Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter
HW1900 Celebrations
All of our Key Stage 2 children took part in a spectacular dance and drumming event, organised for all the children in the Haydon Bridge cluster. The performances took place up at Walltown Country Park with 250 children participating each day. It was a wonderful experience, a memorable way to celebrate 1900 years since Hadrian’s Wall was built.
Photographs from this event need to be authorised by all schools for safeguarding reasons, so we will share these as soon as we are able to.
A quick visit to Hadrian's Wall
Never one to miss a good opportunity, whilst we were at Walltown we also hiked up to see the wall—the edge of the Roman Empire. For many of the children, this was the first time they had actually visited Hadrian’s Wall. Mrs Drake talked to the children about the reasons historians think Hadrian ordered the wall to be built, the design (using turrets, milecastles and the landscape to help) and a little about how the generations which followed reused some of the stone in other buildings. We were astounded by how far we could see and realised how this would have helped the Roman’s to keep their empire secure from invaders from the north!
We're going on a bear hunt!
This week in Nursery, we have been reading the story of ‘We’re Going on Bear Hunt.’ We recited the story as we moved through the swishy, swashy grass, thick oozy mud and we made our own twirling, whirling snowstorm using the streamers. The children could choose if they wanted to go barefoot or in their wellies, they then talked about which was their favourite thing to walk through. The grass was the most popular as it was ‘tickly!’
Sports Week
Last week, we have been taking part in different activities as part of National School Sports Week. This is to encourage as many children as possible to find a physical activity that they can enjoy. We all know the importance of exercise for not only physical health but also mental health. Everyday the children have been set different challenges including:
Around the World: How many times can you pass the ball around your waist in 60 seconds?
Speed Bounce: How many times can you bounce over an object in 60 seconds?
Catch and Clap: How many times can you throw a ball up, clap once and catch it in 60 Seconds?
Tap Up Tennis: How many times can you tap up a tennis ball on a racket in 60 seconds?
Bruchetta in Year 6
Year 6 are enjoying their ‘Come Dine With Me’ topic in design technology. They have been looking at and planning 3 course menus. Yesterday team ‘starter’ made some delicious bruschetta. They thought it was delicious.
Skills Builder - Teamwork
We had so many successes to celebrate at our achievement assembly this week! With awards for breaking records in Timetables Rockstars, Reading Plus and our weekly Headteachers awards for teamwork in the classroom, at play and in the community. Well done to everyone who celebrated their achievements this week.
Attendance Matters
Attendance Matters
As we continue to recover from the disruption to children’s education caused by the pandemic, it is now more important than ever that children’s attendance is good or better. Every second in school counts, as missing school, whether by being late or taking unnecessary days off, creates more new learning gaps which need to addressed. The best way you can support your child to recover from the lost school time of recent years is to ensure they are in school and ready to learn every day.
Good attendance is considered to be 96%+. This weeks year group attendance figures:
We have received an increased number of holiday request forms in recent weeks. Please do not take your child out of school during term time as it disrupts your child’s learning and you risk financial penalties. Please could we urge parents to book holidays during the 13 weeks of annual school holidays that are available each year. Unfortunately we are unable to authorise leave from school except in EXCEPTIONAL circumstances.
If leave has not been authorised and your child is out of school then you may receive a minimum fine of £60 per child, per parent. If the time out of school makes your child’s attendance drop below 90% then they are known as persistently absent under the governments attendance definitions. This means that you may face prosecution through the courts.
Please help us to help your child catch up by ensuring they are in school and ready to learn every day.
Haltwhistle Library Summer Reading Challenge
Are you looking for something to do during the holidays? Come along to Haltwhistle Library and join us for the Summer Reading Challenge. Get ready for the Gadgeteers a Science and innovation themed challenge which will also be available online.
The Summer Reading Challenge is open to all primary school children and is designed for all reading abilities.
The format for the challenge is that children can take part in 3 planned activity sessions over the holidays and borrow 2 books per visit to complete the challenge and be awarded their medal.
Sign up for free during the summer holidays.
Opening times are
Mon-Fri 10-1 then 1.30-4.30
Saturday 10-1
Bagel Bar Funding
Our daily Bagel Bar has been incredibly popular in every class this year, with every child in school accessing a bagel breakfast if they would like one on entry to school. We originally estimated that 50-60% of children might access this, however we are finding that more than 80% of children are choosing a bagel snack on entry to school. We’ve found that after a long walk / bus ride to school, the bagels help to create our calming soft starts to each morning, and really set the children up for the day ahead.
Next year, we can no longer access the government funding which has made our bagel bars free this year. Whilst we do receive bagels at a subsidized cost, we need to raise around £40 per week to cover this. We are proposing that we ask parents to make a voluntary contribution of 20p per week to cover this cost.
Calendar of Events
Our Parent Calendar provides LIVE dates several months ahead. This can be accessed on our school website and can be added to your phone calendar to you are always aware of forthcoming events.
Our school designated safeguarding leads are Susie Drake, Tony Irvine, Michelle Brewster and Bethan Alsopp