Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Christmas edition 22

Dear Parents,

As we bring the term to a close, we'd like to thank all our families for their support throughout another eventful term at Haltwhistle Academy.  Who'd have imagined the events that were in store for us at this start of term, yet despite managing the upheaval of a major flood, the team have remained focused on the children and created some amazing and memorable experiences for them.  Thank you to our fantastic staff team who have all moved mountains again this term and thoroughly deserve a restful Christmas break.  

Thank you to all the parents who have joined us for one of the 9 different parents events offered this term, we really appreciate your involvement and interest in school life.   Following these sessions, you've told us that you would like further opportunities to see teaching in action, which we are planning for the Spring term, we'll also be offering a sleep workshop, further Early Years workshop events and opportunities to discuss your child's individual progress.  We've had excellent feedback from parents of our SEND children who have appreciated the detailed information provided in their child's SEN action plan.  All families with children on the SEND register will be receiving their new Spring plan shortly if you haven't received it already.  

Please could I also bring your attention to the staffing letter which was circulated and outlines the changes to our staffing in January.  Please check your parent mail for this information. 

On behalf of the whole team, I'd like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas holiday with your families.

We hope all your Christmas wishes come true!

With best wishes,

Susie Drake

Nursery Nativity and KS1 Christmas play

Book rewards and recommendations

Y1 Learning about our senses

Year 1 developed their understanding about all of their senses during science last week. Optical illusions tested our sense of sight, our taste buds were tickled with different foods, our sense of smell was explored with a range of herbs, our sense of hearing tuned into different notes on the chime bars and we challenged our sense of touch by trying to guess what had been hidden inside the boxes.  

Forest School

A cold and frosty Forest School session we spent some quiet time looking at the amazing view from our school across Haltwhistle. We noticed how everything was covered in a frosty blanket. Looking more closely we noticed how the frost only lay on the top of things, so only the tops of the logs had frost on and only the tops of the branches of the trees had frost on. There was no frost underneath the branches. When we got back to nursery we created our own frosty tree pictures. We used brown paint and a thick brush to paint a thick tree trunk then we used a thinner brush to paint the branches. We then used a sprinkling of glitter to give our trees a frosty sparkle.  

Structures in DT

Mr Falkingham’s class finished off their structures topic with a challenge to see who could build the tallest structure from spaghetti and mini marshmallows. It was good fun, if a bit sticky! 

... and a few of the amazing bridges that Y5 and 6 have been constructing this half term...

Skills builder at home

Thank you Haltwhistle Jubilee Football

Thank you to Haltwhistle Jubille Junior football team who have kindly loaned their spare goals to us.  The new football arrangements in the muga are going well at break and lunchtimes and the goals are very much appreciated by this team of budding footie stars, who have all been inspired by the World Cup over recent weeks :-)

Important information about PE kit on PE days

Please can parents take the time to read the PE letter which was sent out on Thursday.  This outlines our requirements for PE kit and arrangements for children to wear PE kit to school on PE days only.  Please see the parent mail app.  

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.

Holiday Dates for 23-24

Before and After School club bookings

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