Keep up to date with all the news happening in the school at the moment. Articles are added during the week. Parents are encouraged to check regularly. Our weekly newsletter, emailed directly to parents, summarises content for the week.

• Primary Engineer Competition

  Thu 20 Feb 2025

  Next half term children will be given the opportunity to enter an exciting national competition ran by ‘Primary Engineer Ltd.’ This is the Leaders Award competition and it is open to all age groups with a design and research question: ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ Children decide on an engineering field of their choice and will be able to access pre-recorded interviews with engineers from that field. They will then decide on how they can solve or fix an engineering problem and design a product.

  
  Every entry will be graded by engineering professionals and they will each receive a certificate with winning entries having their prototype made by a partner university. Please find a link below for information about the competition should children wish to think about their entries over the half term holiday, however, lesson time will be given during the w/c 10th March to celebrate British Science Week. Please note; the competition does not require designs to be made, only an annotated design sheet and a letter to an engineer explaining how the product works.
  We look forward to hearing about your exciting engineering ideas and inventions!

  
  Primary Engineer Website

  
  Mrs Ray
  Year 1 Teacher
  Science Coordinator

• Parents Consultations

  Thu 13 Feb 2025

  We are excited to share the dates for our Autumn Parent Teacher Consultations.

   

  We will continue to offer both virtual and face-to-face appointments, allowing you to choose the option that best fits your needs. To manage attendance and minimise wait times in the school hall, we have designated specific days for each year group.

   

  Please complete the below google form to indicate your preference, please note the form will close at midday on Monday 3rd March and we will be in touch over the following week with your appointment time.

   

  Parents Consultation Form 

   

  Please note that virtual appointments will begin at 1:00 PM, and once those are completed for each class, teachers will transition to face-to-face meetings.

   

  Here are the consultation dates:

  • Monday 10th March: 1:00-5:15 PM - Year 5
  • Tuesday 11th March: 1:00-5:15 PM - Year 4
  • Wednesday 12th March: 1:00-5:15 PM - Year 3
  • Thursday 13th March: 1:00-5:15 PM - Year 6
  • Monday 17th March: 1:00-5:15 PM - Year 2
  • Tuesday 18th March: 1:00-5:15 PM - Year 1
  • Wednesday 19th March: 1:00-5:15 PM Reception
  • Thursday 20th March: 1:00-5:15 PM Nursery

   

  Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you!

• Autism Family Drop-In Sessions

  Wed 12 Feb 2025

  Northumberland County Council are hosting a series of Autism Family Drop in Sessions over the next few months. 

   

  Do you have a child age 0-19? Come along for a cuppa and chat and meet other parents, no diagnosis needed.

   

  You can find more information on their website here.

• Pupil voice

  Tue 11 Feb 2025

  I wanted to share with you a recent initiative we’ve been working on with the children. As part of an activity aimed at improving our school’s facilities, the students were asked to share their ideas on what changes they would like to see. One suggestion that has come up consistently is a renovation of the pupil bathrooms.

  In response to this, Mrs. Ramsay, our School Business Manager, will be reaching out to tradespeople to get quotes for the necessary work. We are hopeful that we will be able to begin renovations within this academic year.

  We’re excited to be addressing the children’s feedback and look forward to improving the facilities for everyone.

  Thank you for your continued support.

• Fire evacuation and lockdown drills

  Tue 11 Feb 2025

  As part of our commitment to keeping all children safe, we would like to inform you that, as usual, we will be conducting both fire evacuation and lockdown drills in school. These drills are important in ensuring that students and staff are familiar with the procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency.

  It is essential that all children understand the importance of these drills, as they help to ensure their safety and well-being. We encourage you to have a conversation with your child about the drills and reassure them that these exercises are just a precautionary measure to keep everyone safe.

  Thank you for your continued support as we work together to provide a safe and secure environment for all our students.

• School attendance

  Tue 11 Feb 2025

  We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of regular school attendance. Consistent attendance is key to helping your child succeed, as it allows them to fully engage with their learning and build positive habits for the future.

  We understand that sometimes life can present challenges, and we are here to support you if you are facing any difficulties that may affect your child's attendance. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need assistance or if there is anything we can do to help.

  Together, we can ensure that your child gets the most out of their education. Thank you for your continued support.

• VE Day

  Tue 11 Feb 2025 Headteacher

  On May 8th, we will be commemorating VE Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. This historic day is a moment to remember the sacrifices made and celebrate the peace that followed the conflict.

  We are currently working on plans to celebrate this significant occasion in our school. More detailed information will be shared with you closer to the time, but our initial ideas include a special lunch or afternoon tea for the children, and we’d love to invite them to wear red, white, and blue to help mark this special day.

  We look forward to celebrating this important milestone together!

• Safer Internet Day

  Tue 11 Feb 2025 Miss Croft
  This week, Burnside will join schools and organisations nationwide in celebrating Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 11th February.

   

  This year's theme is: ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online,’ focusing on teaching our children and young people how to identify and avoid scams, and highlighting available support.

   

  Scams can take many forms and target anyone, including young people. They are incredibly convincing and hard to spot. They often involve fake profiles and identities to target people. You may have heard this referred to as ‘catfishing.’ 

   

  To mark Safer Internet Day, children will participate in age appropriate activities in their classes to help support them in identifying and spotting scams, and we encourage you to continue the conversation at home. 

   

  Further support and information is available at: https://saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2025/tips-for-parents-and-carers

   

  Kind regards,

  Miss Croft

  Computing Lead

  UKS2 Lead

   

• Children’s Mental Health Week 2025

  Fri 07 Feb 2025

  We have had a fantastic time this week celebrating ‘Children’s Mental Health Week 2025!’
  The theme this year is Know yourself, Grow Yourself. At Burnside, we aim to equip and empower our pupils to become more self-aware, enabling them to express their emotions with more confidence. We hope that this will encourage our pupils to build resilience, grow and develop.

   

  There have been a range of interesting assemblies and exciting lessons that pupils have been taking part in this week focusing on this theme. Pupils learning was supported by looking at the characters of Walt Disney’s Pixar’s Inside Out 2.

  
  As you know, mental health remains to be a priority for our whole school community and we continue to have open discussions about mental health between our staff, children and parents every day. There are lots of things that you could do at home to support mental health. You can find information, suggestions and support by reading through the following link:
  www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk
  Mrs Akram
  Year 2 Teacher
  Mental Health Lead

• Pupil Premium Funding - Supermarket Vouchers Available

  Fri 07 Feb 2025

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  As we rapidly approach the end of this term, I would like to take the opportunity to remind you about an important funding opportunity available to families: the Pupil Premium Grant.

  The Pupil Premium Grant is additional funding provided by the government to support schools in helping students from a range of backgrounds. This funding is used to enhance the educational experience of eligible pupils, with additional support such as extra learning resources, access to enrichment activities, access to free childcare in our out of school and holiday club.

  One of the key benefits of being eligible for the Pupil Premium Grant in some cases is the provision of supermarket vouchers during school holidays. These vouchers are designed to assist with food costs during the break and ensure that all of our pupils are well-supported during times when they may not have access to school meals.

  To find out if your child is eligible for the Pupil Premium Grant, please take a moment to check your eligibility. You may qualify if you are in receipt of certain benefits or meet other criteria. If you’re unsure, we encourage you to get in touch with our school office, where we can assist you in finding out if you are eligible.

  If you have already registered, please ensure that your details are up-to-date to ensure your child continues to benefit from the funding and supermarket vouchers available.

  We want to make sure that every child has the support they need to succeed, and the Pupil Premium Grant is an important part of this.

  If you have any questions or need assistance with the application process, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

  Thank you for your continued support.