News

Summer 2009

Children from Reeth and Gunnerside Schools gathered at Gunnerside Methodist Church for a special service to celebrate the 155th anniversary of Gunnerside school. Children contributed to the service by thanking Rev Jane for all the hard work she has done during her time in Swaledale. We also welcomed our new headteacher, Linda Cork.

Summer 2009

Just before the half-term break we assembled at the Reeth and Gunnerside sites, using our video-conferencing link, to say a heartfelt thanks to outgoing acting headteacher Mrs Bastow and class teachers Mrs Scully and Mrs Strong for all their extra work in steering us through the transition period before Mrs Cork's appointment. School governors Mr Stones and Mr Hill attended our presentation of flowers and cards as a further token of our community's appreciation of the terrific job done by Mrs Bastow and staff at this time. We are sure as parents and carers of children at our schools you will all echo this sincere vote of thanks.

Summer 2009

Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 had a great time when they took part in a fun run at Catterick as part of the School Sports Partnership. Over 400 FS/KS1 children gathered together for the fun run, the first such Richmond cluster event.

Children from Reeth and Gunnerside spent a sunny morning taking part in the run and other multiskills activities. There were four separate races, with 100 children running in each.

We were very proud when three of our children each took a top three place in their respective races. Reeth and Gunnerside was the only school taking part to have three winners.

We were delighted that all the children entered into the spirit of the event with great enthusiasm, and all successfully completed their races. Well done, everyone, and especially our Fantastic Three!

Spring 2009

Children from Reeth and Gunnerside Schools took advantage of the recent snow to construct an igloo. Using plastic bricks as moulds, they worked as a team to produce this impressive ice shelter.

Spring 2009

This year's Day for Change focused on Papua New Guinea and allowed children to find out more about this fascinating country.

Children from Reeth and Gunnerside Schools gathered at Reeth. To celebrate their right to health and exercise, they wore sports clothing and brought a healthy snack. Working in colour groups, they participated in a morning of activities which included multi-skill sports, designing posters, celebrating what we are happy and thankful for, and learning more about Papua New Guinea through IT and a quiz.

Spring 2009

Visiting teacher Christine Williamson took an afternoon workshop in maypole dancing with Y3/4 pupils in the school hall at Reeth at the beginning of January 2009. This was great fun and the perfect introduction to the work we are going to do on maypole dancing, across all age groups in our schools, in the spring term.

Since the autumn term 2008 a weekly assembly has been dedicated to Our [the students'] Achievements, with recognition given to individual pupils – Star of the Week certificates are awarded in each class – and a rosette for the winning house group for that week. These go on permanent display in the school hall at Reeth. The scheme has proved popular and is helping to motivate students, as individuals and as team players.

As part of November 14th's Children in Need, Reeth and Gunnerside Schools decided to "do something different" and have a Maths Day. Parents and carers joined the fun and participated in a range of practical activities, which covered the topics of weight, capacity, measure, shopping, fractions and discount. The day was a great success and we hope to hold a similar event in the not too distant future.

Gunnerside School has been developing its school grounds to include a wildlife garden. Working alongside the National Park, the school has introduced stone seating, nesting boxes and various wildlife habitats. More details can be seen on the attached press release.

Gunnerside garden press release.doc

Robert Rabbit had a wonderful holiday exploring the island of Sri Lanka. He enjoyed spending time on the beach, hiking, visiting beautiful Buddhist and Hindu temples and sampling many delicious vegetable curries washed down with locally grown tea. All the people he met were extremely kind and helped to make his trip so enjoyable.

Characters leapt off the pages and into the classrooms at both our schools during National Children's Book Week at the start of October. As part of the celebrations to promote reading, parents came in to school and read to the children from popular books. Students and staff entered into the spirit of the week by dressing up as famous figures from literature.

The normal October schoolday slipped strangely out of kilter for the KS1 children from both schools as they travelled back in time to Beamish, 1913! This trip gave the students valuable insight into the history of their own community; particularly their visit to a pit cottage, where they had to help out with cleaning and washing - all without the use of electricity!

Local animator Ben Hall got the autumn 2008 term off to a great stop-frame start with film animation workshops for KS2. Click on the link below to see the children's first, fun steps into the world of the moving image.

Website link: http://www.principalteachers.co.uk/pttv/reeth.html

Our Year 6 2008 leavers made a thoughtful address to the teachers and students on the occasion of their final day in school at Reeth. They gave a heartfelt vote of thanks, and flowers and presents, to headteacher Mrs Wilkinson, Mrs Young, their class teacher, and to the rest of the staff. They also enlisted the Year 5s to perform their own rap to Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Young. In turn the leavers received the now traditional cheeky toy chimps, kitted out in their Reeth and Gunnerside Leavers 2008 T-shirts. We wish all of Y6 well and expect to hear great things of them in the coming years.

KS1 voted pond-dipping the winning attraction on their visit to Foxglove Covert Local Nature Reserve at Catterick in summer 2008. The Reserve contains heath-land, flower-rich grassland, streams, ponds, a lake and woodlands. This range of habitats was a perfect fit with our classwork on creatures and their natural environment.

Gunnerside School hosted this year's rather windblown Sports Day. The rain threatened but held off for a busy afternoon's exertions from both schools in the flat, sack, egg and spoon, and relay races. Everyone enjoyed taking part, with dads and mums (and teachers) entering into the spirit of the event.

Years 5 and 6 attended a fun-packed outdoor activity week at East Barnby on the coast near Whitby. Highlights included rock-scrambling up a river, canoeing down the river Esk into Whitby, rock-climbing at the Wainstones, combing the beach for wildlife and fossils, and a Whitby town trail.

The Friends of the School organised a very successful Summer Fayre to raise funds and spirits recently. The Fayre was well attended and visitors enjoyed the barbecue, bouncy castle and other stalls. Among the many attractions, a popular sideshow gave pupils the chance to turn the tables on the teachers: Mr Howat and Mrs Bastow bravely agreed to be locked in the stocks and pelted with soaking wet sponges!

Katie, Susannah and Marian of noted woodwind chamber ensemble Illuminati blew up a storm when they took time out from the 2008 Swaledale Festival to hold a music workshop at Gunnerside School recently. Illuminati played for the children then involved them in preparing and playing percussion for a poem set to music.

FS/KS1, Y5 and Y6 enjoyed a music workshop recently with Caliche, a South American group who were appearing locally as part of the Swaledale Festival. The five-man combo took time out from their festival schedule to introduce the children to some traditional South American instruments, including shakers made from goats' hooves!

Our current science topic in Key Stage One at Reeth is "animals" and we have enjoyed visits from some of the new spring arrivals from local farms. Mrs Brown kindly brought in a lamb for our Nursery and Reception children to meet. Mrs Stones asked us to provide names for the two kids she brought in, and generously gave prizes to the competition winner. The kids have been named Tilly and Milly.

Four of our youngsters along with pupils from neighbouring schools recently attended a "Developing Young Leaders" conference, with the aim of developing play strategies for their schools. This will empower pupils to take a more active, organising role at playtimes. Our young "leaders" were commended by the conference organisers for their energy and enthusiasm.

The Easter service at Gunnerside and the assembly at Reeth at the end of term were both well attended by parents and families. The service looked at the colours and changes, and the rebirth that we associate with this time of year, while at Reeth the children made presentations about the way different faiths celebrate Easter, and about the different meanings of the symbol of the cross. Our Nursery children gave a charming performance as Easter chicks, too. The only slightly sad note from the assembly at Reeth was that we made a farewell presentation to Mrs Midgley, one of our Nursery teachers, who is leaving the staff. We wish her all the best and will miss her greatly.

Thank you to everyone who supported our spring term charity event - UNICEF's Day for Change - which raised money for water and sanitation in the Gambia. The event raised £104.59. The children enjoyed wearing outfits which made us think of water and we all enjoyed seeing their creative ideas. Certificates for winners of the "water" poem/rhyme competition will be announced soon during school assemblies.

Simone and Steve from Living Willow Design came from Kendal to Gunnerside to help KS1 and Y3 and Y4 children make a fantastic willow tunnel. We're looking forward to enjoying it as it springs to life!

Key Stage 1 performed "The Sleepy Shepherd" at both Reeth Memorial Hall and Gunnerside Methodist Chapel. The sleepy shepherd was always asleep and not looking after his sheep, so when he said he'd seen the angels, nobody believed him. They assumed he was dreaming so he set off to Bethlehem on his own and found the baby Jesus in a stable. Meanwhile the other shepherds decided to follow him and arrived, like the kings, to see the special child.

Key Stage 2 performed Hansel and Gretel as part of the build up to Christmas 2007. The acting was done by the Y3/4 children with the Y5/6 children providing the Woodland Chorus. The children did extremely well to remember their lines in verse and acted their roles with confidence. Thank you to all the teachers, staff and parents/guardians involved in the performance for all their hard work.

Robert Rabbit enjoyed a festive trip to the Big Apple. He enjoyed exploring the many famous sites in New York including the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central Station. He was pleased to be well wrapped up with his winter scarf.

School mascot Robert Rabbit really gets around when he goes off on his holidays. This year he travelled to the other side of the world and visited Japan and Australia. Here are some of his holiday snaps.

Sports Day was held at Reeth School this year, on the penultimate day of term and was, as ever, a runaway success! Particular credit should be given to the few mums who lined up for the Mothers Race. We were very lucky with the sunshine and all events were completed just before the weather broke for the afternoon. Well done for a good effort to everyone who came along and took part!

Our Rural Arts week, held in June 2007, involved all the children in making mosaic tiles with wildlife designs. We hope to install the finished tiles in the grounds of each school by the end of the year; they will be a colourful attraction to visitors.

Children from Years 3 and 4 enjoyed participating in a dramatic performance of Carmen as part of the Swaledale Festival. The children sang alongside professionals in this operatic extravaganza.