On the morning of the 11th of June, 45 year sevens left school to go to Newlands Activity Centre for the week. Newlands is in Keswick, which is in the Lake District. Their week was filled with mountain biking, canoeing and other fun activities. The teachers also took part in a few of the activities. The food was amazing, dinner was a three-course meal every night and the breakfast included sausages, bacon and hash browns.
For our Key project this term, we have used our £500 to go to Kaspa’s and visit Flamingo Land.
On the 26th June, we got on a minibus and headed off to Flamingo Land. Each person in our Key group brought along a friend. It was a lovely, hot day when we arrived and we all had fun on rollercoasters and water rides. We even got stuck on the log flume! It was loads of fun and everyone enjoyed a full day of rides and ice cream.
Recently, a group of Year 8 pupils, Abbie, Bethan, Finn, Muntaha and Phoebe, organized an action-packed day trip to a trampoline park, an escape room, and dinner at Kaspa’s. We went on the 3rd July, firstly going to an escape room called the Escape Key. There, we had to solve problems and work together as a team to solve the escape room mystery. Though it was scary, everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
On the 13th of June 2018 year 8 went on a trip to London. It was amazing!
Our itinerary was full to the brim-including 2 shows, 2 restaurant meals and lots of sightseeing. Our first port of call after arrival and checking in was Kensington Gardens for lunch. After enjoying a delicious lunch we headed to the science museum (Are you proud Miss Hudson?). The next thing on our list was a boat ride down the Thames to then walk past the Tower of London on our way to TGI Friday’s for our evening meal. The last thing for that day was going to see the incredible ‘School of Rock’. Everyone in the cast was so talented it really made for an entertaining show, which everyone loved.
At the end of June, 9 boys went on the trip to the 500 Games. They played at Benfield School and won 6 out of 7 football matches! They drew once with Ravenswood, whom they then beat in the final, 1 – 0! Alfie was their goal scorer and he did great. The boys played seven a side, with eight minutes per match. The final (where they beat Ravenswood) lasted for ten minutes. The boys conceded one goal in the semi-final. The goal scorers were Thomas, with 10, Julian, with 3, Dean, with 2, and Alfie, with 2. Their goalie was Finlay who only let in one goal during the whole tournament. Thomas, the striker, is in Newcastle United Football Academy and the other boys also play for local teams. They all had an absolutely great time and will never forget their success at the 500 Games!
May pupils chose to spend their Iris points on a VIP lunch where they were served by some of their fellow pupils and by Mrs Heslop and Ms Graham. Umar from Year 6 said they were ‘treated like gods’ -a bit hyperbolic but you get the picture! They enjoyed many tasty treats and it was well worth the 90 points. Some pupils had enjoyed it so much last year that they decided to attend again while others said it was a great way to spend time with friends. One generous pupil Lucy had payed for both herself and her friend Maisie to attend. Sonny in Year 6 thought it was better than a non-uniform day because it was a one- off treat while there are other chances to go to school in non-uniform. You can see from the photo opposite how much everyone enjoyed tucking in!
On the 16th July 2018, a group of children visited Cullercoats Bay. This was a reward bought in the iris shop. The price of the trip in the hard earned iris points was 120. The students, accompanied by Mrs Cheape and Ms Graham, took the metro to Cullercoats. Upon arrival at the beach, the students positioned their belongings with the group’s and started digging! The beach itself was fun, there was walking into the cold sea; making pits of water; ball games and exploring. One key activity of the day was crab spotting - but most crabs were dead. Fortunately, there was one lobster hiding under a rock causing a commotion as it was rather large.
On the 6th of July, hundreds of ecstatic Y8 had a fun filled day waiting for them. At 9:15, the Year 8s travelled the 2 hour drive to North Yorkshire to enjoy a sunny day at the exhilarating theme park. This trip was a treat to celebrate their ‘wonderful’ time at GEMS and to wish for good things for the future.
On the boiling hot days of the 4th and 5th of July, most of Year 8 made their way across the road to the high school. Excitement was in the air as we piled into the hall, sitting with our new classes in rows. Mixed up between us were pupils from Gosforth Junior High and Gosforth Central Middle School. To begin, we had a welcome speech, explaining everything about the days themselves and the activities included. PE, The Fears Wall, school tour and teambuilding were all part of the first day.
On Friday the 22nd June, GEMS held the Summer Fair and this time it was better than ever. Fortunately, many pupils from all year groups made their own stall to run which made the day even more exciting with a massive variety of stalls.
Recently, a group of Year 8 pupils organized workshops for key stage 3 all about mental health.
These workshops were provided by Launchpad, a charity which works with mental health service users and helps to educate the public on these issues. The workshops included talking about everything from depression to anxiety.
On Tuesday 27th March, 12 students from year 8 (Zahra, Lacie, Jessica, Charlotte, Maddy, Isobel, Delphine, Lucy, Sophie, Erin and Frazer) and Mr Dowman and Mrs Batt went on a fantastic trip to a trampoline park. We did lesson 1 and 2 just like usual and had lunch early (thank goodness nobody ate too much otherwise they would have got a stitch). We had an hour of fun at the park. On the way back everyone stopped at a dessert place called Kaspa’s and ordered. “I’ve never been to Kaspa’s so I was excited to try them. From what I’d heard it’s the best dessert on earth, I simply couldn’t wait!” said Zahra before trying it. “Oh my goodness! Can someone please buy me 7 of these for my birthday!” said Jessica, after trying it. Everyone arrived at school with their stomachs full of desserts and huge smiles on their faces.
