Newsletters

Newsletter December 2024

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Dear parents/guardians,

As we approach the end of a busy and exciting term, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the wonderful activities and events that have taken place recently.

This term has been packed with highlights! The children enjoyed visits and activities, including our annual Panto trip, the Nativity, the Christmas Fayre, and the Christmas Disco. Sporting events have also kept us active, with participation in Boccia and Sports Hall Athletics.

Our school trips have been a great success, including the delightful performance of The Smartest Giant in Town at Wellingborough Castle Theatre and a visit to Cadbury World.

We’ve also been fortunate to welcome all our Local Academy Committee (LAC) members into school, where they have the chance to meet with staff and children and see all the fantastic things happening in our classrooms.

Thank you for your continued support during this lively and rewarding term. We wish you all a joyful and restful holiday season and a very happy and healthy 2025.

Warm regards,

Mrs Bodman-Knight

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Looking ahead, we’re excited to welcome two new members to our Year 1 team in January: Mrs. Haddon and Mrs. Briggs. We’re confident they’ll bring fresh energy and enthusiasm to the school community.

Amidst all the excitement, we had to say a fond farewell to some longstanding and much-loved members of our staff: Mrs. Nunn, Mrs. Hay, and Mr. Farmer. We are incredibly grateful for their dedication and contributions over the years, and they will be greatly missed.

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Children's Awards

Well done to all our stars of the week for this term! We are so proud of you all. Keep up the good work.

A reminder that all awards, even external clubs and achievements, can be presented in assembly - we find this encourages children to be confident and open up about their wider achievements.

Northamptonshire Education Awards

We were nominated and became a finalist in the environment and sustainability award category for the Northamptonshire Education Awards. To be nominated was brilliant and to be shortlisted was an honour. We didn't win, but we are so very proud of our staff, children and wider community who have helped us and continue to support us.

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Our KS2 school councillors took a poppy wreath up to Kettering memorial with Mrs. Bodman-Knight and Miss Walker. Alongside this, Miss. Walker made a lovely display of war stories and memories which were made by our children - these were on show within school and the playground and the children really loved discussing each other's family history.

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This half term we have really settled into Hall Meadow. At the start of the term we explored fireworks, we read ‘The Little Firework’ and talked about the movements and sounds fireworks make. We celebrated Remembrance Day with the whole school. Next, we focused on the stories ‘Peace at Last’ and ‘Whatever Next’. We had fun retelling the story.

Throughout the months of November and December, we’ve engaged in a variety of hands-on activities that celebrate the wonders of Winter. We have enjoyed making snowmen, snowflakes, painting winter trees and even creating our own baubles. We performed in our very own nativity and made a fantastic flock of sheep. We had a really good time.  

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The Demeter class have plunged straight back into their learning after their half-term break and have been working extremely hard! We will start with our learning in English, which has taken us to the other side of the globe and landed in the outback in Australia. During our time there, we met a wombat on an adventure to find his lost mummy - he met several new friends on the way and even escaped a bushfire! After that, the wombat was reunited with his mummy and the children wrote a brilliant follow-on story of the Wombat’s birthday. In Maths, we have been looking at addition and subtraction using number lines, mental arithmetic, counters and other strategies - we have even been tackling some high-ended word problems with multiple steps. In history, we have been reflecting on the past and what life was like in the 70s and how things have changed since then, such as schooling, clothes, shopping etc. In DT, we have been looking at finger puppets and will get to design and make our own. In RE, we have focused on the Christmas story and the children have been applying this during Nativity practice. Music this term has focused on our songs for the nativity and the children have learnt them very well indeed.

Overall, it has been another fantastic term in year 1 and myself, Mrs. Hay and Mrs. Davidson are incredibly proud of each and every one of you. Mrs. Hay and I will really miss being part of the Demeter team and getting to see all you wonderful children every day.

Best wishes, The Demeter Team.

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Another busy term in Poseidon class!

This term we have continued to learn all about Ancient Egypt. In linking our Art and History curriculum, we learnt all about papyrus and had a go at making our own papyrus sheets. We also learnt how to write our names using hieroglyphs and had a fantastic time on our school trip to Leicester Museum.

In PSHE we have been celebrating differences. We discussed different relationships and studied the book ‘The Ugly Duckling’ to reflect on celebrating our differences.

With Christmas approaching, we have focussed on investigating the meaning of Christmas to Christians in RE. We started our learning with a festive pass the parcel game and then made both religious and non-religious decorations for our class Christmas tree. Throughout the term we continued to explore the true meaning of Christmas.

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This term, Athena Class has enjoyed a range of exciting and creative learning experiences. In English, we developed our writing skills by creating brochures about Sicily and the Amazon Rainforest, focusing on using descriptive language and persuasive techniques. We also explored the theme of friendship through narrative writing, inspired by The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. Students produced heartfelt stories that captured the values of kindness, resilience, and teamwork. In Reading, we explored a range of poetry, analysing rhythm, imagery, and meaning, which enhanced our appreciation of this creative form of writing.

In Maths, the focus was on refining multiplication and division skills. Athena have really built their confidence in solving problems and applying these operations in various contexts, demonstrating great progress. Science lessons took us into the fascinating world of animals and their habitats. We investigated how animals adapt to their environments and learnt about classification systems. To conclude the topic, we designed our own imaginative animals, carefully thinking about how they would thrive in their unique habitats.

Our History topic centred on the Ancient Maya, where we explored their achievements in writing, mathematics, and daily life. A highlight of the term was our trip to Cadbury's World, where we linked the Maya’s discovery of cacao with modern chocolate production. 

In Computing, students became podcast creators, developing scripts and recording their own episodes. This project helped them practice clear speaking, planning, and using technology to communicate effectively. In Religious Education, we reflected on the symbols of the Christmas story, discussing their deeper meanings and how they connect to the values of the season.

This has been a busy and productive term filled with hard work, creativity, and fun. Athena Class should be very proud of all they have achieved, and we look forward to more exciting learning opportunities next term!

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Ares Class have continued to work hard this half term to produce some amazing work across the curriculum. In religious education, we carefully considered the Christmas story and looked at different accounts from the Bible. During our PE sessions we have learnt a show dance incorporating the music from several different musicals. Using people World War 2 as inspiration, we produced some portraits in art and then used words from the poem ‘For the fallen’ to frame the features. We then used mono printing to transfer our portraits on to a background. PE and art have definitely been the favourite subjects in year 5 this half term!

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Absence Policy

Hall Meadow have updated their absence policy to coincide with new regulations set out by the North Northamptonshire County Council. It is imperative that you ring the school for any absences or appointments, otherwise this will now go down as an unauthorised mark on your children's attendance record.

Please be aware there are fines for lateness, holidays which exceed 5 term-time days and sporadic term-time absence. More information and guidance can be found on the government website.

Appointments must also be booked through the office before the appointment date, and you are required to call ahead of collection for any emergency appointments.

 

Uniform Policy

From January 2025, children are now required to come to school in their PE uniforms on their set PE days. Children who do not come in a PE kit on their designated PE day will not participate in PE lessons. Children who do not come in the correct uniform, whether this be PE or normal uniform, will be sent home with a slip regarding the incorrect attire.

PE days

Reception - Thursday

Year 1 : Monday and Tuesday

Year 2 : Monday and Friday

Year 3 : Tuesday and Wednesday

Year 4 : Thursday and Friday

Year 5 : Wednesday and Friday

Year 6 : Monday and Thursday

 

Celebration Assemblies

Our celebration assemblies will be changing from January 2025. They will now commence at 2:45pm on a Friday afternoon. This will be for all awards and certificates.

 

Social Media Permissions

 

We regularly take photographs of the children at our school as part of our public duty. We may use these images in our school prospectus and in other printed publications that we produce. Photographs of children are used for their learning experience and to show educational activities and achievements. Photographs will be displayed in the school, in newsletters, on the school website and on social media. We may also make video or webcam recordings for educational use.

Occasionally, the media will take photographs or film footage of a school profile event. Pupils will often appear in these images.

As a school, we are aware that it is essential that photographs are taken and stored appropriately to safeguard the children in our care.

We take our duty of care towards our school community very seriously. It is of our upmost importance. If you have any Safeguarding concerns regarding personal images and information being displayed, please do contact the school so that we can respond appropriately.

It is also on your website under the GDPR tab.

 

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7th Jan Back to School

 

13th - 17th Jan Coram Life Education

14th Jan Athena School Trip

5th Feb School photographs

7th Feb MIND Mufti Day - wear Zones of regulation colours

11th Feb 9am -11am Parent Advice Fayre

12th Feb - Read with Children

 

Half Term 17th - 21st feb

 

6th March World Book Day

10th-12th March ATHENA residential

10th-14th March World Science week

18th March Parents evening

19th March Parents evening

20th March - Read with Children

21st March Red Nose Mufti Day - wear Red

28th March Poseidon School Trip

31st March Reception School Trip

1st April Zeus School Trip

2nd April Apollo School Trip

3rd April PACT School Disco

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