Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter
Early Years Moonlight Walk
Thank you to all the families that attended our Early Years moonlight walk. It was amazing to see so many of you exploring our fantastic garden. Our enchanting garden looked magical as it was lit up with fairy lights, glow sticks and moonlight.
We had a special evening this week, where our children got wrapped up and came back to school in the dark. The children collected a checklist and then they spent time exploring the garden with their adults. It was so lovely to hear children talking about the characters and the stories they were from. We were also lucky enough that for a short while the sky was clear enough for us to see the moon through one of our telescopes. This was an exciting experience for both our children and adults.
We then cosied up inside our classrooms with a hot chocolate and biscuit, before having a story from one of our favourite authors 'Jill Murphy'.
Brilliant writing - We're going on a bear hunt
Bramble class have been thinking of new places the family could explore in the bear hunt story. They came up with lots of brilliant ideas such as a sandy beach or a spooky castle.
Macro photography
Congratulations to Mrs Timm’s class in year 5 who were our art class of the week this week. They had a great lesson planning and building scenes for ‘macro’ photography and began learning about different camera angles and how they might be used to create different effects. Excellent ideas, effort, and behaviour for learning. Well done!
Knit and Natter
We had a lovely time at knit and natter on Monday. Most are beginning to master the knit stitch and I was excited to teach our first purls this week! Biscuits help the work along nicely!
We have spaces available at Knit and Natter, please book using the link sent by app / text, or speak to our office team.
Diversity Day!
We all enjoyed a fascinating Diversity Day, when each class learnt about an inspirational person, many of whom have overcome adversity, to achieve something remarkable. We practiced democracy, with each class choosing the inspirational person they would like to learn more about. During our discussions, we remembered the protected characteristics which are part of the Equalities Act. The children chose the following people to learn more about:
Reception - Musician - Bob Marley
Year 1 - Local Hero - Conrad Dickinson
Year 2 - Artist - Bridget Riley
Year 3/4 BA - World Leader - Barak Obama
Year 3/4 AM - Paralympian - Ellie Simmonds
Year 5 - STEM - Katherine Johnson
Year 6 - LGBT - Nicola Adams
Year 6 in particular were amazed by the achievements of Nicola Adams. They found out that Nicola, had overcome so many barriers to achieve her dream. She had many health worries as a child, including asthma and eczema, she trained at a gym with a male partner and was frustrated when he was given opportunities to box which she couldn't access as a woman. Nicola was a carer for her Mum, she worked several jobs whilst training to box, she was diagnosed with ADHD. Women's boxing first became an Olymoic sport in 2012 and the champion was Nicola Adams, what an inspirational achievement! Since her gold medal, Nicola was awareded an MBE and later OBE from the Queen for her services to womens sport. Sadly she had to retire due to injury in 2019, but Nicola remained in the public eye and in 2020 she made history by being the first same-sex couple on strictly come dancing.
Assembly - Playing fair
Assembly this week was led by Miss McAlister. The children continued their essential skills of staying positive whilst considering how we can all ensure we are playing fairly both in school and in the community.
Skills builder at home
Attendance Matters
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 be 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.
We want every child's attendance to be good or better. This means 96%+
Please check your child's attendance (see our app) against the class and national data. School staff are able to offer support if your child's attendance is of concern.
Please do not take your child out of school during term time as it disrupts your child’s learning and you risk financial penalties. Any term time leave of absence must be applied for more than 2 weeks before the date of leave and can only be authorised by the Headteacher in the case of EXCEPTIONAL circumstances. Please could we urge parents to book holidays during the 13 weeks of annual school holidays which are available each year.
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.
Before and After School club bookings
Please click here to book a place in breakfast club. Please note that bookings must be made at least 48 hours in advance to ensure we have adequate staffing available. Please speak to a member of our office team if you need to make a short notice booking 01434 320467.
Please click here to book a place in after school care. Please note that bookings must be made at least 48 hours in advance to ensure we have adequate staffing available. Please speak to a member of our office team if you need to make a short notice booking 01434 320467.
Calendar of Events - Please scroll to see all dates
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.
School Games Gold
Skills Builder Silver
Reading for Pleasure Award
STEM Ambassador School
Ruth Miskin Award
Our school designated safeguarding leads are Susie Drake, Tony Irvine, Michelle Brewster and Bethan Allsop