📚 Professional Development in Action

On Monday, staff took part in our INSET Day training as we worked through valuable professional development workshops carefully planned to support our school improvement priorities. Investing in staff development helps us ensure that every child receives the very best learning experiences possible.

✍️ Bringing Writing to Life

Following this, one of the highlights of our week has been seeing this recent writing training come to life in classrooms. It was fantastic to see staff immediately translate their learning into practice, with Key Stage 2 children being captivated by exciting hooks to launch their new writing units.

🌈 Year 3 pupils have been encouraged to dream big.

❄️ Year 4 arrived to discover a mysterious snowy visitor had paid them a secret visit.

🎭 In Year 5, children became detectives, hunting for clues to solve a theatre mystery.

🦁 Year 6 were confronted with news that a savage animal was on the loose!

These memorable beginnings to our writing units immediately sparked curiosity, enthusiasm and plenty of wonderful discussion, providing the perfect inspiration for high-quality writing.

---

🏛️ Oakwood Opportunities

I continue to feel exceptionally proud of our personal development offer at Oakwood and the wealth of opportunities our children enjoy through visits, trips and hands-on experiences across the year.

This week, Year 4 experienced the wonder of a visit to Brighton Museum, where they took part in a practical mummification workshop. Becoming real-life embalmers for the day, the children thoroughly enjoyed applying their History knowledge in an engaging and memorable way. Experiences like these help bring learning to life and create lasting memories that inspire curiosity long after the visit itself. They also behaved impeccably well and represented Oakwood with pride.

---

🎯 Attendance Matters

At Oakwood, we continue to place a strong emphasis on attendance because we know that children learn best when they are in school every day. The Department for Education's attendance ambition for all schools is 96%, and we encourage all families to support us in working towards this important target.

🤧 As we move into the winter season of coughs, colds and seasonal illnesses, it is worth remembering the NHS and DfE guidance: "children with mild coughs, colds, runny noses or sore throats can usually continue attending school, provided they are well enough to take part in their learning". Time away from school can quickly add up and have an impact on children's progress, confidence and friendships.

🏆 To help us continue 'being better everyday' with our attendance too, this term we've also begun introducing a range of attendance incentives at both whole-class and individual level. These are designed to celebrate strong attendance, encourage positive habits and recognise the commitment shown by so many of our pupils and families. I personally cannot wait to share extra crafts and festive fun at the end of term with children whose attendance is 98% or above!

---

🎄 Christmas Dates for the Diary

It's always helpful to pencil key dates into your diary in advance!

We were delighted by the fantastic parental engagement during our Term 1 parent consultations and hope to see many of you again at the events planned for Term 2. We look forward to sharing booking information shortly. For now, please pencil in:

Friday 11th December

👕 Christmas Jumper Day

🎸 Rock-Steady Christmas Concert for Parents

Tuesday 15th December

🎄 Nursery & EYFS Christmas Carols (9.15am - 10.00am)

🌟 KS1 Christmas Performance (2.00pm - 3.00pm)

Wednesday 16th December

🦌 Whole-School Reindeer Walk

🍽️ Christmas Dinner Day

Thursday 17th December

🎭 KS1 Christmas Performance (9.15am - 10.15am)

🎶 KS2 Christmas Carols at the Church (2.00pm - 3.00pm)

---

🍁 Wishing You a Wonderful Weekend

As the autumn leaves continue to fall and the days become a little cooler, I hope you enjoy a lovely weekend, whether that's spent out on crisp autumn walks, raking leaves in the garden, or curled up at home under a warm blanket with a hot drink.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of Oakwood Primary Academy.

Warmest wishes,

Hannah Morgan
Headteacher