Hacton Choir at Young Voices 2013

Members of the Key Stage 2 Choir had a fantastic time at the Young Voices concert on Monday. It was an extremely long day for the children and grown-ups: they arrived at the O2 at 1.30, had rehearsals with the principal conductor from 2.30-5.00 and then waited two hours for showtime.

The show began with a bang and there was no stopping the Hacton Choir who sang at the tops of their voices and boogied through the night. They accompanied the African Children's Choir, provided backing vocals for Britain’s Got Talent star Connie Talbot and danced with the Urban Strides Street Dance Group. There was audience participation too as, cheered on by the children, musician Randolph Matthews had dads beating their chests and mums 'ooh la la-ing'.

The concert finished at 9.15 and all involved were buzzing throughout the train journey home - although the much needed sweets may have played their part! Despite being sleepy, the vast majority of children made it to school on time the following day.

Miss Smith said, "A massive well done to the choir who worked their socks off to prepare for the concert. Their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm really paid off. Thank you also to Mrs McDonach for helping with choir practice and for spending the day with us, and to Mrs Grant for her help supervising the children and her impressive dancing throughout the event! Finally thank you to parents for your support. Roll on Young Voices 2014!"

Young Voices at the O2

Year 3 / 4 choir are performing in the Young Voices concert at the O2 this evening. The children left school at 12.30 and took an easy train journey to reach the famous venue in good time. This will be a long afternoon and evening for all involved, but the concert promises to be a wonderful experience for our pupils.

Mrs McDonach reports: “We're up in the 'heavens'! Parents, look for us right behind the stage, 4 rows from the very top. Unfortunately, O2 health and safety meant our giant Hacton banner has been confiscated, but we will have it back when we leave, so look out for a big school badge when you meet us by the front entrance after the show.”

Rangoli for Holi

Year 4 have learnt about the Indian spring festival of colour, Holi. Pupils took inspiration from video footage of the elephant parade in Jaipur that showed elaborate designs painted on the majestic animals. They also studied traditional Rangoli patterns that were created using brightly coloured powder before they applied their Holi-inspired designs to paper elephant shapes. The children's eye-catching artwork has been mounted on display boards and hung on strings across ceilings to bring the colours of India to Year 4 classrooms.

Road Safety Awareness

On Friday, Years 3 and 4 were entertained by a mixture of acting, singing, music and dancing from the Box Clever Theatre Group. Pupils were gripped by the story about Polly and her Dad and their journey to school which highlighted personal safety around roads. Some children were lucky enough to participate in the dramatisation and Mrs Secular was even serenaded by one of the actors. The comical delivery of the performance kept the children focussed on the important messages about staying safe and the benefits of walking to school.

Normal Service Resumed

As the Junior playground and all paths have now been cleared of snow, children will leave via their normal exits this evening.

• Junior parents will be able to pick pupils up from the Junior playground
• The Goodwood Avenue gates will be open
• This evening’s extra-curricular clubs will be running (cookery, ICT and netball)

Lunchtime Fun in the Snow

The school field was a joyous place this lunchtime as pupils with boots and warm coats were allowed out to enjoy the snow. Children and fun-loving teachers threw snowballs, made snow angels and built impressive snowmen. Brave pupils (and even braver staff) targeted Mr Emes only to find a very quick return of fire! Shaking off the snow as he returned indoors, Tristan (Year 4) remarked: "That was the best time ever!"

The School is Open Today, Monday 21st January

The school will be open as usual today. However, all pupils will enter and leave by the main Chepstow Avenue gates.

• Junior pupils will enter and leave via the main entrance as the junior playground is closed.
• Nursery pupils will enter via the main footpath that runs past the school office and parallel to reception classrooms.
• There will be no extra-curricular clubs this evening. Year 1-2 football club and Year 6 badminton have been postponed

Please take extra care travelling to and from school today.

We plan to open as usual tomorrow

We plan to open as usual on Monday 21st January unless weather conditions worsen significantly overnight. A final decision will be made before 8am so please check this page tomorrow morning prior to setting off for school.

KS2 Pupils to Leave by the Chepstow Avenue Entrance Today

Due to the current weather conditions, all Key Stage 2 pupils will be leaving school by the main Chepstow Avenue entrance today. The Goodwood Avenue gates will be closed.

Please take extra care travelling to and from school in the snowy weather.

Get Notifications from our Facebook Page

It's easy to miss posts on Facebook, particularly if you have lots of Friends. If you choose to receive notifications from our page you need never miss a post from school again.

Go to the Hacton Primary School Facebook page and click the Following button. After you have done this, hover over the Following button to check the notification settings. You should now receive the same sort of notification that displays when someone comments on or likes your personal posts.

School Calendar

Happy New Year to all our pupils, parents, staff and governors. We hope that you have managed to settle back into the school routine easily and you are looking forward to the year ahead as much as we are. Another fun-filled term is planned so please check the regularly updated School Calendar for details of events and activities in our school.