Dear Parents/Carers,
Happy Chinese New Year to you all as we now move into the Year of the Rabbit! If you get a chance to see the fabulous Year 6 display as you come through the main doors from Reception, the writing and artwork is absolutely amazing. The children dressed in red on Monday for their celebrations and they enjoyed the dance workshop that took place yesterday. We do love to bring learning alive and similarly Year 5 enjoyed a fabulous trip to the Living Rainforest last Friday. Everyone is settling in well a month into the new spring term and there has been some extra whole school excitement from a non-uniform day that raised a phenomenal amount for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance – you can see more about this further on in this News Update. On Friday, a representative will be coming into school to give their thanks with a photo opportunity planned for a small group of Infant and Junior children.
You should by now have received your child’s Progress Report in the core subjects which just give an indication of where teachers predict children will be by the end of the academic year. This will be a conservative judgement with still another 6 months to go. If you have not seen this yet, or wish to speak to your child’s Class Teacher, please contact the School Office.
Finally, we would like to wish Miss George, who is currently a Learning Support Assistant in Year 6, the very best as she moves on to a new school at half term that is closer to her home. We are sorry to see her go and we will certainly miss her.
Hazel West, Headteacher
Thames Valley Air Ambulance
Oaklands Schools recently had a very unexpected visit by the Thames Valley Air Ambulance landing on the junior playground during the morning of Thursday 5th January. Whilst the doctor and paramedic attended the emergency in our local community, the pilot Jim Hamilton stayed with the helicopter in the junior playground and he kindly invited our infant and junior children to view the helicopter more closely. Once the doctor and paramedic returned, they gave a very informative talk alongside the pilot, who spoke about the helicopter and their work, inviting questions from the children. Jim kindly emailed to thank us for being so accommodating, saying how impressed he was with the many intelligent and interesting questions asked. He also said how really wonderfully behaved our children were.
We are extremely grateful to all of our emergency services who are always there in our community to help us when we need them most. Our red, yellow and green day on Friday 13th January raised an amazing £543.82.
THANK YOU to all who made this day a great success!
Shelter Charity
Thank you to everyone who kindly made donations to the Shelter Charity during our Year 3 Christmas Nativity performances at the end of last term. We raised an amazing £122.63.
Sebastian’s Action Trust
We have received the letter and certificate below from Sebastian’s Action Trust thanking everyone for the money Oaklands Junior School raised as part of our Christmas Jumper day on the last day of the Autumn term. Thank you to everyone for their generosity.
Dates for your diary
For the latest dates for your diary please click here.
Our Term Dates page on the website has now been updated to include the 2023-2024 Academic Year.
Attendance
The DfE have collaboratively developed a short guide, which helps parents / carers understand how they can work with their school and local authority to support their children to attend school and get the right support.
A copy of the guide can be found on our website and can be viewed using the link below:
Working together to improve school attendance
PE Sports Funding
We have recently updated our Sports Premium Funding web page. To view the latest information, please click on this link.
Party in the Park
Crowthorne Parish Council is organising a Party in the Park event at the Morgan Rec on 6th May to celebrate the King’s Coronation. They will have a large screen to broadcast the live event and a stage for local music and entertainment acts. They anticipate lots of people bringing picnics but there will be plenty of options to purchase food and drink on site too.
In addition to this, they are hosting a number of competitions for children and some of these can be found on our website under Local Community Information/Activities and Events via the links below:
Coronation Crown Competition
Coronation Poetry Competition
Please note that we will not be completing these competitions in class so it is your child’s own choice if they wish to take part in them.
Reading Rockets Special Offer for Oaklands Junior School
Are you interested in Basketball? Why not check out the attached flyer detailing a special discount code for Reading Rockets’ game against Bradford Dragons on Sunday 19th February.
PTA Pre-Loved Uniform Sale
The PTA will be holding a Pre-Loved Uniform Sale on Sunday 19th February between 10am and 12 noon. The sale will take place in the Terrapin building located just inside the Junior School entrance.
Let’s Connect! – Children’s Mental Health Week
Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 will take place from 6-12 February 2023. This year’s theme is Let’s Connect.
Let’s Connect is about making meaningful connections. People thrive in communities and this connection is vital for our wellbeing. When we have healthy connections – to family, friends and others – this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing.
The Families page of the Place2Be website has three short videos demonstrating easy activities to start the conversation: Puzzle Pieces, Paperchains and Exchanging Postcards, as well as a Top Tips sheet with 6 ways to increase meaningful connections within the family:
1. Connect with your child in everyday ways
2. Talk to your child about important connections
3. Talk to your child about their friends
4. Connect by taking an interest in your child’s world
5. Find time to connect as a family
6. Try to resolve conflict and re-connect after arguments
Browse the ‘Top tips for families’ sheet on the Families page for more details.
Cost of Living Hub
The information accessed via the Cost of Living link below has been provided by Wokingham Borough Council.
Website
Don’t forget to check out the following areas on our website which are updated on an ongoing basis with relevant information:
Local community Information / Activities and Events
Contact Us
Headteacher: Mrs H West
Address: Oaklands Junior School, Butler Road, Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 6QZ
School Office
Telephone: 01344 773496
Email: admin@oaklands-jun.wokingham.sch.uk
Parent Support Advisor: Nikki Lenon
Telephone: 07748 415 285
Email: nlenon@oaklands-jun.wokingham.sch.uk
Chair of Governors: Charlotte Kieran
Email: chairofgovernors@ojsgovernors.co.uk
Oaklands Junior School Governing Body
The Governing Body is ambitious for all children and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables outstanding outcomes. We oversee financial performance, challenge, support, and focus on the strategic direction of Oaklands Junior school.
If you want to raise a concern, please speak with your class teacher in the first instance. We welcome your feedback if you wish to contact the Governors, please email Charlotte Kieran, Chair of Governors.
Raising a concern
Parents-Carers-and-Visitors-Conduct-Policy-Including-Raising-a-Concern
Governing Body team
Governors Profiles