Whole School Events 2021-2022

Lots is happening at Oakfield this year ...

The children (and some adults!) dressed as Superheroes. They spent time in class designing new bandanas for Pudsey. We raised 218.12.

The children chose which adult they wanted to read them a story. This was followed by an extra playtime and an ice lolly.

The children came back to school in the evening wearing PJs. They listened to stories read by an adult of their choice and participated in craft activities linked to the stories.

The children took part in lots of activities during National Storytelling Week:

• Our new outdoor Reading Corner was opened for use at break and lunch times

• The children watched animated short films based on folktales from around the world and discussed them in class

• The library was open each lunchtime for children to share their favourite story, write short stories and make books

• There was a different picture posted each day on Dojo to inspire children and their families to tell a story

• Some children had their names drawn to attend a special Storytelling Campfire with marshmallows

• The Tell a Story event saw teachers telling stories, not reading from books.

Children and adults celebrated World Book Day by dressing as book characters. There was a whole school assembly with a story parade of costumes and the children were read the story of The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore. The children were then split into groups with a mix of year groups to complete activities. They created Reading Rocks where the children decorated rocks as their favourite book character or cover. Each class also decorated their classroom door.

Our theme for Science Week was 'Growth'.

• Year R investigated bubbles and studied daffodils growing. The children also looked at photos of themselves of babies to see how much they had grown.

• Year 1 planted seeds in the classroom and at OWL. It was a very rainy day at OWL so they didn’t need watering!

• Year 2 looked at the effect of yeast in bread making. Two batches of dough were made and measured to see what would happen. The children then turned the dough into minibeast shapes and baked some using the dough with yeast and some without.

• Year 3 made seeds bombs at OWL. The children mixed compost, mud and seeds with a little water then pressed them into trays to dry out.

• Year 4 started investigating how non-living things grew. The children first thought about how particles were distributed in different states of matter such as liquids, solids and gases. They then applied this to how crystals might grow. They were trying to use evaporation to create crystal from Epsom salt and mono ammonium phosphate but need to be patient and use their observation skills to see what happens.

They also planted radishes, rocket and cress seeds.

• Year 5 planned their own experiment, answering the enquiry question ‘Does the amount of glue affect the stretchiness of the slime?’ Each table had a different amount of glue, but the same amount of contact lens solution and bicarbonate of soda.

They also planted bulbs during their OWL session.

• Year 6 did an investigation into how Galapagos finches' beaks have adapted and changed over time, as evidenced by Darwin's research.

Holi is a Hindu celebration, observed to mark the beginning of Spring. The whole school celebrated on the school field by throwing powder paint to represent this, creating a colourful explosion. Families were invited to come and watch our colourful celebration.

We were joined by Mums, Nans and other important ladies for breakfast.

The whole school visited Testwood Baptist Church for an Easter Assembly. The children walked really sensibly (Year R with a Year 6 buddy) both to and from the church. They listened to the Easter story and played a game of spotting the Easter bunny. Some of Year 4 shared their RE learning. The children also sang their favourite song ‘Spring Chicken.’

Children came to school dressed in red, white and blue. There were activities in class during the morning with each class focusing on a different decade from the Queen's reign.

Families were invited to join us for an afternoon of celebration. We had a picnic on the field followed by games and stalls. The children particularly enjoyed throwing wet sponges at the teachers! There was an ice cream van and music was provided by Mr Clark with lots of dancing.

We also held a red, white and blue baking competition and some children decorated hats to wear to school.

Lots of activities took place during Arts Week:

• Year R’s theme was fairy tales. The children enjoyed playing some drama games, pretending to be different characters. They listened to lots of music, learned to waltz and took part in a sketching activity during OWL.

• Year 1 learnt about printing as well as looking at leaves and drawing them. They also learnt to waltz in PE.

• Year 2 went for a walk to collect some leaves. They looked at the trees and felt the texture of the leaves and bark. They then selected some leaves to sketch. Using sketching pencils to make different lines, the children practised various techniques and parts of the leaves before choosing one leaf to sketch for their final piece! Back in class the children printed with the leaves and painted some targets to contribute to the carnival float.

After studying the work of Claude Monet, Year 2 practised the ‘tache’ technique made famous in his seascapes! The children mixed colours and built up their skills by looking at different parts of Monet’s paintings through a viewfinder and recreating them. They then produced their own masterpiece inspired by what they had learned!

Year 2 also learnt a sea shanty style dance in PE, first practising the actions a sailor would do.

• Year 3 studied an artist called Sarah Jameson who uses different media such as charcoal, pen and ink and graphite. The children practised using the different media to recreate her pieces. There were lots of inky fingers!

• Year 4 became actors and retold a traditional tale using drama. They used props and costumes to really become the characters. They also became composers, writing and performing their own music scores and used the artist Sarah Jameson as inspiration for practising sketching skills.

• Year 5 became composers. The children created a leitmotif to reflect a character from Cinderella. They learnt the names of the notes and played a Kahoot Quiz. They then composed their pieces and drew notes on the stave.

• Year 6 created ‘Wanted’ posters for Robin Hood and tea stained them.

We were joined by Dads, Grandads, Uncles and other father figures for breakfast.