Oaks Primary Academy Newsletter

Stars of the week for 21st May 2021

PE

It has been fantastic to see all of the children at Oaks Primary Academy settling straight back into their learning. We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the children engage in physical activity and having an understanding of the importance and impact of exercise on their lifestyles.

All year groups have been developing their fundamental movement skills and have been able to transfer these to different sporting activities. Early years children have enjoyed All Stars coaching from Kent County Cricket Club where they have had the opportunity to play a modified game of cricket. Years five and six have engaged in the Chance to Shine Programme also delivered to them by KCC. They have been concentrating on running, throwing and catching in isolation and combination!

Charlton Athletic Football Club have been delivering The Joy of Moving Programme to years four and five where they have been combining the importance of health and exercise.

Dom Plumb, FSF Gym continues to work with year 6. He has been developing their self management skills in discipline and self respect through fitness.

It was amazing to see the whole school take part in England does the Daily Mile this term. We have collaboratively raised an outstanding amount of £190.73 to be donated to a children's mental health charity, Place2Be. We continued raising money for children during pyjamarama day where we even took part in PE in our PJ's!

Soon the sun will be making its appearance where we will be enjoying many hours of fun filled sporting activities outside to finish off what has been a challenging year.

Well done to all pupils for continuing to show resilience and determination not only in PE but through all aspects of school life.

Mrs Palmer

Ducklings Update

We have had another wet week this week but that doesn't stop Ducklings exploring the outdoors! Please ensure you bring a full change of clothes so we can ensure they stay warm and dry.

Reception Update

Year 2 Update

In Blackbird Class, we love PE with Mrs Palmer and display many of the Learner Profile Attributes during these lessons. We are developing into true communicators who are able to work well as part of a team. We are very reflective about what skills we have developed as well as those we can make even better. Blackbird Class have shown we are open-minded as we have begun to transfer our throwing and catching skills into a variety of new games. We have also been working hard to become more principled as part of these games when we are attacking and defending. We like to show how balanced we are as we know how important exercise and keeping active is!

So far in PE, we have been learning about the importance of physical activity, wellbeing and hydration. We have also been working hard on our catching skills and learning how to defend areas. This has also allowed us to improve on our communication, collaboration and self-management skills. We have been using these skills that we have learnt in PE during our break time where we have our own tennis balls.

This week we had the opportunity to look at some bones close up! We learnt that we have an endoskeleton which means that our skeleton is inside our bodies. Crabs have exoskeleton as their skeletal system is outside of their bodies.

In PE we have been learning about physical activity with Steve from the Joy of Movement programme. He gives us lots of challenges and we have been playing games to help us get fit. Steve teaches us how to play capture the flag, pacman and other fun games! These exercises and games help to strengthen our bodies and develop our thinking skills. We know that exercise helps us with our emotions too. We have also been writing in our challenge books about how to keep fit and healthy and about eating well and nutrition. During our lessons we have used our self-management skills, the lessons are lots of fun but we are making sure that we are listening carefully and quietly so we can follow the instructions.

In Blue Jays we don't just stay active during PE but also at play time. In our play time we made a game where we jump over a rope and we all try our best to win. We really enjoy playing this game with Miss Cantrell. One of our classmates suggested having a games club so we take some board games out with us which lots of us really enjoy playing.

Year 5 Update

In Kingfisher class we have been learning about the move & learn challenge booklet. It is for people all over the world. The move & learn programme wants to inspire people to learn about physical activity and the benefits of it. They also want you to have a balanced diet. They also give tasks to do at home.

We have welcomed Kent County Cricket Coach, Adrian, to Oaks Primary Academy this term. He has been teaching us about all aspects of cricket, including the skills, the spirit of the game and how to work effectively as a team. We have thoroughly enjoyed some energetic game play in which we have utilised our new skills! We can't wait to play more cricket in Term 6 (when hopefully the weather warms up)!

If we complete the booklet successfully, then we could be chosen in one of the top three schools to participate in the Joy of Moving Festival. We would love to win this opportunity and the chance to meet one of our favourite footballers as a prize!

Year 6 Update

We have had Bodybuilder, former MMA fighter, and fitness coach Dominic Plumb come into our school to teach us all about fitness and how it can benefit you.

Dom has been teaching Year 6 MMA techniques and challenging drills such as push-ups, crunches and much more every Wednesday. Along with that, Year 6 go through trials like Ninja Circle and Catch The Cone. Although it is exhausting, Dom’s fitness does help us significantly.

As well as having Mr Plumb in on Wednesdays, we’ve also had in Adrian from Kent County Cricket Club on Fridays to teach us all about the sport, Cricket. Alongside that, we have also been improving our bowling and batting skills. We play a special type of cricket called Rapid-Fire cricket, which is where you take turns to bat 4 cricket balls as far as you can down a field, making as many runs as possible, whilst the fielding team has to try and make a team effort to get the cricket balls back to where they were before they were hit. It’s actually really fun and we enjoyed it very much!

At lunch time, we have been playing football matches and have also been practising badminton.

Community Liaison Officer

Dear all, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as Community Liaison Officer.

Part of my role is to provide pastoral support to Parents/Carers help with any issues that you may have in relation to supporting your children, both at home and in school. I work to encourage parental involvement within school, signpost to agencies/help (where appropriate) and support children in school.

Should you have a personal concern or school related issue, then I am here to offer support. I have access to a number of agencies and support networks who may be able to provide assistance to you and your family.

Any query, large or small, I am here to help.

I liaise with all school staff where necessary and appropriate, always in the best interests of the children and their families. I work impartially and confidentially in a non judgmental manner, providing an understanding ‘listening ear’ if you ever need advice or support.

Need a chat?

Many Parents and Carers, regardless of background, feel that there are times in their lives when they need advice and support. Parents are best placed to make choices for their children but all parents benefit from access to high quality information and advice to help them make the best possible decisions.

Finally, as a mum myself, I never forget how precious your children are and it is my aim to build strong relationships with you so every child is happy, thriving and fulfilling their potential.

clo@oaksprimaryacademy.org.uk

Mrs Osborne

Community Liaison Officer

Olive Dining are going cashless from Monday 7th June!

From Monday 7th June 2021, Olive Dining will be operating a cashless system for school meals. They will not be accepting any cash from this date. If you are in credit with Olive Dining, they will write to you to inform you of your balance. Once your credit runs out, please ensure you pay via the new method. You can pay for your child’s school meals via My Child at School.

Please ensure you have your log-in details for My Child At School and you are able to log into the system. We would suggest you log in and familiarise yourself with this new system beforehand. The school meal option will be activated on Friday 28th May. If you have any problems, please ensure you contact the school office as soon as possible as we may not be able to respond as quickly as we normally do to your enquiries during half term.

If you do not have log-in details for My Child At School, please contact the school office as soon as possible and these can be emailed to you.

This is new for all of us, so please bear with us while we make this change together!

Our School Neighbours (Parking)

We have got wonderful neighbours on Oaktree Avenue and Mangravet Avenue. Please respect their property during drop-off and pick-up times as we know it’s very busy outside our school. Some neighbours’ driveways have been blocked when they need to leave or return in the morning or in the afternoon. Some neighbours’ driveways have even been parked in and have been used to turn around in.

You wouldn't put up with it if it was your driveway. Why should they?

Please ensure that if you are parking and leaving your car, you do so legally and on the road. Take the opportunity to enjoy a walk, however brief, to school with your children.

Please ensure your children wait with you and that you keep them safe.

Post-Covid Celebration Day - Wednesday 14th July 2021

On Wednesday 14th July, we will be having a post-covid celebration in school. Further details to follows.

The Academy will close at 2 pm and pupils in Years R - 6 will need to be collected at this time. Details of which gate to collect them tbc. Children in nursery will stay until their usual time of 3:15 pm.

Key Dates for Terms 5 & 6

Please see below key dates for Terms 5 and 6:

28th May: Last Day of Term 5

31st May: Bank Holiday

1st June - 4th June: Half Term

7th June: Beginning of Term 6

7th June: Breakfast Club starts

14th June: Class Photos

21st June: Year 6 Reform, Restore and Respect Workshop

12th July: School Reports to go home

14th July: Celebration day Years R-6 finishing at 2 pm

20th July: Last Day of Term

21st July: Inset Day

Labelling School Uniform

Can you please ensure you label ALL of your children's school uniform. This includes the full PE kit. In doing this, it will ensure that we are able to return any lots items to the rightful owner.