Welcome to Panda Class

Important Dates:

• Tuesday - swimming 

• Wednesday - PE

• Break up for summer - Thursday 20th July 2023

Welcome to our class page. Our 'Embarrassment of Pandas' have settled into their new class wonderfully! (Fun fact! A group of pandas is called an 'Embarrassment of Pandas'). 

Our class teacher is Scott. Our HLTA is Stacey. Our teaching assistants are Jo, Jo (Monday to Thursday), Lynn (Monday to Wednesday) and Chelsea (Wednesday to Friday).

Larry's Lanes

Wednesday 19th July 2023

Today, we had our end of the school year trip to Larry's Lanes! We had a fantastic afternoon. First, we all enjoyed some food. Then the children had a game of bowling. We had some really great bowlers. Overall, our winner was Toby with a massive 89 points! There was a few joint 2nd places. But, we all had lots of fun!

Canoeing

Monday 17th July 2023

Panda class had lots of fun canoeing at Codbeck. We sang boat songs, we raced each other up and down the reservoir and had a great time splashing each other. 

Sports Day

Friday 14th July 2023

Thank you to all the parents/carers/families that attended our sports day event. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did. The children all had lots of fun. Here are the pictures that we got throughout the event.

Extol Games

Thursday 6th July 2023

Some of panda class competed in our new Extol Games. They participated in activities against other schools that are part of our academy trust. The children were all amazing and fantastic ambassadors for our school. They even came first! Well done, we are so proud of you all. 

Pirates Day

Tuesday 5th July 2023

What a fantastic day Pirate Day was! To celebrate Tall Ships at school, Springwell went pirate mad for the day. We all dressed up as pirates and had lots of pirate themed activities throughout the day. We had sword fights, a treasure hunt and we even walked the plank. 

Paris Bubbles Entertainment

Tuesday 20th June 2023

Wow what an afternoon we had! The fantastic Paris Bubbles Entertainment came in to Springwell and gave us the most spectacular bubble show. We had such much. (Some maybe had too much fun... Cough cough... Scott!!!)

Crucial Crew

Wednesday 14th June 2023

This week, we enjoyed a fabulous afternoon at Hartlepool Power Station completing Crucial Crew workshops. We learnt lots of valuable information about cyber crimes, electricity, water safety, fire safety and peer pressure. It was a lovely day. 

Maths 

Thursday 8th June 2023

This week, Pandas combined PE and Maths into one lesson! We put the books down and headed outside. Splitting into different groups we got to it. We had lots of fun out in the sunshine. 

Science

Tuesday 6th June 2023

In Science, we have been looking at different types of minibeasts and where they live. We thought about their body parts and their habitats. We even went outside and looked to see if we could find different habitats.

Climbing at Scugdale

Monday 22nd May 2023

On Monday, we enjoyed a day out climbing, at Scugdale, with the Sports and Physical Activity Team. The children (and staff!) had lots of fun. We climbed rocks and climbed through tunnels. It was a really lovely day out.

Springwell and Throston's 50th Birthday Bash!

Friday 19th May 2023

This week, we had a fantastic time celebrating Springwell's 50th birthday! We had a fun packed week joining up with Throston Primary School. We enjoyed arts and crafts activities with a class from Throston. We learnt the signs to two 70's songs (Abba Waterloo and Elton John Crocodile Rock) which we performed during a celebration assesmbly at Throston. Panda class even got into the 70's vibe and we tie dyed t-shirts to wear. Don't you think we all look fantastic? 

Panda Class Assembly

Monday 8th May 2023

Thank you to all the families that came to our class assembly. Here is some pictures of our fabulous Panda's in action. They were absolutely fabulous and tried their very best. Our story for the past two weeks has been 'We're Going On A Bear Hunt' by Michael Rosen. The children have loved this story and acting it out. Especially for their loved ones!

King Charles III Celebrations

Friday 5th May 2023

Today, we had a right royal affair! This morning, we completed some Coronation themed activities. This afternoon, we enjoyed a few party games then we had an afternoon tea. 

No Pens Day 

Thursday 27th April 2023

Today, we celebrated No Pens Day at Springwell. Panda Class had a very busy day... 

Saltholme

This morning, we jumped on the bus and visited Saltholme Nature Reserve. This links in with our science topic this term. The children loved exploring and identifying different species of wildlife in their natural habitat.

After dinner, Cheryl (our amazing Speech and Language Assistant!) helped to support us to make our very own ice cream! The children broke the chocolate into pieces. Added all the ingredients needed into the bag. Put together the ice and salt. Shook it all up for 5-10 minutes. Then, all enjoyed eating it, it was delicious!

Finally to finish off our day, we had Animal Story - Animal Encounters in school. We learnt lots of fun facts about some amazing animals and even got to hold and pet them (if we wanted to). 

Ballet

Wednesday 19th April 2023

Today, we were lucky enough to have Northern Ballet in to visit us. They interactively told the story of The Ugly Duckling. The children enjoyed pretending to be the characters and copying the moves. It was a fantastic morning!

Easter

Friday 31st March 2023

Pandas have really enjoyed Easter activities over the last week. We enjoyed lots of craft activities, we loved making special Easter cards for our loved ones (we hope you like them too!). We even had an egg hun with some special Easter bunny helpers! 

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Computing

Tuesday 21st March 2023

Over the past few weeks, we have been learning all about algorithms. How to input them, how to follow them and how to create them to get to a destination. Practically, we have done this using BeeBots. The children think about where they want the BeeBot to go, input the steps it takes to get there and then watch the BeeBot do its thing!

PAT Dog

Thursday 16th March 2023

Panda's absolutely love having Masie come into school. We congratulated her on her Harriet Medal - long service medal for being a Pets at Therapy dog for a whole 7 YEARS!!! Amazing Masie, we are so glad you are part of our Springwell family. 

Art

Tuesday 7th March 2023

In Art, we have been exploring primary and secondary colours. Identifying which primary colours mix together to make different secondary colours. We did this by creating a colour wheel. 

World Book Day 

Thursday 2nd March 2023

Today, we celebrated World Book Day. The children came into school dressed up. They all looked wonderful! 

 HAPPY PANCAKE DAY!

Friday 17th February 2023

As Pancake Day falls in the half term this year, we decided to celebrate a little bit early at school. Here are some pictures of our skilled chefs flipping their pancakes. The children (and staff!) had so much fun as you can see. They tasted absolutely delicious!

Science

Thursday 9th February 2023

In Science, we made a fruit salad and used our senses to explore the different tastes, textures and smells of all the ingredients. The children used some fantastic vocabulary as descriptive words. 

Mental Health Awareness Week 

Throughout the week, we have been engaging in lots of different activities to promote good mental health. 
 

We often sit round on a morning and have a class discussion about the general health and well-being of every child, paticularly our theme of the week ‘let’s connect’. The children always come up with some great ideas on how to be good friends! 

Literacy & Science

Tuesday 31st January 2023

This term, one of our class stories is Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. The children have enjoyed listening to Scott read it (he has the best expressions!). In Science, we decided to create our very own potions, like the witch. Adding ingredients including unicorn pee (apple juice), blood (cranberry juice), vomit (orange juice), worms (jelly worm sweets), teeth and lips (sweets again!). Surprisingly, some of the children actually liked the taste! 

Then in Literacy, we thought about the spell the witch cast putting the ingredients into the cauldron. We decided to have ago at making our very own spell to go with our potions. We had some very creative ideas!

Library Visitor

Tuesday 24th January 2023

Today, we were lucky enough to receive a visit from Joanna, from Hartlepool's Library Team. Joanna used to visit school frequently prior to Covid, we were so happy to see her again! Firstly, she read us the story of Aladdin. She had lots of interactive props, which the children loved! Then, we completed a Chinese New Year themed activity, making Chinese lanterns. Lastly, she read us another story. We hope to see her again really soon!!

Science

Thursday 19th January 2023 

This week, we have focused on electricity. Looking around the classroom we identified electrical and non electrical objects. Then, we thought about electrical and non electrical objects that we would find at home. The children gave some great examples! 

Maths 

Wednesday 11th January 2023

In Maths, we have been using scales to weigh objects. Whilst comparing objects, we described them using the very technical terms of 'lighter' and 'heavier' and even had a go at ordering them for lightest to heaviest. Then, using multilink we weighed objects to identify how heavy they were. Some of us even documented our findings in a table. 

History

Thursday 5th January 2023

In History, we have been exploring stories that our parents and grandparents read when they were little, 5'000 years ago! We noticed how old the books looked. Scott also read us the classic 'Chicken Licken'. The children loved it! I think it brought back a lot of memories back for our ancient staff too.  

IT'S CHRISTMAS...

We love Christmas here at Springwell. It is the most wonderful time of the year! Panda class have enjoyed so many different Christmas activities. Here are some photos of what we have been getting up to. 

We made Christmas decorations for the big Christmas tree out in the foyer. All of the school enjoyed our Christmas party. Playing games like pass the parcel and eating lots of food.

Pandas even went ice skating at Billingham Forum. Look at our little cubs go on the ice!!!

Best of all though, we had a surprise visitor from the one and only Santa Claus!!! 

RE

Thursday 8th December

Today, we sat and listened to The Christmas Story. We then acted out our very own Nativity. The children were fantastic!

Christmas DT Activity

Wednesday 30th November

Over the last few days, Panda Class have baked and decorated their own gingerbread people to sell at the Christmas Fayre. They measured out ingredients, mixed the dough together and used the cutters. Once baked, the children had fun decorating the biscuits. They were in high demand!

World Cup

Monday 21st November

Today, we went red and white to support England in their first game in the World Cup tournament. We watched the matched and cheered our boys on! Let's hope they do as well as our women's team in the Euros. Come on England! 

Art

Thursday 17th November

Over the past few weeks, Panda Class have been trying their hands at being Van Gogh. We attempted our own take on his famous oil painting 'Starry Night'. Painted in June 1889, it depicts the view from a window of his asylum room at Saint-Remy-de-Provence. Understandably, everybody was that impressed with our fantastic pictures - Mrs Hillan decided to use them from a display in her office! Here are our final pieces. 

Design and Technology

Tuesday 8th November

This week in Design and Technology (DT), we have been busy designing finger puppets. We put our sewing skills to the test and tried really hard. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Monday 31st October 

As you can see, Pandas have loved Halloween at school! We went trick or treating round other classes (and the offices). We had a party and a disco. We loved seeing everybody dressed up so spookily. We hope you all had a spooktacular time too. 

As you can see, Pandas have loved Halloween at school! We went trick or treating round other classes (and the offices). We had a party and a disco. We loved seeing everybody dressed up so spookily. We hope you all had a spooktacular time too. 

HAPPY HALF TERM!!!

Wow, what a lovely first half term back at school. All our beautiful Pandas have settled into their new class wonderfully and have worked so hard! (And had lots of fun!) Have a fabulous week off - filled with lots of Halloween fun. 

We will see our Pandas back at school Monday 31st October. Children are allowed to dress up in Halloween Costumes or non-uniform (if they wish). 

Tuesday 18th October 2022

PHSE

This term, we have been learning about Harvest Festival. We thought about why we celebrate Harvest Festival. We looked at healthy and unhealthy foods and sorted foods into the two groups. We also identified foods that went into different food groups like meat, vegetables and fruits. Here are some photos of us in action.

Tuesday 11th October 2022

Computing

This term, we are learning all about computers. We have thought about what we would use computers for (like FaceTime and games) and different types of computers (like tablets, iPads and desktop computers). We have even had a go at designing and making some of our own computers. Here are some pictures of our designs and the final products.  

Wednesday 5th October 2022

Visit from 'Maisie'

We had such a lovely visit from Maisie the PAT dog (pets as therapy) today. We are so lucky, as a school, to get frequent visits from Maisie. All of the children (and adults!) look forward to Maisie coming into school. She helps us to learn and develop lots of skills such as: empathy, social skills, interpersonal skills and how to care appropriately for animals. 

Thursday 29th September 2022

DT

This term, we are learning all about Neil Armstrong, the astronaut, landing on the moon and his journey getting there. In DT, the children made their very own rockets using different coloured card. Here are some pictures of making the rockets and a picture of our fantastic rockets displayed in the classroom. 

Wednesday 21st September 2022

Maths

In Maths, we have been matching numerals to quantities using multi links and maths blocks. The children have worked really hard as you can see. 

Thursday 15th September 2022

English

In English, our story this week is 'How to be a Hero'. The children did a fantastic job at acting out specific parts of the story. Here are some action shots of our Panda cubs. 

Friday 9th September 2022

PE

This term in PE, we are learning to play football. We are developing our dribbling, shooting and passing skills. Here are some actions shots from our PE lessons.