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Dear Parents, Firstly, thank you to the many parents who came to our recent Parents' Meetings - your attendance really highlights to your children the value you place on their education, which in turn encourages them to always try their very best with their learning. I hope you found the meetings informative and helpful. It was lovely to see so many of you there. Parents’ Evenings (where you have an individual appointment with your child’s class teacher) are coming up soon, so please look out for the appointment letters. It is full steam ahead at Hamilton at the moment and it is a pleasure to walk around the school and see so much excellent teaching and learning going on. Our new Reception and Nursery children, and the several children who have joined in other year groups, have settled in very well, and it has been particularly pleasing to see the other pupils showing them around, involving them in play, and generally making them feel welcome. Similarly our new staff members have all got off to a great start with us, and the whole staff team continue to do their very best to ensure that your child has the best possible education here at Hamilton. As ever, please contact us if you have any queries or concerns to do with any aspect of our provision.

RSE Policy In line with recent guidance we have updated our Relationships & Sex Education Policy, a draft version of which is now available on the school website. Any comments or responses to this will be considered as we finalise the Policy. Please email your thoughts into the school office. Thank you.

Friends of Hamilton Despite having a strong team of volunteers we still have had nobody stepping forward to take on key committee roles for the Friends of Hamilton. We are now therefore very close to having to dissolve the committee completely, meaning an end to all those fabulous FoH events that we have all enjoyed over the past years. FoH has a dual function in the life of the school: raising funds to provide the ‘extras’ that enhance the Hamilton learning environment and – equally importantly – arranging exciting events where children, parents and staff come together as part of the school community to share each other’s company and get to know each other. The school will be a much poorer place for both reasons should the FoH cease to exist. There is still time for a last minute reprieve – next Wednesday (2 October) is the FoH AGM, in the Hampden Road hall at 7.30pm. Perhaps someone will come forward then. Please don’t assume someone will step in if you don’t, whether you are a parent new to the school or have been with Hamilton for years, we really do need you!

Stephen Nunn Headteacher

NEWS

Staff News Some sad news – today we say farewell to Mrs Butler (nee Honey) who is leaving Hamilton after over 10 years. Sarah has been a fabulous member of staff, showing great care for the pupils, always smiling and being so helpful to everyone at Hamilton. She is resuming her old career as a driver, so you may well encounter her if you take the bus around town! The good news is that she won't be far away, so we should still see her around. I am sure you will join me in wishing her all the very best.

Advert for Teaching Assistant We are currently looking for a Teaching Assistant to support pupils with special educational needs. The advert can be found on Hamilton’s website at https://hamiltonacademy.org.uk/News/Vacancies/

Breakfast Club – Report from Mrs Hicks The new term has seen children old and new at Breakfast Club, with the new Reception children settling

in nicely. They have all been enjoying a range of activities and are currently being very creative making mosaics. Breakfast Club application forms can be collected from either school office, if you would like your child to join.

hmail SN93 Autumn term 27 September 2019

Priory Avenue High Wycombe HP13 6SG e-mail: hamilton1@bucksgfl.org.uk website: hamiltonacademy.org.uk Twitter: @HamiltonAcadHW

Hamilton Academy

Headteacher: Stephen Nunn

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NOTICES

School Book Fair Today is the last day of our Book Fair – in the hall at Priory Road from 3.15-3.45 and the hall at Hampden Road from 3.30-4pm. Thank you to all those of you who have come and bought books – all Hamilton children will benefit.

ASPIRE Wristbands – Update Congratulations to those children below who have been awarded a wristband recently

Achievement Fynn 4A Soraiyah 4B Ravish 3C Maya 4B

Self - Belief Taz 3A Alex 3B Tyler 3C Keyla, REB Zuzanna, REC

Perseverance Hadiyah 4B Jan 4A Farhad, REB Reuben, REC

Integrity Aliza 4C

Respect Zaakir 3B Humzah 3A Grace, REB Phoebe, REC

Equality

Individual Photos Photos of the children will be taken by Kittle Photography on Thursday 3 October, and will be available for purchase shortly afterwards. Please make sure your child comes to school in the correct regulation uniform, including tie, shoes and with tidy hair according to our uniform policy.

Parking Please remember that our staff car parks are strictly for staff parking only, in the school holidays as well as in term time.

Forest School On Friday mornings small groups of Reception children go to forest school between 9.15am and 11.30am. It is run by Mrs J Saunders (forest school leader- level 3) and supported by parent volunteers. If any parent would like to volunteer their time to help at forest school or find out more about forest school, please contact Mrs Saunders in the nursery.

Year Group and Curriculum News

Nursery – report from Mrs J Saunders This week the Nursery children have been making toast! Last week we had made a shopping list together of our favourite toppings, including jam, cheese, butter and honey, and the children have carefully been spreading them onto freshly cooked toast and cutting their toast with a knife.

We looked together at the shape of the bread and how we can cut it in different ways to make other shapes. Just a reminder that next week on Wednesday 2nd October we have our first Stay, Play, Make and Celebrate. We will be looking at our first Talk For Writing topic and having lots of fun! Parents and carers please join us from 10am and 1.30pm. Thank you as always for your on-going support.

Reception – report by Mrs A Pumfrey, Deputy Headteacher and Early Years Leader

Another busy week in Reception It was lovely to see so many of you at the parents’ tea party on Wednesday afternoon, thank you for taking the time to come along. The children sang their chocolate cake song with huge enthusiasm and confidence which brought a smile to the faces of everyone watching. Our next whole school event to which grandparents and older members of our school community are invited to attend is Harvest Festival on Wednesday 9 October - details to follow shortly. The children have been busily making bread rolls this week, as part of their topic work on the story of the Little Red hen. They very much enjoyed taking turns to mix the ingredients and knead the dough. Everyone took their one roll home to eat, although I'm not sure if they all arrived intact! If you are interested in cooking and would like to come into school to help please talk to your child's class teacher.

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Despite the rather autumnal weather this week, the children continue to flourish and grow in confidence to enjoy their learning both inside and out. May I take this opportunity to remind you to send in a named pair of wellingtons, which remain in school, for rainy days so that the puddles can still be enjoyed whilst keeping dry! We look forward to a few drier days next week.

Year 4 – report by Miss Tanvir Year 4 have been working extremely hard over the last two weeks. We have studied the artist Henri Rousseau and have produced artwork to reflect the rainforests we have been studying alongside the novel ‘Journey to the River Sea.’ It has been a fantastic experience for the children, who have all enjoyed using oil pastels to colour their drawings. They really are a fantastic bunch of artists.

Snacks: The children have started their swimming lessons, which has been very exciting. All children should bring in a snack for break time to help them curb their hunger until lunchtime. This is important for children who are swimming and those who are still at school. Break time runs between 10.00 and 10.20. Children who are swimming have a snack time from 11.00 – 11.15. We ask that every child please bring in a piece of fruit or other healthy snack to school to help them concentrate in late morning lessons.

Year 3 – report by Mrs Ghosal Remember the photo I posted in the last hmail? I wonder how many of you guessed where this photo was taken. I will now reveal the location of this photo as I don’t want to keep you in suspense any longer! This is the entrance to the air raid shelter which is located in the Nursery gardens. I am also attaching a photo of what the inside looks like.

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The entrance to the air raid shelter

The interiors of the Air Raid Shelter It has been a busy and exciting time in Year 3. We have been describing an unusual place in our school using effective adjectives, similes and emotive language. Please read some examples of our writing below.

As I walked through the long, dark tunnel my heart was beating fast, I felt a shiver run down my spine and I wanted to leave immediately. Grace 3A

It felt like it was a scene from a movie. We cautiously proceeded into the tunnel and it felt like an airless chamber. Tomas 3A

The entrance to the Air Raid Shelter had green ivy dangling down as we slowly went down the steps. When we went there were lots of spider webs, they were grey and sticky and dangling like an old lace curtain. Indigo 3C

As we walked carefully down the concrete stairs and stepped on orange, crunchy autumn leaves. Grey cobwebs hung like bats from the roof. Tyler 3C

When you walked into the darkness, the tunnel looked like it was going on forever but when you got closer, you could see a little light and a solid wall. Jessie-Rose 3B

When we entered the old metal gate we saw cobwebs dangling like rotten lace with dead spiders on those old cobwebs. Marcel 3B

Year 2 – report by Mr Bryant Year 2 have had a very busy start to the term! We've been on

our first school trip where we walked to the Rye to explore

our local area and gather some ideas to write our own

versions of 'On the Way Home' but set in High Wycombe.

On Wednesday afternoons children have enjoyed working

with Coach Adam and Coach Clare from Wycombe

Wanderers where they've been exploring the Premier League

values of 'Communication' and 'Ambition' as part of their

outdoor games lessons. In Maths the children have been

working exceptionally hard to develop their understanding of

place value, partitioning numbers into tens and ones (eg: 43 =

40 + 3 or 43 = 21 + 12) as well as doing a lot of counting

forwards and backwards within 100. We've been hearing a lot

of readers and really appreciate all the effort parents are

putting in at home - please remember to fill in the reading

diaries each week so we know how they've got on. Our next

unit in Literacy is looking at road safety, including how to

cross the road and the importance of wearing a seatbelt

when in the car, so now is a good time to remind the children

about how to stay safe when travelling around!

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Year 6 – report from Mrs Brackley Two weeks seems to have flown by since the last hmail and Year 6 have been so busy! We have been working hard to improve our writing through sentence building, checking punctuation and creating atmosphere in our short burst writing pieces. We will be starting our innovated pieces next weekend and will be looking for interesting adjectives and powerful verbs, as well as keeping us on the edge of our seats as we read their stories based on Kidnapped. In geography we have continued to learn more about our local area and how Wycombe has changed since medieval times. The children have matched old photographs of Wycombe with present day and enjoyed seeing how much Wycombe has changed. In science we have been classifying animals even further by looking at mammals and birds and trying to sort them into two or three separate groups. They came up with some innovative ways of sorting the animals! Homework is now being set every Monday and Wednesday. Please support your child in making sure they have done their homework and bring it back to school on Wednesday for literacy and Friday for maths. We continue to have high expectations of your children in terms of presentation so would encourage you to check their work is neat and well presented, including writing a date and title, both of which must be underlined. If you have any concerns about homework then please feel free to talk to your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Finally, class assemblies will be starting shortly and a date for your diary is Friday 11 October for all those parents with children in 6A. We look forward to seeing you then.

Year 5 – report from Miss Byford Year 5 have been extremely busy over the past two weeks. We were all very excited when Mr Nunn arrived with our very special guest, his beloved dog, Eddie. The

children asked some fantastic questions to find out more about Eddie and his life, which will help them with the writing tasks they are working on in English lessons. We have also been lucky enough to have

Heidi from Wycombe Squash and Racket Club visit to teach the children how to play squash. She will be working with the children for five weeks, and they will then have the opportunity to visit the squash courts and play a match!

Our final exciting news is that Ash, from The Bushcraft Company, has been to visit the children today, to talk about a new and exciting residential trip we will be running for Year 5 in May 2020. The children will have brought home a card that will tell you how to pay your deposit if you would like your child to take part. If you have any questions regarding this, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of the Year 5 team.

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Year 1 – report by Miss Curley The children have continued to settle in well to Year 1 and are learning our routines quickly. We have continued our learning about ‘Giraffe’s can’t dance’ and had lots of fun. The children have created split pin giraffes that can dance and music shakers to

make their own music. Last week we went onto the field and had our very own jungle

dance! This week has ended with the children planning their own version of ‘Giraffe’s can’t dance’ with their own characters. Their ideas and writing has been fantastic! In Topic we have been learning about our

senses. We have been exploring lots of different objects with our senses and we even went on a

senses walk around the school this week. In Maths we have continued to work on our number skills and have started learning to find one more and one less. Please come and speak to any of the Year 1 team if you have any questions or concerns. To keep up to date with what we are doing in Year 1, please follow us on Twitter! @HamiltonAcadY1

FRIENDS OF HAMILTON

FoH dates for your calendar! FoH Annual General Meeting - Wednesday 2 October Fireworks Night - Friday 8 November Panto at Wycombe Swan - Wednesday 18 December

Welcome back! This time of year also brings us to the Friends of Hamilton Annual General Meeting! The FoH AGM will be held on Wednesday 2 October @ 7:30pm in the Hampden Road hall. All Hamilton Academy parents are welcome to attend and we would love to see lots of new faces. Friends of Hamilton is a great community and a fantastic way to learn about the school and get involved with fundraising activities. FoH plays an essential part in raising funds to provide the ‘extras’

that enhance the HA children’s learning environment within the school. Please come along to the AGM and see what we are all about! :-)

Fireworks Night Once again, the annual Hamilton Academy Fireworks is happening! This has got to be the best Fireworks show in High Wycombe! Book your tickets online via the Hamilton Academy website - https://www.hamiltonacademy.org.uk/ or the FoH online booking form on the FoH Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FriendsofHamilton/

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Open Air Cinema - Saturday 28 September Sadly, we had to cancel this event due to circumstances out of our control but we will be bringing it back next year when the weather is a tad warmer!

Wycombe Swan Shows We have been doing a roaring trade with ticket sales to shows at the Wycombe Swan! You can keep up to date with the shows we have tickets for and book tickets via the Friends of Hamilton Facebook page. This is a fantastic way to support Friends of Hamilton and our local theatre with hugely discounted tickets to great shows.

Cinderella on Ice - Wednesday 27 November 2019 - https://forms.gle/66ykzUnMtVkPjYeB9

Panto - Dick Whittington Wednesday 18 December 2019 - https://forms.gle/wXAt7aYiHTqEnPUaA

Grease The Musical - Wednesday 24 June 2020 - https://forms.gle/mPUsCSnsLJQbfVH69

Wycombe Lotto - Friends of Hamilton Please help support Friends of Hamilton through our Wycombe Lotto page. This is an amazing fundraising initiative with Wycombe Council that supports our Friends of Hamilton and also local good causes in Wycombe. This is such an easy way to fundraise for Friends of Hamilton and every little bit counts. Fundraise for FoH whilst at the same time giving our supporters the opportunity to win £25,000 every draw! Details are on the FoH Facebook page or the Hamilton Academy website or click the link - https://www.wycombelotto.co.uk/support/friends-of-hamilton. Please get your tickets and help us work towards purchasing playground equipment for the school. This is a really easy and simple, inexpensive way to help us fundraise and at the same time the chance to win £25,000 for yourself!

Easyfundraising.org.uk Please don’t forget to sign up for this easy-peasy fundraising tool if you shop online! It is really easy to sign up and very easy to fundraise for Friends of Hamilton/Hamilton Academy whilst doing your normal online shopping. This is especially effective at this time of year, Christmas time as people are doing lots of internet shopping! Please take a look and sign up now -

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/hamiltonacad

emy/. So far we have raised £975!

Friends of Hamilton! To keep up to date with all that is going on with Friends of Hamilton please become a member of our Friends of Hamilton page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FriendsofHamilton/ We are a busy little bunch trying with all our might to fundraise for the kids in the school to allow us to host fabulous events like the Summer Fair, Fireworks Night and Festive Fun Day and support the school with learning resources to enhance the environment like the outside gardens, library books, trips, sports equipment and uniform - the list is endless!

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Attendance

The class at each site which has the best attendance in a week wins an Attendance Bear to look after for a week. Attendance is reported on our website home page.

Our target for attendance is 96%!

Below target

At or above target

For pupils at the end of KS2, as the level of overall absence increases the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard of above in reading and mathematics tests decreases. This link between overall absence and attainment is evident whether we look at increasing overall absence rates or increasing number of weeks missed Information from: The link between absence and attainment at KS2 and KS4 2013/14 academic year Research report March 2016 DfE

For your information. Whilst not endorsing the following information we pass it on to you in good faith

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

4-6 Sept 9-13 September 16-20 September

Class

Att

end

ance

Late

s

Att

end

ance

Late

s

Att

end

ance

Late

s

Att

end

ance

Late

s

Att

end

ance

Late

s

1A 89.5 2 97.6 2 92 2 1B 94.7 96.5 4 94.6 1 1C 89.3 1 96.2 1 91.2 2A 93.1 96.7 1 86.3 2B 96 2 98.6 2 97.9 1 2C 89.3 99.3 98.2 3A 95 1 98.3 3 97.3 1 3B 90.6 94.1 2 93.4 3 3C 98.9 3 96.6 6 95.3 2 4A 94.4 2 98.7 1 96.7 3 4B 86.2 4 88.7 3 94.3 3 4C 87.8 97.3 1 98 3 5A 97.8 95.7 99.3 1 5B 92.2 2 96.2 95.3 4 5C 97.8 1 96.6 95.7 2 6A 95.4 1 99.6 1 100 1 6B 94.2 1 94 1 95.8 1 6C 93.7 1 91.6 93.8 1

Totals 93.2 21 96.3 28 95.4 29

The impact absence has on attendance and attainment

How many days off to stay green? The impact absence has on attainment

Attendance Rate

Total number of days off in a school year

Attendance Rate

Total number of days off in a school year

80% 40

Less than 90% Less than 20% chance of good

progress

85% 30 Less than 85% Less than 35% chance of good

progress

90% 20

Less than 90% Less than 50% chance of good

progress

95% 10 95% Good chance

of good progress

97% 6 97%

Very good chance of good

progress

100% 0 100% Every chance

of good progress

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