Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Headteacher's Update: Friday 24th January
Fri 24 Jan 2025This week opened Oakwood Primary Academy’s campaign period, in preparation for our pupil school councillor elections! In every phase of the building, an astounding number of candidates have been readily preparing their proposals and speeches to deliver to their classmates, before the voting commences. A highlight of my week was listening to our year five boys: Graham, Noah and Riley, who formed a ‘working party alliance’ to bolster their campaigns and provide support for one another during this process, demonstrating the true spirit of kinship. From this opportunity, our pupils have truly understood democracy in action, experiencing first-hand ‘democracy’, as one of our British Values. As a result, I am excited to announce our new school council in Monday’s upcoming assembly!
Our year six maths booster club proved to be a hit this week, with everyone in attendance (including teachers) enjoying biscuits and snacks, as well as the maths (most importantly). I couldn’t believe the children’s understanding of ‘Mrs Morgan’s method’ for subtracting a decimal from a whole number! If you have a child in year six, do ask them to explain, as they really are experts!
Enjoying browsing through the photos, which truly capture best our school motto 'being better every day'.
Mrs Morgan
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Headteacher's Update: 17th January, 2025
Fri 17 Jan 2025Week two has been a productive week for all of our staff & pupils. Mr Sharp kicked off the week with our first celebration assembly of the year and had the pleasure of celebrating excellent pupil attendance - with our year 4 class achieving a full 100%! We also celebrated our class ‘star of the week’ award winners and these were awarded to pupils who had been demonstrating our school value of 'knowledge'.
On Thursday, I had the privilege of teaching our year one class and I was simply blown away by their Rekenrek use and understanding of the commutativity of addition. 3 + 4 = 7 and 4 + 3 = 7 – who knew!
Many pupils continue to be proactive in coming to share excellent work outcomes with me and I’ve seen a range of computing, writing, maths and music this week, which always makes my day. I know that all of our pupils continue to work hard to achieve our vision of ‘being better every day’.
Coming up next week, I’m excited to announce the launch of our school council, alongside Ms Seath, and we’ll be sharing more on this with the children in Monday’s assembly. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading more about what each year group has been working on and wish you all a restful weekend.
Mrs Morgan
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Headteacher's Update - 10th January, 2025
Fri 10 Jan 2025Welcome to this week’s bulletin – my first as headteacher of Oakwood Primary Academy. And what a first week it has been getting to know the children and staff more, as well as celebrating a jam-packed week of learning across the school.
In just five days, I have been fortunate enough to drop in and see: excellent fractions calculating from our year fives; stunning art spreads about Peter Thorpe, from our year six; delightful music from year two and the start of many dance choreographies from all year groups - although I must brush up on my musical statue poses when navigating the hall during upcoming PE sessions!
Each day, I have been inundated with children bringing excellent work examples to my office and it has been a pleasure handing out several well-earnt headteacher stickers!
Here's a selection of photos to show what our year groups have been up to during week one, for you to enjoy and find out more about from your child(ren) at home!
I look forward to continuing getting to know more members of the school community in the coming weeks and continuing to share the children’s hard work with you all.
Mrs Morgan
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Acting Head of School Update
Thu 19 Dec 2024Welcome to my final 'Acting Head of School' Update!
And what a week to sign off my time as Acting Head of Oakwood! On Monday, Christmas was well and truly in the air - we started with our famous charity reindeer walk to raise money for Chestnut Tree Hospice, before re-fueling with Christmas Dinner, cooked and served by our fantastic kitchen staff. The reindeer walk was great fun as usual, with the weather staying kind to us. The children looked and sounded fantastic as they made their way round the school multiple times in support of the worthwhile charity. By the time lunchtime came around, everyone was very hungry - I'm not sure a Christmas dinner has ever been so welcome or tasted so good!
On Wednesday, it was the turn of the Upper Junior children to share their Christmas performance with their families. We have gone back to making this a special event in the children's last two years in the school - and the children did not disappoint. They sang wonderfully in the beautiful surroundings of St Mary's Church in Willingdon. There was a very special and unique atmosphere and I know the families went home very happy. Many thanks to all at the Church for accommodating us, to Miss Fairhead - our music and choir teacher, and Miss Elms and the rest of the Upper Junior staff for learning the songs with the children so well.
The week finished with a second Christmas jumper day, and class parties. Amongst all the festivities, the curriculum work still continued and the children finished off their term 2 units and assessments as well as making cards etc!
Also on Wednesday, the children met their new Headteacher, Mrs. Morgan, in our assembly. I know the children are really excited to get to know her, and that she is raring to go in January! I look forward to reverting to my Deputy Headteacher role, and supporting Mrs. Morgan in continuing to push the school forward to bigger and better things! It has been a real privilege for me to lead the school, with the support of Mr. McMorrin, the Executive Headteacher, and I would like to thank the children and all of you for your amazing support throughout my time as Head.
I would like to wish everyone in the Oakwood community a very happy Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all in 2025 (where does the time go?)!
Best (Christmas) Wishes
Mr. Sharp
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Acting Head of School Update
Fri 13 Dec 2024Well if it didn't feel like Christmas was coming before, it certainly does now!
This week we have welcomed many of you into school on one or more occasions for our Christmas performances. We started with our fabulous pupils from Year 1 to Year 4 who performed brilliantly in their production of ' Christmas Around the World'. We were treated to songs and traditions from Poland, USA, Australia and China - before rounding of with some traditional classics from the UK! The children read their parts beautifully and the singing ensured everyone left the hall with a big smile on their face! We were ably guided through our journey by our fantastic pilots, Cadie and Evie.
Then it was the the turn of our Nursery and Reception children with their 'Elf Sing Song'. Again the children did themselves proud with their fantastic singing - and they really looked the part too! Everyone who was lucky enough to attend had a fantastic time and left the hall with their Christmas Spirit filled to the max!
On Thursday, our Year 5 pupils were fortunate to attend a pantomime performed by children at The Eastbourne Academy. They had a fantastic time (Oh yes they did!) and came back full of the joys of Christmas! They also behaved fantastically and represented the school in a really positive manner. Well done Year 5!
Next week we look forward to seeing many of you at St Mary's Church in Willingdon for what I am sure will be a very special Christmas Carol performances from our Upper Junior pupils. I can't wait!
Despite all of this going on, the curriculum remains in full flow too, and the children will be completing their end of unit assessments during the last week, and finishing off exciting Design Technology projects as well! The feel around the school is really positive, and I am really proud of how the children are maintaining excellent standards of behaviour and endeavour; with all the Christmas preparations going on around the school.
It promises to be a wonderful final week. As well as our Upper Junior carols, we also have our reindeer walk and Christmas lunch (on Monday) and an end of term assembly and class parties (Thursday) to look forward too. We are also going Christmas jumper crazy at Oakwood this year, as children can wear them not only once...but TWICE! We would love to see Christmas jumpers on Monday (for the reindeer walk and lunch) and again for the last day of term for their parties!
I can't wait to welcome the children in for their last week of term, and I hope you all have a fabulous weekend - and no excuse now for not feeling Christmassy!
Best wishes
Mr Sharp.
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Acting Head of School Update
Fri 06 Dec 2024Christmas preparations are well and truly underway now at Oakwood! Children (and staff!) across the school have been working extremely hard on their various Christmas performances, and I know they are all very excited about sharing them with you over the last two weeks of term.
However, this does not mean that all their hard work across the curriculum has stopped - far from it! As ever, I have been in some great lessons this week and been shown a range of fantastic work from our pupils.
In a Year 5 Geography lesson on Monday I was incredibly impressed with the geographical language being used and understood by the children. They were also making great links to their previous History unit on World War II as they studied and compared the geography of Germany and the UK and how this affected the War. In Reception class, the children were learning about the number 5 as they played a game together. The children were also learning valuable lessons about turn-taking, sharing, winning and losing and much more. As they played this game with their teacher, other children were playing and working beautifully together at different stations around the room, so they are obviously learning these valuable lessons!
Our Year 6 pupils are working really hard and they are now well underway with their SATS revision homework books. We also have support groups running each week. They have still found the time to continue their DT Food Technology project. Having tasted ingredients last week, they carried out surveys this week ready to put the final touches to their recipes. Get ready for a tasty treat coming home next week!
We would still love to see more reading across the school, particularly in the Juniors, so please do send in your child's reading record for their teacher to look at and sign, and encourage your child to bring a reading book home on a daily basis. By doing so, it means the children can take their Accelerated Reader quizzes back in school. and aim towards becoming one of our celebrated 'Word Millionaires!'
I have also been showing prospective parents round this week for our Reception classes for September 2025. I have felt really proud of everyone when doing so, as the parents have commented on the excellent behaviour and learning they have seen in classes and around the school - so a huge well done to everyone!
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday for the start of our last two weeks before we break up for Christmas! I also look forward to welcoming many of you into school next week for some of our Christmas performances.
Best Wishes
Mr Sharp
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Acting Head of School Update
Fri 29 Nov 2024Oakwood has been positively buzzing with activity this week! There has been such a variety of great work going on, and the children have been taking great pride in celebrating their fantastic work with me.
On Thursday, the Year 6 area smelled incredible as the children tasted a range of flavours and spices as part of their Design and Technology unit. I can't wait to smell (and hopefully taste!) what they produce later in the term. I have been fortunate to drop into many lessons again this week and have seen some great lessons with children fully engaged and progressing in their learning. It has been really noticeable how the children can explain clearly what it is that they are learning , and are using a range of related vocabulary accurately. The way the children are supporting each other in class has also been very evident and lovely to witness.
I have also been in a number of Reading and Writing lessons across the school this week, from Reception up to Year 6 and the effort being made by the children is outstanding. I was also shown some super writing from Year 6 pupils linked to their RE work which showed a great depth of thought that had gone into it. When I was in Year 1, not only was their writing very impressive, but their 'story-teller' voices when reading aloud were a joy to listen to! I was also incredibly impressed with our Reception children when I witnessed them doing their phonics work - they were trying so hard with their letter formation and were really proud (rightly) of the work they had done.
With December around the corner (next week!!) teachers and children are also getting Christmas preparations under way. As I shared last week, the Christmas songs from the Upper junior choir are sounding great, and before we know it our Christmas events will be upon us! You will already have received details of these and the dates are also in today's bulletin.
I look forward to seeing everyone again in Monday's celebration assembly (a real highlight of my week where we celebrate the fantastic achievements of our children from the previous week), and in the meantime I would like to wish you all a very happy weekend - don't forget those advent calendars!
Best wishes
Mr Sharp
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Acting Head of School Report
Fri 22 Nov 2024Well it has certainly started to feel a little bit like Winter this week! I am still drying off from Tuesday's torrential downpour - perfectly timed to coincide with everyone arriving at school. Typical!
At least things have felt warmer in the school - not least due to the excellent work being done across the school by children of all ages! I think Tuesday is my favourite day, as it is when we have Miss Fairhead in teaching music expertly to our children from Year 2 to Year 6. It means that when I am in my office, I get to hear the wonderful instrument work and singing coming through he wall. A special mention to our Year 5 & 6 choir. They (and Miss Fairhead) give up some of their lunch break to practice their songs - and the Christmas ones they were working on this week sounded fantastic. We will all be in for a treat at the Upper Junior carol concert at the end of term!
I have seen other great work across the week - including some impressive fractions work in year 6, where the children were converting mixed numbers into improper fractions and vice versa. When I visited Year 5, they were busy working on paragraph 2 of their 'warning' stories - I can't wait to read them when they are finished!
Children across the Juniors have also been hard at work on their 'Star Assessments' and the determination I have witnessed has been impressive.
In our Monday celebration assembly, we reflected on 'Anti-Bullying Week' and we aim to keep the messages from the week at the forefront of everyone's mind as we remember the key message of 'Choose Respect'.
Finally, a special mention for our PTFA. Members gave up much of their Saturday to organise a fantastic Christmas market, which attracted stall holders selling a whole host of lovely gifts, that many people will now be lucky to receive on Christmas morning. Ellen and Dee managed to raise almost £350 for the school. We are extremely grateful and we are incredibly lucky to have such dedicated individuals who want to help raise money for the school Thank you for all the time and effort you give to the Oakwood community!
I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend
Best wishes
Mr Sharp
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Acting Head of School Update
Thu 14 Nov 2024It feels very strange writing my update on a Thursday this week owing to the INSET day - but the children have certainly packed a lot into their four days this week!
As ever, our week began with our celebration assembly. During this, I introduced our Anti-Bullying Week, which this year has the them of 'Choose Respect'. The children have been involved in a number of lessons and class assemblies this week during which the theme has been explored in detail and in an age appropriate way. I have seen some great work produced , including 'Respect Hands' in Year 4 and some powerful posters in Year 5. All children have been asked to think of (at least) 5 adults they could always go to if they are worried about anything.
We have also had a times tables challenge on the go which Mr Mitchell introduced to the Junior children at the start of the week - I know it has led to many children logging on even more regularly to their Times Tables Rockstars - which is great to see! This was part of Maths week which has seen classes do extra Maths activities across the week - see the photos of the Year 2 Maths circuit in the hall!
We have had several visitors in to the school this week and they have been around to all the classes in the school. They have been particularly impressed with how well the children were engaging in their lessons, and with the behaviour across the school in general.
In Year 6 this week the children have been taking practice SATS papers. This is to give them an idea of what to expect in May, as well as providing valuable data for the teachers which will help to inform their planning for future lessons. Again, I was so impressed when I walked round at the determination the children were showing to do their best - and they were being ably encouraged by the Year 6 team.
All in all it has been a very positive week and I hope you all have a fantastic (longer) weekend together! I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday
Best wishes
Mr Sharp
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Acting Head of School Update
Fri 08 Nov 2024It has been brilliant to see all the children again after this half term break. The school has had a very positive feel and the children and staff have been working really hard!
We had a great celebration assembly to start the term off - and congratulations are due to Simmonds class (year 3) who won the term 1 attendance prize.
As ever, the best part of my job is seeing the fantastic work the children have been doing. Many children have shown me their work - I saw some great fractions work from some Year 6 pupils - and I have seen the children working hard in class. The children are starting a new geography unit this term and so have been busy with the initial pop quizzes to see what they know at the start. It is always very rewarding at the end of a unit when the children will redo the quiz and realise just how much they have learned!
I have also seen great geography work in Year 1 (where they are learning about the United Kingdom), super Maths in Year 2 and Skeletons work in Year 3 as part of their 'Animals and Humans' unit.
Next week we will be participating in Anti-Bullying week, which will include assemblies, lessons in class and the chance to wear odd socks on Tuesday to raise awareness. We will also be taking part in a times tables Maths challenge through our 'Times Tables Rockstars programme. The children are also starting to learn their songs for our various Christmas events that will be happening at the end of term - details to follow!
In the meantime, may I wish you all a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday.
Best wishes
Mr Sharp
