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Head of School Update - Friday 25th March 2022
Fri 25 Mar 2022Welcome to this week’s ‘Weekly Update’.
Spring has definitely sprung at Oakwood this week. All of the children and staff have enjoyed the brighter, warmer weather – it’s been a fantastic week. We’ve had different staff in, and out, of school this week, and our pupils have been resilient, hard-working and adaptable. Thank you to all of the pupils and staff, who have been flexible and gone above-and-beyond.
As always, there has been some fantastic teaching and learning taking place this week. Some of our pupils in Year 2 have made such fantastic progress with their phonics and I have been very lucky to share some of the fantastic sentences they have been writing in their books.
In school today, we have been celebrating the enriching and enjoyable language of William Shakespeare, as part of Shakespeare Week in schools, learning about some of the greatest stories, tragedies and comedies that have ever been told. The children have really enjoyed the day, telling stories, exploring vocabulary and performing. Families can also join in with Shakespeare Week, and I have attached a link with activity ideas for all the family, which you may want to try at home. We’d love to see any photographs, so please send these into school via the School Office email address.
https://www.shakespeareweek.org.uk/families/
Year 4 Thunberg and Logie-Baird Class enjoyed their first swimming lesson today. They took the short coach journey down to the Sovereign Centre in Eastbourne and had great fun, splashing about and demonstrating their swimming technique in the pool. I was delighted to hear that the behaviour of the children was excellent and they represented Oakwood superbly, all trying their best, which is great to hear.
Next week, our pupils in Year 2 are looking forward to their school trip to Eastbourne Seafront, where they will learn about what makes Eastbourne a fantastic seaside and coastal town, plus they will also see a very special Punch and Judy puppet show. We will share some photographs from the trip, next week.
We also have our Term 4 Curriculum Events taking place in school next week. We have workshops, treasure hunts, songs and journeys across the world. The children love sharing their learning with you so, if you are able to, please come and join us for one of the events.
Full details, dates and times about each of the events are all on this week’s Bulletin.
It was great to be able to welcome you in to school for our Spring Parents Evening on Tuesday and Wednesday. I hope the opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher was useful and informative. As always, ‘Thank you’ for your support. If you weren’t able to make an appointment on either of the two days, please speak to your child’s class teacher or the School Office, who will be happy to arrange a meeting.
In this week’s Celebration Assembly we awarded our certificates to our Writing and Maths ‘Stars’ and our ‘Stars of the Week’.
This week’s ‘Stars of the Week’ are:
YR Stephenson
Logan W. for trying different foods this week. (Determination)
Y1 Nightingale
Elsie-Mai H. for great speaking and listening about her learning with her partner. (Equality)
Y2 Brunel
Emily B. for her achievement in reading, trying her best with her storyteller’s voice. (Achievement)
Y2 Seacole
Vinnie H-W. for working really hard this week and completing lots of fantastic work. (Achievement)
Y3 Ashe
Chloe E. for making a really positive start, settling in confidently and working hard. (Achievement)
Y3 Turing
Chloe F. for being determined to maintain focus and do her best work in all lessons. (Determination)
Y4 Logie-Baird
Blake D. for great effort across all of his learning this week. (Achievement)
Y4 Thunberg
Stanley S. for demonstrating great determination when faced with problems to solve. (Determination)
Y5 Hamilton
Tianna-Mai C. for always being polite and respectful to every person she meets. (Equality)
Y5 Pankhurst
Millie M. for always doing her very best and showing the highest standards of equality to all children. (Equality)
Y6 Amundsen
Marshall H. for excellent achievement across the curriculum. He consistently shows a good attitude. (Achievement)
Y6 Parks
Marlee S. for showing determination to be the best he can be in all the things he does. (Determination)Well done to all of our certificate winners this week and to Louis T, in Year 1, who had the lucky number drawn in this week’s Attendance Raffle.
Finally, please see this week’s Bulletin for lots of information about school, including Easter Holiday activities.
Have a great weekend and I’ll look forward to seeing all of the pupils on Monday!
Mr Laker
Head of School -
Head of School Update - Friday 18th March 2022
Fri 18 Mar 2022Welcome to this week’s ‘Weekly Update’.
Thank you to all of our children and their families for supporting us with our Comic Relief and ‘United For Ukraine’ Day today. The children have been superb throughout the day. We’ve taken part in a Comic Relief inspired ‘Red Nose Relay’, with silly walks, dances and hops, and all of the children have left a handprint, to show respect and solidarity for all those in Ukraine who facing the tragic and devastating situation in their country.
We have raised £200, so far, which is fantastic, and there is still some money to be counted. If you haven’t yet donated, and would like to, please take any donations to the School Office. We will keep collecting for the next few days. All money raised will go to Comic Relief and the Disasters and Emergency Committee (DEC).
We’ve taken some photos throughout the day so please see our Facebook page for updates.
In this week’s Celebration Assembly we awarded our certificates to our Writing and Maths ‘Stars’ and our ‘Stars of the Week’.
This week’s ‘Stars of the Week’ are:
YR Stephenson
Harvey H. for fantastic writing and pattern making. (Determination)
Y1 Nightingale
Autumn-Rose L. for her amazing homework and kindness – she donated some reading books to school. (Equality)
Y2 Brunel
Ernis H. for determination and independence to complete his best work. (Determination)
Y2 Seacole
Cheyenne L. for having a fantastic, positive attitude to her learning and always listening well. (Achievement)
Y3 Ashe
Thorin D. for working hard and in all areas of the curriculum, but particularly in Maths this week. (Achievement)
Y3 Turing
Archie L. for having a positive attitude and trying his best in every lesson. (Achievement)
Y4 Logie-Baird
Khloe K. for always making great choices with her behaviour and being a friendly member of the class. (Equality)
Y4 Thunberg
Isaac K. for showing great determination to understand tasks in every lesson and always giving 100%. (Determination)
Y5 Hamilton
Louis H. for always trying his hardest and challenging himself to achieve our school vision of ‘Being Better Every Day’. (Determination)
Y5 Pankhurst
Leo B. for his excellent effort in all areas of the curriculum and for always being a ‘Star’. (Achievement)
Y6 Amundsen
Brooke-Nicole A. for a mature approach to all areas of learning, for being a hard worker, who is determined, and always insists on always achieving her best. (Achievement)
Y6 Parks
Kamdi O. for pushing himself to achieve his best in all areas of school life. (Achievement)Well done to all of our certificate winners this week and to Joao G, in Year 6, who had the lucky number drawn in this week’s Attendance Raffle.
Just a reminder to you all that Parents Evening consultations take place next week, on Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd March. We are looking forward to welcoming you in to school for the opportunity for you to meet with your child’s class teacher. If you have not yet made an appointment, it’s not too late to do so. Parents Evening provides the chance to talk about your child’s progress, attainment and achievements, so I urge you to book a meeting. I hope to see you next week.
Our Term 4 Curriculum Events take place in the last week of term. We have workshops, treasure hunts, songs and journeys across the world. The children love sharing their learning with you so, if you are able to, please come and join us for one of the events.
Full details, dates and times about each of the events are all on this week’s Bulletin.
Today, we said ‘Goodbye’ to Mrs Meredith. We’d like to say a very big ‘Thank you’ to Mrs Meredith for her fantastic contribution to Oakwood over the many years that she has worked in our school, particularly teaching Spanish to classes in Key Stage 2. We wish Mrs Meredith all the very best in all that she goes on to do.
Finally, please see this week’s Bulletin for lots of information about school, including Easter Holiday activities.
Have a great weekend and I’ll look forward to seeing all of the pupils on Monday!
Mr Laker
Head of School
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Head of School Update - Friday 11th March 2022
Fri 11 Mar 2022Welcome to this week’s ‘Weekly Update’.
As always, our pupils never fail to impress. I have, as I always do, loved sharing and celebrating learning with pupils this week. Pupils in Year 1 have been inspired by the art work of William Morris, and are really enjoying their learning and I have been impressed with the confidence of our Year 4 pupils who have been adding and subtracting fractions, some with different denominators. There has been some fantastic presentation across the school this wee, with a huge amount of focus, concentration and determination to improve. Some of our pupils in Year 6 have been developing a real talent for photography, as part of a small project. We hope to share some of their images very shortly.
In this week’s Celebration Assembly we awarded our certificates to our Writing and Maths ‘Stars’ and our ‘Stars of the Week’
This week’s ‘Stars of the Week’ are:
YR Stephenson
Ayaan A. for super reading in phonics. (Achievement)
Y1 Nightingale
Louis T. for excellent effort and enthusiasm with his learning. (Achievement)
Y2 Brunel
Sebastian W. for determination in both Maths and English. (Determination)
Y2 Seacole
Alycia T. for working on her perseverance and giving everything a go, even if she finds it tricky at first. (Determination)
Y3 Ashe
Kate W. for being kind and helpful to her friends. (Equality)
Y3 Turing
Annie-Rose E. for always working hard, being enthusiastic, participating in every lesson and being a friendly and helpful member of the class. (Achievement)
Y4 Logie-Baird
Matthew M. for showing great perseverance with all his learning. (Determination)
Y4 Thunberg
Joey F. for always being kind, helpful and polite. He works hard, contributes in lessons and is a role model to all. (Achievement)
Y5 Hamilton
Kostas S. for always working hard and challenging himself to include features of writing. (Achievement)
Y5 Pankhurst
Tyler E. for his excellent determination in all areas of the curriculum this week, well done! (Determination)
Y6 Amundsen
Jayden P. for excellent determination in all learning. Jayden is a mature, hardworking, committed learner. (Determination)
Y6 Parks
Demi H. for showing determination to be the best that she can be. (Determination)‘Thank you’ to all of those pupils who entered our ‘Short Story Competition’, as part of our ‘World Book Day’ celebrations. We had alternative settings, diary entries, moody-mysteries, typed and hand-written stories, all within a 500 word limit. All of the children who took part were given a small chocolate prize! This year’s prize winners were Bethany V. and Aiden R-S. The overall competition winner was Kodi L. in Year 4. ‘Well done’ to all of the children who took part.
Please see this week’s Bulletin for information about Parents’ Evening, dates for Term 4 Curriculum Events and our plans for Comic Relief, on Friday 18th March. You will have received a couple of letters today. These are also available on our website.
Have a great weekend! I’ll look forward to seeing all of the pupils on Monday!
Ryan Laker
Head of School
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Head of School Update - Friday 4th March 2022
Fri 04 Mar 2022Welcome to this week’s ‘Weekly Update’.
We hope all of the children have enjoyed our celebration of World Book Day today. The children looked absolutely fantastic – there were some super characters who came to school today. Thank you for supporting us today. Across the school, children have been reading with other classes and taking the time to enjoy books and stories. Please see our Facebook page where we have shared some of the fabulous photographs taken today.
Just a reminder that our Short Story Competition is open for all our pupils. There will be different age-group prizes. Stories can be about anything and in any format, from picture-books, comics and diaries, to missing chapters and scary openings. Just one rule – a 500 word limit. Please send all stories to the School Office, in an envelope, with your child’s name and class.
On Tuesday, we celebrated Shrove Tuesday at Oakwood, with pancakes and ice-cream. The children certainly enjoyed a special change to the lunch menu.
Everyone has been affected by the current conflict in Ukraine, in one way or another. In school, some of our pupils are very aware of the impact that the invasion is having on the citizens of Ukraine and have their own thoughts and feelings around this. In school, we always aim to use the best resources to help pupils with their understanding about current affairs and world news, such as the conflict in Ukraine. BBC Newsround remains a fantastic resource, which provides age-appropriate content to primary-aged pupils. We will use these news reports in school and these may be of help when talking to your child at home. Staff will, of course, do their best to reassure and provide support to all of our pupils and I would extend this further by adding that if there is anything we can do to support you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Our next round of Parents’ Evening consultations take place later this term, on Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd March. We will share further details about Parents’ Evening, shortly, including how to book an appointment to meet with your child’s class teacher.
In this week’s Celebration Assembly, we awarded our certificates to our fantastic Writing and Maths ‘Stars’ and our ‘Stars of the Week’.
This week’s ‘Stars of the Week’ are:
YR Stephenson – Megan P. for ‘Achievement’ – For her eagerness to learn and to respond to questions in phonics and Maths.
Y1 Nightingale – Ava W. for ‘Achievement’ – For her enthusiasm and learning in Maths and English.
Y2 Brunel – Ernis H. for ‘Determination’ – For his determination to improve in English.
Y2 Seacole – Jasmine P. for ‘Achievement’ – For making excellent progress this week with her social skills.
Y3 Ashe – Arthur B. for ‘Knowledge’ – For demonstrating knowledge and understanding in Geography this week.
Y3 Turing – Lira W. for ‘Determination’ – For having a fantastic week. For being enthusiastic and participating confidently in all lessons.
Y4 Thunberg – Lano A. for ‘Achievement’ – For always presenting her work to the highest quality and demonstrating a great attitude to her learning.
Y4 Logie-Baird – Nicole G. for ‘Equality’ – For always thinking of others. This week, she has made packages for Ukranian refugees – a wonderful thing to do!
Y5 Hamilton – Matilda G. for ‘Achievement’ – For incredible learning in Maths, adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions.
Y5 Pankhurst – Amelia D. for ‘Determination’ – For participating well in her Maths lessons this week, particularly when multiplying fractions.
Y6 Amundsen – Santiago M. for ‘Determination’ – For giving his best during practice papers this week.
Y6 Parks – Charlie-Jay P-D. for ‘Determination’ – For giving his best during practice papers this week.
Have a great weekend! I’ll look forward to seeing all of the pupils in school on Monday!
Ryan Laker
Head of School
