17 Jul 2009 - July Newsletter
Dear Parents,
As we come towards the close of the school year there are several items of news, diary dates, etc. of which I would like to make you aware. I apologise for the length of the letter, but it goes to prove how much goes on in school and how busy your children and the staff have been.
Official opening of the library
We were delighted that Clare Bevan, our local author, was able to join us last Monday to officially open our lovely new library. She spoke with great enthusiasm about how books have been so important all through her life and then, after cutting the ribbon, she stayed for the rest of the afternoon talking to the children and reading some of her poetry.
Many thanks to parents who have bought a book for our library from our Amazon account, or from the books on display.
Amphitheatre
The amphitheatre has now been turfed and will be ready next term for use as an outdoor classroom for drama, speaking and listening and many other creative uses that I am sure will be discovered by our children and staff!
Site Improvements
During the summer break new carpets will be installed in the Year 3 and Year 4 corridors and the terrapin. The office area and the terrapin will be redecorated and the old bike shed refurbished. We will have our usual ’deep clean’ and the windows will also be cleaned. Year 5 and Year 6 class rooms will swap around to accommodate the larger year group.
SCHOOL VISITS
Year 6 recently took a fantastic trip to the
Caitlin Hildebrand
We are writers
Last term we ran a very successful novel club and decided to take the opportunity given to us from Scholastics Book Fair to compile an “Oaklands” book of stories and poems. Seventy children took part and the published work was then able to be purchased by participating pupils. A copy of the book is in the library for others to view. We hope to run this at the next Book Fair at Christmas so if your child missed out this time, they will have the chance to enter it then
Tristan Fancourt ( Class 7 ) said:
“This is the first time I have written a story that has been published and it will be my last because I will be moving up later on. In novel club we have been writing stories as well so I hope that more people will take advantage next year.”
Year 6 have been very busy!
This month we had a “1940s” day which included dancing the Lindy Hop and Jitterbug with Aaron and Sue from “Dance Energy” and tasting samples of food from the war days. Thank you to all parents who helped bake and cook the food. We were all quite full up by the end of the day! Children and staff also dressed up and came to school in a wonderful array of costumes and hairstyles.
Kirsty Morrison commented: “I loved doing the Lindy Hop with Aaron and Sue and the 1940s’ food was surprisingly tasty.”
Year 4 Synagogue Trip
The whole year group enjoyed an interesting afternoon at the Reading Synagogue where we were met and shown around by the Rabbi and members of the Jewish community. Actually seeing inside a Synagogue gives the children a far better experience then just seeing pictures and video clips and we were delighted when the Rabbi made a point of telling us how well the children had listened and behaved. A big thank you to the parents who helped on this trip.
‘Icky Doo Dah’
On Tuesday 16th June, we were visited by a local illustrator Simon Huggett-Murray. Simon illustrates children’s fiction books written by his father Peter, and has recently started writing and illustrating his own series of books based on a mischievous character called ‘Icky Doo Dah’. Simon held the children spellbound while he told the story of how he first thought of Icky Doo Dah. He then created a large poster of Icky at the front of the class, while teaching the children how to draw their own version. Simon left each class with a task of creating either a story-board or short story explaining how Icky came to be in his final predicament. These stories were completed in literacy lessons and a few are on display in the school entrance. Simon left copies of his latest book for each class and returned two weeks later to deliver and sign further copies. The children really enjoyed Simon’s visit which proved to be both educational in drawing and an inspiration for writing.
Mrs. Mullier
Year 5 Trip to Rushall Farm
On Friday 12th June Year 5 went to Rushall Farm on the river Pang to learn about the river and the wildlife around it as part of their geography studies. The weather was beautiful and it was a fantastic day to spend outside, dipping in and measuring the river, leaning about bees and organic farming as well as eating stinging nettles! Everybody had a really great time and nobody fell in!
Oakwood
Twelve children from Year 5 have been going to the Oakwood centre on Thursdays after school to build self esteem and have fun mountain boarding, climbing walls and high ropes, archery and lots more. James Sherman says, ‘We can’t wait to go every week!’ and Harry Musgrove agrees that it is ‘brilliant’.
Fair Trade
Year 5 spent some time learning about Fair Trade and held a Fair Trade sale on Friday 10th July. All afternoon children were able to buy key rings, jewellery, cereal bars, ornaments and, most popular of all, chocolate! The sale was a huge success and we raised over £413, which was a great achievement.
Mrs Peck
Year 6 leavers’ play: ‘Do you remember the first time?’
Thank you to everyone who participated and helped with the play. We think we can all agree that it was full of humour and action. The play was all about looking back at the past and the fond memories of who has helped us along the way. We would also like to say a big thank you to Mr Pearse, Mrs Cooper and all of the year six helpers for organising and putting together the year six leavers play 2009.
By Adam Broadbent
Amaze Project
Last week we went to the Amaze Project in
Olivia Lovegrove
Pond News
By the end of the school year, and weather permitting, all children will have had the opportunity to dip their nets in our new pond.
Environmental club
Wonderful waterproof camps were built in the woods to round off our last meet of the year. Hopefully our photographs will be on display in the entrance soon.
Garden
Despite infestations of black fly which impeded growth, the children will still be able to harvest and munch the lettuces in the next few days. Well done year 3 for producing a bumper crop - look on Dorset Cereal website to see some of our year 3's working on their plot. In addition, for those enjoying gardens, RHS Wisley have a number of events for children during the summer break.
Morrison's Let's Grow vouchers for garden equipment
We have received more information on the collection of Morrison vouchers. Vouchers will be available for two months only between 7th September and 1st November.
Bulbs
Over the past few years we have spent the first half of the autumn term planting bulbs to brighten up areas of the school ground. We are asking children to bring in one bulb only in a paper bag with their name, class and the type of bulb. These will be planted by your child during lunchtime. We know many of you like to be more generous but due to time constraints and numbers of children involved, we ask for one bulb.
Holiday snaps
Are you venturing beyond
Ms. M. Moores
SPORTS ACTIVITIES
Girl’s Kwik Cricket.
On Tuesday 23rd June we took 3 teams to the Wokingham Kwik Cricket Festival for girls. Our C team which was made up of year 5 girls went along to gain experience which we hope will help them next year. In the competition they did very well considering they were playing teams who were a year older than themselves. They came 3rd in the first round of games and in the next round they won their group to give them overall 7th place.
Our B team which was made up of year 6 girls did slightly better. They came 2nd in their first round of matches, and 2nd again in their next round which gave them an overall placing of 5th. This was a great achievement as the team was hastily put together with several girls lacking any serious training.
The A team were a mixture of year 5 and 6 girls who performed brilliantly as a team. They won all their opening round of matches to finish top of their group. In the next round of matches they came 2nd, losing to the eventual winners by 12 runs, to finish 2nd overall in the competition and each girl received a medal.
Considering we finished last and second last in the previous year this was a massive improvement and well done to the girls who have been coming along to training each week, it certainly paid off. The girls were fantastic on the day and you could clearly see team spirit improving each match, they were a credit to the school and to themselves.
Year 5 Cricket match v Beechwood Tuesday 2nd July 2009.
This match was all about trying out some new players whilst still retaining a couple of the more experienced players. It was a 10 a side match with all bowlers bowling 2 overs and each batting pair staying in for 4 overs. This was to give everyone more experience and treat the game as a training match. Oaklands won the toss and put Beechwood in to bat first. They scored 84 runs and lost 3 wickets which meant a final score of 69. In our reply we scored 102 runs but lost 10 wickets which cost us 50 runs and so we ended up with a final score of 52. This meant Beechwood won the match. We still got plenty of positive experiences from the game and the girls all got another chance to play a competitive match. Well done girls, you worked hard in the afternoon heat and all the reasons we lost wickets can be resolved in training.
Triangular Games – event 3 July 9th 2009
Due to another school dropping out at short notice, we were invited to take part in the third and final match in the triangular games series. Four schools took part and even though we had very few year 6 children due to evening meetings and school trips, we managed to compete in every event by simply asking children to run twice or compete in the wrong age group. They did this brilliantly and although exhausted at the end they were still smiling. Events included cricket ball throwing, standing long jump, skipping, sprints, long distances and relays. We came third overall and only 10 points behind the 2nd placed team so all in all a fantastic result and all credit to the children.
Many thanks to Miss Newman, who helped at this event, and to the parents who have helped with transport and support all year.
Mr K. Hutton
Following their success in winning the Wokingham Kwik Cricket area finals, our year 5 boys team were invited to represent
The attitude of the team during both competitions was outstanding, with their sportsmanship towards opponents and support and encouragement of each other a feature of their efforts throughout. The standard of cricket played was incredibly high, and bearing in mind that the competition was open to year 6 children, finishing in the top eight teams in the county as a year 5 team is a true reflection of the talents of our cricketers and of their enthusiasm and pride in representing the school. Well done to Alex, Ben, Callum, James, Jamie, Joe, Matthew, Sam, Theo and Thomas!
Mr S. Cotterill
District Sports
On an extremely hot day at the beginning of July a team of 33 children selected from throughout the school went to Palmer Park to represent the school at district sports athletics, against 21 other schools. There were many excellent performances, especially from the relay teams, and many children reached the finals. 2 results need to have a special mention, though, and these were Ben Kemp and the mixed relay team (Megan Boobyer, Sarah Tomlin, Matthew Rees, Matthew Harris, Jamie Brazier, Teia-Lee Smith). Ben won his heat and then produced another fine run in the final to finish first, bringing home a trophy and missing the district record by 0.7 seconds. The mixed relay also won their heat and then won the final with some great teamwork and very slick baton changes, missing the district record by 1 second! The whole team were a credit to both school and parents for their support of each other and good sportsmanship. The end results saw the girls finish 8th out of 21, the boys finished 3rd overall and we as a school were 3rd. A very creditable performance all round and thanks to Mrs McLaren for giving up her time to look after the children in the stadium.
Mr. B. Pearse
We are delighted to share the news that Matthew Cameron in Year 5 has been offered a place at the
Although we are very sorry to lose him, this is a dream which he has worked hard to achieve! Look out for him at
Sports Day
Thank you to all the pupils for supporting each other and competing so well. The atmosphere was just lovely and although we had to go with our reserve day, the weather was perfect. The smooth running of this event is down to the organisational skills of Mr Pearse who, together with the staff and our many helpers, ensure the event is a success. The final points were as follows:
Blue House Red house Yellow House 128 146 128
The field events took place over a number of days and were well supported by teams of parent helpers. Red House also won the Field Sports Cup
Prizes
The Sports Trophy was awarded to Alice Cato and Luke Harris.
The Teale Trophy was awarded to Megan Boobyer.
Congratulations to all of you
Sainsbury Active Kids
The children have enjoyed a number of varying activities paid for by the vouchers you have given us over the last few months. Activities have included ‘street dance’, ‘rock ‘n roll’, ‘body works’ and Tae-Kwon-Do to name but a few.
Class Groups for September
Class groups in Year 4 are reorganized for the following academic year. This has proved to be very successful in the past. Pupils are asked to name several children who they enjoy working with. This information together with test results, teacher assessment and the impact of group dynamics help to determine the way the classes are re-organized. It is important to note that both classes will be of mixed ability.
Next Academic Year
Classes for 2009/2010
I would like to confirm that the classes for the next academic year are as follows:
|
Present |
Classes in September |
|
Class 1 |
to Mr Hutton - 4H |
|
Class 2 |
to Mrs West - 4W |
|
Year 4 / Classes 3 & 4 re-mixed } |
to Mrs Mullier - 5m |
|
" " " } |
to Mrs Peck & Mrs Moffatt - 5PM |
|
Class 5 |
to Mr Pearse - 6P |
|
Class 6 |
to Mrs Cooper - 6C |
|
|
|
Infant Traversing Wall
I expect that many of you have seen the new traversing wall in the Infant playground. Miss Sheppard has asked me to explain that as it has been specifically designed for children of infant size and weight it will be damaged very quickly if older children use it. I have spoken to the children in assembly but would be grateful if you would mention this again at home.
Summer Fete
Congratulations to the PTA for another successful summer fete which raised over £3000. We were really lucky with the weather. The event was very well attended, with everyone enjoying the day. Many thanks to the PTA Committee and especially Catherine Reeves who was in charge on the day.
School Lunches
Please note that Wokingham Borough Council have agreed that the meal price for primary schools is to be increased to £1.90 with effect from 1st September 09.
Please click on the Diary Dates button for the latest dates for your diary.
My very best wishes for a happy summer holiday.
Headteacher