Year 5

ACADEMIC YEAR 2017-2018

On Wednesday evening, Year 5 enjoyed a visit to Bayfordbury Observatory. At first, we spend time learning some interesting facts about space from one of the astronomy students. Although the cloudy weather meant we were unable to see the stars and planets through the telescope we did see first hand how they work, the moving of the platform and found out: 

The astronomy side of Bayfordbury Observatory features 7 large permanently-mounted optical telescopes, 4 radio telescopes, and a range of smaller instruments. We saw the JCD Marsh telescope, which was the first telescope set up at the Observatory in 1970; as well as the radio telescope. Radio telescopes allow detailed observations to be made of the hidden hydrogen that makes up our own galaxy, as well as high-energy radio sources inside and outside our galaxy. An advantage of radio telescopes is that they can work during cloudy weather and during the day as well as at night.

We then moved back inside to enjoy a tour around the night sky in the planetarium. This allowed us to view the planets and stars up close and also see the view that the space station have of Earth. 

It was a fantastic trip which allowed the children to learn from the experts! 

Viking Day

Today the children spent the morning learning about the Vikings. We heard about their way of life, where they came from, how they travelled and what happened in raids. The artefacts really helped us see their what life would have been like. We weren't so keen on the idea of sharing our house, which consisted of 1 room, with our animals such as a cow or having to "use the facilities" where we would eat. A quiz then followed where we needed to answer a lot of questions using our comprehensive skills. The morning was rounded off by us playing a Viking board game 'fox and goose', we used our skill to try and beat our opponent, it got very competitive!   

After looking at Viking coins, how they were made and learning about their money system, the afternoon then moved on to provide an deeper insight into the Viking man. We look at the types of weaponry they used, the protection they had and learnt about battle formations. 

It was a fantastic opportunity for all the children to gain valuable expert knowledge about the Vikings. 

ACADEMIC YEAR 2016-2017

Year Five Running Festival at Monks Walk

Year five had a great morning at Monks Walk today (23.9.16) for the year 5 running festival.  This is an event  held every year at the beginning of the autumn term at Monks Walk school.  Many local primary schools take part in the competition. The weather was fantastic and the children enjoyed their  run round the Monks Walk sports field.  The distance was quite a challenge - about a mile - but the children were amazing! Well done, year 5.

We are delighted that five of our children have qualified to take part in the next event at Stanborough Lakes on 12th October.  Well done to Emily, Savannah, Daniele, Mikie and Miller.  We will look forward to seeing them compete again!

Chamber music at Hatfield House

On Thursday morning, 22nd September, year 5 and 6 went to Hatfield House to listen to a small ensemble of classical musicians.  They listened to several pieces of music by famous classical composers such as Bach and Schumann. We had a lovely morning and the children were great ambassadors for Harwood Hill.

Year Five Elections: School Council and Eco Council

Year 5 held their elections for school council and eco council today.  Some of the children gave some very impressive speeches explaining why they wanted to be elected.  Here are their speeches. A big thank you to all of the children who stood for election.

One

I would like to be voted for school council because ever since year 1, I've wanted to be on the school council.   When it's a hot summer's day and we're boiling hot, I think we need somewhere to cool down, such as a swimming pool and a tree house in the woods.  We could have a big school fund raise to get money so please vote for me.

Two

I hope you vote for me.  I will listen when you're sad and I will work really hard to turn things around. I am also your friend who has the same issues as you. I will make sure that we are heard by our teachers and our school.  Whether it is lining up for school or trying to get your lunch, you can count on me to help this merry bunch!  Vote for me!

Three

I would really like to be part of eco council because I really care about our environment.  I have been researching ideas that we as a school can take part in such as energy saving, tree planting, vegetable patch, food waste recycling to make compost.  Please vote for me.

Four

If you vote for me, you are voting for:

1. A better school council.

2. A fair school council

3. A thoughtful school council.

I would be a councillor who would speak up for us, who will communicate what's right and wrong, who will ensure that we get what's right for the school.  I believe that I am well thought of and well mannered enough to speak on behalf of you and the school.  A vote for me is a vote for you, a vote for us and a vote for Harwood Hill.  Thank you.

Five

Please vote for me for eco council because I want to save electricity and keep the environment clean and have a gardening club.  We could also get a green house to use in science lessons.   Please vote for me.

Year Five Targets

During week one, year five thought about their individual targets.  They considered three targets to achieve: one by the end of the week, one by the end of this term and one by the end of the year.  They created some great posters for their targets.  Here are some of the posters so far.

ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-2016

Tour de Harwood 2016

We had a great afternoon.  Well done, everyone!

Greek Plates: New meets old

What amazing plates!  Well done, year 5.  You all worked so hard on this task.. 

The children made Greek plates out of papier mache. They then painted them a terracotta colour. Around the edge of the plate, they drew a Greek repeated pattern and in the middle, they drew a modern Olympic sports pictogram.  Very appropriate in another Olympic year!

Poetry

Year 5 children have written some fantastic poems using onomatopoeia. They worked hard to choose powerful vocabulary to create effective imagery. Some of their poems are included here.

NOISE

I fear noise

The crack of a rifle, the clash of iron

The rumble of tanks, the wail of a siren

The roar of a plane, the scream of a fighter

The news of death from the clink of a typewriter

I fear noise

I dread noise

The thud of a corpse, the slash of a bayonet

The slice of a knife, the clink of a helmet

The cries of soldiers, the fight of war

The rattle of machine guns, the barbed wire that flesh tore

I dread noise

I despise noise

The demolished cities, the causalities that groan

The raging tanks, the crack of broken bones

The rumble of tanks, the warplanes that fly overhead

The stomp of armies, the sacrifices that are sadly dead

I despise noise.

Latest photos of our sunflowers

Volcano art

The children have enjoyed making collages of volcanoes in the style of Margaret Godfrey.  They are made of strips of tissue paper and a lot of glue (!) which has created a very effective, glossy finish!

They pencil sketched a cross section of a volcano and recreated the layers of the interior using different coloured tissue paper. They are so colourful and eye-catching. 

Well done, year 5.

Thursday, 5th May 2016

Sunflowers

The sunflower seeds were planted last Friday, 29th April.  Nearly a week later and this is what we can see.

Year 5 reach for the stars!

For the summer term, each class has created a display to illustrate one of the school rules. Year 5 was given the following rule:

"We persevere and always try to do our best."

Volcanic Activity in Year Five

Geography - volcanoes

The third planet from the sun!

Year 5 have been finding out about volcanoes in geography. As part of their topic, they have learned about the earth in terms of its external structure - continents and oceans - and its internal structure. The children have made models of the earth. They have taken care to show the different continents. The next step is to cut the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres and show the different layers inside the earth. Watch this space! 

Year 5 Homework projects February 2016

Thank you to all the children in year 5 who worked so hard on their homework projects. These were on display in the classroom on Thursday, 11th February. Some of the children created amazing powerpoints which we have also enjoyed viewing. 

Well done all of you!

Art and R.E.

Year 5 have been learning about Jewish symbols and artefacts in R.E. lessons. The names of the artefacts and symbols are: the Star of David, yad, chai, candlesticks, mezuzah, shofar, Torah, tallit, tefllin, tzitzit, hamsa and menorah.

In art, they practised the art of scaling by sketching and painting these Jewish artefacts and symbols.  Well done, year 5!

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY: Food preparation

Here are some of the Victoria sponge cakes baked by year 5 in Design Technology. The children worked very well on this project and the finished products were delicious! Well done to everyone.

Autumn Term 2015

Year Five Homework Projects: The Vikings

We are so pleased with the homework projects completed by the children in year 5. They have all worked hard since half-term and should feel proud of their achievements. 

Year 5 Visit to the British Schools Museum, Thursday, 19th November

Year 5 had a taste of the ‘not so good’ old days when they visited the British Schools Museum in Hitchin today. The purpose of the trip was to find out about life in Victorian times.  The children experienced the harsh reality of life as a Victorian child. They were subjected to a lesson of reading, writing and arithmetic in a galleried classroom which included the horrors of the Dunce’s cap and the cane!  (They were asked to look miserable in the photo to reflect the strict regime they had just experienced!)

After the lesson, they were given a guided tour of the Headmaster’s house. The house has been preserved and looks just as it was in the Victorian era. The children learned about domestic life at the time and were shown a variety of Victorian artefacts.  They now know what the job of the ‘night soil man’ involves and it’s definitely not pleasant!  Hopefully, they will be more appreciative of the vast range of luxuries available to them these days!

Viking Shields

Year 5 have learned about the fighting techniques of Viking warriors and have enjoyed designing their own Viking shields.

Tag Rugby, Welwyn Rugby Club, Wednesday, 14th October 2015, 2-4pm

The children had a wonderful time this afternoon playing tag rugby down at the Welwyn Rugby Club.  They were there with year 5 children from other local schools.  They were divided into three teams and spent the first half of the afternoon practising their skills with young leaders from Stanborough School.  They then competed against other schools. 

All of the children worked hard to improve their tag rugby skills and played with great enthusiasm. Congratulations to Ano, Faye and Ashton who were chosen as the star players of their teams.

Harvest Festival, Thursday, 8th October 2015

Year 5 had great fun performing The Vegetable Rap during last week's Harvest Festival. Many thanks to Ashton and Aiden who wrote and performed their own verse for the poem. Their verse is the fifth verse.

Here's the rap poem performed by the children.

THE VEGETABLE RAP

Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green

Carrots are sweet once they are clean

Pile them on your plates, now don’t be mean

We’re the 5-a-day, out to play, veg-eating machine!

Do, do, do potato

Do, do, do potato

Chocolate bars you can’t sell to me.

I spend my money on celery.

Guarantee there’s no stopping me,

When the plate I see has some broccoli

Do, do, do potato

Do, do, do potato

We’re healthy girls and healthy boys.

Please don’t fuss when we make some noise.

Five a day, yeah, that’s our rule!

We’re no fools, we’re cool in this school!

Do, do, do potato

Do, do, do potato

Come on gang, let me hear you shout!

We’re goin’ crazy for the Brussel sprout.

Blackberries juicy and rhubarb sour.

Healthier and healthier hour by hour.

Do, do, do potato

Do, do, do potato

Dig up the ground. Don’t have a frown.

Keep going down ‘til you find something brown.

Who’s going to eat them? We wonder who?

If you eat them, you’ll have the muscles on you!

Do, do, do potato

Do, do, do potato

Dig them up muddy but fresh and sweet.

The tastey no wastey treat to eat.

Wash them, clean them, under the tap.

Turn around, touch the ground, that’s the vegetable rap!

Do, do, do potato

Do, do, do potato

Do, do, do potato ….. yeah!

Year 5 Viking Day, Thursday, 1st October 2015

Year Five had a wonderful day yesterday as they took a step back to the ninth century to learn about life in the Viking era. Their day began in a Viking village filled with the peculiar aromas of the time. The children huddled round a crackling log fire their Viking welcomed them by in Old Norse (the language spoken by the Vikings).  The scene was set as he explained that the children were now Viking villagers ruled by the Viking King Guthrum and living under constant threat of attack by the Anglo-Saxons.  He explained that during the morning they would be playing the part of Viking villagers and experts in different Viking crafts.

The hall then became the bustling marketplace of a Viking village and the children were soon busy working on different crafts whilst sharing gossip of the time.  These are the crafts the children enjoyed during the morning:

Thor’s hammer made out of metal: The children made a necklace out of metal in the shape of Thor’s hammer.

Clay pots and candles: Candles were made by pouring melted beeswax into the clay pot.

Writing in Old Norse using a quill.

Rune stones: The children made rune stones out of clay.

Weaving: They wove their own cloth using wool. They also made a warrior bracelets.

In the afternoon, the children explored the history of Viking communities in Britain by re-visiting the Viking village over 1,000 years later.  Using ‘dig boxes,’ the children developed their investigative skills by becoming archaeologists.  They worked in groups to excavate their box to find different artefacts which were then identified using printed resources. The children shared their finds and what they learned about Viking life with the whole class. They then completed the task by setting up their own museums.

We are very grateful to our Viking Lord (Andrew from History off the Page) and all the adults who helped us throughout the day.

Chamber music for schools at Hatfield House, Thursday, 24th September.

Year 5 travelled to Hatfield House yesterday to listen to a classical music concert. The music they listened to was from Vienna and included scores by Mozart, Strass and Beethoven. 

Year Five Running Festival at Monks Walk School

All of year 5 took part in the Monks Walk Running Festival at Monks Walk on Friday, 18th September. The four children in the photograph have all qualified for the next event which will take place on Wednesday, 7th October at Stanborough Lakes.  We wish them luck!

The History of Britain in a Nutshell!

Year 5 enjoyed learning about the history of Britain through rhyme and pictures. They had great fun matching the pictures to the verses of a poem.  They remembered many key events and people in British history.  The rhyme began with the birth of the earth.

Five thousand million years ... so far

Our earth's been circling round its star.

At first, there lived just tiny creatures

And later those with dinosaur features.

Then, just three million years ago,

With hairy skins and hairy toes,

The first men came down from the trees.

They looked, at first, like chimpanzees.

ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015

Racing cars for Le Mans

Take a look at the racing cars made by children in DT lessons as part of their work on France.

Tour de Harwood 2015

On Tuesday morning, 14th July (Bastille Day in France!), year 5 staged their own version of the Tour de France.  While the peloton in France hit the Pyrenees, year 5 hit the school field! 

The children were divided into teams and took part in three different races: a time trial, relay and two laps of the field. The children thoroughly exerted themselves and a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm was expended.   Well done, year 5!  The winning team were presented with yellow jersey fridge magnets.

The children all wore a t-shirt with their own cycling jersey design printed on the front.  Take a look at their fantastic designs.

Thank you to Mrs Whitehead, Mr Phillips, Miss Watson and Mrs Espinasse for running the event.  We are very grateful, too, to all our parent helpers. 

Year 5 trip to Sherrards Park Wood, Wednesday, 1st July 2015

Year 5 had a wonderful day out yesterday in glorious weather. Thank you to Mr Phillips and Miss Jarvis for accompanying us.

Vive la France!

As part of their topic, the children have been finding out about our neighbours across the channel.  Some of the areas of French life they have investigated are: foods and drink: cheese, baguette, croissant, wine and champagne; Mont Blanc, fashion, the French flag, motto: liberte, egalite, fraternite; the Tour de France, the five main rivers, the channel tunnel, the Eiffel tower.

Science: Life cycles

The classroom has been blooming this week!

In science lessons, the children have been learning about the life cycle of flowering plants. The children have planted many different seeds, including sunflowers. They have thoroughly enjoyed watching their seeds germinate and grow by the window sill in the classroom. They have been very excited to compare the growth of their sunflower to that of their classmates!  All of the children have taken great care to water their plants regularly.

They have also been learning about the different parts of a flower. This week, they put theory into practice and dissected flowers. They labelled each of the different parts. Take a look at the photos of the dissected flowers.  Well done, everyone!

Design Technology: Moving Toys

In Design Technology lessons, the children made their own moving toys. They made their toys using a simple shoe box and the moving mechanism inside the shoe box was constructed from wooden dowel rods and three different shaped cams. The children learned about and practised many skills whilst constructing their toys. They had to measure their dowel rods accurately and ensure that the holes drilled in the top of their boxes were positioned carefully so that the cam followers lined up exactly with the three cams. They also practised the technique of sawing wood using a hacksaw and bench hook.

The children chose a theme for their toy from the year five curriculum. Ideas included: myths and legends, the solar system, volcanoes, the Highwayman and Kensuke's Kingdom.  

All the children worked very carefully throughout the project and their designs are most successful. Well done! They are all extremely proud of their achievements.

Graphical Modelling

In computing lessons, the children have been learning about graphical modelling. They were given an image of Big Ben which they recreated in a Word document using shapes and lines. They then personalised their picture with the use of colour and weather symbols! 

The solar system

The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the solar system. They worked in groups to learn about the sun and planets in more detail and then created the planets out of papier-mache.

They also learned the names of the planets in French. Great work, year 5!

Sports Festival

On Friday 20th March, our class went to Monks Walk School to take part in a sports festival. The class was split into five groups. In their groups they then went to play either hockey, dodge ball, volleyball, football or tag-rugby. The festival was a great success and all children thoroughly enjoyed the event!

Visit to the Bayfordbury Observatory

The children have been learning about the features of recount texts in literacy. Their end of unit task was to write a recount about their visit to the Bayfordfordbury Observatory on Tuesday evening, 3rd March.  They worked hard to include all the features of this type of text. 

Below is an example of their work. 

Exploring the night sky

On Tuesday evening, 3rd March 2015, Year 5 pupils from Harwood Hill JMI and Nursery School arrived at the Bayfordbury Observatory to expand their learning of the solar system.

As soon as the children arrived, they entered the Observatory building where they were welcomed by Julio, one of the Observatory astronomers who worked there. He led them to a lecture theatre where they given a talk about the solar system and were shown a few websites including google mars and galaxy zoo. The children took the opportunity to ask Julio many questions. 

Then the class was divided into two groups. One group went to the telescope domes where they viewed the craters on the surface of the moon, a robotic telescope and a telescope from the Victorian era. The children were amazed by the size of the telescopes and the electronic shutters on the dome roofs. "Wow! I can see the craters on the moon!" called out Jack Cusack.

After about twenty minutes, the groups swapped places.  The domes group returned to the Observatory building to visit the planetarium where Jess, another astronomer, talked to the children abut stars and constellations as well as light pollution.  Pupil, Polly Ashton, exclaimed, "The best bit was learning about Einstein's cross."  According to Jess, this was PhD level physics! Teaching Assistant, Mr Preston, commented, "It was a dream come true!"  Scientist, Jess, told Sarah Weston, "If I had any money, I would be vending machining you with chocolate!"

At the end of the visit, Julio took a group photograph of the children.  The children are now greatly looking forward to the solar eclipse which will take place on Friday, 20th March at approximately 8 o'clock in the morning. 

Serena 

The children worked with enthusiasm throughout the afternoon and their designs showed much creativity.

Congratulations to Sam and Jassin who won the Year 5 challenge.  The winning design was chosen on the pair’s ability to work together, solve problems, produce a working model and communicate ideas to each other and the judge.  A photo of the winning pair’s construction will be entered with other schools into a final round at the MBDA in Stevenage.

Take a look at the photos of their finished designs.

Volcanoes

Take a look at a selection of volcano collages designed by children in Year 5. They were inspired by the designs of artist, Margaret Godfrey.

Festival of Purim

The children enjoyed finding out about the Jewish festival of Purim. They designed posters to explain their learning.

Dance Session

On Tuesday, the children enjoyed a street dance class with specialist teachers.  Here are some photos of their session. It was lovely to watch them all trying something new. 

Visit from the Fire Service

Fire fighters from our local fire service visited Year 5 yesterday, Thursday, 29th January. The children were given vital advice about fire prevention in the home. They finished the session with a quiz to find out what they had learned.  The children were in two teams and each time a question was answered correctly, a nominated team member put on an item of fire firefighter clothing!  Please ask the children what they learned.  

Year 5: Geography

In geography, the children have been learning about the Earth and its inner structure. This week, they constructed the layers of the earth using modelling clay. Each model earth was cut in half to create the northern and southern hemispheres. They then labelled each layer.

Year 5 Spring Term 2015

Literacy

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas

The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor

This term Year 5 have been enjoying reading the narrative poem, ‘The Highwayman’,  by Alfred Noyes.  It was first published in August 1906.

The poem is set in 18^th century rural England and tells the story of an unamed highwayman who is in love with Bess, a landlord's daughter. Betrayed to the authorities (King George’s men) by Tim, a jealous ostler, the highwayman escapes ambush when Bess sacrifices her life to warn him.  Learning of her death, he dies in a futile attempt at revenge, shot down on the highway. In the final stanza, the ghosts of the lovers meet again on winter nights.

Take a look at the collages which the children have created.  They depict the scene described in the first three lines of the poem.  The collages are now on display in our school hall.  Please drop in to see them.  They are very effective! 

Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival Schools Concert

On Friday 26th September Years 5 and 6 enjoyed a visit to St. Etheldreda’s Church in Old Hatfield for a concert. Aimed at KS2 children the concert explored Messiaen’s masterpiece – Quartet for the End of Time and other music surrounding the themes of war, remembrance and sound painting.

We also learnt about the instruments playing in the quartet – a violin, a clarinet, a cello and a piano. As part of the session we all got involved in the performance through the poetry of Wilfred Owen which we recited alongside the musicians. 

ACADEMIC YEAR 2013-2014

Summer Term 2014

In literacy lessons this half term, the children in Year 5 have been working hard to improve their persuasive writing techniques.  One of their tasks was to persuade parents to send their children to Harwood Hill School.  We thought about all the aspects of life at Harwood Hill that might be included in a persuasive leaflet.  We took photos around the school grounds and then wrote persuasive sentences to go with them.  Take a look at their ideas and the photos. 

Coreena

If you want your child to have a good life and education, you should come to Harwood Hill!

Julia

Harwood Hill is a first class school which enjoys sporting success, excellent education and fantastic facilities.  The school also has a vast playing field.  Recently over 200 trees have been planted around the field next to our beautiful wooded area.

Morgan

Come to Harwood Hill where the adventure begins!  Nestling at the end of a quiet road in the north of Welwyn Garden City stands Harwood Hill school.The pupils are always keen to learn something new and also to achieve their best; they will allow nothing to stand in their way.

Thomas

Harwood Hill is a very successful, high achieving school.  The children have fun but at the same time they’re keen to learn.  Harwood Hill has it all! The playing field is fit for a king!

Lulu

Harwood Hill is a community school which is situated on the north side of Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire.  Excellent education, fantastic facilities, sporting success – we have it all!  Come and look at what we have in store for you!

Oliver

Nestling in between the Victorian viaduct and the town centre of Welwyn Garden City, it is the perfect place for a school to be situated.

Our school excels at sport and I know for I personally attend many sporting events.  Also, everyone has the opportunity to participate in many different clubs.

Happy children equal confident children and that is what everyone at Harwood Hill strives to achieve.  The children aim high in this school in all areas of their learning, from maths to geography with the help of supportive teachers who are always there for us, whatever our needs. 

Niamh

Harwood Hill is the school for you!

Toby

Choose Harwood Hill for your child!  Whatever your child’s skills, we will be sure to develop them.  We will also discover their hidden talents.

Sam

You should send your child to Harwood Hill school.  This fabulous establishment has been educating pupils around Welwyn Garden City for over fifty years.

Reece

Harwood Hill is the greatest school in Hertfordshire. 

Even though the school is over fifty years old, the facilities are amazing and have recently been updated.

Sophia

Harwood Hill school is breathtaking.It’s a super cool, awesome place to work in.

Ricki

Welcome to Harwood Hill School. It’s the school for you! Send your child to this school because we always have fun!

Alex

If you send your child to Harwood Hill school, your child will enjoy many facilities such a amazing climbing frames, a netball and basketball court and a superb education. 

Daria

You should choose Harwood Hill for your child! We are the best community school in the whole of Hertfordshire.  We provide an excellent education, fantastic facilities and huge sporting success.  Read on to find out more!

Zoe L

Nestling at the foot of the Victorian viaduct, Harwood Hill is well known for sporting success, excellent education and amazing activities.

Although our school is over fifty years old, we have been updating ht building step by step with fabulous new windows, stylish dining tables and stage lights.  These are all fantastic.

Neusha

At Harwood Hill our superb teachers transform ‘not so good’ to ‘breathtaking’! 

There is an endless supply of books to inspire the children.

The new stage curtains and lighting encourage students to follow their dreams. You never know, you might see one of them playing Romeo or Juliet in the future!

Josh W

Here at Harwood Hill, we have children who are always ready to meet a challenge.

This school nurtures maths marvels, literacy lovers and science solvers!

Thank you for visiting this web page!  I hope you are convinced to send your child to Harwood Hill School!

Josh G

Come and visit Harwood Hill!  You will not be disappointed.  The school is located on the north side of the lovely, eco-friendly Welwyn Garden City.  Go to our website – it’s just one click away!

We have an amazing pond and stunning woodland in which to explore wildlife.

Naomi

Although Harwood Hill is over fifty years old, we still have top-notch facilities including an extremely high-tech computer system.

Hidden at the back of the school lies a vast playing field and breath-taking fish pond.

Tal

Harwood Hill isn’t just a gadget-filled, good-looking school, we are also a warm, welcoming school.  The school is full of friendly, determined children who are always willing to learn.

Liberty

Harwood Hill is the school you’ve been looking for!

We have a wonderful woodland area to explore and huge hall with an amazing amount of sporting equipment.

Connor

Can you imagine your child having the time of their life in primary school?  Well then, you have come to the right place for that!  We have everything you need.  Here you will find the happiest children!

Harwood Hill has knowledgeable teachers who deliver absolutely fascinating topics.

We have competed in so many different events and, if ever we have lost, we have never put our heads down!

Rhys B

Harwood Hill is truly amazing and is well known for its fabulous facilities and its sporting success.

Although the school is over fifty years old, it has been frequently updated over the years. 

Every single child has their own drawer in the classroom.

Outside we have a vast field and nature-filled woodland.

Hayden

Come to Harwood Hill School!  It’s truly brilliant.

Zoe M

Harwood Hill JMI School if your child’s dream school!  It is located near the famous Victorian viaduct in the country of Hertfordshire.  It is well known for its fantastic facilities and its sporting success has been created by the well educated children.

In the classroom there are individual drawers for all the pupils, spacious cloakrooms and an interactive whiteboard.

Erin

At Harwood Hill there are brilliant teachers in each group.  Also, we enjoy sporting success, excellent education and perfect pupils!  So, you have come to the right place!

All our facilities are in perfect condition.  We also have a most amazing, vast field which the children resort to in hot, sunny weather.  We are also blessed with a shady, cool woodland where the children can cool off on those steaming hot days.

The pupils here say there is no such thing a boring lesson!  Each and every child is eager, ready and happy to learn.

Evelyn

Harwood Hill has a gigantic field.  It has a lot of trees and a pond.

Sonari

Is your child transferring to a new school?  Does your child want to be happy?  Should they excel in education? Then Harwood Hill is for you! Teaching children from ages 4-11, Harwood Hill is simply revelling in achievement.  This eco-friendly school will truly amaze you!

Owen

Please choose Harwood Hill for your child!  Harwood Hill is absolutely amazing.

Our children have a great environment. 

Classmates always respect and help each other. 

Year Five Launch Day, Thursday, 8^th May 2014

The whole school was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of baking bread on Thursday, 8th May as Year Five launched their Summer Term topic on France.  Prior to the launch day, the children had researched bread for homework, in particular the bread-making process starting from the field and ending in the factory.  The children also found out how significant bread and bakery products are to the French. 

Before they started to make the bread, they sampled a wide range of breads from different countries.  They were asked to evaluate the bread in terms of texture, taste, smell and appearance.  The breads were then placed in order of personal preference.  The buttery French brioche proved the most popular bread with the German rye bread being the least popular (definitely an acquired taste!)

Then began the bread making process!  After weighing and measuring, mixing the ingredients, they kneaded the dough for TEN whole minutes – everyone was careful to watch the clock.  Finally, the dough was shaped into baguettes.  

Take at look at our photos which show the children dressed in red, white and blue in honour of the ‘tricolore’ – the French flag.

A huge thank you to Mrs Hale, Mrs Jenns and Mrs Whitehead for their help throughout the process.

Monday, 10^th March 2014

K’nex Challenge 2014

Year 5 were given a taste of the exciting world of engineering on Monday, 10^th March as they participated in this year’s K’nex Challenge organised by SETPOINT Hertfordshire.  Their task was to make a safety helmet using K’nex. 

The children worked hard throughout the morning and came up with some excellent designs.  They made safety helmets for builders, miners, cyclists, horse riders and pilots.  The designs were thoroughly tested by the judge and most survived the rigorous testing procedure - they had a book dropped on them and some of them were dropped from a height!  All the children received a certificate for their participation in the event. They had a thoroughly enjoyable morning.

 Congratulations to Reece and Hayden who won the Year 5 challenge.  The winning design was chosen on the pair’s ability to work together, solve problems, produce a working model and communicate ideas to each other and the judge.  A photo of the winning pair’s construction will be entered with other schools into a final round at the MBDA in Stevenage.

Take a look at the photos of their finished designs.

Lunar Learning

Last week Year 5 finally had the opportunity to race their lunar vehicles following some delicate electrical repairs carried out by our resident mechanic, Mr Butler! 

Construction started on our launch day on Monday, 20th January when the children made the basic frame for their vehicle including an electric motor system.  They then customised the vehicles and turned them into lunar vehicles.  

The photos below show the vehicles made by the children and the scenes before and during the race.  The winning vehicle was constructed by Liberty and Hayden!

NO PENS DAY

Wednesday 2013

On Wednesday, 9^th October 2013 Year 5 took part in No Pens Day Wednesday 2013. This is an annual event set up by the Communications Trust in 2011 in which children at Harwood Hill have taken part every year. It’s a fantastic day and we always have so much fun. It’s really interesting to find ways of learning without pens!!

Our first activity was learning about Leonardo da Vinci, who was a famous artist (he painted the Mona Lisa which hangs in the Louvre in Paris).  We looked at Vitruvian Man and we learned that this drawing is based on the observations and measurements of a Roman architect named Vitruvius. Leonardo da Vinci had ideas about the proportions of the human body which are useful in figure drawing and art. We tested out the theories to see whether they were true or false.  The four theories were as follows:

1. The whole foot from toe to heel is the same as the distance between the elbow and the wrist.

2. When a person kneels they reduce their height by a quarter.

3. The length of a hand is one tenth of the person’s height.

4. The length of the ear is one third of the length of the face.

Our second activity was to make a collage of a Victorian workhouse but before we started we watched a short clip of the film ‘Oliver Twist’ (the workhouse scene at the beginning of the film) and listened to the description of the workhouse in ‘Street Child.’ Then we were asked to use dull colours to create our collage.  I worked with Zoe M, Joshua W and Evelyn.  It was great fun cutting out the shapes and deciding which aspects of the workhouse we should choose to show. 

No Pens Day Wednesday was the most amazing day ever!!!!

Connor

Year 5 Visit to the British Schools Museum,

Thursday, 5^th September 2013

Year Five had a taste of the ‘not so good’ old days when they visited the British Schools Museum in Hitchin on Thursday, 5^th September. The purpose of the trip was to launch their Autumn term topic about the Victorians.  They experienced the harsh reality of life as a Victorian child and were subjected to a lesson of reading, writing and arithmetic in a galleried classroom, which included the horrors of the Dunce’s cap and the cane! 

After the lesson they were given a guided tour of the Headmaster’s house which is set out in Victorian style.  The children learned about domestic life at the time and saw a variety of Victorian artefacts.  Ask them what the job of the ‘night soil man’ involved! Let’s hope they now fully appreciate the vast range of luxuries which are available to them these days. 

The children enjoyed their trip and were a great credit to Harwood Hill School.   We were very grateful to Mrs Hale and Mr Butler who accompanied the class on the trip.