Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we have tried to manage the staff absence of several key members of our team over recent weeks.  We really appreciate your support. 

S Drake

Autumn Leaves

Bramble class have been looking for signs of autumn. We gathered lots of leaves and then created pictures of the leaves using wax crayons and water colours. 

Patron of Reading visit

Patron of reading Margo McAllister visted Key Stage 1 last week for a storytelling session sharing her favourite new books. Margi talked to the children about having favourite books that were old but also always being on the look out for new favourites. Margi read Little Goose’s Autumn, talked about Autumn with the children and then brought the story alive creating the flying goose v with the class. Finally Margi read Lubna and Pebble which promoted important discussion around refugees.

Bread making in Reception class

This week Bramble class made some bread. We have been reading the story The Little Red Hen and learning all about how wheat turns to flour. We then decided to follow the little red hens instructions to make our own bread. 

Year 2 Geography field work

Year 2 had a lovely walk around Haltwhistle on Wednesday afternoon to complete some field work on their Local Area Geography topic. They were able to put into practise what they had learnt in previous lessons and used their maps to identify and write down human and physical features around Haltwhistle. Thank you to all of our helpers who joined us.  

Skills builder at home

Leadership of in sports

Haltwhistle Scarecrow trail

Flood Update

I am pleased to report that drying works are now completed and work has begun to reinstate the damage caused by the flood at the start of term.  We have met with the project manager and contractors this week.  Our first priority will be to open up the closed sections of our school libraries, followed by the art and DT room and then work to the front of the 3 storey section which was so badly damaged.  We are working towards completing this section by the end of October half term, so hope to have all children back in their classrooms when we return after the half term holiday.  

Unfortunately the hall floor will require longer to be repaired.  We are currently monitoring its condition closely, one section will have a temporary fix to allow it to be accessed safely until the complete repair can be carried out.  

We are continuing to work with the police and have supplied CCTV footage of the arson attack on the evening of Sunday 4th September.  Police are interested for any information relating to this crime.

School Uniform (new link)

Uniform recycling needs 

We are short of:

• school jumpers and cardigans in all sizes and 

• PE kit in larger sizes 

for our uniform recycling.  If you any of these items, and they are suitable for recycling to another child, please could you bring these to the school office.  

Uniform recycling  requests

If you would like items of uniform from our recycling bank please use this form (follow link) to make a request.    

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 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

Our school designated safeguarding leads are Susie Drake, Tony Irvine, Michelle Brewster and Bethan Alsopp