Welcome to our page!

Welcome to the pupil page for Halfway Houses Primary School.

On here you will find out what we think of all the activities, ideas and developments that take place in our school community.

Here's what we think about our school events and activities!

Year 6 trip to France

Some of our Year 6 children went to France to stay in a Chateau and have some amazing adventures such as a trip to Disneyland Paris, visits to cookie and chocolate factories and a day exploring a French beach, market and supermarket. Here is what they said about it....

"I liked Disneyland but my favourite part was when we were on the beach. I let my hair down and I just felt really peaceful and free"

Neave

"I loved Disneyland the best! We went on so many fun and scary rides and it was so good!"

Michelle

"I got to spend lots of money in the market. I liked buying cakes from the shop and I shared it with my friend at lunchtime. It tasted weird but in a good way!"

Emily

"I ate three snails. They actually weren't as bad as I though they were going to be!"

Amelia

Dress like a Rockstar and NSPCC Number Day

This week we helped to raise money for the NSPCC number day. We dressed in number related clothes or as our favourite Rockstar and we competed in a TTRS Battle of the bands against other classes.

"I loved my outfit, it had all different numbers on it all over it"

Harry

"Our class won the battle! It was really close so we sneaked in and did loads more sessions without the other class knowing!"

Maddison

"I like raising money for charity to give to other children that need it, it makes me really happy"

Emily

Bonkers about books!

This week we were bonkers about books! We brought in as many books as we could from home that we no longer needed so that we can help to top up our school library. We did some work on different book covers and we had to stop what ever we were doing and read every time our teachers told us. We also got to come dressed in our PJs and slippers!

"I wish I could wear my pyjamas every day, they were really warm and cosy"

Reggie

"Every time the bell rang we had to stop and read, even if we were in the hallway!"

Maddie

"Our class bought in over 100 books I think that must be one of the highest classes"

Charlie

Remembrance Day

Our Pupil Parliament went over to the local cemetery to place memorial crosses on the graves of the soldiers who have bravely fought for our country on behalf of the Royal British Legion. This is a job that we do annually and the children were very proud to be involved. 

"It's really important to be respectful as these are people that fought for us in the war"

Yiththica

"It makes me really sad when I see how old some of them were when they died. One of them was only 23"

Nathan

"I am glad we get to do this job and help other people to remember them"

Isabella

Go on Sheppey United!

We had a non uniform day to show support for our local football team who made it through to the FA cup for the first time in their history! After school we had the opportunity to take pictures with the team mascot and star player Dan Bradshaw.

"Sheppey are going to win, they are the best!"

Harry

"I'm wearing my Sheppey kit as I play for the youth team. I want to play for them when I am older"

Dylan

"I'm going to watch them on TV later, I hope they win"

Maddie

World Mental Health Awareness Day

We spent the afternoon talking about mental health and ways that we can help each other to feel safe and happy. Here are the ideas from Penguin Class

Our New Chickens!

We have been looking after our new baby chicks in the canopy for the past few weeks until they grew big enough to be outside with the other chickens. It was finally time to release them in to the big pen. When we got over there we had a big surprise.... 3 more new babies have hatched! We are looking forward to watching them grow!  

"They are really little! I think the mummy is a bit grumpy with us because she doesn't want us to hurt them"

Harper

"I think they are going to like it in there because they can be friends with the other chickens"

George

"I think they hatched at the weekend because they are still very small"

Jay

Pride Day

We held our annual pride day and celebrated our hashtag #welearnasone.

We read the story of Elmer and talked about what makes us proud to be unique and special.

"I am proud that I can speak two languages"

Rugile

"I like seeing all the rainbow colours. I like my outfit!"

Oliver

"I am proud that I am a good footballer"

Finley

French Day

This week we had a French day for the whole school. We dressed in red, white and blue to match the colours of the flag and tried traditional French foods. We practised speaking French to each other too!

"I loved tasting the different foods but I didn't like the cheese. It didn't taste like the cheese I have at home"

Grace

"I like seeing what everybody was wearing"

Ethan

Coronation Celebrations!

On Friday 5th May the whole school celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III with a whole school picnic and a non uniform day. We had a special school lunch and made crowns and bunting. Thank you very much to Leonie Shield's who is one of our parents for providing the amazing balloon decorations!

"We have to remember to sing the right words when we sing the National Anthem" 

Rose

"I think everybody looks really good dressed in red, white and blue. We look like the flag!"

Riley

"I love being altogether on the field to celebrate"

Reggie

Purple Day

We all wore purple to raise awareness of epilepsy which is a condition that some children in our school have experienced. Phoebe and Lolah put together an information PowerPoint and Joel helped them to share this with every class. 

"I felt really nervous at first speaking in front of everyone but then I relaxed a bit. The children in Year 2 asked lots of really good questions"

Phoebe

Science Fair

We all visited the science fair and we were amazed by all the fantastic experiments. We learned lots of new things and the children were brilliant at explaining what they had created!

"I loved the one with the skittles that made a rainbow"

Albie

"The space one was really good because it had the names of all the planets so that I can learn them"

Grace

Red Nose Day

We took part in Comic Relief again this year and we dressed in  red-to-toe! We talked about how our donations might be used to help other people. 

"I like to give other people money that might need it, it makes me feel happy"

Grace

"I like to wear my red clothes as we normally wear blue"

Teddy

"We collected all the money from the classes, the bag was really heavy!"

Rose

Book week 

As part of book week year one had the opportunity to listen to Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler. Axel drew some characters from the story he read to us and Julia read us a fairy tale.

’Cece said ‘Troll went in the water, he, he’

Justina liked the bit where hare raced the hedgehog.

Bluebell thought it was funny when the wolf fell in the pot.

Harry ‘I liked it when Axel drew the hedgehog!’

William ‘I liked it when Axdel drew the hare running!

Shadow Shoots

This week the whole school had a visit from the Shadow Shoots performance group who taught us about how we can help to keep the planet healthy. We did lessons in class first and were given some special seeds to grow when we were back in class.

"I liked the music, it was really loud and exciting!"

Grace

"I learned lots about how top soil can get washed away or trodden on"

Teddy

"They climbed on each other and balanced, it was really amazing!"

Summer

Macbeth

Year 5 had a visit from Blue Sky Theatre who introduced the characters from Macbeth to support with their literacy learning for the term.

Java told us "I really enjoyed it. I think a lot of thought went in to making it. I thought it was really fun and I liked that they used children from our school to become part of the story."

Danley Farm

Years R-4 went to our local petting farm. We got to see lots of different animals and even had a visit to see Santa in his grotto. 

Halfway Houses Christmas fair

Our amazing parent volunteers and Friends of Halfway School put together an amazing Christmas fair fo us all to enjoy. There was face painting, games, stalls and even a visit form someone very special! Everyone enjoyed it so much, thank you to all involved for all your hard work!

"I sing with a local signing choir so it was really nice to be able to invite them along to sing and sign some Christmas songs"

Olivia

"I helped to run the snowman game. People had to try to splat the snowman!"

Toby

"I won a prize in the raffle. It was amazing!"

Ella

Christmas Jumper Day

This week we all dressed up in Christmas jumpers and festive outfits. It made us feel very festive!

"I had a reindeer and it had a Santa hat"

Charlie

"I had a really cool jumper. I liked wearing different clothes"

Thrinesh

"I loved wearing my jumper because it has pompoms and I love them!"

Rosie

Whole school pantomime

The whole school went to Sheerness East to watch the pantomime 'Dick Whittington'. There was lots of singing and dancing and everyone loved joining in, especially booing King Rat!

"I thought that the cat was really funny!"

Evie

"The best bit was the Ghostbusters song when the ghost got scared at the end"

Callum

"I enjoyed spending time out of school with my friends"

Logan

Children In Need

The whole school took part in Children in Need Day and either dressed in something spotty or bright colours. We raised around £644! Well done everyone!

"I wish I had a bit more money so that I could give it to the children who need it" 

Isaac

"I like my spotty T-Shirt so much I am going to wear it tomorrow as well"

Oliver 

Anti Bullying Week

This week was Anti Bullying Week. We had 2 special assemblies run by the Pupil Parliament Wellbeing Leaders who talked about the people in our school that can help us if we have any issues. We discussed the difference between bullying and people being mean or unkind and how we all have a part to play in making our school the best it can be.

"If anybody has a problem they can come and talk to the teachers. If something happens at lunch that is sorted out by the dinner staff but then carries on in class you can talk to your teacher or TA"

Nancy

"You can always come and talk to any of your pupil leaders. We will have our coloured fleeces soon so we will be easy to spot on the playground"

Payton

Remembrance Day

On Friday 11th November at 11am the whole school gathered on the playground to honour a 2 minute silence of remembrance. The Pupil School leaders went to the local cemetery to place crosses on the Commonwealth war graves on behalf of the British Legion.

World Mental Health Day

This week we all recognised World Mental Health Day in our classrooms. We talked about the things that made us feel happy and relaxed and drew pictures to display in an art gallery in the corridor. 

"I drew a picture of my dog and we are at the park"

Charlie

"It makes me happy when I go on holiday and we go to the beach"

Grace

"I drew a picture of lots of different things that make me happy"

Jayden

Monster Phonics Launch Day

We are using a new phonics programme called Monster Phonics. We had a launch day to get to know all of the characters and colours and we did lots of fun activities such as scavenger hunts and dressing up!

King Charles lll

This week we have been reflecting on the life of the Queen  in preparation for her funeral on Monday.  We have been thinking about the huge role that our new King will have and we have learned our new National Anthem for King Charles III

Year 3 trip to the outdoor centre.

Our year 3 children had a fantastic time on their trip to the outdoor centre. They took part in a range of activities such as den building, archery and climbing.

"I liked the climbing wall but I was a bit nervous at first"

"We built a really good den, it was fun!"

"I got really close to the gold circle in the archery"

Young carers trip to Canterbury.

Our young carers went out together on a trip to Canterbury cathedral. Whist there they took part in a range of activities including dressing up and making stain glass windows.

Athlete visit.

We were lucky enough to have a visit from professional athlete Ezekiel Ewulo. We were able to raise an amazing £3462 which will help to fund future sports development and equipment for the school. Lots of the children got to have photos and autographs and the whole school took part in a fun assembly and sports workshops throughout the day.

"The assembly was brilliant, it was funny watching the teachers joining in"

Sam

"I loved the workshop it made me want to do more sport"

Phoebe

"It was really exciting meeting an actual real athlete!"

Jayden

Highsted Mathletics Day

A group of Year 5 children were selected to represent our school at the Highsted Mathletics Day. They took part in a number of different challenges and activities and competed as a fantastic team throughout the day!

"I liked the activities and I am hoping to go to this school so it was nice to be able to look around"

Olivia

"i liked seeing other children from different schools, especially my friend"

Firas

"I liked doing the orienteering outside"

Bradley

The Platinum Jubilee

The whole school took part in celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee.

We learned about different fashions and key events from the decades of the Queen's reign and finished the week with dressing up and a picnic on the field.

"The picnic was the best day of the year! I like that everyone is back together again"

James

"I loved dressing up as a soldier"

Charlie

"The music was really good. I had a great time at the picnic"

Bella

TTRS World Record Challenge!

We took part in online challenge to reach a world record for times tables streamed online. We did a fun warm up and enjoyed taking part.

We liked doing the exercises with Katya.

The warm up was really good

We liked the times table song and dance for the 5 times tables.

Duckling Class

The Three Trees

We were so lucky this week to be able to watch this amazing performance by Year 3 about three little tree who had big hopes and dreams. There was so much fantastic acting and singing and it was lovely to be back together as a school!

I loved watching all the children acting and singing.

Sophie

It was really good, I hope we get to do one like that

Oliver

They sang really nicely and I liked their costumes too.

Charlie

Year 5 Macbeth Workshops

On Wednesday, the children in Year 5 took part in some drama workshops. They enjoyed finding out about the life and work of William Shakespeare.

It was good. I liked how we got into groups and people came into the school.

Hayden

So fun and interesting! All the stories and finding out about Shakespeare was interesting. 

Pixie

Really amazing and funny. When he pretended to be a girl - that was funny! 

Bentley

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The Big Little Nativity!

Our EYFS children had a fantastic time performing in their Nativity play this week. They were all absolutely amazing!

"We liked wearing our costumes and singing and dancing on the stage"

Teddy, Gracie, Theo, George and Emily

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Christmas Jumper Day

This week was Christmas jumper day. All the children and staff came to school looking really festive and there were so many colourful and jingly Christmas outfits!

"We like to wear our own clothes to school instead of school uniform"

Gwenevere and Louie

"Mine is super cool and fluffy!"

Mohammad

"My jumper has a matching hat"

Teddy

"It's really soft and comfortable"

Poppy

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Halfway Houses visit the pantomime

This week all of the children went across to see a performance of Jack and the beanstalk at the Sheerness East club and they had a great time. A huge thank you to the Friends of Halfway for organising this and to Mrs Smith for the use of the hall.

"I had so much fun, they were really funny!"

Isabelle

"My favourite bit was when the cow came out"

Archie

"It was nice to be able to go on a school trip again because we couldn't go last year"

Sophie

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Halfway Houses Gardening Club

We have been extremely lucky this year having been chosen to be one of two schools in Kent to take part in the Bulbs 4 Kids campaign, a fun way for children to become acquainted with the wonders of nature.
Our children are working together to plant around 400 bulbs in our Forest School and playground areas. We will then revisit the bulbs each season to document the first shoots right through to the full grown flowers.
We can’t wait to see how beautiful they all look when they are in bloom in spring of next year and the children can see what their hard work and dedication has achieved!

"It's super fun and amazing because I get to use my hands to dig."
George 

"I’m planting things and then I get to watch them grow. The flowers will be beautiful."
Melody 

"I like to dig holes in the ground to put the seeds in, it’s so much fun."
Bentley 

"I like being outside, I do gardening at home and it makes me think of being with my Grandad."
Ollie 

"It gets me fresh air, I feel so happy!"

Vinnie

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A week of celebrations!

At Halfway Houses Primary School we have been celebrating all week. This week is Anti-Bullying Week with a theme of 'one kind word' and we have been creating lots of colourful kind words to go on our new display. We have also launched our new hashtag 'we learn as one' which reminds our whole school community that everybody is equal and included. We have some new signs around the school that help us to remember this. Finally, we rounded off the week by celebrating Children in Need with the theme of 'together we can'. The children and staff made donations to come dressed in an outfit that brings them joy or that represents them as a person which we felt fitted in really well with our themes for the week.

"I'm dressed up in love and flowers because flowers make me happy"

Yiththica

"We're going to be comfy and cosy all day!"

Eden and Harley

"It will make me happy if I can be a teacher when I am older so I have dressed up as Mrs Martin"

Maddison

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Making a change!

Sophie and Henry have chosen to become lunchtime monitors to help out the midday meals staff. They were not happy with the amount of mess and rubbish that was being left behind so they decided to put a PowerPoint together for staff to show the children the mess that was being left behind. Later the same week, they were very pleased to report that they had seen a drastic improvement!

"We are so glad that the mess is now gone!"

Henry

"I am really glad that it worked because it saves us and the staff a lot of time!" 

Sophie

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Maths Week England

We took part in Maths Week England. We tried to do as many times tables sessions on TT Rockstars as we could across the week and managed to score an amazing 504,232 points which put us in 16th place in the whole of England! Well done everyone that took part!

"I liked that I was close to being the top Rockstar in my class and I got higher than my normal average"

Dan

" I came 4th in the whole school and I am really proud. I always try hard with my TTRS sessions"

Ella

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Remembrance Day

A couple of years ago, we were contacted by the Poppy Appeal organiser for Sheerness, Halfway, Minster and Queenborough, who is also a member of the Isle of Sheppey Royal British Legion.
She told us that every year little wooden crosses are placed on the war graves in the cemetery at Halfway for remembrance by the IOS RBL. Unfortunately, due to the ages of these members it is becoming increasingly more difficult for them to complete this task themselves. She asked us if we would like to take responsibility for doing this each year and we feel that this is a very rewarding and educationally relevant experience for our children. Our Head Boy, Girl and their deputies alongside our MInisters for Charity assisted with this task this year.

"I think that it is really important that we die this, it is very respectful to the people who have died in wars"

Imogen

"I think it is important that people are able to remember them"

Freya

"When people are walking by, they will see the crosses and remember them"

Mason

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Rugby Tournament

Some of our Year 3 children attended a tournament in Sittingbourne. There were lots of primary schools there and they got to learn the basic skills of tag rugby and participate in a game against another school.

"I just wanted to go back out there and play again!"

Isla

"I scored a goal"

Stanley

"I really liked playing against the other team"

Noel

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New Laptops!

Mrs Fordyce was recently contacted by Russel from Sheppey Matters to ask how they could help to improve learning at school by providing us with any technology. This morning we took delivery of 21 new laptops, one for every class! We are so grateful for them and would like to thank all at Sheppey Matters for this amazing donation.

"These are going to be so useful in class" 

Mason

"I'm glad I got to help to collect them, this is my first role as Head Boy"

Anthony

"New laptops will mean more people can access technology in class"

Freya

"We will be able to have more people using AR and TT"

Sophie

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Halfway Houses Mini Marathon

On Thursday and Friday, all of the children took part in a mini marathon arranged by the organisers of the London Marathon. Every child completed 2.6 miles which was mapped out on the school field. Once completed, Mr Cooper and Mr Smith will register completion with the event organisers and all children will receive an event badge.

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'We loved learning about the challenges people face when they run a marathon and how much they have to train. '

Swan Class

Macmillan Coffee Mornings

On Friday 24th September we joined together to support the Macmillan charity. The children had tea parties in their classrooms and wore non uniform for a small donation. We were able to raise an amazing £688 and raise awareness about the fantastic work that they do.

We were hungry to raise money for the Macmillan charity!

Lola-Beau

I hope we have raised enough money to help them to carry on supporting children with cancer

Brooklynne

If we give the charity money they can help people to get better

Freya

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Sports Week

Sports week took place across the school every day for a whole week. The children took part in a range of activities including sports days, the daily mile, yoga, Joe Wicks PE and personal challenges. The weather wasn't always on our side but the children and adults had so much fun!

“I am going to run every race!”

Jake

“I think we should do a daily mile every day, even if it is not sports week.”

Callum

 “I am going to try to beat my score from last time in the speed jumping.”

Max

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Playground Theatre.

Today we were lucky to experience 'Playground Theatre' in years 3, 4, 5 and 6. It involved games and accessible skills based activities that use problem solving, improvisation and creative play. These were run by Theatre 31 which is a youth led programme that invites students to build communication and confidence whilst enjoying an outlet for self expression.

" It was exciting as we got to act and I love acting."

Imogen 

"100/100. It was fun and kept us all fit."

Max

"It helped to build my confidence."

Fletcher

"I really enjoyed it because we got to be silly and creative!"

Lexie

"An enjoyable change to our normal school day."

Freddy

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Ahoy me hearties!

Year R have been using the book "Class three all at sea" in their learning and have been having some pirate themed fun! Captain Smelly Feet set them a challenge to work out what the smells were in his stinky socks and they have been dressing up, having pirate themed food and walking the plank!

"I'm dressed up in my boat!"

Rocco

"We don't want to join Captain Smelly Feet's crew because he is too stinky!"

Zac and Flossy

"My name is Pirate Kelsey"

Kelsey.

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Science Gilt award.

We recently received confirmation that we have earned our science Gilt award in recognition of the amazing science that has happened across the school and throughout lockdown. Bethany, our Minister for learning said "I enjoyed doing science work still whilst I was at home, I am glad we have earned this award because science at our school is really fun!"

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The oyster catchers

The oyster catchers have been very noisy lately so we knew that their chicks had probably hatched. Yesterday one of the chicks was found on the school field having parachuted down from the nest. Mrs Noble rang Swampy's wildlife rescue who advised us to leave it alone and stay away from the area as the parents will be feeding it and looking after it until it is ready to fly.

"The baby was in the grass and it was grey."

Rowan

"The mummy bird was looking after it, she was squawking!"

Isla

"Its dad was hunting for food. They were being noisy so that the baby could see and hear them"

Ava

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The chickens have arrived!

Last week we received our first 6 chickens to join our school community and we are so excited as we have been waiting a long time for them. We are letting them settle in to their new home but will be going out to visit them soon. We have already collected quite a few eggs!

"I am glad we got the chickens because they look cosy now and have a really nice new home"

Coral

"They're really nice and friendly and they don't try to nibble you!"

Kai

" I want to learn more about them and help to look after them"

Eden

"I think that they add something cool and different to our school environment"

Nathan

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Seeds of hope.

We wanted to do something special to celebrate new hope as we returned to school as we hope that we can all go back to normal and continue to grow and change together. Every class was given a planter and could choose some flowers to plant in them. These have been put out of the front of the school and have really brightened up the driveway.

Minister for the environment Dior says "We have been out to water them every playtime if it hasn't rained as we want to make sure that they last a long time." 

Lyra says " I think the plants are a really good idea as they make the front of the school look really pretty for parents and visitors."

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New Year 6 area

Our new area is now open for the Year 6 children to use at breaktime and lunchtimes. The children have been asking for new equipment to use and they now have a lovely new hut to sit in to read or chat and exercise equipment to help to use up that extra energy and help them to keep fit and active.

"We've been watching the Year R children playing on their equipment for ages  and wanted something that we could use. This has really upscaled our equipment"

Bradley, Minister for Sport

"We like the equipment as it has alleviated our boredom. It has made lunchtimes more exciting"

Florence and Isabella

"It's nice that we have something sporty to do at break time now. It gives us something to do."

Kyan

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Royal Mail Stamp Competition

We have all been busy designing stamps for a really exciting competition. The Royal Mail are producing a new set of stamps to commemorate and say thank you to the heroes of the pandemic. We were asked to think about who our heroes were and draw a design to recognise them. We hope to win some of the lovely prizes on offer but wouldn't it be amazing if one of our designs actually ended up being used on a stamp!

"I chose the NHS for my stamp because they saved loads of lives"

Neve

"I chose my mum because she's been working really hard as a nurse"

Rosie

"I chose my dad because he has been working nights and delivering to people"

Harry

"I chose police officers because they always work so hard"

Logan

"I chose teachers because they helped us so much when we weren't able to come to school"

Skylar

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Bird boxes

We have some lovely new bird boxes in our forest school which have been made by Mrs Fordyce's very clever Dad. We're hoping to see them being used by the local wildlife very soon!

"It's good that they are up nice and high because we don't want foxes and other animals to get them"

Callum

"I think they're camouflaged so that just the birds can see their nests"

Louie

"They're really good. We need to watch them to see if any birds go in"

Mia

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The very hungry caterpillars!

There are some new additions to our Year R classes. They have been reading and learning about 'The very hungry caterpillar' and they have some real live caterpillars in their classrooms. They are waiting for them to grow and then they will put them in to the butterfly garden outside.

"There are three at the top and two at the bottom and there are five altogether"

Oliver

"I think they are going to turn in to butterflies"

Bella

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Virtual Parliament

Our Year 6 Parliament Ministers had a great morning meeting with Gordon Henderson and having a virtual tour. They found out lots about how democracy works and who makes decisions.

"We found out lots about how Parliament works and we got some good ideas to help us in our roles"

School Parliament

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NSPCC Rocks!

Friday 7th May was Number Day. We dressed up in number themed outfits and took part in a National Rockstar maths competition.

"It was really fun. I enjoyed learning about different maths and the competition."

Amelie

"I liked wearing different clothes to school"

Oliver

"I loved the tournament because I like doing Rockstar Maths"

Summer

"I liked being able to wear my own clothes"

Amilia