Head of School’s Message

As we come to the end of what has been a very busy but rewarding term, I’d like to thank you all once again for your support. It has taken me a little while to get used to not having a class, however I have relished the opportunity to get to know the whole community a little better.

I have enjoyed many proud moments this half term. Representing Hartside at the remembrance service at the cenotaph in Crook and accompanying Hartside choir at the Christmas service at St. Catherine’s are particularly memorable. I look forward to topping off the term with our school fayre, EYFS and KS1 nativities, as well as the music concert.

I have appreciated the feedback I have received over the past couple of months and have, where possible, tried to adapt to meet the needs of the community. I won’t always get it right and it’s not always possible to please everyone, but it is important that you know that I always have the best intentions.

We’ve enjoyed many school events already and we hope to continue the same momentum throughout the year. A huge thank you to the Friends of Hartside and our staff for their ongoing enthusiasm and time – the calendar has been jam-packed and the events so far have been well received. Our events are always very well attended and we have community spirit in abundance – I think that is what makes our school extra special!

Staffing Changes

We have some bittersweet news with regards to staffing. We will unfortunately lose Miss Race in January; however, we are delighted that she’ll be taking up her first ever teaching post, following the completion of her teaching qualification in 2020. Miss Race has been with us just short of 20 years. Over that time, she has worked in every year group and supported thousands of children. I’d like to thank Miss Race for all of her hard work and commitment. We wish her all the best and hope that she stays in touch.

Punctuality and Attendance

Punctuality and attendance continue to be both a challenge and a priority for our school. Research tells us that children who have the best attendance, perform better academically and have better life chances in adulthood. Regular attendance is also one of the best ways that we can protect a child’s mental and physical health, laying down firm foundations for long-term wellbeing.

Lateness

Starting in January 2023, the school day will formally start at 08:50am. At this time the children are expected to be in their seats and ready to learn.

The school gates will open at 08:45am and will remain open until 08:55am. Anyone arriving after this time must report to the school office and be formally signed in and their lateness recorded. If a child arrives after the registers close at 09:10am, they will be receive an unauthorised absence mark.

Persistent Absence

If your child’s attendance falls below 90% this is considered by the government to be persistent absence. Where attendance falls below 90% and there are unauthorised absences, this may result in a referral to the Local Authority for enforcement action.

Dojo Calendar

I have been trialling the Dojo event calendar. It seems to be working well. It keeps all updates and information in one place, rather than on several different posts. I have asked that the rest of the staff use this too. If you haven’t seen it yet, click on school story and it should be at the top. Click on see all events and they should be in there in order, starting with the next event that’s happening. The event includes a section for any further information – this is where we’ll record any important details or updates.

Clubs

We have a number of clubs that will be running next half term including: girl’s football, dodgeball and outdoor adventure. More details of these clubs will be shared soon, along with the payment requests for anyone wanting to book on.

Events

We have a few events coming up in the next half term: Hartside Spelling Bee, Number Day, Parents’ evening, OPAL Stay and Play and the Valentine Disco – these events will be added to the Dojo calendar soon.

Polite Reminders

• The school gates open just before 08:45am. Please can I ask that older children, who walk to school, do not arrive at the gate any earlier than 08:40am.
• The main road outside of school continues to be very busy and poses a risk to our children. Please can I ask that those doing the school run by car, park away from the school gates and that stopping the car immediately outside of the gates for children to get out is avoided at all costs. We have been lucky so far this term, however there have been a number of close calls. I don’t ask to be difficult, I simply want to keep our children safe.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Many thanks

Dawn Simpson
Head of School

EYFS

Football Crazy

The EYFS unit is football crazy at the moment! In our football themed areas, fun and engaging tasks and challenges have been set up which has led to the children becoming engrossed in the World Cup Festivities. In our outdoor areas, the children have looked closely at the fabulous football stadiums built in Qatar and had fun trying to re-create and build their own football stadiums with our wonderful construction equipment. In addition, they have been improving their own fitness levels (just like the footballers) and perfecting their own football skills so that one day they might play for England too! Within the inside areas, the children have sold football equipment from the football shop (role play area), used their funky fingers to play football and created wonderful football picture designs using play doh.

In addition, each child has also been given a team to follow through the world cup so we are keeping a close eye on the scores as well as our Hartside bear ‘Ted’ who has made a special trip to Qatar. We have also completed another 52Thrive which was ‘to play a game and experience winning and losing’.

Year 6

In the past

Year 6 have been delving into the past this half term. In literacy, they have learnt about conditions for Victorian children in workhouses and living on the streets. They followed this up with letters to Scrooge trying to persuade him to donate money to help these unfortunate children. Moving forward a few decades, we have now switched our attention to World War One and are following the lives of two families from County Durham whose sons joined up to help the war effort. A trip to Beamish Museum really brought the past to life as our children interviewed several characters from 1914 to try to discover the reasons why so many boys were determined to join the army.