Molehill Primary Academy Newsletter
Term 6 2022 - 2023
Principal's Welcome
We are immensely proud of our pupils this term, who continue to approach every challenge with resilience, determination and the ambition to strive for the best! We are also incredibly proud of our staff who continue to provide them with a wide range of wonderful opportunities - helping them to develop the learner profile attributes.
Thank you so much to our entire community for your unwavering support across this academic year. We are very much looking forward to the next steps in our journey at Molehill!
Mrs Laura Smith
Principal
Ofsted Report!
We are absolutely thrilled and delighted to share the news that Ofsted believe that Molehill Primary Academy is likely to be judged outstanding and that inspectors will return to undertake a graded inspection
Read more here: https://molehillprimaryacademy.org.uk/2023/07/17/molehill-primary-academy-ready-to-be-judged-outstanding/
PYP Inquiry
Little Moles
Continuing on from our central idea that 'people take responsibility and care for animals’ we have been learning all about the importance of keeping our oceans clean to help save animals. The Little Moles have had tremendous fun cleaning the plastic out of the water tray and learning how to recycle. We created a storyboard of our core text this term ‘The mess that we made’ by Michelle Lord and the children can recite the book using the pictures we created as a whole class. In addition to our transdisciplinary theme of learning, we have also been looking at new beginnings and transitioning from nursery to school as well as meeting new adults and children for those who are staying with Little Moles for another year. We successfully hosted a whole school assembly about going on their way and the children did fantastically well. The children were able to develop their speaking, listening and performing skills as well as building on their confidence of talking in front of crowds. We are incredibly proud of all their achievements this year.
Kangaroo and Wallaby Class
This module Kangaroo and Wallabies have been looking at the Transdisciplinary theme of sharing the planet. We read the book One Plastic Bag which is all about a lady who notices too much plastic and rubbish lying around in her area and decided to make little purses out of it. This led to the inquiry of plastic pollution and how we need to recycle and do more about it. Finally we looked at how the plastic pollution is affecting our oceans. We read the story 'Someone Swallowed Stanley' This was all about a plastic bag that landed in the ocean and his journey of being swallowed by different sea creatures. We came up with ideas on how we can save the ocean creatures and different ways of being more plastic free. The children were curious about the different creatures under the sea and created little riddle booklets for our friends to learn some interesting facts about different ocean creatures. Finally we reflected back on our year in reception and spoke about all things we are looking forward to next year.
Leopard Class
This term our transdisciplinary theme has been 'How we organise ourselves'. We have explored the central idea "Strengthening links in our community can support our well being." The key concepts we have focussed on this term are 'change' and 'connection'. During our Art and History lessons, we studied Tony Hart and Neil Buchanan as artists local to Maidstone. The children were fascinated by their Art and particularly liked the Morph character Hart worked alongside. Of course this meant that we had a go at making our own Morphs out of clay, with varying levels of success - we have been reflective learners and decided that if we were to make Morph again we would use plasticine as the clay unfortunately led to a few armless and headless Morphs! The children also recognised the Tony Hart mural that is in Maidstone's bus station. It has been lovely for the children to base their inquiries on their local area and our community. Change is another key concept from this term; what bigger change than nearing an end of one academic year and looking forward to another. Leopard class can now look forward to the their future inquires and reflect fondly on all they have achieved this year. Well done, Leopard Class!
Lion Class
The central idea that we have been exploring in Lion class this term is 'Strengthening links in our community can support our wellbeing'. The children have enjoyed learning about the local artists Tony Hart and Neil Buchanan. They have enjoyed learning about the lives of both of these artists and their connections to Maidstone. The children enjoyed creating their own Morphs from clay and creating their own giant 'Art Attack' rainbow artwork alongside Tiger class, as part of our Arts Week. In their DT lessons children have enjoyed eating, designing, making and decorating biscuits. In our PSHE lessons we have been looking at things that change as we grow in preperation for their transition into years 2 and 3. They have been great inquirers this term and asked lots of very important questions meaning that they are much more knowledgeable. Well done Lion class!
Tiger Class
This term Tigers have been exploring the central idea 'Strengthening links in our community can support our wellbeing.' The children have enjoyed learning about the local artists Tony Hart and Neil Buchanan. They have enjoyed learning about the lives of both of these artists and their connections to Maidstone. The children enjoyed creating their own Morphs from clay and creating their own giant 'Art Attack' rainbow artwork as part of our Arts Week. In their DT lessons children have enjoyed eating, designing, making and decorating biscuits. The children loved working with our school chef, Sally, to make their biscuits, learning lots of new baking skills. In our PSHE lessons children have been learning about changes in preparation for their transition to year three.
Hedgehog Class
This term in Hedgehog's class we have been thinking about our central idea 'people share resources across communities - globally and locally', as part of our transdisciplinary theme 'Sharing the Planet.' In English, we have been using our research skills to find out about resources, how they are collected, and what do they provide. They have written a factfile on non-renewable and renewable resources and made a poster about resources to show this understanding. They have written letters to another teacher about saving the rainforest in persuasive language, and provided arguments for saving the rainforest. We have also provided an in depth study to history by visiting Dover Museum, pupils saw artefacts that link to the Romans, and proceeded to write a recount of their visit to the museum the following week. What a wonderful term!
Badger Class
Badger class have worked hard this term when thinking about our central idea, 'people share resources across communities - globally and locally'. We have considered where our resources come from and how we can get resources in a more environmentally friendly way. Our main focus has been the rainforest and what we get from there. We even based our class assembly on how we can save the rainforest! Well done Badger class.
Fox Class
This term Fox Class’s learning was under the transdisciplinary theme ‘Sharing the Planet’. The children explored natural resources that are available to us and then investigated the benefits and consequences of using these. The children focussed on the issue of deforestation to grow palm oil; they linked this to their work in literacy using the book ‘There’s a Rang Tan in my Bedroom’ based on the Greenpeace film which looks at the plight of rainforest animals. In addition, they researched access to resources globally and discovered that resources are not shared equally. They collected and presented data to demonstrate this. Finally, they wrote persuasive letters and made posters to stop deforestation. Well done Fox Class!
Kestrel Class
This term Kestrel Class have been investigating people's perception of creativity and how this can be used to express ideas in different ways. We have looked at many different styles of writing including: poetry and playscripts. We have thoroughly enjoyed unpicking these and practising our performance and acting skills to express ourselves in different ways. As well as this, we have also tried our hand at many different artistic styles and techniques to create expressive art and some of these were submitted into the LAT art competition. We are delighted that Alfie won the KS2 award across the entire trust! It has been a lovely way to end our year together!
Falcon and Eagle Class
This term Eagle and Falcon Classes have been preparing for their exhibition which is centred around the transdisciplinary theme How we express ourselves. Pupils have been exploring the central idea 'The Arts may have the power to influence thinking and behaviour' in a variety of ways including a visit to Shakespeare's Globe where they studied aspects of his plays and considered how he has influenced the English language and other aspects of modern life. Working in groups, the children have written their own lines of inquiry centred around the arts and they have investigated how emotions can be expressed through art and how art can be influenced by emotion. Building up to our end of year performance of Shakespeare Rocks, pupils have also developed their speaking, listening and performing skills when taking on the role of characters in the show.
Warm Welcome
To staff who are joining us, we formally welcome you on behalf of all members of the Molehill community!
Mr Clark-Keen
Earlier this year, we undertook an extensive interview process to recruit an additional Assistant Principal. We are thrilled to welcome Mr Clark-Keen to the Academy in September and I know that he is very much looking forward to joining our Senior Leadership Team, alongside our Assistant Principal Mrs Andrews, Mrs Jones our Vice Principal, and Mrs Smith our Principal. Mr Clark-Keen is an ambitious leader and a dedicated, highly-effective classroom practitioner with an extensive career across a range of different responsibilities. In his most recent post, he has been an integral part of an outstanding leadership team at a school similar in size to Molehill. Mr Clark-Keen is passionate about providing the very best education for children and equipping them with the tools to succeed in education and in life. He is highly committed to safeguarding and developing a nurturing environment where children can excel.
Miss Goodwin
Hello, my name is Miss Goodwin, I will be teaching in year 4 from September! I really enjoy adventurous days out and learning new things. I am really excited to meet the enthusiastic learners at Molehill. I am looking forward to meeting the students and parents of the fantastic Molehill community.
Miss Fenn
Hello Molehill! My name is Miss Fenn and I will be the class teacher for year 3, Hedgehogs in September. I am extremely excited to begin my new journey at Molehill. I am keen to get stuck in and bring lots of energy into the classroom. I wanted to share a little bit about myself before September. I am an Allstar cheerleader and dancer and hope that I can apply some of the skills I have learnt within my classroom such as teamwork and encouragement. I have a very spoiled Samoyed dog called Bear who believes that he is the leader of the house, and three little brothers who love to play with him. I have had the pleasure of working with Lion class for term 6 and I am looking forward to a continued partnership and a successful rest of the school year.
Fond Farewells
To the staff who are leaving this summer, we would like to express our sincere thanks for your hard work and dedication throughout your time with us. We wish you every success as you embark on the next chapters of your life and I know you will take with you fond memories from working at Molehill.
Mrs Daniel
At the beginning of this module we said a sad farewell to Mrs Daniel. During her time at Molehill she has taught across EYFS and Key Stage One and has inspired lots of children to embrace outdoor learning opportunities. In her role as Forest School Lead she has passed on both her enthusiasm for the outdoors and knowledge of all things nature based to both children and adults at Molehill. We know all the children she worked with have appreciated her kindness, compassion and nurturing approach to teaching. We all wish Mrs Daniel well in her future endeavours.
Miss Laurence
After a successful year at Molehill, Miss Laurence is leaving us to broaden her experience in a new post. We have appreciated all her hard work and conscientious attitude and particularly her passion and guidance in history which has been exemplary! She has been a valued colleague and friend and a very popular teacher with pupils. She has created a supportive classroom atmosphere and worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for the children. She will be missed by us all but we wish her the best of luck as she continues on her career path.
Mr O'Toole
We have been very lucky to have benefitted from Mr O'Toole working with us this academic year whilst he completed his training to become a teacher. His wealth of knowledge of outside learning has been hugely beneficial to both staff and children. The children have also enjoyed listening to his stories about his previous career in the army, gaining an insight into the lives of people in other less fortunate parts of the world. I know all of the children he has worked with have built positive relationships with Mr O'Toole and have thoroughly enjoyed working with him. It has been a pleasure to watch him grow as a teacher and we are proud to share that he successfully passed his training - Congratulations Mr O'Toole. We would like to thank him for all his hard work over the past year and wish him well in his future endeavours.
Trim Trail
We are absolutely thrilled with our new Trim Trail which was installed on the KS1 playground earlier this term. This provides pupils with further opportunity to have fun playing at break-times and lunchtimes, whilst also developing those gross motor skills and strengthening their cores. This has benefits not only related to health and wellbeing but also for important skills such as handwriting and concentration.
Sports Days
Our Sports Days were a fantastic success! We are so pleased that so many of our parents were able to join us to celebrate their children's sporting achievements. We were delighted with the number of adults who also wanted to compete themselves; it was great to see their enjoyment of sport and physical activity shared with our whole school. What fantastic role models they are!
Cornwallis Science Workshops
Year 5 were lucky enough to attend Cornwallis Academy for a jam-packed day of science activities and experiments. Children had a fantastic time looking at different food groups and performing tests using chemicals. Next they played at being detectives and analysed fingerprints, footprints and calligraphy to discover 'whodunnit'. After lunch they learned about the different rocks and looked at different crystal patterns before ending the day using bunsen burners to test different metals and change the colour of flames. It was such a lot of fun and a really lovely opportunity for pupils to get excited about their futures.
Safety Day
At annual Safety Day this year we warmly welcomed a team of Community First Responders to our academy. They delivered a First Aid Workshop to all of our pupils. The curriculum across the whole day centred around keeping safe and 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 in Year 5 and 6 have also attended Road Safety Workshops and KS1 attended a Stranger Danger assembly too!
Dover Museum
Years 3 and 4 worked exceptionally hard and had lots of fun learning about the Romans during our trip to Dover Museum on Tuesday and Thursday this week. We even saw a Bronze age boat which was 3600 years old! Well done for the brilliant behaviour and engagement in all tasks.
Arty Party
On the 10th and 11th July, Fox and Kestrel classes had the opportunity to work with two fantastic artists from Arty Party, a company that work with schools up and down the country teaching fine art to children in an engaging and hands-on way. The shared area outside Fox classroom was a hive of activity throughout the two days and depicted the true organised chaos of an artists' studio. The children, working together in small groups with the artists, were able to be a central part of the creative process that led to the creation of a fantastic freestanding sculpture that combines both our school emblem and our school vision. I am sure you will agree that any visitor to Molehill will be left in no doubt about what we stand for once they have seen this fantastic piece of art.
Project Salus
This year Fox Class worked on an exciting project with SALUS, an organisation that works to improve the lives of children. They chose the activity which they felt would be most beneficial to all of the children on the KS2 playground and worked hard to create a wonderful quiet space in the existing gazebo. While working on the project, Fox Class improved their team building skills and shared their creativity. This resulted in a fabulous painted sign, colourful windchimes and positive posters. The children then used cushions, rugs and books, donated by SALUS, to further enhance this space for those who preferred a quiet time during play.
Road Safety
Kent County Council’s Road Safety Team have been delivering this year a programme called the Kent Road Safety Club. The Road Safety club's purpose is to make our younger road users safer and to instill from an early age key road safety awareness, knowledge and behaviours. We have been lucky enough to have this programme delivered to all our children focusing on key objectives that were appropriate to each year group from reception class through to Year 6, and are based around the Kent Road Safety Club code to...
• STOP at the kerb and wait
• LOOK and LISTEN for traffic
• THINK about what to do
• CROSS the road safely with an adult, looking and listening all the time.
Please take time to read the information booklet on the programme so you can reinforce the strategies your children have learnt:
Year 6 Primary Years Programme Exhibition
Year 6 have had a very busy final term at Molehill. In between all the trips and transitions, they have also been putting together an Exhibition. The exhibition is the showcase at the end of the PYP. It is a chance for pupils to work with more independence and combine all the skills they have learnt throughout their PYP journey in one final Inquiry. This took place on the morning of the final day of term.
The Central Idea behind this year’s exhibition is: 'The Arts may have the power to influence thinking and behaviour'. From this, children have created their own lines of inquiry in small groups, to explore what interested them most relating to this central idea.
Our exhibition started with a trip to the Globe Theatre, where we had a tour, learned about Shakespeare and his theatre and took part in a drama workshop. This trip was the catalyst for our exhibition and end of year production, which the children have also been working on called, ‘Shakespeare Rocks’.
As part of this, we developed our understanding of who Shakespeare was and his influence on our language. The children researched some of the Shakespearean language that is still in use in modern day English and played around with some Shakespearean insults!
Other children looked at different artists, the reasons for creating art as well as the differences in art around the world. Some children also explored the work of Banksy and discussed whether his work is art or graffiti.
All the children put together boards to display their work at the exhibition, which many parents and carers attended on 20th July.
Chessington
As part of their leavers' celebrations. Year 6 had the opportunity to go Chessington. They all had an amazing day going on the various rides and spending time with their friends.
Shakespeare Rocks!
The Year 6 production of ‘Shakespeare Rocks’ took place on Monday 17th & Tuesday 18th July. The children worked incredibly hard to learn their own lines as well as all the words to the songs, make props and remember all their stage directions. However, Year 6 rose to the occasion and put on an absolutely fantastic performance. All three performances ran smoothly and were thoroughly enjoyed by their respective audiences.
There were many comical moments throughout the play and the children had the audiences roaring with laughter. The two minstrels (Hamza Hamidi and Richie Eze) brought the house down with their rapping about ‘the Bard of Warwickshire’. The line-up of men-dressed-as-women, and women-dressed-as-men-dressed-as-women also tickled the audience with their costumes and ‘pouts’ led by the flamboyant ‘Nic’ (Corey Conner).
Other memorable moments included the sorcerer’s scene, where a ritual had to be performed to undo the curse brought about by saying the name ‘Macbeth’, which meant the sorcerers rooting around in the dictionary to find a naughty (but not too naughty) word!
There are too many by far to name all of the wonderful actors and actresses, who made it such a memorable performance, but Erica-Tiley Grey deserves recognition for her fantastic performance of William Shakespeare! She lived up to the name and gave an outstanding, confident and comic performance.
A huge well done to all involved!
Kent Police Open Day
Year 6 pupils had a fantastic day at the Kent Police Open Day. They visited a variety of different stalls which related to how different sections of the police work and also how to stay safe. They also watched some great demonstrations and loved the police dogs!
Biscuit Making
Tigers really enjoyed making delicious biscuits with our wonderful kitchen team!
EYFS trip to Joss Bay
Little Moles, Kangaroo and Wallaby classes all enjoyed their trip to Joss bay. The children have been gaining a deeper knowledge and understanding of the environmental impact of humans on the environment and we used the opportunity of visiting one of Kent's best beaches to help learn and share together all the knowledge and skills that we have learnt these past two modules. The children enjoyed building sandcastles and dipping their toes in the water. We ate our delicious packed lunches whilst trying not to let the seagulls steal our sandwiches and finally we enjoyed an ice cream before heading home. A perfect Summer trip to round off a successful school year.
Summer Reading Challenge
Take part in the Summer Reading Challenge!
You can find out more here: https://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries/summer-reading-challenge
F.U.D.G.E Day
The EYFS team welcomed all our father figures, uncles, Dads, Grandads and everyone to our fathers day celebration. The children got to spend the afternoon with their Dads celebrating them and thanking them for all that they do.
An Important Message from the EYFS Team!
We are always busy creating and planning exciting projects. Please help us out by not throwing away any of these items, we would love any you may have.
Little Moles Nursery
You can apply now for a space in our Little Moles Nursery
Parents are able to claim 15 free hours a week across 38 weeks in the year, with eligible working parents able to apply for up to 30 hours. You can find out how easy this process is here.
More information, including an application pack, can be found on our website.
Attendance
Attendance at school is vitally important.
If your child needs to be absent from school FOR ANY REASON please contact the school as soon as possible on the 1st day of absence, clearly stating the reason for absence. If you are unable to do this, please reply to the text or email sent to you. As a final resort please send a note to school with your child on their return to school.
Tel: 01622 751729
Email: contactus@molehillprimaryacademy.org.uk
Text: 07860054135
Uniform
Thank you to all parents who make sure children attend the Academy wearing full school uniform.
Please be reminded of our Uniform Expectations below as set out on our website: https://molehillprimaryacademy.org.uk/parents/academy-uniform/
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