Lordswood Explorers Part 1

3LM had a fabulous local walk today, despite the awful weather.😱

Our Geographers were in small groups, observing and recording man-made and natural features of our local area. We also had a particular focus on identifying things that definitely should not be there. 

The children were impeccably behaved, energetic and very enthusiastic. They were also a little damp! But this did not stop them!

They were genuinely shocked at how much litter was around, ruining the aesthetics of the local environment and causing possible danger to animals and humans alike.

We talked about how we could encourage the local community or local council to help reduce rubbish and repair overgrown areas such as Goldcrest pond to encourage wildlife. We also discussed how positive intervention could help globally by recycling the plastic and cans we saw.

At a later date, children will be producing a short persuasive and emotive speech about the litter issue (and other issues) so watch this space!

BBC Radio Solent Interview

We were invited to join Julian Clegg on his breakfast radio show at BBC Radio Solent today. Oakwood were represented by two members of our Pupil Council who spoke brilliantly about the Plastic Free Day and how we can reduce our use of plastic! Have a listen!

Fabulous Friday at Minstead!

We rounded off a fantastic week by using our map reading skills to find hidden clues around the Minstead site. Our little sleuths did a fantastic job of uncovering the answers to the treasure hunt. After  the brain workout, the children exercised their voices merrily singing their way way around the Minstead Maze. At the end of the morning, all the children earned their final and most important bead - gold, awarded for team work. What a fantastic couple of days the children have had!

Wet welly fun at Minstead on Thursday!

The children had a wonderfully wet day at Minstead on Thursday. They learned all about caring for Minstead's animal residents and how to create a sustainable farming future for our planet. They also explored rivers by studying maps and creating their own. The children tested how waterproof their wellies were by conducting some scientific recording in Minstead's river itself!

We finished the day off by telling stories and sharing jokes in the roundhouse by the campfire. A brilliant day!

Here's looking at the first Oakwood Action Team for the Environment! 6TS got together with their partners in Cedar class for an afternoon of Gardening Fun last Friday. An hour or so later and the Pond and Quad areas are looking SO much better. Looking forward to our next meeting!

Willow Class Assembly

This morning Willow Class were excited to perform their assembly in front of Key Stage 1 and their friends and family.

 During their 'Growing Things' topic, they have been learning our about their environment and how to look after it.

Today they acted out the story of Michael Recycle (with an Oakwood twist), showed off their own superheroes they created, played their 'World News' video and performed a recycling song.

Eco-School Committee

This year, Miss.Jones and I have continued to work with our Eco-committee to help raise awareness of ecological issues. Some of the topics we have covered include:

• Researching and discussing how to help protect the local environment and wildlife by taking care of waste disposal correctly.
• Recycling, reducing, composting and re-using rubbish.
• Energy and water saving reasons and tips for others.

As I teach across Oakwood, I have noticed that the committee's messages are certainly having an impact: KS 1 have started using their composting bins at snack time again; children are reminding others not to leave the tap running at the sinks and I am always being asked if the lights or projector should go off if we are about to leave a room.

The last activity the committee had was to create a board game (Snakes and Ladders) style to promote being green. A few examples of their drafts can be seen below.

Year R explore the pond...

We've really enjoyed exploring the wonderful wildlife in the pond area. We discovered minibeasts of all sorts hiding in among the rocks and weeds. We dipped into the pond with our nets and found some tadpoles and even discovered some lovely little frogs hopping around in the reeds! We looked at how the rain water was collected and even where our fruit and vegetable waste ends up. What a great way to spend an afternoon!

Foot Squishingly Good Wednesday at Minstead!

Today we were joined by Mr Crook for a ice cold, foot numbing, body bouncing march across one of amazing boglands in the New Forest.Those of us who were brave enough to walk across the boglands with no boots (and that did not include Mr Crook!) yelped our way to the middle where we shown how incredibly deep the marsh was. We rounded off a terrific day with homemade sausages, a lantern parade and stargazing. We were also visited by Miss K who brought some Oakwood cheer to our hot chocolate session.

Mud, Mud, Wind, Rain and More Mud-Ideal Conditions for a fun filled day in the Forest!

After arriving safely, choosing our bunks and unpacking our possessions we went for our first muddy trek through the forest. In between finding the deepest muddles and gloopiest mud, we learnt about the biodiversity of Planet Earth. We all picked our 'creature teacher' and earned our first bead. We are now awaiting our well deserved tea and chilling on the extra large bean bags.

Tonight we will be in the classroom reflecting on what we have learned and then making our way to the Roundhouse for a bonfire, story and hot chocolate. A great first day.

Imagine The Future...!

Oakwood was really privileged to be involved in Southampton City Council's Imagine the Future event today...!

Our pupil representatives boarded the Red Funnel Isle of Wight Ferry this morning (thanks to our friends at Fairisle and their minibus!) and spent the day being involved in workshops about the future of the city of Southampton.

We talked about how we could improve the lives of young people in the city and what would be the best use of the city's money...

Thanks to the City Council, Red Funnel, Bitterne Park Sixth Form, Richard Taunton College, St Anne's Sixth Form and City College for a brilliant day!

Have a look at our Twitter storyboard below to see how the day unfolded!

Tweets about ImagineTheFuture

Mmmmm, radishes!

Year Rs were busy this afternoon watering our baby carrots and runner beans. We also began harvesting our radishes, ready to eat for snack tomorrow! We've been learning about plants this month and so many of the children noticed the roots, stems and leaves of the radishes as they pulled them out of the ground. They were able to decide which radishes were ready to be harvested and which needed to be left in the ground for a bit longer. When asked why they thought some grew faster than others (considering we planted the seeds at the same time) one child answered, "I think because some got more sun!"

Help save the Snow Leopards!

Year R has been learning about animals and their habitats. We were very sad to learn that some animals are "endangered" because people chop down the trees in their habitats. To help, we've been learning about how we can save paper by reusing it and recycling. We also had a vote and decided that we would like to raise money and adopt a Snow Leopard through the WWF. We organised an art exhibition by creating posters, writing invitations and making African art. Parents and carers came to visit us and we told them all about habitats and how we can help! We handed-out "monkey milkshakes" for our guests. We finished the exhibition by singing our favourite song, "Down in the Jungle". We raised lots of money and will be adopting a Snow Leopard! Thank-you everyone for your support!

Year 1's sunflowers and other things

Yesterday Year 1 had a busy day of planting. The children had already written instructions about how to plant a sunflower so were already experts, now all they had to do was get planting. So that's exactly what they did!
As well as the sunflowers, the children also repotted some tomato plants and also had the chance to try the cress they had grown last week.
Fingers crossed they look after them well enough to survive the summer.

Fierce Earth Fun in Year 5

This term Year 5 have been learning about how fierce our earth can be, looking at mountains and volcanoes.

As part of this topic we have looked at the different ways in which mountains are formed (completing experiments for each).

Also, our homework was to create a globe and label the different continents around our earth. We will also be making model volcanoes before Christmas, so look out for that blog!

Y1's Who's Afraid of the Dark Day

Today Year 1 have had a very special day!

We have had a visitor from Liberty's Owl and Reptile Center who brought in 3 beautiful owls for us to look at and learn about at the end of our Nocturnal animal and night time topic.

After that we have been creative and produced some splatter art and some paper plate owls. We also shared our arty home works with each other.

What do you think?

Finally our PDR took a nocturnal turn and the children completed some puzzles and challenges!

Have a look at all the fun we have had!

Stripes or Spots

A big thank you to children, parents and friends for getting involved with our Stripes or Spots challenge yesterday. 259 of our children came to school without using a car, which is good news for our bodies, our planet and our learning!
      

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 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'.

Year 3 do a spot of planting!

As part of our plants Science topic, year three planted a seed to start growing in school. Then it will be taken home as part of their homework. The children will be keeping a diary of observations over their half term break.