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As usual please log on to the Parent Portal and remind yourself of all the important updates and messages that have been posted this week.
Note from our Head
Dear Oakfield families,
We were delighted this week to be able to perform the postponed Nativity play 'Busy, Busy Bethlehem' to the families of Lower Foundation and Upper Foundation children. It was truly a bright spot in what can often feel like long, dark days in January after the Christmas period.
I shared with the audiences how I loved the Narnia books as a child and how the image CS Lewis creates of the awfulness of it being 'always winter, but never Christmas' can resonate with us at this time of the year. Thank you to the children for giving us a different experience, with their wonderfully enthusiastic singing, speaking and acting.
As we begin this new year of 2022, the usual happy and purposeful buzz is evident around the school. Our Year 6 children are busy with 11+ assessments and interviews, and as ever I am so proud of their positivity, cheerfulness and resilience as they navigate this transitional stage in their young lives.
The core value which is our focus for the first half of this term is Curiosity, to be followed by Creativity after the half term break. Please do feel able to share anything linked to this from your own lives as parents and families which might inspire the children as they work to build these values and the associated skills and character traits for themselves. We so much value our partnership with you as we all grow as a learning community of children and adults.
Have wonderful weekends,
Moyra Thompson
Note from our Head of Early Years
Welcome to the Spring Term!
The start to this term has brought us all a heartwarming smile of gratitude.
I am so grateful that so many families, staff and children have been able to make a healthy return to school. For those who are unwell, we look forward to seeing you very soon and we have you in our thoughts.
I am pleased to welcome new children who have joined our Oakfield family in Nursery and Lower Foundation. I love how well you have already settled and look forward to seeing you thrive.
Early Years in Oakfield has been a happy, lively, learning hub of activity. It has been amazing to see how seamlessly the children have returned to school. They show confidence in knowing routines, awareness of the expectations in school and a happy countenance as they explore and learn with a great ‘can-do’ attitude and sense of resilience. Well done everyone!
On Thursday, we had the wonderful Early Years Nativity for parents. What a joy to see how our future stars of the stage perform so beautifully! They showed such courage and remembered their lines and songs well. I look forward to seeing the children thrive in Drama and Shakespeare Club when they reach the Prep school!
Our Phonics Workshop for Lower and Upper Foundation parents has been moved to an online Teams presentation on Tuesday 18th January. This will ensure that a wider range of parents have access to the presentation, and will allow us to record it, and send it to parents thereafter.
Should you be available to join this presentation, you can simply click on the link below at 9am on Tuesday morning:
There is great enthusiasm in our school - for learning, discovering, developing, enjoying and strengthening all the skills that will open opportunities in each child’s future.
We hope to nurture these wonderful feelings of excitement and support each child in being the best they can be.
Wendy Nicholson
Head of Early Years
BIRTHDAY BROADCAST
SPORT
Monday Assembly
We were so delighted to have Oakfield Alumni Omari and Amani Campbell-Okolo join us for Monday Assembly and tell the children all about their incredible journey from Oakfield Fencing Club to a sports scholarship to Whitgift and now representing Great Britain on the international stage as well as being ranked number 1 in the country for their respective age groups in fencing. Their success has also led to both brothers signing a sponsorship deal with Adidas.
Thank you so much for coming and telling the children more about the sport, inspiring them with your dedication and resilience and showing us your skills as part of Assembly. Wishing you both all the best for your continued success!
SPORTS STARS OF THE WEEK
Oakfield's Karate and Gymnastics Teams
We couldn't celebrate them properly at the end of last term so below are our Sports Stars of the Week!
Sensei Reece's Karate Message:
On Sunday 5th December a team of 9 students from Karate club represented Oakfield School at the Netsui-Do Christmas Kata tournament.
With 200 students in attendance across 6 different Schools it was an extremely competitive day, and Oakfield's students competed in a variety of events.
Well done to the following students who performed fantastically and showcased their hard work and strong character.
- Stefano A - Orange belt Kata
- Leonardo B - 1st Kyu Kata
- Sophia B - red belt Kata
- James H - 3rd Kyu Kata
- Lily K - red belt Kata
- Dennis L - 3rd Kyu Kata
- Reuben P - Purple belt Kata
- So'dei S - 3rd Kyu Kata
- Sebastian S - Purple belt Kata
Special congratulations goes to Dennis who won the silver medal in the 3rd Kyu brown belt category in an event of almost 30 competitors.
The same message can be said about our Gymnasts who travelled all the way to Royal Russell at the end of last term. Well done and thank you to everyone who took part:
Beth, Iris, Mary, Olive, Natalia, Naia, Felicity, Miller, Elsie, Rose, Ray, Beatrice, Charlotte, Rosa and Sadie.
Special Mentions go to Beth, Iris and Sadie for being awarded medals.
YEAR 6
SCIENCE
As part of the solar system topic the children looked into the positioning of the planet, Moon and Sun to explain why we have night and day. We also looked at why we have seasons and how time zones work across our planet owing to the rotation and tilt of the Earth on its axis.
YEAR 3
Monet Madness
Here are some photos of Year 3 working on their Monet pastel pictures. This half term their project is all about Monet and we have been investigating his technique and the way he thought about reflection and the play of light across his composition.
YEAR 2
Times Tables!
The Year 2 children have been practising their times tables! The children have used their knowledge on equal groups and repeated addition to help them solve a range of problems involving multiplication.
The children also continue their learning at home! We have termly times table rockstars tournaments, and our last tournament winner was Leo Hall from 2SD!
Coding in Year 2!
This week the children explored what it means to be a coder using studiocode.org. The children used algorithms, sequences and events to code a virtual dance party!
So much but also some very important digital skills.
YEAR 1
In Jigsaw the children were set a goal to make a jam sandwich and followed the steps on how to achieve this goal! Guess what, we got there and 1SP really enjoyed eating it!
UPPER FOUNDATION
Transport
The children have recorded themselves this week, saying what their favourite mode of transport is and why, using the app Voice Note.
'I like motorbikes because they go vroom vroom'
'I like hot air balloons because it takes me up to the sky like a bird!'
'My favourite mode of transport is a car because I can drive my family around!'
'I love parachutes the best because I can jump out of a plane safely!'
It was wonderful to hear complex, detailed sentences with reasoning behind their individual opinions. Well done, Uppers!
NURSERY
EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!
We have had a range of medical emergencies in Nursery this week. Fortunately, we have trained all our young children to be excellent doctors, surgeons, nurses and paramedics and have swiftly dealt with each case to ensure everyone is healthy.
We also had ambulance drivers, pharmacists, GPs and receptionists to ensure we run the NHS effectively in Oakfield’s Nursery.
Well done to all the children for immersing themselves in their learning and acquiring their medical degrees and certificates!
Credits:
Created with images by Pexels - "woman umbrella floating" • cbaquiran - "cupcakes candles birthday" • anncapictures - "tartan track athletics track and field" • GuillaumePreat - "space planet earth" • Sinason - "nympheas giverny monet" • aitoff - "vintage calculator pi" • stevepb - "peanut butter toast spread" • WikiImages - "train railway snow" • DarkoStojanovic - "doctor medical medicine" • _Alicja_ - "numbers counting numbers education"