Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Crazy Hair Day!

We had a funtastic Friday raising funds for Alopecia Uk - thank you everyone for your creativity - didn't the children look brilliant!  So far we have raised £125 for this worthwhile cause.  

Our local area

To complete our Year 2 Geography project, ‘Our Local Area’ we thought of ways we could improve our high street. We had lots of ideas like planting more flowers, making post box hats, more bins and fairy lights.  Next we designed our own shop that we would like to see in Haltwhistle. We had lots of cinemas, ice cream shops, football shops and even a knitting shop!  

Spider legs!

This week in nursery we have been practicing adding legs to our spiders - one more each time. We are getting so good at counting! 

Using tools in nursery

This week nursery have also been learning how to use different tools safely. They watched Mrs. Marchbank demonstrate how to use a hammer to tap plastic nails into the pumpkin, before having a go themselves. The pumpkin looked more like a hedgehog by the end! 

Kielder Observatory

We were very grateful to have welcomed Astrophysicists from Kielder Observatory to run sessions in their Planetarium to enable our pupils to have an out-of-this-world experience! They were mesmerized by the dazzling constellation and vivid planetary projections which sparked curiosity and excitement as they learned about the wonders of space and the stories behind the stars. It was a truly memorable day that brought science to life and inspired our young learners to reach for the stars! Year 5 and 6 can continue this amazing opportunity to work with the Observatory by joining us at Space Club, which will run weekly after-school during the Winter. 

Year 5 Artwork

Year 5 have been creatibg their own Space Art inspired by Peter Thorpe and Jackson Pollock. Watch the video to see their fantastic creations. 

Attendance - Fire Pit Friday

Pupils who are in school everyday for a week (100% attendance) are entered into a hat and chosen by random. 2 lucky winners from Years 1-6 are come to 'Fire Pit Friday' and enjoy a hot chocolate around the fire. 

Who will it be next week?

Poppy display at the church

Haltwhistle Methodist Church are kindly allowing us to put up a poppy display on the church steps. Over the next few weeks pupils will be making poppies in school using various materials. As you can imagine we need a huge amount of poppies for this so if your child would like to make some poppies at home and bring them into school that would be great. The poppies can be made of anything as long as they can be laminated or are waterproof. We have included some ideas below.

Thank you

School driveway

Please could we remind parents that the school driveway can be used at the following times only:

• To drop off for breakfast club (before 8.20am)

• To collect from after school care (after 3.45pm)

The drive is closed to vehicles from 8.20 - 9am and 3pm - 3.45pm to ensure the safety of the young children walking to and from school.  Only school taxi's and drivers with a blue badge can use the driveway during these times and must observe the 5mph limit.  

Thank you for your support.

Internet Safety Monthly Messages

Check out our parent/carer guides this Month:

Group Chats

Healthier Together App

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.  

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, Robyn Brockman-Crow, and 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.