Year 5/6 Football League

Well after a long delay and no-one really knowing what was going on our Year5/6 football league is scheduled to kick off again next Thursday after school at Walbottle Campus. The league was in danger of not going ahead this year but Mr Outterside from Newburn Manor has kindly agreed to organise things for everyone else. Keep an eye here to see how we get on, we kick off with two tough matches on the first day and will be playing all the teams we've come up against in recent years. We're still waiting on news about the Bishop Cunningham Cup and will let you know about it as soon as we know who and where we are playing.

Friday 8th January

Well we've got nearly all our staff and a lot of children in today. Thank you to the parents who have let us know they couldn't make it in, including the parents who have used the blog and email to contact us- contacting us this way helps means you can get your message straight to us and you don't have to wait on our busy phone line.
Can we also advise any parents who are planning to collect their children by car this afternoon that the area outside the school is very thick with snow and very, very difficult to drive on. A number of cars got stuck there this morning and had to be pushed out.
Thank You.

Friday 8th January 2010

Morning folks. School is open as normal this morning. We understand if you have problems getting your children to school so if you can't make it can you please let school know either by phone, email or through the blog- all comments from the blog can be kept from public view.

Thank You.

Update For Friday 8th January 2010

We have been keeping a close eye on the weather forecasts for tonight and tomorrow and it doesn't look too bad for tomorrow. With this in mind we are planning to open tomorrow, Friday 8th January 2010- business as usual. If the weather takes a turn for the worse and it becomes a problem for staff and children to make it into school we might have to rethink this decision, but for now we plan to be open. We will post a further message here on the blog at 7am tomorrow morning confirming we are open or warning you that we are closed.
So, we are open tomorrow unless the weather gets worse, check back here tomorrow morning at around 7am to make sure.

Closed On Thursday 7th January 2010

Well we've had to give in to the weather in the end and school will be today, Thursday 7th January 2010. We were visited by a photographer from the Evening Chronicle yesterday who took a few photos of us having a lovely time in the snow- the photos should be part of a special section on the snow in todays paper. We'll post news on opening on Friday here on the blog some time on this evening (Thursday 7th January 2010), so you could bookmark  the blog and check back again. You can actually subscribe to the blog for free by clicking on the link on the right of the page and following the instructions. You can do so by signing up for a free Google email account and opening the Google Reader, here you can add blogs, like ours, and when they are updated the new posts get sent to you.

St Mark's And The Snow

St Mark's is still open and most of our children and all our staff have made it into school today despite the snow. Our Reception and Year 1 trip to the Newcastle Playhouse is still on and children will be returning to school at the normal time- weather permitting.

If you are a parent and concerned about getting your child home safely due to the weather you are welcome to collect them early from school- after lunch time is the best time. We are keeping an eye on the weather forecast through the met office website and will keep this blog updated on our decision to keep open or to close tomorrow. Can we advise that you bookmark the blog and check it regularly for updates.

Thank you for your support
Mrs Alison Miller

New Parent Governor

Parent Governor


We are delighted to welcome Mrs Lisa Dalby to the Governing Body of St. Mark’s as a Parent Governor, and hope she has a long and happy association in her role.

PE Kits

PE Kits


Parents are reminded that PE Kits must be brought into school on a Monday and taken home for washing each Friday. PE is part of the school curriculum and every child must take part. Parents will be contacted should their child not have their P.E. Kit.

School Policies and Documents

School Policies and Documents


We pride ourselves in being a safe school. We have recently updated our Safeguarding Policy and procedures and would appreciate any feedback or comments. You can dowload our policies from the school website at http://www.stmarks.newcastle.sch.uk/ . Feel free to use the email link or comments section to leave any feedback on our policies. Many of our policies are being updated at the moment and will be added to the website once they have been approved by our school Governing Body.

Art Club

Thursday 14th January

Art Club with Mrs Miller for KS2 children 3.15pm - 4.15pm

The club returns on Thursday 14th January for those children who took part last term. The cost is 50p per week. Only £2.00 is payable this term, money should paid at the first session. Places are limited so if your child would like to join please write a short note giving permission for your child to attend and hand it in to Mrs Stobbs in the school office. As places are limited if your child does not receive a place, they will go onto our waiting list.

Chess Club

Thursday 14th January

KS2 Chess and Games Club 12.30pm - 12.55pm with Miss Smith.

Miss Smith is starting her Lunchtime Chess and Games Club on Thursday 14th January. Places are limited so if your child would like to join, please write a short note giving permission and hand it in to Mrs Stobbs in the school office.

Kickboxing Club

Kickboxing

Wednesday Morning 13th January

Kickboxing will return again on Monday 13th January and run for 10 weeks. The total cost will be £10 payable at the first session. Children who took part in the last sessions are welcome to continue. Places are limited to 15. If your child would like to take part then please write a short note giving permission for your child to attend and hand it in to Mrs Stobbs in the school office. (This also applies to children who took part last term). The sessions will begin at 7.45am - 8.45am.

Woodwork Club

Monday 11th January

Woodwork 3.15pm - 4.15pm with Mrs Stephenson.

Woodwork will be starting again on Monday 11th January for those children who took part last term. The cost for this term is £5.00 payable at the first session. Parents are asked to write a short note giving permission for their child to attend.

Parent E. Safety Session

January 22nd 1.30pm - 3.15pm


Parents are invited to come along to school for a Free session regarding Internet Safety and to find out more about the ‘Online world’. The session is being run by representatives from The Newcastle Response team. To book a place or for further details please see Mrs Slack our Parent Support Advisor.

Welcome Back

Dear Parents,




Happy New Year and welcome back to the start of another term. I hope you all had al lovely break, despite the freezing weather conditions.

The staff and I would like to pass on sincere thanks for all the presents and cards received at Christmas.

At St Marks we pride ourselves in being an Eco friendly school. We are therefore collecting Christmas cards for recycling, if it is easier for you to send your cards into school rather than take them to the supermarket , cards can be sent in from now. A recycling box is in the school hall.

We would like to welcome two new members of staff to St. Mark’s. Miss Jessica Lindsay joins us a Classroom Assistant in our Reception Class working with Mrs Smith. Mrs Lillian Quinn will be working as a temporary Lunchtime Supervisor. We hope they enjoy their time with us at St. Mark’s.