Year 3 and 4 joined an Etwinning project run by the British Council to communicate with a school in the Czech Republic, and a school in Italy.
First, the children all wrote letters to introduce themselves to one another. After that, the Year 3 children made posters about Easter traditions to send to the pupils in Italy.
They received some lovely Easter cards in return, with greetings written in Italian.
Year 1 have been looking at African art, with a particular interest patterns and printing. They made African headbands to wear in their Easter concert.
Year 1 have had a great time learning about Africa through stories like ‘Handa’s Surprise’. The children even wrote their own ‘Elephant Adventure’ stories. African culture also provided the inspiration for their Easter concert production, which was set in Africa.
In Literacy, Year 4 read ‘Gregory Cool’, about a young boy who found it difficult at first in adjusting to a different culture when he visited his grandparents in Tobago. The children wrote similarities and differences between British culture
and Tobago. They also wrote their own stories set in another culture – a tropical island.
We’re getting ready for a summer of sport here at Harton Primary School!
Pupils from schools in Spain, Italy and Poland have sent us some cards they designed on an Olympic theme. Year 4 have also been making cards which were sent to schools in 5 European countries, promoting fair play, diversity and effort. We also researched Olympic facts on the ipads. Did you know that the mascots for the Games are called Vinicius and Tom? There will also be two other sports added to the Olympic line up – golf and rugby sevens!
There’s a lot of exciting events lined up for this half term – a whole school celebration of Euro 16, a ‘Road to Rio’ dance workshop for Year 2 and 3, and a theatre production entirely in French for Year 4 ad 5, entitled ‘ Les Olympiques’. C’est super!
Year 4 had a great time going to Marsden and Sand Haven beach for a cross-curricular trip. We were looking at human and physical features at the two beaches because we are learning about coastal features in Geography. We kept an eye out for living things as part of our Science topic and we also clocked up a lot of steps for the end of the fitness challenge. The children were even rewarded with a delicious Minchella’s ice cream and a chance to play on the beach!
This term as part of our learning about animals Reception had a visit from Zoo Academy. We were visited by lots of creepy crawlies including Cockroaches, a frog, a giant African land snail, a tarantula and a snake! The children learned how to handle the animals safely and were very brave! They were able to talk about how the animals felt and how to look after them. In addition we also thought about the countries which the animals came from and what it would be like there. We were very impressed with the children’s understanding of the World!
Here are some pictures of the visit.
The Year 6 Team (photo taken after tournament, so they look tired)
At Harton Technology, 8 of our year 6s took part in the Hoops4Health tournament. We played all morning, taking part in 4 games ourselves and then staying to watch the finals between St. Aloysius and St. Bede.
We had a great morning, some grumbling aside. Can’t wait for the next Year 6s to take part in 2017.
Year 4, 5 and 6 could be forgiven for thinking they were in a Russian cosmodrome yesterday, as our favourite opera company once again paid us a visit. The children were treated to a stunning performance of ‘Laika the Space Dog’ set in Baikonur, Russia. Based upon the true story of the first animal to be launched into orbit, the children were entranced by the sensational operatic voices of the cast, the beautiful melodies of the orchestra, and the emotional rollercoaster of a storyline. They were well prepared to join in with the cast to sing three songs practised during singing lessons with Mr Richardson: ‘Baikon ur’, ‘Mnemonic – Moscow’s Very Expensive Metro Just Seems Useless Now’, and ‘The Thing About Science is This’.
The children at Harton Primary have been lucky enough to work with visiting artist Jane Lee McCracken. As part of a topic on the rainforests, Year 3 students then drew different animals from the rainforests.
They found out about their habitat and why they might be endangered. Jane thought the children were very talented and made a poster showing the drawings from the children. 
