Oaklands School

NEWSLETTER

1 w w w . o a k l a n d s s c h o o l . c o . u k @ O a k l a n d s S c h

March 2016

Item Page Headmistress’s Message ................................... 1

‘Bad Hair Day’ in aid of GOSH ........................... 1

Social Networking ............................................. 1

Transition’s St Albans Abbey Trip ..................... 2

Year 1T Maths Balance Investigation ................ 2

Oaklands Swimming Gala .................................. 2

Lower Kindergarten ‘Weather’ ......................... 3

Flying Kites in Lower Kindergarten.................... 3

Mysterious Egg in Transition! ........................... 3

Year 6 at the British Museum ........................... 4

Forest School Science Competition ................... 4

Year 3 Chafford Gorge Trip ............................... 4

Mother’s Day in Transition ............................... 5

Year 2 Mother’s Day ......................................... 5

Open Morning - Thursday 10 March ................. 5

World Book Day ................................................ 6

World Book Day (continued) ............................. 7

School Uniform ................................................. 7

Marie Curie ....................................................... 7

ISA London North Netball Tournament ............ 8

Rotary Club Concert - Girls’ Choir .................... 8

Oak-Tree Ball..................................................... 8

New Arrival ....................................................... 8

Headmistress’s Message Dear Parents How time flies! We are fast approaching the Easter break! There has been much to celebrate already this term. Congratulations to our Year 6 pupils for achieving places at their first choice schools! The Girls’ Choir gave a superb performance at ‘Youth Makes Music’; Year 6 pupils enjoyed their visit to Forest School for the Forest Junior Science competition; all the children loved dressing up for World Book Day and the list goes on............You’ll be able to catch up with all the latest events and achievements in this newsletter. Enjoy the rest of the term and I wish you all a lovely Easter break. I look forward to seeing you back at School on Tuesday 19 April 2016. Cheryl Macnair

‘Bad Hair Day’ in aid of GOSH

A cheque for £592.02 was presented to Erin Bushal from GOSH children's charity. We think you will agree it is a fantastic amount!

Thank you so much to all who made a donation.

Social Networking

Go to our Website—visit the Calendar page for upcoming events and more photographs and videos are posted on our News page. Download the Oaklands App from the Apple Store of Google Play. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

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Transition—St Albans Abbey Trip It was with great excitement that Transition travelled by coach to St Albans Abbey to participate in a day of fun workshops. During the morning each class worked with a member of Abbey staff to complete a number of shape activities including making rubbings of floor tiles and shape identification. They then learned how to measure using non-standard units of measure – chair height using hands, a pillar using hugs, and the floor in footsteps.

The challenge of the morning was how to measure the distance from the floor to the ceiling – after some very clever suggestions everyone watched in amazement as a helium balloon was sent up and the length of string attached was then laid down the aisle before its length was found with the use of a trundle wheel.

After a picnic lunch in the Crypt the children returned to view ‘the rose’ a beautiful stained glass window before having the opportunity to make one for themselves.

Quotes from the children: ‘My favourite part was seeing the big stained glass window and then making one.’ ‘I liked finding all the shapes on the windows and then on the floor and in the steps.’ ‘I liked the balloon. It went up and up.’

A super day out was had by children and adults - with a number of children heard on the return journey asking if they could go again.

Year 1T—Maths Balance Investigation

In Maths Year 1T have been looking at measurement. We have been using mathematical language to compare, describe and solve practical problems for weight. We are also beginning to record our answers. During a balance investigation we used the balance scales to work out the weight of different objects from around the classroom and then record this in our workbooks. We have been able to use language such as heavy, light, lighter, heavier, heaviest and lightest when comparing objects without knowing their weight. The balance scales then helped us to measure the weight of each object in cubes.

Oaklands Swimming Gala

Pupils in Years 3 to 6 will all be taking part in the Oaklands Annual Swimming Gala at Loughton Pool on Wednesday 16 March. We aim to start at about 9.30am and should be finished by about 12 noon. The children will be competing for the swimming cup in their houses. Spectators are most welcome, so do come along and support your child and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

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Lower Kindergarten ‘Weather’

On 22 February we started our new topic all about ‘Weather’. This week we have been looking at snow. We discovered what happened when snow warms up. The children took part in an experiment; we froze some of our toys in water and timed how long it took for the ice to melt. Also it snowed in Lower Kindergarten! We played outside in our own homemade snow

(shaving foam), we traced shapes and letters with our fingers and we discussed how the snow felt. Then the sun came out and the children were very worried it would melt our snow!

Flying Kites in Lower Kindergarten

Lower Kindergarten are learning about wind. The children made their own individual kites and then experimented to see if they worked! They were a great success and the children enjoyed running in our garden flying their kites in the wind. The children sang as they ran and had competitions to see whose kite would fly the highest! The teachers were thankful the weather complied and it was actually very windy outside!

Mysterious Egg in Transition! Great excitement hit Transition with the mysterious arrival of an egg in each classroom PLUS one in Mrs Macnair’s office. Discussions ensued about where the eggs came from, what might hatch out and what would we do with whatever hatched. We even wrote rules to keep the egg safe.

One week later we arrived to chaos in the classrooms – dirty footprints, straw strewn across the floor and upturned chairs. We followed the footprints outside and it looks like the creature escaped into our next door neighbours garden – phew, but sshhh don’t tell them!

Our clever teachers had luckily set up cameras over the weekend and we were amazed at what we saw.

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Year 6 at the British Museum On Friday 12 February Year 6 visited the British Museum in Central London. They travelled by tube and Mr Arrowsmith and Mrs Booth thought the class behaved very sensibly, especially considering some had not used the tube before. At the museum, the class took part in a workshop on Greek myths and their knowledge of this was very impressive. After lunch, the children had an opportunity to see some of the museum’s large collection of Ancient Greek artefacts, including the famous plaster casts of the Elgin marbles and some beautiful Greek pottery. The class had a wonderful day.

Forest School Junior Science Competition On Wednesday 24 February 2016 four members of Year 6 went to Forest School, Snaresbrook to participate in the annual Forest School Junior Science Competition. There were teams from approximately fifteen local primary schools. Each team had to complete three scientific tasks. For the first task the team had to construct a burglar alarm which involved using electrical components. The team used microscopes in the second task to identify and draw different samples on slides. These included blood, fungus and a thread from a piece of cloth. The children became forensic scientists in the third task as they had to consider and test evidence from a crime scene. The children had great fun using their scientific skills and knowledge during the afternoon. Well done Evie, Dariel, Jake and Sameer!

Year 3-Chafford Gorge Trip

On Friday 4 March Year 3 went to Chafford Gorge to experience life as a person from the Stone Age. First Andrew gave us a fantastic talk about the history of the gorge and the things they had found there. We discovered that the T-Rex had evolved into a chicken and got to handle real fossils of the teeth of a sabre tooth tiger and a woolly mammoth. Next we did some bird watching. We identified some cormorants

across the water using our binoculars and our field guide. We also spotted some woodpecker holes and a bird’s nest. On the water we saw lots of different birds including swans and mallards. We all enjoyed feeding the ducks and getting a closer look. Next we built our own shelters from just sticks and tarp. We found it very difficult at first, but we thought carefully about all the different things on the land that could help us. After lunch it was time to make some tools and we whittled a toasting stick out of a willow branch. Andrew showed us how to start a fire carefully using just two pieces of metal. We all toasted marshmallows around the fire, they were delicious. Jake even toasted some for the teachers! We enjoyed being Stone Age people for the day, but we were all looking forward to our comfy beds when we came home.

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Mother’s Day in Transitions Transition mummies were invited to attend one of three Mother’s Day fun afternoons. Each afternoon there was great excitement as the children eagerly awaited the arrival of their special guests. Much to the horror of some mummies the first activity involved each mummy

painting their child’s portrait before each child painted their mummy’s portrait. It was then time for a story treat – sharing books with mummy. Each afternoon ended with the children presenting their mummies with a pink rose.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all the Oaklands’ mummies from Transition

Open Morning Thursday 10 March at 9.15am

Early Years, Infants and Juniors For more information contact Miss M Hopwood, the Admissions Registrar, on 020 8508 3517

Year 2 Mother’s Day

Years 2L and 2S designed their own flower pots and planted them as a present for Mother’s Day. Beautiful!

Open Morning—Thursday 10 March

You are very welcome to come to our Open Morning. Prospective and current parents will have the opportunity to see the school at work and to hear more about what is happening at school. Refreshments will be available from 9am in the Hall. Mrs Macnair will be giving a short talk at 9.30am with tours commencing at 9.45am. Our Year 6 act as guides and they are always happy to talk about life at Oaklands from a pupil’s perspective.

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World Book Day

Oaklands was taken over by some fabulous characters from our favourite books on World Book Day. A fantastic effort was made by the children and not forgetting the staff! The children enjoyed a fun filled, book related day, filled with different activities, including a house quiz on favourite books and authors.

Lower Kindergarten The children in Lower Kindergarten had so much fun dressing up for World Book Day and raising money for charity. They all took their roles very seriously and were able to act out their part of their character!

Garden Room The children all looked great in their ‘World Book Day’ costumes. They had the opportunity to participate in a variety of creative activities. The Mole and Squirrel groups were really lucky to have Isabelle’s granddad come into school to read us her favourite story of ‘Peter Rabbit’. This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter and we thought this would be the perfect time to celebrate!

Year 1 Photos of 1T and ‘Show and Tell’ items from World Book Day. A brilliant day seeing so many different book characters! A great effort was made by all.

Transition

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World Book Day (continued)

We managed to raise £198.50 from the collection, together with the total raised from the Book Sale, making a magnificent grand total of £406.10.

Thank you once again for your generosity and support.

Children from other parts of the world will definitely benefit from this wonderful day.

Year 4 Year 4 held their own special book sale, using books that they and other children had donated.

They set up the classroom, priced them and raised £207.60 for Book Aid International.

Year 2

Year 3

School Uniform When we return after the Easter break, the children will need to wear summer uniform. Please check the website for details. The OPA are kindly organising a very timely ‘pre-loved’ uniform sale on Friday 11 March in the Garden Room starting at 2.30pm.

Marie Curie

Each year in March we receive a delivery of daffodil pins to raise money and support Marie Curie. If you would like to show your support please come to the school office to purchase a daffodil pin. It is a suggested donation of £1. Thank you!

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ISA London North Netball Tournament

The Netball squad took part in the ISA U11 Netball Tournament at Redbridge Sports centre. The girls were included in a pool with 4 other teams from the area. Their competition was fierce and challenging at times. The girls managed to win one match

out of four and came 4th overall. We were very impressed with their dedication, positivity, determination and overall behaviour especially when against more experienced teams. Well done girls!

Oak-Tree Ball—Saturday 21 May You will have received a letter from Mr Hagger by now about the forthcoming Oak-Tree Ball. The evening will include a champagne reception, meal with wine, a live band and a variety of entertainment for us all. There will also be an auction including a number of unique and interesting lots. The four Schools’ Parents Associations’ committees are working extremely hard to plan a night to remember. Please do support them. Click here for more information.

New Arrival I’m delighted to announce that Mrs Slater had a little boy on 20 February. Oliver Anthony arrived weighing 8lb 6oz. Mother and baby are home and doing well.

Rotary Club Concert—Girls’ Choir On the evening of Friday 26 February the Girls’ Choir sang at Chigwell School as part of the annual Rotary Club Youth Makes Music Concert. Several local schools were involved including Chigwell, Loyola, Roding Valley, West Hatch and Debden High. The programme was lively and varied with our Girls’ Choir ending the first half with a spirited performance of ‘Do-Re-Mi’ from The Sound of Music. The concert raised over £2,000 for local charities including the new Memory Café in Loughton, which provides a meeting place for both carers and sufferers of dementia. It was a privilege to be part of this important fund raising concert. A huge well done to all that took part. Click here to see a short video of the girls singing on our website.