News

All the staff, pupils and governors would like to wish all our families and friends a very happy holiday.

See you on September 8th!

On 12th July, the school went with 140 friends and family, on a visit to South Shields. Although the weather started to spit a little, everyone that we spoke to said that they'd had a really lovely day. We visited the park, ate fish and chips, visited the shows and walked along the beach. It was a really lovely day with 140 really lovely people. Thanks to everyone for their brilliant company. Pictures and video clip below...

In July, our Year 6  children went to the Leaver's Ceremony at Durham Cathedral. There, we joined with other schools in a service to celebrate all the hard work that the children have put in at Primary school. We had a banner made for the occasion by Miss Rippon's friend Alice. And as you can see - it's a beauty.

We were invited down to the Luncheon Club in July. Well we sort of invited ourselves. You see, we don't know how to make dyed eggs and the people at the Luncheon Club do. They make brilliant ones. We brought the flowers. They brought the eggs. And the results were fab.

Hoorah! We've got the Artsmark Award. The school was judged to have attained the Silver Award too, after Miss Smith painstakingly itemised everything that we do. If you need any decorating done - you know where to come...

The new Parent  Shelter is here! Perfect for those hot summer days, or cold wet ones. Mind you, there's little chance that any poor parent can get near the thing, what with it being constantly stuffed with little ones. Never mind. Perhaps we should build another one...

A million thanks go to Diane Webb, Rachel Stevens and Sarah Peairs for putting on a lovely Father's day Breakfast for our Dads and Grandads. Our Dads and Grandads are great and we just wanted to say a big thanks to all of them. If you look closely, you'll see that they're pretty handy at football too.

Have a good half term. Look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday 8th June.

Be careful on the yard!

We have five baby blackbirds in a nest on the yard and they're a huge hit with the children who are being very careful not to disturb them.

Amazingly, mum and dad seem to have vanished from the scene, but never fear - the chicks are being looked after by a pair of robins! Brilliant or what?

Class One were so impressed, they built their own nest on the yard - and doesn't it look just perfect.

Ramshaw Primary School was delighted to welcome members of staff from our sister schools in Tanzania, who came over to visit us in May.

Mrs, Hedwig Bennett, Mrs. Esther Kawala and Mr. William Munuo spent a week in Teesdale visiting Ramshaw Primary School, Bowes Hutchinson and Montalbo Primary School. We also took them to see Bowes Museum, Durham Cathedral and County Hall where they were made to feel very welcome at a lunch with Durham County Council Chairman Mac Williams, who was very kind.

While at Ramshaw, our visitors were able to tell the children first hand, about the life of a Tanzanian school child. The children heard that in Tanzania, school starts at 7:30 and finishes at 4:00. Time is also set aside for cleaning the school and for porridge breaks. Children then have to go home, wash their uniform, help mum and dad in the fields and help with making tea. Without exception, our children were horrified and looked just a little bit sheepish when asked how much help they gave around the house.

The visitors also brought foodstuffs from Tanzania and explained how they were cooked and prepared and gave the children a fascinating insight of how you cope with snakes and spiders around the house,

Mrs. Kawala also taught the children how to parade. In Tanzania, each morning starts with a parade and the singing of the National Anthem.

Class 2 and Class 3 tried it.

Maybe more Dad's Army than the Parachute Regiment, but they gave it a go....

As you know, Class 3 have been building shelters, having been trained by Forest Ranger Neil.

So the crucial test came. Which shelter would stand the rain water test? Boys or girls?

The rules were simple - each group was allowed one item from home. And each group had to stay inside their shelter while a hose pipe was trained over it.

The results? Take a look at the photos and see for yourself.

News on the Big Day Out!

We've been ringing around the bus companies all week and the only date that they have available is Monday 12th July, so we've booked it.

The bus will leave school at 9:00 and will depart from South Shields at 3:30.

Apologies for the change to the anticipated date - we'll give a full refund to anyone who can't make it on that date - but hopefully you can.

As part of our topic on Shelters, we asked Ranger Neil to come from Hamsterley Forest and give us a lesson about how to make shelters out of er... well, nothing really. Neil was just like Ray Mears and showed us which plants were safe to eat (wild garlic and hawthorn leaves) and which weren't. We made a shelter and there's currently a competition between the boys and girls as to who can make the best shelter. Who's in the lead?  It's neck and neck....

Incredible. Really, really incredible. A million thanks to all our children who produced this astounding array of decorated eggs. The quality was second to none and the effort that had gone into producing them was simply immense. Almost impossible to judge and so unfair just to give out two prizes per class for such a show. So everyone got a prize this year. Because they all deserved one.

More fab photographs from our Easter Egg Competition 2010.

Class 2 popped along to the Randolph Centre Lunch Club to find out from our older friends what life was like in Ramshaw & Evenwood in the past. We found out that there were only four cars in Evenwood and that you had to mix your own ink to use in school.We saw some photographs of Peggy's wedding, where the family had to go to Bishop Auckland to get their photograph taken, because the store had the only camera in the district. We were made so welcome and the children have learned lots and lots about life in the past.

The School Choir were in fine voice recently at the Teesdale Big Sing. They joined our sister schools in the cluster and performed beautifully. Fine voices, lovely songs and some very proud parents.

Film Club keeps going from strength to strength. It's the perfect time to experience new films with your friends, discuss plot lines, wonder over special effects and .... and.... fall asleep.

We're very excited. Mrs. Webb has found some mysterious tunnels and holes down by the field. Could it be badgers? We're watching...

We raised £60 for British Heart Foundation Day by all dressing up in red. And Teresa our School Nurse came along to tell us exactly how to keep our hearts healthy. She also wanted us to point out that she isn't really that shape in real life...

Class One are very keen to become Buddies. They like to practice when Class 2 & 3 aren't around.

They might be small - but you don't mess with them.

Here are some of our pictures from the recent freezing cold weather. Even the snowmen look cold!

The three head teachers from Teesdale recently visited our sister school inTanzania.

 Please click here to view pictures and videos from this experience!

All the staff, pupils and Governors at Ramshaw Primary School would like to wish all our families and friends a very, very happy Christmas. See you all again on Monday 4th January. Merry Christmas!

We finished this term with a fab Christmas party thanks to Isabella's dad Nigel, who gave us all a wonderful disco.  The parents as ever provided fantastic food for us all.  Santa just had time to call in and pay us a visit leaving us all a super present.

Our school choir, nobly led by Miss Rippon, performed three concerts over the course of the Christmas season. The Choir performed twice at Lyons Court Care Home and once at the Randolph Centre. They sang  popular carols and some songs from our recent school plays. Reverend Jane also conducted a service with us and the whole thing was beautifully received by a very lovely audience.

This year, we've been trying to be a bit more environmentally friendly with our Christmas cards. Instead of writing out loads of cards, the children have been asked to decorate a bauble for £1.00 to hang on our Christmas tree with a message for their friends. It's saving a few trees and is also raising money for the Children's Heart Unit Fund. We've put a picture here so you can see how nice it looks.

We had some brilliant news. We've been awarded a grant of £500 tp put towards equipment for our Cooking Club which is held by Miss Smith and Mrs. Sturrock on Thursdays. Here we see our little Gordon Ramseys whipping up spome muffins for our Coffee Morning in December.

Class Three are studying Ancient Greece this term. In November, they visited the Bowes Museum, where they learned how the Greeks used pottery to display stories and scenes. They made some of their own and they're a bit fab.

We're really pleased to hear that we made the list of the 100 schools, colleges and nurseries in the North East and Yorkshire that were classed as outstanding by Ofsted. Strangely enough, this is the first that some people have heard about it and we've had lots of very kind messages. Thank you so much for all of them.

Here's the link, if you'd like to read the article.

‘I’m not going to bore them. I’m not. Quickest way to put people off-by boring them. So I’m NOT going to bore them. I’m not’. Flying back from Tanzania, I had all these thoughts in my head. Hundreds of things I wanted to tell everyone and thousands of things I wanted to show everyone. But it’s true, you can come back from a trip to Africa with so many mixed feelings. Some people come back angry. Angry at the poverty. Some people come back on a mission-determined to change the way the world is. Me? I’m just never going to complain again. I was struck by two main things. 1. The kids have absolutely nothing.

2. They are the happiest children I’ve ever met in my life.

And I can’t get my head round it. I’ve never had such a warm welcome in my life, yet this is from people who live in poverty. And despite living in poverty, they don’t ask for or expect anything. And I’ve never seen such genuine warmth. Old men, ladies, children, struggling up the hill with 10 gallon containers of water for the day strapped to an old bike, well they greet you like a long lost son. People who we met, thought nothing of linking arms and holding hands with us. It took a bit of getting used to, having some big bloke come up to you and taking your hand while you walk, but it’s just the way they are. They’re naturally warm and welcoming people. So we’re busy putting the film of the visit, the photographs and blog on the website at present. I hope you can take a look. I think it’s starting to dawn on the children how lucky they are and I hope we can keep this going. They are lucky. In comparison, we all are. We’re looking at a couple of ideas in which our children might be able to help the kids in Tanzania and it should be at no cost to ourselves. A couple of parents have already come forward with ideas and that’s brilliant. Thanks for reading, thanks for all your interest (and hope you weren’t too bored).

Woooh! The Pupil Council became The Force for an afternoon with PC Andy and PC Stacey from the Durham Constabulary Traffic Police. We've been a litle bit concerned about the speed that some drivers are passing school, so PC Andy offered the Pupil Council the use of the Speed Camera for the afternoon. The children wrote down any car registrations that exceeded the limit and were flashed up by the camera. Some cautions have been sent out to those drivers who were going too fast and we plan to make this a regular activity in the months to come.

No. We're not really this ugly. Nigel Thompson came to school on Halloween to give us one of his wonderful discos. He was so scared by the faces on display that we haven't seen him since....

For Children in Need, we put on our normal clothes for the day, but we put them on inside out! We looked odd, but made about £100 for Children in Need, which is great.

Moshi Town

Mr. Brown's heading off to Moshi, in Tanzania in mid-October to meet up with our sister school, St.Anne's. Mr. Brown will be recording a film about life in Tanzania, interviewing pupils, staff and any local residents he can ambush. Discussions will be had regarding how Fair Trade impacts upon the folk of Moshi and what part recycling plays in their lives. It'll hopefully make everyone much more aware of global issues and how different life is in Africa. What's that? Shoes made from tyres? Now that's ingenious recycling.. 

Film Club Fever Breaks Out!

Film Club is back on Friday nights now. So far we've seen Hairspray, Stardust and WALL-E this term. It's free and mums and dads are welcome to stay and watch too. Mrs. Webb lays on free popcorn and Hot Dogs are available for £1 if the children would like an early tea. And as you can see - the little ones are very excited about it.

Well most of them...

The eggs are spotted.

Very strange. The children spotted some eggs that had been laid in a tree trunk just next to the yard. Mrs. Dent is our egg guru and she has proclaimed them chicken eggs and in fine health. But whose are they? We don't know - but we'll keep watch.

Hooray! We're all going to the cinema. And it's free. Those nice people at National Film have booked us in to The Gala at Durham to watch the Tale of Desperaux on Thursday 22nd October. We get to see the film and learn how to write successful reviews like Barry Norman.

Year 5 & 6 are learning to play the guitar this term. Mrs. Sturrock is learning too and she tells us that the sessions are going really, really well. Eric Clapton, eat your heart out.

All the staff, governors and children at Ramshaw would like to wish everyone a very happy summer holiday. Have fun, keep safe and we look forwrd to seeing everyone again on 7th September. Bye!

Poor us. You could set the clock by it. Big Walk? Let's dial up an enormous rain shower. Never mind, it was great to have so many mums and dads and friends there. Look at all these photos of marvellous, wet and bedraggled people and we bet you don't see one frown.

Well maybe the dog then.

In July, we took the school to see Horrid Henry at Darlington Civic. The Friends of RamshawSchool  paid for half the trip which was wonderful. Was Henry Horrid? He was indeed.

Check this out. No, that's not a duck pond, or a boating lake or a lake. It's our school field on 17th July after what seemed about three solid days of rain. We needed wild horses to prevent the children from rushing headlong into the deep. Honestly.

Brilliant. Jon King came into school today to give out prizes after the children had collected  sponsor money for the Hot Shot Challenge. Unbelievably, Ramshaw families have raised a staggering £800! Did you hear that sound? Jaws dropping to the floor. For a school of 60 children that's pretty impressive and we're so, so proud.A million thanks to all our friends and parents.

Mrs. Sturrock's Class 3 have been busy tasting, experimenting and designing their own types of bread this week. Naan, pitta, black bread, pumpernickel, wholemeal and flat bread have all been thoroughly tasted, tried and improved upon. Rhiannon's chocolate bread was especially tasty and now all the children know how to bake bread! Which is fab!

A very,very warm welcome back to all our children and parents. A big welcome particularly for our 18 new arrivals this autumn and we'd like to extend the warmest of welcomes to our new parents. It's wonderful to see our sixteen little ones coming to school for the first time. Our little yard has never seemed so full!