Dear Parents / Carers,
The first half term back after the New Year is often one of the shortest but also one of the hardest. After the excitement and energy of the festive season, the dark mornings and challenging weather makes for a stark contrast and it is sometimes hard to find the same levels of energy.
Nevertheless, it has been a productive term in many ways and both the children and staff have continued to show what a fantastic place Oaklands is to work and to learn.
We began the term with a joint INSET training day with the Infant School at which staff worked hard to develop an agreed progression for writing content and editing, something that had been difficult to organise before this year. It is still early days in our new structure at Oaklands but staff are already beginning to see the benefits and we hope children and parents are likewise. School improvement never stands still and we have also had an audit of our music provision carried out by Corvus. This went very well and we are already seeking ways to improve what we do based on the feedback we received. On that note, I hope you all received your child’s progress report recently and any constructive comments you may have are most welcome.
We are always looking at ways to improve what we provide as a school and with this in mind, I would like to thank all those parents who took time to complete the homework survey. Homework is an important aspect of the home-school relationship and not only do activities offer children the chance to embed learning, they also allow parents to broaden their understanding of what is being learnt in school and to work alongside Oaklands to give children a range of experiences that develop ‘Cultural Capital’ – knowledge, skills and attitudes that help children navigate culture and achieve success.
There are many further opportunities through which we would encourage parents to become increasingly involved in their child’s education.
Firstly, Mr Lee has set up a Comms group that has now met twice with a group of parents who have volunteered to work with him and Mrs Buckley from the School Office, looking at how we communicate with parents. They have so far discussed parent forums, parents’ evenings, reporting, the creation of a readily available calendar of school / class events and various ad-hoc subjects. They meet once a half-term for about half an hour and would welcome any other volunteers. Alternatively, if there is a subject that you would like them to look at, please contact Mr Lee.
Another upcoming event is a parent open morning that will be held on Wednesday 12th March. The school will be open to all parents and carers and this will be an opportunity for you to experience a morning in school. You are welcome to observe lessons, get as involved as you can with our morning’s learning and to help you appreciate what life looks like in a modern school – it is likely to be very different from the schooling you remember!
Thirdly, we will be hosting a ‘Helping your child at home’ session in school on Tuesday 18th March. The intention is to run one session at 14:30 and one at 17:00 to enable as many parents as possible to attend and will provide tips and advice as well as directing you to suitable resources and experiences that can support and enhance learning in school.
As the weather hopefully improves over the next few weeks, the next half term provides a wide range of exciting opportunities for our children. We have the Year 3 trip to Butser Farm, the Year 4 residential, WASMA, the PTA disco, the inaugural Rock Academy sessions and an increasing number of outdoors events from cross country relays to tag rugby as well as the daily and weekly activities that the staff put on for children to enjoy.
One final thing I would like to mention is the PTA. This very small group of volunteers does a fantastic job organising events and raising funds that help the school improve, whether it is funding extra adults in class to improving the environment. The current committee is stepping back having between them made a fantastic contribution to the school for a number of years – thank-you to Mrs Lynch, Mrs Parker and Mrs Neen for all their hard work, never failing to maintain a positive manner despite the pressures of the job. I am sure the PTA would welcome the addition of more parent volunteers who can provide ‘hands-on’ expertise in running events so if you believe you have what it takes, please do contact them directly.
I hope you all have a restful and relaxing half term break, perhaps starting with a Valentine’s Day surprise, and I shall see you back on Monday 24th February ready for the next half term and the onset of Spring with all the hope and positivity that comes with it.
Mr Holland, Head of School
Contents
To go straight to any one of the sections below simply click on the wording.
Snap shot of activities this half term
Sports News
Achievements & Awards
Fundraising Activities
Contact Us
Here’s a snap shot of what’s been taking place at Oaklands Junior School this half term
Sports News
Braywick Cross Country – On Thursday 30th January, 48 children from Oaklands Junior School attended the MOB race where Divisions 1 and 2 run together, meaning 25 schools took part! Everyone ran brilliantly and it was a fantastic afternoon out. The course was very muddy, but it was a bright and sunny day.
Oaklands came 6th overall with our Year 3/4 Boys Team coming 2nd. Our school is joint second in Division 1 after 3 events.
Ten Pin Bowling – On Friday 31st January, a team of 6 children represented Oaklands Junior School at the Wokingham School Games Ten Pin Bowling event. Each team played one game of ten pin bowling at Wokingham Superbowl. The children did so well and had a great time. Our school came 2nd out of 10 schools – congratulations go to Thomas H; Maria D; Harriet W, Luke A, Emma H and Arthur G.
Racket Pack Badminton – On Thursday 6th February a team of 8 Year 4s represented Oaklands Junior School in the Wokingham School Games Badminton Festival. This was a qualifier as the main event was all booked up. The children took part in a carousel of 7 different skills and had great fun working together as a team.
We came first in the qualifier so we are now through to the main event on 3rd April at Waingels. Well done to Izzy Y, Emmie McA, Liana H, Chloe H, Luc D, Stanley M, Archie B and Benji I’A.
Achievements & Awards
Berkshire Musician of the Year – Congratulations to Jacob E in Year 6 who recently took part in the Berkshire Musician of the Year competition where he progressed all the way to the semi-finals. Jacob was encouraged to take part in this competition by his guitar teacher Lois Brown from Berkshire Music Trust. In the early rounds of the competition, Jacob had to submit a recording of him playing his acoustic guitar and chose to play a piece entitled ‘Oasis’. For the semi-finals he played a piece called ‘Pirates Delight’ and was awarded a certificate for his playing. We are very proud of his achievements – well done Jacob.
Fundraising Activities
Asda Cashpot For Schools – Parents and carers shopping at Asda have raised a fantastic £128.42 for Oaklands Schools PTA using the Asda Cashpot For Schools programme. Thank you so much for everyone who supported this!
NSPCC Number Day – Thank you to everyone who supported the recent NSPCC Number Day. In addition to the on-line donations currently totaling £83 we also raised a further £137.59 in cash on the day.
KitAid – Shortly after we returned from the Christmas Break, many of our parents/carers donated items of unwanted sports kit. We received the following certificate from KitAid. Our thanks go to Mrs Alexander for organising this on behalf of our school.
Contact Us
Head of School: Mr D Holland
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