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.

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

Year 6: The Battle of Britain

Year 6 became history detectives as they investigated a variety of sources to learn about the Battle of Britain. Our pupils summarised their findings in an explanatory paragraph and researched the aircraft used during the devastating battle.

Did you know?

"Just over 20,000 Spitfires were built during the war." Megan

"The Spitfire was the most famous fighter aircraft in World War 2." Lily

"The name Spitfire was taken from an old English word meaning someone of strength." Adam

"The Spitfire weighs about 2,400kg.” Nila

“The children’s author Roald Dahl flew Hurricanes for the RAF during World War 2.” Megan

"Many German pilots believed the Spitfire was better than their own planes so one German pilot even asked his commanding officer for a squadron of Spitfires!" Rachel

Early Years: Reception Children Settle In

Well done to the children who have all settled so well into their new Reception classes. The Elephants, Zebras and Giraffes have become familiar with their classrooms and have enjoyed exploring the outside learning environment. Children have already been picking up routines and have enjoyed finding out the names of their new friends!

Places Available in Hacton Nursery

We have a few places available for children in our nursery. The morning session runs from 8.45am until 11.45am and the afternoon session runs from 12.30pm until 3.30pm. Find out more about our 'outstanding' nursery »

If you would like to visit our nursery or reserve a space for your child please contact us on 01708 443991 or email contact@hacton.havering.sch.uk.

Science Club

In science club, for our first experiment we came up with theories to explain the answer to the question ‘will an egg float?’. As you’ve probably guessed, it doesn’t. As a result of this, we were assigned the job of creating a device to make it do so. There were some great ideas, although many of them didn’t really work e.g. making a boat out of a polystyrene cup. However, a few of them did, including Rachel’s great cup invention (personally named). At the end, Mr Coombes showed us the scientific solution: he tipped some salt into a container of water and we watched in amazement as the egg floated! The salt made the water denser.

I certainly had fun and by the way everybody else looked, I think they did too.

By Rachel (Year 6)

Year 1: The Lost Sheep

Year 1 have been learning about the Parable of the Lost Sheep in RE. They have learnt that Christians believe God looks after all of his flock and he will search for any that lose their way.

The children have made their own fluffy sheep that have been used to create a baa-rilliant display in the Year 1 corridor. To reinforce the message in the story, a different sheep will go missing every day and the children will need to find it. Five house points will be given to the pupil who rescues the lonely sheep and returns it to the flock.

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.

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

Singing Assembly: "A Wiggly, Waggly Worm"

Key Stage 1 singing assembly was fantastic fun this week. The children started to learn a new song (that we plan to record at a later date) and revisited an old favourite, "A Wiggly Waggly Worm". Our pupils certainly know how to follow instructions; next time, Miss Wells may think twice before asking the children to sing "as loud as possible"!

Year 4: Metaphors and Similes

Last week in Literacy, Year 4 learnt to describe using metaphors and similes. They used iPads to capture what they thought each simile meant. Can you guess which picture represents 'as bold as a boxing glove'?

Year 1: Counting and Phonics

Last week, Year 1 were counting like crazy! They really got to know their numbers by counting forwards and backwards. The children also worked on their phonics and, as you can see, they focused on the letter X; Year 1 have got the X factor!

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.

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

 

New House Captains

Following their captivating campaigns and persuasive presentations, hopeful Year 6 pupils sat in assembly with fingers crossed, eager to hear their names announced as new House Captains. Cheers erupted in the hall as Mr Emes revealed the winners of the elections. Congratulations to our newly appointed House Captains and Vice House Captains who now have the honour of leading their Houses for the year and wearing shiny new badges.

Year 3: Friction

Friction is a force that slows things down. More friction is created when a surface is very rough and bumpy. Objects travel fast across smooth surfaces because there is less friction. Year 3 decided to investigate whether a car travels slower downhill on different surfaces. They predicted that the car would travel slower down the rough surfaces and speedy down the smoother surfaces. To keep it a fair test we kept the car and the person letting go the same but changed the surface boards.

The young scientists learnt that there was more friction on the carpet board and the sandpaper as the car travelled more slowly. The car travelled much faster down the wood surface and the smooth foam surface. The wood surface took the car 1.51s, the foam took 1.55s, the sandpaper took 1.77s and the carpet took 2.69s.

Next week, Year 3 begin the lengthy task of formally writing up the investigation in their science books!

Year 3: A Great First Week in Key Stage 2

Our Year 3 pupils clearly enjoyed their first week in Key Stage 2. In Literacy, the children recapped punctuation, word types and were introduced to the increased expectations in writing. In Maths, they learnt about about place value and were able to represent hundreds, tens and units (HTU) using pictures. Science was a particular hit with Year 3 who learnt about forces and watched some fascinating videos about g-force and gravity. We were very impressed with the children's enthusiastic start to life in Key Stage 2: we're sure it's going to be a fantastic year.

Year 4: Ancient Egypt

Year 4 began their History and Geography topic in the first week of term by learning about the river Nile and its importance to Ancient Egyptian people. After discovering its location on a map, the children made wheels to illustrate Akhet, Peret and Shemu, the three seasons of farming. Our enthusiastic Egyptologists did a fantastic job of adding decoration and split pins to create their wheels. Next week, Year 4 will continue to learn about Egypt in class, as well as creating artwork and beginning to learn an Egyptian dance. Great work Year 4!

Year 5: World War 1

Last week, Year 5 began learning about World War 1, particularly looking at how and why it started. The children have started this topic by reading the fantastic book War Horse. The children have completed their own research and discovered some really fascinating facts. They are looking forward to learning even more about this turbulent time in history.

E for Effort

Every week, teachers recognise pupils in their class who have made an extra effort. These pupils are presented with the E for Effort cup in front of the whole school during our Friday morning assembly. This week, many teachers awarded the cup to their entire class for a great start to the year. Alongside individual winners, a boy and girl were chosen to represent their class in our celebratory photo.

Congratulations to all the wonderful children who made an extra effort this week - what a great start to the year.

Welcome Back

As the gates opened for the beginning of another school year, our eager Hacton pupils flooded into the playground to embark on the next stage of their learning journey. Equipped with all the necessary travel documents (passports and boarding passes), children settled quickly into their new classes and enjoyed catching up with their friends. It was a pleasure to see the children looking so smart and full of enthusiasm for the year ahead. Like all terms at Hacton, we have a jam-packed calendar of events planned for the autumn term. We endeavour to keep you up to date with all the latest news through both our school and phase group blogs with our weekly learning objectives being updated each Monday.

We would like to warmly welcome our new members of staff: Miss Masters (Reception) and Miss Burk (Year 1) report that they had a fantastic first day ay Hacton. We hope you have an easy time settling back into the school routine and enjoy the start of another fun-filled school year.