Harvest Festival Assembly

A big thankyou to all the children and parents who generously donated non-perishable food items for our annual harvest festival assembly on Friday. At this time of thanksgiving, it is important that we appreciate how lucky we are and also to remember those who are less fortunate. Your generous donations were collected by the Mark McCarthys Magic Moments Charity, who will distribute the items to local cancer sufferers in the area who are struggling financially or are unable to leave their homes. Thank you for your continued support of the charities chosen by our school.

listen to ‘Harvest Samba’ on Audioboo

Hacton 1 - 0 Branfill

Goal! Thursday's match against Branfill saw our first goal of the season scored by Harlie, after an impressive set up by the Hacton captain. Both teams played brilliantly, but one player stood out - Francesca. Last week's Girl of the Game was awarded the trophy again for her determination and fantastic effort on the pitch. Every team member made a valuable contribution to the match, with many chances created in both halves. As the final whistle blew, the Hacton girls were victorious with their first win of the season: Hacton 1 - 0 Branfill.

By Amy (Team Captain)

Year 2 Visits

Our Year 2 children are becoming seasoned Tube travellers after two exiting visits in as many weeks. On 8th October we saw how the vehicles we were making in DT with Mrs Ward compared to the real thing at the London Transport Museum. We experienced what it would be like to drive buses and Tube trains then looked at horse-drawn transport and trolleybuses powered by electricity. We travelled through a time tunnel into the past and took a ride on the 'padded cell' train; Gabriel and Jude even became station announcers!

The following Monday we were treated to a musical performance of Igor, The Bird Who Couldn't Sing by the London Symphony Orchestra at The Barbican. We sang two songs with other schools in the audience and were shown how many interesting and unusual sounds the instruments in the orchestra can make. The flutes sounded just like birds singing!

Bikeability by Year 5

Bikeability was taught by three men called Andrew, Trevor and John and a lady called Fiona. We also had Mrs Golding helping along the way. We learnt about safety when cycling along the road. We learnt how to do the 'M check' which is a bike safety check in the shape of an M that starts at the front wheels, moves up to the handlebars, down to the pedals up to the saddle and down to the back wheels. We then learnt the 'clothes check' to make sure that our clothes were suitable for safe cycling.

We started out intense training in the playground and then moved on to the major and minor roads. There were two groups of excited and enthusiastic children. One group went in the morning and the other went in the afternoon. It was great fun to learn how to cycle safely with our friends!

By Stevie-Ana and Lewis, Year 5

A Surprise Picnic for Year 1

Year 1 have been reading the stories ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and ‘Where’s My Teddy?’. An unexpected letter arrived addressed to Year 1 and the children wondered excitedly who it was from. When the envelope was opened, they were surprised to find that it was from the teddy bears inviting them to a picnic. However, to get there the children had to follow a trail of clues. The clues were pictures and questions linked to the story ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. The final clue told the children to go to the hall where a picnic and the teddy bears were waiting for them!

Secondary School Admission Reminder

A reminder to all Year 6 parents that the closing date for receipt of secondary school admission application forms is 31st October 2012.

Applications should be sent to:

The School Admissions Team
9th Floor Mercury House
Mercury Gardens
Romford RM1 3SL

or online at www.havering.gov.uk

Hacton 2-1 Elm Park

On a Friday afternoon in front of a packed house, Hacton boys played their first game of the season against Elm Park. Hacton started enthusiastically but were caught out by an Elm Park counter attack and went one down. The goal was against the run of play but the Hacton boys kept their heads up and fought on. Silky footed left winger, George led the fight back, running on to a ball from JJ, George slammed his shot against the bar. George could not believe his misfortune and then moments later he hit the post again after a scramble in the box. Elm Park were living a charmed life! Cameron played a precise long pass up the field where JJ attempted an audacious overhead kick which again rattled the post. Surely this couldn't continue. At the back, Owen was like a rock in the centre of defence but Hacton trailed at half time.

Into the second half and a Cameron shot was blocked by a hand in the box and the ref had no choice but to point to the spot. Louie stepped up and placed his shot past the keeper: 1-1! Moments later, Alfie drilled a low screamer into the bottom left hand corner. The crowd, including Mrs Delmonte, went wild! Elm Park had ridden their luck for too long and the win was Hacton's.

Written by George and Cameron

Hacton Girls' Football Team

Hacton girls' football team kicked off to a promising start with their match against Elm Park Primary last Thursday. Hacton created many chances in the first half but, despite their best efforts, the ball didn’t find the back of the net. During the second half an Elm Park shot hit the target and they kept coming! However at 3 : 0 down, Hacton kept their chins up and determination was shown by all players especially Mia and Lucy. Encouraged by their captain, Amy, the girls defended bravely and didn’t concede any more goals. Evie made some great saves and Girl of the Game was awarded to Francesca for her gritty, athletic performance. Despite the final score, the entire team should be proud of their debut performance and look forward to their next match. Well done girls!

Year 4 Visit the British Museum

Do you want to know all about mummification? Have you ever wondered how a mummy's brains were removed? What did Ancient Egyptians need to take with them to the afterlife? All these questions and many more can now be answered by our Year 4 pupils who visited the Egyptian galleries at the British Museum on Tuesday.

After an exciting Tube journey, 4DM and 4RW spent the day finding out about Egyptian life and death. They searched the galleries to find answers to all of their questions about life in Ancient Egypt and enjoyed looking at a whole range of Egyptian artefacts. They particularly enjoyed seeing the mummies, wrapped and unwrapped, and the preserved 3,000 year-old bodies and skeletons.

The children were most fascinated by Ginger, the shrivelled remains of an Ancient Egyptian preserved in sand. They were amazed to see that despite his age he still had hair on his head!

The Big Walk 2012

On Wednesday, ten lucky pupils from Years 6 and 3 attended The Big Walk 2012 event at Harrow Lodge Park in celebration of the Commonwealth. The day began with a dancing workshop where there was some healthy competition between the children. An excited Ella exclaimed that she loved the dancing because it was very energetic and fun. The Hacton team then settled down and put their heads together for the Commonwealth Quiz. Cameron impressed everyone with his amazing knowledge of flags - well done! More fascinating questions about the Commonwealth followed: did you know that basketball was first invented in Canada?

Other activities and dance shows celebrated both African and Indian cultures. Lloyd Scott MBE (a retired footballer) spoke about the many fascinating fundraising marathons he has run, walked, swum and even crawled – as Brian the Snail! He has travelled the world raising millions of pounds for Leukaemia research (having himself suffered from the disease) and had some inspiring tales to tell. The weather was kind all day and our pupils had a thoroughly enjoyable time developing their knowledge of the Commonwealth.