Wishing You an Enjoyable Summer Break from Katy Harrison, Acting Headteacher

Dear parents, carers and friends,

I am writing at the end of the school year to wish you well for the summer break. For some of you this will bring a well-earned rest and a chance to spend time with loved ones, whilst for others it may bring some challenges because of the change in routine and the additional pressure to entertain children every day for an extended period. However you are feeling about the 6 weeks whilst school is closed, I would like to remind you that we are looking forward to welcoming you and the children and young people back in the new academic year, hopefully feeling rested and having enjoyed some fun summer activities.

It has been an exceptionally busy term in school, as I am sure you have seen from the Thomas Bewick News Stories regularly shared by staff.

This term Thomas Bewick pupils have performed alongside children from other schools in the Trust at the Glasshouse in our ‘Celebrating Resilience’ event. What a wonderful venue and opportunity for us! Our pupils have taken part in various sporting events including a  'Panathalon Xtend' challenge, a Sponsored ‘Swimathon’ and, most recently, bringing home a trophy from a football tournament against other specialist schools. Thank you to our school council who have been have been actively planning and working behind the scenes to support these events.

Children and young people in Key Stage 3 and 4 and Post 16 have attended 2 outdoor activity residential educational visits this term to Marrick Priory in North Yorkshire and Daleby House in Beadnell. A group of Key Stage 3 and 4 children also visited the Calvert Trust in Keilder in March. All of the visits went extremely smoothly and a lot of fun was had by all! These visits create memorable experiences and offer opportunities to develop independence and to partake in outdoor and adventurous activities. These rely upon staff volunteering their time to lead and support the visits; The Calvert Trust was also subsidised through a generous contribution from The Friends of Thomas Bewick. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

On 24 June, four of our pupils received awards at the Newcastle Schools Achievement Awards at Newcastle Civic Centre presented by Cath McEvoy-Carr, Director for Children, Education and Skills at Newcastle City Council. Pupils were commended for their resilience, kindness and fabulous positive attitudes in front of over 200 pupils and school staff from across Newcastle. It was amazing to hear about the achievements of pupils from across the city. Congratulations to everyone involved!

We have also enjoyed 8 separate sports days this half-term, thank you to all parents and carers who came along to participate and show their support. These went very well, despite the rain during one or two of them. This week in school our children and young people have enjoyed an end of term celebration playing on bouncy castles and slides.

I am proud to be the Acting Headteacher here at Thomas Bewick and I am looking forward to the academic year ahead. I recognise that maintaining a successful school takes a collective effort and I feel very privileged to be supported by parents and carers, our Local Advisory Committee members, the Prosper central team, our amazingly skilled staff team and, most importantly, our wonderful pupils. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone within the Thomas Bewick School community, as well as those external professionals and agencies that support what we do.

With best wishes for the summer break, whatever your plans may be, from myself and the team,

Katy