DOWNLOADABLE NEWSLETTERS 28 March 1013 27 March 2013 15th February 2013 20th December 2012 26th October 2012 7th September 2012 20th July 2012 1st June 2012 Easter 2012 10th February 2012

Newsletters  

News and Events

Farewell to Staff

We are sorry to say ‘Goodbye’ to Miss Sunner this term as she completes her maternity cover for Mrs Hall.  She has made a wonderful contribution to life at the school during her time here and she will be especially missed by her class. We wish her well in her future career. We also say farewell to Mrs Blackwell who has worked at the school as a midday supervisor for 28 years.  Mrs Blackwell has made a significant contribution to the life of the school and although she will be sadly missed, she will continue to work in Kidsclub so many children will still see her there.

World Book Day

We celebrated World Book Day again this year and were amazed at the wonderful and varied costumes worn by not only the children but also the staff! Thank you to everyone who went to such effort to provide so many original costumes. We spent a lovely day sharing our favourite books and getting involved in lots of book related activities.

School Library

This term we have invested a considerable amount of time and resources to improve our school library. The School Council have helped in the design of the library and it is almost ready for us to use. We have purchased an online system for cataloguing the books and we hope that this will enable the children to search for books more easily and will assist in the loan and return of books. Please be patient while we move over to the new system which we plan to launch at the beginning of May.

Reading

We have updated our training and approach to teaching reading and have purchased a large number of books to supplement our reading scheme in addition to new books for the library. We hope that the children will love these new books and will be encouraged to read even more.

We request that children use their book bags for taking books to and from school and that they do not use their book bags for carrying water bottles and food. If you wish to purchase a new bag they are on sale at school for £3.85.

If you would like to find out more about how we teach reading please come along to our parents session on Wednesday 12^th June.

Comic Relief Day

We were very fortunate this year to have a coffee morning organised by many mums who not only baked some delicious cakes but also gave up their morning to host the event. The cake sale alone raised £152.80 and overall we were able to donate a huge £371.90 to this worthwhile cause. Our thanks go to everyone who helped to make this day such a success.

Mothering Sunday Service

Several of our Year 4 children attended the Mothering Sunday service this year and read some poems to the congregation. Thank you to the children who gave up their time to represent the school. 

Creative Arts Festival

Our Street dancing class put on a wonderful performance at Sharnbrook Upper school earlier this  month.  They had obviously practised hard and were a delight to watch!  Many thanks to Mrs Inge and her daughter for the costumes and to all the teachers who helped out on the night.

News from around the School

Foundation Stage News

We have had a busy half term. The children have enjoyed developing their physical gross motor skills by using the large apparatus. They enjoyed climbing the wall bars and swinging on the ropes as well as showing their imagination by moving in a variety of ways.

Our topic on the weather gave us the opportunity to think about all the different kinds of weather we experience. They especially loved being out in the snow.

We haven’t had the opportunity to plant our own vegetables due to the weather, but we are hoping to grow our own onions, potatoes and carrots after Easter when the weather is warmer. The children enjoyed planting their own sunflower seeds and are keen to compare how many leaves or how tall their plant has grown. The children enhanced their creative development by producing some very colourful ‘plastic bottle’ flowers, some of which are now on display.

We are pleased to welcome Mrs Hall back into the Foundation Stage, but we will be sad to say ‘goodbye’ to Miss Sunner. We wish her all the best in the future.

Key Stage 1 News

This half term has been short but also very busy. We started the half term making our sock puppets and learning how to write sets of instructions. From this the children wrote their own un-aided instructions on how to make delicious chocolate nests. We have been pleased by the progress children have made in their writing. In art children have been developing their drawing and printing skills. We have focused on famous landmarks in London, which they are now all very knowledgeable about. The children have been very imaginative in creating fire dances in small groups and have enjoyed using the ribbons and scarves. The children have been learning about what happens when materials are heated and cooled through practical investigations. 

Key Stage 2 News

During the remaining weeks of our topic the children completed their moving page about Antarctic animals in Design and Technology that incorporates pop-ups and lever mechanisms. In PE the children really enjoyed creating their own Ice and Fire dance working collaboratively in pairs and groups to invent their own motifs to tell a story of ice and fire. Our topic of Antarctica was rounded off by an exciting talk from Mrs Horseman, a relative of Shackleton’s team, which the children thoroughly enjoyed and asked lots of inquisitive questions at the end.  

The children have explored Australia in a mini topic during this short term. They have looked at different stories from other cultures focusing on Dreamtime stories which the children then used as inspiration to write their own Dreamtime story for their un-aided piece. In art the children have explored aboriginal artwork, looking at the colours used, the patterns and the animals, and have used this as a stimulus to create their own aboriginal artwork. We hope the children have an enjoyable Easter break and come back ready for another exciting topic .

Information Sessions for Parents

Internet Safety

We will be holding a session for parents and carers on Wednesday 1^st May at 7pm to raise awareness of how to keep your child safe online. Richard Denton is our guest speaker at this event and he will be available to answer your questions. Richard came to school last year to lead a session for parents and the feedback that we received was that it was very helpful and informative.

If you would like to attend please return your completed slip to the school office by Friday, 26th April. Thank you.

New Parents Evening

This will be held on Wednesday 15^th May - further details will be sent separately.

Reading

This year we have updated out training in teaching children to read and would like to give parents the opportunity to find out more about how you can help at home. We have arranged for our trainers Angela and Sarah from KRM Reading to lead a session on Wednesday 12^th June at 7pm.

If you would like to attend please return your completed slip to the school office by Friday, 7^th June.

Maths

We have arranged for Fran Watson who works with lower and upper schools in the North Bedfordshire area to come along to school on Monday 24^th June at 6.30pm to lead a session on how we teach calculation in school. This is a great opportunity to find out how you can help at home.

If you would like to attend please return your completed slip to the school office by Monday 10^th June. 

Open Classrooms

Come and see what your children have been doing

Open Classrooms for the whole school will be on:

Monday 29^th and Tuesday 30^th April

Thursday 6^th and Monday 10^th June

Monday 15^th July

INTERNET SAFETY EVENING – PLEASE REPLY BY FRIDAY 26 APRIL

I/We would like to attend the Internet Safety Evening on Wednesday 1^st May.

Child’s Name: _____________________________________  Class: __________________________

Signed: __________________________________________  Date: ___________________________

READING INFORMATION SESSION – PLEASE REPLY BY FRIDAY 7 JUNE

I/We would like to attend the Reading Session on Wednesday 12^th June.

Child’s Name: _____________________________________  Class: __________________________

Signed: __________________________________________  Date: ___________________________

MATHS EVENING – PLEASE REPLY BY MONDAY 10 JUNE

I /We would like to attend the Maths Evening on Monday 24^th June.

Child’s Name: _____________________________________  Class: __________________________

Signed: __________________________________________  Date: ___________________________

General Information

School Uniform

Thank you to parents who have helped us to ensure that children wear the correct uniform for school. We seek your co-operation in ensuring that all pupils adhere to the dress code. Not only do we aim for our pupils to look smart, but the wearing of sensible shoes, correct PE kit and the absence of jewellery ensures that children are dressed practically for the varied activities they are engaged in.

Please see attached list to enable you to ensure that your child has the correct Uniform.

Please note that we do allow children to wear grey knee length shorts or culottes in the summer however short shorts are not permitted.

Please send in orders to the School Office to be processed or you are welcome to come in personally to purchase items. School uniform order forms are available from the School Office or from the website www.oakleylowerschool.co.uk under the Prospectus section.

School Meals

The cost for hot dinners for the Summer Term is £135.30. For those parents who prefer to pay half termly, the cost from Tuesday 16 April to 24 May (excluding bank holiday Monday on 6 May) will be £54.70. The second half of term from Monday 3 June to 24 July is £77.90. Cheques should be made payable to CATERLINK. 

Could you also please make sure that all dinner money is sent into school in advance and in an envelope with your child’s full name and class on it as it is very difficult to keep track of loose coins. If your payment is to be split between two or more children please write this CLEARLY on the envelope.

Water Bottles

Please ensure that children have a clear water bottle that is refilled daily. These are available from the School Office for £1.10 and replacement lids are 30p.

Parking - Reminder

Please could I ask you to show courtesy and consideration when parking.

Please do not :-

• Park on the yellow zig zag lines on the road outside school on Station Road
• Park in Lincroft School car park
• Park or turn in our school gateway
• Block residents’ driveways

Year 4 Children Walking to and from School

During the summer term some parents request that their children walk to and from school by themselves. Please make sure that this request is put in writing and please remember that children should not arrive at school before 8.45 a.m. because there is no supervision before this time.

Missing Scooter

One of our children’s scooters went missing from outside the Conker room over a weekend. It is a black ‘Slaam’ model with very distinctive colourful graffiti markings on the foot deck and bright pink handle grips. If you think you see this scooter around the village, please could you let someone in the front office know. Thank you.

Wishing you a very Happy Easter break and I look forward to seeing the children back at school on Tuesday 16^th April.

Yours sincerely

Sarah Lovett

Headteacher

School Uniform

The colours of Oakley Lower School uniform are basically royal blue and grey.

Dates For Your Diary

Suggestions and Comments Feedback Form

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Year Group of Child: _____________________________

Comments: ________________________________________________________________

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