Head of School Update - Friday 17th September 2021
Welcome to this week's Head of School Update!
It's been a fantastic week at school - children thinking about their learning and giving their best! In Year 4, pupils have been exploring place-value in Maths, using different resources to help them. In Year 6, pupils have been using hot-seating techniques to understand more about the characters in their reading book. Our pupils in Reception are settling well to their new routines at school.
Yesterday, we welcomed our IEB members to visit Oakwood. This was the first on-site visit they had made together, since the start of the pandemic, and was a great opportunity to show them the progress that we have made in the past twelve months. They were particularly impressed with the quality of working walls in classrooms and how well behaved pupils were, including their positive attitude to learning. We gave ourselves a round-of- applause for a really positive visit. I know that some of you took the time to speak to the IEB members, yesterday, so 'Thank you' for doing so and for the many positive comments too. These were really well received and shared with staff!
In today's Celebration Assembly, we reflected on the incredible achievements of Emma Radacanu, who won the US Open Final last week, and the determination she showed to win ten matches and play better each time. She has certainly inspired some of our children who have been practising their tennis skills at lunch time.
We celebrated our own achievements in assembly too. We shared our Mathematicians and Writers of the Week and began this term's Attendance Challenge, as well as announcing our 'Stars of the Week'. This week's Stars are:
Y1 Nightingale Class - Ava-Rose W. - Determination - For her super reading and writing in phonics.
Y2 Brunel Class - Harry G. - Determination - For showing great resilience in his attitude to his learning.
Y2 Seacole Class - Riley S. - Determination - For showing an excellent attitude towards his learning and for being a fantastic role model.
Y3 Ashe Class - Thorin D. - Determination - For persevering with his learning and working hard.
Y3 Turing Class - Archie L. - Determination - For being determined to be the best he can be.
Y4 Logie-Baird Class - Lily-May B. - Equality - For always treating others with respect and using perfect manners across the school.
Y4 Thunberg Class - Elsie-Rose S. - Determination - For being determined to achieve in all subjects.
Y5 Hamilton Class - Layken H. - Equality - For always being positive and polite.
Y5 Pankhurst Class - Hunter D. - Determination - For his brilliant effort and hard work across the week.
Y6 Amundsen Class - Connor Mc. - Determination - For excellent answers when being asked questions in class.
Y6 Parks Class - William W. - Determination - For being determined to make progress in Maths and English.
Well done to all of our certificate winners this week!
Our pupils have been choosing their books, increasing their reading fluency and mileage and taking their Accelerated Reader quizzes. We already have three children who have read more than 100,000 words. A great start to the new school year! Who will be our first Word Millionaire...?
On Monday 27th September you are invited to 'Meet and Greet' your child's class teacher. This is an opportunity to see your child's classroom and to ask them any questions about how your child has settled in to the new school term.
I've seen some super home-learning projects being brought in to school and I'm looking forward to seeing more of these come in!
I hope you all have a great weekend and I will look forward o welcoming the pupils back to school on Monday!
Best wishes,
Mr Laker
Head of School
