UHIC and the LSO

Ten hearing-impaired children have once again had the opportunity to work with two players from the London Symphony Orchestra. This is the fourth year that Paul, the trombone player has visited our school and he has been joined this year by Heather who plays viola.

The project has been really exciting - composing and performing the sound track to a short Estonian film called The Carrot. This wonderful short film tells the story of a hungry rabbit who wants to steal the carrot nose of a magic snowman. There are lots of chases and magical transformations which make the silent film enthralling. However when music is added the film is even better.

So with Paul on trombone, Heather on viola and Hacton children on percussion we have completed 4 minutes of audio for the film. The final three minutes will be composed when Mrs McDonach's Year 4 class join the UHIC children to complete the sound track. It has been a really exciting project and we can’t wait to get the final DVD which will be prepared by the LSO technicians. Look out for the world premiere at Hacton School sometime in the future!

Year 3 Visit Colchester Castle

Year 3 were transported back to the Iron Age when they visited Colchester Castle. They found out about the Celtic way of life and how it was affected by the Roman invasion of Britain. Playing the part of Romans and Celts, Year 3 worked in teams to build a Roman villa and a Celtic roundhouse and they also gained a greater understanding of the way in which archaeologists have uncovered amazing ancient artefacts. A tour of the castle vaults revealed how the castle had changed over time and the children heard tales of how the Celts, led by Boudicca, tried to fight back against their Roman rulers.

R J Mitchell 2 – 0 Hacton

The first half of this closely fought match found Hacton on great form. Our team had all the best chances with players getting in behind the opposition backline but they just couldn’t find the decisive finish. The second half continued in the same vein until a freak goal put R J Mitchell one nil up. Hacton tried hard to get the equaliser and the opposition had to make a few last gasp clearances off the line. As Hacton pushed on they were hit on the counter attack with a neat passing move in the last minute of the match. The Hacton team played extremely well and lost a match that could have gone either way. Here's hoping luck is on our side next time!

Science Trip to Sanders Draper

Eager to explore secondary science labs, class 6GD visited Sanders Draper school. Magnesium burned, ice melted, eggs fried and Bunsen burners flamed as the budding scientists investigated reversible and irreversible changes under the watchful eyes of Miss Mayhew (Primary Science coordinator) and Mrs Delmonte. All the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were able to develop their understanding through the practical activities.

Hacton 0 - 0 Newtons

Hacton were, again, unlucky not to win a game that they dominated. The defence were rarely troubled and they kept some good opposition players in check. Our team created a large number of chances but the ball just could not find the net; some shots trickled wide and other fired over the bar. There were only a couple of scary moments but the goalkeeper, who had little to do, was calm and easily dealt with any danger. Hopefully, in the next game, we can find our shooting boots!

Diary of Events

As we begin the first full week back after the Christmas holidays, we would like to wish all our pupils, parents, staff and governors a very Happy New Year. 2012 promises to be an exciting and busy year with plenty of events and visits planned.

This year we are going to post more useful information, including some letters, on our News Feed. We hope that this will make it more convenient to refer back to previous correspondence.

Here is the a copy of our Provisional Diary of Events for Spring 2012