11.07.25 - Newsletter
Sports Days
What a busy week we’ve had at Ravenswood! On Monday we had our KS1 and KS2 sports days which was followed by Reception’s on Tuesday – the children were brilliant at taking part – thank you for coming to cheer them on – we were lucky to have lovely weather throughout. Thank you to the Friends of Ravenswood for providing refreshing ice pops for the children!
Transition
It’s been lovely to see children being excited and enjoying meeting their new teachers, learning about their new classrooms and areas of school in preparation for September. For the final week, children will return to their original classes and timings.
Children’s cancer run
We’ve received information this week that shows that Ravenswood Primary is at the top of the leader board out of more than 60 schools across the North East (including middle and high schools) for the most amount of money raised. In total our school community raised £7371!
We still have lots of activities in our final week of school:
Monday
We have our reception leavers assembly in the afternoon. Doors will open to parents from 2pm in the main office – this will take place in our Key Stage one hall (where the Christmas performances were).
Tuesday
At 1:30pm the main office doors will be opened to the parents for the beginning of the week Nursery end of year celebration. This will begin in the Key Stage 1 hall and will end with a picnic in the Nursery classroom.
At 2:30pm the main office doors will be opened to parents of children in KS2 who are performing on guitars and drums in the Key Stage 2 hall
Wednesday
At 10:30 we’ll be inviting year 6 parents into the Key Stage 2 hall for the year 6 leavers assembly.
Children in year 3 will also have a trip to Jesmond Dene on this day.
Thursday
At 1:30pm the main office doors will be opened to the parents for the end of the week Nursery end of year celebration. This will begin in the Key Stage 1 hall and will end with a picnic in the Nursery classroom.
Also on Thursday, children in Reception will be celebrating a pirate day, they will be coming into school dressed as pirates and have a pirate picnic later in the afternoon.
House winners
The total house points for the year have been counted up by the year 6 team (including points calculated from house athletics) and the winning team this year is: Love learning tree (Red team). On Thursday next week children from this house can come to school in non-uniform.
End-of-Year Staff Farewells
Next week we will be saying goodbye to our year 6 children but we will also be saying goodbye to some very important staff members who have made a significant contribution to the Ravenswood.
Retirements:
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and congratulations to several members of our staff who will be retiring at the end of this year:
Mrs Maddison
After an incredible 33 years of dedicated service at Ravenswood Primary School, Mrs Maddison will be retiring. Throughout her time with us, she has nurtured and supported hundreds of children with unwavering care and compassion. Her impact on our school community is immeasurable, and she will be deeply missed by staff, pupils, and families alike.
Some of our wonderful support staff are also retiring this year:
- Mrs Addison – 21 years of service
- Mrs Hair– 21 years of service
- Mrs Ridley – 19 years of service
- Mrs Daglish– 13 years of service
These colleagues have given so much to our school over many years, offering care, support, and a steady presence to generations of children. Their dedication and patience have been truly valued, and we are immensely grateful for all they have done.
New job roles:
Some of our staff members are moving onto roles elsewhere. We would like to thank them for the work they have done here at Ravenswood and wish them the best of luck.
Miss Lowther
For 7 years, Miss Lowther has played a vital role in supporting children with special educational needs. Her dedication has not only benefited the children she’s worked with, but also the families she has supported. We are incredibly grateful for her contributions and wish her every success as she moves into a new role with the local authority’s specialist team.
Mrs Armstrong
Mrs Armstrong has worked at Ravenswood for 18 years. She will also be leaving us to join a local authority specialist team where she has the opportunity to go into a range of schools to support schools with their mental health and wellbeing . We’re very thankful for her commitment to the children of Ravenswood and wish her the very best in her new position.
Mrs Markwell
Mrs Markwell has worked at Ravenswood for 11.5 years - supporting a range of children as a member of our support staff. This year she has really enjoyed covering a maternity leave in the school office and has secured a new role in the office of another local school for the next academic year.
Mrs Cumbers, after working with us for almost 5 years, will be relocating with her family out of the local area.
Reminder: Drop-Off Safety and Parking Etiquette
We kindly ask all parents and carers to be mindful of safety during drop-off and pick-up times, particularly around Farnley Road and the back lane near Ravenswood.
Please avoid using the back lane to drop children off directly at the school gate and ensure engines are switched off when stationary to reduce congestion and pollution. We’ve had reports of unsafe and stressful situations for pedestrians—including families walking with young children—due to parked cars blocking pavements and cars idling or turning in tight spaces.
Let’s all work together to make the school run safer and more pleasant for everyone.
Thank you for your continued cooperation.
School grounds
Children are welcome to enjoy our beautiful school grounds after being picked up after school, but must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.