Welcome to the News section of the website. I hope you find it interesting and useful in keeping you informed of the many events that happen in Victoria Park School.

• Book Fair

  Fri 28 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson

  The school book fair will be in Victoria Park Primary again from the 2nd March - 5th March. Books will start from £2 and all pupils will be given a £1 voucher which can be put towards any purchase over £2.99. There will also be book marks and stationary available for purchase.

   

  The 5th March is world book day and pupils are encouraged to come to school dressed up as their favourite book characters.

   

  There will also be competitions with prizes during the fair and the money raised will go towards new books for our library. For more information check out the video posted in the chatterbooks section here (https://www.victoriaparkprimaryschool.co.uk/chatterbooks/)

  

• COVID-19 (coronavirus)

  Thu 27 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson
  As a school, we are closely monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus) and we will be reminding the children about the current public health advice, i.e. if they have to cough or sneeze, to use a tissue to cover their mouth and nose, throw it away carefully after use, and wash their hands and that washing their hands regularly will help prevent flu and other viruses spreading. Mrs Howe, our parent officer, visited classes recently to show the children how to wash their hands well so they should all be experts! Please visit the dedicated Public Health Agency page on COVID-19 if you want to read the most current information and advice (https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/news/covid-19-coronavirus). There have been no positive tests for COVD-19 in Northern Ireland so far.

  

• Number Day

  Thu 27 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson

  A few photos from our Number Day before half-term to raise money for the NSPCC.

  P1 played 'What’s the Time Mr Wolf?' and hopscotch in the playground. They collected leaves, sticks and acorns and then compared them to see which there were more or less of. They also counted them and recorded the results in a table with Miss Tate. During PE they played Number Pong, skittles, an action game using the dice and a number target game.

  P2 were completing number challenges in the hall. They had to throw ping pong balls into numbered cups and then double the number they land in. The children bowled skittles down and completed subtraction sums from 10. We rolled a large dice and children had to do different actions linked to each number. At the fourth station the children were given a sum and had to throw a beanbag onto the correct numbered lily-pad. In the afternoon, they looked at how many tens and ones made up numbers to 50 using a range of different materials.

  P3 used their maths skills to get the right dinner numbers to the office. They also played dice and lily pad games.

  P4 made posters about numbers and then measured using Dienes and rulers.

  P7 enjoyed playing games of the number round from 'Countdown'!

  

• Polar Lands

  Mon 24 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson
  Miss Gillespie was very impressed with these two girls from Room 6. P3 have been learning about Polar Lands this term and Lena made her very own igloo at home from a recycled plastic bottle and cotton wool. Leah very kindly donated some of her own reading books to our classroom library. All of her friends have enjoyed reading them. Well done girls!

  

• Rock Red Friday

  Sat 15 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson
  Thanks for the amazing support for our Rock Red Friday yesterday for the Children's Heartbeat Trust, especially coming only a week after the Number Day for the NSPCC. This charity has helped support one of our P1 pupils and her family so we were delighted that so many children wore their red accessories and donated £285. Thank you again!

  

• Community Events Page

  Thu 13 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson

  A ‘Community Events’ page has now been added to the school website under the ‘News and Events’ tab. We intend on updating this page on a ~monthly basis. This month we have: Sustrans Cycling Activities and Physical Activity Opportunities.
  If you would like to get involved in local events or know someone who would, then please check ‘Community Events’ for details

  

• Thank you

  Wed 12 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson
  P4-P7 children who are in the Andrews house went to the Strand Cinema to watch 'Dolittle' as a reward for being last term's winning house. Well done!
  Thanks to all the parents who braved the arctic conditions to accompany the Andrews children to the cinema yesterday morning. We couldn't organise trips like this without your support. It is very much appreciated.

  

• Robyn - Little Princesses Trust

  Mon 10 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson
  Robyn from P1 had her beautiful blonde hair cut off on Thursday but all for a very good cause. Robyn loves her hair and is very proud of it but she wanted to donate her hair to the Little Princesses Trust which makes wigs for little girls with cancer. If you wish to support her with a small donation you can donate on her JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/Stephanie-Gibson10. You are amazing Robyn!

  

• 4 Corners Festival

  Sun 09 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson
  Ollie, Zac, Rhys, Eva, Katie, Sarah, Mollie and Abigail from P5 Room 10 had a starring role in the 4 Corners Festival on Thursday night. Together with children from St Matthew's, they represented East Belfast in the play 'Surprised by Grace'. They got a bus from school to The Whitla Hall at Methodist College at 4.30pm and then had a final rehearsal before the show began at 7pm. The children were all delighted to be performing to so many family and friends so thank you to all of those who came to support. Our children represented East Belfast proudly and were the stars of the show. Miss Boyd was so proud of how they all put their nerves aside and walked out onto the stage with huge smiles. Thanks to the organisers of the 4 Corners Festival for inviting us along for a second year and to Chris and Ross from Play it by Ear drama company for all their hard work in writing and directing the play.

  

• Well Done Layton!

  Sat 08 Feb 2020 Mr Hutchinson
  Layton from P1 proved to be a really Smartie pants! His estimate of 1135 was the closest to the 1161 sweets actually in the jar (his other estimates of 1129, 1050 and 1500 were also very close as well!). Make sure you don't eat them all at once Layton! A massive thanks to everyone who took part and donated money towards our NSPCC Number Day fundraiser yesterday as we raised over £350. You're all amazing!