Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Miss Arkless' writing group

Investigating yeast in Y5/6

Reception raspberry update! 

Reception raspberry update! Mr Thorpe our caretaker made us an amazing raised bed for our raspberry plants. Before we could plant our raspberries we had to prepare the planter. We filled it with cardboard to stop the weeds coming through. We then filled it with compost. Finally we had a look at our raspberries before we planted them. Some plants have already got raspberries on but we cannot eat them yet as they are not ripe. We planted the raspberry plants giving them plenty of room to grow and then we watered them. We talked about what we could make with our raspberries…. jam, crumble and muffins. Delicious! 

Humphrey Carpenter stories

Numberwork in Reception

In Reception this week we have been doing lots of counting. We have been counting objects up to 20, carefully pointing to each object as we counted. We have ordered numbers up to 20 and up to 100 in 10’s. We applied our skills of counting in 10’s to counting out the correct number of straws to match our numbers. We have been using numicon to find ways of making our teen numbers to 19. We know that we need one set of 10 and four 1’s to make fourteen. We have learnt so many ways to count and make numbers 

Homegrown lettuce in our sandwiches!

We planted the seeds, we watered and cared for the young plants and this week our nursery children picked their delicious home grown lettuce. 

On a lovely sunny afternoon we carefully picked the green leaves and took them back to nursery to get them washed ready to put in our sandwiches. We really enjoyed making and eating our lettuce, cheese and tomato sandwiches. 

Classification in Y6

Year 6 used their scientific knowledge, a branching database and classification key to identify living things in a local environment. Back in the classroom, they became taxonomists by grouping and sorting the living organisms.

Mrs Wealand's class update

Year 3/4 are thoroughly enjoying our new class book 'The Saga of Erik the Viking'. We have been trying really hard to improve our oracy skills when reading aloud. We are getting really proficient at using our voices to express emotion.  Year 4's have been working hard at improving their times table skills with daily TTRS practice and flashcards, we are so proud of their attitude to learning, great resilience and perseverance.   They have all worked really hard and tried their best in their timetables check this week - they were all superstars!

Carnival Float - 2024 Olympics theme

Our NEW School Parent App

Haltwhistle Family Hub - courses for Summer

Attendance Matters - important changes coming

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.