Headteacher’s message

As we move towards Christmas, we take time to reflect and be thankful for the positives of the last year. This may seem a strange statement to make at this time, but it is important to consider what has gone well and that we can be grateful for, rather than being sucked into negativity, doom and gloom. We are living through an incredibly difficult time, many of us are having to make sacrifices in order to look after loved ones, our friends and colleagues. The aftermath of the recent storm Arwen is still being felt by many people and the repairs will take time, but what has emerged is a strong sense of community spirit that will help the region recover. We have this in abundance at Hartside; I have always been so proud of how we all work together to get the very best for the children.

As we continue to battle with new variants, outbreaks as well as ever-changing advice and guidance, I recognise that I have had to withdraw a lot from your bank of support, particularly in the last two years. Events have been cancelled or held behind closed doors, many parents have never entered the school building and been able to see the fantastic work and progress made by their children. This really hurts and I absolutely share your frustration. Like you, I am desperate to get back to normal, however, I will not put anyone at risk and the decisions that I make are based on what I feel is best for everyone connected to the school.

What I can assure you is that in school the children will experience as normal a run up to Christmas as they usually would. There will be Christmas parties, a nativity of which parents will receive a video, decorations, Christmas jumpers and tales of naughty elves flowing around our school. We will celebrate with the children and make sure they recognise the true meaning of Christmas built around being safe with family and friends.

As we move into the Spring Term, there are a range of exciting events planned, these are outlined in the table below. Can I please take this opportunity to wish you and all your family a very Merry Christmas from myself, the staff and Governors at Hartside Primary Academy.

EYFS

Autumn is in the air!

We have been loving learning all about the Autumn changes in the environment. As part of anti-bullying week, we have been having lots of discussions about kindness and caring for one another. Reception class decided to come up with a special chant to say each morning to start the day in the best way possible!

‘We are kind,
We share,
We play with you,
We love you’.

The early years unit is busy learning all of our festive songs and preparing for our nativity! This morning we had a surprise visitor in the unit, a naughty elf! We are looking forward to seeing what mischief he gets up to!

In the EYFS craft club we have been getting in the spirit of the season making our own cosy log fires, stickmen and wintery snowmen!

Year 1

Seasonal Changes

Year 1 have been very busy finding out about seasonal changes in science. They went outside to look for signs of the season and thoroughly enjoyed looking at and playing in the colourful leaves that had fallen from the trees. Following that, they made a weather station to monitor the weather; this included rain gauges, a weather vane and a thermometer. They are currently looking at the transition in to Winter and looking at how Winter is the same or different to Autumn.

Year 3

Strange Packages and Autumn Treasures

There have been some strange and curious goings on in Year 3 this half term.  It began with a delivery of envelopes from NASA. Year 3 were given instructions not to open them until they agreed a plan, (using all of their scientific investigation skills) to identify the contents. After using their senses and questioning skills, they were both shocked and delighted to discover it was ‘moon dust.’  They have been excited to continue exploring Rocks and Soils in Science and many children have brought in their own collections to sort and examine. Year 3 also used these skills to explore seasonal changes around school. They found an abundance of flora, fauna and fungi and were inspired to write some amazing Autumn poetry in Literacy.

Year 5

Vikings and Penguins

Were the Vikings really that vicious? This is the question that Year 5 have been trying to answer this term. Through looking at artefacts and primary sources most of the children have come up with the answer that while some Vikings were pretty blood-thirsty, there were a lot of less savage ones too. In literacy, the children have been researching and writing about animals that survive in some of the world’s harshest climates – emperor penguins and polar bears. They have benefitted from working with Ms Covell, a performing arts specialist from ALP, who has helped the children to produce a penguin themed dance.

Year 6

All hands on!

Year 6 have begun this half term learning about World Wars 1 and 2. In history we have been learning all about life during the early 20^th Century, and the difference between how people lived then, and how they live now. During our trip to Heugh Battery at Hartlepool, the children learned all about life in the trenches, and the Hartlepool Bombardment. They were able to get ‘hands on’ with some of the clothing and armour which would have been worn by the soldiers, and to see some weapons up close too. Following on the War theme, the children are repurposing an old item of clothing in their ‘Make do and Mend’ themed DT lessons.

One Kind Word

At Hartside we take bullying very seriously, so we wanted to mark Anti-Bullying Week in a special way. The theme this year was ‘One Kind Word’. We discovered ways we could use positive language (e.g. ‘trust’, ‘care’, ‘patience’, ‘love’, ‘safe’ and ‘friend’) with each other. We wore odd socks to show solidarity against bullying, read stories and held a special assembly.  Each child made a ‘One Kind Word’ wooden charm and gave it to someone in their class. It linked so well to our school character traits and enabled us to continue a ripple of kindness, respect, empathy, self-control and integrity.

After School Clubs

Fern Outdoors

We have been working with Graeme from Fern Outdoor Adventures since September this year. In October he spent a whole day working outdoors with every class from Reception up to Year 6, learning all about bush craft, geo caching and team work. This half term, he has been running an after-school club with children in Year 3 and 4. Despite the cold weather, the children have turned up every week in their wellies and enthusiastically participated.

DT Club

During this half term, some children from Years 3 and 4 have been getting festive in our DT after school club. We have been making a selection of Christmas decorations using a variety of different skills and techniques. The children have made Bead Christmas shapes, woven wool Christmas trees and clay decorations too!

School Council Update

After discussing what they could do to help out the local community, our school councillors have decided to help tidy up a local park. To that end, they are going to take part in the ‘ParkPlay’ project. You can find out more on the Crook ParkPlay facebook page.

Councillors, along with our Eco-Warriors also took part in a q & a session with local mp Richard Holden when he was visiting school. Children found out about how he became an mp, why his job is important and what Boris Johnson is really like.