Summer Term Catch Up: Peter Pan

Despite the scorching temperature, proud parents and grandparents packed the hall on the last Wednesday of term to watch the Year 6 leavers production of Peter Pan. After only 2 weeks of rehearsals, all the children sang, acted and performed brilliantly. Pirates pranced, Lost Boys laughed and natives were naughty in the tale of Captain Hook's demise and Peter's search for a mother for his gang. Rapturous applause erupted as the encore of You Can Fly (complete with special effects!) rang throughout Hacton's hall. Congratulations to Year 6 for an amazing production.

End of the School Year

Emotions ran high on on Friday as pupils, staff and parents celebrated the last day of term with mixed feelings. Children and staff were excited to break up for the Summer Holidays but we also had to say farewell to Year 6 pupils leaving for secondary school and staff retiring or leaving for new jobs. An inspirational Leavers' Assembly found Year 6 reminiscing about their time at our school that included memorable moments and moving stories about the close friendships that they have forged. It's always difficult to say goodbye but we're so proud of the progress that the children have made academically and socially in their time at Hacton.

It was not only the children bidding a fond farewell, many staff also said goodbye: Mrs Lynch, Mrs Delmonte, Miss Bragg, Miss Peoples, Mrs Hammond and Mrs Easterbrook all left for pastures new.

Mrs Delmonte commented: "On behalf of all the staff who are leaving, I would like to thank Mr Emes, the wonderful staff at Hacton and the parents for their good wishes and generosity. Everyone has been extremely supportive and kind. Undoubtedly, we will all miss Hacton!"

As the school year draws to a close, we would like to take the opportunity to thank parents and carers for their continued support. Hacton has enjoyed another very successful year with all our pupils working hard to achieve 'Personal Excellence'. We sincerely hope that the sun continues to shine throughout the holidays and pupils, parents and staff enjoy a safe and relaxing summer. Whilst we wish our Year 6 children every success as they venture on to secondary school, we look forward to welcoming back our pupils in September. Enjoy the holiday!

listen to ‘Leavers' Song 2013’ on Audioboo

Inter-House Rounders

Before the sun reached its peak on Thursday morning, all the children in Key Stage 2 took to the field in a battle of the houses to find the rounders champions of 2013. Organised into teams consisting of children from years 3 to 6, all the teams played competitively in their bid to win the title. With some brilliant batting and fabulous fielding the scores were very close. The final result placed Blue in fourth, Yellow in third and Red and Green drew first place with 70 points! Congratulations to all the children who took part in a fun filled morning which concluded with a well deserved ice lolly.

Summer Fete

With the sun smiling down, pupils, parents and staff enjoyed an afternoon of fun on Friday as the Parents' Association hosted their annual Summer Fete. With train rides, face painting, bouncy castles and various stalls to choose from, there was plenty to keep children amused. Hacton staff embraced the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme by dressing up as Willy Wonka and his Oompa Loompas - complete with green hair and orange faces - much to the delight of pupils. By far the most popular attraction amongst the children was the 'Soak the Teacher' stocks where many teachers faced a barrage of well-aimed wet sponges!

A huge thank you to all the parents, Governors, staff, friends, community volunteers and of course the Hacton Parents' Association who contributed to making the school fete a resounding success.

Reception Visit to Barleylands

Reception classes had a great day out at Barleylands farm park and craft village. After travelling by bus to Basildon, the morning was spent finding out about life on the farm and feeding animals. A short tractor ride then took the children to wheat fields where they learnt about the countryside. Another treat followed: lamb racing. The children were captivated by the playful creatures as they competed in the Lamb National; Jenson Mutton just pipped Lady Baa Baa at the post! To round off the visit, pupils spent the rest of the afternoon making and baking a pizza from scratch. The healthy, fresh ingredients smelt wonderful and cooking was accompanied by the sound of rumbling tummies. The children clearly enjoyed the varied activities on this fun-filled trip.

Year 5 at Stubbers

'Stunning', 'superb', 'cool', 'fantastic' - these were just a few of the adjectives that Year 5 pupils used to describe the activities at Stubbers Adventure Centre.

Our annual trip to Stubbers was a brilliant day out where Year 5 participated in four challenging activities. Pupils overcame their fear of heights when undertaking the high ropes challenge, developed the collaborative skills needed for the team challenge, relished the thrill of the jet-skis and loved the fun of the canoes. Better still, the children particularly enjoyed getting out of their canoes and into the water where they took part in an unusual Mexican Wave: a wave which involved raising their arms and falling backwards into the lake!

Well done Year 5 - you participated superbly and were a credit to the school.

Junior Sports Day

The mood was set for Junior Sports Day as each excited class warmed up with an ear-splitting cheer. Children took part in eight different events that tested their skills of throwing, jumping, running and ball control. Fantastic sportsmanship was shown as pupils encouraged their fellow team members and congratulated those who displayed strength and determination. As the children moved around the track they were spurred on by family members, some of whom had to dodge flying bean bags that had strayed off target!

There could be only one winner and, when all the points had been added, Green House emerged victorious; a historic double as they had also won this year's Infant Sports Day. Red House were second with Yellow and Blue House a joint third. Well done to everyone for another enjoyable and exciting sports day.

Infant Sports Day

Last week Years 1 and 2 headed to the field wearing their red, yellow, green and blue outfits to see which team would be the Infant Sports Day champions. The children took part in eight different events including the relay, football dribbling and bean bag throwing. It was a very closely fought competition and at the half way point Red team were just three points ahead of the Greens with forty-eight points but there was still a long way to go. Following the final four events in glorious sunshine it was announced that the Green team had pipped the Reds to the post and won with an impressive ninety-four points. Yellow team beat the Blues to third place by just one point. A great afternoon was had by all, especially the teachers who got to sponge their pupils! Well done to all of our Key Stage 1 children for their enthusiasm and team spirit. Thank you also to parents for supporting your children and helping make this a very enjoyable sports day.