Primary
Academies
Dartford Primary Academy
It is with privilege that we share a few of the activities and events we have experienced here at Dartford Primary this term. We started off with a great visit from the Ofsted team, who decided that if our inspection had been graded, we would have been rated Outstanding. It is with great pride and confidence we look forward to them returning to once again showcase our children and community.
As the term rolled on we have enjoyed many activities, all of which enhance the learning here at Dartford.
Who We Are day - cultural food event
On Friday 20th October 2023, we held our yearly ‘Who We Are Day’. This was a great opportunity for each child to express and share with the other children in their class things about themselves and their families. On this day, the children came into the academy dressed in what makes them who they are and to share part of their identity. We also invited parents this year to take part in our very first ‘Who We Are Day Cultural Food Tasting Event.’ The hall was packed to the rafters and the food shared by our wonderful DPA families tasted divine. We literally tasted our way around the world!
The children certainly rose to the challenge during the day! We saw many ways the children chose to celebrate and express their identity, for example by giving a speech, creating a Google Slide presentation or sharing their photos of their family traditions on Class Dojo.
As part of the day, the children also reflected on the things that we have and are thankful for and how Harvest is celebrated around the world. This was an amazing and healthy way of supporting their wellbeing too. We certainly enjoyed the day and look forward to celebrating it again next year!
Anti-Bullying Week
Week 2 marked Anti- Bullying Week 2023 at DPA and the theme this year was to ‘Make Noise About Bullying’!
Here at Dartford Primary Academy, we have been proud to support Anti-Bullying Week and the children participated in a range of activities across the school to help raise awareness. We started the week with Odd Socks Day, where many of the children came to school dressed in odd socks to celebrate their uniqueness and individuality!
We want all the children at DPA to feel safe at school. If we ‘Make A Noise About Bullying’, we can beat it!
Sports
In a remarkable exhibition of skill and determination, our accomplished swimmers delivered an impressive performance at the recent LAT swimming gala. The warm-up regimen played a large role in fostering a sense of confidence among our pupils, preparing them for a successful display in the heats. Our swimmers emerged victorious in all three heats, a testament to their hard work and determination.
As the competition intensified in the finals, our swimmers faced a more formidable challenge but met this head-on, securing two 4th places and a 3rd. Receiving medals for all our efforts made the experience even more enjoyable and an overall 2nd place for the school came as a bonus.
Children In Need Day 2023 - Pudsey BEARpee Challenge
Children across the academy enjoyed a great day on Friday 17th November being active and spotacular in aid of Children in Need. Some fabulous accessorising took place and the children exhausted themselves 'bearpeeing' throughout the school day, trying to get the highest total, inspired by Joe Wicks. A few great individual performances contributed to Y4 amassing a whopping 5669 'bearpees', whilst Green Turtles took the class crown by 'bearpeeing' themselves to a huge total of 2832.
Choir in the community
In a collaborative effort to spread joy and foster connections within the community, the Dartford Primary Academy Choir brought smiles and festive cheer to the residents and staff of Priory Mews. The power of music to unite generations and uplift spirits was beautifully demonstrated during this special performance.
The school choir, comprised of enthusiastic and talented young voices, sang a range of well known carols, stirring up nostalgic memories and creating new ones in the process for the residents. As the choir members sang, the atmosphere in Priory Mews transformed into a celebration of togetherness, joy and festive spirit. The elderly residents, many of whom may not have had the opportunity to experience live performances for quite some time, were visibly touched by the thoughtful gesture of the young performers. It was evident that the magic of music has the incredible ability to bridge generational gaps and create shared moments of happiness.
French Nativity
As the festive season unfolds, our Year 5 pupils took centre stage in a heartwarming nativity play that showcased not only their linguistic prowess but also their global citizenship spirit. This year's nativity was delivered once again in both French and English, a testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of our students during their French lessons. The seamless blend of languages not only added a cultural richness to the performance but also reinforced the idea of fostering global connections.
What truly set this nativity apart was the confidence and expressive tone with which our young actors delivered their lines in both languages. The pupils were joined by the DPA choir, creating a harmonious blend of voices that echoed the spirit of the season. A special mention must be made of the set and scenery design that transported the audience to a wonderful Christmas scene.
We commend our students for their hard work and dedication, making us proud to witness the growth of not just performers, but global citizens in the making.
Captain Wonderweb and the Esteem Machine
Across this term all the children in years one to six have had the opportunity to step into the fascinating world of Captain Wonderweb and his extraordinary crew as they crash-landed at Dartford Primary Academy! This immersive adventure enabled our children to reflect on their current mental health and learn five essential steps to improving it: balanced eating, limiting screen time, staying active, expressing emotions, and ensuring healthy sleep habits.
Hartley Primary Academy
Sporting Events
Hartley has had a very successful start to the year with some great sporting achievements! HPA came first in the heats and finals for freestyle, backstroke and relay and then first overall in the LAT primary swimming gala. We also had huge success at the cross-country with two girls and three boys in the top 20. The boys’ team came 3rd overall, which was a fantastic achievement. Our footballers have also done a great job representing our school. At the Riverview 7s tournament the team came away with the Ford Shield. Sadly they were just pipped to the post in the final match so didn’t go through to represent Gravesham in the County 7s, but they were commended for their honesty and sportsmanship. We are very proud of our boys who represented our school honourably.
School Trips and Visitors
Years 4, 5 and 6 have all been out on school trips already this year. Year 4 visited the Guildhall Museum in Rochester to find out about the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 CE. They took part in a workshop, and found out about the different clothing and equipment that Roman soldiers would have needed on their journey across Europe to Britain. Some of the children tried wearing the metal armour - it was VERY heavy! There was also an opportunity to explore some of the other exhibits in the museum. Year 5 went to The National Gallery because in art they have been finding out about impressionism and in particular the artist Paul Cezanne. They looked at artwork from Paul Cezanne alongside other impressionist artists. They also saw paintings dating from the 1700s and learned about how art changed over time and the storytelling aspect behind each piece of art. Year 6 were fortunate to visit Lullingstone Country Park, where they created shelters, cooked wraps and took part in a forest walk. It was fantastic to see the children develop their teamwork and creative thinking skills during this wonderful experience.
Reception have also been on two walks - one to visit the war memorial to look at the poppies for Remembrance Day and the second to go to the post office to post their Christmas cards to their families. We are incredibly proud of the behaviour of all of our pupils on these trips - they represent our school so well and many people have commented on how polite and well mannered they are.
To end the Autumn Term we had Christmas bauble workshops for all the children in Reception through to Year 6. Everyone had the opportunity to create a beautiful bauble to take home and add to their tree.
Cherry Orchard Primary Academy
Wonderdome Workshop
Year 5 had an excellent planetarium workshop in the comfort of our own school hall, which was a memorable start to their space learning this term! Steve from Wonderdome gave them a fantastic space exploration show where they learned how the planets orbit the sun, watched rocket launches and even learnt how astronauts brush their teeth! One of the pupils asked the question, “Is it true you get younger in space?” and Steve said it was the first time he’d ever been asked that question, and also said it was one of the best questions he’d ever been asked! Whilst you don’t get ‘younger’ in space, you also don’t age as quickly as you do on Earth! They used all the information they learnt about the planets to create fact files about our solar system.
Pop-Up Literacy Festival
All children in Years R to 6 were able to take part in a pop-up literacy festival we arranged to help promote a love for reading. Each class was given 15 copies of their chosen book and a range of activity ideas based on the text. The classes were then all visited by the authors of the books and took part in a workshop with the author.
Pop-Up Projects are a non-profit literacy agency who are dedicated to transforming lives by using aspiring children’s authors and illustrators to promote diversity in children’s books. This ties in perfectly with the internationally minded ethos of our school.
Forest School
The implementation of our forest school for Early Years has proven to be a success, with our children thriving in their exploration of nature. Beyond the joy of discovering the natural world, the children actively participate in valuable lessons, including fire safety. As a conclusion to each session, we gather round the firepit for a cup of hot chocolate! This blend of outdoor exploration, environmental education, and the comforting warmth of the fire has created an enriching and memorable experience for our youngest learners. We will be rolling out the forest school programme to include Years 1 and 2 from module 3.
Pantomime Time!
Shooting Stars Theatre Company brought all the fun of panto season to Cherry Orchard in December with a production of ‘Robin Hood’ for all children in Years 1-6. Lasting 90 minutes and with a cast of 5 and a stage technician, this performance was as close to a real theatre performance as we could get in our hall!
Children in Early Years had their own show ‘Search For Santa’, written specially for EYFS. They went on a magical adventure in Nursery Rhyme Land to find Santa. The half hour show was full of nursery rhymes, action songs and Christmas favourites and was a gentle introduction to live theatre.
Gareth Johnson MP Visit
As part of UK Parliament Week in November, Gareth Johnson, our local MP, visited us. He was given a guided tour of the academy by our school council and then met with Year 6 pupils who posed questions about his role, the recent strikes and job salaries. This led to really interesting discussions around the cost of living, budgeting and average salaries.
Oaks Primary Academy
As part of our commitment to the pupils of OPA to deliver learning beyond the national curriculum, all children have continued to engage in our Profile for Success programme under the themes of Community, Charity and Careers.
Community
Eco Schools Award
At Oaks Primary Academy, we are delighted to have achieved the Eco Schools Award, showing our commitment to improving the environment in our school community and our local area.
Our school Eco Committee have worked tirelessly to drive sustainability across the academy. By acting on pupil voice through surveys, the group has taken action to ensure that our environment saves energy, water and resources - a key theme across our inquiries.
Supporting Canterbury COP
For many years, we have worked closely with St. Martin’s Church in our local community, and this year, we were delighted to strengthen that connection further and support Reverend Joyce Addison (Bishop’s Advisor on the Environment) with the Diocese of Canterbury’s first COP event at the end of September. Year 5 pupils produced prints representing climate change and all pupils wrote messages of hope and hung them from willow wreaths woven by pupils. The children’s work featured at this event as well as on KMTV. You can watch it here from 19 mins.
Performing Arts Club Visit Ashley Gardens Care Home
At the start of December, our performing arts club took a snowy walk to the Ashley Gardens Care Home (a care home we have worked collaboratively with for over 3 years now). Pupils from Year 3 to Year 6 performed a range of songs and dances for the residents who were thrilled with the visit and clapped and sang along! Pupils and residents are looking forward to a return visit in the new year.
Charity
Terms 1 and 2 saw a variety of fundraising events organised at Oaks.
We had a fundraising day for the Abilities in Me charity, an organisation close to our hearts. They produce books focused on inclusion to help raise awareness of medical conditions that several of our children live with. Their work ensures that money is raised for hospices and schools so that bespoke resources and equipment can be available and that all children feel included and supported.
In addition to this, we took part in the annual Children in Need fundraiser; once again with children dressing in their own clothes and a healthy dose of Pudsey ears, we were able to raise money for the charity and link our learning into how and why we fundraise, and charities which are special to us.
Careers
In order to broaden their horizons into the range of careers available to them, Year 6 were visited by their local magistrate, Mr Alvin Shaw. Mr Shaw shared his experiences and expertise in: how the British court system works, the range of careers available to people within the legal system and the importance of the British justice system. We thank Alvin for his time and how he has helped to inspire us to pursue a career in the legal system.
Next term, we look forward to a further talk on this subject from the charity - Reform, Restore and Respect. This will deepen our understanding of the work of the police force and the importance of employment.
Kidzania
In Term 1, Year 3 and Year 4 experienced the magic of Kidzania! We travelled by coach with our neighbours, Molehill Primary Academy. Children tried out a variety of careers there: firefighters, paramedics, porters, vets and roles in broadcasting to name a few. The experience taught the children about earning, budgeting and how specific skills can be transferred from the classroom to the world of work. A fabulous time was had by all children who came away with new aspirations for the future.
Hazlett Theatre Pantomime
On Tuesday 5th December, all of Oaks Primary Academy travelled by coach to the Hazlett Theatre where we enjoyed a showing of Peter Pan. It was a fantastically funny show which the children interacted with, calling and chanting for all of their favourite characters. The trip inspired our children to connect with the performing arts, not just those who attend our own after school club!
Valley Park Pantomime
On Friday 8th December, we once again welcomed Valley Park to Oaks. They performed their annual pantomime and were all fantastic role models for our young pupils. The show was well rehearsed, action-packed and a fantastic demonstration of what can be achieved when teams work collaboratively. Our children hope to put on such engaging Christmas performances next week in their Christmas plays!
Molehill Primary Academy
Kidzania
This term Years 3 and 4, along with Oaks Primary Academy, had a fantastic day visiting Kidzania - a city just for children. They were able to experience a wealth of various careers such as floristry, veterinarians, police officers, animators and many more. On top of this, they were able to earn Kidzania bucks that they could then spend in the shop, replicating how jobs work in real life work. It was really lovely to see the big smiles on their faces as they took part in the different activities and really immersed themselves in the role play, especially when they had to inform other children about a bank robbery! Another great outcome was the conversations around the different jobs they might like to do in the future and how they might achieve this. The children were clearly inspired by the day!
Cultural Day
Cultural day was a tremendous success. It was a sensational celebration of diversity within our school community, and we are thrilled that our children had the opportunity to engage in such an enriching experience. The spirit of the day was truly remarkable, with children and staff alike embracing the occasion by donning unique and vibrant attire representing various cultures. Witnessing this kaleidoscope of colours throughout the school was truly a sight to behold. Furthermore, the children's taste buds were treated to an array of delectable dishes from all corners of the world. We are immensely grateful to the parents who generously contributed their culinary delights and enabled our children to relish in this multicultural feast. We were privileged to have parents so willing to come in and share firsthand accounts about their own cultures and traditions. By openly discussing their customs and beliefs, they provided our children with valuable insights that will help them develop a greater understanding and respect for diversity.
By celebrating Cultural Day, we aimed to expose our children to a wide range of cultures, fostering understanding, tolerance, and respect among them. It is our firm belief that by embracing our diverse community, we create a richer and more inclusive learning environment, enabling our children to grow into well-rounded global citizens. Through the celebration of events such as Cultural Day, we strive to nurture globally minded individuals, who not only acknowledge their place in an intercultural global community but also demonstrate the attitudes and actions of internationally minded people. By instilling these values within our children, we equip them with essential skills that will shape their future lives and careers.
Wingham Wildlife Park
This term, Year 5 and 6 had a fantastic day at Wingham Wildlife Park! Our inquiry was all about the influence of media on an individual and we had looked specifically at how zoos were portrayed, so we experienced a day at the zoo for ourselves to help us decide whether we agreed with their presence or not. This was an informative and fun day out, learning about various species and also investigating the origin of some of their animals as they had been saved from circuses or used in conservation programmes. Students particularly enjoyed the nocturnal and reptile house, where we got to see three different species of crocodile, bats, armadillos and also five species of snake. Additionally, the play area, which caused us to replicate movements of various animals to find our way through, was also a big hit! All of the children embodied our learner profile attributes for the day, showing how they were principled to the public, being a risk taker in the play area and being reflective about their views.
World Multiples Day
On Wednesday 4th October, we celebrated Multiples Day by dressing up as 'Times Table Rockstars'! We all enjoyed being creative with our outfits to celebrate the importance of mathematics and learning our multiplication facts. Children engaged in multiple activities in the classroom, such as learning common multiples, playing games using their times tables or having an introduction into grouping numbers. In addition to this, lots of TTRS was played across the academy, helping classes to build points towards the 'Battle of the Bands' competition. Well done to Badger class, who were the winners!
Author Visit
This module, in partnership with Maidstone Literacy Festival, we were very lucky to be visited by children's author, Janelle McCurdy, writer of the children's book series, Mia and the Lightcasters. A gamer and fan of anime, Janelle inspired our children who could really relate to her interests and how her favourite hobbies inspire her to write. Our pupils engaged in an assembly and workshop with great enthusiasm, understanding how Janelle approaches her writing and even had the chance to create their own umbras that feature in her books. It was a fantastic and invaluable experience for our children and some were even able to have their purchased books signed by the author herself.
Drama Workshops
This term, upper KS2 has been learning about World War II as part of their inquiry into conflict resolution and the impact conflict has on people’s lives. As part of this inquiry, the children took part in an interactive World War II drama workshop led by a company called Perform for Schools. During this workshop, pupils pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and took risks by taking part in a variety of drama and role play scenarios. Through these scenarios they were able to imagine themselves in a variety of situations that were the reality for many people during the war from saying goodbye to loved ones, coping with rationing, to being evacuated to the countryside. We were very proud of the children for how well they engaged with the workshop activities and their enthusiasm to take part. A particular highlight was at the end of the workshop where they learnt a short dance to accompany the well known World War II song ‘The Lambeth Walk’.
The Balanced System
We are delighted to share that we have now achieved accredited status to The Balanced System. This is a whole school approach making sure that the right provisions are available for parents, carers and school staff to help children and young people develop their speech, language and communication. This qualification has taken us eighteen months to achieve and our report comments reflect the commitment Molehill Primary Academy has given to the drive to improve speech, language and communication needs for all, particularly post pandemic.
‘The specialist teacher and senior leadership are skilled and committed to supporting speech, language and communication and it is essential to recognise and support this as a school going forwards’.
Molehill Choir
In September, our new Molehill Choir was launched. Children across KS2 auditioned for a place and we have 20 budding vocalists in our choir, who performed for the first time at the recent Harvest assembly. They sang A Picture of Autumn beautifully and with great skill.
The choir learnt their Christmas repertoire ahead of several performances in the festive season. The first of these was as part of the Demelza Carolathon at Fremlin Walk on Friday 24th November. Following this, the choir sang for the residents of Ashley Gardens and members of the Maidstone Active Retirement group at St Martin’s Church. The final performance of the year will be as part of the Christingle service at the end of term.
Tree Tops Primary Academy
Since returning in September, Tree Tops has been a hive of activity. Our Carnival Day kicked things off in September, providing the children with opportunities to develop their understanding of carnival culture and the chance to explore all of the creative elements of such a festive event. This was soon followed by the celebration of Lavender’s 2nd birthday and the announcement of a poetry competition, which saw many of our children exploring poems and how they can be written.
There have also been a number of sporting events, including the rounder’s tournament, that our older pupils participated in, taking part with a real sense of pride and sportsmanship.
Christmas
The Christmas festivities have been in full swing at Tree Tops, with Christmas performance rehearsals and each performance being a show stopping event, while corridors have been full of singing and laughter.
Culture Week
We held a Culture Week from 25th -30th September, with dance workshops, food tasting sessions and language sessions, offering our pupils a rich and immersive experience of Spanish culture.
Maidstone LitFest
On October 6th 2023, as part of the Maidstone LitFest, our KS2 pupils received a visit from the incredibly talented author Eve Wersocki Morris, during which the children were given the opportunity to hear from her about her writing process, character creations and how her books were published. Eve then held a Q&A session with pupils, along with a short book signing session.
Trips and Experiences
In addition, there have been several other significant trips and experiences. Our Year 6 students visited Kingswood Activity Centre, Year 1 and 2 have recently seen a Christmas pantomime and Year 5 were visited by Rochester Bridge Trust for a bridge building experience, where they were able to explore the engineering in action.
Langley Park Primary Academy
Musical Endeavours
This module we have seen the amazing musical talent that our children have here at Langley. Firstly, we had our iRock Concert, where we saw our musicians come together to perform in front of the school, resulting in us all singing along. Secondly, our guitarists performed for us. They showed us all what they have been learning in their lessons, which was brilliant to see.
Outdoor Play and Learning
OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning for Schools) is an award-winning school improvement programme that works with schools to adapt designated outdoor areas to improve the quality of day-to-day play times.
Our OPAL journey is continuing to thrive and the children are enjoying the opportunities that they now have during their lunchtimes. Ranging from a sand pit through to a dance and music zone, the children’s play offer at LPPA has improved exponentially and will continue to do so the more zones we are able to open.
Here are some quotes from our children about how their lunchtimes have transformed;
“I really enjoy the outside library as it is calm.”
“It is really helping us to get along with each other; things are so much better.”
Christmas Events
On Monday 4th December, we took a selection of Year 6 children, who are part of our Young Voices choir, to sing to the residents at Ashley Gardens Care Centre. It is always so lovely to get out into the community - especially to share some Christmas cheer.
We have also had a number of outstanding festive performances from EYFS and KS1. Nursery and Reception invited their parents to enjoy them singing a number of traditional Christmas songs and KS1 performed the Christmas show of ‘Ralph the Reindeer’. Some would say it was worthy of the West End! A lot of effort went into every performance and we are extremely proud of each and every one of them who were involved.
We also hosted our annual Christmas fair which was very well attended by members of our community. We had a number of stalls hosted by the academy and some external stalls, like Tails of Kent.
Remembrance Day
On Friday 10th November, we acknowledged Remembrance Day with an exceptional rendition of In Flanders Fields from Harvey and Tomi from Year 6, followed by a collective two minute silence. Our children who attend groups like Beavers, Scouts, Rainbows and Brownies also wore their uniforms to school to also acknowledge the importance of the day. They certainly wore their uniforms with pride.
Trips, Visits and Experiences
Experiences beyond the classroom are so important in helping learning to stick and so we ensure that children are provided with them in abundance.
Year 1 used their senses when walking around the local area of Langley Park. They visited both the Nature Reserve and Costa and even walked past some of their houses! They were very excited and Willow even joined them too!
Year 1 also welcomed Paul and Pasha who represented the hard work of Guide Dogs and how they help their owners who are visually impaired. He told them all about how Pasha helps him in his day to day life including how Pasha will move people out of the way to be able to allow Paul to reach the button when crossing the road.
Year 2 visited Howletts Zoo as part of their unit of inquiry. This experience gave them the opportunity to see the animals in real life and to understand what their basic needs are. The trip gave them an insight into learning about habitats.
Year 3 visited Kent Life to engage with their Stone Age workshops. They learned about different Stone Age tools and how communities from that age were organised. It certainly helped contextualise their learning when reading texts like Stone Age Boy.
We also welcomed Kent Fire and Rescue twice to the academy. The first time was for Year 6 to learn vital first aid skills. They learnt how to put someone in the recovery position and how to do CPR. We then welcomed them again for all of our year groups to learn about fire safety.
Paddock Wood Primary Academy
It has been a brilliant start to the academic year. We are extremely proud and excited to have been able to share and celebrate our recent Ofsted visit with all stakeholders. The opening two lines, in particular, are a pleasure to read: “Pupils at Paddock Wood Primary Academy are excited to learn. The school is a safe and stimulating place which offers a myriad of opportunities to develop pupils’ interests and talents.”
Pantomime
We have an extremely proactive and successful PTA. They once again funded our recent pantomime visit. Children (and the odd unlucky staff member) were involved in the whole event and they thoroughly enjoyed welcoming Christmas into the school. It was the perfect way to start the festive season!
Sporting Events
Sporting opportunities and events are always a high priority here at Paddock Wood. We ensure all children who want to are given the opportunity to represent the school throughout the year. Alongside many sporting after school clubs, we have taken part in friendly sporting events and recently our football team won their first football league match of the season. Our children thoroughly enjoyed representing our school at the recent LAT swimming gala.
Curriculum Enrichment
We have organised many different experiences to enrich and enhance learning for the children across the whole school. We have had a visit from a local poet who came into school, led assemblies and ran workshops for all of the children. This love of reading and writing was also built upon in our whole school writing week where all of the children used the same high quality text (Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo) as inspiration for many different purposes for writing. Hearing children across the school talking about the same text and their learning was fantastic.
Individual year groups have also organised their own more specific workshops. Year 3 has had a hands-on fossil workshop, Year 4 were immersed in their very own History Day and Year 5 were transported to outer space with a visit from the planetarium. All of these experiences were fantastic and the children were fully engaged throughout!
During a RockSteady workshop, we also invited our children and staff to embrace their inner rockstars. All year groups were involved and we are eagerly awaiting a performance from our own school rock band in the coming months.
Community
Being the heart of the community is extremely important for us and we ensure we make the most of all the opportunities to work with and support the community in as many different ways as possible. We are extremely proud of our Year 6 representatives who took part in the Paddock Wood Remembrance service and our school choir who sang at the recent Christmas ‘Light Up’ event. Both of these events were extremely well attended by the whole community. We have also continued our close links to the local church - we have had a harvest service and we are having a Christmas service on the last day of term. Every single class has visited the local library. Many have used this opportunity to become members and have shown great pride and pleasure in describing which book they are now reading.
Keeping Children Safe
As a whole school, we took part in ‘Anti-bullying Week’ and ‘Be an Internet Legend’ day. A plethora of age appropriate activities were completed by children and culminated in the whole school taking part in ‘Odd Socks Day’. Odd Socks Day is an annual event that encourages people to wear mismatched socks as a way of celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion.
Horsmonden Primary Academy
What an amazing Autumn Term of ‘firsts’ we’ve had at Horsmonden! We launched our very first Innovation Week with ‘The Rocket Man’ from Steam Co, Nick Corston. He inspired the children to create their own innovations and rockets, while reinforcing the importance of reading and aiming high in life. All children made and launched rockets, some more successfully than others, and enjoyed watching the final ‘dynamite’ rocket launch at 60mph before parachuting back down to Earth. In addition to ‘The Rocket Man,’ we also had a visit from The Wonderdome, a mobile planetarium. Children travelled to space and saw the planets up close, learning about their orbit, rotation, moons, meteors and the International Space Station.
Year 5 took part in their very first residential trip to Carroty Wood, spending 2 nights and 3 full days away from home. They showed their resilience, open mindedness and most certainly took a few risks when completing the challenging, outdoor, adventurous activities. Activities included rock climbing while blindfolded, abseiling, high ropes, BMX riding, archery and pedal cars.
The Autumn Term also saw our first ever art exhibition where children created masterpieces that were framed and displayed in the school hall. Parents visited the exhibition and had the opportunity to purchase their child’s masterpiece to raise money for the school. Parents were impressed with the quality of work on offer and some are keeping their child’s piece as an investment for the future!
With Christmas fast approaching, the children have been enjoying all the wonderful Christmas activities on offer at Horsmonden, the first of which being a Rocksteady Christmas Concert. Members of our Rocksteady bands performed live to the whole school, as well as parents, playing electric guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. Even the parents and teachers got involved and created their own bands, which the children found hilarious!
The magic of Christmas is alive at Horsmonden where each class was lucky enough to visit Santa’s Grotto to meet the big man himself! Father Christmas met the children, read them a Christmas story and gave them a present. The children were so excited to meet him in his beautifully decorated grotto complete with fireplace, rug and Christmas tree. In addition to this, children went shopping at our Christmas present fair to choose gifts for their nearest and dearest. None of this would have been possible without the amazing support of our PTA (FoHPS), who surpassed themselves this year and helped give the children of Horsmonden a Christmas to remember! Thank you to all involved.
Eastcote Primary Academy
This Autumn term has been full of exciting learning opportunities and as the new Principal I have embraced life at Eastcote. At the beginning of the term, Year 4 headed off to Crofton Roman Villa to investigate a past civilisation and learn how the Romans still influence our lives today. The class were tasked to recreate mosaic art which then inspired them to make their own. Year 6 then delved into the past by recreating Victorian life, researching and learning about children’s rights and responsibilities. This led Year 6 to hold their own charity event to raise money for Barnardo’s, they baked and hosted their own cake sale raising over £100 for their chosen charity.
Year 3 visited the Natural History Museum as they were following a line of enquiry to discover how early man survived and went so they could study and use artefacts that showed them what life was like. Year 2 went on an exciting adventure by boat to visit the Tower of London and took part in a dramatic retelling in the White Tower – recounting the key events of the Great Fire of London from the perspective of Samuel Pepys. They also learnt how this led to improvements in London. Year 1 visited Hall Place making connections with our local area and finding out what toys were like in the past. The class loved the hands-on approach and had a very immersive experience. In Nursery our newest members of Eastcote have been exploring who they are, their families and how we are all the same but different. Year 5 visited the Gurdwara in Woolwich and made links through RE with special books and Sikh beliefs. Year 5 learned that commitment is key to Sikh religion and that their everyday life will reflect the moral code laid out in the example of the Gurus and in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Our school is very lucky to have a committed and amazing parent association who not only support the school by raising funds but also holding incredible events that make attending this school very special. Throughout the term PACE have organised many events including a Halloween Disco and the first firework event held at the school that was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bexley. December started with a very cosy pyjama day, then PACE paid for every child to see a pantomime performance, including a visit from M&M productions performing Snow White and then seeing Beauty and the Beast at Dartford Theatre West. The term ended with Santa’s Workshop which was a very special day ending with a visit from Father Christmas.
There have been so many special moments throughout the term. The poet Neal Zetter visited the school, inspiring us and turning us all into would-be poets with funny poems such as ‘Kids love Ketchup’ and ‘Ba nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana’. The Eastcote football team have entered the ‘Small Schools Cup’ and have been excellent sports ambassadors for the school. We created a swimming team to take part in the LAT swimming gala and the representatives from Year 5 and 6 had a wonderful experience. We held a Harvest celebration and the whole school community showed their generosity by bringing in donations for the Bexley Food Bank; there was so much food the volunteer who collected it nearly had to make a second trip! Year Two also wrote their own very special Harvest poems and read them to the school. We celebrated National Poetry Day by having our own poetry fest. During October we celebrated diversity by saluting female role models and learning about the lives of black women who have shaped history and inspired change. We will continue to learn about diverse, inspirational people throughout the year and think about who inspires us to change.
Our House Captains have organised school events including Children in Need. They wrote a letter to the parents and turned the school spotty for the day and they raised £269.23 to support good causes. They also held an election to appoint a school council so they can work in unison to give the children a voice in improving the school, so that together we can make it the best school possible. The House Captains held their own assembly and created a presentation to inform the children what they needed to do and candidates delivered speeches and votes were held. We look forward to working with them next term.
We finished the term with a KS2 Carol Service in St Mary’s the Virgin Church and the Infants performed a nativity in school. This was such a special day and was greatly enjoyed by the parents and the children alike. The teachers and teaching assistants were rightly proud of our children and they were a credit to the school. We cannot wait to see what the new year will bring.
Peninsula East Primary Academy
The academic year is off to a flying start here at Peninsula East Primary Academy. As always, we have had so many exciting visits, educational trips and workshops for our pupils which have enriched their learning experiences across the first two modules of this year.
Reading Incentives
Due to fundraising from our children, parents and PTA last academic year, as well as some generous donations from local community businesses, we were able to purchase a reading book vending machine which has pride of place in our school hall. Each week, those children who have been reading regularly at home are awarded as being readers of the week and they receive a certificate and token for a brand new reading book from the vending machine. The children have loved it and we have seen many more children reading at home and enjoying new books to take home to read too.
Year 5 and 6 Escape Rooms
Our Year 5 and 6 pupils really enjoyed taking part in an escape room challenge that was delivered by Medway Council. The children had to work together to solve different code breaking problems and utilise a range of different strategies to solve them. The representatives from the council were really impressed with the children’s communication and teamwork skills in undertaking these challenges.
Year 4 Gurdwara Visit
As part of their inquiry learning linked to RE, our Year 4 children were learning about Sikhism and the importance of the Gurdwara and worship. Our children visited the local Gurdwara in Rochester and had a great time learning about the different rooms within the temple. They also learnt about where special religious items were kept, about prayers that take place there, and about being respectful of other religious beliefs such as ensuring that they wore appropriate clothing and covered their heads. It was great for the children to see the temple after being able to explore it virtually through their Chromebooks. They were also equally pleased that they were given squash and biscuits before they returned to school!
Year 5 Visit to Rochester Cathedral
We were very proud of our Year 5 children, who learnt a multitude of different Christmas carols, to sing at Rochester cathedral. The event was fantastic and made everyone involved get into the Christmas spirit. Our children thoroughly enjoyed attending, sang beautifully and were commended by attendants at the cathedral for being principled and a fantastic representation of our children at Peninsula East. What a wonderful way to spread some Christmas cheer!
Year 1 Animal Roadshow
As part of their inquiry learning linked to science, our Year 1 children had an opportunity for different animals to visit their classroom so that they could learn about what they eat and how the different animals could be grouped. The children thoroughly enjoyed handling the animals, which included: guinea pigs, bearded dragons, giant millipedes and snakes. They had lots of questions to ask and learnt a lot of new facts that they took forward into further learning opportunities in their inquiry.
Space Week
Our children had fun undertaking different science investigations linked to the theme of ‘Space’ throughout Space Week as well as attending different science-themed activities during lunch break with our science lead. Each class also took part in Mission X Astronaut training. Parents and carers were also invited in to design rocket ships with their children in science workshops and then test them out to see how far the rockets would travel outside. Parents and carers really enjoyed the workshops and they were very well attended.
High Halstow Primary Academy
As always, the start of the academic year has been full of exciting learning experiences some of which are shown below:
Hockey MYG
The first sporting event in the Mini Youth Games calendar started with a victory for the High Halstow Primary Academy team. We came first out of 25 schools.
Poet Visit
At the start of Module 2 we were lucky enough to have a poet visit the academy. Each class was able to take part in a workshop and the pupils produced some great outcomes in a short space of time.
Anti-Bullying Week
We focused on Anti-Bullying Week in November. The week started with an assembly led by Jodie from the Child Health Team from Medway Council. Pupils then took part in activities within their classrooms throughout the week and produced creative outcomes that were exhibited in the hall. The pupils were able to talk about what bullying is, the role of the bystander and how bullying is different from a falling out.
Christmas Events
The Christmas spirit has been oozing out of High Halstow Primary Academy as we have come towards the end of the module! The PTA kindly organised the Christmas shop so pupils could experience Christmas shopping for their family and friends.
On the 8th December, Shooting Stars Theatre Group performed a Robin Hood pantomime to the whole academy. There was lots of smiling, singing and dancing to be seen throughout the afternoon!
It was then the turn of our pupils to take to the stage. Early Years and KS1 proudly performed A Wiggly Nativity to their parents and carers whilst KS2 put on No One Wraps Like An Elf! with so much enthusiasm that their parents and carers left full of festive cheer.
The module concluded with a visit from Father Christmas and a whole school Christmas lunch.
The Hundred of Hoo Academy
Pupil Leadership Team
Our Pupil Leadership Team (PLT) has been working hard since the start of the year to make a tangible difference to our school community. As a core part of the way in which our PLT works, they have gathered pupil voice from across the school to identify co-curricular clubs which pupils from across the school would like to engage with. By doing this, our academy has added additional after school activities for children across the school including mindfulness club and art club.
Additionally, our PLT have been focusing on how the primary phase could become more sustainable. Through this they have decided the school should have an eco-committee, have created a marketing campaign to encourage members of this new committee and have created an action plan involving both pupils and staff members. One key area of interest is to improve composting facilities in the school and they have prepared an assembly to deliver after Christmas to outline how this should be used. With PLT leading the eco-committee and our play leaders leading activities for other pupils at lunchtimes, this highlights how pupils have the opportunity to develop their own leadership skills within the school.
Trips and Visits
Since the start of the academic year, there have been a range of trips, visits and visitors which were carefully chosen to enrich the curriculum in different year groups.
Year 1 visited the Guildhall museum in Rochester to further their knowledge and understanding of toys through the ages with a workshop run by Dr Jeremy Clarke. They found how a Zoetrope works particularly fascinating and realised that just because something is not electronic, does not mean it cannot be fun!
Year 2 and 4 both visited Maidstone museum with Year 2 finding out about life in Victorian Britain and had the opportunity to interact with primary sources. Year 4’s focus was on the Ancient Greeks and, after a tour of the exhibits, they created their own versions of Greek pottery which they came back to school and decorated with their parents in a parent workshop.
Year 3 invited the parents and carers of the children in the class to engage with learning about The Stone Age and the geography skills of map and compass reading. After the pupils and adults had found the information and plotted each point on our map, they had to write the route to get to each point using our cardinal point knowledge.
With Year 6’s learning in Module 1 based on trade and transport, they visited Upnor castle and made links in their learning about the Triangular Slave Trade, the Dutch Armada and their inquiry into cranes in DT. As well as this, the pupils put their newly found sketching skills into practice and created some excellent charcoal sketches.
Additionally, our Year 5 and 6 pupils took part in Medway Music Association’s Christmas Carol Concert which took place in Rochester Cathedral with a number of other schools across Medway. Our pupils were praised, as ever, for their excellent behaviour, fantastic singing and eloquent reading.
Marden Primary Academy
Community
This year, we have been continuing to work closely with the local community. As part of their outdoor learning programme, Year 1 helped create some scarecrows which we entered in the Marden Scarecrow Safari. A local company ‘Go Group’ came into school to lead an assembly for KS2 on careers, sharing a range of roles within the company and the skills required to do these jobs. The Eco Warriors met with The Little Green Energy Company to share information about solar energy and to discuss the importance of protecting our environment. Also as part of the Christmas fair, we ran a silent auction. We were very lucky to be supported by lots of businesses and people within our local community who kindly donated prizes for this.
Trips and Workshops
We have already been out on lots of trips this academic year. Year 6 had a fantastic week away in Aylmerton, Norfolk, for their residential. They took part in a range of exciting activities some of which included: a twilight safari, boats on the Broads and going to see the seals. Year 5 took a trip to Marden Library to listen to do some work around Remembrance. They created some wonderful sketches, poems and letters which were displayed in the library for everyone to come and see. Our choir visited Bramley Court retirement housing to sing carols at their Christmas fair and to their residents.
Fundraising and Supporting Others
Our school community has been really keen to support others and have already worked hard to raise money for a range of causes. In October, families donated food for our local food bank. The food bank was extremely grateful for the generous donations. We also supported the Poppy appeal, Children in Need and Mental Health day. Our wellbeing group and School Council are very keen to continue to support others and already have plans to try and raise money to support homeless charities.
Poppy Walk
On the 10th November, we invited our school and local community to come and visit our poppy walk. Each class created work based around Remembrance in a range of different forms. The event was very well attended and the children thoroughly enjoyed sharing their work with others.
Sporting Events
Our pupils are keen sports people and have really enjoyed taking part in competitions locally and across the Trust. We were really excited that our Year 6 swim team got into the finals in the recent LAT swimming gala. We also have great boys' and girls' football teams this year who have already had lots of opportunities to take part in friendly competitions.
Bearsted Primary Academy
The winter module is always one that never ceases to fly by and here at Bearsted, it has done exactly that. Each and every one of our classes and year groups have excelled at new opportunities, built connections within our local community, and still found time to fit in learning along the way. Below you will find an overview of what each of our year groups have been getting up to over the term.
Nursery
Little Bears have been busy in the community over these modules. As part of our Inquiry into interests and experiences, the Nursery children have been visiting Invicta Court Care Home. It has been wonderful to see how much both our young learners, and the care home residents gain from these experiences.
Our children are encouraged to be good communicators in order to engage with the residents, and the residents have been keen to share their own stories and experiences with our children. Shared play is the central experience that binds these special visits together - visits where lots of laughter can be heard around the building.
One of the residents recently commented, “This is the best part of my week!” We are very proud of the attitude and respect our children have shown towards the members of their wider community, and we look forward to continuing to extend this key link in the new year.
Reception
Over the past two modules, Reception has been building upon their learning into being part of a community at school and at home. We have enjoyed celebrating and exploring different festivals and traditions including Diwali and have created some fantastic rangoli patterns. We enjoyed trying some new food such as mango chutney, poppadoms and naan bread, which everyone agreed were very tasty!
As part of our inquiry, we have looked into how we can keep our bodies healthy such as eating the right foods and exercising correctly. This also included a visit from Dr. Dentist and Mrs. Tooth who told us all about keeping our teeth and gums healthy. The children listened carefully and learned lots of new information to feed back to their grown-ups at home.
Recently, the children have proved themselves to be very principled when working collaboratively to rehearse and perform our Christmas production. Their excellent communication skills have shone through with brilliant singing, as well as Makaton signing to accompany it.
Year 1
Modules 1 and 2 have been busy and exciting in Year 1. We have been learning all about how the weather impacts how we live and how the weather and seasons are different across different climate zones. How excited we were, when it snowed and the temperature dropped below zero on our outdoor thermometer! We have really developed our cutting, shaping and joining skills in this module, designing and making party hats and making Christmas bunting within the local community. It is always a pleasure to see our senior friends at Invicta Court Care Home and we have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and using their expertise to help us with our sewing, making bunting together that will be enjoyed in both environments. We have also learned some great ways to make threading a needle easier!
Alongside this, we have been busy practising our lines and songs for the ‘Year 1 Carols at Christmas’ performance. All of the children have done a great job in rehearsals and they raised the roof in their first performance to an audience at Invicta Court. We were so proud of their confidence and of course their behaviour when representing the academy off site.
Year 2
Year 2 has had a brilliant two modules. Our inquiry led us into exploring the differences between goods and services and then onto designing and evaluating our own chocolate bar.
The Great Fire of London provided excellent opportunities for discussion and research about historical events, while comparing how services have developed over the years. All of this led us to explore how these can change depending on the countries and comparing our goods and services in the UK with Zambia.
Our final few weeks of the module have involved us working hard on our Christmas production, ‘The Amazing Advent Calendar.’ The children have enjoyed learning their lines, songs and actions and we are proud to have seen each of them developing their confidence and become risk takers.
Year 3
Year 3 has had a fantastic two modules. We have been on a trip, as well as preparing many lines and songs for our Christmas performance. Our trip to Kent Life was such a great experience for pupils, where we explored the Stone Age through workshops where we met archaeologists who told us all about what it was like to live as the first ever human beings. We learned about beliefs, cave paintings, survival and much more. Through this, we have been able to build on previous knowledge and demonstrate the inquiry skills we have developed since Reception.
As for our Christmas production, we have worked incredibly hard to learn our lines and practise our acting skills ready to perform. Our singing has been outstanding and we have loved spreading the Christmas cheer to everyone around us!
Year 4
What a wonderful first two modules for Year 4. We were in great festive spirits when we performed Christmas carols at the KIMS hospital. Joining forces with Year 5 in our performance to parents has been a highlight with pupils adapting Christmas songs to include members of our staff!
We have explored our central idea this term which is ‘people migrate and explore in response to opportunities and challenges.’ When pupils in our class shared their own experiences of migration and the challenges they faced including pupils from Ukraine, everybody showcased the learner attributes in an inspirational and supportive manner.
Our science experiments in these modules led to some intriguing discoveries about our own bodies. We investigated the impact of different drinks on our teeth, with results that surprised all of us! We also recreated a model of the human digestive system, which we were equally amazed and revolted by!
Year 5
This has been a busy module for Year 5 at BPA. We have been continuously practising our festive performance telling the story of Saint Nicholas and the Christmas traditions in other countries. We all think our singing voices are amazing after all of the practice we have been doing!
We also finished our swimming lessons in this module and the teachers are so impressed with the progress we have made with this skill. For many in Bodiam Class, it was the first time swimming so we have come a long way, some as far as 600m!
Year 5 have been working hard to model the learner profile attributes recognising that, as the oldest children in the academy, they need to be setting a positive example to other year groups. Something else we know to be very important is being safe on the internet and we demonstrated being internet legends with Google on Safer Internet Day.
We have delved into our inquiry this term learning about how ‘Geography can impact the location of human settlement’. We completed an ambitious DT project making our own settlements after researching what elements are important to include. After an extremely busy but fun first two modules, we can’t wait to see what we will be doing in the new year!
