Year 1 have been using the Funny Bones stories by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. We have looked at repetition in the story and have untangled words to make sentences. In Science, we reassembled the skeleton and pieced them together carefully.
Here are some examples of our wonderful work:
Now more than ever because of the ever-changing technological world that we live in, it is essential that we, as adults, are aware and equipped with the knowledge and skills to ensure that our children know how to use the internet safely.
Every Wednesday, they produce informative guides designed especially for parents, carers and trusted adults that focus on specific platforms/risks which they believe trusted adults should be aware of.
Each week we will be posting a new guide to keep you informed. This week's guide gives advice and useful tips to help keep children safe when accessing, viewing and engaging with content online:
Now that we have all settled back into our new 'normal' and have made a fantastic start to the new academic year, we just wanted to share a reminder of school expectations for reading at home and the many positive benefits this has for your child.
Watch our video to find out more about how this works at our school:
At Hacton, we expect children to read at home to an adult at least three times a week for a minimum of ten minutes. One of theses reads should be with their school reading book. If you wanted to read more regularly than this, it will benefit your child even more!
Reading records will be checked every week by a member of staff and children who have read at least three times every week during the half term will take part in a readers' treat celebration within their bubbles.
To support reading with your child, you can find guidance here: Reading with your child guidance .
For more detailed information about Reading at Hacton, see Hacton's English Curriculum .
Happy Reading!
This half term, Year 4 have been revising their year 3 topic, light.
On Thursday, we discussed how shadows are formed and how they change according to position and distance. To explore this concept, we carried out an investigation. We found that the closer the object is to a light source, the larger the shadow and the further away the object is the smaller the shadow, as less light is being blocked.
Here is a picture of some year 4 pupils in action!
For the past two weeks, the children in Year 2 have been studying the book ‘Here we are’ by Oliver Jeffers. Throughout the topic they have written non-fiction reports, recounts and poems about Planet Earth.
On Friday, the children made notes to the children of the future on how to best care for our planet. They came up with thought provoking, kind and mature messages which we wanted to share with you all.
Enjoy reading some of Year 2’s Notes for Planet Earth. Our Earth is in good hands with these amazing children!
In Literacy, Year 3 have been reading different stories about the seaside.
We have been discussing the fun activities to do at the beach such as building sandcastles. Year 3 discovered that the tallest sandcastle ever built was almost 17m! Following on from this, the children made fantastic and unique mosaics of their own sandcastles using different coloured card in their weekly Art lesson.
The children really enjoyed learning all about the history of mosaics and learnt that the Romans created mosaics for different purposes. For example to act as signs to warn people of their pet dogs! Well done Year 3!
A big welcome to our new Elephants, Lions and Giraffes! We are very excited for the year ahead and looking forward to getting to know more about our new children and families. Our focus at the start of the year is to ensure children feel settled in their new environment and we’ve been so pleased with a really positive start.
All of the children have loved exploring the resources in the classrooms and outside in the garden. It’s been lovely to see how quickly everyone has started to pick up our new rules and routines. We’ve been working hard to share resources, take turns and learn the names of our new school friends. Phonics sessions have been a huge success and children have enjoyed lots of fine motor activities every afternoon.
These pupils have hopped aboard the Times Table train to continue their journey to becoming a Times Table Champion. They have worked exceptionally hard to learn and master their multiplication and division facts. Well Done!
To acknowledge pupils who have gone above and beyond in their learning each week, putting in that extra effort, each class teacher chooses one pupil to receive the E for Effort cup and certificate.
Here are this week’s winners. Well done to you all!
With Forces as the current topic, Year 6 investigated which combination of features would produce the most effective parachute: one which would provide the longest flight. The two opposing forces in action were air resistance and gravity. Working in pairs, the children chose the independent variable they wanted to test and then made their parachute, making sure all the controlled variables remained consistent. After much collaboration, fun and learning, the combined results meant the children now know how to design the perfect parachute.
These Year 3 pupils have hopped aboard the Times Table train to continue their journey to becoming a Times Table Champion. They have worked exceptionally hard to learn and master their multiplication and division facts. Well Done!
School Council
The School Council is the voice of our pupils. It aims to improve our school while ensuring all decision making is fair and democratic. The council members are looking forward to an exciting year of discussion, decision-making and democracy.
To acknowledge pupils who have gone above and beyond in their learning each week, putting in that extra effort, each class teacher chooses one pupil to receive the E for Effort cup and certificate.
Here are this week’s winners. Well done to you all!
The Year 1 teachers have been astounded by the wonderful work that the children produced last week. They have worked incredibly hard to remember to include finger spaces when writing as well as cutting and sticking neatly. What a great start to the year - keep it up!
During lockdown, Mrs Murphy set a competition for pupils to use their imagination to create a model out of materials that they have in their home. Here are our worthy winners who demonstrated great creativity. Well done to everyone who got involved!
As a memory of lockdown, each child in a Nursery bubble planted a sunflower seed which - following a warm and wet summer - are now growing rather tall as if to welcome our Early Years children back next week. Keep an eye out as you enter the Goodwood Avenue entrance for the sunflower welcoming party.
What a fantastic first day back! It was great to see classrooms full and to hear pupils’ laughter echoing down the corridors once again. Despite the adjustments that we have had to make to get back to our new normal, it is always amazing just how resilient children are. The buzz of children learning around school is infectious and a happy sight to see and hear after the last few months. We can’t wait to welcome you all back again tomorrow!
We are looking forward to welcoming you into school next week. Following on from the change to recent government guidance, can I please ask that you wear a face covering when visiting school.
Please enter the school via the Chepstow Avenue gates and main school office where you will be taken to your child's new classroom to meet their teacher.
Thank you.
Mrs Leslie and Miss Masters
