Principal's Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers

The end of this module has been an exciting one! It has enabled us to showcase our PYP curriculum to some international visitors from the International Baccalaureate. For two days they met with pupils, staff and parents as well as visiting lessons, looking at how we use our environment and reading documentation. We were delighted that they identified strengths that we pride ourselves on: a calm nurturing environment, confident pupils who speak articulately about their learning, a holistic approach to education, a focus on developing good human beings and staff who are eager to provide engaging learning opportunities.  As part of the process they worked with us to identify areas we want to work on for the next five years ahead of the next evaluation visit.

I hope you enjoy reading the class entries in this module’s newsletter. They show the range of opportunities the pupils have had throughout the module. We are always keen to receive the learning that your child has done at home. Every module we share curriculum maps that include ideas for home learning. These are also on the academy website. The home learning is shared in class and displayed to show the action pupils are taking as a result of their learning. 

Wishing you all an enjoyable February Break. We will look forward to welcoming the pupils back on Monday 23rd February.

Mrs G Stangroom

Principal

Hatchlings

This module, the pupils have been investigating the vehicles we have in our community. They have been very interested in buses, police and the fire brigade! We went on a bus spotting adventure, exploring which forms of transport we could see in High Halstow. Hatchlings have also been learning about our responsibilities and how we can stay safe on the roads.

In Maths, we have been learning about positional language, driving over and under, investigating tunnels and bridges. The children have also been learning about the concept of number, matching quantity with number and identifying 1, 2 and 3.

Grasshopper Class

What a wonderful and fun-filled Module 3!  Our Central Idea of ‘Exploration’ took us to learning that was out of this world!  Grasshopper Class have loved learning about Space!  From learning the names of the planets in order, investigating life on the ISS to what it means to be an Astronaut, we have fully immersed ourselves in the topic!  This finished with a ‘Spaceship’ crash in our garden and the children learning how to be detectives to help solve the question ‘Who crashed and why?!’

We have explored some amazing books this term too, including ‘Man on the Moon’, ‘Whatever Next!’ and ‘Beegu’.  We have been incredibly lucky to have two wonderful extracurricular activities this Module.  The Astrodome came to our school, Grasshopper Class had the chance to immerse themselves in Space and see it in its vastness!

We have also been very lucky to have a ballet dance specialist for our PE lessons this term, and the children have thoroughly enjoyed learning stories through dance and performing these.

In maths we have continued to develop our knowledge and understanding of number, as well as investigating mass, weight and capacity. 

Dragonfly Class

Dragonfly class has returned from the Christmas break full of energy and excitement for our new module. We kicked things off by bringing in our favourite toys, which helped us explore how we like to play. It was wonderful to share the games we enjoy and discover what our friends love to do in their free time.

Dragonflies took a global journey through toys and games, even creating their very own Guatemalan worry dolls. We also investigated toys from the past, learning what was popular when our parents and grandparents were young. By creating timelines, we could see how toys have changed over the years and explore the different materials they were made from—linking perfectly with our science learning about materials. Our curiosity even took us back to Victorian times, where we were lucky enough to see and play with some traditional toys in person!

Building on this, Dragonflies designed and made their own puppets, thinking carefully about what other children would enjoy. Testing them out was a highlight, with lots of laughter during our puppet show performances.

Dragonfly Class should be incredibly proud of all they have achieved this term. Wishing everyone a restful and enjoyable break—you’ve earned it!

Ladybird Class

This module Ladybird Class have really been engaged by their inquiry learning. They have really enjoyed learning about the Great Fire of London and the events and significant people associated with this event.  They have learnt how to order historical events in a chronological order and about how the fire started and why it spread so quickly and far. The pupils questioning this module has been really insightful and inquiring and they were fascinated to learn about Samuel Pepys diary and that it was written in shorthand.  This led to us creating our own alphabet code and then writing a short diary extract using the code!

In science we learnt about materials and their uses and why some materials are better than others. The pupils learnt about how plastic is recycled and which materials are man-made and which are natural. We explored our outside environment to complete a survey to find the material that was used the most and the material that was used the least. We used our maths skills to record in a tally chart and then to make a pictogram.

The pupils loved our key text- ‘Vlad and the Great Fire of London’ and wrote diary extracts in the role of Vlad. This helped them to think about how people would have felt and what they would have experienced at the time of the fire.  I am looking forward to our learning in Module 4!

Spider Class

This module we have stepped back into Prehistory with our learning taking us to the Stone Age! The class have been fascinated by our learning this module and have been keen inquirers by asking so many questions and conducting lots of research. We learnt how people used stone tools to help them in their everyday life and how the discovery of metal led to newer, stronger tools being created. We used atlases to locate where cave paintings have been found around the world and to suggest where a stone age tribe might travel to as they were nomadic during the early stages.

The highlight of the module was our Stone Age Day! The day started with a naming ceremony before we spent the day outside creating tools, hunting and gathering, making shelter, creating cave paintings and then telling stories around the fire! We had a fantastic day with memories to last a long time!

Cricket Class

What a busy and exciting module it has been! We began our learning by exploring past civilisations, where the children engaged in thoughtful discussions about different sources of evidence and their reliability. They produced some fantastic character descriptions and diary entries inspired by the story of the Celtic Queen Boudicca and enjoyed bringing their learning to life by role-playing as Celts and Romans. This included creating a news-style TV report of the Roman invasion and producing an iMovie trailer about Boudicca’s resistance.

We were also surprised by just how many lasting contributions the Romans brought to Britain, including roads, language and even clean toilets, and the children enjoyed exploring how these innovations continue to impact our lives today.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the module was our unforgettable trip to the Young Voices 2025 concert at the O2 Arena. The children performed brilliantly and should be incredibly proud of themselves. The enormous smiles on their faces made the day truly special. We would like to say a massive thank you to the children, parents, staff and volunteers for all of your dedication and support to ensure this amazing event could go ahead.

We wish you all a lovely February Break and look forward to welcoming everyone back for another exciting chapter of learning in Module 4!

Ant Class

What an amazing module we have had!!  Our Central Idea ‘Civilisations learn to use their local environment to their advantage’ has taken our learning across the Atlantic to the time of the Ancient Maya.  The children have investigated the physical features of Central America, created home learning projects on Maya Gods and even made the Maya drink ‘Chocolatl!’  

To consolidate our learning from the past 3 Modules we visited the British Museum.  A fantastic day was had by all, we were able to see artefacts from Ancient Greece, Romans, Maya, Ancient Eygypt and Anglo Saxons!  There was even a display on Islam linked to our RE topic.  Ant Class loved the journey to London, with a very interesting and funny coach driver/tour guide.

In English, we created a Non-Chronological Report comparing the physical features of a Central American country and Kent.  The pupils were quite surprised by the similarities.  We are now in the process of writing our own Maya Folktale, including Maya Gods and Animals. 

Butterfly Class

This module, we have been learning about the concept of migration. The children began their learning journey with an inquiry into the main causes of migration. We studied the Industrial Revolution which caused many people to migrate from villages and small towns into the larger industrialising cities in search of new opportunities. We enjoyed watching ‘The Victorian Slum’, a BBC docuseries which follows several families as they recreate life in the slums of London and talk about the challenges that they faced while taking part in the ‘experiment’. 

We continued our learning with an inquiry into the impact of widespread migration on the UK where we looked at statistics and stories from modern migrations. Children were able to put their mathematics skills into practice by studying data and creating bar graphs. We looked at the definitions of the words used to discuss migration and began to better understand the challenges of both legal and illegal migration. 

The children expanded their understanding by inquiring into migration in the modern world by creating Google Forms which enabled the children to conduct their own research into the personal histories of a person they know who has migrated. They used their responses to create a script for an interview detailing the experiences of the chosen person. We concluded our learning by looking at the opportunities and positives that legal migration can provide. The children wowed us with their culinary skills by researching and making their very own recipes from around the world; they showed responsibility by taking ownership over the task and organising themselves within their teams so that they had a successful dish to share with their peers. 

We wish you all a lovely February Break and look forward to welcoming Year 6 back for our next concept, advancement, when we will be learning about energy in Module 4!

Gold Passes - Module 3

Congratulations to the pupils who were awarded a gold pass in Module 3 for showing exemplary behaviour:

Year 1: Zachary B, Henry S, Delilah H, Max D, Harper S, Monroe C

Year 2: Ivy H, Alex C, Maryann M, Albie J, Maddison H, Max P

Year 3: Hallie J, Max P, James H, Ruby S, Rosie W, Cady-Leigh W

Year 4: Davina I, Elsie K, Charlotte H, Arabella M, Archie T, Darcy-May H

Year 5: Connor C, Ella M, Olivia H, Noah M, Lily P,  Chloe M

Year 6: Melissa R, Francesca P, Carol E, Skyla G, Pearl L, Violet G

House Point Winners - Module 3

As winners of the House Point totals, Redshanks are invited to come into school on Monday 23rd February 2026 wearing their own clothes with the predominant colour being Red.

Book Week - Week commencing 02.03.26

As part of Book Week we are inviting pupils to dress up in pyjamas on Friday 06 March and to bring a bedtime story with them, this can be a book that is read to them at bedtime or a book they read at bedtime.   Pupils are also free to wear school uniform if they prefer but will still need to bring a bedtime book please.

Please ensure that pupils also have outside footwear and coats to wear at playtimes.

Holiday Events:-

Please see the following events available during the February break:-

Strive PE and Sport Multi-Activity Camps

There’s still time to book your child’s place at one of our campsr during the February break!  We have a choice of camps packed with fun, games, and activities. Simply visit our Strive PE and Sport Pebble platform, scroll down and choose the camp that works best for you.

https://activities.bookpebble.co.uk/supplier/strive-pe-and-sport-c18b39b5-6cd5-4851-a817-889c159c3e72

Book now to secure a spot for your child:

Strive PE and Sport

Punctuality:-

Learning starts at 08:45.  Please ensure that your child arrives at the gate by 08:35 to ensure a prompt start.

Dates for your diary

Please see dates for your diary under Important Documents in the MCAS app.  Please check regularly as these dates are subject to change and are updated regularly.