Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment via our X page @st_swinton
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School Games Platinum Award
Thu 18 Jul 2019A massive well done to everyone at St Mary's for gaining the School Games Platinum Award. We are so proud of you all!
SGO, Dean Gilmore reported the following about our school:
St Mary's RC Swinton was a school 'Inspired by 2012' and is a fabulous example of the Olympic Legacy in reality. This application is of the highest standard and it is clear to the reader that this school cares deeply about the children and leaves no stone unturned to provide them with a rich variety of experiences. The school has performed admirably at countless Level 2 events and represented the City with pride at the Level 3 event this year. Mr Johnson has ensured the profile of PE remains high and as can be seen by the pupils words the benefits are having a whole school impact. The journey to Platinum has been a long one, but ultimately rewarding. Well done St Mary's RC and keep up the fantastic work.
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I Love Manchester
Thu 18 Jul 2019Massive congratulations to Joshua McAllister who has recently won the I love Manchester t-shirt design competition many of our children took part in. Schools across Greater Manchester were challenged to design their own Manchester t-shirt inspired by their own community.
His winning design has been printed and is available to buy at
https://ilovemanchester.shop/product/swinton-t-shirt-by-joshua-mcallister/
Congratulations Joshua and well done to all who took part!
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Space Chase
Wed 17 Jul 2019Salford libraries are calling for children to sign up to read six books this summer as part of Space Chase, Summer Reading Challenge 2019.
The Summer Reading Challenge asks 4-11 year olds to borrow and read any six library books over the summer. The theme for the 2019 Summer Reading Challenge is Space Chase, inspired by the 50thanniversary of the first moon landing.
Children will team up with futuristic family The Rockets for an exciting space mission as they track down books nabbed by a mischievous band of aliens. As children read library books for the Summer Reading Challenge, they will receive special stickers, some with mysterious smells. By adding these stickers to their collectable mission folders, young readers will help the Rockets solve clues, dodge asteroids and discover the missing books, having lots of fun and adventures along the way.
What’s more, as a special incentive this year, any child joining the Summer Reading Challenge will also receive a special wristband that entitles them to half price swimming at any Salford Community Leisure pool over the summer holidays! On top of that, any child who completes the Challenge and returns all 6 books will receive a free Family Swimming Voucher, valid up to 31st October!
Finally, the Salford school with the highest percentage of children who finish the Summer Reading Challenge will get a prize of books for their school library!
To take part in Space Chase, all children need to do is sign up at their nearest library, where they will be given a collector folder to keep a record of their Summer Reading Challenge journey. Children should all have received an invitation to the Challenge.
Space Chase launches in libraries across Salford on Saturday 13th July and runs until 21st September and more information can be found here https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/
There’s a whole programme of events and activities planned at Salford libraries for families over the summer to celebrate the Summer Reading Challenge, including Space Books, Virtual Reality and Doddlebots! Just go to www.salfordcommunityleisure.co.uk/live to find out how to take part.
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STEM workshops
Wed 17 Jul 2019Salford Libraries Live is an Arts Council funded project run by Salford Community Leisure Services. They are running a programme of events and workshops this summer aimed at young people aged 3-12yrs, with a STEM focus. The workshops are a mixture of science and arts, digital and hands-on technology and are promoted at a very affordable price for young people and families.
The aim is to engage young people in a fun and enjoyable way, inspiring their interest in science and arts.
The programme takes place in four main libraries in the city as well as Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The overall theme is SPACE and celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the moon landings.
Here is a weblink to the programme for more information and bookings, with further details also on the attached pdf.
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Year 6 Mass
Tue 16 Jul 2019Year 6 celebrated their last mass in St Mary's followed by an awards ceremony for Writing, Creativity, Sport and Friendship. It was a special occasion with only a few dry eyes in the congregation.
We would like to wish all our Year 6 pupils the best of luck in their new high schools.
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Shadow Fun
Mon 15 Jul 2019This term, in science, year 3 have been working on the topic of ‘Light’. Today we made use of the beautiful sunshine and went outside with our shadow puppets, armed with coloured chalk to do some work on shadows. We learnt that the shortest shadows are cast at noon and that they become longer later in the afternoon. Here are some photographs of us using our shadow puppets on the playground.
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Website Launched
Wed 03 Jul 2019Welcome to our brand new school website! We have created the website to keep parents up to date with school news and notices, and to showcase some of the great things our pupils are achieving.
The website is extremely easy to edit by all staff at the school, so check back soon for new updates! -
Sports Day
Thu 27 Jun 2019The sun was shining on our children at today’s sports day and the sporting talents of our children shone also. The children were a credit to themselves, and to the many parents who attended, through the way they took part in today’s events. The winning house was the house of Knock – well dome! All the children displayed the school games sports values of: determination, honesty, passion, self-belief, respect and teamwork. Congratulations to the children nominated by their teachers to receive a school games sports values certificate.
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Engineers Assemble
Wed 26 Jun 2019Year 5 travelled to St Ambrose today to take part in a STEM Scientific-Engineering Challenge. The children got the chance to put their critical thinking, resilience, perseverance, questioning techniques, problem solving and collaboration to the test today.
After a brief tour around the school we were taken to the lab by Mr McDonagh who itroduced us to a variety of civil, building and industrial engineers who had given up their time to come and help the children today. They were brilliant and talked and asked the children questions which were really thought provoking and challenging.
The class was then split into two groups to tackle the challenges – one was Building a Bridge that could sustain the weight – luckily we had Chris Thomas – who has worked in the industry for 45 years and was a real specialist in bridges. He explained how the different types of bridges are built and how they hold weights and span distances. The children then set off – hard hats, hi-vis jackets and gloves on. They had to use their skills to build the bridge – i am happy to say we lost no one to the depths below as their bridges were constructed properly.
The second activity was the Tetrahedron building. Using sticks and elastic bands the children constructed sets of Tetrahedrons which they then grouped together in 4’s to make even bigger ones. The final groups of 4 were then lashed together to make one large shape that we could all fit inside. The boys all complained that the girls were better at this challenge because, ‘they have to put bunches and plaits in their hair so know how to use bands!’ I just think they were a bit upset that the girls were amazingly quick at working this one out!
We travelled by bus to and from the school and the behaviour of the children was brilliant. A credit to the school!
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Robinwood – Day 2
Tue 25 Jun 2019Tuesday morning began with all the children being treated to a cooked breakfast before the morning activities began. From 9am, Year 6 were taking part in a wide range of tasks which tested their resilience, teamwork and cooperation skills. Highlights included problem-solving Crystal Maze style tasks in the Dungeon and the Crate Building Challenge. However, most challenging of all was the Piranha Pool, where groups had 40 minutes to complete a series of puzzles in order get themselves across a murky pool of water and out of their escape room, before a throng of bloodthirsty piranhas were released into the water below! Luckily all the children survived with arms and legs intact.
After a brisk lunch, Year 6 had the opportunity to buy treats and souvenirs from the tuck shop and have team photos on Lord Dobroyd’s grand staircase in the centre of the castle. Then it was straight back into action, with the children thriving in high-flying exploits on the Zipwire and the giant swing.
Tea tonight was a choice of pizza and pasta, before we finished the day with two more challenging tasks. All the children went to bed tired and happy with their day’s work.
