Oakwood says... James for England!

James Tomlinson is a professional cricketer for Hampshire Cricket Club. He is one of the best bowlers in the team. He is left-armed and took four wickets leading to a ten wicket victory over Yorkshire. 

Our Curriculum Committee phoned and wrote letters to Hampshire Cricket Club to try to get a cricket player in to Oakwood Junior School so he could come and tell us about his cricket life in assembly. 

James Tomlinson said in assembly that some cricket matches go on for four days. The Hampshire Cricket Club home ground is the Rose Bowl, but he travels all around the world.

His first game was when he was eleven years old and he hit someone's nose with the ball. He has had five operations  - three on his ankle, one on his shoulder and one on his ribs.

James Tomlinson came in to present certificates and he said his goal was to bowl for the England cricket team.

by Lewis and Billy.

Down on the Farm!

Year 5 have just returned from a "farm-tabulous" week at Wick Court in Gloucester. We have braved the mud, the cold and the smells and returned pink-cheeked with a suitcase full of fantastic memories.

For instance, there was the hill walk, where Mr Larder and Mr Dudley got trapped in the mud. You will notice in the photos that Mrs Vaudin helped by laughing and as for Mrs Whitmarsh - well, someone had to capture the moment!



Then there was the basket weaving. We tried not to poke each other in the eye as we manipulated our willow, and everyone had a lovely basket to bring home.



Of course, being on a farm, you must expect to see (and smell!) animals. First, there were the Tamworth and Gloucester Old Spot pigs. They needed mucking out, and more importantly to them, feeding!




Then were were the horses. Some beautiful hunting horses, a retired racehorse, and Windy, the stallion who liked to eat coats!




Our trips to the dairy farm at Oldbury, as well as giving us the opportunity to feed the calves, watch the milking and hoof trimming and sweep the "river of poo", afforded us the very special moment of seeing a calf being born. A truly memorable experience.



Pecking beaks met us at the free-range, organic chicken farm. Still, they meant no harm and were only being inquisitive, so we were happy to give them a bit of a cuddle!



As well as all the animals, we learned about growing plants and produce, cooking (we made a lovely vegetable soup and rolls, followed by a scrumptious apple crumble which we had for tea!) and we filled our lungs with the clear, fresh air of Gloucester, with views of the Severn River in almost every direction.



What a fabulous week! But, we would like to apologise to the year 5 parents who have recently received a bag of very muddy, and quite possibly, very smelly, washing! But it was worth it!

Summer in the heat...

Dear All

I've had a wonderful few weeks since arriving in Brisbane. I haven't had time to write before now but I hope you got my postcard???

I've been to the beach and learned to surf! (Santa bought me a surf board!)

I've also been to Australia Zoo (home of the late Steve Irwin) and fed the kangaroos, stroked a koala and laughed with the kookaburras. They are soooo funny!



I am off camping today for Australia Day weekend. It's when all the Aussies celebrate being Australian! (I'm sure they will let me join in!)

I start at my new school next week and have my new uniform all ready....photos to follow!! Watch this space.

Love, Oscar ...

Welcome Michael Rosen!

Oakwood Junior School has been very privileged today. The children's laureate, Michael Rosen, visited our school to take assembly and to work with some children on writing poetry.

He amazed us by turning ordinary, family situations, like reading the newspaper at breakfast time and trying to avoid going to bed, into the most hilarious stories and poems. Have you ever tried to look at your own eyebrows? Or how about burying toothpaste top treasure in the shaving soap?

Then, he worked with a group of children from across all classes of Oakwood, along with two children from each of Sinclair, Weston Park, Bitterne Park, Redbridge and Holy Family schools. We learned how to write poems with a chorus, we thought about what we might carry in a special bag, and we created a rhythm poem.



Some children in year 3 and 5 made sandwiches and cake for lunch, and we even had visitors from the Daily Echo and Meridian Television! Watch out on Meridian Tonight!



All the children had a fantastic day with one of our country's most famous and well-loved children's poets, and we would all like to say a big thank you to Michael for choosing to work with us!

Aladdin

We had a theatre company come in and perform Aladdin. It was great fun to watch......

Wonderful Windmills!

Year 4 have been all of a whirl today! As part of their "What's it worth, Planet Earth?" topic, they have been learning all about windmills, in particular, wind turbines.

They started the day making their own mini-mills out of plasticine.



Then, they learned all about where electricity comes from, and how we are using up precious fossil fuels in power stations. They discussed renewable sources of energy, and thought about the pros and cons. Below are some examples of writing which explain our own opinions about wind turbines.



Year 4 then made their very own windmills using paper, a straw and a drawing pin. They even braved the cold to test them out!



They finished the day with some collage art - and even these pictures moved!

Behind you!!!

We had a really excellent treat for the first day back after the Christmas break!

M&M Productions gave us a really excellent performance of Aladdin with lots of traditional pantomime fun...

There was plenty of "Oh no it isn't!", "Behind you!" and a huge amount of slapstick comedy and falling on the floor! The cast was hugely talented and sang and danced to keep us entertained.... There was even a bit of High School Musical thrown in (and a joke about what baked beans do to you!!)



We think it's really important for children to see live performances like this!

(Thanks to you if you spent money at the Christmas Fair, because you helped fund this visit!)