Newsletter
May 2024
Principal's Welcome
Dear Parents/Carers
Module 5 has been a whirlwind! I don't know where the time has gone! Year 6 completed their KS2 SATS last week. They have conducted themselves superbly and should feel very proud of how far they have progressed throughout Year 6. Every child was resilient and determined to do their very best. Well done Butterflies!
Module 5 has concluded with Careers Week. It is important that we support our pupils with their aspirations for their futures and widen their minds to the career opportunities available. Our pupils have had a range of visitors in the academy this week, a highlight was a class visit from a local business where the children got to handle a range of reptiles. Our pupils have enjoyed being business owners this week. Each class was tasked with leading a business and building on their £30 start up fund (donated by the PTA). I wonder which business will have made the most profit!
I would like to wish you all an enjoyable May Break with friends and family. There are a lot of dates to look forward to in Module 6 so please read the dates carefully. We will look forward to welcoming the pupils back to the academy on Monday 3rd June.
Mrs G Stangroom
Principal
Grasshopper Class
This module we have been learning all about minibeasts and growing. We started by planting our own bean plants after reading the traditional tale ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. We also planted some grass seeds and we have been taking care of them at school and thinking about who is growing the quickest! We have also been looking at different minibeasts and learning all about their life cycles- we have even been looking after our very own caterpillars. We have watched them change from teeny tiny caterpillars to big caterpillars and then we watched them closely as they made their cocoons around themselves. Inside they are (hopefully!) changing into butterflies! We have learnt lots of facts about minibeasts and what we can do to protect them and help them to thrive in our environment as they play very important roles. We are working hard to make our EYFS garden at school an environment that is minibeast friendly! We have also been exploring teen numbers and how to add amounts together using different maths manipulatives!
Dragonfly Class
Wow what a busy module we have had in Dragonfly Class! We have learnt all about the habitats around the world, how they have changed and what we can do to help protect them. We started off the module by becoming scientists, classifying animals by their animal groups, by what they eat and where they live. We created fantastic slider mechanisms to show these animals and their habitats. Dragonflies then went on their first school visit to Leeds Castle to explore more habitats and the animals that live there. The best bits were definitely the tiny ducklings and Owlfie the owl. We became very knowledgeable about the oceans and continents in the world and used this to help write fact files of different sea creatures. Who would have thought that dolphins can jump as high as six metres or that jellyfish are able to make their own light? One of our favourite parts of the module was reading the story of The Little Mermaid. We had lots of fun creating our own mermaids to write our own version of the story.
Dragonfly class have been very caring learners this module after finding out about climate change and how this is affecting habitats around the world. We have come up with lots of ways that we and others can help the environment and slow down the effects of global warming.
We can’t wait to show you all more of our learning in our class assembly. We hope you enjoy it!
Ladybird Class
This module Ladybird Class have been learning about climate change and the impact of this on animal’s habitats; particularly in the polar regions. We created our own polar animals thinking about the features that they would need to live in such a cold habitat. We then wrote non-chronological reports about them. We have also read the book ‘The Secret Cave’ and have used this to create artwork, descriptions of settings and then used it to write our own narratives about an adventure in a cave!
The highlight of this module has been our visit to Leeds Castle. We had a workshop and met an owl called Alfie and then we were able to make our own owls from clay. The pupils were excellent ambassadors for High Halstow Primary Academy and behaviour was exemplary.
We all really enjoyed careers week and were lucky to have a reptile workshop and an author visit. We also, as a class made ‘Rocky Road’ to sell at Enterprise day - we had to think about how much we would sell it for and how much profit we wanted to make. Such a busy module! Lots of hard work from all the pupils and we are looking forward to module 6.
Spider Class
This module, Spider Class, have been learning about how ‘Change Requires Responsibility’. We went back in time to learn how men and women were not always treated equally, and how it takes courageous people, like Emmeline Pankhurst, to stand up for what they believe in. We learnt the stories of some of the suffragettes and discussed how we felt about their campaigning. Although we didn’t think violent and aggressive behaviour was acceptable, we understood why they acted in this way and appreciated their efforts; Without them, our world would be very different. We also learnt about various other influential women and enjoyed taking part in a workshop with Perform to further our understanding. We acted out different influential women including Rosa Parks, Queen Elizabeth II and Amelia Earhart. The class have shown themselves to be extremely inquisitive and we have had lots of excellent discussions.
We have also enjoyed furthering our knowledge of plants by carrying out investigations and observations over time. The class handled the assessment week extremely well and we were so impressed with their positive attitudes.
Cricket Class
Cricket Class have fully embraced our central idea this module and have immersed themselves in everything WW2. We have been extremely fortunate and have had access to some fabulous resources to support our learning and deepen our understanding. We have tried on some WW2 clothing, listened to the air raid siren and have explored a range of photographs from the time. We were also able to participate in a drama workshop where the children were extremely creative and produced an advertisement for an aspect of WW2.
In English we have written some letters in the role of an evacuee, documented the events of the Blitz in a diary entry and have explored vocabulary and word classes when writing our own traditional poems.
In maths we have worked extremely hard, tackling fractions and decimals whilst learning lots of new mathematical vocabulary along the way.
In our art lessons we have been learning to draw in perspective by using vanishing points and produced some incredible watercolour paintings of railway tracks and the views that evacuees might have seen during their journey to the countryside. Once again, our results were incredible demonstrating the artistic flair and talents we have in Cricket class.
I cannot believe that we are now approaching our final module of Year 4! The children are rapidly becoming Year 5 ready and have dramatically grown in confidence to push themselves beyond their comfort zone to try new things and independently uplevel their work.
Well done Crickets, enjoy your very well deserved rest! We look forward to seeing you in Module 6.
Ant Class
What another fantastic module in Year 5!
Our inquiries have been all about great leaders, starting with how individuals can impact how society treats the environment. We created presentations around different environmental issues and learnt about the work of Greta Thunberg. This then led us to learning about some key historical figures, who we like to call ‘game changers’. We’ve learnt about the impact they have had on society and how they have changed societal behaviours for the better. The class researched Rosa Parks excellently and wrote brilliant playscripts about the Bus Boycott. From this, we learnt the part Martin Luther King has had in the history of the American Civil rights movement, as well as reading about many other great leaders, such as Emmeline Pankhurst and Nelson Mandela.
Next week we will be combining our new art skill of Pointillism with our knowledge of great leaders, by creating a Pointillism portrait of one of the leaders.
The class has also been really enjoying our PE sessions this term; athletics. We have learnt both track and field events. We’re now very excited for module 6 - we have a Kent cricket coach coming in every Wednesday for our lessons!
Butterfly Class
This module, Butterflies have been absolutely brilliant! They sat their KS2 SATS and we were so proud of their confident, mature approach to their papers and that everyone tried their best. Well done Butterflies! To celebrate their hard work, they enjoyed some treats such as arts and crafts, team building, movie afternoon and a trip to the park. They have made a great deal of progress and many of the children have shown perseverance. They demonstrated that they have a great geographical knowledge of North America and how tourism can promote the economy. Following this, they have studied the book ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ and have done some fantastic balanced arguments. I am sure that Butterflies will have a wonderful Module 6, full of exciting opportunities such as Carroty Wood, their production and final learning experiences in their classroom before moving on to their next step!
SPORTS / PE
We’ve had yet another sporty module here at High Halstow!
Year 3 have enjoyed athletics lessons with our sports specialist each week, and all of Key Stage 2 received a one-off session of cricket from a Kent cricket coach. The sessions were a lot of fun!
We've also had eight Year 4s trained up as Young Leaders, ready for September! Helen, from the Howard School Sports Partnership, spent the morning with this fantastic group, ending with all of them gaining their official Young Leader qualification!
Some children from Year 3 and Year 4 had a brilliant morning at Medway Park for an indoor athletics competition. They finished in 7th place out of 20 schools - amazing!
Last week we also had the girls’ football competition, which was also against 20 other schools. Despite it being a rather hot and sunny day, the girls put 100% effort in and made our school proud. They finished in a remarkable 3rd place, earning bronze medals!
Jazz and Baxter
Baxter really enjoyed coming into school this module to listen to children read and who have achieved their 50 reads.
Jazz and Baxter would like to wish everyone an enjoyable May break.
GOLD PASSES - Module 5
Congratulations to the pupils who were awarded a gold pass in Module 5 for showing exemplary behaviour.
Year 1: Billy-Bob, Eliza, Evie, Paisleigh
Year 2: Elizabeth, Abbie, Arabella, Davina
Year 3: Maddy, Harley, Noah, Demi
Year 4: Hannah, Nancy-Marie, Chloe, Skyla
Year 5: Farrah, Lucca, George, Aaliyah
Year 6: Charlie, Rose, James, Amelia
PSQM (Primary Science Quality Mark)
This month High Halstow Primary Academy has been awarded the Primary Science Quality Mark. Schools that achieve PSQM demonstrate commitment and expertise in science leadership, teaching and learning. In our feedback it was noted that at HHPA "There is lots of positivity about science. Children really seem to be at the heart of decisions and their curiosity is stimulated through the changes that have been made." We are extremely proud that our hard work and dedication has been recognised – a massive well done goes to all our staff and pupils.
House Point Winners - Module 5
1. Skylark: 655
2. Heron : 624
3. Lapwing: 554
4. Redshank: 541
As winners of the House Point totals Skylarks are invited to come into school on Monday 3rd June 2024 wearing their own clothes with the predominant colour being Blue.
School Council
Thank you to parents/carers for supporting our chosen charities this year. Our final charity on Friday 24th May 2024 is in aid of Dogs Trust where pupils are invited to wear their PJ's to school.
Parking - Polite Reminder
Please be respectful to our neighbours and avoid blocking driveways when dropping off/collecting your children.
Reporting Absence - School Text Number
You can text the school directly on 0786 005 4448. Please use this or the messaging function in MCAS if you need to report your child's absence from school. For safeguarding reasons absences must be reported by 09:00am. Please note that all TEXT messages will be read and acted upon but we are unable to send a response.
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
Friday 24th May 2024 - Last day of module 5
May Break - Monday 27th May 2024 (Late May Bank Holiday) to Friday 31st May 2024
Monday 3rd June 2024 - First Day of Module 6
Wednesday 5th and 6th June 2024 - FAB First Aid For Children
Thursday 6th June 2024 - MYG Football
Monday 10th to Wednesday 12th June 2024 - Year 6 to Carroty Wood
Tuesday 11th to Thursday 13th June 2024 - Man of the Moment Shop (PTA)
Thursday 20th June 2024 - Grasshopper Class Assembly at 09:00am
Thursday 20th June 2024 - New EY Parents Welcome Meeting at 2pm
Friday 21st June 2024 - Cricket Class Assembly at 2:45pm
Monday 24th June 2024 - Active Week
Wednesday 26th June 2024 - Year 3 Visit to Maidstone Museum
Thursday 27th June 2024 - MYG Cricket
Friday 28th June 2024 - Sports Day, High Halstow Recreational Ground - further details to follow.
Wednesday 3rd July 2024 - Transition Afternoon
Thursday 4th July 2024 - Secondary Transition Day / Transition Afternoon
Friday 5th July 2024 - Dress Down Day for Rainbow Raffle (PTA)
Friday 5th July 2024 - Annual Reports to Parents/Carers
Monday 8th July 2024 - LAT Athletics
Tuesday 9th July 2024 - MYG Athletics
Wednesday 10th July 2024 - LAT Kwik Cricket
Wednesday 10th July 2024 - Parent Consultations
Monday 15th July 2024 - Year 6 Production to Parents/Carers at 6pm
Tuesday 16th July 2024 - Year 6 Bowling
Wednesday 17th July 2024 - Dress Down Day for Chocolate Tombola (PTA)
Wednesday 17th July 2024 - Bounce Kingdom Tombola and Raffle from 3.15pm to 5:15pm (PTA)
Friday 19th July 2024 - Year 6 Leavers Service, St Margarets Church at 10:30am
Friday 19th July 2024 - Last Day of Module 6 - Please note that pupils will finish school at the slightly earlier time shown as follows:-
Year R - 1:05 pm
Years 1 & 2 - 1:10 pm
Years 3 - 6 - 1:15 pm
Summer Break:
Monday 22nd July to Friday 30th August 2024
Please also see Dates for your Diary 2023-2024 under Important Documents in MCAS app - some dates may be subject to change so please check back regularly.
