The Chair of Governors is pleased to announce that the vacant post of Deputy Head Teacher has been filled.

On Tuesday 5th December, the governing body appointed Gail Howe who will officially begin her role on Monday 5th February 2007.

Mrs Howe has been a teacher in South Tyneside and for the past three years has been a consultant for South Tyneside Local Authority, supporting all the schools in the borough.

We believe that Mrs Howe will bring a breadth of knowledge and expertise that will support us in our constant drive for improving the provision for the children of Wardley Primary School.

Over the coming weeks, Mrs Howe will be coming into school to meet the children and will see how the school presently works. Mrs Howe is aware of the strong parental support at Wardley and is looking forward to working with you all.

Posted by M.Malik at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During the Autumn term, pupils from Key Stage Two have represented the school in a range of sporting activities. We are delighted with the commitment and achievement of all the pupils and are thrilled with many of our results.

Year 5/6 High Five Netball Cluster Tournament - 2nd Place
Year 5/6 Tag Rugby Tournament - WINNERS
Year 5/6 Rugby Finals
Year 5/6 Basketball Cluster Group Tournament - WINNERS
Year 6 Gateshead School's Gymnastics Festival
Year 5/6 Football League.

Posted by E.Riches at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On Sunday 17th December, at Kingston Park, the Y6 Tag Rugby Team took part in the Gateshead Schools Tag Rugby Finals.

Wardley were placed in a mini-group alongside St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas RC Primary School (Stella), St. Peters Primary School and Washingwell Primary School. A very close opening game against Washingwell saw Wardley draw 2-2, the tries coming from Jessica Buddin and Lewis Allsopp. The second game was tougher and Wardley were eventually beaten 4-2 by Stella, the tries scored by Jessica Buddin and Jakk Smith.

In a very evenly matched group, the team came under pressure to gain a victory in their final group game in order to secure a semi-final berth. The game started well with Wardley opening the scoring through Lewis Allsopp and Jessica Buddin. But St Peters were soon back level scoring twice in quick succession. Two tries from Callum Burns gave the loyal (and freezing cold) parental supporters some hope but again St Peters scraped level. Step up Jakk Smith, who barely managed to finish off his solo wonder-try before the referee blew time on a magnificent 5-4 victory and Jakk was mobbed by his fellow team-mates.

In the semi-final Wardley met Fellside Primary School and started the game brightly. However, dubious refereeing and some tired legs contributed to a 5-3 defeat with Callum Burns (2) and Karl McInnes finishing off some excellent team tries.

A fantastic day was had by all and the children enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame as they managed a lap of honour around the Newcastle Falcons pitch to a rapturous round of applause. Prior to the match kick-off, the children had the honour of leading the Falcons out onto the pitch and waved their giant flags furiously as the players thundered past.

Posted by M.Shackleton at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We were delighted to find out today that Amy Porthouse has won the Theatre Royal Poster Competition in the Reception to Year 2 category. Amy has been awarded a £30 cash prize plus two tickets to see the Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime. She will also get to meet the star studded cast after the show.

A big thank you to Miss Forster, who worked with the artists to complete their designs.

Congratulations Amy.

Posted by B.Evans at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rhys Prudhoe, aged 7, has finished as a runner up in the Gateshead Indoor Market Christmas Art Competition. Rhys designed a penguin Christmas picture at Mrs Atkinson’s Art and Design Club. The presentation of the prizes were held at Gateshead indoor market on Saturday 2nd December 2006. Alan Robson of Metro FM, presented the awards. A good day was had by all. Rhys and his Dad were very enthusiastic in joining in with the entertainment. This led to many CDs being won for guessing the correct song and TV programme. Much to Miss Gillie’s delight, she won a chocolate advent calendar. (She insists she later passed this onto Rhys!)

Well done to Rhys. We at Wardley hope he continues to work on many more creative projects in the future.

Posted by B.Evans at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To celebrate the launch of the 2006 Christmas Stamp issued this month, the Royal Mail have given pupils in the north of England the chance to win a computer or digital camera for their school. The stamps, which feature traditional Christmas images, are the 40th set of Christmas Stamps issued in the UK. They depict a snowman, Father Christmas, a reindeer and a Christmas tree.

Year Three and Four children took part in this wonderful art and design competition. Unfortunately, only one design was allowed to be chosen for the whole school. It was a difficult decision with so many excellent creations. After much deliberation, the design chosen was by Emily Terry. (See chosen design above)

We await the results with much interest and thank all those children who took part.

Miss Gillie (Art Co-ordinator)

Posted by B.Evans at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Friends of the Theatre Royal are holding their annual art competition. The children have been asked to design a poster relating to their Christmas Pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’ The winners receive a cash prize and two tickets to the performance. In addition, the best designs are displayed in the foyer during the panto season. The reception class entered this competition. The four chosen designs for entry were by Josie Ball, Amy Porthouse, Louis Ciaraldi and James Stevenson. (See designs above)

Thank you to those children for their efforts and good luck.

Miss Gillie (Art Co-ordinator)

Posted by B.Evans at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This half term, children from Y3/4c have been attending the tennis club. The aim during the six-week programme is to develop the enjoyment of playing tennis along with improving hand-eye coordination, racket control and general fitness.

Warm ups include: ball control, running, jumping and stretching. These activities help to loosen our joints and increase our heart rate.

We have been concentrating a lot on our forehand, as it is the easiest shot. We have developed our accuracy so that we can aim for different parts of the court. However, sometimes we still try to just hit it really hard!

We have found the backhand more difficult. We have been using two hands to do this shot and we have definitely improved.

Recently, we have started trying more difficult strokes such as volleying and lobbing. These have been challenging but are extremely fun!

Posted by M.Malik at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Over the past three months, the school has been collecting Tesco Sport For Schools Vouchers. We have collected more than 5900 vouchers. This is a brilliant response. Thankyou to all those children and parents who brought in the vouchers. Your support is invaluable. We will use the vouchers to purchase:
*Rugby balls.
*Dance ribbons.
*Tennis balls.
*Netball bibs.

Posted by B.Evans at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the 30th November 2006, 14 pupils from Year 5 and 6 attended the annual Gateshead Gymnastics Festival. The evening was held at Gateshead Leisure Centre and was an amazing success, with the pupils performing a 4 minute floor routine to 'The Egg - Walking Away' (music from the Citreon robot advert). The display incorporated a variety of exciting gymnastic moves including forward rolls, cartwheels, leaps and balances. All pupils performed fantastically on the night and showed exceptional team spirit. They were also very enthusiatic about the performances of the other attending schools. Miss Gardner was very proud of all of the pupils involved and a certificate of thanks was handed out in assembly the following day. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable night, with a good time being had by pupils, parents and teachers alike.

Posted by N.Gardner at 09:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)