I am always amazed by how much my staff do for our children and I would like to begin with thanking them for not only making learning fun and engaging but also thinking outside the box. All the extra-curricular events, including clubs and visits, deliver real life experiences for our children that makes learning come alive.
Whilst thanking staff, I would also like to thank our parents who are willing and able to give their time freely to help our school, whether this is a regular commitment or a one-off – you always respond positively with help when needed. We value your support and all that you bring to our school from sewing to reading and everything else in between – THANK YOU.
At the end of last week, we had a visit from our Wokingham School Improvement partner, Jim Mathieson, who was very impressed with all the year groups he visited. In fact, he was amazed by all that was being taught and made particular reference to the children’s engagement on a Friday afternoon, which he said he does not see in all schools. We are a unique school, with our Thinking Schools philosophy underpinning all that we do.
My most memorable part of this term must be the Oaklands’ joint family Coronation picnic and all the entertainment that followed. We were very lucky with the weather as it had been raining on and off all that week – even on the day it was a bit of a question mark as to whether we could continue with this outside, or whether we would have to transfer to classrooms but we were ready for either.
Fortunately there was a blue sky and sunshine at the perfect moment for the picnic and this continued for the rest of the afternoon. It was lovely to see so many of our Infant and Junior families enjoying the afternoon together. The children’s entertainment was spectacular, with music, singing, dancing and having fun; it was truly a wonderful occasion that we will treasure for the Coronation of our King.
Whatever you do this half term, we would all like to wish you and your families, a very enjoyable week.
Best wishes, Mrs Hazel West, Headteacher
Dates for your diary
For the latest dates for your diary please click here.
Help to Buy New Sports Kit
As we are now back to entering ourselves into a number of school events, we would like to purchase new T-shirts so we can look uniform at the sport events we attend.
After discussion with School Council, we have a draft design (shown here) for the T-shirts but require some help to fund the kit. We would ideally like to purchase around 12 T-shirts at a cost of £13 each.
If you would be willing to contribute to this kit, or know of a company who would be willing to sponsor us, please can you let the school know so we can purchase the kit for the new school year.
If it were to be a company sponsor, we would be able to incorporate a small logo on the sleeve if required.
Government Tests
Our Year 6s have now completed all their SATs tests in Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling, Reading and Maths (3 papers for Maths!) and we are very proud of their resilience and dedication, rising to the challenge which they always do, as part of our Oaklands Mindset. The Reading test was particularly hard and covered 3 texts which included some very difficult questions that could have been interpreted in different ways, but you may have already heard this in the media. We are very proud of our Year 6s and we are confident that they have all done their very best, having already worked incredibly hard all year. We were moderated by Wokingham LA both in our SATs procedures throughout the Reading test and the storage of the tests, with evidence for access arrangements being thoroughly scrutinised. In addition, we are grateful to our Chair of Governors, Charlotte Kieran, who kindly supported us with a visit during two Maths tests to monitor the process and help check off all the papers against the registers before sealing the bag. We are now working on our final Writing assessments which will be completed by 27th June.
Our Year 4s will be taking their Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) tests after half term. These are government tests which have to be completed in our IT Suite as these are online and timed – we wish all our Year 4s every success. There has been a pre-run for this with of course a different times table test to ensure the children are confident in the process. There is still time for our children to practise, if our families in Year 4 have some available time over half term!
Year 3 Trip to Slough Gurdwara
In Year 3, we visited a Gurdwara as part of our RE topic on Sikhism. The trip was a fantastic way to put our learning into context and see what we had been discussing in class, in person. We were shown around by Nirmal, a brilliant volunteer, who talked us through worship in a Gurdwara and some important parts of the Sikh faith. The children were a real testament to the school; not only behaving beautifully and respectfully but enthusiastically sharing their knowledge and asking insightful questions. We were very proud of how they all embraced the experience, including trying some of the food in the langar hall. The chapatis, in particular, were a big hit!
Parent Survey
Thank you to all our parents who took part in the Governors’ survey. The lovely comments about what we do well were just what we needed – THANK YOU! The full results when they have all been collated will of course be shared with you, along with what we are working on to improve. Please be assured that we do review our procedures and take on board what we can address. In this vein, just a reminder that we are available all year round for you to talk with any one of us – Mrs West is often in the playground with her Deputy, Mr Holland, at the start or end of the day (diaries permitting). If you have any worries or concerns, or you just want to share something that has made you smile or feel proud, please do speak to them. In addition, please do feel that you can speak with any member of staff – we are all very approachable and would welcome a conversation if there is anything that you would like to share at any time.
Attendance
Please find below a link to a poster which provides some interesting facts on exactly why Attendance matters!
If anyone has any spare foreign coins from holidays no longer needed, lurking in cupboards or drawers, please send them into school as we are trying to fill a large Coca-Cola bottle to raise funds for our school! Thank you.
PTA News Update
A huge thank you again for all your support recently.
The Quiz Night on 19th May was a great success. It was a really fun evening! Congratulations to the winning team, we hope you enjoyed your hampers. The last placed team were gracious in defeat and accepted their wooden spoons with pride! And thanks to Carly for being a fab quiz master!
26th May is our Make the Rules non-uniform day. Children can pay 50p for every rule they want to make, be it crazy hair colours, painted nails, trainers, jewellery, temporary tattoos!
8th June is another non-uniform day. Instead of money donations we are asking for a colour donation to go towards our colour hampers which will be up for grabs in the Summer Raffle. Colours have been allocated to each year group, as below, and we are asking for any donation in that colour. It doesn’t have to be anything big or expensive; any donation you are able to make will be much appreciated. Examples can include; sweets, chocolate bars, other food items, toiletries, small toys.
Reception – Pink Year 1 – Red Year 2 – Orange Year 3 – Yellow
Year 4 – Green Year 5 – Blue Year 6 – Purple
28th June – Summer Raffle – we have some amazing prizes to be won. Details in separate email.
Wishing you all a safe and happy half-term break – Oaklands Schools PTA
Lindum Nurseries
A huge thank you to Geoff at Lindum Nurseries in Eversley, who has donated and continues to donate surplus plants to Oaklands. These plants enable us to continue our brilliant weekly gardening sessions with the children. If anyone in the Oaklands community is looking for quality plants, we highly recommend this as the place to go!
Sense and Sensitivity
Are you an orchid or a dandelion? A highly sensitive person? Or parent of a highly sensitive child? We all differ in how our bodies sense the world, from allergic reactions and noise-tolerance through to emotional openness and reaction to criticism. If you’re interested in exploring your family members’ sensitivity, Elaine Aron’s website The Highly Sensitive Person provides support for parenting sensitive children, as does Thomas Boyce’s book The Orchid and the Dandelion: Why Sensitive People Struggle and How All Can Thrive.
Local Community Information, Activities and Events
For information on local community activities and events please visit our web page below:
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.
Dear Parents/Carers, As part of Remembrance, Oaklands’ Schools always ask a family who have children in both Infants and Juniors, if they would be kind enough to lay a wreath on our behalf at the Read more…
Dates for your diary For the latest dates for your diary please click here. Year 3 Update Year 3 have continued to impress us with their keen attitude to learning and settling in with the Read more…
Dates for your diary For the latest dates for your diary please click here. Year 3 Update The Year 3s have done fantastically well since they joined us in the Juniors. As part of their Read more…
