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Headteacher Update - Friday 22nd September 2023

Fri 22 Sep 2023

Welcome to the week's 'Weekly Update!'

'Thank you' to the PTFA for the events they have ran this term. The 'Doughnut Sale' was really well received (and very tasty too) and I'm delighted that £143 was raised. This week, 'Penny Wars' was launched and we've already seen some 'competitive collecting', with some jars already brimming. The children are really enjoying this!

I have seen some brilliant Homework Projects - Thank you for your support with these!

This week, we appointed our Head Boy and Head Girl for 2023/24. There were ten Year 6 pupils interviewed, all of whom had written a letter of application and then answered some questions about their qualities and thoughts for the school. I was incredibly proud of all of them for putting themselves forward, for some, being out of their comfort zone, and for showing a real pride for the school. They are exceptional role-models and ambassadors of Oakwood!

'Congratulations' to...

Head Girl - Olivia W.

Deputy Head Girl - Lily-May B.

Head Boy - Oliver J.

Deputy Head Boy - Blake D.

We will let them introduce themselves next week.

We had a brilliant Celebration Assembly today. 'Thank you' to Year 6 Williamson Class who shared their learning with us. We learned about some clever 'function machines' in Maths, multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000; a colourful introduction to the work of Andy Warhorl and his famous screen-prints and pop-art designs; and some dark and develish descriptive writing.

As always, we were very proud of all of this week's certificate winners - a full list of 'Stars of the Week' can be found on this week's Bulletin. 'Well done' to Jeremiah in Year 6 who won this week's '100% Attendance Raffle' - the number 139 was drawn at random. There were 240 children in the draw this week!

It was great to find out that so many children in Key Stage 2 are already quizzing and loving their books. We are three weeks in and Clara in Year 6 has already ready 25 books! Cadie and Chloe in Year 3 are new to Accelerated Reader and have already achieved more than 5,000 words. After Week 3, Jacob in Year 6 is top of the Word Count list, with more than 460,000 words...just this term! I have encouraged, as I always do, all of our pupils to keep reading and to find books that they love - 'Reading unlocks all learning' - I'll look forward to updating you across the next few weeks.

Just a quick reminder about some events taking place across the next week. On Tuesday 26th September, we will be holding our 'Meet and Greet' afternoon for all classes (for Miss Harris, this is on Thursday 28th September), and is a chance for you to talk to your child's class teacher and see the classroom. I hope you will join us and I look forward to seeing you!

Our Harvest Festival Assembly is taking place on Friday 29th September. This year, we are once again supporting the Eastbourne Foodbank and any donation will be gratefully received. We will be displaying donations on Friday, before they are collected. I would be grateful if you could, therefore, bring any donations in on Friday, only.

Have a great weekend!

Ryan Laker

Headteacher

Headteacher Update - Friday 15th September 2023

Fri 15 Sep 2023

Welcome to this week's Weekly Update!

We've had a lovely second week back at school. Our children in Reception have completed their first few full days at school, and it's been great to watch them explore their new learning environment and settle into their new routines. 'Thank you' to parents for your support - you should be proud of the start your child has made.

We have been enjoying our reading this week - lots of fantastic lessons reading with adults or with a partner. I've shared some photographs at the bottom of this update. Children are settling well into their new routines. I've seen some fantastic handwriting in Year 4, children enjoying ukuleles in Year 5, and brilliant Maths work in Year 2.

'Well done' to all of this week's certificate winners. Our full list of 'Stars of the Week' can be seen on this week's Bulletin.

Our 'Attendance Challenge' is up and running for this term. With 100% attendance in our first week back at school, the first set of 10 points goes to Year 1 Nightingale Class. In our '100% Attendance Raffle', the number 150 was drawn at random. This week's winner was Emily O. in Year 2.

'Thank you' to the PTFA who ran this week's 'Doughnut Sale' and for the gifts they kindly provided to all of our parents who have children starting in Reception.

Our 'Meet and Greet' takes place in Tuesday 26th September, and is the opportunity for you to meet your child's class teacher and ask any questions about them settling in to school this term. I hope you will be able to join us!

As always, there is lots of information in our Bulletin - details about our Open Evening, for children starting in Reception in 2024, and our new Communication Pathway. We've also introduced some of our new staff and shared some weekly updates too - Maths, Nursery and The Hive, this week.

I have really enjoyed seeing children's Homework Projects for Term 1, and look forward to seeing lots more of these in the coming weeks.

Have a great weekend!

Ryan Laker

Headteacher

Headteacher Update - Friday 8th September 2023

Thu 07 Sep 2023

Welcome to the entire Oakwood community to a brand new school year! I hope you have all had a lovely Summer break and, like me, hope you're looking ahead to the start of a school year!

A warm welcome to all of our new pupils who have joined us this year. We have some new faces who have joined our classes, from other schools or even other countries - +'Welcome' to you all! We also have a brand new class of Reception of pupils! They have all been in school this week and have come into school happily and calmly...they have been brilliant! I look forward to welcoming them all to school, together, next week! And finally, 'Welcome' to all our new staff this year. Joining us this term are Mr. Mitchell in Year 3 and Ms Seath in Year 4, teaching Hewett and Logie-Baird Classes; Mrs Mack, who has joined the Inclusion Administration Team; and Miss Wordsworth, Mr Hampson, Miss Jehad and Miss Dunn, who have joined our Support Staff teams. I hope you enjoy your time at Oakwood!

I have been incredibly impressed with the settled start that children have made in their classes. Despite some very late Summer sunshine (and heat), it's been a purposeful first few days and a real buzz for learning across the school. Staff have worked hard to prepare some fabulous learning environments and the children have enjoyed finding out about the learning journeys for this term. I am looking forward to seeing some outstanding Homework Projects across the next few weeks.

We have taken time this week to reinforce school expectations; to revisit the school rules; and to take care to understand our School Values. We also have some brand new Class Icons to help us name our classes. Our School Values were certainly evident in our first set of 'Stars of the Week' - an excellent achievement to set the standard in the first week of the first term. This week's Stars are:

Class	Child	School Value	Reason
Nursery	Mia R.	*Achievement*	For coming back to Nursery with such positivity and confidence.
Year 1 Nightingale	Roscoe P.	*Achievement*	For great ideas when talking about 'creation' story.
Year 2 Roper	Isabella H.	*Determination*	For sitting and listening well on the carpet.
Year 3 Hewett	Caleb A.	*Equality*	For being kind and welcoming to a new student in our class.
Year 4 Logie-Baird	Jaydee K.	*Achievement*	For settling into our class so well and coming into school every morning with biggest smile.
Year 4 Attenborough	David O.	*Achievement*	For having an excellent start to Year 4, being settled and ready to learn!
Year 5 Hamilton	Hope P.	*Achievement*	For an excellent approach to all of her work in every lesson leading to very pleasing achievement. Keep it up Hope!
Year 5 Rashford	LJ J.	*Determination*	For his fantastic determination and attitude towards his learning, as well as being a brilliant helper in the classroom.
Year 6 Parks	Bethany V.	*Achievement*	For being kind, caring and polite.
Year 6 Williamson	Lillie-May R-G.	*Achievement*	For settling into class so well and being the best that she can be.

'Well done' to all of this week's winners. Next week, we will launch our brand new Attendance Challenge. As always, continue to check our weekly Bulletin for attendance updates.

'Thank you' to our PTFA who have launched some events for this term. We have a planned Coffee Morning and Doughnut Sale, as well as a new 'Penny Wars' challenge for each class. This week, they have given out a magnet and badge to all children, as a Welcome to the new term. The full list of PTFA dates for Term 1, as well as other key dates, can be found on this week's Bulletin.

You hopefully will have received a copy of your child's Learning Journey for this term. This aims to provide an overview of your child's learning across each of the curriculum areas and details about your child's PE lessons and our expectations for reading. Please take the time to read through the Curriculum Newsletter.

If you have any queries, questions or concerns, please speak to your child's class teacher in the first instance, who will be happy to help you. We know how important this is, particularly during the first few weeks of a new school year.

There will be much to share in the coming weeks. I have really enjoyed welcoming all the children back to school this week, and look forward to the momentum continuing into next week. I hope all of the children have a fantastic Term 1. I look forward to seeing their learning and sharing their progress with you.

Have a great weekend!

Ryan Laker

Headteacher