Today we celebrated all those children who have made a huge effort with their attendance this term. We gave awards for children who’ve met our target of 97%, a raffle for children with 100% attendance, and special ‘Attendance Superstar’ awards for those children who may not have met our target but have really been making a special effort with their attendance and punctuality recently. A big thank you to Matthew from Vision for Education for the generous donation of two beautiful Easter hampers to two of our 100% stars! We are so proud of all of our attendance stars!
This week in Year 4 is STEM week, the theme this year is ‘Submerged’. More than 80% of the ocean remains unexplored! This week, we will be learning about how people explore our oceans. Yesterday, we got into teams and were all given an important job. We worked together to complete our first tasks, it was so much fun!
Instagram 
remains one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, especially among teens – used by around 70% of 13 to 17-year-olds.
It may be one of the most familiar social media names around but features like AI-powered chatbots and Threads integration have added fresh challenges for families and schools to navigate
From worrying livestreams to issues like social exclusion and fear of missing out, Instagram isn’t just about photos. As the platform evolves, so too must the conversations we have with young people about how they use it 
Our latest #WakeUpWednesday guide outlines what these new features involve, the possible risks they bring and how to make the most of Instagram’s parental controls to keep children safe online. 
Instagram remains a go-to app for teens, with its endless stream of photos, videos, and ‘Stories’ keeping young users constantly connected. From influencer content to live broadcasts, the platform is packed with evolving features that can feel fun and engaging – but can also raise some serious concerns around screen time, online pressures and exposure to inappropriate content.
We’ve created this free guide – also available in podcast format – offering parents and educators up-to-date knowledge on the risks and safety tips for this latest version of Instagram.
Have you already been offered a nursery place or are you looking for a nursery place? Come along to our nursery open evening next Thursday! Just turn up and drop in anytime between 4-5pm. Spaces available for 3 year olds for this September. See what we have to offer at Harton Primary Nursery!
Harton Mini Police had a thrilling surprise visit from the Northumbria Police Dog Section! Excitement filled the air as they discovered they would get to see the police dogs in action, expertly sniffing out their favourite toys. The children eagerly asked questions about the dogs’ important roles and were delighted to meet Rocco and Ollie. Afterwards, they had the chance to explore the inside of a police traffic car, where they especially enjoyed pressing the horn to activate the sirens and lights. It was an unforgettable experience for everyone!
OPAL UPDATE-
OPAL is well underway at Harton and we have now introduced different zones for the children to explore.
Through play, children encounter, explore and make sense of the world and their place within it. Currently, the children have 9 zones to play in (with more zones to be added in the near future).
Here are some recent pictures of our children enjoying the OPAL activities in zone 1- The tranquil zone.
In Zone 1, the children can play with: chalks, buckets of water, paint brushes, big rolls of paper with colouring pencils and read books.
We have some lovely ideas planned for this zone including making bird feeders to hang from the trees and adding some relaxing tranquil music.
It has been wonderful to see so much; creativity, imagination, inspiration, communication and most importantly FUN happening!
On Wednesday some of our Year 1 children were chosen to take part in Cricket activities at Temple Park. There were lots of throwing activities, catching, batting, group games and we were introduced to some new skills.
Year 1 were delighted to be working with Kaye and Danielle from Williby Rocs a few weeks ago to help improve our allotment space. The children learned lots about plants and used their knowledge of the seasons to understand why Spring is a good time to plant new things.
The children made special signs so that they knew what had been planted and then got their hands dirty by planting seeds.
We have been looking after the seeds in class and have been very excited to see them growing!
