Snow White

Incredible INTECH and Mini Lecture at Southampton University

What a busy time we've been having in year 5 recently! Yesterday we had another fantastic trip as part of our Up, Up and Away topic. We started the day by visiting the INTECH Science Centre in Winchester. The children loved having the opportunity to be 'hands-on' with dozens of different science experiments. After that we were treated to a show inside INTECH's planetarium. We heard all about our Solar System, about stars and constellations and how the Earth spins in its axis. It was brilliant!

In the afternoon we went to another University, this time Southampton University and had a lecture by a professor who works there all about Space. It was thoroughly entertaining and we discovered lots of new information which will help us with our topic work.

Well done to all of year 5 for having a great day and being brilliantly well behaved!

Terrific Toasties and Delicious Homemade Bread!

Year 6 have been making delicious toasties to keep their energy levels up in this cold weather. They used the new sandwich toasters, obtained from the Sainsbury's voucher scheme, to make a range of both sweet and savory toasties. They then got to use the new breadmaking machine when they created a tasty spiced raisin bread. Lots of fun was had by all and many hungry bellies were filled too!

World War 2 Day

Year 3 have had a fantastic day today! We had a World War 2 Day and lots of children came in dressed as evacuees, complete with gas mask boxes and name labels.

Have a look at our fashion parade:



We started the day by going on a 'train' to the countryside, and then being picked by our new families.



Then we went to our 1940's classrooms (complete with blackboard and chalk) to write postcards home to our loved ones. We followed this by playing a traditional game of 'Beetle Drive'.



Finally, after a good old-fashioned sing song, we had our tea dance. Lots of parents came to join the fun, and one or two even took to the dance floor for either a jitterbug or a waltz. We tasted some food made with rationed ingredients and finished the dance with an air raid siren (we all hid under the tables to take shelter!).



We all had a lovely day and we would like to thank all the parents who came to join the fun and also those who provided a tasty rationing recipe for the children to try. We would also like to thank all the staff who made this day possible.

SCHOOLS OPEN - Monday 6 December

Both Oakwood Schools will be open as normal on Monday 6 December.

There may be still one or two pavements, and possibly some paths on the schools' site, which have ice on them, so please take care on your journey to and from school.

Thank you for your understanding last week when we weren't able to open because of the snow. As you can see from the pictures taken by Mr Barrett, it would have been almost impossible to clear safe paths around the site, and journeys to and from school for your families and the staff would have been dangerous.

Snowmen and a Snowem!

Thank you to Sam for the very first photo of a Snowman!

Mr Barrett also gave me a photo of two snowy pupils who made it to school despite the weather - he said they had been waiting there all night to see if the school was open...

And who is that messing about in the snow...?



I also had a snowem from Charlotte called The Shivering Snow...

White as an iceberg,
As deep as the icy cold sea.

Trees covered in little white snowflakes,
Gracefully falling to the freezing ground.

The ground as cold as ice.

As light as a feather the snow
Swiftly falls from the old grand trees.

Keep up the good work. Hope to see you all on Monday!

PS. I made a snowflake:



You can make one too!

SCHOOLS CLOSED - Friday 3 December

Both Oakwood Schools will remain closed on Friday 3 December.

This is out of concern for the safety of pupils, parents and staff travelling to and from school.

Tonight's weather is likely to lead to exceptionally bad travelling conditions tomorrow morning. The temperature is forecast to dip to -6°C just before dawn, which will make refrozen roads and pavements treacherous. On top of that, freezing fog is forecast, which is likely to make visibility very poor.



The forecast for Saturday is much warmer - a balmy 5°C! - and so should see a good deal of the snow and ice thawing.

Both schools expect to be open as normal on Monday morning, barring any worsening of conditions.

We realise that this closure will inconvenience some of you, but we do not take the decision to close lightly, as you will remember from when we were open in the snow in January. This fall of snow has been much heavier and safety has to come first. We thank you for your continued support.

Please keep your eyes on the blog for news about re-opening.

Guildhall Carol Concert Cancelled

We have just heard from the Southampton Schools Music Association that the Guildhall Carol Concert tonight has been cancelled.

Although this is very disappointing, we think it's the best decision given the circumstances.

We await to hear whether it can be rearranged, given all the hard work the staff and children have put into rehearsals, and we'll keep you informed.

Any parent who has bought tickets via the school will receive a full refund. If you bought your tickets direct from the Guildhall, please contact them for information.

Oscar here...!

Hello! Oscar here! Just the sort of weather us bears like!

Make sure you stay safe and warm today in the snow while the school is closed.

I reckon most of you will be out in your gardens or the park later today having a snowball fight or making a snowman! If you make a really interesting snowman, email me a picture: oscar@oakwoodlive.net and I'll try and put it on the blog later. (I might even have a prize for the best one when we get back to school.)

If you've got the internet (and you have because you're reading this!) there are lots of things you can do to keep yourself occupied and stay learning. You can log into e-City using your oakwoodlive ID and password - there are lots of activities for you to do there.

If you're feeling poetic - how about a snowem? (That's a snowy poem!) If you write a really good one, I'll put it on the blog too - especially if you can email me a picture to go with it!

I'd also be interested if you do any snience (snowy science - keep up!) There are lots of activities here!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Oscar

SCHOOLS CLOSED

Both Oakwood schools will be closed today (Thursday 2 December) because of the considerable overnight snow.

Police have warned people not to travel. Many bus services are cancelled and lots of local roads have not been gritted.

Please keep your eyes on the blog as we hope to update throughout the day.

We expect that the Guildhall Concert tonight will also be postponed or cancelled, but we will post information later in the day.