Primary
Academies
Dartford Primary Academy
The end of this school year is the first in three years where we have managed to all be together for the full year! And what a year it has been!
DPA has just achieved the highest Year 6 SATs results in the school’s history! Our Year 6 children have beaten the national average of 59% to achieve 75% in their reading, writing and maths. This is a magnificent achievement and I could not be prouder of the children and the dedicated staff who have enabled them to be successful on their learning journey here at DPA.
We have been awarded the prestigious International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme accreditation; we have achieved Full investors in Careers status; we have seen more and more children explore beyond the academy, with trips to local places and our residential in Norfolk.
We have celebrated the Queen's Jubilee, travelled around the world in 80 days through our activities week, been budding entrepreneurs in Enterprise week, scientists and artists in Science & Art week. We inspired our families to make small changes to save the planet:
Our children have had their artwork displayed in Bluewater’s pop-up art gallery, have taken part in local and district sports events and have been coached by Dartford Football club. We have had the opportunity to play and be coached at cricket events with superstars such as Alex Tudor, Graham Gooch, Phil DeFreitas and Ali Brown. Other names you might know are Jonathan Trott, Owais Shah and Martin McCague. We have been on a teddy bears picnic and excelled at water sports and team events in Norfolk.
Our Year 6 children have said goodbye in the most fabulous way, with outstanding theatre performances in ‘Jill & Fred’s Hysterical Historical Adventure’ and their leavers festival.
Our choir has made our community events a joy to be part of. This year, we have returned to life. It has been joyous to see and be part of.
As we move forward here at DPA, every child will have opportunities to thrive and flourish with exciting opportunities and a world class curriculum to enjoy. Determined persistent achievers - learning to change the world!
Hartley Primary Academy
It has been a busy term at Hartley, with lots of enrichment activities to make the learning fun and engaging.
Year 6 and Year 4 have both had residential trips to the Isle of Wight and PGL centre in East Sussex respectively. Our children once again did us proud and their impeccable behaviour and attitude was commented on by the host staff and our own. We are very proud of them!
Year R have had their first ever school trip - they enjoyed a wonderful day at Godstone Farm meeting the animals and learning all about them.
The whole school joined in with three themed weeks in Term 6: ‘Enterprise Week’, ‘Music Week’ and ‘Sports Week’.
During ‘Enterprise Week’ every year group was challenged to design, make, advertise and market a product to sell for a profit. We had some wonderful badges, bracelets and biscuits, along with many other ingenious ideas and the children have been able to choose what they want to spend their profits on. Some have chosen to buy playtime equipment or toys for during wet-play, while others decided to spend it on ice creams!
‘Music Week’ was great fun, with a host of activities and workshops for all. The author Chris Alton came in to do some songwriting with the children and together they put together a school song which was performed and recorded. We also had Freddie King, West End star from ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Heathers’, who did musical theatre workshops with all of our Key Stage 2 children and a Rockademy assembly with demonstrations of ukelele and electric guitar playing for the whole school. To end this amazing week each year group chose a song and performed it for the rest of the school in a big ‘Music Week’ assembly.
‘Sports Week’ has been equally exciting and jam-packed with fun activities. All of the children have had a session of indoor surfing (who knew that was a thing!) and Spartan Sports has joined us to run multi-sports sessions which included rugby skills and lots of target throwing style activities - it was a hot week so we were limited in what type of activities we could do but everyone stayed safe and had a brilliant time!
Cherry Orchard Primary Academy
What an outstanding year it has been for Cherry Orchard!
From becoming a certified IB World School at the start of the year and going through our first Ofsted inspection, achieving outstanding in all areas, we are so proud of all of our children and staff for all of their hard work throughout the year.
This final term has been absolutely jam packed with lots of fun learning opportunities. Some highlights to mention include: our school Sports Days and being able to participate in our first ever LAT cricket tournament where our school cricket team got to meet some England cricket legends! We also participated in our first ever LAT Sports Day.
Our very first Year 6 cohort have been extremely lucky to experience a range of activities and adventures including going to London to watch the musical Matilda, a day out at Chessington World of Adventures, a residential to Kingswood PGL, new school visits, and enterprise week to mention just a few. The list is endless!
Having our very first Year 6 cohort gave us our first set of KS2 SATs results and we couldn’t be prouder of the achievements each child has made.
We will be finishing off the year with the Year 6 IB PYP exhibition and Cherry Orchard’s very own COPA-Chella to give the Year 6s a super send off! We have certainly been making up for lost time due to the national lockdowns!
Throughout this term, children from all year groups have been working hard to get themselves audition ready for our COPA’s Got Talent event. We look forward to finding out who our finalists are and performing to parents before the term is out.
Year 5 have planned and delivered a Windrush festival as part of their learning about the Windrush generation in Britain. They have been busy designing and preparing their own dishes to share with parents after school - there have been some amazing smells coming from their classrooms!
Year 4 blew us away with their multiplication check results: all of that time spent on TTRockstars really paid off. They are super speedy!
At the end of last term Year 3 went to our local theatre in Dartford to watch Gangsta Granny! The show was a lot of fun to watch and the children (and teachers) all enjoyed their ice-cream during the interval!
Year 2 enjoyed a celebratory trip to Howletts Wildlife Park after all of their hard work completing their KS1 SATs. We had a lovely day in the sunshine and got to listen to some of the park keepers give talks about the animals. Year 2 have also taken part in enterprise activities and planned an ice-lolly sale, the profits from this going to charity. Year 2 have also visited our local secondary school, Ebbsfleet Academy, and have taken part in cooking activities led by the secondary school staff. It has been lovely working collaboratively with Ebbsfleet Academy and we look forward to offering our children more opportunities to work with them.
Year 1 enjoyed a Castle workshop day in school where they got to dress up as ‘Castle people’. They took part in a variety of arts and crafts and even got to make their very own leather pouches and medieval medicines!
Year R had a really exciting day bringing the beach to school! They all came to school dressed in their beach outfits. The outdoor play area was transferred into COPA’s own beach. The children had lots of fun exploring and enjoying ice lollies. They all built sand castles and splashed about having lots of fun.
The children in nursery have been busy preparing for their exciting transition into 'big school'. We have been reading lots of stories and sharing pictures of the Year R teachers and classrooms. We even had a little play time in their big playground!
In addition to all of the activities that have gone on in year groups and key stages our SRP children have also visited Hemsley conservation park and have been on a range of local area walks.
What a term, what a year! Wishing everybody a well deserved, relaxing summer break.
Oaks Primary Academy
We have had a year like no other here at Oaks Primary Academy and have ensured that Term 6 has been jam packed with celebrations and learning.
Our fantastic Year 6 cohort have enjoyed trips across this final term to Mote Park to take part in the high ropes course and also to Margate beach and had great fun by the seaside. In addition to their fantastic trips, they have also organised and enjoyed their very own Prom night. We saw off our Year 6 class at their final Leavers’ Service hosted at St Martin’s Church. We can’t thank the church enough for their hospitality and it has been truly uplifting to rekindle our partnership with the church community following the pandemic. Our collaboration is deep rooted and echoes of songs and jubilation filling the Church have brought great joy to us all.
All of these celebrations have taken place whilst our Year 6 group prepared their PYP exhibition tirelessly. Such a presentation of aspirational work demonstrated all of the strengths of our approach to learning and forward-thinking curriculum.
It hasn’t only been our Year 6 class who have travelled afar to engage in deeper learning whilst celebrating their successful year.
Year 5 travelled to the National Science Museum to expand their inquiries into space and science developments throughout history which have allowed humanity to explore the great expanse.
Only two days later, Years 3 and 4 travelled next door to the Natural History Museum and produced case studies on the science behind earthquakes and those that have impacted humanity the most.
Our Year 2 class travelled to the Hazlitt Theatre and immersed themselves in a drama workshop, learning how to operate the lighting technology, how stage directions work and also participating in an acting masterclass.
Year 1 and Reception also enjoyed trips to Yew Tree Farm and Tyland Barn respectively; both classes loved the opportunity to engage with nature and brought their learning experiences back to school in order to deepen their lines of inquiry.
Each of these trips presented our children with new opportunities and platforms to learn in the wider community. We cannot wait to spread our wings further in the next academic year to collaborate with local communities, charities and careers.
Sport has been central to Term 6; our Netball team were successful in gaining a medal at their most recent Netball tournament. They have worked tirelessly throughout the year demonstrating great collaboration and sportsmanship and should be proud of what they have achieved. Our Year 5 and 6 athletics team also journeyed to Dartford Harries Athletics club to put their athletic prowess to the test and had a fabulous time. What an amazing event with a record number of our academies.
I would like to thank the amazing staff at Oaks for what has been a milestone year full of fantastic achievements. All staff continue to go above and beyond and break new ground with brave approaches to teaching and unwavering commitment to learning and children’s wellbeing. I am extremely fortunate to be surrounded by such an outstanding team.
Molehill Primary Academy
What an incredible year it has been!
The final module of any academic year is always busy and this term has been packed with a wealth of opportunities for our pupils. These last two weeks alone have seen the academy recognise and celebrate the achievements of our pupils with a range of events and activities, including our fantastic leavers assemblies, Year 6 Prom, our academy sports events and trips to Go Ape, Legoland, Mote Park, our local library and Hastings.
We greatly value these additional opportunities which take place outside the formally taught curriculum; they support our pupils to develop and demonstrate our Learner Profile Attributes. A huge thank you to all the staff members, and volunteers, who have supported the numerous opportunities throughout the course of this academic year, enabling our pupils to have such unique experiences.
EYFS and KS1 attended a performance drama workshop on becoming an eco superhero. Using dance, drama and singing, the children attended a high-energy, interactive mission to help solve the crisis, learning how to ‘Reduce, Re-use, Recycle’ and understand the important role we all have in preserving the Earth's resources. This supported our learning on climate change and saving the planet.
Earlier this term we also held our annual safety day, a day when our whole community comes together to teach children how to keep safe at school, in our wider community and online. We were visited by the Shepway Task Force, part of Kent Police, who supported our understanding of safety in the community. Teachers were able to use a range of resources from our National Online Safety programme to reinforce the ways in which pupils can stay safe online. Pupils particularly enjoyed the speed camera test - with some even running 11 miles per hour!
I want to take the opportunity to thank the incredible staff body here at Molehill Primary Academy. It never ceases to amaze me that even when faced with challenges, commitment to go above and beyond for our pupils never wavers. I feel incredibly fortunate and privileged to work with such a dedicated, committed and professional team and want to thank them on behalf of parents, carers and pupils, for putting the wellbeing and best interests of every child at the centre of everything they do.
Tree Tops Primary Academy
It has been an exciting and busy summer term at Tree Tops. Despite the disruption to learning caused by the pandemic over the last 2 years, Tree Tops pupils did us all proud by achieving the best ever KS2 SATs results in the history of the school! Scores exceeded national figures in all areas. All of the pupils and staff across the academy have worked so hard to achieve this and we are so proud that our academy is now so popular and successful.
Reading: Reading is one of our passions at Tree Tops. All children have worked very hard to earn their reading badges and awards. We have been so proud of the amount of books read; some pupils, including 3 children in Reception, recently achieved ‘150 books read!’. They were rewarded with a visit to Lavender’s Book Machine where they were given a gold coin to put into the machine to buy their own book.
We also had a visit from the author Tola Okogwu. She read some of her stories and was so inspirational that some children came into school the next day with books that they had written at home!
Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee: We celebrated the Jubilee on the first day of module 6 with a special assembly, a picnic and a fantastic art installation: our very own Jubilee mural. Children were all given commemorative medals and books. We also enjoyed dressing up as kings and queens for the day!
Trips: Every year group across the school have enjoyed at least one school trip this year. This module, children enjoyed visits to Leeds Castle, Living Land, Otterden Estates and Kent Life. Some staff even gave up a Sunday to take a group of children to the Women's FA Cup final! These trips provide our children with so many opportunities to learn both academically and socially.
Curriculum Enrichment: This module children have enjoyed visits from the fire service, the police, a nurse, an author, road safety officers, secondary school teachers, The Family Trust and many more. Staff also provided a wide range of after school clubs for our children to enjoy this module, including football, sewing, LEGO, art, cooking and games. These were all well attended and children told us that they really enjoyed them.
Outdoor Learning: Outdoor learning is a real strength of Tree Tops. With our beautiful site, we are able to provide an outdoor classroom for every year group. This module, we have been further developing our other outdoor areas like our Forest School area and our allotment. We will be opening our new garden and a woodland walk in September. These will both be brilliant places to develop science and outdoor learning skills.
Music: There have been a variety of music performances carried out recently including our summer showcase, KS1 & KS2 choir performances and drumming workshops followed by a performance. Children have also enjoyed music played outside at playtimes and frequent whole school singing at the end of the week. There is no better way to end the week than having 320+ children and adults singing their hearts out together!
Langley Park Primary Academy
It’s been a jam packed summer at Langley Park Primary Academy. We have had special events in abundance as we near the end of an incredible year.
Sports
There have been a huge amount of sporting events this term. Every child from nursery to Year 6 took part in an academy sports day, putting into practice the skills they have learned through the year. The younger years were skilfully supported by our committed and enthusiastic Year 5 Play Leaders. Year 6 took part in a football tournament with other academies from Maidstone. The team certainly came together, aimed for the top spot and achieved it. We are hugely proud of our team for winning the first tournament. We also had a number of our KS2 children take part in the LAT cricket tournament. Not only were they able to compete against pupils from other academies, they also got to spend time with some cricketing experts.
Young Voices
On the 24th May, we took 46 children to the O2 arena as part of the Young Voices choir of 8000 children. There is nothing more powerful than hearing so many children singing in such wonderful harmony. LPPA did not disappoint and absolutely threw themselves into the performance. We are so proud of each and every child who performed and so grateful for the support that our community has shown us.
British Council International School Award
We have achieved the Foundation Award for the British Council International School Award. Here is what they had to say about our submission;
"Firstly congratulations to the Langley Park Primary Academy community for their ISA application, exemplifying how they embed international learning into the whole school ethos, as well as curriculum as an IB school. The partnership with Chimbalanga Primary School is one that has seemingly thrived in such a challenging period as the past couple of years, demonstrated by the successful Clean Hands project between the two schools - that this activity crossed the whole school community is significant and shows a keenness to learn from other cultures' lived experiences as well as sharing their own. We look forward to seeing the continued and impactful international journey at Langley Park Primary Academy continue, and congratulate them on receiving this International School Award at Foundation level!"
Carving Workshop
Year 6 took part in a carving workshop with local sculptor Jason Mulligan in Term 5 and this has been celebrated in the Kent Messenger. Jason is a contemporary sculptor specialising in stone and has been involved in the fabrication and installation of a wide variety of public art projects across the UK and Eire, for example, 4 of the 5 sculptures at Cobtree Manor Park.
Young Enterprise
Year 6 ran their stalls for their Young Enterprise project on Tuesday 5th July. The children, independently, selected, budgeted for and produced a range of products. There was a real buzz on the day and they demonstrated incredible intuition and maturity when supporting the younger pupils in making their choices and paying them. I, myself, sampled the lemonade and it was delicious!
The Queen’s Jubilee
To celebrate this moment in history, the whole school celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee in style. We had a whole week themed around this event, understanding its significance, learning more about our monarchy and engaging in many traditions. From performances to a baking competition as part of the Great Langley Park Picnic, an amazing time was had by all.
Paddock Wood Primary Academy
Paddock Wood has had a super summer!
Super Sports
Our pupils took part in the LAT cricket tournament, Trust Sports Day, school Sports Day, football tournaments and athletics at Tonbridge School. In every case our children demonstrated their ability to be both competitive and principled in how they conducted their events, congratulating their team-mates and other teams no matter what the outcome. It’s not just about the sport in school; we have celebrated outside sporting achievements in our weekly digital newsletter and our Proud@ section, including champions of the future in tennis, football, gymnastics, horse riding, girls rugby, martial arts and athletics, to name but a few! We’ve even had emails from local residents praising our teams for their impeccable attitude.
Super Learning
Our pupils continue to demonstrate what the PYP is all about. They approach all their learning with enthusiasm and tenacity, wanting to know more, investigate more and demonstrate more. Our Year 6 Inquiry Portfolios really are something our children should be proud of and demonstrate their unique characters. This year we have taken our children on adventures to Wales, Scotland, Carroty Wood, the Cutty Sark, Hever Castle, Rare Breeds and back in time with the Egyptians. These experiences have deepened their understanding and opened their eyes to other questions they want to answer. To enhance our learning further we’ve had science demonstrations from Tonbridge School, we’ve linked with local businesses to support our inquiries (such as Baxalls for our architecture iniquity in Year6), we’ve watched Matilda at Mascalls and linked with our Bereko Partnership to learn with children in Tanzania.
Super Support
Our PTA has been instrumental in supporting us as a school this year. It’s been wonderful to have them back to help us be even better. They’ve funded Lola, our dog mentor, cleaned our pond so that learning can take place again, held an impressive firework event, and have organised discos, the summer fayre, Break the Rules day and ‘Doughnut Fridays’. Everything they do is to help support the school and we couldn’t ask for more!
This has truly been a super summer and super year for Paddock Wood. As a whole-school community we have demonstrated what it means to learn together and we can’t wait for it to continue in September.
Horsmonden Primary Academy
Not only have the children at Horsmonden been working hard in lessons, they have also been taking part in a range of activities and experiences outside the classroom. We’ve had such a busy term and would like to share the following highlights:
Jubilee Dancing Through the Decades
To celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee we invited families to join us on the field for a picnic followed by a spectacular show of dancing through the decades.
We began proceedings with a visit from Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and The Duchess of Cambridge. As the royal party entered we all stood and sang the National Anthem.
Following this, we began reminiscing, with children sharing key events from the Queen’s reign and trivia from each of the last 7 decades. In between each decade, children performed dances from popular songs released during the Queen’s reign:
EYFS - Willie and the Hand Jive by Johnny Otis from 1958
Year 1 - Let’s Twist Again by Chubby Checker from 1961
Year 2 - YMCA by The Village People from 1978
Year 3 - The Birdie Song by The Tweets from 1981
Year 4 - The Macarena by Los Del Rio from 1993
Year 5 - The Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper from the year 2000
Year 6 - UpTown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars from 2015
It was a fantastic afternoon where the whole Horsmonden Academy community came together to have fun, reminisce and celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.
Forest School Opening
Following the successful completion of their Forest School Leader Training and redevelopment of the area, Mrs Radford and Mrs Turvey were thrilled to ‘officially open’ the Horsmonden Forest School this term. They have worked tirelessly with support from parents to create a welcoming, functional space for children to enjoy their outdoor learning. From September, all children will take part in regular Forest School sessions.
Year 6 Residential
Year 6 were delighted to go on their first 4 night residential this term to Windmill Hill PGL in Herstmonceux. They took part in a variety of challenges showing all of the PYP Learner Profile Attributes, especially ‘risk-taker’. Children were not afraid to face their fears and challenge themselves to take risks. We are all extremely proud of their behaviour and conduct throughout the residential and how they represented Horsmonden to the wider community.
Year 5 Activity Days
As part of the PE curriculum, Year 5 went on 2 activity days to Go Ape and Bewl Water, to enhance their outdoor and adventurous skills. At Go Ape they were challenged to complete the Tree Top Adventure Plus course and at Bewl they worked together to build a raft, as well as canoeing and playing games on a giant paddle board. Both days encouraged children to become ‘risk-takers’ and showed how determined, resilient and open-minded the children of Horsmonden are.
Year 6 PYP Exhibition
As we head closer towards our IB PYP verification visit next term, we were delighted to showcase our Year 6 portfolios. Parents were invited to view their work and find out more about their PYP journey through inquiries this year.
Eastcote Primary Academy
It's been a busy but fun term at Eastcote! Year 6 went on a residential trip to Carroty Wood for 4 nights. Year 5 ran their own enterprise fair. Year 4 took part in watersports at Danson Park. The Reception class took part in a circus skills day and presented the new skills they learnt to the rest of the school as well as being visited by a police officer! Nursery have nurtured their own butterflies! Our PTA ran a mad hair day to raise funds for the school and Years 1 and 2 learnt about seaside holidays in the past!
Reception class meet a Police Officer
Students working on arts and crafts
Watersports at Danson Park
Mad Hair Day
Peninsula East Primary Academy
We’ve had a jam packed, super exciting final module of the year at Peninsula East Primary Academy. All of our classes have been involved in fun activities and celebrations leading up to the end of the academic year and it has also been great to strengthen our links with the local community.
Year 5 and 6 Visit Haven Holiday Park
When faced with our planned residential being cancelled with very short notice, we reached out to our local community and the fabulous relationships that we have made with them and Haven came to our rescue.
Year 5 and 6 had a cinema evening with music, games and sweet delights which they thoroughly enjoyed but it didn’t stop there…the next day, they had an outdoor pool party with inflatables and lots of fun. Then in groups they set off to enjoy wall climbing, segways, laser tag, archery, crazy golf and more. At lunch time, we enjoyed some well needed rest and marshmallows over a campfire. We then carried on with our day packed with activities and finished it all off with some yummy pizza. Haven truly treated the children and adults like royalty and nothing was too much for them. We are so lucky to have such a great, supportive community in our local holiday park. The children made memories that will last a lifetime. Year 6 are also using Haven’s staging and lighting, performing their end of year show to parents at the holiday park.
Year 5 and 6 also had a fantastic day out at Chessington World of Adventures but it was extremely hot and everyone had to keep hydrated.
KS2 Music Performances
Our KS2 pupils put on a musical extravaganza for the rest of the school and our parents, showcasing the skills that they had learnt in using the steel drums, ocarinas and recorders. As well as this, we also had some fabulous solos from children playing the saxophone, flute and keyboard. The children were so confident in sharing what they had learnt and it was great to hear the music echo through the corridors. They also sang some songs to accompany the music that they had been learning.
Circus Workshops
All children at Peninsula East Primary Academy were invited to attend workshops at the circus that had come to visit the village of Allhallows. Thanks to the generosity of the community Parish council, they organised for our children to attend. All of our children thoroughly enjoyed learning circus skills such as plate spinning, balancing and juggling. Our parents and staff got stuck in too. It was certainly a day to remember!
Gardening at PEPA
We have been very busy developing our outdoor areas to make them inviting and purposeful to learning. Our children have been involved in planting some fruit trees, starting to grow some vegetables and herbs as well as investing time in jazzing up planters by painting them bright colours and de-weeding areas. As part of the co-curriculum investment from the Trust, we have been able to purchase a greenhouse so we can grow fruit and vegetables that we can use for cooking and we aim to grow enough to sell to our parents and local community. We also invested in some outdoor pizza ovens and the children are eager to grow herbs and vegetables so that we can use these for pizza toppings and our very own homegrown tomato sauce. We hope to be able to share our pizzas with our parents too.
PYP Action - Year 4
In our learning each term, each class decides on an action that is linked to their unit of inquiry. As part of their action this module, Year 4 cooked a meal and snack to be delivered to the homeless. They were lucky enough to have a professional chef offer them some help!
Aidan Ross is a chef who offers cookery lessons to schools, as well as working as a chef in kitchens. During lockdown, he supported the company he worked for by providing over 50,000 meals to worthwhile causes. Aidan spent the morning preparing in the kitchen and then (once the children had washed their hands and put on aprons) they joined him for a cookery class. They had to listen very carefully, shout 'Yes Chef!' when they were ready and worked hard to learn and develop new skills.
Each child made 6 samosas from scratch and then they all worked as a team to 'plate up' their meals to be transported to the charity. Miss Elms, one of our teaching assistants, works closely with the charity ‘Time For The Homeless’ and kindly delivered the food that we made that evening to those in need in Rochester.
High Halstow Primary Academy
Module 6 has been jam packed! It has been wonderful to embrace events with our whole community again.
We were lucky enough to have a circus visit school in June. Our wonderful PTA had originally organised it for 2020 but it was worth the wait! The big top on the school field was quite a sight! Pupils and their families had a wonderful time! Module 6 has seen the return of the full High Halstow Sports Day, at the village recreation ground, with parents and carers having the opportunity to cheer our participants on throughout the day. The Redshanks came out victorious at the end of the day and the House Captain and Vice Captain proudly accepted the trophy on behalf of the whole team. SO many pupils demonstrated just how principled they are and it was wonderful to receive communication from parents and carers after the event highlighting how helpful our older pupils were with our younger pupils.
The LAT cricket tournament provided a further opportunity for our pupils to take part in a competitive event. The pupils really enjoyed the day.
The Medway Mini Youth Games Athletics event provided 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. 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 KS2 pupils also had the opportunity to showcase their musical talents this module! Parents were invited in to see classes play the ocarina or recorder as well as small group clarinet performances and solos from a few pupils. It was a great chance for them to show how their skills have developed over the 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.
The Hundred of Hoo Academy
The Hundred of Hoo Primary Academy has had a very exciting and jam-packed summer term filled with amazing learning, exciting activities and fantastic community events.
Theatre Trip
On the 27th April we organised a whole-school trip to see The Lion King musical at the Lyceum Theatre in London.
For many pupils, this was the first school trip that they had been on in a very long time, or for others, ever! Having said that, you would never have known that this was a completely new experience for many as they were undaunted by the long coach journey, hustle and bustle of central London or the incredibly steep camber of the theatre itself.
All of the children were so incredibly well-behaved and really did the school proud. More than ten members of the public approached school staff regarding how well-behaved our children were, with another member of the public going out of their way to contact me directly by email:
"I would just like to say that on Wednesday the 27th April I attended a matinee performance of The Lion King. When arriving, my daughter and I saw a sea of children…The children's behaviour was nothing but exemplary. They all sat beautifully and enjoyed the show, waving at their friends and teachers across the other side of the theatre during the interval. They were all having a great time and the teachers that were chaperoning also deserve a mention; the way they handled getting the children to the bathroom and all seated was fantastic. I hope you are very proud of them all, it was so lovely hearing their little giggles throughout the show. Please do let them all know how wonderfully they all behaved."
PYP Exhibition
This is the first year we have had a Year 6 cohort and that means it is also the first year we have had the opportunity to showcase the many talents our Year 6 pupils have through the PYP exhibition. Through a self-selected line of inquiry, pupils were given the opportunity to explore a theme which they were passionate about and to express this in a variety of different ways. Some pupils chose to create presentations on Google Slides, some used Adobe Book Creator to publish their own books, some children created a Google Site, whilst others created flipbooks, composed and recorded songs or created sculptures from clay.
The themes chosen to explore reflect the maturity and levels of thinking our pupils possess: Gender Equality, Climate Change and Pollution, Bees, Childhood and Culture in Jamaica and Racism and Discrimination to name but a few.
We are incredibly proud of how well the pupils articulated themselves when sharing their exhibition themes with parents and carers and know that the adults visiting were suitably impressed too!
Year 6 Production
After weeks and weeks of practice, our Year 6 class delivered an absolutely show-stopping performance of Aladdin to their parents, carers, school community and other children in the penultimate week of the summer term. All of the children did a fantastic job and it made everybody who had the opportunity to watch, laugh, sing, clap and brim with pride. We have the added bonus of being an all-through school which means that our pupils have benefited from having extra sessions with music and drama specialist teachers which meant the event was a huge success!
Sports Day
We were so happy to be able to invite parents, carers and family members into school for our 2022 Sports Day. Children across the whole school first took part in a circuit of events including javelin, ‘over and under’, an obstacle course and balance-balls earning points for their house team. After this there were a range of track events from traditional egg and spoon and sack races, to space hoppers and skipping and of course the relay races and sprinting events.
Both the EYFS and Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Sports Days culminated in parents’ races and Staff vs Parents Tug-Of-War which were a definite highlight for all of the children!
The Hundred of Hoo Nursery
The Hundred of Hoo Nursery has been full of bustle and children having fun during the last term of the academic year.
Jubilee Celebrations
Preschool children had the very exciting opportunity of inviting one of their parents into the setting to enjoy tea and cake at an afternoon tea party. We also celebrated with a three tier cake when the whole nursery met in the garden and shared a slice.
0-3 Year Old Garden
The garden for our youngest children and babies has been transformed into an area that supports and gives them the opportunity to experience the outside area. We have purchased some pikler equipment that supports children’s vestibular sense and allows the environment to be one that is ever changing to meet all individual needs of the children accessing it.
Transitions
Preschool children are all school ready and are excited to be moving on to their next stage of their learning journey. Receiving school teachers have been into the nursery to visit the children and the children have had the opportunity to visit their new schools. It is lovely to hear what the children have to say when they return from their visits.
Marden Primary Academy
Arts Week
The summer term started with a buzz of artistic flair at Marden Primary Academy. Each class learnt a new art skill related to their inquiry and an artist. The whole academy collaborated on an exhibition and parents were invited to attend. One parent commented: ‘It was incredible. I was so impressed with the artwork and it was so beautifully presented.’ We are really proud of the children’s dedication and their responses to other children’s work.
Ypres
Year 5 and 6 arrived at school very early for a sightseeing trip to Belgium. The first stop was Hooge Crater Museum where the children explored reconstructed trenches. From here, they went to Sanctuary Wood to walk in the footsteps of WW1 soldiers in the original trenches. The next stop was Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth War Graves site in the world. Here, the children located the memorial to a local Marden soldier, Edward Packham, of the Machine Gun Corps. Edward died on 25th October 1917 at the age of 18. He lived in Marden and was part of a farming family. He was too young to join the British Army in 1914 at the outbreak of war, but joined in 1917. Edward was posted to Belgium in the summer of 1917 and fought in the battle of Passchendaele, but was unfortunately killed in October 1917.
The penultimate stop was Menin Gate where the names of 54,900 soldiers are engraved on the walls to commemorate their sacrifice. The final stop was the Belgian Chocolate Shop. The children (and staff) enjoyed a wide range of treats and even managed to bring some home for their parents!
Dance Company
We were lucky enough to have a dance company visit us. They did two dance performances, one called Deva and another called How to Build a Universe. Both pieces allowed the children to interpret the dancing however they wished. It supported the children’s understanding of dance styles from different cultures and communities.
Camping
Both Year 2 and Year 6 enjoyed camping on the school field as an end of phase treat. There were inflatables, water fights, fun activities and copious amounts of food shared. A great time was had by all!
Jessica Fleischer
Kickboxing champion Jessica Fleischer visited the academy to lead a sponsored fitness circuit with all of the children. She led an inspirational assembly followed by a question and answer session with the children. The event inspired the children to be more physically active, but also to encourage them to discover and then pursue their passion in life. As part of the sponsored fitness circuit, the children raised money to improve physical activity for the school while also supporting GB athletes, including paralympic athletes. It was great to have such an inspirational visitor to the academy.
Year 6 Exhibition
There has been a buzz of excitement in the air this module as Year 6 prepared for their PYP exhibition. It has been fantastic to see the children demonstrate their agency and independence and take their learning forward. Subject leaders have become mentors to the children, setting up regular meetings to discuss progress towards the final exhibition. The exhibition itself was visited by the school community as well as the parents. The children proudly showed their work and articulated the level of knowledge they have about sustainability and what it means for the future. We are really proud of our first ever exhibition and we are already looking forward to the next one.
Sports Day and LAT Cricket
It was a very hot day for our Marden Sports Day, however that didn’t deter the children from competing to the best of their ability. In the morning, Early Years and KS1 wowed their parents with excellent demonstrations of coordination and perseverance particularly with the skipping and sack race! There were determined looks of concentration on their faces for the egg and spoon race too. After a short break for ice lollies, it was the turn of KS2 to show their parents their sporting skills. House teams cheered their athletes on as the children competed in a variety of races. The children showed great resilience, particularly with the long distance running. The day ended with both a teachers and a parents race before enjoying a well deserved ice lolly!
The Marden Primary Academy cricket team participated in the LAT cricket tournament at Bexley County Cricket Club. We have a few keen cricketers here and they were so excited to have the opportunity to not only play at the ground but to also meet several cricket legends. We are very proud of our overall win, but we are also proud of the conduct and sportsmanship of our team. They represented the academy superbly.
Bearsted Primary Academy
The last two modules appear to have flown by here at Bearsted Primary Academy. We have had many ‘firsts’ for us to celebrate and enjoy, some of which include but are not limited to trips, visits and parent events such as Sports Day and our upcoming summer fair. All of these events have allowed us to stand back and admire the full glory of how far as an academy we have grown and developed. It also gives us the opportunity to look forward to the future and understand if we can achieve all this at half capacity, imagine what we can do when we are full.
Year 3 Trip
Year 3 were fortunate enough to visit Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway to gain a greater understanding of how fossil fuels are used to keep the train steam and diesel engines running. This visit linked directly with our inquiry into how “People collaborate and innovate to find ways to share the earth’s finite resources.” Our pupils were able to gain a greater understanding of the use of coal, how steam locomotives and steam engines came into the forefront of British technology during the industrial revolution and how the railway still uses these resources today. The purpose of the visit was to question whether it is right to use the earth’s finite fuels for pleasure? In addition, it helped our pupils think about and consider sustainable development goal 12 on responsible consumption and production of resources.
Year 1 - Stag Beetles
On one regular Tuesday, Year 1 had an exciting visitor... a stag beetle! One pupil found it in his garden and wanted to show his classmates. The children in Corduroy and Bizzy classes were just as interested as him and had a fantastic day learning and researching all about this endangered species.
They learned so much about what they eat, where they usually live (sand dunes, not gardens) and how they move about. Everyone, young and old, was really excited to have to officially report the sighting. At the end of the day, they released it back to nature.
The children loved creating a wide variety of mediums to showcase their learning and shared their knowledge with pupils and teachers across the academy.
Year 2 Visitor
This module Year 2 were visited by John Halladay from Greenpeace. He came to speak with the pupils about their central idea and how they could create a more sustainable future. This visit was both informative and enjoyable for all of our pupils and staff. John’s message was delivered effectively in the sense that it was not biassed by his opinion. The children were presented with facts, and options for what they could do to improve the outcome for the earth were also presented.
EYFS Animals
Our EYFS children in Nursery and Reception were fortunate enough to have some creepy visitors come to see them at the academy. This visit was closely linked to their central idea of “All living things go through processes of change.” The pupils were provided with information about various animals such as: chinchillas, snakes and tortoises. In addition, the children were able to get hands on with these creatures. Many of the children relished in having a snake around their neck, a tortoise in their hands or a chinchilla on their head!
Sports Day
We have heard nothing but positive reports from all members of our academy community about Sports Day. It was an amazing experience to welcome parents and carers onto the field to share in the fun, excitement and competition of the circuit of activities that were to be completed. The children completed the carousel of activities to gain as many points as they could for their class.
The results were as follows:
We are sure you will join us in congratulating Winnie class on their well deserved win. As this was our first ever Sports Day, we could not have been prouder of everyone’s achievements.
