Latest News | Oakwood Primary Academy

Head of School Update - Friday 23rd October 2020

Fri 23 Oct 2020

Welcome to this week's Weekly Update, and the last one of this term!

I hope you have been able to enjoy our curriculum videos for Term 1. Although it wasn't possible for us to invite you into school, we wanted to share and celebrate our learning from across the term. Thank you to all of the pupils and staff for putting these together.

Our curriculum newsletters for Term 2 are being shared later today and these will provide lots of information about what to expect in each year group, an overview of next term's topic and an introduction to the home-learning project. Your child may choose to think about this over half-term, should they wish. Copies of the newsletters will also be shared via the school's website.

In today's assembly we celebrated this term's final set of 'Stars of the Week'. This week's winners are:

Isla J. in Reception

Amelia H. and Frankie B. in Year 1

Thorin D. and Annie-Rose E. in Year 2

Matilda S. and Shai A. in Year 3

Chloe H. and Aiden R-S. in Year 4

Anny B. and Sabrina S. in Year 5

Afonso F. and Oscar M-C. in Year 6

Well done to our Stars of the Week. We also crowned our first 'Stars of the Term'. These are awarded to the children with the most merits earned across the term. This term's winners are:

Seth S. - Reception

Kallais S. - Year 1 Curie

Joshua W. - Year 1 Hillary

Elsie-Mae S. - Year 2 Brunel

Chloe F. - Year 2 Farah

Ollie H. - Year 3 Ashe

AJ K. - Year 3 Roddick

Aswin L. - Year 4 Logie-Baird

Aiden R-S. - Year 4 Thunberg

Esther B. - Year 5 Kipchoge

Nicole W. - Year 5 Pankhurst

Julia W. - Year 6 Amundsen

Max S. - Year 6 Parks

Congratulations to all of our Stars of the Term. The photographs of them looking very proud can be found under the 'Pupils' section of our website. The merit charts will be reset for Term 2!

Well done to all of the pupils who achieved a 'Spanish Award' certificate this term, too!

In our 'featured photo' this week, pupils in Year 5 have been developing their skills when playing the ukulele.

Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the pupils and staff for their hard work and commitment during Term 1, and to extend this thanks to all of our families, who have shown great support during this first term of our full-reopening.

I wish you all a very enjoyable half-term break and I look forward to welcoming all of the pupils back to school on Monday 2nd November.

Best wishes,

Mr Laker
Head of School

Prospective Parents Open Evening: Starting School in September 2021

Tue 20 Oct 2020

We usually offer prospective families tours of the school and Foundation Village during the school day. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are not currently able to run these in the normal way. We appreciate that choosing your child's primary school is an important decision, and so to help parents with their choices we are offering tours of the Reception classrooms and outside areas on Tuesday 10th, Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th November 2020. These will take place between 5.00 and 7.00pm, with tours scheduled every 20 minutes. Attendance for each family is limited to two adults and one child.

Staff will be available to provide tours and answer any questions but please be aware that it will not be possible to visit classrooms in the main school building or to watch any lessons.

We would ask that if you would like to book a tour to please:

Contact the School Office with your preferred date, to book a visit.
Arrive promptly for your visit - we will not be able to accept any latecomers.
Wear a facemask (children will not need to do so).
Sanitise your hands on arrival at the Foundation Village.
Ensure that any children accompanying you stays with you at all times.
Do not touch any resources during the visit.
Wash or sanitise your hands on departure (everyone who has attended).

Please do not attend your visit if you, or any of your family, are displaying symptoms of Covid-19, awaiting test results or isolating as instructed by Track-and-Trace or because you have had contact with anyone who has tested positive.

Bookings are on a first-come-first-served basis. To make a booking, please call the School Office on 01323 501251. If you book a visit but are unable to make it, then please email us OPAOffice@AuroraAcademies.org.

We will shortly be sharing our 'Welcome to Oakwood' video.

We look forward to welcoming you soon!

Head of School Update - Friday 16th October 2020

Fri 16 Oct 2020

Welcome to this week's Weekly Update!

As usual, I love to share a summary of the learning that has been taking place across the school this week! Pupils in Year 3 had fun erupting their volcano models, with some crazy-coloured lava, whilst pupils in Year 4 used the steep bank of our school field to show King Harold was defeated in the invasion of the Battle of Hastings, and they had lots of fun doing so. The pupils wanted to share their learning with you, and they hope you enjoy their curriculum videos from this term.

I've seen some incredible home-learning projects this week, from life-size cut-outs of Norman soldiers, motte-and-bailey castles and some incredible projects from our Reception pupils. In Year 1, pupils have made some incredible London landmarks as part of their curriculum topic, 'Bright Lights, Big City' - Can you identify their London landmarks? Thank you to all of our pupils who completed projects and to all of our parents and carers who have provided support.

We will be sending out our Term 2 curriculum newsletters at the end of this week!

Well done to all of our winners from today's 'Star of the Week' Assembly - next week, we will crown our 'Star of the Term' winners in each class. This week's winners are:

YR Stephenson Class - Seth S. (Super phonics!)

Y1 Curie Class - Riley S. (Trying your best!)

Y1 Hillary Class - Joshua W. (Determination to stay on task!)

Y2 Brunel Class - Jayson O. (Improving letter and number formation!)

Y2 Farah Class - Adam P. (Being a kind and helpful classmate!)

Y3 Ashe Class - Joey F. (Being a kind and helpful classmate!)

Y3 Roddick Class - Leonidas S. (Leading by example!)

Y4 Logie-Baird Class - Mackenzie P. (Always working in a calm and focused way!)

Y4 Thunberg Class - Hunter D. (Outstanding respect and kindness!)

Y5 Kipchoge Class - Ellie-Mai J. (Showing great determination!)

Y5 Pankhurst Class - Sebastian M-C. (Amazing effort this week!)

Y6 Amundsen Class - Bran D. (Excellent attitude and hard work!)

Y6 Parks Class - Kitty S. (Fantastic classmate!)

Well done to every pupil who was awarded a certificate today!

Please check this week's Bulletin for news and information. Just a reminder that next week is the last week of Term 1!

Have a great weekend!

Mr Laker
Head of School

Head of School Update - Friday 9th October 2020

Fri 09 Oct 2020

Welcome to this week’s Weekly Update!

Our children in Reception today received their own special copy of ‘The Runaway Pea’. The initiative, from the Book Trust, gives an individual story book to every child who has started in school in Reception this year. As you can see from the featured image, the children were very happy to receive their book and will be looking forward to some special reading time over the weekend. This has supported the fantastic reading that has been taking place in the Foundation Village.

Pupils in Year 5 have produced some excellent ‘suspense writing’ and our Year 6 pupils have also been busy writing, too – I was treated to some incredible descriptive writing, yesterday. In a previous update, I explained the introduction of Daily Supported Reader, our whole class approach to the teaching of Reading. Earlier this week, I was invited to join in with one of the group sessions in Year 1 and was impressed with children’s confidence and enjoyment of the stories.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our pupils who have so far produced a curriculum project. I have seen so many of these as children have brought them in at the start of the school day and every child has been so proud to talk about and share their project with me. If your child hasn’t yet completed and brought in their project, it isn’t too late. These can be brought into school to be shared with their class.

In our Celebration Assembly today, we awarded our ‘Star of the Week’ certificates. This week’s winners were:

YR Stephenson – Gianpiero P. for super phonics and excellent letter formation.
Y1 Curie – Wynter C. for always trying her best and doing the right thing.
Y1 Hillary – Ashton-Jay J. for his determination to achieve and for always working hard in class.
Y2 Brunel – Max P. for an excellent week in school.
Y2 Farah –
Y3 Ashe – Joey F. for being a good role model for behaviour and having a determination to succeed.
Y3 Roddick – Tyler C. for leading by example and making good choices for behaviour and effort.
Y4 Logie-Baird – Oakley R-G. for always showing the school value of ‘determination’.
Y4 Thunberg – Cailub K. for being a hard worker and for following the school rules.
Y5 Kipchoge – Blake S. for working really hard on his behaviour in class and making a huge improvement with his handwriting.
Y5 Pankhurst – Chelsea F. for demonstrating excellent equality and respect in all areas of school life.
Y6 Amundsen – Julia W. for a super attitude towards all aspects of learning and a constant drive for excellence.
Y6 Parks – Daniel N. for an excellent week in school.

Please check out this week’s bulletin for further information and updates to the school calendar.

Stay safe and enjoy the weekend!

With my best wishes,

Mr Laker
Haed of School

Head of School Update - Friday 2nd October 2020

Fri 02 Oct 2020

Welcome to this week's Weekly Update!

It's been a great week at Oakwood, filled with lots of opportunities for learning and enjoyment - 'Well done' to all of the pupils for giving their best this week. In Year 1, pupils have been exploring all the ways to make 10, and find one more and one less of a number to twenty, and pupils in Year 4 have been plotting the Norman castles and enjoying some mindfulness activities in their PE sessions. In Year 6, pupils have been looking at the components and variables when making series and parallel circuits in Science. Across the school, all of the children have been trying their best on their Maths and Reading quizzes.

In our Friday Assembly, we awarded this week's 'Stars of the Week'. The pupils with the most Merits this week are:

Evie P. in Year R Stephenson Class for her determination to always try her best.

Matilda S. in Year 1 Curie Class for always trying her best and being kind to others.

Ivy-May T. in Year 1 Hillary Class for treating others nicely and having a great attitude towards her learning.

Ava-Grace R. in Year 2 Brunel Class for her good communication skills in her English work.

Annie-Rose E. in Year 2 Farah Class for showing respect to others.

Katie M. in Year 3 Ashe Class for trying hard with her reading.

Holly M. in Year 3 Roddick Class for great listening, effort and for helping others.

Louis H. in Year 4 Logie-Baird Class for completing all of his work to a high standard.

Millie M. in Year 4 Thunberg Class for following the school values.

Luana L. in Year 5 Kipchoge Class for always contributing to lessons, being determined to do her best and treating others with respect.

Harvey P. in Year 5 Pankhurst Class for showing outstanding determination in all subjects.

Asra H. in Year 6 Amundsen Class for excellent behaviour and attitude in lessons.

Chloe C. in Year 6 Parks Class for gaining the most Merits across the week.

Well done to all of this week's winners!

You will have all received a copy of our September Newsletter, which includes an overview of this term's topics, our school organisation chart, a summary of our school improvement priorities and a list of some of our key dates - we will, of course, add to these as we move through the year! A copy of the Newsletter can be found in our 'News and Events' section of the website.

If you have a child who will be four in September 2021, and will be starting school, or know someone who will be, we will be hosting our Open Evening events on Tuesday 10th, Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th November 2020. Due to the current restrictions, it is not possible for us to run these events in the usual way. Instead, visits to the school will be bookable. We will share further details in due course.

In our featured image this week, pupils in Year 4 are seen using their historian skills.

Please check out this week's Bulletin, with information about attendance and other school news.

Thank you for your continued support. I wish all of our pupils and their families a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Mr R. Laker
Head of School