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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
Autumn has most definitely arrived at Oakfield with the wind and showers being felt very keenly over the last few days in SE21. It really is a joy the UK has a seasonal climate and I personally welcome dusting off jumpers and jackets in readiness for the cooler weather, as well as seeing the turning of the leaves on the fabulous oak trees all around our school site.
It was fantastic to welcome Katharine Woodcock, Head of Sydenham High, to lead School Assembly on Monday. She is a great friend to Oakfield and it was wonderful to have a Guest Head visit after so many months. There will be many more Guest Head Assemblies over the coming weeks and months for which we will be sharing a schedule soon. I highly recommend Year 5 parents who can attend these to come along and hear from the Heads. It truly gives you a flavour of each of the schools as you consider potential leaver destinations for 11+ and the Heads are invariably happy to answer your questions after the Assembly.
Wishing you all wonderful (and not wholly wet!) weekends
Moyra Thompson
BIRTHDAY BROADCAST
SCHOOL COUNCIL
It is a very proud moment at Oakfield Prep when you are voted onto the School Council. Meetings take place fortnightly, and council members have the opportunity to discuss some very important subjects. Last term, the council worked to achieve our UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award, created a welcome pack for new prep pupils and liaised with our facilities team to bring about the creation of a small garden area, named the Place of Peace.
The council's first task this month has been to select a charity to support. There are so many charities, and each one does such amazing things, it was really tough to choose just one. After an initial meeting and an introduction to a shortlist of six charities, council members went back to their classes and, along with their class teachers, talked to their friends about the choices available. Each class held a vote, and the council then collated the results.
The Council is pleased to announce that VICTA who empower blind and partially sighted children and young adults will be our chosen charity. Mr Bower is going to start off our fundraising by representing the charity in this year's London Marathon, which is this coming Sunday 3rd October. '
SPORT
U9 Alleyn’s Football Festival
Playing inter-school sports again was the 'winner' this week. Every Oakfield player was a star in my eyes. Thank you to the parents who were able to come and support. We always appreciate it.
Mr Bower
YEAR 6
Science
In Science this week, Y6 have been looking at adaptations of living things and how this eventually leads to evolution. We learnt about accidental mutations of cells, how this leads to slight changes in different species and how different mutations can be good or bad for survival. The children used their laptops to research different living things to see how they have evolved over time and how some of these adaptations have made them better suited to their environments.
Maths
Year 6 have been practising for the upcoming 11+ exams. In Miss Francis' maths group, they looked at one of the problems that they all found tricky in a recent test. The children worked together in pairs to cut up number cards and sort them into a table using criteria such as: prime numbers, factors of 18, factors of 10, multiples of 3, odd and even. We found that we had to use a lot of trial and improvement skills as many numbers fit into more than one box on the table. Using resilience and team work, we thought about effective strategies to solve this logically and all managed to find the answer in the end! Why don't you give it a go?
English
In Year 6 we have continued to study 'Rose Blanche', a text about a German child during World War Two. This week we prepared a debate to decide whether the book was more about war or peace. The children were split into 3 groups and each group included children debating both sides and a judging panel. The debaters were trying to score points by giving compelling arguments that used evidence directly from the text, through images or from characterisation. Well done Year 6!
YEAR 5
In Science, Year 5 have been learning about adaption. We learned how Peppered Moths have adapted to become darker overtime in city environments and lighter in less polluted rural environments.
We then decided to carry out an experiment to find out if the colour of the moth changes how conspicuous they are to predators.
We worked in partners, colouring moths in different shades from white to black and hid them around the playground. Our partners then had to be 'birds' and find as many moths as they could in two minutes.
We found that the black moths were most likely to survive!
YEAR 2
The Year 2 children have been working collaboratively all week.
They had fun working in groups to solve word problems. It was lovely to see the children offer support to one another when the word problems were a little challenging.
In Science the children worked together to sequence the Story of Wool.
Arya “I liked writing about how wool becomes clothes!”
Isaiah “It was fun reading and putting the pictures in order!”
The children used their research skills to identify the characteristics of the four countries of the United Kingdom. They used a range of resources to assist them with their activity.
GREAT TEAMWORK ALL ROUND!
YEAR 1
Autumn Scavenger Hunt
Year 1 have had another fun filled week this week. In Topic lessons, the children have been observing seasonal changes and their features. On Tuesday Year 1 went on an Autumn Scavenger Hunt at our Belair Park. Did you know, sensory walks develop a child’s understanding of the world around them, building positive pathways which affirms the benefits of exploration and challenging oneself. Sensory and texture walks help children to trust the world surrounding them, helping to develop motor skills and even improving problem-solving thinking patterns.
Here are a few photos captured from Tuesday.
UPPER FOUNDATION
The children engaged in fantastic collaborative activities on the iPads and games that involved lots of problem-solving
NURSERY
This Friday, the Year 1 children invited the youngest members of our school to a special story time in the library. The Nursery children loved listening to the Year 1s read, using amazing reading skills to keep them interested and entertained. Thank you 1SP class for having us!
MATHS WORD OF THE WEEK
A brand new regular segment for the newsletter has arrived courtesy of Mrs Lambert-Carter! Maths Word of the Week!!
This week's it is: COMMUTATIVE
Commutative law is when if you're reordering numbers, whilst adding or multiplying, you cannot get different answers.
For example, 7+5 =12 and 5+7=12
These are sometimes referred to as associative and commutative properties
BEYOND THE OAK
PLAY THE STAGE
Miss B and Play The Stage are back for half term, 18th - 22nd October, with more acting, singing, dancing and of course a whole heap of games!
Half term will work a little differently to our Summer holiday courses:
We will have an overall theme for the week but with a different focus explored each day. That means a new dance and song every day! We are open for ad hoc bookings so your child can come for 1 day, 3 days or the whole week and won’t feel that they have missed out as it is something new every day!
For more information, drop us an email at info@playthestage.co.uk or visit our website at www.playthestage.co.uk.
We can’t wait to boogie, sing and act with your kids again this half term
Credits:
Created with images by diapicard - "birthday cake candles" • sergiovisor_ph - "abstract rainbow pattern" • anncapictures - "tartan track athletics track and field" • philriley427 - "lancaster bomber warplane ww2" • Illuvis - "moth macro insect" • Pexels - "fashion sweater wool" • PublicDomainPictures - "autumn leaves foliage" • niekverlaan - "tablet ipad read" • LubosHouska - "books bookstore book" • pasevichbogdan - "dj club a party" • councilcle - "school abacus count" • Simon - "sky clouds atmosphere"