As we hurtle towards a half term break at the end of this week, I would like to thank our children, staff, parents and governors for all your support this half term. When I think about all that we have achieved together this first half term, I am amazed at how we have managed to fit everything in – we are certainly all ready for a break to relax and recharge our batteries.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Harvest Festival which I hope you will agree was a most enjoyable assembly. The Crowthorne Food Bank were extremely grateful for all the donations our school community provided and a thank you from them is provided later in the newsletter.
It has been lovely to meet so many parents in school over the last few weeks during parents’ evenings and I hope that you all managed to celebrate your children’s achievements through discussion and seeing their work in books. If you have not made contact, then please do make a point of catching up with your class teachers after half term as it is so important to value what has been achieved and learn how you can help at home. Many of our families are amazing with their support from home and this makes all the difference in showing children that we both support them and want them to achieve their best.
Regarding the problems we all experience with parking, I know many parents share our concern with the dangerous driving/parking we see regularly not only outside the Ellis Road gate but also outside our Butler Road gate. Despite our best efforts and the support of Highways and community police, this is still taking place. Oaklands Schools, as well as Acorns Under Fives, are extremely worried that our families cannot cross roads safely with unrestricted views in both directions, due to inconsiderate road users and careless parking.
Both I and Miss Weston met with Wokingham Highways towards the end of last term and we have agreed that we would like to take part in a new initiative for Wokingham called ‘School Street’ which has worked well in other local authorities, including Reading. It is a traffic management scheme which temporarily restricts motor vehicles from accessing the street(s) surrounding a school during normal school drop off and pick up times, with of course highway signs to alert road users to this when in force. We feel that this would help to keep all our families safe at the busiest of times and encourage safer walking, cycling and scooting to school. It would however mean finding roads outside of this area to park safely. At present Wokingham are considering Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras which will ensure that our staff/immediate neighbours are not affected. At this stage, Wokingham have a lot of work to do before this happens and they will go out to a public consultation with the local community, including our neighbours first.
Finally, our newsletter this month contains some important reminders so please take a few minutes to familiarise yourselves with them.
Wishing everyone a well-earned, relaxed, safe and happy half term.
Kind regards, Mrs Hazel West, Headteacher
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 routines of the Juniors. They have thoroughly enjoyed learning about rocks and fossils and painting geodes. It has been brilliant to see the children begin to learn about the viola and play their first piece. It would be helpful for children taking their viola home to practise the correct hold and notes of the strings.
All children have completed their baseline assessments for Doodle learning and are keen to get started with this.
We hope you have an enjoyable half term. The Year 3 Team
Year 4 Update
During the Harvest Festival Year 4 were keen to share their knowledge about growing and eating vegetables. The belleplates group did well performing for the first time in front of an audience. We will be taking the impressive pumpkin that Mr Hopley has been growing with the children to the Autumn Celebration Day at Wellington College in November.
In science the children have been learning about changing States of Matter and have also been observing how plants and animals are adapting to the autumn. This will form part of our “Observations over Time” topic. They found lots of interesting organisms from chafer beetle larvae to millipedes and lots of slugs!. They looked at the changing leaves and fruits and even found some flowering cyclamen.
Painting Mayan Masks
Year 5 finished off their Mayan masks this month by painting them in creative ways. We then showed them in our Harvest assembly. They looked fantastic!
WhatsApp and Other Apps – Important Safety Information for Parents
Following difficulties we have had in Year 6 with children being on WhatsApp outside of school, we would remind all parents that this has an age restriction of 16+. The police have recommended that we inform all parents. Please view the following for more information https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/whatsapp-safety-a-how-to-guide-for-parents/ and also read Miss Davidson’s very useful E-safety presentation (see link below) that she gave at our recent parent forums. This is also available on our website for further information about many other Apps. Please take an interest in what your child is using online and on their phones (if they own one) in order to keep them safe and make it your job to reinforce age-restrictions as these are there for their safety.
Children have received a proforma to design a poster for the Crowthorne Late Night Shopping event on Friday 1st December. The children should create something bright, seasonal and eye catching in the box for their chance to win a prize. Local shops will display all of the posters and there will be a Sweet Tiger gift voucher presented by the Mayor for the winning entry. The deadline for the competition is Monday 13th November. All posters must have their name, school, age and year group written clearly on the back.
Flu Immunisations
The School Nursing Team will be visiting Oaklands Junior School on Monday 30th October 2023. Full details on how to register your child for the vaccination are provided in the letter below.
For safe-guarding purposes, parents/carers are requested to telephone or email the school on the first morning of absence, before 9.00 am so that absences can be accounted for. Please ensure you provide your child’s full name, class and reason for absence (including symptoms) in the phone call or email message. If an illness persists, please make sure you contact the school each morning.
Cancellation of School Meals
If your child is going on a school trip which requires a packed lunch, and you have already pre-booked a school meal for the same day, please remember to cancel the meal before 8.00 am on the morning of the trip. Failure to do so will result in Culinera charging you for the meal.
Cycle to School Week
At the beginning of October, as part of Cycle to School Week, to promote environmentally friendly travel, we encouraged each year group to bring in their scooters and cycles into school. During their Daily Mile, children were able to scoot or cycle around the Daily Mile track and provide a donation for doing this if they were able. We are delighted to announce that we raised £30.20. Thank you to everyone who donated.
Jeans for Genes Day
Thank you to everyone who took part in our Jeans for Genes day back in September. We raised an amazing £166.60.
Crowthorne Food Bank
Following our Harvest Festival Service earlier this month, Crowthorne Food Bank came to collect all your kind donations. We have received the following response from them which we would like to share with everyone.
Dear Oaklands Junior School
Just wanted to say a very big thank you from everyone at Crowthorne Food Bank for your wonderful harvest donation. So many people are struggling with the cost of living. We couldn’t operate without local support and we are extremely grateful for everything you have collected. Thank you again.
Just One Thing
If you are interested in your family’s mental health and could do just one thing, Louise Mullier, our Educational Psychotherapist recommends reading Philippa Perry’s The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read. To quote the back cover: ‘This refreshing, judgement-free book will help you to:
Understand how your own upbringing may affect your parenting
Accept that you will make mistakes and learn what you can do about them
Break negative cycles and patterns
Handle your own and your child’s feelings
Understand what different behaviours communicate’
Why not have a look at some of the other Parenting resources available on our Mental Health and Wellbeing web page?
Secondary Schools
Reminder for all Year 6 parents – the closing date for returning your application form for your child to transfer to secondary school next year is Tuesday 31st October 2023 at 23.59pm. To view the recent Wokingham Admissions letter regarding this please click here.
From time to time local secondary schools ask us to publish information on their schools which may be of interest to our parents/carers. To view this information which is available on our website, please use the following link – Secondary Schools
Local Community Information, Activities and Events
For information on local community activities and events such as half-term library activities, holiday clubs and sports clubs, please visit our web page below which is updated on a regular basis.
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.
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