Benhurst 1 - 4 Hacton

After a long winter break, the Hacton boys’ football team returned with an impressive victory. From the first whistle Hacton dominated possession as the front players continued to find space through excellent movement, pulling the opponents defence all over the place. As Cameron and Owen continued to shrug off challenges from the Benhurst attackers they were able to thread passes through to the midfield and forward line. Hacton created numerous openings but were unlucky not to find the net early on. Finally, Hacton got the goal that had been promised as George took his chance and coolly tapped the ball home from inside the area. Ten minutes later the lead doubled as Bradley pressured the defence and booted the ball into the net at close range. Out of nowhere, after an unlucky deflection, Benhurst pulled a goal back with a shot powered in just before half time.

The second half continued in the same vein with Hacton enjoying the majority of possession and creating more opportunities as Benhurst searched for an equaliser. Ten minutes into the second half, Jeffrey popped up in the box and fired the ball home to provide Hacton with a cushion that helped ease the nerves of the spectators. As the game was coming to a close, Hacton continued to create chances and in the final minute Jeffrey rounded off the victory with a sweet right foot volley finish. The boys left the field muddy and tired after putting in a powerful and entertaining performance. Well done!

Best Work Assembly - 5PS

Year 5 have been studying the children's classic: 'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame. In last week's Best Work Assembly, two groups of pupils from 5PS performed their own play scripts based on the famous tale of adventure and camaraderie which they had written during Literacy lessons. With very little rehearsal, the budding actors managed to bring their writing to life with great performances, excellent narration and entertaining live sound effects. Is there no end to the talents of our pupils?

Year 6 SATs Information

Thank you to all parents who attended the SATs information meeting on Wednesday evening. If you were unable to attend, please read the DfE leaflet and school presentation below.

School Council Visit the Mayor

On Wednesday, Hacton School Council braved the cold to visit the Mayor of Havering, Lyndon Thorpe, in her chambers at the town hall in Romford. After being greeted by a member of support staff, the children were welcomed by the mace bearer and Madame Mayor, who adorned her formal, ruby-red dress robes. The children enjoyed an informative question and answer session in the council chambers where they learned more about the Mayor's responsibilities. After question time, the children were invited to tour the chambers where they enjoyed pretending to be Mayor, dressing up in her crimson gown and the official mace bearer’s robes. Even the teachers played dress up! The solid silver, gilded mace weighed a whopping 5.22kgs so holding it was quite a challenge. Refreshed by juice and cakes, the School Council politely thanked the Mayor for her hospitality. This visit will be long remembered by all the children for Madame Mayor’s consideration, generosity and kindness... despite her hectic schedule!

Havering Primary School Quiz

In a closely fought competition, Hacton narrowly missed qualifying for the next round of the Havering Primary School Quiz. The annual event is run by the Rotary Club - who raise funds for good causes - and this year it took place at Harold Wood Primary School. Our four Year 6 brainboxes felt confident as the quiz got underway and they correctly answered challenging questions about literature, science, history and sports. Flexing their mental muscles, they certainly displayed an impressive array of knowledge about a broad range of subjects. Unfortunately, our bright boys and girls felt the pressure when it came to their own group of questions and lost valuable points. Hacton finished with a very respectable score of 43, only five points behind the winning team.

Engayne 3 - 2 Hacton

Hacton girls' football team lost out to a last minute goal in a thrilling contest away at Engayne on Friday 8th February. Playing their first game of 2013 after a winter break, the girls showed great character and commitment. Captain Amy J led the way as she fired Hacton into a deserved lead after good work from Harlie. On a quagmire of a pitch, the going was tough and the tackles fierce. Evie had to be at her best in goal to keep out several Engayne attacks while Mia and Francesca defended resolutely. Unfortunately, just before half time, Engayne equalised and then quickly took the lead. Hacton threatened to level with Amy B and Angelica both peppering the Engayne goal. Shortly after half time, quick thinking from Captain Amy saw a Hacton equaliser as she fired the ball in the net following a poor goal kick. The exhilarating game was now end to end. Half-time substitutes Roxie and Lucy joined the action as Hacton looked for the elusive winning goal. Just as it seemed a deserved point was on the cards, Engayne won a free kick which was drilled directly into the Hacton goal for an unstoppable winner to the opposition. Hacton left the field knowing that they had given their all.

Best Work Assembly - 5AW

5AW have been reading 'Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp' by Philip Pullman. Set in China, this story recounts the tale of a poor tailor's son who, with the help of a magic lamp that he finds in an enchanted cave, becomes a wealthy prince. The story so far: Aladdin is trapped in a tunnel but the evil Moor promises to help him out if he hands over the magic lamp. What happens next? That is the creative writing challenge presented to Year 5.

Key Stage 2 children sat enthralled as 5AW read out their ideas in Best Work Assembly. The children should feel very proud of their excellent storytelling. You can listen to some examples below.

listen to ‘Aladdin - creative writing by Elissa’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Aladdin - creative writing by Lewis’ on Audioboo

All Pupils to Enter School via Chepstow Avenue Today

School is open as usual today. However, Junior pupils will enter via the main entrance. The Goodwood Avenue entrance is closed so all pupils will enter through the main Chepstow Avenue gates.

Please take extra care travelling to and from school today.

Light Up Havering

Hacton Safer Neighbourhoods Team will be talking to Year 6 on 14th March. In the meantime, they have asked us to help them raise awareness about the ways in which we can make our homes safer from burglary. Please follow the advice in the leaflet below.

Provided by the Hacton Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Questionnaire Reminder

Dear Parent/Carer

Please may I ask for your help in improving Hacton Primary School?

We are constantly trying to improve the education that we offer the pupils of our school and are now at a stage in the school year where we need you to tell us how well you think we are doing and how we can improve the things that are important to you.

Please spare ten minutes to fill in the questionnaire below, and tell us what you think.

By completing the questionnaire you will be telling us how you think we should be spending our time and resources to make our school the best that it can be for your child.

Each completed questionnaire is vital in finding out what parents think. Please complete one questionnaire for each child. Your answers will be treated in the strictest confidence and will make a real difference to how we run the school and plan for the future.

Please answer each question on the questionnaire, then seal it in an envelope and give it to your child, who will then hand it in to their class teacher.

With thanks in anticipation of your help.

Yours faithfully

Mr N. P. L. Emes
Headteacher

If you do not already have a copy, please download and print the questionnaire.

Hacton Netball Team

Hacton Netball Team kicked off their season on Friday with away matches against James Oglethorpe and Branfil.

Miss Claridge reports:

We took an early lead in the first half against Branfil with an excellent goal by Mia. A close match followed and Branfil managed to equalise just in time, leading to a 1-1 draw. In our second match, James Oglethorpe went storming ahead as a result of some excellent shooting. With a 6-0 scoreline at half time, we rallied, decided how we could improve our game, and went out fighting! Excellent defensive play by the whole team meant that we won the second half 2-1. A 7-2 loss in the end, but a match to learn from and, more importantly, be proud of. Next up - Engayne away.

Hacton Hockey Team

Last week, Hacton's school hockey team played in a 6 match tournament at Coopers' Company and Coborn secondary school in Upminster.

Evie (Year 6) reports:

We won the first friendly against Newtons Primary 4-0 thanks to an incredible hat-trick from our star shooter Lucy. Despite some fantastic defending by Evie and Amy and impressive teamwork in our defending semi-circle, our first competition match against Newtons did not have the score that we'd hoped for: we lost 3-2. Our spirits were lifted by a 1-0 win in the next match thanks to Harry's goal and Sonny's fearless tackling of the opposition. Our third competition match against St. Peter's Primary ended in a 1-1 draw with Jacob Lovell proving to be a outstanding midfielder with very strong and accurate passes. While we were waiting for our final game, we played a friendly against St. Peters and won 2-0. Our team worked incredibly well together and we played like pros. Even though we played an outstanding final game, we were not lucky against Upminster Junior School who just sneaked in a winning goal in the last minute of the match. Unfortunately, we didn't score enough points to compete in the finals but we really enjoyed the tournament and played brilliantly (even if we do say so ourselves!).

Thank you very much Mr Emes for organising the hockey club and taking us to the games.

Ready Steady Cook With Me!

Delicious aromas wafted through the corridors this morning as Chefs Derek, Jamie and Lisa from Havering Catering Services challenged staff and pupils to quickly cook up tasty treats in assembly. Ably assisted by enthusiastic pupils from years 5 and 6, the Blue Team - Chef Jamie and Mr Emes - battled with the Red team - Chef Lisa and  Mr Grant - to prepare chilli chicken with pasta and Quorn chow mein. Whilst the teams peeled, chopped and grated, Chef Derek shared the secrets of the school kitchen and revealed that the tomato sauce on the children's favourite pizza contained vitamin-rich vegetables: carrots, courgettes and butternut squash. Additionally, Chef Jamie demonstrated how to rustle up a nutritious smoothie with the help of Connie from Year 3.

As the clock counted down, anticipation soared. Mouths watered and tummies rumbled during the taste off, when chosen children sampled the tasty treats. Despite both dishes being described as 'delicious', 'superb' and 'tasty', a winner had to be chosen. Following great deliberations, children held up coloured cards to vote for their favourite dish. Raucous cheers erupted as the Blue Team were announced winners of the Cook With Me challenge. Step aside Jamie Oliver, Mr Emes is the new king of the kitchen!

Look out for the special Chef Derek themed menu day in the school canteen, when the two feature dishes will be available with healthy smoothies and cookies for all to try.