Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Y6 SATs outcomes 24

Fantastic Forces

Years 5 and 6 have been learning about forces and how they are an important part of our everyday lives. They have been learning about gravity and how it is a force that acts at a distance and pulls us to the centre of the earth. They also learned about friction which is  force created between two surfaces. The children spent time investigating both gravity and friction whilst outside and sliding across the hall floor with different footwear!

Ask them to share their knowledge about how to create less friction when moving the jelly from one place to another...

Music tuition

Science Scavenger Hunt Quiz

On Thursday in Science Year 2 completed a retrieval quiz scavenger hunt where we recalled all of our learning from Year 1 Key knowledge! We thought of answers in teams then went off searching in the playground for them! Miss Broadbent, Miss Sloane and Mrs Brookes were all very impressed with how much of their learning everyone had remembered! This will most certainly be useful as we move onto Year 2 science this year.  

West Northumberland Football League

We are always continuing to develop opportunities for sport. We are pleased to announce that we have been able to work with local schools Allendale, Henshaw, Greenhead, Shaftoe and Newbrough to create our very own league. There will be opportunities for pupils to take part in the main league for Year 5/6 and mini-tournaments for Year 3/4 pupils. Further information will be provided in due course. 

A special thank you to Haltwhistle Jubilee FC who continue to support our school and have donated a set of new goals for our playground to enable us to continue to support a keen interest of football in school. 

Year 1 News!

Year 1 had a lovely time in the forest looking for signs of Autumn during our science lesson - this half term we are learning all about seasons!! They had so many ideas already about what happens during the change from Summer to Autumn so we had a good discussion about all of the things we might be able to see. 

We also had a brilliant PE session, our first lesson of 'fundamentals'. Year 1 demonstrated incredible speed, skill and agility, they were jumping over hurdles, weaving in and out of cones and running as fast as they could from one side of the studio to the other. 

Finally, Year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed 'The three little pigs'. This is one of our core texts, and the story that our talk for writing lessons are based upon. They are doing so well at learning the model text, and had some brilliant ideas for what we could add in for actions to practice our model text. We had so much fun doing this!  It's been a super start to the year!

After-School Club - Full of Beans

Internet Safety Monthly Message

Nursery visit the Family Hub

Some of our nursery children had a lovely afternoon visiting the Family Hub this week.

We got to play in their amazing activity room and we met several of the Family Hub team.

The Family Hub is situated on our school site and offers a wide range of activities and support to all the families in our community. Please sign up with them and stay up to date with what they have to offer. The staff at the Family Hub are there to help so please give them a ring or call in at the Hub, have a chat and see what you can access for your family. The entrance to the Family Hub is the green gate to the right of the bike racks at the front of our school. 

Haltwhistle Family Hub

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.

Pupil illness - Please note that in line with the new attendance guidance, we need a clear reason for absence for the school register.  If your child is 'poorly' their absence is registered as unauthorised until a reason is provided. Please contact the school office as soon as possible so that the illness reason can be authorised.   

Under the new government policy, if one parent takes their child on an unauthorised term time holiday, both parents with parental responsibility could be subject to a fine issued by Northumberland County Council.  This includes when parents are separated.  

Reception test out our Attendance Game!

Reception class were the first players of our WINOPOLY game, which celebrates great school attendance!  They loved the giant dice and spotting the place names around Haltwhistle!

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.