Oaklands November 2014

November 2014 Issue 96
In this issue
Page
Headmistress’s Message...................... 1
Lower Kindergarten Diwali .................. 1
Garden Room Mini Beast Workshop ... 2
Year 1 Trip to Mountfitchet Castle ...... 2
Year 5 Ragged School Museum ........... 2
Cross country ....................................... 3
Y5 + Y6 Netball Squad……………….……….3
Headmistress’s Message
Dear Parents
The Oak-Tree Firework Display was a resounding success! The
display was amazing. Thank you so much to all three Parents’
Associations and also the Oak-Tree Maintenance Team for
working so hard to make the event run so smoothly. I’ve
received many compliments regarding the event and how much
it was enjoyed by the children and their families. We’ll do it all
again next year!!
Our Girls’ Cross Country Team have been very successful this
season showing great commitment and drive. The boys’ team
have also been competitive this year. Read about their
achievements in this newsletter and on the website.
The Christmas season is creeping up on us and seems to get
earlier each year. The children are working hard to perfect lines,
songs and performances and I expect you too, are looking
forward to seeing them ‘on stage’. Good luck to all our
performers this half term.
I hope you enjoy reading about our recent events and please
remember to check the website for up-to-date information.
OPA Events and Reminders ................. 3
Uniform Reminders………………….………..3
Cheryl Macnair
Lower Kindergarten Diwali
In Lower Kindergarten we have been celebrating Diwali.
The children enjoyed dressing up in Indian costumes and trying some Indian
dancing. We made diva pots from clay, painted them and decorated them with
gems. We then painted Rangoli patterns which are very pretty patterns that the
Sikh and Hindu people paint on their doorsteps during Diwali.
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Garden Room Mini Beast Workshop
The Garden Room children have been learning about animals during the first half term. We were really lucky to
have Vic Taylor come to visit us at school with a collection of reptiles and mini beasts.
The children’s favourite was Mr Jelly Belly the tree frog, we also met Mr Hook the stick insect, a corn snake and a
African land snail.
Year 1 Trip to Mountfitchet
On Tuesday 4 November Year 1 went on a visit to Mountfitchet Castle. We all enjoyed walking around the castle
grounds looking at the different aspects of castle life. We would like to say a big thank you to all the helpers who
came on the trip.
It was a successful day and the children have taken away many memories of the day.
Year 5 Ragged School Museum
Last week Year 5 visited the Ragged School Museum in Mile End where we travelled back in time to the year 1884
and met Miss Perkins – a strict, no-nonsense Victorian teacher.
We got to experience reading, writing and arithmetic as it was taught
back then, which for some of us meant struggling to write with the
‘correct’ hand! Thank goodness Dr Barnardo didn’t allowed the cane
to be used in his schools! We also learnt about life in a poor
Victorian household and got to use genuine artefacts as they did back
then.
It was a fantastic and educational trip that definitely made us
appreciate living and learning in modern times!
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Cross Country
Congratulations to the girls Cross Country Team for winning Woodford
Green League and then coming third in the Orion Harriers Invitation
event last on Saturday 8 November. Both were fantastic achievements.
Cross Country Team:
Libby, Alexandra, Natasha, Charlie, Daniele, Lindsey, Lara, Maya,
Hannah, Keira and Maddie.
Y5 + Y6 Netball Squad
The new Year 5 and 6 netball squad had their first ever match this week where they gave a great performance
against last year’s borough champions.
The girls had been training hard, and although their opposition were very tough, they showed great determination
and didn’t give up, even managing to score 2 goals against the champions!
We learnt a lot and are looking forward to using all we learnt in the next match!
OPA Reminders
OPA Events
Mum’s Christmas Party
Fireworks
All mums that have tickets will be
looking forward to a fun evening on the
5 December.
Thank you to the OPA for organising a very successful Fireworks
evening with a spectacular display.
Uniform Reminder
Oaklands School Website
Please check that your child has the
correct PE and Games Kit and that all
uniform, including shoes, is clearly
labelled! We acquire many items of
“lost property”, the majority of which
is unnamed.
See the Calendar page for information on upcoming events.
All proceeds go to the three Parents’ Associations.
Our News page holds more photographs from all of our events.
Last day of the Autumn Term is Thursday 11 December 2014
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