I scream, You scream...

We all scream for Ice Cream!!

Year 5 had a chilly time in Winchester at the Top Secret Headquarters of Jude's Ice Cream...

There, Jude herself and husband Theo took us through the highly secretive process of making frozen confectionery for discerning clients all over Hampshire, the rest of the UK, cruise ships and even Dubai!

It's more complicated than you might think... (You should ask your children about the special feature of the hairnets...!)

Our tour of the factory included the manufacturing rooms and the big walk-in storage freezers!

And why are we going to an Ice Cream factory, you may ask?! Well, it's all part of our Apprentice-Style Team-Working Entrepreneurial Business Project...

We are working together in groups to create a brand new business - plans, budgets, product development, marketing etc. We're using cloud-based systems (G Suite) to share our plans in our group and work on them collaboratively... And when we're done, Jude herself will be coming to school to judge the winners...

A brilliant time was had by everyone and both Jude and Theo said how much they love Oakwood coming to the factory!

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

Sending My Friend To School...

We have been really excited to be working on Send My Friend to School.

This is a project to raise awareness and send help to the millions of children in the world who don't get an education as a matter of course.

Pupils in more than 4000 schools have been saying what they would do if they were a World Leader... and have been designing their own Minecraft-style world leaders to tell the story.

Oakwood presented our mini-world leaders to Dr Alan Whitehead MP and he promised to take them, and their messages, up to Westminster to persuade the government to support the right of all children in the world to an education.

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!

Chicken...

Year 5 and 6 had an utterly amazing time watching 'Chicken', an original and thought provoking play written by one of the drama teachers at Oasis.

The play taught us a valuable lesson about road safety. The cast consisted of four students from Oasis - one of whom was a former Oakwood pupil. Even though there were only four actors on stage, they cleverly manipulated scenes and represented more than one character.

It was a flawless, professional performance that not only made us think but made us laugh too. We'd give it a 5 star rating and encourage all 8-12 year olds to go and watch it - it might just save your lives!



by Eloise and Maisie

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.

Indian purses

Without a thimble in sight, year 4 completed their Indian purses in world record time.

A big thank you to our adult helpers: Mrs Elthrington, Mrs Heathcock, Mrs Larder, Mrs Harrison, Mrs Hayter, Mrs Whitmarsh and Emma.

Their considerable expertise and guidance contributed to a very enjoyable and productive day.

Thank you for starting Christmas so well!

It seems really strange it still being November and our Christmas tree being up in school!

But the OSA Christmas Fair comes around as regular as clockwork and we thank everyone who came to take part...

You may have played Batak, or bought a raffle ticket, or won a bottle, or eaten candy floss, or had a hot dog, or bought a woolly hat, or seen Santa, or bought your Christmas cards, or had a coffee and a cake, or bought some presents for people!

The fair is always good fun and this year seemed busier than ever!



Thanks to all of your, and particularly all members of the Oakwood School Association, for making it a success.

The evening raised an amazing £3808 which will all come back into Oakwood Primary School to be spent on your children!

Have fun at Half-Term!

Autumn half-term is a perfect time to get out and about!

Our latest newsletter tells you about 50 Things to do before you are 11¾!

This is a National Trust scheme to get children out and about doing all the things we tell them not to do!



Some examples are:

• Make a mud pie
• Go on a walk barefoot
• Cook on a campfire
• Eat an apple straight from a tree
• Catch a falling leaf
• Build a den!

Here's the full list!

We often say children can't do things because we think they might be too risky, but with proper thought and supervision, they normally can!

Children: make sure an adult always knows what you're planning to do and ask permission first!

Fantastic Mathematics!

From Reception to Year 6, children were busy mathematicians this afternoon. We welcomed lots of parents, relatives and friends into Oakwood today so that we could show off some of our amazing maths skills. Many adults were challenged to a range of number, shape or problem solving activities using computers, interactive white boards, iPads, bee-bots - and of course, pencil and paper!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and make the afternoon such a success.

Year 5 Saints Water Talk

Last week Year 5 got a very special coaching session.

Two Saints Football coaches (as part of the Saints Foundation) exercised our water-conservation muscles. They explained how our water comes from the Itchen and Test rivers, how vital water is for our health and gave us some top tips so we don't waste water. We learned so much, we will definitely think twice the next time we leave the tap running!

Pumpkin Picking!

Six lucky Year 1 children went to visit the farm at the Countryside Education Trust in Beaulieu to collect some pumpkins for their pumpkin pie. They even had enough time to take a quick look around the farm!

The eco monitors and friends represented their whole year group on this important assignment.




We all got to taste the lovely pumpkin pie made by Miss Shore last year but this time the children got to go and see where the pumpkins came from and pick them themselves.

Year 5 on Choppy Waters!

Year 5 went to the 45th Southampton Boat Show today and had a great time!

Many of them kayaked with Active Nation on the very small version of the sea - some even stayed in their kayak!

They also explored the multi-million pound Sunseeker yachts (without leaving dirty footprints on the new carpets) and went down onto the marina (where is was very choppy!)



Some children even volunteered to join the Royal Navy and learned about the work of the RNLI.

A great day - the exhibitors commented on the excellent behaviour and brilliant manners of the children - and the sun shone from beginning to end!

The House Cup

This year, the House Cup is awarded to...

Aurora!

This is the first time they have won it since 2008!

This year, they have also "done the double" by winning Sports Day too!

Many congratulations to them!

A Career in the Merchant Navy!

Year 6 experienced the lifeblood of the city of Southampton last week when they spent a day in the docks on Whitchallenger and Apex.

Whitchallenger is an oil supply ship, which travels up and down the English Channel, sometime further afield, to refuel other vessels. You can see where it is right now!

Apex, and her sister ships, Phenix and Vortex, are tugs which guide larger ships up and down Southampton water, mainly for the Fawley Oil Terminal.

The crews of both vessels gave everyone full guided tours, talking about life on board and how everything (including a kitchen, a gym and a larder) fits on board, alongside the engine room and the bridge!



The crew also talked about life at sea, including navigation and knots! The scientific principles of floating (not sinking) and how to clean up oil spillages were covered too. And, of course, everything was perfectly safe and we got to try out some of the fire retardant safety gear!

A huge thank you to the crews of both ships, the Southampton Shipowners Association, and particularly to Ashley Jenkins of Whitaker Tankers and Nick Jeffrey from Solent Towage for organising this unique opportunity for Oakwood pupils!

Biscuit Boos!

As well as having a great time designing recipes, baking biscuits and selling them to raise money for charity, Year 5 have also had time to tell you their stories in their own words. We said that we would give you more to listen to on our blog, so enjoy this mini radio station of Biscuit Boos!

Apprentice Club: Cinema

We knew it would be tough to beat the £30 profit made by the BC Landline Cookie Company, but the Howlers Cinema was extremely popular. So much so, that it will be running again next Wednesday too!

One Way or Another...!

It looked like time to laze around on the sofa or have a little snooze at Oakwood today, as everyone came to school in their onesies or their pyjamas!

It was all in a good cause as we raised £350 for Comic Relief!



(We have a tradition of making great Red Nose Day videos!)

Thanks you to our Pupil Voice Charity Committee, who organised the whole day, and to Alex Pope, who led us in some drumming and dancing!



You can find out more about Comic Relief by watching the video below...

Our March 'Club of the Month'

March's 'Club of the Month' came to Oakwood in the back of a Van, with a little help from the Solent Sport Partnership run by Solent University.

Friday was Dance mat day! Instead of using one or two dance mats in the front room at home, each class had the opportunity to use the 15 full size portable mats attached to the main screen in the school hall. Where two students from Solent University guided the children through a selection of songs testing their dancing shoes and co-ordination to the max.

Take a look at our pictures and see if you can spot the next Fred Astaire or Diversity Dance Troop member!

Weather Kid Jack!

Jack appeared on Wave105 on Thursday afternoon to tell everyone what the weather was like!

listen to ‘Weather Kid Jack’ on Audioboo

If you become a Radio Weather Kid, send us the mp3 file and we'll let everyone listen again...!