Headteacher’s message

Dear Parents and Carers,

I just wanted to write, before we break up for the Summer holiday, to thank you for the amazing support you have given us over the last year. I realise that it has been incredibly difficult at times, but your positive outlook and willingness to pull together as a school community has made the world of difference to the children.

We are hopefully edging closer to restrictions being lifted, however we are not quite there yet. Please continue to be vigilant and to follow the government guidance, as well as instructions given by school: following the one-way system, maintaining social distancing and wearing face masks.

As the year comes to a close, we start to make plans for next academic year; this includes finalising where staff will be in September. I’m delighted to inform you of the following arrangements:

We have a few small changes in the form of Mr Pratt moving back down to Year 5 and Mrs Hall moving up with Year 5 into Year 6. We’re delighted to have Miss Race back after returning from maternity leave – she will support Y3 – Y6 with intervention and cover, while Mrs Addison will do the same for EYFS – Y2. Both Mrs Mills and Miss Oliver will move up with the class they are currently with.

The biggest change comes with the Reception class teacher. As you can see, this is currently to be confirmed (TBC). This is because Mrs Burgess is sadly leaving us in July to move on to pastures new. Mrs Burgess, or as some of you remember her, Miss Askew, started Hartside as a newly qualified teacher back in 2008. She has worked across key stage 1 and in Y3, before finally hanging her hat in our EYFS unit when we opened the nursery back in 2014. Alongside her role as class teacher, Mrs Burgess has been our anti-bullying and science lead, organising a range of exciting and memorable projects and initiatives. In most recent years, she has secured funding through the Ogden Trust to acknowledge our school as a science hub. She has worked hard to introduce a teaching for mastery approach in science and has developed the forthcoming Phizz lab in our club room. Most of all, she has been a valued member of the school community and I’m sure that you’ll agree that she’ll be a huge miss. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank her kindly for over a decade of service to our school and we wish her all the best in her new position.

You will have also noticed that the role of Year 1 teacher will be shared between Mrs Simpson and another member of staff. This is due to a change in my role as Head Teacher. Earlier this year, I was approached by the Local Authority and asked to support another school within the County in the role of Executive Head Teacher. This means that part of my week is now spent at the other school and in my absence, Mrs Simpson takes on the role of Head Teacher. Although not 100% confirmed just yet, this role looks set to continue next academic year. I want to assure parents that Mrs Simpson will continue to have overall responsibility for the children in the Year One class. She will work extremely closely with whoever supports her in delivering the teaching to the children. We will have this confirmed within the next two weeks and will update you. Children who are in next year’s Year One class will have the opportunity to meet their new class teachers, before the end of the school year.

We are currently in the process of appointing a new EYFS teacher and finalising the arrangements for Mrs Simpson’s class – as soon as those arrangements are in place we’ll let you know.

EYFS

Searching for minibeasts

The boys and girls in Early Years have been going minibeast mad! They love to explore our garden, searching under logs and digging in the mud to see what they can find!

They are very brave when it comes to picking the minibeasts up – slimy snails, wiggly worms, wandering woodlice – you name it! We have been learning all about how to look after them, keeping them safe, providing what they need and making some pretty impressive minibeast hotels!

Year 1

Geography fieldwork

Year 1 have been busy combining some fieldwork in geography with some design technology. They were tasked with auditing our school grounds, checking our facilities including bins, seating and car parking spaces. Alongside that they were looking at play opportunities. The class decided that it would be beneficial to introduce a climbing wall to enhance our outdoor and learning (OPAL) play provision. They drew a map of the grounds to decided where it would go, evaluated existing climbing wall facilities and then designed and made their own scale model. This involved finding appropriate materials, sticking and fixing them together and making hand holds from clay. The children thought very carefully about the size of the holds as well as the shape, recognising that amateur climbers would need bigger holds with plenty of holes and ledges to cling on to, whereas more experienced climbers may want to try smoother, flatter holds.

Year 2

Living things and their habitats

In Science, the Year 2 children have had lots of fun learning about a variety of habitats and the plants and animals that live there. They have also learnt to tell the difference between things that are living, dead and things that have never been alive, and apply this in a range of contexts. When investigating conditions in local microhabitats, the children have made observations of a local habitat and the creatures that live there, and how they affect the minibeasts found within them. The children have also researched a range of global habitats and how the living things that live there are suited to their environments. Soon the children are going to be designing and making their own animal habitats and we can’t wait to see how they turn out!

Year 3

Ancient Greece experience

This term, Year 3 travelled back in time to spend the day in Ancient Greece. They looked fabulous in their togas and gowns. The children learned all about Greek artefacts which were provided by The Hancock Museum and used clues to sort and discover more about daily life. They tried new foods such as olives, sardines and feta cheese and dipped bread in olive oil and balsamic vinegar (feta and sardines were a surprise favourite of the class). They sang songs, danced and wore the serpent headdresses which we had made while listening to mythical stories. Year 3 also made clay pots using the pinch method; they took great care just like the Ancient Greeks as every pot had to be perfect.

Year 5

Plant Power!

Year 5 have been learning all about how plants reproduce. In the classroom, they dissected a tulip in order to observe all of the internal parts. They could name all of the internal parts of the flower, while learning about the male and female parts.

Following this, the children separated into smaller groups to go on a pollen hunt. After learning that plants can only reproduce when pollen is transferred, the children investigated which of our outdoor areas has the most pollen. With sticky tape around their legs, off they went. to see where pollen is most abundant.

Childhood Day

On Wednesday 9th June all of the children took part in Childhood Day. There were lots of activities for all of the children to do, from mediation to tug-o-war. Every activity also linked us with nature, to support mental health and wellbeing!