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Head of School Update - Friday 24th September 2021

Fri 24 Sep 2021

Welcome to this week's Weekly Update!

This week, we celebrated the fantastic dedication and commitment that our teaching assistants provide to all of our pupils - it's been National Teaching Assistant Day. We're proud of all of our teaching assistants and acknowledged this in today's assembly where they were all 'Stars of the Week'.

Our pupils have been working extremely hard and continue to impress. In this week's photos, we have pupils in Year 1 and 2, who have been working hard on their speed-sounds. Pupils in Year 3 have been enjoying their class novels in Reading, whilst in Year 4, pupils have been learning about the habitats we have in our school grounds.

In our Celebration Assembly we announced our latest certifcate winners. This week's 'Stars of the Week' are:

YR Stephenson - Ophelia S. for Achievement - For fantastic listening and behaviour.

Y1 Nightingale - Cadie D. for Determination - For her determination reading, writing and maths this week.

Y2 Brunel - Kirsty M. for Equality - For showing respect to everyone around school.

Y2 Seacole - Sofia L-R. for Equality - For always being so kind, caring and helpful to others.

Y3 Ashe - Elsie-May S. for Achievement - For consistently good work across the curriculum.

Y3 Turing - Joshua R. for Determination - For always being determined to do his best.

Y4 Logie-Baird - Kaila B. for Determination - For a fantastic attitude towards her learning, including additional learning at home!

Y4 Thunberg - Ollie H. for Equality - For 100% effort and for treating everyone with courtesy and respect.

Y5 Hamilton - Sophia J. for Determination - For always working hard and being determined to do her best.

Y5 Pankhurst - Aiden R-S. for Determination - For his excellent effort in all subjects and his determination to achieve to the best of his ability.

Y6 Amundsen - Ashleigh A. for Determination - For showing the determination to achieve her best in every lesson.

Y6 Parks - Kamdi O. for Achievement - For fantastic achievement all week.

'Congratulations' to all of this week's winners!

We have lots of things to look forward to next week. These include our Harvest Festival Community Project, with the Eastbourne Foodbank; our Phonics Workshop for Parents on Thursday 30th September; and our Meet and Greet afternoon on Monday 27th September.

Our updated Bulletin has further details about all of the things taking place in school, including an update on our Attendance Challenge.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Mr Laker
Head of School

Head of School Update - Friday 17th September 2021

Fri 17 Sep 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

Head of School Update - Friday 10th September 2021

Fri 10 Sep 2021

Welcome to the first Head of School Update of the new school year!

It has been truly brilliant to have welcomed the children back to Oakwood this week. Despite some early nerves, the children settled into their new classes and routines incredibly well. I have been so proud of all of the children - polite, courteous, hard-working. There has been a really positive 'buzz' around the school this week and it has been a pleasure to have been able to get into all of the classrooms, throughout the week, and share the children's learning with them.

We've had some new children and staff this week! Well done to our new Reception pupils in Stephenson Class who have started their first few days at school this week. They have enjoyed getting to meet new friends and their teachers, and to explore their learning environment.

I'm sure you will join me in welcoming our new staff to the team - Mr Gillham, Miss Saunders, Mrs Taylor and Miss O'Neill-Madeley to Oakwood. We also have some new faces in the school offices. I'm sure you will see Miss Hollington in the School Office and Mrs Funnell, who is the school's new Attendance Officer and Inclusion Administrator.

Thank you for your support with our start of day drop-off and end of day pick-up routines. These are certainly different from last year and we appreciate your co-operation in helping these to work. Staff have really enjoyed being able to talk to parents when they collect their child, and this certainly makes a difference.

Today, we held a very special assembly. This was the first assembly held in school since the first day I arrived - 543 days ago! It was lovely to share and celebrate our successes and give out our first sets of certificates, with all of the children and staff together, and to talk about our school values. I hope your child will have enjoyed the assembly today.

We awarded certificates to our first set of 'Stars of the Week'. This week's winners are:

Caleb A. - Year 1 Nightingale Class, for a fantastic first week.

Blake G. - Year 2 Brunel Class, for determination and perseverance.

Kallais S. - Year 2 Seacole Class, for making a fantastic start to Year 2.

Kate W. - Year 3 Ashe Class, for making a fantastic start to Year 3.

Rubi R. - Year 3 Turing Class, for showing determination and trying her best in class this week.

Harryson T. - Year 4 Logie-Baird Class, for showing great determination and a super start to Year 4.

Joey F. - Year 4 Thunberg Class, for contributing to class discussions.

Freddy-Joe K. - Year 5 Hamilton Class, for a determination to work hard and be positive.

Millie M. - Year 5 Pankhurst Class, for always being kind and demonstrating equality.

Brooke-Nicole A. - Year 6 Amundsen Class, for a fantastic start to Year 6.

Lexi H. - Year 6 Parks Class, for a fantastic start to Year 6.

Well done to all of this week's winners!

Please check out this week's school Bulletin for further information about school and we will post some photographs on our Facebook page.

I am incredibly proud of the whole school - a brilliant start to a new school year! I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday.

With my best wishes,

Mr Laker
Head of School