Principal's Welcome

Dear Parents/Carers

Alongside their usual inquiry based learning, this module has enabled our pupils to showcase their talents in many ways. Pupils have performed to audiences demonstrating their musical talents and drama skills, taken part in sporting events and presented at a PYP exhibition. It is important that our pupils get to experience a broad and balanced curriculum.

You can continue to support your child's learning over the summer break. Learning times tables is a vital skill so practising this in different ways will be very useful. The Times Tables Rock Stars website is an engaging way to do this. Additionally, any reading you can do with your child will have a big impact.

The summer break is also a time for families to rest, relax and enjoy time together. We hope you make memories together and look forward to welcoming the pupils back on Monday 1st September.

Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the academic year. 

Mrs G Stangroom

Principal

Grasshopper Class

Module 6 has been as busy and fun-filled as ever!  We have been learning about how ‘The Environment Influences Living Things’ and focusing on pirates and under the sea learning.  Our inquiries led us to design and build our own ‘life-size’ pirate ship - complete with 2 class-made jolly rogers!  ‘Talk like a Pirate day’ was a huge success, we learnt how to speak like pirates, dance and sing a sea shanty and act out our wonderful pirate stories and well as make our own treasure maps and follow them to find the treasure.

We linked our learning this module to eat some of the wonderful foods that we grew last module!  Eating our very own grown strawberries and peas, we loved being able to eat our home-grown snacks!!

Grasshopper Class enjoyed their first ever Sports Festival too!  Where we practised the wonderful skills learnt throughout the years PE lessons.  Including, running, jumping, moving through obstacles and dancing to some brilliant inquiry-based songs, such as Dinosaur Stomp and Pirate Shanty.

Finally, we were lucky enough to get a brand new climbing frame in our garden, and have had a wonderful time investigating the climbing and swinging areas!

Dragonfly Class

Wow Dragonflies, what a way to end the year and hasn’t it gone quick! We started by looking at changes of school across different time periods. We wrote fantastic letters to our adults at home to ask them all about their time at school. Thank you for all your replies, we thoroughly enjoyed reading them in school. We learnt so much about different games played, the lessons that were taught and how technology has changed. We had an absolute blast during our Victorian Day. We learnt to write like a Victorian, sew and do technical drawings of Queen Victoria. Miss Spittles, Mrs Harris and Miss Wright took the role very seriously but Dragonflies ended up enjoying it way more than a normal school day.

Dragonfly class have not only been amazing writers but also been brilliant inquirers this module using their geography skills to create their own maps of the classroom and school. We also did some fieldwork using our senses to explore what we would find in our school. Dragonflies have become very knowledgeable about the different seasons and the changes we would expect to see happen.

It has been an absolute pleasure to teach Dragonfly class this year. I have loved watching you grow and mature into wonderful individuals. Thank you for all the laughs and the memories we have had. Enjoy your summer and I can’t wait to see what you get up to in Year 2!

Ladybird Class

What a wonderful year Ladybird Class has had! It is difficult to believe that we have come to the end of another academic year. Module 6, as always, has been very busy and exciting. This included Active week when we had opportunities to take part in a range of activities such as bean bag rounders and whole school relay races. The week ended with our fantastic Sports day when all the pupils were able to shine and excel in their different talents.

This module our inquiry work has been about keeping healthy and making healthy choices. As part of this inquiry, in D&T, we designed and made healthy sandwiches, we then had a picnic to eat our tasty sandwiches!  We have also been learning about Florence Nightingale and the work that she did in Crimea and how she was a big influence on nursing as we know it today. We compared nursing in Florence Nightingale’s time to now and recognised how different it is. In English we have been writing adventure stories based on the picture book ‘The Secret Cave’. The pupil’s writing is very descriptive and they are all budding authors. In science we learnt about what animals including humans need to survive and how important exercise is. We carried out an investigation to find out why washing our hands is so important by doing a mouldy bread investigation! We rubbed our hands on a slice of bread before washing our hands and then after and then watched what happened to the bread. The slice that we rubbed our hands on before washing turned mouldy quicker than the other slice!

I am very proud of the progress all the pupils have made this year in Ladybird Class and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents and carers for your continuing support. Have a wonderful summer break. 

Spider Class

This module Spider Class has been diving deep into the fascinating world of Ancient Egypt, and what an exciting journey it has been!

We began by exploring the importance of the River Nile in ancient times. The class were intrigued to discover how the River Nile was essential for farming, transport, and daily life thousands of years ago. We then compared this to how the river looks and is used today – from modern-day irrigation to tourism and industry. As part of our RE learning, we learnt about Hapi, the Ancient Egyptian god of the River Nile, and compared him to how water is used as a symbol in modern religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. In English, the class used research and their imaginations to write a setting description of the mysterious tomb of Tutankhamun. We also wrote narratives about an adventurer's journey into a pyramid. The class worked hard to bring their writing to life with vivid descriptions, eerie atmosphere, and powerful vocabulary – we definitely have some budding authors in Spider Class!

A highlight of our learning was our trip to Maidstone Museum. The children had the chance to handle real artefacts and replicas from Ancient Egyptian times, which helped bring their classroom learning to life and allowed them to showcase their knowledge. We explored the museum and were especially fascinated to see the real mummy, Ta Kush. 

Well done, Spider Class – you’ve shown fantastic enthusiasm, curiosity, and teamwork throughout this whole year. I can’t believe our time in year three is already over!

Cricket Class 

Here we are coming to the end of Module 6 and it really feels like it was only yesterday when the children first entered Cricket class.  Where did that time go? This module we have delved into the world of tourism, have explored various locations around the UK and have seen what our beautiful country has to offer.  We used our extensive research to write some interesting non-chronological reports all about a county of our choice and what tourist attractions can be found there.  We studied and evaluated a range of famous landmarks and buildings so that we could design and make our own.  In science, we have been looking at our local environment, have undertaken habitat studies to see what living things we have all around us and have learnt how to classify a range of living things. Lastly, we cannot forget the excitement of Active week. The children did so well in their sports activities and were able to take part in many competitive games such as a rounders and football tournament.

I have loved having the opportunity to teach Cricket class this year and cannot express how much I have enjoyed watching the children blossom and grow in confidence as learners.  Crickets really have been an incredible class and I look forward to seeing them flourish as they progress through the school. I wish you all the very best in the future and know that you will totally smash Year 5!  Keep smiling, keep laughing and keep learning!  Have a fantastic and well deserved summer break! 

Miss Tyler

Ant Class

Can you believe that Ant Class have come to the end of Year 5 already?! This year really has flown by. I’m so proud of every member of the class for the progress they have made and the memories created along the way.

This term we delved straight into inquiries around importation and exportation around the world, before focussing on South America. The children’s South American geography has become very impressive! They not only learnt to locate the countries and capital cities, but we also looked into the climate there and the different vegetation belts and biomes.

The children have written brilliant setting descriptions this term, based around the Amazon rainforest. They have also written extremely persuasive letters to Mrs Stangroom, to allow us to have a school trip to the Amazon Rainforest!

This term we also had a maths tournament with all the schools in the Trust, and was very proud when we made it to the final. Well done to all children who took part!

What an amazing year we have all had Ant Class… well done for all your hard work, you are all superstars! Have a great summer holiday and wishing you all the luck for next year - your final year at High Halstow! 

Butterfly Class

As the academic year draws to a close, we take this opportunity to celebrate the achievements and experiences of our wonderful Year 6 pupils during their final term at primary school. It has been a term full of meaningful learning, personal growth, and unforgettable moments. In computing, the children explored the ever-evolving world of artificial intelligence, developing their digital skills and engaging in thoughtful discussions about the role of AI in our lives. Their curiosity and ability to think critically have been a highlight. In PSHE, the focus shifted towards secondary transition. Through open conversation and supportive activities, the children reflected on the changes ahead, expressed their thoughts and feelings, and developed strategies to help them navigate the challenges of this new phase with confidence and resilience. A standout moment this term was the Year 6 production of Prexit. Butterfly Class delivered a fantastic performance, showcasing their acting abilities, creativity, and teamwork. The production was a great success and a testament to the pupils’ enthusiasm and dedication. The children also thoroughly enjoyed a three-day residential trip to Carroty Wood. Whether taking on high ropes, participating in team-building challenges, or trying something new, they embraced every opportunity with courage and positivity—developing new skills and strengthening friendships along the way. 

GOLD PASSES - Module 5

Congratulations to the pupils who were awarded a gold pass in Module 6 for showing exemplary behaviour:

Year 1: Alex, Matilda, Violet, Frankie, Oliver, Maddox

Year 2: Jacob, Mollie, Hallie, James C, Evie M, Stanley

Year 3: Lottie, Barkley, Jake, Marnie, Elizabeth, Abbie

Year 4: Ella, Elora, Hunter, Jensen, Grayson, Edward

Year 5: Chloe, Jemima, Daniella, Rory, Martin, William

Year 6: Deron, Lila-Rose, Frankie, Thomas, Aaliyah, Lucca

Sports Update

What a brilliant final module of sport it has been at High Halstow!

The term started with the football Mini Youth Games at Anchorians football club. A team of 10 children went along and played extraordinary well all day. They worked incredibly hard as a team and respected their opponents at all times. We won just over half of our games, even in the cold and damp weather!

We then had a team of 10 children go to the cricket Mini Youth Games at the end of June. Again, they played extremely well all day, showing excellent sportsmanship and winning the majority of the matches that they played! We were ecstatic when we found out that we’d finished in 3rd place out of 14 schools! Another trophy to add to our awards shelf; it is filling up quickly!

We had a few more sports competitions to take part in within the final weeks of Module 6! 

Firstly, we had a team go off to Medway Park for the Athletics Mini Youth Game, all before heading to the LAT Sports day in the same week! Both events were a huge success, where the children’s exceptional behaviour and attitudes really shone through. They were both brilliant days, full of a variety of running, jumping and throwing events. These were highly competitive and our team worked extremely hard throughout all of the events they took part in. In the Mini Youth athletics, we came 13th out of 38 schools and in the LAT athletics we came midtable too out of 15 schools!

This was close to another sporting event which was the LAT cricket tournament. In the cricket, the team won all their matches and therefore made it through to the sem-final! Unfortunately, they were knocked out by just a few runs! However, we were over the moon to have finished 3rd out of the 15 schools. 

Back at school, Active Week was once again a great success, allowing every child to take part in a variety of events and experience some intra-school competition, whilst having a lot of fun along the way! The children loved taking part in our version of the Euros; a morning of fun relay races; running race heats; a KS1 ball festival; a whole school rounders tournament and of course… Sports Day! We had a very eventful and fun-filled day over at the park and cricket club, where the children participated in a variety of races and activity stations. A huge congratulations to the Herons who have taken the title this year as our reigning champions! 

Well done to everyone for a phenomenal sporting year at High Halstow!

Summer Activities:-

Medway activities:-

Please see details from the Gillingham Brick Festival Team:-

The Gillingham Brick Festival is an exciting celebration of all things LEGO, but it isn’t just about fun – although it is absolutely packed full of that too! Brick Festival events also invite visitors to explore a range of STEM subject skills through the medium of LEGO bricks. How do you become more interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths? By understanding them. And how do you best understand things? By having fun while learning. LEGO is the perfect tool for developing new skills, exploring new ideas and having new adventures.

Football

Please see links to Football-4-all events:-

https://football-4-all-coaching-scheme.classforkids.io/camp/59

https://football-4-all-coaching-scheme.classforkids.io/info/215

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.