team finished with a gutsy draw and a glorious defeat.
Our Under 13 team lost narrowly to both the Duchess and Newminster, yet the game against Duchess saw a fantastic long range goal by Emily in Year 8.
Well done to Gracie-Mae; Layla; Emily and Maisie for earning player of the match awards.
East Northumberland Football Trial Success
Many notable footballers have begun their careers by playing for East Northumberland, most famously the Charlton brothers. So we are very pleased that Emily in Year 8 has been chosen for this year’s East Northumberland Under 13 Girls team. Well done Emily.
Lindisfarne Gospels
On Tuesday the whole school took part in an Art project inspired by the Lindisfarne Gospels. Created on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, the Lindisfarne Gospels represent the golden age of design and craftsmanship in Northumbria and have survived in almost perfect condition for over one thousand years. Currently on exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle until December 3rd, children looked at the questions of “What are Gospels?” and “Why are the Lindisfarne Gospels so significant?” before then helping create an image for display during Advent inspired by Mary Fleeson, a contemporary artist who lives on Holy island.
Year 5 visit All Saints Church
On Thursday and Friday our Year 5 children visited All Saints Church, Rothbury. Our Year 5s spent some time investigating Church vocabulary such as Altar; Pulpit; Credence Table and Chancel Screen. The session will further support the children’s work in Religious Education.
Would you like your child to be confirmed?
This year our confirmation service will be led by The Right Reverend The Lord Sentamu in All Saints Church, Rothbury. The 10.30am service will be held on December 4th 2022. This is an opportunity for people to have their Baptismal promises confirmed for themselves. The confirmed become full members of the Church of England and can receive Holy Communion in Anglican Churches worldwide. Pupils from Dr. Thomlinson’s Church of England School may seek confirmation from the age of 10 years (or nearly 10). Preparation will take place in School over lunchtime – there will be 4 sessions beginning at the end of October and each weekly session will last around 35 minutes. There will also be a rehearsal in All Saints on Friday 2nd December.
Harvest Festival
Our Harvest Festival is taking place on Wednesday, October 19th starting at 3pm. Parents and carers are very welcome to attend.
We are collecting donations of tinned food for the Alnwick Food Bank.
TOP Awards
Each week we awarded Thomlinson Outstanding Pupil Awards to pupils who have exemplified the week’s core value
w/c 10.10.22 – Service
5T Mia
5H Stanley
6O Leon
6M Callum
7I Eva
7L Max
8N Toby
8S Anna
w/c 3.10.22 – Creation
5T Ben
5H Edward
6O Ava
6M Khrystyna
7I Kayden
7L Lucy
8N Millie
8S Anna
w/c 26.9.22 – Justice
5T Annabelle
5H Louie
6O Oliver
6M Rosie
7I Amber
7L Dillan
8N Martha
8S Will
Well done to all of these award winners.
I hope you have a good weekend.
Take care,
Liam
Dear Parents/Carers,
Thank you to everyone who helped out at our Open evening
Thank you to everyone who helped out at our Open Evening on Thursday, 29th September. The best thing about our school are our children and all those children who gave up their time to make the evening such a memorable event did really, really well. I include a sample of the feedback below. All the people who attended thought our tour guides did a great job.
“We both found the event informative with a feel of the whole school working together in collaboration to make it a success,all sharing knowledge and experience that came across clearly and with sincerity.”
“We were really impressed with the school, staff and students.”
“The school was so inviting, the pupils were fantastic, totally didn’t expect food!
It truly looks like the most wonderful place to learn.”
Year Five Pupil Welfare Day
On October 4th we had a virtual Year 5 pupil day. A chance for parents/carers to make a ten minute appointment to speak to their child’s form tutor about their child. Thanks to all those who made appointments. We have similar days planned for Year 6; Year 7 and Year 8. These will be in addition with our face-to-face parent evenings that are scheduled for Spring 2023.
Dr Thomlinson battle bravely
Dr Thomlinson battled bravely against The Duchess School in the first KS3 Boys Football fixture of the season. Although defeated, they never let their heads drop and Will in Yr 8 and Toby in Yr 7 played very well.
Dr Thomlinson welcomed the Kakatsitsi Master Drummers
On Friday October 7th Dr Thomlinson welcomed the Kakatsitsi Master Drummers. They are a group of traditional drummers, dancers and singers from Ghana. Their music rearranges traditional rhythms and chants from a variety of Ghanaian tribes in a ‘neo-traditional’ and accessible way.
The group have toured the UK 15 times, including high profile performances at WOMAD, Glastonbury and many other festivals and venues. In school they gave a performance to the whole school as well as leading drumming workshops for all year groups.
Northumberland Family Hubs
Northumberland’s Children’s Centres are relaunching as Family
Hubs on September 26 2022, giving young people of all ages the best start in life. Family Hubs will build on lessons learned during the pandemic and will offer outreach, online and virtual services too, so that support can be as accessible for everyone in the right way, and the right place, at the right time. For more information click on this link
Have a good weekend.
Take care,
Liam Murtagh – Headteacher
Autumn 2022 Club Timetable
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope this email finds you well. We have had a very busy and productive start to our new school year.
Open Evening – 29th September, 2022
The evening of September 29th saw our annual open evening. More than 50 children gave up their evening to help run the event. The best thing about our school are our pupils and they all did so much to make the evening a memorable one. Thanks for all their help.
Macmillan Coffee Morning
The morning of September 30th saw our annual Macmillan Coffee Morning for parents who are new to the school. Mrs Ryan and I really enjoyed this opportunity to have a chat with the parents/carers who attended. Thank you very much to all the parents/carers who contributed cake to this event.
House Captain Elections
On September 23rd our school elected our Year 8 House Captains. The election followed a week-long period of campaigning in which prospective candidates wrote a letter of application and gave a formal speech in front of the whole school. All the candidates gave an excellent account of themselves and should be hugely congratulated for their efforts.
The successful candidates were:
Aidan House
Michael & Ben
Bede House
Will & Martha
Cuthbert House
Nieva & Jacob
Northumberland Youth Elections
If you are aged between 11 and 18 then you are able to stand in the Northumberland Youth Elections for positions in the Northumberland Youth Parliament or Youth Cabinet. You can apply to take part in the elections until December 2nd, 2022. To do please use this link.
Year 5 Welfare Meeting – Tuesday 4 October 2022
Just a reminder that on Tuesday 4th October we are are holding a Virtual Parents’ Meeting between 9.00 am – 3.30 pm. This will be in addition to our normal Parents Evenings. The Year 5 meeting will be repeated for all Year groups later in the academic year.
We will hold these welfare meetings via video conferencing similar to Zoom/Google Meet. Please visit www.drthomlinson.schoolcloud.
Financial well being help & resources
Please find resources below to help with Financial Well Being
This article explains everything you need to know about the government’s energy support available to all households and how this will be rolled-out.
British Gas Energy Trust – Independent advice and support – British Gas
British Gas Energy Trust is an independent charitable trust that has been set up to support families in the UK who may be struggling, regardless of who supplies your energy. The Trust has put together a Bounce Back Checklist that provides over 220 links to take you straight to the free help and support that you might need. This covers topics such as Cost of living help, help towards paying for a funeral, food banks, childcare/school costs, water bill costs and much more.
Turn2us is a national charity that provides practical help to people that are struggling financially. Their website offers a range of information and resources, including grants that could help people on low incomes, or those that are struggling with finances due to an illness or disability.
Help for Households – Get government cost of living support
Help for Households is a specific page set up on www.gov.uk to help people easily find the support they need regarding the cost of living. This page also includes links on help with transport costs, help finding work and discounts and offers available through businesses.
Mental Health & Money Advice can offer free, independent and confidential advice and support for money and mental health issues. There is a section, with interactive tools to help with budget planning, savings calculator, and debt health check.
TOP Awards
Each week our Form Tutors award Thomlinson Outstanding Pupil Awards for the pupils in their Form Classes who have best epitomised the core value of the week.
w/c 26.9.22 – Justice
5T Annabelle
5H Louie
6O Oliver
6M Rosie
7I Amber
7L Dillan
8N Martha
8S Will
w/c 19.9.22 – Peace
5T Imogen
5H Anna
6O Abbi
6M Hannah
7I Alfie
7L Flynn
8N Dexter
8S Chloe
w/c 12.9.22 – Endurance
5T Amelie
5H Niamh
6O Tyler
6M River
7I Emma
7L Flynn
8N Imogen
8S Leonid
w/c 5.9.22 – Compassion
5T Finn
5H Isabella
6O Thomas
6M Libby
7I Max
7L Gabriel
8N Maisie
8S Freya
Well done to all of these award winners!
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Liam Murtagh – Headteacher
The school is seeking to appoint a school cleaner to work independently and as part of the school cleaning team.
Apply now at: https://www.the3rivers.net/work-for-us
Dear Parents / Carers,
I enclose the OFSTED report detailing the inspection that was carried out on 5th & 6th July, 2022. We are very pleased that the report shows that Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle School continues to be a good school.
I recommend you read the report. The report is a concise document which helpfully highlights many positive aspects of our school as well as an area in which we can further improve.
Thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to carrying on our journey together in a partnership that will look to provide an excellent education to all our learners in order to enable them to achieve their full potential.
Yours sincerely,
Liam Murtagh – Headteacher
