Meet Reggie- the newest member of the Laygate team

21st March 2022Catherine Dodds

Reggie came to meet the children at Laygate today and what a welcome he received!

Reggie is a 13 week old cavapoo owned by Mrs King. He will be coming into school regularly as a therapy dog to spread happiness and good vibes around the school.

What are the benefits of having a school dog?

Therapy dogs have been working in UK schools for the past five years but have been commonplace in schools in the US and Australia for many years. Research studies have shown the benefits of therapy dogs in schools which include:

  • Cognitive – companionship with a dog stimulates memory, problem-solving and game-playing
  • Social – a dog provides a positive mutual topic for discussion, encourages responsibility, wellbeing and focused interaction with others
  • Emotional – a school dog improves self-esteem, acceptance from others and lifts moods, often provoking laughter and fun. Dogs can also teach compassion and respect for other living things as well as relieving anxiety
  • Physical – interaction with a furry friend reduces blood pressure, provides tactile stimulation, assists with pain management, gives motivation to move, walk and stimulates the senses
  • Environmental – a dog in a school increases the sense of a family environment, with all of the above benefits continuing long after the school day is over.

Important Update for Parents – South Tyneside Urgent Care for Children Service

4th March 2022K Millican

9am until 9pm opening hours for South Tyneside Urgent Care for Children service 

 

With effect from Monday 7 March, the nurse-led service at South Tyneside District Hospital will be open every day from 9am until 9pm.  The temporary change has been necessary due to unforeseen staffing challenges.  Parents are being reassured that the service will continue to be available for 12 hours every day to see and treat the vast majority of children who attend hospital with urgent, but not life threatening, problems.

 

The temporary change means the service will open one hour later at 9am (instead of 8am) and close one hour earlier each day at 9pm (instead of 10pm).

 

 

Safer Internet day 2022

By Catherine Dodds27th February 2022

Safer Internet Day 2022 took place on 8th February with the theme ‘All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online’.

The teachers across ks1 and ks2 introduced the children to Google’s Be Internet Legends programme which teaches young children how to become smart and confident explorers of the online world. The children were very excited to receive their own  3D-printed Internet Legend trophy in pieces which they could take home to finish with their families. To unlock assembly instructions, the children were required to correctly answer twenty quiz questions on topics like strong passwords, standing up to cyberbullies and keeping personal information secure.

The children were very excited to show off their finished trophy. Some of the children shared photos of their finished project via Google Classroom whilst others brought them back to school the next day. A very fun, challenging but informative day. The teachers were extremely impressed with the children’s knowledge of internet safety. Well done Laygate School.

https://parentzone.org.uk/article/safer-internet-day-2022-free-resources-educators

Here is the link to the game that can be played at home:
https://beinternetlegends.withgoogle.com/en_ie/interland

Lovely feedback from one of the ks1 pupils

Year 3 hard at work

Two year 3 boys working together to answer the internet safety quiz questions

Chinese Ribbon Dance

3rd February 2022Catherine Dodds

To celebrate Chinese New Year on the 1st February 2022, the children from KS1 and KS2 took part in a Chinese Ribbon dance workshop.

Chinese ribbon dancing is a traditional art form that originates in ancient China and has been performed for over 1000 years. Using sharp, rhythmic movements and long colorful ribbons dancers perform to traditional Chinese music. The people of the Han dynasty created and performed the ribbon dance in gratitude and honor. The ribbons symbolise the sleeve of the hero who saved a Han Dynasty emperor from an assassin by using the silk from his sleeve to block the sword. 

Year 3:

 

Year 4/5

Year 6