Newsletter
July 2022
Principal's Welcome
Dear Parents/Carers
The final newsletter of the year provides the staff with one last chance to celebrate the efforts of their class and to share with you some of the learning that has been taking place. Please take the time to enjoy reading about everything that has been going on.
There have been several whole school events this term. Active Week provided the children with chances to try new activities, demonstrate their skills and work as a team to do their best. It was wonderful to see the determination on the faces of some pupils (and parents!) during the races. Well done to the Redshanks for coming out as overall winners on the day.
There have been lots of other sporting events this term, including the Medway Mini Youth Games Athletics event. This provided the team with an opportunity to compete against over forty other schools. The Commonwealth theme saw us competing as Anguilla for the day! Eight pupils represented the academy for the day and every child had their own successes. A stand out moment was Sofiia in Year 6 winning the mini marathon. Over 40 girls raced against each other and it was wonderful to see Sofiia pushing herself on the home straight to cross the line in first place! Jack, in Year 4 came a very respectable 9th place in his mini marathon - I would imagine he was one of the only year 4 team members so he should feel very proud of himself too! We were very proud to finish in 7th position at the end of the day with many of our pupils finishing in first position in their races. Once again, the pupils conducted themselves superbly throughout the day. Well done team High Halstow!
Our pupils have been lucky enough to get back to going on visits or welcoming visitors in the academy this year. Our final visitors of the year have been extra special! Alpacas were our VIPs for the day. Pupils have been learning about humans sharing the planet with animals and learning about how not only humans can have a positive impact on each animal, but also how animals can have a positive impact on humans too. Each class got to meet the alpacas during the day and learnt lots during a whole school assembly.
Our Year 6 pupils completed their SATS assessments this year. They should feel very proud of their individual achievements. The progress that so many of them have made since the start of the year is phenomenal. The hard work and resilience they have shown will stand them in good stead as they move onto secondary education. I am sure you will join me in wishing them every success for the future.
It is also the time to say goodbye to two members of staff. As you know, Mrs Corderoy is taking voluntary redundancy and will be relocating so we wish her well in her new ventures. She has made a huge difference to the pupils across the academy and will be greatly missed. Additionally Mrs Kent is retiring to spend more time with her family. Having been at the school for over a quarter of a century she holds a lot of knowledge and always rises to any challenge that comes her way. We will miss her greatly but know she will continue to keep busy in her next chapter.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Martin for her dedication as Vice Principal. Although she is stepping down from this position to focus on her class responsibilities, I know her experience will continue to be a huge benefit to the staff and pupils. I am personally very grateful for her support.
We look forward to welcoming the pupils back to school on Friday 2nd September. Please remember that pupils need to be in school by 8:45am each day from September. It is important that pupils are punctual so they can get a good start to the school day. The gates will be open by 8:40am.
I would like to wish you all a wonderful summer and will look forward to hearing all about the adventures that the pupils have had.
Thank you for your continuing support as parents and carers - we couldn’t do it without you.
Mrs G Stangroom
SENCO Introduction
Hello everyone!
I am very excited to start officially working as SENCO at High Halstow Primary Academy in September. I have been lucky enough to meet some of you and your children and I look forward to meeting more of you as I start my role.
I thought it would be good to introduce myself to you so that you know a little bit about me before I start at High Halstow. I am a Mummy to two boys, my eldest is nearly 7 and my youngest is almost 2. We love to be outdoors going on long walks as a family, playing outside or being creative with anything from duplo / lego to sowing seeds and getting muddy with some gardening! At home we also have a house rabbit and a hamster who keep us busy too!
I started my Teaching career in a 4 form Primary school in Crawley and moved to Kent in 2010. Within my career I have taught in large town schools and in rural schools that had less than 60 pupils in the whole school! I have led a range of different subjects from Art and DT to Maths and Reading, and I have also supported ECT to start their teaching career. I have taught across Key stage one for many years and have experience of Key stage 2 and Key stage 3 too.
I have worked closely with staff at High Halstow since I started at Stoke Primary Academy in 2015, so I feel that I have a good understanding of the school and the process that the school has in place.
I have always had a passion for Special Educational Needs, even before starting my teacher training. I was lucky enough to complete some of my placements at Specialist provisions while training. Over the years I have had the opportunity to support the SENCO’s that I have worked with and have always enjoyed being able to gain more knowledge in this area. So when I returned from my maternity leave and there was the opportunity to become SENCO for Allhallows and Stoke Primary academies (before they merged to become Peninsula East Primary Academy), I jumped at this opportunity and have really enjoyed stepping into this role. I have completed my NASENCO award with Real Training which has provided me with a fantastic network of SENCOs across the country. From September I will be at High Halstow on a Tuesday and will be at the gate to speak to parents/carers if you have any questions or you can always contact me on the email - senco@highhalstowprimaryacademy.org.uk . I will be based at Peninsula East Primary Academy on a Monday, Wednesday and a Thursday, please feel free to still send emails to me while I am not on site and I will get back to you as soon as I am able.
I hope that you all have a fantastic Summer Holiday and I look forward to seeing you all in September!
Mrs L Drogomirecki
SENCO
Homework
In the new academic year we will be changing the focus of homework slightly.
Pupils will be expected to engage in daily reading
Pupils will be expected to use maths apps such as Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots and the One Minute Maths App weekly.
Weekly, pupils will be expected to use spellings apps such as Spelling Shed which they have recently been introduced to in school. Details will be shared so they can access it at home.
Termly, parents will receive an overview of the term’s learning with a few suggestions linked to how you may wish to further support your child’s learning.
In some year groups, there will be additional homework when the teacher feels it will be most beneficial.
Grasshopper Class
We have had a very busy exciting half term in Grasshopper Class. This half term we continued our enquiry along the transdisciplinary theme of ‘Sharing the Planet’ and decided together to explore pirates and maps! We all really enjoyed our pirate dress up day when we made a giant pirate ship! Even more exciting, we found a hidden old map which led us to some clues that in turn led us all around the school to some buried treasure! In maths we have been learning all about sharing different amounts which was handy when we had to work out much treasure we would each get from the pirate treasure we found buried in the garden!
We have all had a wonderful year in Grasshoppers and have enjoyed exploring and learning all about different things. We are all very excited for Year 1 and we have spent lots of time thinking all about our new year 1 teachers talking about the things we are most excited about and some of the things that might be worrying us a little!
Dragonfly Class
Dragonflies have finished the academic year on another extremely busy module! We have been learning all about our local area and discussing what we liked about it. We explored the woods and spotted a variety of plants and flowers. Then we learnt about each of the parts of a plant and started to learn about what each part does. This led us to scientifically investigate what a flower can live without. When learning about money, we walked to the local shop and bought ice pops! On the way back, we got to play in the park together; two more things we like about our village. Active week was also a highlight for us as it was the first time that the children got to join in with a proper High Halstow Primary sports festival. We had lots of fun and learnt about why it is important to keep our bodies healthy by eating and drinking healthy foods and joining in with physical activities.
Have a restful but enjoyable summer holidays… see you in six weeks!
Ladybird Class
We have come to the end of another school year and I literally cannot believe how fast the time has gone. It only seems like yesterday when I met the new Ladybirds for their transition afternoon and gave them a sneak peek into what learning would be like in year 2, and yet here we are 6 modules later! This module the children have literally blown me away with their enthusiasm, knowledge, independence, high level questioning and dedication to their learning. This module has been crazy busy! We have showcased some of our work in our class assembly, taken part in active week, met some alpacas and explored local and global communities. In maths we have learnt to tell the time, have explored a range of 2D and 3D shapes and have enjoyed some blindfolded activities to help us secure our knowledge of position and direction. Looking through all of the outstanding homework submitted on the Google Classroom has made me burst with pride. I particularly love the children's dedication to improving our local area for others by undertaking litter picks in their own time. This not only demonstrates what kind and caring citizens the children of Ladybird Class are, but also shows how ready they are to become Spiders in September. I have had the best year with this class, they have embraced my craziness and have been so open minded and willing to take risks to improve their knowledge. I cannot thank you all enough for making this year an amazing one. I wish you all the best as you move into Year 3 and cannot wait to hear about your achievements.
Spider Class
This term has been very busy with lots of exciting events happening including our Sports Celebration and a visit from some alpacas! This term Spider Class have been learning about communities and how these are organised. We designed and created a structure and then created our very own community with them! We also learnt about ‘light’ in science and have investigated the best materials to make shadows and how shadows change shape and size.
As this is our last newsletter as Spider Class I would like to say how amazing all the pupils have been and to thank the parents and carers for their continuing support.
Have a great summer!
Cricket Class
Cricket class has had a fantastic final module in Year 4. I’m not sure where the time has gone but it’s certainly true, time does fly when you’re having fun! We started the module in the best way possible with a trip to Wildwood where we were able to become nature detectives to classify animals using lots of different artefacts. We were also able to explore the animals’ habitats, especially those who are part of conservation projects. We particularly loved going over the bear bridge and seeing the bears playing underneath us. This was a great way to see all our science learning from the past two modules in action.
We have also had a lot of fun learning about the history of money, making Google slides to present our knowledge using all our computing skills we have learnt this year. We then planned a trip around the world visiting countries from different regions with different currencies. To be able to carry our money on the trip we designed and made money containers. We had to practise our sewing skills which was tricky but our purses looked amazing in the end. Lastly, we had to budget our trip using our knowledge of adding and subtracting money from our Maths lessons. In Maths we have also explored our understanding of time, making our own analogue clocks to help us with our learning. This is only just some of the things we have experienced along with active week, the KS2 music assembly and meeting alpacas. I am very proud of everything Cricket class has achieved in this last year. They have shown such enthusiasm and readiness for learning and it has made the year so enjoyable. I cannot wait to see you continue to grow in Year 5 and hear about all your future successes.
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 Ancient Maya, beginning with making and trying a rather hot and spicy Mayan hot chocolate! It was a hit with a few of the students, but I don’t think the majority will be making it again any time soon!
The children have written brilliant narratives this term, based around an adventure back in time in Ancient Maya! I am so impressed with how much their writing has progressed as a class; they really have written some excellent stories. Alongside all the writing, the children enjoyed discovering Ancient Maya artwork and made some fantastic Mayan masks.
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.
Butterfly Class
Butterflies have come to the end of their final year at High Halstow Primary Academy. They have grown as individuals and accomplished beyond expectations. This module, the children have adapted to a more creative timetable and shown skills of perseverance, independence and dedication. Many of the children had the chance to show their unique qualities during Carroty Wood. They were resilient and supportive of one another. A highlight was the bravery displayed during the ‘leap of faith’.
During this module, the children have been preparing their projects on their future career. They have researched different careers and analysed their own skills and qualities most suitable to a career path. They have developed their interview skills and demonstrated their own achievements. As well as this, they have participated as leaders in active week, whilst caring and supporting the children in their groups. The children have stepped up to the mark, proving themselves as role models to the rest of the school.
Despite all the challenges, the children have also learnt, practiced and performed their production. The children should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved this year. It has been beyond a pleasure to get to know the children over the last couple of terms and I wish them all the luck in the future. I have no doubt they will go on to succeed as individuals of the next generation.
ACTIVE WEEK
I was thrilled to be able to plan a full active week once again, for the first time since 2019. We kicked off the week with the running race heats, where everyone had a fantastic morning cheering each other on and running as fast as they possibly could! The following day the whole school took part in the fun relay race event. Every class designed a type of relay race for the rest of the school, from spider-walking to blindfolded three-legged races… It was extremely fun!
Wednesday was the main event… our Sports Festival! Everyone had a great day trying out the many different activities at each station, plus of course, the running race finals. Everyone did brilliantly and the day was a huge success. An extra-special well done to Redshanks, this year’s winning house team!
In the rest of the week, we held our very own football World Cup competitions, one for Year R and KS1, and one for KS2. These events were complete with heats, quarter finals, semi-finals and two very exciting finals! Every team played their very best and were so kind and supportive to one another. Well done to those who played for Belgium in the YR/KS1 competition, and those who played for France in the KS2 event, both being crowned World Cup champions!
Mrs Hughes
SPORTS COMPETITIONS UPDATE
It’s been a rather busy summer of sport here at High Halstow! All year, children from different year groups have had the opportunity to represent their school in the Mini Youth Games, the Kent Games and in the Leigh Academy Trust competitions.
In every event, the children have done themselves and the High Halstow community proud; showing dedication by missing some lunchtime play to train, always trying their absolute best at all times and showing fantastic sportsmanship to each other and to other teams. In this module and the last module, the children have enjoyed a girls’ football tournament, a cricket MYG event, a mixed football MYG and a cricket LAT event.
Term Dates 2022-2023
MODULE 1
Start: Tuesday 30th August 2022
Wednesday 31st August 2022 and Thursday 1st September 2022
(Professional Development Days) – PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND
Pupils Return: Friday 2nd September 2022
Finish: Friday 21st October 2022
Autumn Break: 24th October 2022 to Friday 4th November 2022
MODULE 2
Pupils Start: Monday 7th November 2022
Finish: Tuesday 20th December 2022
Christmas Break: Wednesday 21st December 2022
To Tuesday 3rd January 2023
MODULE 3
Start: Wednesday 4th January 2023
(Professional Development Day) – PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND
Pupils Return: Thursday 5th January 2023
Finish: Thursday 9th February 2023
Friday 10th February 2023 (Professional Development Day) – PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND
February Break: Monday 13th February 2023
to Friday 17th February 2023
MODULE 4
Start: Monday 20th February 2023
Finish: Friday 31st March 2023
Spring Break: Monday 3rd April 2023
to Friday 14th April 2023
(including Good Friday 7th April and Bank Holiday Monday 10th April 2023)
MODULE 5
Start: Monday 17th April 2023
Finish: Friday 26th May 2023
Early May Day Bank Holiday: Monday 1st May 2023
May Break: Monday 29th May 2023 (Late May Bank Holiday) to Friday 2nd June 2023
MODULE 6
Start: Monday 5th June 2023 (Professional Development Day) – PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND
Pupils Return: Tuesday 6th June 2023
Finish: Friday 21st July 2023
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ALL PUPILS SHOULD BE IN SCHOOL BY 8:45AM EACH DAY. GATES WILL BE OPEN BY 8:40AM.