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28/03/24

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28/03/24

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28/03/24

Harpenden Academy’s annual Easter Service. pic.twitter.com/DtU6ALNRi9

27/03/24

The latest of our super presentations on celebrating difference: this week’s topic is anxiety and low self esteem. Delighted that each presentation contained book recommendations too! pic.twitter.com/oajopp0n8q

27/03/24

The latest of our super presentations on celebrating difference: this week’s topic is anxiety and low self esteem. So proud of all the children who have researched and presented about neurodiversity and anxiety this term. pic.twitter.com/Cp86ZfqPKj

27/03/24

Ladybirds have been on an Easter egg hunt with a difference today - we had to read the words and find the pictures on our checklist. We had such fun! pic.twitter.com/RkeNT2k8jw

26/03/24

Year 4 exploring the local environment to find different living things. We will be back in 4 weeks to see how the habitat has changed. pic.twitter.com/hSjtcqzs0Y

26/03/24

Incredibly proud of this team. Excellent results today against St.Nicolas a win and a draw. Sadly not all the team is present but it has been wonderful to see all the team grow. pic.twitter.com/k4h7mPEHTn

22/03/24

Heart dissection with Mark the science man in Y6 this afternoon! 👩‍⚕️ 👨‍⚕️ pic.twitter.com/vnHOYIM6bb

22/03/24

Heart dissection with Mark the science man in Y6 this afternoon! 👩‍⚕️ 👨‍⚕️ pic.twitter.com/48pHdZ3fov

22/03/24

Thank you Mark the science Man for spending the afternoon in Year 4. We have learnt how to drawn circuits using symbols. pic.twitter.com/2vShKIowVu

22/03/24

The Eco council have created an eco code for our school 🪴🌿🌱 pic.twitter.com/tUTi8konmk

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/4OFmmWf7Nm

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/DMQUWxXJzl

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/Gq44AiqXyT

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/tcKBY2roFe

21/03/24

This morning, Reception have been playing a maths game “7 or not 7?” with their partner. They represented their number using their fingers and used their super subitising skills to identify the number their friend was showing. pic.twitter.com/n6KkjFvYOP

21/03/24

Year 3 spent the morning in a workshop run by on Volcanoes. We loved looking at real artefacts and samples. pic.twitter.com/fQ7ywwI8Gl

21/03/24

Our talented musicians performing in their end of term concert with pic.twitter.com/6qyWQ8DgWW

20/03/24

Well done to our netball team. So much resilience shown and it has been a pleasure to see you grow. pic.twitter.com/tzxHKF7mY6

20/03/24

Ready for the concert! pic.twitter.com/akEegWB1sl

20/03/24

Enjoying being at Voices in a Million! pic.twitter.com/hnrgLO9TQp

20/03/24

Year six presentations on neurodiversity - so proud of these children for preparing and presenting completely independently to increase awareness and empathy in our class. pic.twitter.com/vx6W4lW1L4

20/03/24

Miss Alshamari taking the wonderful Team Dahl to do some riddle writing in the library!#English pic.twitter.com/fh9XjEungU

20/03/24

Year six presentations on neurodiversity - so proud of these children for preparing and presenting completely independently to increase awareness and empathy in our class. pic.twitter.com/7FaFLcNjwj

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PSHCE

Purpose and Aims

"Leaders place a strong emphasis on pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is a key feature of the school. From the time they join the school, pupils are gradually taught to take responsibility and to become independent learners.......They ensure that individual pupils are provided with the support they need. Leaders ensure that pupils are helped to develop life skills, such as resilience and how to be assertive." School Ofsted Report, June 2019

Purpose:

PSHE education is a planned, developmental programme of learning through which children and young people acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future. As part of a whole-school approach, PSHE education develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. PSHE education equips pupils to live healthy, safe, productive, capable, responsible and balanced lives. It encourages them to be enterprising and supports them in making effective transitions, positive learning and career choices and in achieving economic wellbeing. A critical component of PSHE education is providing opportunities for children and young people to reflect on and clarify their own values and attitudes and explore the complex and sometimes conflicting range of values and attitudes they encounter now and in the future. Developing an understanding of themselves, empathy and the ability to work with others will help pupils to form and maintain good relationships, develop the essential skills for future employability and better enjoy and manage their lives.

Aims:

  • To build confidence, resilience and self-esteem
  • To identify and manage risk
  • To make informed choices and understand what influences their decisions
  • To recognise, accept and shape their identities
  • To understand and accommodate difference and change
  • To manage emotions and to communicate constructively in a variety of settings.

Provision

Our curriculum is categorised in 2 ways

  • Breadth - which gives pupils experiences across the PSHE and SRE curriculum
  • Depth - which helps pupils to think and act like young citizens

Whilst coverage is our goal for the “breadth” element, repetition and increasing the understanding via mastery learning is our goal for the “depth” element.

Our curriculum drivers shape our approach to teaching PSHE so that every opportunity is taken to relate PSHE to the needs of our pupils. PSHE is studied weekly in both Key Stages, either through PSHE sessions, values sessions or News and Views sessions.  Cross curricular links and Learning Outside the Classroom are incorporated where possible and meaningful.

Progression and Assessment

Our progression includes 12 units which are visited once in KS1 and twice in KS2 at a more challenging level at each stage. We set out our expectations around the Harpenden Academy PSHE scheme (adapted from the Ealing scheme). We use the Chris Quigley three cognitive domains to ensure each child receives the right support and challenge: Basic (We call it Paddling), Advancing (we call it Snorkelling) and Deep (we call it Diving). It is expected that the vast majority of pupils will have an Advancing understanding by the end of each milestone (KS1, Lower KS2 and Upper KS2) and some will have a Deep understanding.

Assessment and reporting

We will assess the pupil’s depth of understanding each year using the PSHE scheme assessment guidance.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Improvement

The role of the leader in monitoring pupil’s outcomes is to audit teachers’ judgements via book looks as well as ensuring breadth and depth of curriculum through book looks, learning walks and learning talks (with pupils). Strengths and areas for development are identified and actions shared with staff then reviewed to assess impact. Book looks are done collectively in staff meetings and then collated by the leader. The subject leader action plan and monitoring evidence is kept in the monitoring file and evidence is gathered and celebrated in the PSHE and SMSC portfolios.

Sustainability Workshops

The highlight of this week was our sustainability workshop funded by FoHA.

The workshops support one of our four curriculum drives which is sustainability. The children learned all about a special building in Brighton which is 100% sustainable and how this has been a forerunner for similar sustainable buildings around the world.

Ladybirds grew micro-greens and Key Stages 1 and 2 made notebooks from recycled materials. Each class reflected on how sustainable they currently are and discussed how they could act in a more eco-friendly way moving forward in order to 'live greener and cleaner'. It was a really successful set of workshops which we are grateful to have experienced. A big thank you to FoHA for funding the workshops.

Sustainability

Bikeability Course, Year 6 class

Our Year 6 class completed their Level 3 Bikeability course this week, learning invaluable life skills along the way.

Bikeability level 3 equips you with skills for more challenging roads and traffic situations – busier streets, queuing traffic, complex junctions and roundabouts. It also includes planning routes for safe cycling.

At the children can now:

  • Prepare for a journey
  • Understand advance road positioning
  • Pass queuing traffic
  • Perceive and deal with hazards
  • Understand driver blind spots
  • React to hazardous road surfaces

Our children were exemplary throughout the week and embraced the opportunity to develop their cycling skills further. Both the instructors and members of the public commented on how polite and enthusiastic our children were.

Bike

International Woman's Day

The classes celebrated International Women's Day on Wednesday with a variety of events:

Ladybirds took part in #Letgirlsplay today in their PE lesson. We loved playing football together, both boys and girls, and celebrating the equality in the sport. We learned about ball control and stopping with our foot, not our hands.

Ladybirds have loved celebrating women and girls ! We started our day with the story “Girls can do anything” and talked about all the things girls can do. We were inspired to do some fantastic writing describing girls.

Elmer class celebrated International Women's Day. We talked about changes that have happened over time to give everyone the same opportunities.

Moomin Class enjoyed learning about Emmeline Pankhurst and how she campaigned for women to get the vote. We wrote a fact file about her and have started to read Emmeline and the Plucky Pup by Megan Rix.

Potter class looked at the book 'Little Leaders: Visionary Women Around the World'. We looked at the stories of several visionary women and thought about why they are so inspirational.

Dahl class looked at examples of inspirational women including Dr Nicola Fox, who was recently appointed as the first female head of science at Nasa. We then linked our learning to our e-safety focus- gender stereotypes online.

Year 6 writers wrote their 500 word stories inspired by both international women’s day and world book day (with a focus on books from diverse cultures). They read about inspirational women in celebration of international women’s day.

Anti-bullying Week

Every month we will be sharing a collection of books linked to a current whole school topic or theme. This month we have created an anti bullying collection so please take a look and see if there are any books you’d like to share with your child.

In Ladybirds, we listened to a song all about being unique. We talked about what this means and how the world would be boring if we were all the same. We then shared how to be kind and what we can do to others to show kindness. We made cards for people to show kindness and make kindness hearts with our hand.

During Anti-bullying week, in Moomin Class we have been thinking about how special we are and celebrating our individuality. Throughout the week we have been listening to the song 'There's a Place,' which is a song that teaches us to celebrate our differences. In our PSHE lesson this week we discussed what bullying is and what it looks like. Then we talked about how we can deal with bullying and discussed that it is important to 'reach out' to someone if we think we are being bullied. After the discussion, we made anti-bullying posters.

In Potter class, we have linked our PSHE learning with anti-bullying week. We have watched videos and had discussions on what bullying is and how we can support others who may be experiencing bullying. We created a no bullying hand chain garland which included positive messages such as 'Use kind words' and 'Think before you speak'.

In Milne class we had lots of colourful odd socks to start anti-bullying week off. On Friday afternoon, Year 4 will be creating posters to encourage children to reach out about bullying and to help others to understand what bullying is.

In Dahl class, we looked at different scenarios and decided whether they were mean, rude or an example of bullying. This helped us to unpick the difference between unkind behaviour and bullying. We also discussed how we would respond to each type of behaviour appropriately.

Year 6 have been reading and writing poetry about the impact of bullying. They have also been researching and discussing cyber-bullying.

Bullying

Mini Police, Year 5

In preparation for our community project, Dahl class checked out the road signs and markings outside our school today. Next week they will be supported by our PCSOs to educate local road users on road safety outside our school.

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International Peace Day & Pink for Peace

On Wednesday 21st September we marked the International Day of Peace . This event is observed around the world and this year's theme was 'End Racism. Build Peace'. There were some creative 'dashes of pink' from hair clips to tutus to face paint. In class, children discussed what peace meant and actions they could undertake to contribute to a more peaceful community. They also created art work to represent peace and what that meant to them.

Peace

Year 5 Residential Fellowship Afloat

What a week Year 5 have had. Not only have they enjoyed taking part in numerous activities from rock climbing, to kayaking, to high-ropes and team building, they have developed skills, which will last a lifetime and serve them so well in the coming years. Fellowship Afloat stands out from other residential trips- from the moment you arrive, you become part of a community into which you are welcomed from the word go. With this, the children really develop a sense of belonging and teamwork, which is a huge boost to their self esteem. How wonderful that we can experience this and set the children up so well so early in the year.

We have no doubt as to how much the children enjoyed themselves; it was obvious from the squeals of delight and happy faces as they took part in each activity. We are really proud of the personal development of every child; even when particularly challenged, they managed to achieve the goals they had set out for themselves!

Of all the activities, our day sailing and eating a picnic on the beach was the highlight. If we had to sum it up in one word, we would probably say it was 'magical'. It was so lovely to watch so many of the children participate in something they had never experienced before- something that required absolutely no technology but brought so much joy!

The children were an absolute credit to all the year 5 parents. They were so well-mannered, independent and organised and such a delight. The year 5 team now look forward even more to an exciting year ahead.

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Buddies!

Elmer and Tolkien enjoyed meeting their new buddies today. Both classes showed kindness, respect and were full of smiles.

Buddies

Happy World Smile Day from us all At Harpenden Academy

Smiel Day

Elections: School Councillors, Sports Councillors and Eco Councillors

Excellent manifestos from many of the children in Year 6 Team Shakespeare this week in our elections for school councillors, sports councillors and eco councillors.

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Year 6, Crucial Crew Workshop

Team Year Six enjoying their afternoon at St Albans’ fire station participating in a Crucial Crew workshop - learning how to stay safe in a variety of workshops from fire safety to drugs awareness to safe road crossing (with mobile phones).

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Year 4 Kerr class using the sports arena to explore new sports during playtime.

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Year 6 Shakespeare class sunshine meditation

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Lockdown Photography Competition winners in Year 3 Potter class

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The children discussed how different people react in different situations. We have used animals to help us explain how others would act.

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Year 1 Elmer class, Learning about Germs

Year 1 Elmer class continued their learning about passing germs with a glitter experiment. The first person dipped their hands in glitter glue and then we looked at how far we could transfer the glitter germs. We then investigated how long it took to wash our glitter germs away.

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Year 6, Cycling Awareness Course

Year 6 cyclists loving their training this week and learning so many new skills to help the cycle safely on the roads. So proud of their positive attitudes, kindness and support towards each other and resilience.

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Year 3 Potter Class, National Reflection Day

Year 3 Potter class took part in the National Day of Reflection by creating sun catchers to symbolise their positive thoughts for the future.

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All sorts of play by Kerr Class

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Year 6 Shakespeare exploring self esteem and sharing ways to boost self esteem

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Year 6 Shakespeare Class, National Reflection Day

Year 6 Shakespeare class celebrated the National Day of Reflection today with a discussion about all the positive changes lockdown has created in our lives and the sense that we don’t wanting to return to normal but to a better place. They used poetry as a vehicle for expressing themselves.

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Year 6 cyclists starting their cyclability training - very excited!

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Year 2 Moomin Class, Relaxation Techniques

In PSHE in Moomin Class today we were talking about what being relaxed meant and things we can do to make us feel relaxed. We talked about things that make us stressed. Then we looked at different activities and decided if the person was stressed or relaxed and why.

I have been so impressed with how well Year 1 Elmer class have returned from remote learning. Their enthusiasm for learning, kindness, maturity and attitude to learning has been amazing. Here we are enjoying our 'Catch up and Connect time'.

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Year 6 Shakespeare Class, Litter Campaign

Year 6 Shakespeare artists and activists have worked hard this morning creating powerful posters for the Harpenden Litter poster.

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Year 4 and Year 5, Communications Skills

Year 4/Year 5 Dr Seuss have been practising their communication and listening skills as well as learning to trust one another.

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Connecting through play

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Year 6, Healthy Competition

A healthy exhibition of competitiveness and team play in PE today by Team Shakespeare - overcoming challenges; digging deep to find our resilience.

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World Mental Health Day, Year 6 Shakespeare Class

Year 6 World Mental Health day activities throughout this week including Positivity sheets and Things I Love hearts...

 Image 1Children's Mental Health & Mindfulness, Year 4 Austen Class

My class were busy before half term creating Powerpoints about Children's Mental Health and Mindfulness.  As part of our Computing learning we have inserted audio clips of the children doing a mindful activity on one of the slides (you may need to press the speaker icon if it doesn't start automatically).  

Dayn and Harrison

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Feel Good Jar, Year 6

We have been exploring positivity quotes in Year Six and how powerful they can be in lifting our mood and creating a positive, growth mindset. We all researched quotes online and chose some of our favourites to fill our class Feel Good Jar. Some of us even created our own quotes. At any time we can pick a positivity quote from the jar to remind us to keep positive and to help pick us up if we feel a little down.

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Growth Mindset, Year 6 Workshop

In the first week of Year 6 we learnt lots about Growth Mindset and what a huge, positive impact a growth mindset can have on our learning and wellbeing. In teams we created our own Growth and Fixed Mindset mascots then presented them to the class. After that we held a democratic vote to decide which one we wanted to adopt for the Team Shakespeare mascots for the year.

The top three choices were:

  • 1 st - David Attenborough and Donald Trump
  • 2 nd - Sunflower and Moss
  • 3 rd - Dobby and Creature

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Children's University

Congratulations to the group of children who graduated from The Children’s University this week. Children’s University is a charity that works in partnership with schools to develop a love of learning in children. They do this by encouraging and celebrating participation in extra-curricular activities in and outside of school.

The children have logged in their ‘Learning Passports,’ their hours in after school activities at participating Learning Destinations.

Awards are received for 30, 65 and 100 hours.

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Wellbeing Week

Harpenden Bike Ride

Year 6 kicked off Wellbeing Week with a fantastic bike ride around Rothamsted and along the Nicky Line. They have nailed the Five Ways to Wellbeing: be active, connect, give, keep learning and take notice.

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Guest Chef and Tasty Treats

Guest Chef, Patti teaches Year 6 how to jazz up any meal using spices, June 2019

On Tuesday, Patti joined Year 6 as our Guest Chef and provided us with a demo linked to spices and how to jazz up any meal.

The children were mesmerised by Patti and she plans to return to Harpenden Academy with some further workshops in the future.

The children and the staff enjoyed their tasters!

Patti

Smoothie Making in Year 6

Smoothie

Year 6 made their own smoothies selecting the fruits they wanted to use and researching their nutritional value before making and tasting their smoothies.

Mental Health Workshop

An inspiring and informative mental health session in Year 6 learning more about mental health with Emma, a profession lead occupational therapist (and Harpenden Academy parent).

Mental health

Kent Owl Academy visit for an Owl Flight Demonstration & Photo Opportunity

Nigel King and his daughter, Scarlett from ‘The Kent Owl Academy,’ stepped in to save the day on Thursday.  We were let down by our original owl people on Tuesday and we were faced with being owl-less!  The children ended up having the most informative talk from Nigel and had a great time.  

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EYFS visit Graveley Fruit Farm

Hello from Graverley Fruit Farm! EYFS had such fun picking strawberries.

Image 5Stay & Play, After School Club, Exploding Watermelons!

We tried to explode a watermelon with elastic bands.Then realised the watermelon was not ripe enough. After 72 bands and the kids waiting patiently for an exploding watermelon, we found another way of making it explode!

We voted to see what we thought would happen if we dropped it from a height. 3 children thought it would bounce. It did not!

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Year 6 organise Whole School Fun Run to raise Money for Herts Refugees

Our 3rd charity fun run took place on Wednesday, 22nd May, will all monies raised for the clarity of Year 6’s choice “Herts for Refugees.”


Approx £400 was raised which is a huge amount for a small school. Each time we do this it reminds us how much fun and enjoyment the children gain from it.The Year 6 were superb at organising the event and selling cakes to swell the coffers. As always many thanks to the staff and parents for supporting this event but especially Mrs Watson who in her own words “I love this event.”


The pictures don’t do the event justice. It was terrific to see so many good runners coming to the fore—lots to be excited and proud of in the future.

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Wonderful Buzz in School as Year 6 complete their SATs

There has been a wonderful buzz around school all week as our Year 6 children have taken their KS2 SATs; the children have been happy, relaxed and determined in equal measure and their mental wellbeing has been at the heart of everything we've done: from delicious breakfast parties (thank you parents for all the yummy goodies you provided) to fun-filled games of Scattegories (involving excellent team spirit and much laughter) to the additional play and mindfulness sessions outdoors in the sunshine. Not to mention our post-SATs party in the park yesterday which many parents joined us for to celebrate the amazing attitudes of our children this week. I think Tilly summed it up brilliantly yesterday morning when she exclaimed, "I don't want SATs to be over!" Well done Year 6- you rocked it!

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News & Views in Family Groups, Mental Health & Wellbeing, Whole School

What a wonderful afternoon we’re having in Family Groups with Y6 children leading mental health & emotional well-being sessions across school. Y6 planned their sessions to support younger children wth ideas from telling jokes to mindfulness So proud of each and every Y6 child.

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Celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week

Celebrating Mental Health Awareness week with our Year 6 SATs breakfast parties

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Local Walk to Identify Local Issues, Year 6

On Monday this week Year 6 went on a local walk to identify any local issues that they want to address via persuasive letters to local MPs. Here are some of the issues they raised following our walk:

  • Over-development (housing replacing community spaces)
  • Lack of streetlights after midnight
  • Lack of publicity regarding anti-social behaviour
  • Cars driving dangerously
  • Lack of bike lanes and bike racks
  • Anti-social behaviour (including graffiti and littering)
  • Lack of public water fountains
  • Lack of shops where reusable containers can be used

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Year 6, Hertfordshire Crucial Crew

Yesterday Year 6 took part in Hertfordshire’s Crucial Crew workshop where they participated in nine activities related to real life risks. The activities ranged from knife crime to antisocial behaviour to first aid to fire safety. We have lots to explore further once we’re back we school including links to our March value of fairness in terms of whether it is fair to be punished for a crime you orchestrated or knew about but didn’t actually commit.

The adults running the sessions commented on how beautifully behaved our children were, not too mention how engaged and thoughtful in their responses to questions. I was very proud of them all! Mrs Watson

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"What shocked me was that a boy Billie was killed due to a knife crime when he stepped in to help a friend." (William)

 

"Something that surprised me was that if you charge your phone on a soft material it could cause a fire." (Stan)

 

"The drugs activity was intimidating but helpful because it prepared you for the future and how to stand up for yourself." (Keita)

 

"It was very strange trying on the goggles that simulate what it looks like if you’re drunk because I realised that you could get really injured." (Molly)

Forest School, SATS Wellbeing Programme

Year Six had an amazing time at forest school on Tuesday as part of the mock SATS wellbeing programme and linking to their Thrive Outside PSHE project.  Mrs Watson

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Safer Internet Day

Click here to read our Year 6 comments about Safer Internet Day and to glimpse a snapshot of what we covered in each class. 

Dogs Trust

On Monday, Dog’s Trust spent the whole day in school working with individual classes regarding behaviour around dogs generally, but also bearing in mind being around Rosie Red.

Rosie Red is scheduled to start the second phase of her training soon and it is     important that the children and adults actually pay little attention to her from this point forth. The ultimate aim is that she will be able to walk around the school as well as in and out of classes with out causing a ripple of excitement. We are a long way off that yet!! Rosie will soon start her ‘in-school training’ and of course I will let parents and children know how that goes. She has been recovering all week from a little operation that female doggies have (!) and she will be back in school soon.

“Year 6 were visited by The Dogs’ Trust to learn about how and why dogs behave in certain ways and how our interactions with them will affect their behaviour. It was a highly engaging and informative session providing us with lots of strategies to keep ourselves and dogs safe.” Year 6 child

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People Who Help Us, Reception visit Harpenden Fire Station

Ladybird class went on a very exciting trip to the fire station in Harpenden today. We met real life Fireman Sam! (also firefighters Dave, Larry and Giles) . We saw where they put on their uniforms and learnt how quickly they need to do it. We also tried on their helmets and special fire jackets . We were shown how they looked for people in the dark with a special camera and how they safely enter a building and climb stairs . We were then very lucky and went for a ride in a Fire Engine and then heard the loud sirens and saw the flashing lights . At the end of our visit we played a great game with the water hoses , first team to knock down the cones . We ended up getting poor firefighter Giles very wet but some of us ended up getting wet too !!! It was so much fun.

Thrive Outside Project, Year 6

This week year six headed to the forest as part of their PSHE Thrive Outside project: learning about all the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of spending time in nature.

They had a fantastic couple of hours:

  • playing freely in and amongst the trees
  • participating in a mindfulness session in the beautiful winter sunshine which focused on grounding
  • creating their own nature trails using the right compass directions and all the senses
  • generating ideas for prayer flags and wheels (linked to our RE topic on Buddhism)

It was wonderful hearing the children reflecting on how their time outdoors made them feel: alive, mindful, relaxed, tranquil and ‘small but in good way.’ 

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Parent Behaviour Workshop

Parent-Behaviour-Workshop-January-2019.pdf

Many thanks to the parents who attended our behaviour workshop on Tuesday to find out more about our positive behaviour management policy and our focus on growth mindset and resilience as key components of positive behaviour for learning.

Mrs Aylott ran though our behaviour policy and the steps we take as a school to ensure we are all adopting a positive, nurturing, therapeutic approach to behaviour management. Our behaviour process has been updated over the past few months with the input of the children and staff. 

A summary of the key points is as follows:

  • we always look to praise the positive behaviour we want to see and to celebrate those children whose behaviour follows our school rules: to be kind, to be respectful and to be safe. 
  • positive praise is done through a range of ways including: spot ons, dojos, marvellous me messages, celebration with other teachers, personal verbal feedback adapted to the needs of individuals, and whole school celebration assemblies
  • we have adapted our policy to incorporate Hertfordshire's STEPs approach which is based on addressing the need behind the behaviour and empowering children to have choices when self regulating their behaviour and to work towards positive changes in their behaviour (through a nurturing and restorative approach)
  • all staff have a de-escalation script which is followed if any challenging behaviour arises to ensure children are treated consistently and respectfully 
  • behaviour incidents are monitored half termly and data is analysed to spot trends and find solutions. The number of behaviour incidents has decreased dramatically since September 2017 when we introduced the new school rules and the revised approach

Mrs Watson shared some recent research on growth mindset and resilience, explaining the significant impact that they can have on children's self esteem, self confidence, curiosity, risk-taking, happiness, mental and emotional well-being and progress in learning - to name a few! The importance of resilience in the 21st century was also discussed, in particular the impact of increased pressures and stress on the children's and adults' mental health. 

A summary of the key points is as follows:

  • growth mindset is about seeing challenges as learning opportunities and being open to try new things and take risks
  • the underlying belief being that effort is more important than outcomes, that mistakes are an important part of learning, and that practice and positive attitude can improve achievement and grow your brain!
  • resilience is closely linked to growth mindset and is about finding ways to bounce back from problems and to learn from them, not to mention being solution-focused and curious when challenges arise and to accept all emotions as part of being human.
  • strategies that we use in school to help develop growth mindset and resilience include: the 6 Bs (use Bits and Bobs, Be still, Backtrack, ask a Buddy, be Brave and ask the Boss); growth mindset mascots (such as Mouse and Gruffalo); praising children's effort and attitudes rather than outcomes; role modelling resilience ourselves by thinking aloud when we become stuck or frustrated as adults; talking to the children about recent brain research that supports the positive benefits of growth mindset and resilience; weekly resilience awards; purposefully giving children tricky challenges and discussing and celebrating their ability to persevere and 'get unstuck'
  • the importance of mindfulness as a way of improving well-being and resilience in children was discussed along with different types of mindfulness activities that can be done at school and home (mindful eating, mindful listening, mindful walking, mindful breathing). At school the children take part in mindfulness activities each day after lunch and it is wonderful to see how calm and ready for learning the children are afterwards.

A couple of resources that were mention for developing growth mindset and resilience are:

 - Let's Talk Resilience by Sue Nicholls (card game)

It was lovely to have such lovely feedback from the parents who attended:

"I wanted to say how completely fantastic the session was this afternoon - it was incredibly helpful with lots of ideas to try at home."(Parent of a Y2 and Y4 child)

"I really valued the behaviour workshop this week - it was brilliant to see how our children are learning resilience, patience and understanding. I feel it's invaluable that we, as parents, get on board and learn the techniques our children are implementing every day. I left feeling incredibly positive so thank you!(Year 4 parent)

"Thank you for the behaviour workshop you put on for parents this week. It was very reassuring to know that HA operates in such a positive, caring way towards our children. Apart from the obvious benefits the school policy has made to student behaviour at school, we parents came away with some very good ideas on how we could use the same techniques at home!"(Year 5 parent)

" The workshop was very helpful. Great reminders about growth mindset and mindfulness. And good for me (as a new parent) to know more of the HA approach. You are doing great work here and it was a very eloquent presentation."(Year 5 parent)

Harpenden Academy Elves Wrap over 200 presents for Charity

On Saturday our very own Harpenden Academy elves wrapped almost 200 gifts, generously donated by HA families to make Christmas day full of joy and hope for children who are currently living in care. Last year our gifts were extremely well received and this year we've over doubled the number being gifted.

The children (and parents) worked tirelessly all morning to wrap and label all the gifts, also creating beautiful cards to send to each child. Thank you all for your time, generosity and energy.

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Action for Happiness

This week all classes (and hopefully teachers and other staff) have been taking part in the Action for Happiness Kindness calendar - with a new kindness challenge every day as part of Do Good December!

It has been wonderful to see the children embracing this concept so openheartedly and we hope some of the actions have been brought home. In Year 6 we had so many secret positivity notes delivered to our classroom on Thursday that we had to set up books to stick them all in! The calendar fits with our value of the month - Hope - as showing kindness is a way of spreading hope. Please feel free to complete Saturday and Sunday's challenges at home:

Do good december

Crucial Crew Workshop

Grow a £1

Class Baking

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Feeling Good Fortnight

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Paul Geraghty

Paul Geraghty, amazed the children with his storytelling and illustrations. His illustrations will be displayed in school once we have frames for them.

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George Fouche Motivational Speaker

Who told us about his life and the positive impact a growth mindset had had on his challenging life so far.

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Forest School

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Cowboy Day

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Mindfulness

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Making pizzas with our ABM Caterers

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Waste Ninja

We learnt how to not waster food.

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Learning Playground Games in Family Groups

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Mindfulness

Mindfulness

At Harpenden Academy we teach the children and teachers mindfulness techniques to provide them with tools to support their mental and emotional wellbeing. We often have mindfulness breaks during the day to pause, relax and clear our busy minds. Sometimes we do our mindfulness outdoors looking up at the sky and listening to the sounds around us. At other times we go into the sensory room and use the calming equipment in there to help us enjoy being in the present moment.  Year Six shared their mindfulness learning with the whole school in an assembly - explaining all about the different aspects of mindfulness they use, from mindful eating to mindful listening and mindful breathing. They also talked about how mindfulness helps them outside school - for example getting back to sleep if they wake in the night or steadying their nerves before a swimming gala.

Small Acts of Kindness Project

In January 2017 the school council (inspired by the Queen's Christmas speech) wanted to set up a Small Acts of Kindness project in which each class created their own small act of kindness to carry out in our local community. Activities ranged from baking cookies for our local fire station to singing at a local old people's home to organising a whole school fun run to raise money for refugees. Everyone felt really proud to have made a positive difference to other people's lives, near and far.

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Mini-Police Project

During the Spring Term 2018, our Year Five pupils were took part in Hertfordshire's Mini Police project - the first school to be chosen to pilot the project. It was an amazing experience with the children learning a huge amount about what being a police officer involves - from police dog handling to riot training to how to tackle anti-social behaviour. The children shared their learning with the rest of the school in a Mini Police assembly as well as being invited to an awards ceremony at the Hertfordshire Police Headquarters. What wonderful role models these children are to the rest of our school and community.

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People Who Help Us

In the Spring term 2018 our Reception children were learning about People Who Help Us. Each week a different person came to visit the children, talk about their job and answer the children's questions: mountain rescue dog handler, physiotherapist, nurse, police dog handler, postman and paramedic. Each visit was inspiring and informative, not to mention lots of fun!

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Remembrance Day, November 2017

Thank you to our Elliot and Emily from SJL who played the last post on the cornet. The lovely Vicar Dennis Stamp for his Remembrance speech and to Barnaby’s Grandad, Mike, for sharing his thoughts and memories with us. Year 5 did a moving recital of the poem ‘ In Flanders Fields.’ It was a lovely shining example of school, parents and the local community coming together.

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Icing biscuits for Poppy Day with our ABM Caterers

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School Rules

During family groups on Wednesday Sapphire group came up with three school rules: be respectful, be happy, be kind. The children then acted out scenarios showing these three rules in action. Can you guess which rule is being acted out in each photo?

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