Friday the 8th of May is the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War 2 in Europe.
To celebrate, the staff wanted to send a message to both celebrate this event and send a message to the children in the current situation, set to the classic song “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn.
So sit back, and enjoy!
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.
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.
Athena being x-rayed
Tea in the departure lounge
Boarding the plane
All smiles…
…for take off.
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.
Opening ceremony
Team photo
Interviews – some serious…
…some not so serious.
Lunch!
In the practice pits…
…between games.
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!
Photo booth medal photo.
Team photo
Y4C have thrown themselves into reading this half term and have, as a class, managed to read a whopping 500, 000 words! The children now take their Accelerated Reader books home each day and enjoy taking quizzes that are designed to further their understanding. The class are already looking forward to becoming word millionaires and are making their predictions as to when they might reach this milestone. Keep up the fantastic work Y4C!
Pupils from Year-6 were selected to represent the school in a gymnastics competition at Temple Park. After a warm-up and practise, the children performed their routine to the judges. Later, they had the opportunity to try some new skills on the trampolines and gymnastics equipment. Two of the three teams went on to claim first and second place and will now progress to the next level of the competition. All of the children performed superbly and were commended by Temple Park Staff for their excellent behaviour throughout the morning. They were a credit to the school and should be very proud of themselves.
On Wednesday we had a visit from the players of the Newcastle Eagles basketball team to promote healthy eating and active lifestyles. After talking about of muscles and heart – which is the size of our fists – we completed a series of cardiovascular exercises, they increase our heart rates.
While looking at Healthy eating, we discovered that our food portions should be the size of hand – if it firsts in the palm of our hand, it’s the correct sized portion for us. We also talked about the traffic light system on foods, talking about foods and drinks to avoid – based on colours red, amber and green. Did you know a bottle of Coca Cola has 14 teaspoons (70g) of sugar?
Another workshop, we looked at peer pressure. We looked at how peers are someone who is around our own age, but not necessarily a friend. Our peers can be both good and bad influences on ourselves – telling us to work harder or to cheat and lie. We also discussed how hard it is to go against peer pressure – in fear of not losing our friends.
To end our afternoon, we completed dribbling and passing drills with the Newcastle Eagles coach, Fab. As a gift for taking part, we all got a golden ticket to watch the Eagle play their next match.
Excited by the delivery of our Buddy Bus Stops, School Council members met to discuss how these might best be used to help children feeling lonely in the yard. Council members explained that it will be important to have thoughtful children playing close to the bus stops if those feeling lost are to receive the help that they need. Could you be one of these helpful children, or Buddies, that the School Council are looking for?
Members of the School Council have been busy working their magic again. Not content with making a huge difference to their local community, the children have turned their attention to how they might be able to help fellow pupils within school.
Members of the School Council explained in their recent meeting that the yard can, at times, be a lonely place for some children. It is not always easy to find someone to play with, especially when close friends are absent or are eating lunch. After a lengthy discussion of possible ways around this issue, the School Council decided upon installing a ‘Buddy Bus Stop’ in each yard. Children who are feeling lost and in need of a friend can come to one of the Bus Stops to receive the help that they need.
This half term, our School Council are collecting donations of canned and other dried foods to help the South Tyneside Food Bank. Providing emergency food parcels for local individuals and families in crisis, the food bank is run by ‘Hospitality and Hope’. This is a Christian faith based charity that was established in 2002 to help support vulnerable individuals from within our community.
Donations of canned and dried foods for the food bank can be sent into school with your child each Friday. Our School Council members will be involved in sorting these donations, prior them being collected by the charity.
The first ‘Canny Friday’ will be held on Friday 10th March. The event will continue to be held, each Friday, until the end of term.
