Year 6 Visit HMS Belfast

Year 6 pupils visited HMS Belfast on Wednesday. Moored on the River Thames by Tower Bridge, the Belfast is a Second World War ship with a fascinating history. Year 6 attended a workshop where they learnt many interesting facts: did you know that the sailors had to work in temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius as they travelled in convoys through the Arctic Ocean? Pupils were allowed to explore the ship and they had great fun climbing up and down the ladders.

“I couldn’t believe the amount of weaponry. It was a gigantic boat with four decks!” said Charlie.

“We liked the gun turret where there was an interactive video of what it would have been like in the war – it was quite scary” exclaimed Sasha and Megan.

Design a New School Sign Competition

Emily from 5MD has won the 'Design a New School Sign for Hacton Primary' competition. Her detailed drawing has been used to create a striking new sign above the school entrance. Emily was given her prize of Lakeside vouchers in assembly to great applause from the rest of the school. Well done and happy shopping Emily!

Cake Sale Today - 20th October

Please visit the Nursery today (via the main school entrance) where you will find a selection of delicious, reasonably priced home made cakes. The cake sale will run from 3.00-5.30 so that parents will have the opportunity to grab a tasty treat after Parents' Evening. Everyone is welcome.

Open Morning for Prospective Parents - 3rd November

We are holding an open morning on Thursday the 3rd November for parents of children who may wish to join Reception classes in September 2012. The guided tour will begin at 11.15. If you would like to visit us, please contact the school office on 01708 443991 or email us at office@hacton.havering.sch.uk

Cheerleading

A great time was had by years 5 and 6 this week when they all became cheerleaders. Funded by the Sainsburys Active Kids campaign, they all enjoyed an hour of shaking, leaping and twirling. Staff members all joined in (nice pom poms Mr Ferns!) and many children were amazed at the flexibility of their teachers: legs were kicked high, cartwheels spun and leaps sprung. Everyone learnt a routine to JLS's song, She Makes me Wanna. The children had so much fun with many describing the experience of cheerleading as "brilliant!".

A Visit to Eastbury Manor by Year 3

We went to Eastbury Manor to learn about the Tudors. We went by train and then we walked the rest of the way to the house. When we turned a corner suddenly we saw the house and it looked huge. Two ladies came out and introduced themselves as Pat and Barbara. They were dressed in Tudor clothes. We looked for herbs in the back garden. One of the herbs was mint. We rubbed the leaves and smelt our fingers, if they smelt of something then that plant was a herb. In the other garden we sketched a picture of the house. We walked around the outside of the house looking for chimneys, there were 16 but 1 was fake. Two children got dressed in Tudor clothes and we found out that girls didn't wear any pants! We also found out that the servants were mostly boys and they got paid 4 pennies a day. We had a great time at Eastbury Manor and learn a lot about the Tudors.

By 3AW and Mrs Wiggins

Walk To School Celebration

On Tuesday 4th October, five lucky Year 4 pupils travelled by bus with Mrs Hammond and a parent helper to Havering's annual Walk To School celebration at Westlands playing fields. They had a special police escort on the bus and were very pleased that the rain held off for the event. The children enjoyed taking part in a dance workshop, a sports activity and a quiz, coming a very close second in their group by only one point! The day had an Olympic theme, and the children brought along their design of an Olympic running vest to be entered into a borough competition taking place next month - fingers crossed. All in all, it was a great day out.

Egyptian Workshop

On Tuesday 4th October, Year 4 were entertained by Tutankhamun, Anubis, Nefertari, Daphne Witherspoon the explorer and an Egyptian Countess. In an interactive workshop, the children created the River Nile with visual aids, completed a washing line time line, showing the main historical periods from 3000BC to today and they met ancient Egyptian people in the inner chamber of a tomb. Despite warning, the children left the workshop with a terrible dancing curse, which meant when they heard Egyptian music they started dancing. Let's hope it wears off soon!

Kidspace Visit by Year 2

Year 2 visited Kidspace last Thursday. We went on the 193 bus, it was very bumpy and noisy. We were very polite and let other passengers have the seats. Racing on the go-carts, whizzing down the slides and firing sponge balls at our friends were some of the exciting things that we did. We were allowed to play for two hours. It was great fun. On the way home we were tired so we had a sleep. Miss Lawson was happy to have some peace and quiet.

By Year 2 and Miss Lawson

All About Cake Event

On Friday 23rd September the year six cooking club attended the All About Cake event. Edd Kimber, who won the Great British Bake off competition, was there to tell people how his career took off. The founder of Choccywoccydoodah also spoke to us about her business and passion for cooking. During the speeches they handed out bags of Belgian chocolate. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any of it! Due to the generosity of the kind people, we were able to have a little taste of the chocolate. After this there was an opportunity to view all the cakes for sale, we took home some delicious treats. Mrs Deane also purchased Edd Kimber’s new cooking book, which he signed on behalf of the school. We are looking forward to trying out one of his recipes. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the event. We would recommend that you watch the new series of Choccywoccydoodah on the television. What is more, we might appear on the program, see if you can spot us in the audience.