The School Council have been busy this half term collecting the views of the children across school. 

When we previously asked the children what changes they would like to see, several classes fed back that they would like a quiet space at lunchtimes. We discussed where these spaces might be and then the council went back to their classes to ask the children what activities they would like to have. There were lots of great ideas including nice music, drawing, beanbags, reading, colouring, Lego, teddies and napping!!! 

After our Mother's Day  breakfast we decided to leave the tables as they were for the children's lunch. This seemed to bring about a quieter, calmer atmosphere in the hall at lunchtimes.  All the children were able to vote on whether to leave the tables small or put them back together to form longer tables. 5 out of 7 classes voted to keep them smaller.

Our School Ambassadors led our Holi celebration (thank you to James for stepping in) and our Easter service. 

YR  have had another busy half term! They have loved getting outside for their weekly OWL sessions and exploring the forest, mud kitchen and slide. World book day was a highlight for Year R! The morning started with a costume parade, followed by creating leaves for their new reading tree. Each leaf displays a story that has been shared in class.  In the afternoon we made book buddies (our favourite characters) to read with.  There have been more visitors in the classroom and the children have loved watching the frogspawn develop into tadpoles.  To launch the new Talk for Writing a letter, some ingredients and a gingerbread man outline were left on the table for the children to find as they arrived in school!  All day the children kept an eye out for the gingerbread man looking for clues!  With the ingredients they baked their own gingerbread men.

Y1  have been learning about London.  They have found out about the Great Fire of London and have been learning to sing "London's Burning" in a round.  They have also made taxis!  They started by using different construction materials to make wheels, axles and chassis and then moved on to make their own London taxis complete with signs and headlights.  In maths they have been learning to play games such as snakes and ladders, practising careful counting and taking turns.  During RE week, the children learnt about Purim which is a Jewish festival remembering Esther saving the Jewish people.  They also learnt about Mishloach Manot which is the sharing of gifts during Purim. To demonstrate the importance of this, the children made baskets and decorated biscuits to give to a friend in class.

Y2 have had a busy half term! In science they learnt about camouflage and how important it is for prey to adapt in order to avoid being eaten by predators. The class made their own moths and camouflaged them outside. After, they became predators and looked to see they could find the moths which was great fun! In Maths the children have been learning about centimetres. They hunted around the classroom for objects that measured 8cm and learnt that when you measure using a ruler you must start at 0!  In OWL there has been a focus on how to use tools safely. In writing, there has been a focus on using adjectives and the importance of descriptive language to make the writing more interesting. A description of The Greedy Dragon was used it to draw a picture which was then labelled with the adjectives. 

Y3  loved the visit from Big Mouth Theatre Company back at the beginning of this half term.  Everyone loved getting involved even Mrs Roué!  In Geography, they have been learning about earthquakes and showed what experts they were by drawing their own diagrams with explanations.  In computing there was much excitement as the children were able to explore our new Microbits. They were able to code them to use loops and pauses to make their designs look like they were moving.  The class have enjoyed some  wet and muddy afternoons in OWL playing  in the mud kitchen, mud jumping and mud digging!!  They have made dens, water flumes and a shark aquarium and ‘chocolate fountain . The imagination and creativity has been fabulous.

Y4 have been wonderful artists.  They learnt how to draw a dog. First they used basic shapes and next added more detail with shading using a pencil. The results were fabulous! Despite it being a wet and soggy day Year 4 had a wonderful time on their trip to Testwood Lakes, they saw loads of wildlife including birds and a few deer. As a class they were beautifully behaved.  Owl has been very wet and muddy so the class have made the most of using different tarp setups and which style would suit the weather the best! They have loved den building and games of hide and seek.

Y5 have been scientists exploring properties of materials.  They tested cardboard, nylon, plastic, tinfoil, cotton and wood to see if they conduct electricity, are absorbent, waterproof and whether they are reflective, among others.  They also started thinking about which materials are best suited for different uses.  OWL afternoons have been busy with a focus on how to light a fire and keep it going to cook leek and potato soup!  Some children have also been  to the pond area to plant some saplings, while they were there they were able to have a quick look into the pond and spotted newts! This is exciting as the pond was relined, so we are really pleased the newts are back.  In geography, the children have been learning about citrus farming in North America and coffee farming in South America  with a discussion around whether or not we should import food!

Y6 have been using Beetle Blocks to create a code and programme the ‘beetle’ to create a word.  The activity required a lot of resilience to correctly plot coordinates, code the beetle to move in the correct order, and to ensure a gap was left between each letter.  The children used their computational thinking and programming skills to, eventually, successfully complete their learning.  In OWL they have made flour stress balloons,  planted some tree saplings around the pond area and were excited to have also seen some newts.  They were also really helpful in owl area,  and helped Mr Jones move the new mud kitchen sink!  The children have all taken part in Bikeability. The instructors were very impressed with the children’s cycling and listening skills and they made us very proud. During RE week, Year 6 explored the Islamic celebration of Lailat al Miraj, remembering Muhammad’s Night Journey.  They considered what makes a clean heart, and why the angel Jibreel washed Muhammad’s heart. Also, learning about Jannah (Islamic paradise) that Muslims reach after death and finally exploring the 5 pillars of Islam.

We had a great time celebrating World Book Day! The children came to school in fantastic costumes. Everyone took part in a costume parade in the hall. There were then activities in class such as; writing stories, creating book buddies, creating story finger puppets and even sorting class book cases ready to decorate. There was also DEAR (Drop everything and read)! At lunchtime there was a treasure hunt in the playgrounds with prizes.

We held our Mother's Day breakfast! Lots of Mums, Nans, Dads and other caregivers came along for a drink and a pastry.

Everyone wore red to school and activities were on offer at lunchtime. We had 'Pin the red nose on the Oakfield Owl' indoors and a basketball challenge on the playground.

What a colourful day we had, celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi! 🕉️ Our morning started with an assembly put together by some Year 5 children, sharing the meaning of Holi to the rest of the school. The children then had the best time taking part in the colour throw with their friends on the field.

Year 3 and 4 put on a fabulous Easter production reminding us all of the true meaning of Easter. This was expertly led by our School Ambassadors.