Gainford Church of England Primary and Pre-School

On Thursday 4th May, the whole school came together to celebrate the upcoming Coronation Of King Charles III. It was a fabulous occasion, with Class Swale even having their own service at St Mary’s Church. The King and Queen Consort arrived in their carriages and a Coronation Service was held with all the class joining in with prayers and hymns.

At lunchtime the children were served a buffet lunch in the decorated hall, and God Save the King was played amongst other fanfare music. The children have been making cakes and doing various activities over the past few weeks.

Gainford CE Primary pupils are Eco Warriors!

In March Gainford CE Primary School and Preschool had two visits from Rachel Moore who works for OASES (Outdoor and Sustainability Educational Specialists)

OASES work with Gainford Primary to help children look positively to the future and learn how they can be part of the fight against climate change , the move towards green technologies and renewable energy and the adaptions required for a sustainable future in Class Wear had an exciting afternoon .They took part in lots of hands on practical activities ,including learning about solar panels and wind turbines .

The class had already appointed energy monitors who ensure that pupils and staff turn off devices and lights when not in use saving energy wherever possible .The children had lots to say about the sessions.

Lucy – I enjoyed making the wind turbines turn really quickly.

Bethany – I really enjoyed it because when we got to hold hands in a circle making a circuit and the light lit up. It was amazing !

Ivy – I liked getting the lights to flash using solar power.

Chris Riley Headteacher commented “ The children were so engaged in the tasks and have really demonstrated a better understanding of sustainable energy We recognise the need for competency in Stem subjects in providing a green future and these sessions help to enthuse children about the possibilities in science, technology, engineering and maths .

Hopefully OASES will be back later in the year to work with more pupils across the school.

Remembrance  

The children in school have learnt about the significance of the Armistice agreement signed on 11th November 1918 and about why some people choose to wear poppies. To coincide with this, work our Leaders of Worship Team helped each class to plan and design a Remembrance Prayer space and these were installed in St Mary’s Church for the whole community to use.   

Class Swale -Thoughtful Playdough. Children were encouraged to think of someone or something that they were grateful for. They then had to use the playdough to make a model of this and had time to talk about their feelings. 

Class Wear ‘s prayer space focused on the ‘The Empty Chair’. This focused on lost loved ones and symbolised the empty chair they leave at the table of our lives. Class Wear pupils wrote down some very thoughtful prayers.  

Class Tees Remembrance Ribbons. This focused on world events and issues like the Ukraine War, and natural disasters such as forest fires and flooding. Children considered who had been hurt, who is helping and what or who may have caused this. They wrote prayers and thoughts onto labels and added coloured ribbons of remembrance. 

Please try to call in to St Marys Church to see what the children have done. The prayer spaces are there for all to use. 

All are welcome to join in with the Remembrance Service in church on Sunday 13th November

It was lovely to end this half term with our Harvest Festival at St Marys Church. Children in each class had worked on their contributions for the service with a mixture of singing, acting and art work Our ‘Leaders of Collective Worship’ group did very well retelling the Parable of the Sower – even with a couple of their group absent. This was the first time that the group had planned and lead a service in church –so very well done! It was so good to see the church full of our school families.  

Many thanks for all of your donations; these are being distributed this week by our friends at church. I know that the cooks at Butterwick Hospice and the staff at The Well food bank are always very appreciative of the donations we send through.  

Lindisfarne Gospels Pilgrimage

The Lindisfarne Gospels, the most spectacular manuscript to survive from Anglo Saxon England will be on display at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle. As part of the Lindisfarne Gospels Pilgrimage Trail, I had the pleasure of walking with some of our Class Tees children from Gainford to Ingleton. They walked with the County Durham Flag and the Bishop of Durham’s staff then passed these onto Ingleton pupils who then walked onto Hilton. The walk will finally end on Lindisfarne on 24th September with schools across the Northeast taking part. The children were able to handle a replica of the Lindisfarne Gospels and to see first-hand the writing and illuminated letters on the calf-skin pages

Class Swale & Wear went to South Shields on Wednesday, as part of their ongoing learning topics about pirates and the coastline. The weather was extremely kind on the day and the children all engaged with their projects and enjoyed an ice cream and a paddle in the sea. It was wonderful for the children to engage in an outdoor activity, post Covid restrictions.