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28/03/24

A beautiful Easter service to celebrate the beginning of the Holy Week. Happy Easter everyone! pic.twitter.com/6yNXlbaBYD

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

Live Learning

Live Learning at Harpenden Academy

At Harpenden Academy we operate Live Learning Sessions termly. Live learning sessions are specific periods during the school day where parents are invited to come in the class and learn with the children in the classroom. The Live Learning can be on any curriculum area not just the core subjects of English, Maths and Science. This is an opportunity for parents to see how the children learn so that they can use this information to further support their child’s learning at home. Each class puts the date of the Live Learning in their weekly newsletter and parents need to sign up to attend. This is not a chance for parents to observe but is more an opportunity for parents to learn with the children and be part of the lesson.

Parents are then asked to give the school feedback which is circulated in whole school newsletters and on the website.

Live Learning Feedback

Thank you to all of you who turn up to our Live Learning sessions each term - the attendance was amazing. Your feedback, which is attached helps us to keep improving our school but also demonstrates how much you enjoy and value the sessions. Watch out for dates for the Live Learning sessions in your child's Class Newsletter.

Live Learning Spring 2023 Parental feedback

Year Group
Subject
Most useful thing about the session
How will home learning be impacted
Future subjects?
3 word summary
Year 1 
Phonics
Good to see the children working and see how they work 
Seeing all the different activities based around 1 letter
 
Giving confidence in what to do
Using the ideas to continue I'm a similar manner at home
Practise phonics more
RE, PE, Music, Geography, DT, Art, Computing, Science, English,History, PSHE, Spanish
Thank you very helpful
Very insightful 
Year 4 
Maths
Seeing the many different methods of teaching times tables and how each child goes about the tasks.
Understanding how maths is taught
Learning techniques for home
Seeing the children’s work first hand
Will be looking on dojo to follow the activities at home
Positively, I now have lots of new ideas to support learning at home.
Learnt loads of different ways of encouraging Josh
English, Science, Geography, RE, PE
Thanks for the time and ideas!
Informative, insightful
Excellent learning strategies
Amazing thank you 

Live Learning Autumn 2019 Parental feedback

Subject
Most useful thing about the session?
How will home learning be impacted?
Future Subjects?
3 word summary
YEAR 1/2 ASLAN  (number attending 12)
Phonics
 
 
Good ideas for home!
Nice to see how the children learn and interact
Helpful techniques to reinforce learning
An insight to classroom life and learning
Great to see all children working at different levels
Good to see different techniques
Better ideas for spelling
New ideas & insight
New ways to practice spellings - fun
Music
PE 
Art
Maths
Drama
Lively, interesting, informative
Interesting, informative, helpful
Fun, interesting
Informative
Fun, friendly
YEAR 3 POTTER CLASS (NUMBER ATTENDING 12)
 
Science
That what they are learning is more complex than I thought
Key vocabulary used in the subject
Very interactive and interesting
Seeing how patient teachers are and how much learning in Year 3
Go over at home, get some pots of soil and do some more experiments
To push them further and challenge them more
Structure provided and good practical ideas
More challenge
Will discuss and reinforce at home
Maths
History
English
Art
Great teaching - engaging!
Wonderful senses treat
Interactive and lively
Ambitious, lively and enjoyable
Informative, enjoyable and interactive
Fun, eye opening, interesting & insightful
YEAR 4 AUSTEN CLASS (NUMBER ATTENDING 8)
English
Seeing the techniques of learning in real term "class"
To see how they can independently develop their sentences
Learning the way English is taught
To see the learning in action
Great to see how to develop their writing
To see the content of a lesson

 

I will be able to give more constructive criticism with homework
Easier for me to help with homework, understand how to encourage rather than do it for them
Easier for parents to help with homework!
Encouraging the use of short, medium and long sentences
 
Science
Insightful, engaging, fun
Interactive, educational, inspiring
Fun, impactful, teamwork
Enlightening, interesting, growth
Engaging, insightful, fun
Informative, engaging, fun
YEAR 5 DAHL CLASS (NUMBER ATTENDING 6)
English
Great focus on the difference between proof reading and editing
To find out what is expected in English at Year 5 level
Very useful to help with home learning following some guidelines
Live Learning, Maths
Very engaging - wish I had a teacher like Miss Clements when I was at school
Happy children who settled into Year 5 quickly
Fab residential trip - thank you!
What a great start to Year 5. Lots of challenge and fun
YEAR 6 SHAKESPEARE CLASS (NUMBER ATTENDING 3)
Maths
Great to see how they engage
Language, learning method
Understanding new methods so at home can assist in same way
Seeing how they use methods
Hearing the terminology so i can help at home
Better support, common language
Easier to help them, consistent application of method
Seen the methods
Know the terminology

 

Science
English (fronted adverbials etc)
Reading (how to ask questions to help at home)
fun, engaging, differentiated
Interesting, challenging, choices
In-Depth, logical, fun
Fun, clear, engaging, supportive

Live Learning Sessions Spring 2019 Parental feedback

Subject
Most useful thing about the session?
How will home learning be impacted?
Future Subjects?
3 word summary
Reception LADYBIRD (number attending 6)
Maths

 

 

Understanding what levels my child is at
Seeing various techniques
Seeing how the learning is presented
Starting number sentences with the largest number first.
The wording used in class
The style of presentation and the class dynamics
Being involved in their learning
Being systematic
Different approach
Help in making learning fun
Knowing what a number sentence is
Use the words used in classs by the teacher eg Number sentence
Terminology of Maths
English
Music
Dance
Science
Reading
Technology
Science experiments
Art
Drama
Phonics
Fun, interesting,helpful
Challenging,educational,
Valuable, precious,targeted,informative engaging
Year 2 ASLAN (number attending 12)
Science
 
Seeing what happens in the classroom
Watching the children interact
Love to see the children learning by “doing”
Watching the children learn and interact
Watching the children
I will get told off for drinking coke by my child now!
We will do more experiments at home
I will follow some of the processes at home
We will do experiments at home
I will try to talk more about predictions and hypothesis etc
English
Maths
Art
Interesting,fun, hands-on,practical,real-life engaging,enthusiastic,interactive, exciting, chaotic!
Year 3 KIPLING (number attending 6)
PE
It makes the kids active
Seeing the new equipment in action
Finding out how a PE lesson is conducted
Seeing the new apparatus and the children being active
Seeing the children having fun at school
Activity- getting out of the classroom
Great emphasis on safety.
Working as a team/ team work
Help them with climbing and balance
Safety when climbing outside eg how high do you feel safe?
Reinforces that lots of active pursuits are a great idea
Encouraging team work
Do more climbing with the children
 
Science
English
Maths
Fun, educating,healthy
Energetic, fun, interesting,
Lively, active,, constructive fun, energetic, enjoyable, stretching, exhilarating, heart pumping,detailed, exciting.
Year 3 POTTER (3 attending)
Maths
I liked the fact the children can work at their own ability
Nice calm atmosphere with the children enjoying their learning
Very interactive  The children are asked to express different views about questions.
Working on neatness and explanation
Working within a time frame
Helping the children to concentrate on their work
Science,
Topic,
English
Year 4 AUSTEN (7 attending)
Maths
Variety of teaching methods to learn times tables
The number line
Making learning times tables fun
Different ways to learn the times tables
Ways to reinforce times tables
Looking at alternative ways to learn the tables
Fun, creative ideas to use and practise
Different methods of learning not just the traditional approach
Finding and using games to aid learning
Find engaging ways 
 
Music
Dance
FML
Science
Drama
PE
English
Art
Informative, fun,
Valuable, interesting,
Varied, informative,insightful,engaging,
Interesting,interactive,
Enjoyable
Year 5 DAHL (10 attending)
Science
Explanation of time zone is relevant as we have family that lives in Australia
Being part of the learning and meeting the class
Seeing the children being engaged and curious
Seeing how well the children were learning and behaving in the class
Lovely to see the children being able to work independently, confidently and remaining focussed.
Seeing how science is taught
We will look at time zones with the children
We will talk about the time zones across the world
More discussion about different time zones and maybe take a trip to Greenwich.

 

Maths
Independent, hands on learning, fun, informative,interesting, engaging exciting, exploring
Year 6 SHAKESPEARE (7 attending)
Maths
Problem solving using Bar Modelling
Very helpful to understand how to use the bar modelling method
Thought that the group work/ puzzles was a great idea to keep the children engaged
Creating Learning activities outside and inside the classroom was a wonderful idea.
Making links between the different subjects was very clear and good
Teaching approach was kind and positive- every child felt heard and valued
Understanding the bar method will help with home learning
The bar method was new to me- I will now know what my child is talking about at home.
Now I know what this is I will be able to help more at home
That maths isn't as hard as we think and that the bar method is a very good way to visualise the question.
Science
Maths
English
Music
 
Interesting,fun, hands-on,practical,real-life engaging,enthusiastic,interactive, exciting, an eye opener!

 

Live Learning Sessions Autumn 2018 Parental feedback

Subject
Most useful thing about the session?
How will home learning be impacted?
Future Subjects?
3 word summary
Year 1 ELMER (number attending 7)
English
 
(Phonics and Talk 4 Writing)
Understanding how phonics works and how it is taught
Seeing learning taken place outside the classroom
Seeing how phonics is taught in class makes you realise how challenging the english language is
How phonics is taught in different ways
We can look for sounds in everyday objects
I will focus less on the reading being right and focus more on sounds and making phonics fun
Good to see how phonics sounds are being taught to have consistency
I will focus more on the sounds of the spellings pointing out these sounds when I see them in everyday life
History
Number bonds
Maths
Science
Fun, lively, engaging, great, exciting,
energising, interesting, informative,entertaining and creative
Year 5 DAHL (number attending 3)
English
 
(Poetry)
I learnt about syllables as in my own language we use it differently
Key poets
Respecting the past and passing this down to the children (Cultural capital)
How to break down lines in poetry
Understanding syllables
Being able to talk things through rather than writing all the time is ok
Better understanding of structuring and breaking down the work
Thinking about the wider context of the children's learning
Science
Languages
Inspiring, emotional, informative, respectful,thoughtful,inspirational (I loved it), thought provoking, emotional, inclusive
Year 3 KIPLING (number attending 6)
Science
Seeing how engaged the children are in their learning
Seeing how well the children work together
It is great to see how engaged the children are while learning
The active parts of the lesson eg getting up, sorting, active thinking and moving
Good to see how a lesson is run plus how new subjects are introduced
Seeing how engaged the children are in their learning

Seeing how well the children work together

It is great to see how engaged the children are while learning

The ACTIVE parts of the lesson eg getting up, sorting, active thinking and moving

Good to see how a lesson is run plus how new subjects are introduced
Maths
PE
Music
Creative writing
Helpful,enlightening,interesting,useful,engaging active,interesting, fun,entertaining,informative, engaging
Year 3 POTTER (2 attending)
English
The good class discipline
Use of new words and vocabulary for the children
Encourage the children to speak clearly and project their voices
History
Different ways of thinking
Think, creative, imaginative, inclusive, relaxed enjoyable.
Year 6 SHAKESPEARE (5 attending)
Science
Seeing the range of resources and methods used to help with the learning
How to teach a concept in a variety of ways
How well the children work together to solve problems
Making concepts very visual and hands on
Using the resources to break down a tricky topic
Interactive learning
I can apply the same examples to objects at home

To use props/ objects and a variety of materials and different ways to help them

It has helped to clarify how to approach home learning

It has brought more clarity as to what to do at home

Encourage the use of a range of resources.
 
Maths more Science
Art
PE
English
Fun,visual,varied,engaging,interactive,
interesting,useful,enjoyable.
Year 4 AUSTEN (6 attending)
English

Thank you for having us. It was lovely taking part in the lesson.

Great to see how to bring grammar to life, especially linking it to topical issues. Thank you

Learning grammar vocabulary the children are learning and seeing lessons in progress

To understand the complexity of English and writing

Really interesting to see a lesson in progress. I learnt a lot!

Really interesting to see how challenged the children are and how tricky concepts are taught practically and engagingly

Amazing to see how the class has your attention.

 

In depth information on how to go about it


I will now clap to get her attention.


Clearer knowledge re what and how taught


Helpful to understand how to develop the thought process/ learning and so better able to support that


A better understanding of teaching methods and content


Much more engagement with the task…instead of telling her off and leaving her to it!

 

Science

Maths

PHSE

Wow…quite engaging! Loved it!

Amazing, interesting, wow, varied, challenging, rewarding,

Interesting, educational, fun, engaging,thought-provoking, challenging.

“ Wow! A real insight into Year 4. Much harder than I thought. Really useful.”

Year 4 is hard!!! (much more indepth than I realised)

Year 2 ASLAN (8 attending)
Maths

Really useful to understand techniques so we can replicate it at home


Importance of support at home


All of it has been useful


Engaged children


Children listening


Variety of tasks and use of games


How to support at home


Seeing the level of challenge for the children


Engaged happy children

More practice at home


Will replicate the techniques used


Will continue to use methods at home to help learning in class


Understanding levels and techniques


Understanding approach and methods/ structure used


Very useful to see what maths methods are being used


So useful to replicate techniques at home so child’s  learning is consistent between home and school

PSHCE
English
Science
History
Grammar
Creative writing

 

Fun, engaging,thorough,fast-moving, varied, differentiated, very interesting, enlightening,good fun
Variety of challenge, fun, helpful, intersting, challenging, insightful, interactive, fast paced

 

Live Learning Sessions Summer 2018 Parental feedback

Subject

Most useful thing about the session?

How will home learning be impacted?

Future Subjects?

3 word summary

Year 1 (number attending 3)

English

 

(Phonics and Talk 4 Writing)

Seeing the variety of different teaching methods that were used and how effective they were in keeping the class engaged and learning.

Seeing how phonics is taught and learning techniques to use at home.

Getting a much clearer understanding of what the children do.

Explaining to my child in more detail around the words and the English language

How I need to talk to my child about sounds and letter formation

More likely to do spellings now

Find fun ways of learning to spell words

A better understanding of how to talk about sounds and spellings

Maths

Science

Engaging, effective, interesting,

enlightening, useful, purposeful, fun, multi-layered learning.

Year 2 BFG (number attending 9)

English

(Creative writing, grammar and sentence openers)

Seeing the children in a classroom environment

Seeing the creativity of the children and how well they engage with the subject. It was interesting to see different examples of handwriting

Seeing the high level of vocab the children are used to

Seeing the broad range of abilities

Watching an actual class makes me understand more about what they do during the day. Thank you

Interesting to see what actually happens at school. Lovely to see the children behaving nicely and great teaching. It was very engaging

To get a better idea of how the children spend their day

Lovely to see the dynamic in the classroom and the language used in the children’s learning

Seeing the great interaction between teacher and the children knowing what creative writing devices children should know

Better understanding of the detail needs in written work

Engage my child with creative writing at home in a fun way

I know about more about grammar now

To give my child a lot more time to craft her words out loud to see how they sound

Use more creative words in our writing

Use technical vocabulary more frequently

It gives me an idea of what standard is expected in work

Will think about how we will start stories with a “big bang”

Will think about how to use more creative language in storytelling

Maths

Creative writing

Problem solving activities

Science experiments

Art

Practical subjects like food technology

How children were taught to problem solve and use their arithmetic skills

Engaging, interesting, useful, interactive, motivating, fast paced educational, encouraging, exciting, cheerful, disciplined, creative, challenging, varied, energetic, enthusiastic, dynamic, informative, enlightening, fun.

Year 4 (number attending 4)

Maths

(Converting fractions to decimal)

Working together

Seeing the structure of a “Math –No problem!” lesson

Seeing how maths is taught

Seeing how maths is taught which will make home learning easier

I will do more of it

I now know more about what happens in the classroom so I can mirror it

Utilise techniques at home rather than my old way of doing things

Using the same terminology at home

Science

Design

Art

English

Informative, interesting, fun, great insight

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