Big Walk and Wheel- March 2024
Thank you to all the children and parents who took part in the Big Walk and Wheel initiative over the last 2 weeks. The purpose of the Walk and Wheel is to encourage children and parents to be active, as well as to help the environment by reducing vehicle emissions.
Considering the weather hasn’t been great, 696 journeys were logged either on foot, cycling or scooting. This is an amazing effort, so well done to everyone who took part.
Class Results:
1st Year 6 Eagles- 60%
2nd Year 5 Kingfishers- 53%
3rd Year 2/3 Finches- 49%
4th Year 1 Sparrows- 44%
5th Year 3/4 Swifts- 43%
6th EYFS Robins- 36%
Well done to Eagles class who get an extra 30 minutes of break time next week as a reward for finishing first.
Cumbria Cross Country Championships- January 2024
The Cumbria Schools' Cross Country Championships took place on Wednesday afternoon at Hunter Hall School in Penrith. Six children from Dean Gibson had qualified: Lyra (Year 3), Cora, Rosie, Stanley (Year 5), Elodie and Charlie (Year 6). After the awful weather conditions of the previous day, the course held up well and was surprisingly firm. There were a few testing hills and low walls to negotiate along the route, which proved a real test for the children's fitness and running ability.
Once again, all the children were a credit to our school and demonstrated maximum effort on a tough course. Lyra, who was competing against many older children in her Year 3&4 category, finished in 12th position, while Stanley came home in 35th in the Year 5 boys' race. In the Year 5 girls' race, Rosie qualified for the national finals with a commendable 10th place finish and Cora Martin finished 35th in the same category. In the Year 6 race, Elodie posted a creditable 19th place finish, while Charlie grabbed 20th position.
This was a great afternoon of running, enjoyed by all the participants and spectators alike! Thank you to all the parents who supported so enthusiastically on the day.
South Lakes Cross Country Competition- January 2024
It was ideal running conditions for the South Lakes Cross Country Competition at Sedbergh School, Casterton yesterday. The cool, bright and dry conditions had firmed up the course making for fast times and excellent performances by members of Dean Gibson School. Each and every child performed to the best of their ability and were a credit to the school.
The course, measuring just over a mile, was a real challenge with its uneven surface and gradual inclines. Stand-out performances on the day included Charlie Potter and Ed Chaplow's 10th and 13th place finishes in the Year 6 boys' race. Meanwhile, Elodie Haslett, Mila Fletcher, April Fletcher and Poppy Biddle's 9th, 12th, 15th and 56th placed finishes saw the Year 6 girls take the overall team bronze medal in third place. What an incredible achievement!
Moving into the Year 5 boys' race Stanley Troughton finished 14th, while for the girls, Rosie Beaton and Cora Martin finished 9th and 13th respectively. Finally, in the Year 3&4 girls' race, Lyra Haslett finished 11th. Well done to all the children and thank you to parents and family member for your support.
Key Stage 2 Christmas Play- December 2023
Key Stage 2 children performed their Christmas play entitled: Bethlehem the Musical, which takes a fresh look at the familiar Nativity story. Drawing on the most important themes of community and hospitality, this all-singing, all-dancing production weaves the extraordinary story of the birth of Jesus into the ordinary lives of the people of Bethlehem.
Fabulous songs and a funny script bring together all the usual Nativity characters and introduce us to the colourful, lovable Busker Ben (Poppy B) and the townspeople and visitors of Bethlehem. We really enjoyed performing this; we hope you enjoy watching it too!
South Lakes British Dodgeball Competition- November 2023
On Monday 6th November, a group of ten Year 6 children competed in a South Lakes British Dodgeball competition, hosted by Queen Katherine School. All the children had a wonderful time, jammed packed full of enjoyment for competitive sport. Importantly, the children learnt some new dodgeball skills and developed their tactical awareness of the game. In the end, the team managed to win one game, finishing fifth in their group. Well done to: Abi, Alfie, Iris, George, Ed, Seb, Lewis, Gabriela, Poppy and Archie for being superb ambassadors for the school. Thank you also to Mrs Dustan who helped on the day and to QKS for hosting.
September 2023
We are very proud to have been awarded the ‘Artsmark Silver Award’ by Arts Council England over the summer holidays.
Dick Viney Athletics Competition- July 2023
On Tuesday evening, Stanley Troughton, Rosie Beaton, Alfie Hodgson, Elodie Haslett, Billy Garnett and Robyn Irving represented Dean Gibson at the Dick Viney athletics competition at Queen Katherine School. Everyone competed magnificently and it was great to see the children enjoying participating in a range of athletic disciplines.
In the Year 4 boys' event, Stanley won gold in the standing long jump competition, silver in the 80m sprint, silver in the chest push and bronze in the 400m- what a fabulous talent he is! In the Year 4 girls' event, Rosie finished third in the 80m sprint, while over in the Year 6 boys' event, Billy finished third in the chest push. In the Year 5 competition, Alfie and Elodie recorded many solid performances, while Robyn stood in at the last minute and progressed through into the 80m sprint finals, just missing out on a medal finishing in fifth place. Thank you also to all the parent, grandparent and family support on what was a fabulous evening of athletics.
Imagine A Story- Year 4 are published authors June 2023
Year 4 were asked to take part in the ‘Imagine a Story’ book workshop, in which allowed them to become published authors at the end of it. Working with schools across the country we collaboratively created a story. This year the story was called ‘Rewilding Dream’ in which a future world is experiencing a climate crisis. Two characters had to take on horrid Faceless Guzzles with the support of their true, true birds.
The children said:
When we were writing this chapter in our classroom, we found it very exciting to know that our names were going to be published in a book. We wanted to represent our school and be proud of what we achieved together. It was a fun challenge, piecing together all of our ideas and coming to a creative ending.
When we were reading the story, we didn't want to stop, there is nothing better than having a book that grips you and keeps us on the edge of our seats. During the writing, process we had fun role playing the characters and seeing how they look after one another and creating our own true, true birds.
We have now received our copy of the book and were excited to find our names!
If you were an Engineer what would you do? WINNER! 2023
Last term, we celebrated British Science Week by entering a competition run by STEM ‘If you were an engineer what would you do?’ We kicked this off with a visit from a real engineer, Adam Thicket, from Siemens Energy who came to speak to us about what things he has created, what inspires him and why he became an engineer. We even had the opportunity to interview him, asking our own questions about his job.
Then, in our classes we thought about all the different problems there are in the world both big and small that we would like to find a solution. This is where we became engineers, as we worked hard brainstorming and developing designs that could be created and solve the issue. As part of the competition, we wrote rationales explaining what our idea is/does and why we have designed it.
Each child has worked extremely hard and there have been some fantastic entries. These were sent away to be graded, and amazingly we have quite a few entries who received a ‘Distinction Shortlisted’ grade which meant they went to the next stage to be judged for winning the competition. All of our entries who achieved the distinction shortlisted stage went on display at the Kendal College in the exhibition.
A huge well done to these children for reaching the final stage:
Year 1- Grace Carr, Jack Aston-Junge.
Year 2- Freddie Hope, Milo Titterington, Noah Jones, Rinabelle Ramos, Sam Edmondson, William Edmondson.
Year 3- Emily Wilson, Kamilla Drellock, Mabel Cormack, Max Fallows.
Year 4- Alphons Noble, Cora Martin, Elijah Irving, Evie Batley, Hannah Irving, Holly Mason, Noah Wilson, Paige Corbett, Sadie Greenup, Sarah Ward, Tristan Plavec.
Year 5- Alexis Leigh, April Fletcher, Zairah Tennison.
Finally, a special mention to Noah Jones, who won in his age category with his idea of a house mover. This is really impressive out of all the number of entries. Amazing job! Big well done to him!
Stramongate Football Festival Runners Up! June 2023
We had a great day in bright sunshine and perfect blue sky at the Year 5/6 football festival, kindly hosted by Stramongate School on Thursday afternoon, where we finished as runners-up in a tightly fought contest. The football on show was truly breathtaking and a real joy to be a part of.
On the way to the semi-final, we topped our qualifying group and progressed into the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Stramongate B, a 0-0 draw with Castle Park and a 4-0 victory over Vicarage Park. In the semi-final, we faced Stramongate A, beating them 1-0 to make it through to the final.
In the final, we faced a strong Castle Park side; a team who we'd drawn 0-0 with in the group stages. There was absolutely nothing between the two sides for most of the match, however Castle Park scored a late winner in a 1-0 scoreline to take home the Simon Fletcher trophy. As always, the children were amazing and played in the true spirit of sport. A huge well done to Billy, Christopher, Darcie, Iris, Alfie W, Alfie M, Jack, Poppy, Josh and Lucie. Many thanks also to the Dean Gibson supporters (parents, family members and friends) who came along.
Cricket Coaching- June 2023
Years 1, 2 ,3, 4 and 5 have been enjoying participating in cricket coaching provided by Cumbria Cricket Association and the Chance to Shine scheme. The children have been learning the key skills of cricket such as batting, bowling and fielding. The sessions will run until the end of the academic year. Well done to all the children involved for improving their cricket skills and making such good progress.
Rounders Festival Joint Winners! May 2023
I'm pleased to announce that we finished as joint winners in the Year 5/6 rounders festival, hosted by Vicarage Park this afternoon. In typical rounders weather, with beautiful sunshine and blue sky, this was a great opportunity for the children to apply their batting, bowling and fielding skills in a competitive environment. On the way to the final we beat Staveley 8-5.5, St Mark's 5.5-4.5 and Vicarage Park B 7-6. In a tense final we played Vicarage Park A, with nothing separating the two talented sides in a 7-7 draw. All the children were a credit to the school and performed magnificently throughout. Well done to Billy, Jack, Alfie M, Alfie W, Josh, Iona, Hattie, Lydia, Darcie, Ellie and Christopher who took part. A massive thank you also to the family support from Mrs Bird, Abi Garnett, Mrs Robinson and Hattie's grandad. Finally, a huge thanks to Vicarage Park School for hosting such a wonderful afternoon of rounders.
Sports Day- May 2023
It took our breath away to once again see so many parents, grandparents, family members and friends, who came along to support our Sports Day yesterday. The positive and supportive atmosphere certainly made this a day to remember. Our number one aim is to promote enjoyment of sport, which in turn builds a lifelong love of physical activity. We have no doubt that this year's sports day will leave lasting positive memories for our children, regardless of their finishing positions. We of course congratulate all those talented children who received first, second and third position certificates. However, once again it was a joy to see those children finishing outside the top three positions enjoying participating in sport with a smile on their face and with a positive attitude. We highly commend these children too. Moreover, hearing the children cheering each other on and congratulating their success in finishing each race was a joy to behold. Thank you all once again for your support and well done to each and every child; you are a credit to our school!
