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Please take your time to log on to the Parent Portal and remind yourself of all the things that have been posted this week, thank you.

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Reflections from our Acting Head

Monday's assembly focused this week on Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that all children have a right to education.

A group of our wonderful Year 6 actors helped me by performing a short piece of drama depicting the true story of a secret school for girls, run by an inspiring and brave teacher named Habiba Khilwat in Afghanistan during the Taliban's rule in the 1990s. We then discussed the privilege we enjoy to be educated in freedom and challenged ourselves to think whether we would be brave enough to either teach in a school or go to a school every day if we risked being arrested. The children also thought about what kind of teacher would make them want to come to school in such a difficult and dangerous situation. Key concepts such as freedom, responsibility, equality, learning, rights and tolerance were highlighted through the assembly.

I chose this theme because tomorrow is World Teachers' Day, and it seemed fitting to pay tribute to our teachers here at Oakfield who work tirelessly and creatively to help each child to be the best that they can be and to make a difference every day. Please talk to your child this weekend about a teacher you remember positively from your own experiences - I am sure that there are many inspiring examples!

Have a wonderful weekend, Moyra Thompson

Message on behalf of our local food bank

Dear Parents and Carers,

In my role as ‘Eco Schools Leader’ I was shocked to find out that on average in the UK, we throw away over one third of the food that we buy. Knowing how many families are struggling to afford to buy food each week, this statistic is even more shocking.

At Oakfield, we have been collecting food donations for local food banks for many years, with children in Year 6 even visiting local food banks as part of their diploma scheme in the summer term. To date, Oakfield has donated over 3.75 tonnes of food and we want your help to increase this!

On Friday 4th October, Elizabeth, an ambassador of The West Norwood and Brixton food bank visited school assembly. She explained to children how the number of families in need have increased by 74% in the last year and our help is needed more than ever.

To mark Harvest time, between now and half term (18.10.19) all year groups are being asked to help to raise our current Oakfield food donations total to over the 4 tonne mark!

Specifically, Elizabeth has requested the following 5 items:

1. Hot chocolate

2. Long Life Sponge Puddings

3. Tins of beans/pulses

4. Tinned fish (e.g. tuna/sardines/etc)

5. Washing Up Liquid

If you are able to donate, please send your child into school with any of the above items and their form tutor will help them to fill up the donations box.

Thank you for your continued support,

Miss Francis

Year 6

CREATIVE WRITING

The Polar Exploration

It was very boring, but it had to be worth it. Frankly, I wasn’t sure why I had agreed to come here anymore. My hopes of seeing a polar bear in this bleak and desolate landscape dwindled as fast as a candle in a glass case. Although I was safe in my rather modern comfy sled, it was very cold, colder than a wolfs heart, and it was quite eerie- the howling wind, my weary eyes fruitfully scanning the horizon...or at least where I thought the horizon should be. I couldn’t tell were the snow and ice ended and the sky began! It was exactly like being trapped in a snow globe; with unrealistically large snowflakes battering my numb face. Meanwhile, up with the elk that tirelessly dragged the shed. I gazed with envy at their luxuriously silky pelt. Lighter than gossamer, but exceptional practical.

Finally, after a long while, the snow began to lessen and not seem like a solid mass of glass, small tufts of heather began to appear and spring up above the infinite carpet, defiantly refusing to go down. It was getting dark, and the light of the bleeding sun reflected on the snow. The sky blazed in a symphony of amber and ruby, the deepest catkin saffron marbling together with the pastel pink of blossom and fox-glove. I halted my deer who instantaneously begin to nibble up the hoarfrost coated stems, showing no signs of exhaustion from the trip. I decided to set my camp up by a large snow-drift and a great bolder which looks as if it were made of moon rock. My tent was camo green, but hadn’t realised how desolate and wretched these barren lands were, so the tent turned out to be a painfully bright eyesore.

Gazing to the north, a great eye rose from the earth, followed by a body of stars. It leapt into the smoky sky, cloudy paws swiping to remove all traces of fire. There were no ethereal wings on the creature that made up the celestial light shoes if the artic this moonrise, the great creature lifted its head to stare into my soul... it was a star flecked bear...... an omen. I didn’t know for how long I stood there for, but When I finally came to my senses it was around midnight and I was freezing! I crawled into my tent to have a drink but then I realised my water has frozen! Staring in movement, I reached down to touch it…It broke! Thanks goddess it wasn’t solid, but I didn’t take any chances, and hid it in my rather pointless sleeping bag.

I went to check on the deer, look at the sky one last time and then fell into an I easy, dreamless sleep. Meanwhile, something had spotted our tent, and easy prey…. I woke to the sound of panicked squealing, coming from outside! I crawled out moaning, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes. What was going on? After my hazy brain wasn’t so fuzzy, I managed to see what was happening. A bear! A polar bear! With cloudy fur and spots of light on it from the mid-morning sun shining like stars. He swiped at my fire, the only thing that could keep me going, the deer. It spin round as I climbed out my tent, fixing its soulless silted eyes on me. They resembled a crescent moon. This is it, I thought. “I'm going to die in the paws of the creature I nearly died for to come see.” I muttered out loud. But the bear seemed to hear me, widening one rather startled looking eye into a full moon, before turning around to walk away into the dawn.

Laura Chantry, 6JW

Music

Composer of the Week: Gustav Holst

For Composer of the Week this week, we take a trip through the cosmos via ancient Rome, with Gustav Holst's The Planets.

Highly recommended are Jupiter, with its anthemic tutti section, and Mars, which will get most children shouting "IT'S STAR WARS!!!"

The Planets is really fantastic and there are many resources out there that explore the piece in the context of education. Please feel free to have a look if you have a bit of time to fill.

Maths Challenge

Answers to Ms Chandler by Friday 11th October

Today is Emily’s birthday. Each year she has a birthday cake decorated with the same number of candles as her age.

This year will be her 20th birthday, so it's her twentieth cake but how many birthday candles have been used in total during the last 20 years? and how old was she when the 100th candle was lit?

7th October:

Guest Head Assembly: Dr Holsgrove (Thames Christian School)

Parents Evening - LF to Year 4

8th October:

1AR Trip

10th October:

Parents Evening - LF to Year 4

Roll of Honour

Jacob Wagner - Surrey County Cricket Club Development Squad

Holly English - Published in YoungWriters

Edith Johnson - Published in YoungWriters