On Sunday 28th April, a group of ‘friends of Wylam First School’ ran the Marathon and Half-Marathon of the North to raise funds for an outdoor community classroom.  Having expected a flat and fast course, they were all surprised by the hilly route, made more difficult by the cold and strong winds.  Andrea Coady completed the half marathon, and the ‘Jukes of Hazard’ relay team completed the marathon.  The team had a little wobble 2 weeks before, to be saved by one member agreeing to run 2 stages!  The Jukes of Hazard comprised of year 1 parents & teacher: Andy Parker, Julie Humes, Kathryn Creighton, Francine Jukes & Anna Rikkerink.  Some of the runners so enjoyed the team relay they are committed to a more competitive attack next year (4h12min to beat)!

To support our fundraising efforts please visit

http://www.everyclick.com/wylamcommunityclassroomrunners or make a cash donation in the school yard.

P.S. When you make a donation online, don’t forget to check the Gift Aid box if you’re a UK taxpayer as your charity can then claim an extra 25% from the government!

The school photographer will be in school on Wednesday, 8^th May to take individual photos and/or together with other children in the family.

Class photos will be taken on Thursday, 4^th July.

Wylam Road Safety Group is a group of local parents and residents desperate to make our village safer.
 
The perception of traffic going too fast along the main street from the shops through to and beyond the train station continues. Last Autumn the government recognised that 20mph through residential areas should be encouraged and with this in mind issued new guidelines. There are well known various ‘black spots’ through the village e.g. by the Jubilee park and around the school, so a group of Wylam residents have formed a group focussing on road safety. They are hoping to achieve 20mph around the school and by the Jubilee park if not throughout the whole of Wylam.

Many thanks to all who supported this cause and signed the petition. The petition has now been submitted and a decision will be made at the next West Area Committee meeting in June.

Dear Parents

I am writing to inform you of the changes to staffing at school after February half term.

Mrs Johnston will return to Wylam after the half term holiday. She will be in school on Mondays, Tuesday and Fridays and will be fulfilling her role as head teacher. Mrs Johnston will be acting head at Corbridge on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I will be Acting Head when she is at Corbridge. I fully anticipate that we will be able to offer seamless provision for children, staff and parents.

I will be returning to my Year 3 class and teach them on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Mrs Channon will teach Year 3 on Thursdays and Fridays. Mrs Channon and myself have enjoyed working closely together over the past few months and are both looking forward to sharing the class for the remainder of their time in Year 3.

Mrs Hamilton will continue to teach Year 2 on Fridays. Mrs Viv Smith will be teaching nursery every Friday morning. The nursery children already know Mrs Smith as she has been providing cover for Mrs Hamilton when she has her PPA time.

These changes will remain in place until the summer holidays. In September Mrs Johnston will return to being full-time head teacher.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the governors for enabling Mrs Johnston to support Corbridge during their difficult time. She has played an invaluable role there. I would also like to thank everyone for the support they have given me during my time as Acting Head – governors, staff and parents have made this an extremely rewarding experience.

If you have any queries do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a happy half term.

Becky Kroese

Acting Head teacher

rebecca.kroese@northumberland.gov.uk

Take a look at the new diary page with key dates for the rest of the 2013 school year. The diary will be updated regularly to keep parents up-to-date with forthcoming school events.

Diary 2013

The Wylam Rockets Under 7′s went on a tour of St James’ Park on Saturday 26 January. The tour gave the boys exclusive behind the scenes access to Newcastle United, and included access to the Directors box, dugout, pitchside and changing rooms.
 

At the end of the tour the boys were delighted to meet new signing Moussa Sissoko. The French international midfielder has just signed from Toulouse, and was making his way from his press conference to his first training session. The boys gave him a warm welcome and they were over the moon to meet him.

In  2013  communities  along  the  Wylam  to  Lemington  waggonway  will  be  celebrating  200  years  since  steam  locomotives  were  used  to  transport  coal  from  Wylam  colliery  to  Lemington  staiths  on  the  River  Tyne. ‘Puffing  Billy’  was  one  of  these  steam  locomotives,  built  circa  1813 – 14,  working  for  nearly  50  years  along  the  waggonway.  The  engine  survives  today,  almost  certainly  the  oldest  locomotive  in  the  world  and  a  fully  operational  working  replica  was  built  in  Beamish  and  launched  in  2005.

A  group  of  interested  parties  has  begun  to  meet  to  discuss  possible  events  to  develop  a  programme  for  a  Puffing  Billy  Festival  which  will  include  visits  to  and  from  Beamish  Museum ,  involve  the  Puffing  Billy  replica,  community  events  and  an  attempt  to  replicate  the  steam  power  that  travelled  down  the  lines  with  pupil  power  that  will  travel  along  the  track  way  from  Wylam  to  Newburn  (along  its  original  route).

This  group,  including  so  far,  representatives  from  Wylam  Parish  Council,  Beamish  Museum,  members  of  local  groups,  members  of  the  public,  Northumberland  County  Councillors  and  officers  and  Newcastle  City  Councillors  and  officers  would  like  to  invite  you  to  find  out  more  and  how  you  can  get  involved  at  an  informal  meeting  on;

Wednesday  16^th  January  at  7pm  Walbottle  Campus,

Hexham  Road,  Walbottle.  Newcastle  upon  Tyne.  NE15  9TP

Two teams from year 4 took part in a football tournament in October. Despite a valiant effort and coming very close to winning, neither team were the overall winners.

[Show as slideshow]

September 2012 

I am writing to you early in the school year to help parents be aware of the regulations about holidays in term time.  Last academic year we had a large number of requests for holiday forms and governors are concerned that our absence figures remain high due to holidays taken in term time.

The regulations are quite clear, any family can apply for up to 10 days authorised absence to accompany them on their annual holiday.  This should be the only holiday that the family are taking in the current academic year and if required families should be able to confirm that it cannot be taken at any other time.  Holiday forms are not for second holidays or long weekend breaks.

We do understand that at times, due to economic constraints and family commitments, families do need to take their children out of school during term time.  If this is the case then a written letter explaining the circumstances should be sent to the headteacher.  In most cases the absence will be recorded as an informed absence but it will not be authorised.  This will not result in any action if it is a one off event.  Should a family repeatedly request time off during term time, or if it happens year on year then the Education Welfare Office may visit them to discuss the reasons.

There are always exceptional circumstances that do not fit into any of these reasons and in these cases families should make an appointment to discuss the absence. 

I hope this make the situation clearer for you all.

Lynn Johnston

Headteacher

From September, PTA will be running a cable/wire recycling scheme, so please keep hold of any unused cables over the holidays.