The curriculum has been brought vividly to life for children at St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School, with the introduction of a colourful mural and a themed new library. Created by artist Jamie Henderson from Cloud H, the hand-painted mural fills the entrance and stairwell at our school, and was designed with the help of Headteacher Anne Bullerwell. It features key historical ages, along with some familiar landmarks. “It’s an ancient history timeline,” explained Mrs Bullerwell. “It depicts scenes from ancient history, including Prehistoric, Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age – including some local history, with a depiction of Howick House Stone Age dwelling from 7600 BC – Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. “It reflects the Key Stage 2 History Curriculum, engages and excites the children, and makes use of a plain stairwell to enhance the teaching and learning environment of the school. “The children were absolutely blown away when they saw it. There were gasps of ‘Wow!’ as they entered the building.” There was another surprise in store for the pupils at St Cuthbert’s, which is part of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust – the library had also received a dramatic new look, and had been transformed into an ‘enchanted forest’. Devised by Mrs Bullerwell and the company Promote Your School, the makeover included a wall mural of scenes and characters from classic children’s books. “The idea was to develop an immersive feel to the library, so as to give it a feeling of being in an enchanted forest,” said Mrs Bullerwell. “The children love it, and describe it as a ‘magical place’ where they can ‘visit different places and live the lives of different people’. “The library is timetabled for use every day by classes. We also run a Reading for Pleasure lunch club, and teachers have hosted reading sessions for our more able readers to broaden their range of reading material. “We also host our extremely popular and well attended parent/carer Reading Cafes in the library.” Our new library is home to thousands of books, while an electronic book loaning system has been introduced to facilitate borrowing. “The library is extremely well resourced, and non-fiction books cover the full range of the primary curriculum,” continued Mrs Bullerwell. “We have a well-stocked section focusing on local history and geography. “Our fiction range covers all genres and includes authors ranging from Charles Dickens to Sharna Jackson. We have a well-stocked bi-lingual section to support our EAL [English as an Additional Language] learners. We also have a range of children’s books set in the local area.” Both projects were funded by the school’s Parent Teacher and Friends Association. “We have a phenomenally proactive and effective PTFA who host a range of fundraising events across the year,” added Mrs Bullerwell. “Any events we host alongside the PTFA are always well attended and supported by parents and carers.”

Date Time Event Tuesday 3rd September 08:30 School Re-opens Monday 9th September 3:15-4:15 Reception Open Evening Tuesday 10th September 3:15-4:15 Year 1 Open Evening Monday 16th September 3:15-4:15 Year 2 Open Evening Tuesday 17th September 3:15-4:15 Year 6 Open Evening Friday 20th September AM Year 1 Phonics/Reading meeting Monday 23rd September 3:15-4:15 Year 3 Open Evening Tuesday 24th September 9:00-10:00 Year 1/2 Macmillan Reading Cafe 3:15-4:15 Year 4 Open Evening Wednesday 25th September 9:00-10:00 Year 5/6  Macmillan Reading Cafe Thursday 26th September 9:00-10:00 Year 3/4 Macmillan Reading Cafe Friday 27th September AM Reception Phonics/Reading meeting Monday 30th September 3:15-4:15 Year 5 Opening Evening Monday 7th October 3:15-4:15 Year 6 SATS Parent / Carer meeting Wednesday 23rd October All Day Nursery Spooky Celebration All Day Reception – Year 6 Spooky Disco Friday 25th October AM Reception / Year 6 Buddy Assembly – Parents Carers welcome 3:15 School closes for Half Term

St Cuthbert's Kenton & St George's charity fundraiser: