Music on the (Really BIG) Map!

Year 3's Music on the Map journey is nearly over and what a way to finish!

They have spent all year, learning to read music, look after their instruments, work together as a team, follow direction and perform to an audience... and, of course, they have learned to play their instrument!

In Oakwood, they have learned clarinet, glockenspiel, trombone and trumpet.

Today, in a brilliant final concert at Central Hall in Southampton, they met up with their peers from a number of other schools to play in an orchestra of over 400. A fantastic event!



The concert bill also had young musicians from Oasis Academy Lordshill and a star performance from professional string trio, Cordelectra - but our primary school musicians were the real stars of the show!

Huge thanks to Alex and everyone at Showcase for an superbly enjoyable opportunity.

Outside Maths Day

On Wednesday Year 5 and Year 3 joined forces to experience maths outside. Children worked together to use their maths skills in a fun way - they might not see Maths the same way ever again!

Out of this world homework!

Oak class were inspired by our current 'Beegu' topic and have built some lovely 3D rocket ships and UFOs for their homework!

Maths Day in Year R!

We found lots of active ways to practise maths skills during our 'Explore and Discover' time!

What a great way to spend a sunny afternoon!

Outdoor maths day in Year 2

Yesterday in Year 2 we had a fabulous outdoor maths afternoon with a focus on 'time'.

The children had fun timing themselves doing different activities such as obstacle courses and races.
We had a giant clock in the playground and the children sorted out a programme of events and TV schedules.

The importance of water...

Chris Davies and the team from the Southampton City Mission visited Y4 on Tuesday for a day all about the importance of water both in our daily lives and for some groups of Christians.

Have a look at some of the things we did.

The maths committee enjoyed a visit from representatives of HSBC bank. They spoke to the children about savings and borrowings and the children took part in some exercises to help understand money. They children enjoyed the visit and we would like to thank Joanne and Holly for their time.

Year 3 Munch Back Through Time

Yesterday, Year 3 were learning about Tudor food and how it is different to the food we eat today. As part of this we looked at some game meat (partridge), we then cooked it and children were given the opportunity to taste some too!

Using what they found out about Tudors and their food the children are in the process of creating a piece of drama to represent a typical Tudor meal from either a rich or poor family.

Year R- The message we got from Beegu!

This is the message we got from Beegu:

(We listened to her story on youtube, perhaps you could do the same at home!)

Beegu in Year R!

It all started when Mrs Donnachie came into Year R Monday morning and said, “There’s some sort of spacecraft that has crashed in the front playground. Mr Taylor is busy in the big field because it’s Sports Day. Can you go and check it out?” We said, “YES!” We crept outside to the front field and spotted something odd in the bushes. Miss Shore checked it out first, to make sure it was safe. When she was sure it was safe, two children went for a closer look and found… a ‘top secret’ box inside the crashed rocket ship! We looked in the box and discovered some sort of memory chip inside. Luckily, our computer could read the message and….there was a message from a lovely little alien named ‘Beegu’! She wants to visit earth but her mummy and daddy said she only has time to visit one school. She doesn't know which school to choose!!

We’ve decided to help convince her to visit us by writing letters! We each wrote a letter to Beegu to tell her why Oakwood is the best! We then chose the correct size envelope, wrote her space address on the front and went to the office to ask for it to please be posted. We estimated that, because it was going so far, it would need 20 stamps!

We designed our own rocket ships using a plan and then used the plan to construct it using any kind of construction we liked.

We explored ‘moon dust’ and used it to help us learn about capacity and weight. We practised filling-up different sized containers and predicted which would hold the most and which would be the heaviest.

We used ‘splotches’ of paint and straws to make funny aliens pictures which then we hung in the role-play.

We did funny alien dances to the song, ‘Men in Black’. We recorded them and watched them back in class!

What a fun week!

We hope to see Beegu very soon at Oakwood!

Sun, sports, Sack races and more

Today saw the very first Oakwood Primary School Sports Day. All of our 420(ish) children: sprinted, skipped, jumped, threw, tugged and caterpillared* their way in pursuit of our prestigious Sports Day trophy.
(*made up word)

The weather was truly glorious and the teamwork and determination on show by all children made watching a great pleasure, even the parents were on their best behaviour!

All of the children had a great time representing their houses and the overall lead for the day changed on at least a dozen occasions. It was a great competition and everybody: children, teachers and parents alike embraced the friendly but competitive atmosphere.

Winners of the raffle were announced, but if you didn't managed to collect your prize please contact the school office.

Well done to all those children in the winning house, Britannia, who racked up a massive 565 points!

Winners medals for the Sprint champions will be presented in school during the next week. KS1 will be presented during celebration assembly on Friday. Whilst KS2 have their celebration assembly on Tuesday next week. Medals for members of the winning house will be presented to children in classes on Tuesday.

Many thanks to the Oasis Academy Sports Leaders! We couldn't have done it without you!

We hoped you enjoyed the day, and welcome any feedback on the parent's Sports Day questionnaire.

Knapp House 2014

A Few Final Photos from Knapp.

Friday definitely crept up too quickly for all at Knapp but we are left with lots of happy memories: challenges overcome; new friendships formed; fun, laughter and good times. Here are a few more photos of our last couple of days.

Postal Delivery Arrives!

This week Year 3 recieved their replies from the children they wrote to in Nottingham.

Everyone was really excited to see what their letter said and learn about the topics they have been learning about at Robert Mellors (London and how to filter dirty water).

We read our replies and shared them with each other then as our Big Write on Friday we wrote a reply.




Everyone really enjoyed this writing activity!

Oakhouse Day 4

Fun drama activities, cake decorating, a flying visit from a Tawny Owl and an Ural Owl, as well as an afternoon of sport on the field with TMC made it another super Oakhouse day!

Tower Thursday at Knapp!

Thursday morning began early as, hoping to send the England football team some good karma, we all joined in a fun and energetic circuit session devised by Mr Newman-we fully deserved our breakfasts shortly after! Then it was off to abseiling and canoe drill in the pool. The sun is still shining and there are happy (if a little bit sleepier) faces everywhere. We are looking forward to the disco and the big match tonight-bunting and face paints ready to go!

Wonderful Wacky Wednesday at Knapp.

Crabbing, boating, coastal walks, pedal carting, obstacle course, water fights and even a selfie challenge-wacky Wednesday (still bathed in glorious sunshine) had it all.

Terrific Tuesday at Knapp House.

Take a look!

Oakhouse Day 3

The day started with a crazy bin bag fashion activity. Prom dresses and England supporter's outfits were designed and modelled by the Oakhouse children. Wraps were made for an afternoon picnic on the field, followed by a friendly rounders match against Y5. An Oakhouse victory ended the day well for Y6!

Gyromania!

We've tried out the new gyroscope at Knapp! (And on top of a full evening meal...!)




We also did the traverse and various other bits and pieces!

Monday really wore us out and there's the rest of the week to go!

The Amazing Aztecs

Y4 have just begun their topic about the Amazing American Aztecs. 

During the last two days they have tried and compared the original Aztec hot chocolate drink 'Xocolatl' a coco based drink mixed with chilli and black pepper with modern day hot chocolate.

Designed and made an Aztec ceremonial or death mask, these just need painting to finish off now.

Played an adapted version of capture the flag to demonstrate the dominance of the Aztec army movements and their favourite game 'Tlachtli' which is a cross between Handball and Quidditch. 

And finally they have cooked and eaten a mixed bean and vegetable burrito wrapped in a corn flour tortilla.

Year R go to Sainsbury's!

We have been learning about vegetables as part of our 'Up The Beanstalk' topic. We decided to make healthy vegetable pizzas this week so wrote shopping lists and went to Sainsbury's! While at the shop, we practised reading signs, reading prices and using money to pay for things. Back at school, we have made our own 'Sainsbury's' shop to practise using money and applying our subtraction skills to find the correct change. We've been busy in the kitchen assembling and cooking our delicious pizzas! Mmmmmm!

Marvellous Monday at Knapp House.

What a fantastic first two days everyone is having at Knapp! All the children have not only been throwing themselves into every challenge with gusto, they have been making all of their adults incredibly proud of the way they are working as a team: several Knapp instructors have already commented on their wonderful behavior.

Here are a few photos from Monday. As we are still experiencing a few internet issues, the photos from all the activities have been uploaded together. The are a little bit jumbled but you can see what a great time everyone is having. More photos of Tuesday's activities to follow shortly.

Oakhouse Day 2

Oakhouse children had another fun packed day at Woodmill Activity Centre. They took part in rock climbing ,archery and canoeing. A big thank you to all the staff at Woodmill for making the day such fun!

A Short Surfing Movie!

We thought you'd like to see a quick surfing movie!

(It's very quick, and you might have to try hard to see a lot of world class surfing... But everyone had great fun and the weather was amazing!)



And here are some photos from Westward Ho! beach!

Oakhouse Day 1

Oakhouse had a very energetic start to their week. They visited Oasis Academy Lordshill to take part in a fitness day. Thanks to TMC for leading the activities, all the children had great fun.

Year 1 Go Sailing!

Year 1 have had a very exciting afternoon role playing what it would be like sailing on a ship.

The children watched a film clip first and shared their ideas before they were given their tickets, book bags (luggage) and proceeded through passport control where tickets were stamped, then boarded the Oakwood Cruise ship.

While on the ship the children were encouraged to think about what it would be like.

When suddenly a thunder storm broke out, complete with sound effects, with waves crashing over the side of the boat and they then had to explore an unknown land. As they they explored the land they had to decide where they were. Who they had met? What had they seen? Who were they with? What happened? What had they seen? How will they find their way back home?

The children will be planning and writing their stories later in the week and we are really looking forward to reading the stories that the children will be writing about in their Adventure.

Westward Ho!

We are down on Westward Ho! beach in the beautiful sunshine!

Everyone is learning how to use their body boards and their surfboards, but we're still MILES away from the water!



Everyone is wet already, and we all have sand between our toes...

And NOW we've hit the surf!



We will try to blog every day, but the wifi is a little ropey!

You can always check our twitter feed instead! http://twitter.com/oakwoodlive

St Barbe Museum comes to visit Year 2

Today we had an exciting visitor called Laura from St Barbe Museum in Lymington.

She helped the children to compare seaside holidays now and in the past by showing them lots of interesting artifacts, photos and costumes for them to handle and try on.

We learned that some swimming costumes were even knitted from dad's old jumpers, imagine that!!!!

Some flying visitors for Year 3!

Yesterday Year 3 were lucky enough to have a couple of visitors in - a Tawny Owl and a Ural Owl. We were so lucky to see them up close and learn all about these special animals.

Year 3 Set up their very own Tudor Museum

On Tuesday afternoon Year 3 had a lovely time finding out all about what life was like in Tudor times compared to now. The children had to first carefully unwrap the artefacts and try and work out what they were. Then the research and observation began! The children learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed setting up their own museum to show off what they had learnt.

Crunchy Coleslaw Challenge

Today in Year 2 the children were given a 'Crunchy Coleslaw Challenge'.

They had to design, make and taste a delicious coleslaw which could accompany any summer bbq or picnic.

In groups, they had a range of ingredients to choose from and then had to present ready for judging by our resident judge and coleslaw connoisseur, Mr Charlesworth.

It was interesting seeing the cutting, grating and peeling capabilities of the children and now the Year 2 base has an interesting aroma.

The children enjoyed their creations, I wonder how many will create their own over the summer?

Team Oakwood finish 3rd

The Oakwood Athletics team took part in the Southampton City Athletics Championships on Tuesday at the Outdoor Sports Centre. In the beautiful sunshine the team took to the track and field to try and better the team of 2013 who managed 4th overall.

With some fantastic performances from the boys team they managed to finish 2nd in the boys competition, narrowly missing out on first by just a single point!
The girls team also performed admirably with some stand out performances, most notably from Amy, who grabbed Oakwood's only first place, making her a City Champion.

With that, it meant that Team Oakwood finished 3rd overall!

Well done to all the team and a big thank you to all the parents who came to support the team.

Year 3 Tudor Hook Day!

Year 3 had a great day last week, learning all about the famous Henry VIII. There day also included an introduction to The Tudors and Tudor food. The day was spent learning all about Henry VIII and his life as a Tudor. The children then spent time in our kitchen making a Tudor love knot, which is made from: flour, sugar, cinnamon, honey, seeds and eggs - a big hit with year 3! In the afternoon the children were lucky enough to learn about how Henry and one of wives Katherine would have dressed in Tudor times. Teo children became our glamorous models so the rest could sketch in great detail.

Our June Club of the Month

Yesterday KS2's June Club of the Month was simply sensational. With teachers having successfully completed a rain dance to keep the wet stuff at bay, all 240 KS2 children were able to walk to the Outdoor Sports Centre to take part in the Active Nation TRYathlon.
With over 20 different sports clubs and activities on offer, each child only had time to take part in about half of those on offer.

Not only did every Oakwood pupil at the Sports Centre take part in a range of fantastic sports, but they took part in the Commonwealth Games Batons journey around the world. The Baton has already been to 66 countries around the world and Southampton is one of only 16 cities in the UK which the Baton will visit.

If you were watching BBC South Today or Meridian News at 6:00 then you will even have seen what some pupils had to say!
Friday's Daily Echo also had lots of Oakwood Children in.

Keeping healthy in Year R!

Last week we met a little monkey named, 'Ricco'. We dressed-up as doctors and found-out why Ricco wasn't feeling very well. He said that he was tired all the time, had headaches, didn't have any energy and felt grumpy in the afternoons. After asking him about what he eats and what time he usually goes to bed we decided that he needs to make some changes! We 'brain-stormed' some ways that he could be healthier. We also found-out that Ricco has an iced cake in his lunch every day! We looked at how much sugar that is in a week and in a month! We decided we could help by finding a healthy muffin recipe for him and his parents to try instead. Every day we baked a different flavour of healthy muffins and taste-tested them. At the end of the week we voted. Oak class liked 'peach' the best and Beech liked 'blueberry' the best. We wrote down our recipes and sent them to the Ricco and his family to try! Enjoy!

Year R butterflies

In Year R we have been waiting patiently for our butterflies to emerge from their cocoons. We missed them by 5 hours! They began to slowly emerge from their cocoons just after the children left for their half-term holiday. They were released into a garden nearby and perhaps one day they'll pop over to our playground to say 'hello'.