module —december 2020

The Leigh Academies Trust

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents/Carers

After a busy term I am sure you are all ready for the Christmas break so you can hopefully enjoy a few slower mornings and relaxing days together.

This term has seen three of our year groups engage with home learning which has been very successful and we thank you all for your on-going support with your child's education. The staff continue to work tirelessly and the teaching staff are ensuring that learning continues to be engaging and any gaps in knowledge are filled.

With the festive season in full swing the academy is as busy as ever. Although we have been doing things slightly differently to other years the staff and pupils have enjoyed celebrating Christmas together. The Christingle was an enjoyable time in which pupils made a christingle and held their own service in class bubbles. Each class has decorated their classroom doors which you will be able to see within the newsletter. Each class has also contributed to a simple carol service which we will all enjoy sharing virtually before the end of term . Before the end of the week staff and pupils will be enjoying Christmas lunch in their Christmas hats on Thursday as well as the class cinemas on Friday!

I would like to wish all of our families a safe and enjoyable Christmas break and we will look forward to welcoming all of our families back on Monday 4th January 2021.

Thank you for your on-going support. Mrs G Stangroom

Module 2—December 2020


We have had a very busy term in Grasshopper class. We have been really engaged in our inquiry learning. We have gained some memorable knowledge around Guy Fawkes and Diwali. Our class story ‘Stanley’s stick’, has really sparked our imaginations and our ability to predict using illustrations. This term has really seen our phonics progress and our previously taught sounds are really starting to embed, I am very proud of the progress all Grasshoppers have made this term. We are on a big countdown to Christmas and have been excited to learn what our class elf, aptly named Boris this year (chosen by the children!), is up to. There are many festive activities planned for the weeks leading up to the end of this term. We are hoping to make Christmas in the classroom as engaging and exciting as it always has been in school! I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, Happy New Year!

We have been busy in our inquiry learning finding out all about Guy Fawkes and why he meant that we now get to celebrate bonfire night every year. After learning about the gunpowder plot, we used lots of different materials to create our Guy Fawkes hand puppets which lead us nicely into our next inquiry: how to make a good fire! We have been learning all about different types of materials, talked about their different uses and discovered why it is important to select the right materials for the job you are doing… spaghetti and marshmallows are not good materials to make a tower out of even though we had lots of sticky fun trying! We finished this inquiry with an investigation to see which materials burn best and some of us even chose to throw our Guy Fawkes puppets in the fire as is tradition. I wish you all and very merry Christmas!


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This term Ladybird Class have been following a line of inquiry linked to celebrations around the world and those for different religions. This has included looking at Diwali, Hanukkah and Remembrance Day. The pupils have been very reflective and open minded this term and have enjoyed their learning. They wrote some really lovely poems linked to Remembrance Day. We have also been doing lots of science investigations including one to find the most absorbent kitchen paper and one to find the strongest paper to wrap presents. We made our own Diva lamps using clay and painted them.


Spider class has had an exceptionally busy module. Our central idea has had us jet setting around Europe via High Halstow Airlines, visiting a variety of locations and delving into a wide range of cultural traditions. Our inquiries led us to The Netherlands where we discovered all about Sinterklass and his Zwarte Pieten. We visited Spain to learn about the tradition of Tio de Nadal and then reflected on our own traditions and customs around Christmas time. We particularly enjoyed trying out our sewing skills and making our own Christmas stockings. Mrs Wilson discovered the hidden sewing talents of Spider class and knows who to call on should she ever require her clothes altering or mending! We took our inquiries further in our PE lessons and explored cultural dances. We had great fun learning how to do Spanish flamenco, English Folk Morris Dancing and even tried our hand at the German slap dancing! We cannot wait for module 3 to see where our next lines of inquiry will take us!


Cricket Class have had another busy, fun-filled term! They have worked exceptionally hard and produced some fantastic work within our inquiries. The class have really enjoyed looking into Ancient Civilisations. This led our inquiry into Ancient Greece and before we knew it, we were constructing model Trojan Horses and writing our own Greek myths! The class produced very well-written, exciting stories. Cricket Class have also become computer-whizzes this term! After learning how to make Google Slides, the children made their own slides about Ancient Greece, learning how to do all sorts of fancy tricks to the slides! They shared them on Google Classroom and presented them to the class. I must mention how proud I am of the children in Cricket Class. Whilst learning from home for two weeks this term, they kept positive, motivated and enthusiastic to learn. They organised themselves excellently and consistently turned up ready to learn to our live lessons! Looking at their ‘handed-in’ work on Google Classroom was an absolute joy each day, especially when they recorded themselves as museum tour guides and dressed up as Greek statues!


What an interesting term Ants Class have had! Our lines of inquiry have led to many interesting conversations about all forms of media as well as some fantastic pieces of home learning. Many new and unique products have been designed along with fabulous advertising campaigns, just this week we have been studying and comparing TV adverts and the children have been busy planning and creating adverts for their very own products. We have also been busy practising our persuasive skills both written and verbal and now have a better understanding of how the use of language can influence the everyday decisions we make. Ants class have also been working on their writing skills and have written some amazing poetry whilst learning about refugees and the struggles that are faced by those less fortunate than ourselves. Year 5 have also showed their artistic talents with many, many entries for Mr Ancill’s ‘Save the Planet’ competition to design an eco-friendly poster with an emphasis on using less paper and paper towels in School. Well done to Louisa for creating the winning poster! Stay safe and have a very Happy Christmas everyone.


2020-2021 Term dates

TERM 1 TERM 2

Start: Thursday 27th & Friday 28

th August, Tuesday 1st &

2nd September 2020 (Professional Development Days) –

PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND

Pupils return: Thursday 03 September 2020

Finish: Friday 16 October 2020

Autumn Break: Monday 19 October 2020 to

Friday 30 October 2020

Pupils start: Monday 02 November 2020

Finish: Friday 18 December 2020

Christmas Break: Monday 21 December 2020 to

Friday 01 January 2021

TERM 3 TERM 4

Start: Monday 04 January 2021

Pupils Finish: Thursday 11 February 2021

Friday 12 February 2021 (Professional Development Day) –

PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND

February Break: Monday 15 February 2021

to Friday 19 February 2021

Start: Monday 22 February 2021

Finish: Thursday 01 April 2021

Spring Break: Friday 02 April 2021

to Friday 16 April 2021

TERM 5 TERM 6

Start: Monday 19 April 2021

Finish: Friday 28 May 2021

Early May Day Bank Holiday: Monday 03 May 2021

May Break: Monday 31 May 2021 to Friday 04 June 2021

Start: Monday 07 June 2021

Finish: Wednesday 21 July 2021


TERM 1 TERM 2

Start: Tuesday 31st August 2021

(Professional Development Days) – PUPILS DO NOT AT-

TEND

Pupils return: Wednesday 1st September 2021

Finish: Friday 22nd October 2021

Autumn Break: Monday 25 October 2021 to

Friday 5th November 2021

Pupils start: Monday 8th November 2021

Finish: Friday 17th December 2021

Christmas Break: Monday 20th December 2021 to

Monday 3rd January 2022

TERM 3 TERM 4

Start: Tuesday 04 January 2022

Pupils Finish: Thursday 10th February 2022

Friday 11th February 2022 (Professional Development Day)

– PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND

February Break: Monday 14th February 2022

to Friday 18th February 2022

Start: Monday 21st February 2022

Finish: Friday 1st April 2022

Monday 4th April 2022 (Professional Development Day)

– PUPILS DO NOT ATTEND

Spring Break: Tuesday 5th April 2022

to Monday 18th April 2021

(including Good Friday 15th April and Bank Holiday

Monday 18th April 2022)

TERM 5 TERM 6

Start: Tuesday 19th April 2022

Finish: Friday 27th May 2022

Early May Day Bank Holiday: Monday 2nd May 2022

May Break: Monday 30th May 2022 to Friday 3rd June 2022

Start: Monday 6th June 2022

Finish: Friday 22nd July 2022


We are delighted to announce that Spider Class have won the Key Stage 2 Times Table Rockstars competition, with a staggering 1,439 points! As a prize for coming first, Spider Class can come dressed up as Rockstars on Friday 8th January. Well Done!

A reminder of the importance of your child wearing the correct (named) uniform to the academy, as well as correct accessories if required such as hair bands/bobbles. These should be red, white or black only. No nail varnish is permitted. The only jewellery allowed are stud earrings or a simple watch , if required. Water bottles should be one of the two school designed bottles and they should have water in them only. Thank you for your support in ensuring your child wears the correct uniform to the academy.

Our attendance is currently 93%. Thank you for arranging all necessary appointments outside of school/term time as this really does have a positive impact on your child’s learning. If your child is not well enough to attend, please email or telephone the academy office by 9:00am with the reason for the absence so this can be noted on our system accordingly.

We are delighted to welcome Miss Ingram to our academy, who will be joining us from January to teach Grasshopper Class while Miss Bennett is on maternity leave. Miss Bennett is planning to be here until March so this will provide a great transition for the class. We know you will join us in welcoming Miss Ingram to the High Halstow Primary Academy community.


We are members of the National Online Safety website. It is an amazing resource! You should join up by following this link and it only takes a minute!

http://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/high-halstow-primary-academy

http://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/high-halstow-primary-academy

module —december 2020

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