For readers who recall our news story at the start of this term about our new and exciting curriculum at Sugar Hill we are so proud to share this news story with you about our Year 6 children and their project outcome. On Monday 29th & Tuesday 30th November Year 6 children from Sugar Hill Primary School hosted their own community soup kitchen outside the old Barclays Bank unit in Newton Aycliffe town centre. The children have spent much of the Autumn Term learning about human rights and how they are met in our local community. Throughout recent weeks, they have spent much of their time attempting to contact local businesses and charities in order to gain support for their community kitchen. The children used their literacy skills to write for a real purpose and enthusiastically wrote persuasive letters to Tesco, Costa, local green grocers and Junction 7. Writing to these companies was a great way for the children to engage with local businesses and to develop an understanding of the support networks that exist within our local area. The community kitchen itself was an extremely rewarding day for the children and allowed them the opportunity to organise and deliver something that they had never had the chance to do before. They spent much of the morning cooking and preparing food – donated by our local Tesco store – in our community kitchen, ensuring that they could cater for as many people as possible with their soup and sandwiches. The event also gave the children the confidence to engage with members of the public and to strike up conversations about what they were doing and why. These are valuable life skills that we hope the children will continue to develop.
One attendee commented: ‘It’s lovely to see young children engaging with their community in such a positive way.’ Another was incredibly complimentary of the children’s work and was desperate to make a donation despite there being no charge for the food.
All in all, each afternoon was incredibly successful and the Year 6 children can be extremely proud of the work they put in to supporting members of their town. This event was supported by Russell Gibson, school governor, who commented that he could see that curriculum plans were coming to fruition and that the learning emphasised the children being at the heart of projects.
Mrs O’Rourke Head Teacher said, ‘I am incredibly proud of the work the children have completed throughout their project and the learning that has taken place this term. The children have developed skills and understanding around 21st Century issues within our local community that has broadened their knowledge of life beyond the classroom. It was lovely to see the children engage with members of the public and to hear so many compliments about Sugar Hill children. A huge thanks to local businesses who have supported staff and children with this project. Year 6 parents and carers will be coming into school next week where the children will showcase their learning and we are looking forward to this event in school’.