Nursery: Jungle Explorer Challenge

Nursery children found a backpack filled with sun cream, a bottle of water and a map. Attached to this was a note from our friend Zoohoo. He needed our help as he was lost in the jungle so the children went on an adventure to rescue him. On their way through the treacherous undergrowth they spotted lots of animals. After they had found Zoohoo the children had to make their way quickly back through the jungle before they were caught by lions!

Key Stage 2 P-HIC Maths

Maths uses a great deal of everyday language which, when applied to different concepts, has multiple meanings. P-HIC pupils have been exploring the concepts of telling the time and the passing of time. The children wanted to share some of what they have learned:

"In Maths I have been learning about time. I know how to make 12 o'clock."

"In Maths I have been learning about time. I know how to make half past 6."

"In Maths I have been learning about time. I know how to make quarter past 3."

"Also we have been learning about calendars. I know a calendar has days of the week and you cross the day off when they are all finished."

"Also we have been learning about calendars. I know a calendar has numbers called dates and seven days in one week."

Dreamtime Aboriginal Art Workshops

The artist Stephen Rowley came to our school to work with Key Stage 2 children. Stephen has had a colourful and varied background in both science and art. However, extended visits to Australia fired his interest in Australian Aboriginal people, their culture and their unique approach to art. He was eager to share his enthusiasm and knowledge with our pupils.

The children learned about Australian animals and their significance in the ancient Aboriginal stories that have been passed down through word of mouth over the generations. The stories explain how things have come to pass, such as how kangaroos came to evolve into an animal that stands on two legs and not four. The stories also teach important moral lessons, such as the importance of being truthful and respectful to others. Handling original artefacts and re-enacting these stories allowed the children to fully engage with the narrative and appreciate the underlying message.

The visual expression of these stories into paintings creates a unique art form with dots and symbols that work to build up their own narrative. The workshops developed both individual painting skills in this style and, with the ‘big paintings’, the children’s ability to work together on concepts and ideas and decide on areas of responsibility for the collaborative artwork.

The two days of workshops provided a cross curricular experience for our pupils, covering Aboriginal Australia, its culture and the indigenous oral history passed down through the ages. Australian animals, their habitats and some of their more peculiar features (such as the lyre bird that loves to imitate both urban and rural sounds) were introduced and discussed to the fascination of the children. Self esteem and leadership skills were given a perfect opportunity to flourish as groups worked together to produce some magnificent Aboriginal style artwork.

SATs Week Treat

Congratulations to our Year 6 pupils who completed the Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) this week in Reading, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar and Maths. The papers have been sent away to be marked and results will be available before the end of the school year.

As a reward for all their hard work, the children enjoyed an energetic extended P.E. lesson in Hacton Park. With the sun making a welcome appearance, the children had a wonderful time playing football, basketball, rounders, and cricket, along with using the fitness equipment available in the park. After a morning of laughter and friendship, the children trundled back to school sharing their happiness that SATs week was over. Well done Year 6!

P-HIC: Year 2, 3 and 4 Literacy Group

In preparation for our visit from Krazy Kat Theatre Company, Year 2, 3 and 4 P-HIC Literacy group have been learning the story The Princess and the Pea.

Children have been expanding their emotional vocabulary by exploring the feelings of the characters. They have been including what they have learnt in their writing. The children’s emotional literacy has been supported through National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) literature. What are you feeling?

“Once upon a time a handsome prince had horses and plenty of gold but he was lonely because he wanted a princess.”

“The King, Queen and Princess felt disappointed.”

The children have been using speech marks in their writing to show what the characters are saying.

“I have a pea I will hide it under the bed,” giggled the Queen.

“I am a princess and I am lost. I am cold and have mud on my clothes,” shivered the princess.

Our P-HIC pupils rewrote the story in their own words. The children have been using colourful semantics to develop good grammar and make more interesting sentences. 

Reception: Understanding the World

Reception children have been ‘growing butterflies’ as part of their Understanding the World topic. Three weeks ago tiny caterpillars arrived in school and the children were enthralled as the little creatures ate their food and grew into big, fat caterpillars, just like The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

When they had all changed to chrysalis form, they were transferred into their butterfly house ready to emerge as beautiful Painted Lady butterflies. After a seven day wait, the magical day arrived and the children watched in joy as the butterflies hatched before their very eyes. When they had all hatched, they were taken to the small field and released. Some of the butterflies were very tame and allowed the children to hold them. The children were extremely careful and in awe of the whole experience.

Reception children are now painting, creating and designing their own butterflies whilst learning about symmetry. If you come into school you may see some of their beautiful artworks along the corridor.

P-HIC Reception: Learning About Animals

Our P-HIC Reception children have been learning about animals. They learned the names of jungle animals and based some sentence work on a funny book called "Pardon?" said the Giraffe by Colin West. The story tells of a frog who wants to know what it is like to be as tall as a giraffe. The frog climbs on the lion, the hippo and the elephant until finally he can reach the giraffe. Frog tickles Giraffe’s nose making him sneeze. 

The children had great fun acting out the story: they pretended to sneeze and made the poor frog fall on the floor! Inspired, they created their own sentences using Widget Symbols for animals, verbs and places. To finish their work, they read their very own retelling of the story.

Well Done Year 6!

Congratulations to our Year 6 pupils who have completed their SATS this week. We are so proud of each and every one of you, for the progress you have made this year and the wonderful young people you have become. You are a real asset to our school. We are looking forward to celebrating at the park tomorrow (if the rain stops!).

Year 1: Learning About Baptism with Reverend Wylie

Year 1 have been exploring the idea of belonging and being part of a community in their RE lessons. Reverend Ken Wylie from St Andrew’s church visited our Key Stage 1 pupils to talk about Baptism. The Reverend explained about Christian beliefs and the meaning of Baptism. He brought the bowl from the church font and, much to the delight of the children, performed a Baptism ceremony with some dolls. Thank you to Reverend Wylie for making this an enjoyable learning experience for our pupils full of fun, energy and fascinating facts.

"We learned about Baptism. We learned about fonts."

"I liked holding the bowl when we played the game."

"We learned about a Christening."

"Reverend Ken talked about the Church."

Year 3 Maths: Capacity

In their Maths lessons, Year 3 have been learning about capacity. Amy has written a report:

"In maths we learnt about capacity. We made our own measuring jugs using a bottle and some stickers to mark the different 100ml volumes. We had to find out if our bottle held more, less or exactly 1000ml or 1 litre. I enjoyed pouring the water from one jug to another. I know that 1 litre is equal to 1000ml. We also learnt some decimal measurements too like ¼ of a litre is equal to 0.25l, ½ of a litre is equal to 0.5l and ¾ of a litre is equal to 0.75l. Finally we had to compare and estimate the capacity of different vessels. We only got one correct!"

E for Effort

Every week, teachers recognise pupils in their class who have made an extra effort. These pupils are awarded the E for Effort cup in front of the whole school during our Friday morning assembly. Listen to the reasons why pupils have been given the award:

listen to ‘E for Effort winners - 8th May 2015’ on audioBoom

Congratulations to the wonderful children who made an extra effort last week.

Key Stage 2 Bikeability

Instructors from Cycle Training East visited our school to promote safe cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle and as an environmentally friendly form of transport. The inspiring instructors focussed on the most important aspect of riding a bike: safety. Children learnt how to do the 'M check' - a 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. They also learnt to make sure that their clothes were suitable for cycling.  In the playground, children got on their bikes to practise hand signals and turning corners before riding on the roads near school. The children who successfully completed all aspects of the intense training received a certificate and badge to reward them for their super safe cycling. Well done!

Year 1 Maths: Counting in 10s

Sainsbury's Active Kids vouchers have been used by 1FB to practise counting in 10s. Each voucher represents £10 spent in Sainsbury's so our pupils worked out the total cost of shopping for each pile of vouchers. The children have been competing to get the most vouchers into school and Ruby won the class crown with £480 worth. Well done! Staff have taken part too: Mrs Burks managed an impressive £3800 worth, but her efforts were overshadowed by keen shopper Mrs Perry who collected vouchers representing £4380! Year 1 are now brilliant at counting in 10s.

Election Fever in 3SB

General Election fever gripped 3SB this week as they learnt all about the electoral system in our country, who can vote, how to vote and why we vote.

"We have learnt that the General Election happens every 4 or 5 years and that people go to vote on polling day to decide who they want to rule our country and who will be Prime Minister. The votes get counted by special people and then the candidates who have got the most votes go to the Houses of Parliament." (Lucy)

3SB worked in groups to create their own political parties. They made their own manifesto pledges and party logos, voting for their favourite party emblems. The Year 3 children then delivered 'party political broadcasts' to the rest of the class before going to the polls to decide who would be 3SB's winning party.

Then came the opportunity to vote. It was made clear that in a democratic process our pupils did not have to justify their choice to anybody and that they could choose to elect the party which best suited their needs. All votes were confidential and could not be traced back to the electorate. In the end, The Co-Operaters Party won by a clear margin.

The Election: If I were Prime Minister...

listen to ‘The Election: If I were Prime Minister...’ on audioBoom

Monday's assembly began with a quick recap on what a general election is and how it works. After discussing the purpose of the election, we discussed how people make choices about who they are going to vote for and discussed how manifestos outline the main priorities and beliefs of a political party. Having different ideas about how to make our country better means that people have to consider who they agree with before voting.

At Hacton, we celebrate that we all have our own ideas about how to make our country and school a better place. To end the assembly our pupils became Prime Ministers and shared their ideas about what they would do to make our country a better place if they were in charge.

Performing Arts Club

After weeks of rehearsals, the Performing Arts club were ready to perform to their family and friends, sharing all of their hard work over the past term. To kick off the show, the children performed ‘The Climb’ – our two soloists gave a brilliant performance and the group chorus gave everyone goose bumps! Next was the inspirational and uplifting ‘Believe’ followed by a mash-up of the children’s favourite pop songs, which had everyone bopping along! ‘When I grow up’ from the hit musical ‘Matilda’ was up next and then to close the show, the children sang one of their favourites – ‘Power in me’ complete with actions and lots of wiggling shoulders! Applause erupted in the hall and the children were very pleased the show had gone smoothly! No show would be complete without an encore so with the audience on their feet, family, friends and even teachers joined in with ‘Power in me’. We all enjoyed the performance and are very proud of the hard work and commitment shown by the children. Well done!