Computing at Home

9th April 2020L Forster

There are a wealth of resources available online to continue to support all of our children with computing during school closures. Please use the following links to play online or download apps to your tablet/phones.

Simple step by step coding for children to create their own games – and suited for all ages. Free download from Apple Store or Google Play Store.

Tons of different coding opportunities that are designed to help children progress up to and over an hour of coding and debugging codes. Complete with a certificate at the end to show their achievement.

Follow the link: https://hourofcode.com/uk/learn and tailor to activity to the age/ability of your child.

For Key Stage 2 (Year 3-6), use Scratch to create games using different levels of instructions and codes – from movements to sounds. Play different games made by users and see the codes that made them run.

Simply follow the link: https://scratch.mit.edu/ and create a free account by clicking Join Scratch in the top right.

Digital Escape Room

Using the ICTinSchool website to solve different puzzles and use critical thinking to help escape different types of rooms – from space stations to haunted houses.

Click on the link: http://www.ictinschools.org/escape-room/ (Best played on computer/laptop or large screen tablet)

Music at Harton

1st April 2020ajennings

Hi everyone, 

I hope you are all keeping well. Just an update on the Musical activities that the children have been undertaking at Harton so far this year.

Each Year group has access to new music software called ‘Charanga’.  There are hundreds of modern songs and each scheme enables children to use musical instruments to accompany their compositions.

In Year 3, the children have been learning how to play the Djembe drums. They have learned how to follow patterns, understand the connection between ‘tempo’ and ‘pulse’ and maintain a steady beat. They have been doing so well!

In Year 4, Mr Bird has been teaching the children how to play the keyboard. They have learned basic key notation and how to play some simple melodies. It is sounding great!

Year 5 children have been working with a teacher from South Tyneside’s Music Hub called Rhys. Two classes in Year 5 so far have been using the Ipads to create music on an app called ‘GarageBand’. The children are shown how to compose a simple beat pattern and then add in other instruments. They explore a different range of tempo and sequences and create a ‘layered’ piece of music that even the best DJ artists would be proud of! 

Here are some examples of the music the children in Year 5 composed, using the app ‘GarageBand’

A selection of Year 6 children have had the opportunity to learn a brass instrument with Mr. Storey in a small group setting. They have learned basic notation, some more complex pieces of music and are beginning to learn how to read music. 

Every Year group has Singing with Mr. Richardson where they practise songs for a concert which is performed for all parents. These sessions are vital for children to learn the correct pitch, tempo and harmonies required in each song. 

We hope this gives an insight into all the wonderful music which is taking place as we continue to promote the Arts here at Harton.

 

Harton Primary Puzzlers in the Gazette

1st April 2020L Forster

To celebrate the work the Harton Primary Puzzlers put into their First Lego League project, the local Newspaper the Shields Gazette wrote an article about them.

Read about our success at the Regional competition below.

School children to compete in national Lego League competition with design of solar-powered tram for King Street

A team of primary school children from South Shields will put their skills to the test in the final of the national Lego League competition this weekend.

By Sarah Sinclair
Friday, 21st February 2020, 11:45 am
Updated
Harton Primary School pupils with their design.

Pupils from Years 5 and 6 at Harton Primary School won the First Lego League competition at a regional tournament held at The Word in South Shields in December 2019.

Now Caitlin Kerr, Chloe Hill, Ruby Bird and Evie Wardale, Daniel Allen, Electra Myers, Daniel Jack and Sophie Mustafa – aka the Harton Primary Puzzlers – will travel to Bristol to represent the region in the finals.

The competition will take place at the University of West England (UWE) on Saturday, February 22 with the Puzzlers going up against more than 70 teams from around the country.

The Harton Primary Puzzlers are through to the national Lego League competition

This will be the second time the Year 6 students have made it this far, after successfully reaching the finals last year – but a first for Caitlin, Chloe, Ruby and Evie.

The international Lego League competition sees students research real-world problems such as food safety, recycling or energy. They then design and build a robot, using Lego Mindstorms technology, and compete on a table-top playing field.

The team took their inspiration from some of the issues facing their hometown for this year’s theme ‘city shapers’.

They designed an eco-friendly, solar-powered tram to travel down King Street and help tackle traffic congestion in the area.

The children reached out to a range of experts for advice and support, including Nexus, the solar panel company PowerRoll and South Tyneside Council.

They will now present their idea to a panel of judges at the finals, as well as completing other Lego tasks on the day.

Team coach and Year 5 teacher Lee Forster commented: “The children have worked really hard all year- giving up many of their playtimes to practise both the robot game and the presentation. It’s been great to see them so motivated and working together.”

Harton Primary headteacher, Karen Ratcliffe added: “This competition has given our pupils the opportunity to think like engineers and scientists and I am extremely proud of their achievements in winning the overall competition.”

https://www.shieldsgazette.com/education/school-children-compete-national-lego-league-competition-design-solar-powered-tram-king-street-1886216

Digital Leaders – App age restrictions – Spring term

1st April 2020L Forster

Each class in year 4,5 and 6 has been designated a ‘Digital Leader’ who’s job it is to identify popular used apps within each class and help inform everyone – children, teachers and parents – of the guidelines or purposes of the apps being used.

Working in year groups, they completed a survey with each class to see which apps are used the most and asking the children what they think the minimum age each app. They then found out the correct answer and informed each class – as well as the parents using MarvellousMe.

Here is each year groups top 3 for Spring:

Year 4

App Estimated Age Actual Age limit
Roblox Between 3+ and 13 years old 13 years old
TicTok Between 10 and 14 years old 13 years old
WhatsApp 8 years old 16 years old

Year 5

App Estimated Age Actual Age limit
YouTube 6 years old 18 years old (13 with permission)
TicTok Between 12 and 14 years old 13 years old
Roblox Between 7 and 10 years old 13 years old

Year 6

App Estimated Age Actual Age limit
SnapChat Between 11 and 16 years old 13 years old
Instagram Between 12 and 17 years old 13 years old
Youtube Between 10 and 18 years old 18 years old (13 with permission)

The Digital Leaders will be conducting these and other surveys throughout the year.

Junior Lego League!

17th March 2020C Whitehead

Junior Lego League have been thinking about different buildings and architecture around South Shields. We discussed the different features of buildings and chose some buildings that we liked . We sketched out the building and discussed the structure. We then used Lego to start to build our chosen building!

Harton Primary Puzzlers – First Lego League England and Wales Final in Bristol

26th February 2020L Forster

In the middle of our half term, the Harton Primary Puzzlers met at Newcastle Airport – excited for their trip to Bristol for the First Lego League England and Wales Final.

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On Saturday the 22nd of February, we set off the University of West England to the competition, setting up our information board at table 50 in the pit.

After the opening ceremony, we had to quickly change into our costumes to give deliver the best and last presentation on our idea for a solar powered tram to help boost interest in South Shields town centre. After than we had to run to the Robot Game table for our first of three attempts to score as many points as possible. Lets watch:

The day was full of interesting activities, on top of the usual Core Values, Robot Design discussion and practice tables for the robot game. The teams spoke to other teams, interviewed by the IET team and, of course, had lunch.

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With all our practices over, our last robot game was on table 1, with all the cameras on us. Below is the live stream of our last game (If time link doesn’t work, time is 4:42:20):

On the final tables we came 20th, out of 66 teams. But with teams with joint scores, we had the 13th highest score on the day! The Harton Primary Puzzlers worked their socks off, did themselves (and their teachers) proud, and had a great day!

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Safer Internet Day 2020

14th February 2020S Robson

We know the importance of staying safe online, steps to take if there’s an instance of cyberbullying, and awareness of age appropriate apps, games and websites. Mr Forster’s assembly highlighted this, and pupils took part in related activities throughout the day.

Our digital leaders visited classes to conduct a survey on app and internet usage, and the uses and appropriateness of online content.

 

Lego League Regional Competition – 5th December 2019

10th December 2019L Forster

After months of hard work, the Harton Primary Puzzlers took part in the South Tyneside First Lego League competition – with OpenZone in The Word.

This year’s task was to identify a problem in our local area and design a solution to fix it. We designed at solar powered tram that would travel from the The Word down King Street to the sea front. We thought this idea would:

  • Make the sea front more accessible to people who could not walk that distance.
  • Bring in more people to the town – bringing shops back to the town centre.
  • Lower pollution from less cars being used in the town.

We presented this idea as a new report, with Caitlin and Sophie as hosts and Ruby as the weather girl, and the rest of the Puzzlers being all the experts we spoke to – including a solar panel scientist; a tram engineer from Beamish; a PhD student from Northumbria University; a Nexus worker; and a member of the South Tyneside 365 rejuvenation scheme.

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The Puzzlers spend the day talking to other teams, finding out about their ideas, helping with robot tasks, practicing their robot challenge and just having a great time!

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They also had to compete in a robot game; a 2 and half minute challenge to complete as many tasks as possible to score the most points, with 4 highest scoring teams got into the Semi-finals.

The Puzzlers came 3rd in the knock-outs with 215 points. When competing in the Semi finals, they scored 225 – securing their spot in 2nd to progress to the finals. Competing against Oakwood, who were unbelievably talented at the robot game. They set a heavy lead with 300 points in their first of 3 rounds – securing their trophy in the robot game – but the Puzzlers fought in every round, scoring their highest score of the day of 245 points.

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The trophy ceremony gave the Puzzlers 2 reasons to celebrate! Their robot – Athena, God of Technology – won ‘Best Robot Design’, after being referred to as ‘a beast’ by the judges. After coming 2nd in both the presentation and robot game, and 1st in the robot desgin, the Puzzlers won the overall day – for a 2nd year running – and now have to compete in Bristol in the national competition!

Lego League Regionals 2018

By L Forster11th December 2018

After 3 months of hard work, and (for some) EVERY lunchtime since September, the day finally arrived on December 6th.

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Kitted in their lab coats, glasses and bow ties, the Harton Puzzlers travelled to The Word to compete against teams from all over the region – including secondary schools! The first few rounds with the robot were disappointing, as we didn’t score as highly as we would have liked. After their first robot game, the pupils scored technical points, which involved talking about their robot design and strategy. This usually take about 5 minutes, but the boys talked for 10 minutes!

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Next the children had 5 minutes for a costume change and got ready for their presentation. After many practises at school, they delivered it perfectly! It was clear, loud and confident. The presentation even included a “live” video call from an astronaut on the International Space Station.

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There was a teamwork task, where the children had to work together effectively in order to complete a Lego building challenge. After lunch, we found out we were in the semi final!

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The Puzzlers got through to the semi finals- joint 3rd with St. Gregory’s. They had 2 more chances to prove their robot’s skills. In their second and final attempt, the boys protested to the judges over a ruling – supported by teachers from different schools – and the Puzzlers scraped into the finals with 72 points.

In the finals, the Puzzlers competed against Oakwood Comprehensive School – who kindly offered up their extra attachments, which allowed the Harton to scorecard more points. After three more rounds of the robot game,  the Puzzlers’ score got higher and higher with each attempt.  The trophy for Robot Table Champion went to the well deserved Oakwood!

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Every team was awarded at least one trophy, for skills such as teamwork, presentation, tactics and co-operation, but the Harton Puzzlers were delighted to find out that they had won the overall competition! After so much work from our team, there were many tears of happiness and shouts of joy.