The Vale Academy

We hope you have enjoyed the sunshine over the past couple of weeks!
In preparation for the next few weeks of Summer Term, our teachers have been preparing new Home Learning resources that will be available on our website/sent to your email from tomorrow.
If you would like general guidance on supporting your child at home, please see the information updated from the DfE today.
... https://www.gov.uk/…/help-primary-schoo l-children-continue-…
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We wish you all a Happy Easter. However you are spending it, we hope you have a lovely day!

Wow! Millie has been enjoying different science activities. She has been mixing colours, making a kaleidoscope and lava lamp and even made a bouncy ball!
What other science investigations have you carried out?

Where can I go to get support to help keep my child safe online?
There is a lot of support available to keep your child safe online. Below are some useful links to help parents and carers: • Thinkyouknow (advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online) • Internet matters (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)... • Parent info (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online) • LGfL (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online) • Net-aware (support for parents and careers from the NSPCC) https://www.gov.uk/…/closure-of-educati onal-settings-inform…
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The way our pupils have been practising kindness in the last couple of weeks has really made us smile. We've always said that our pupils have some of the biggest hearts and they are proving that during this time.
Thank you all for continuing to share the lovely ways you are expressing gratitude for the people keeping our country going!

Aimee’s explanation of how the eye works:
Your eye works in a similar way to a camera. When you look at an object, the light enters through the cornea and then it focuses the image onto the retina with some help from other compartments in the eye. When the light stimulates the nerve cells in your retina, messages are sent from the optic nerve (which is connected with the retina) to the brain. The two optic nerves join with your brain and, using the information from both optic nerves, the brain combines your vision from both eyes into one image! All this happens quicker than you can say, ‘Eye!’
Thank you for this information, Aimee! I wonder if anyone can add to this information?

We have loved seeing examples of children's Home Learning and, even more so, have loved to see how you have been spending quality time together as a family. As a school, when we return to ‘normality’ we will be working together to ensure that all pupils catch up with what they may have missed while being at home. Please do not panic or worry about how little/much Home Learning activities your children are completing and try to do as much as you can, without putting too much p...ressure on yourself or the children. This is a great opportunity to be spending quality time with the family, something that we can probably all agree is what we all miss when we are at work or school.
We would suggest keeping up to date with daily reading, basic number facts and spellings as an essential. Perhaps your children could keep a daily journal so they practise their writing at regular intervals. There are lots of different Home Learning Packs on the school website, which can either be printed, or if they don’t have access to a printer, the answers can be noted in their Homework Books. There are also Homework Projects on there for each year group, focusing on the theme that would have been covered if we were still at school. Again, these should only be completed at your own pace and we definitely want to provide opportunities for learning at home without giving adults the message that we expect it all to be completed.
Thank you and stay safe. The Vale Academy
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We have been really impressed by all the activities that are taking place at home. Just look at some of the fantastic work that has been shared with us!
Keep the photos coming! We love to see what you have been doing!

Look how hard Leah and Charlie have been working! Times Tables in the Sun - this looks like great fun! 🔢

Another wonderfully creative rainbow from Kaila to celebrate our NHS 🌈
It’s great to see the different ways you are staying connected with each other. Did you see your email from your teacher on Friday? I wonder how many pen pals they will get!

‘After every storm, there’s a rainbow.’ 🌈
Megan is thinking positively and supporting our wonderful NHS with this beautiful rainbow display, reminding us all to keep smiling!
We would love to see more pictures of rainbows to make us smile! 🌈

Hannah and Joshua have kindly shared some of their wonderful Home Learning with us today! Hannah has enjoyed practising her phonics and has even created this amazing picture of Mount Everest! Joshua has created a ‘Prehistoric’ factfile and a dinosaur montage! Mr Barker will be very impressed! 🦖🦕
Don’t forget to keep sharing - we miss you lots and would love to hear what you have been doing at home!

Following recent government announcements, The Shared Learning Trust’s Academies are now closed to the vast majority of pupils. We appreciate that arrangements over the past week have changed rapidly and would like to thank parents and carers for their understanding. We support the government’s message, that at the moment, all should remain at home wherever possible.
A huge thank you to our dedicated staff who are running a skeleton provision for a small number of children ...and providing home learning work. It is humbling to see how everyone pulls together in challenging times.
Finally, we will be contacting families whose children qualify for free schools meals. Please watch out for messages.
I wish everyone well and look forward to seeing you once this situation is over.
Cathy Barr CEO
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Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.
The Vale Academy will be closed on Monday 23rd March to allow us to contact parents requesting school places during the closure period and to allow us vital planning time to ensure good provision is in place and to confirm arrangements. Our reduced provision will commence for children with a confirmed place on Tuesday 24th March. Please do not send your child to us if their place has not been confirmed. Thank you.

Children have enjoyed making Mother’s Day gifts for a special person at home! If you signed up to the Mother’s Day workshop and have not yet received your gift, please let us know by tomorrow.
For those who have been absent, we are happy to make the gift when we return to school, or provide a refund.
Thank you all for being supportive towards these workshops! They have been great fun! A special thanks goes to Mrs Ward, who has taken time from her busy life outside of school to help with the workshops!

Thanks to some lovely home learning one of the members of Hedgehogs class conducted a science experiment to show everyone the importance of washing their hands with soap!