Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

We had a great time on Friday playing on the field (which is now dry after one of the wettest winters). The children said "It was the best playtime ever".

Craft Club

Year 3/4 craft club have been learning some hammer skills, creating nail and string art by hammering nails into cork boards and weaving wool through the gaps to create pictures. It required some perseverance and some patience but they did a fantastic job. 

Pottery Club

Pottery club has got off to a great start this half term. We have started our journey using air-drying clay and natural found objects to make impressions into slabs to create decorations. We have also discussed the properties of clay in its various states of wet/dry/fired and have begun an experiment seeing how long it takes to rehydrate and recycle what appears to be dried out clay - waste not, want not! The children are looking forward to experimenting with moulding, sculpting and hand-building as the weeks progress. 

Well done to Year 2 who managed 100% attendance all week! To celebrate this achievement, Mr. Wood took all of Year 2 to our Forest School. The children all learned about fire safety around our campfire. We then toasted marshmallows and drank some delicious hot chocolate. After exploring the forest we used teamwork to complete the nightline - they were fantastic communicators. Year 2 can't wait to go back to Forest School!

Cookery Club make cheese scones

Cookery club enjoyed making cheese scones on Tuesday. We had to learn how to rub in the margarine into the flour. We whisked the egg and grated the cheese. The end result was so delicious we ate them warm! 

Reception visit Walby Farm

Reception had a fantastic day at Walby Farm. We saw piglets and watched the lambs being fed, they were very hungry. We saw chickens and ducks and we collected the eggs. We noticed that the eggs from chickens and ducks were different colours. We saw goats and learnt about the kids that had been born, they were very friendly. The rabbits and Guinea pigs were very fluffy. We had such a lovely time we did not want to come home.  

Exploring micro-organisms in Y6

Year 6 conducted an experiment to prove that yeast is a living micro-organism. They placed yeast samples under different conditions and discovered that yeast will consume sugar and excrete carbon dioxide, especially when it is warm. 

Carnival Float - 2024 Olympics theme

Our NEW School Parent App

Online safety training for parents

Haltwhistle Family Hub - courses for Summer

Attendance Matters - important changes coming

The government have announced important changes to the school absence measures which schools are required to implement. We are sharing these with parents now as we do not want our families to receive fine as a result of these changes in the future:

• Absence fines charged to parents will rise from £60 to £80, or £160 if not paid within 21 days. 

• From the Autumn, only two fines can be issued to the same parent for the same child within a three-year rolling period. Any second notice will automatically be charged at £160. 

• Schools will have to consider a fine if a pupil misses 10 sessions (half days) of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks.  For example, four sessions in term time plus six instances of arriving late would count as 10 sessions. 

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.    In line with our attendance policy, we are required to refer all qualifying absences due to holidays during term time to the Education Welfare Officer at Northumberland County Council.  

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

Calendar of Events - Please scroll to see all dates

If reading this on your phone, please turn your phone sideways to be able to scroll through our planned dates.  You can also add our calendar to your own phone calendar to be sure you don't miss a date.  

Our school designated safeguarding leads are Susie Drake, Alex Wood, Vicki Ridley, Shirley Phillips

Everyone is responsible for safeguarding children.  Please speak to a member of this team if you are concerned about the safety of a child.