Oak
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Blog 2024-2025
Spring Term 2
After a joyous Easter service, with the sun shining, it is time to reflect on another half term with the wonderful children in Oak Class! They really are a pleasure to work with and are supportive and kind with each other. I think some of the photos show this. It is always great to get the children up to the board to explain their understanding to their friends, and a good way for them to consolidate their own learning.
We have completed our work on fractions, decimals and percentages and will continue to consolidate this, as it is such a big part of the maths work in UKS2. We have learnt about ratio and now starting work on angles.
In English, we have been reading ‘Pax’ by Sara Pennypacker, as well as using different genres of texts in Guided Reading lessons. We really enjoyed ‘World Book Day’ and the ‘mystery reader’ visitors. The children are becoming more proficient proof-readers, checking written work carefully, ensuring they are producing work of which they can be proud. We used a short film clip to prompt the writing of a mystery story and have also written a set of instructions for a topic chosen individually by each child. The themes were very varied, from recipes to carving a wooden spoon and making tea fit for a king! We are now in the process of writing a ‘Pourquoi’ story, based on the workshop we attended virtually, hosted by the British Library. Some of these stories will be entered into a competition – details to follow. The children found the wonderful Michael Rosen incredibly inspiring. Similarly, working with the author Luke Aylen was a real inspiration and our budding young writers responded so enthusiastically to what they learnt.
In R.E. we have focused on the Christian faith and the key question, ‘What did Jesus do to save human beings?’ We have used artwork to explore this question and learnt more about the significance of Holy Communion to Christians. It is important that we understand the diversity that exists within religions too, so we have talked about how Holy Communion services may differ in different places of Christian worship. Finally, we have reflected on the question of Jesus’ sacrifice, and sacrifice in general and what this means in today’s world.
Our topic work has been based around the Maya Civilisation. We enjoyed learning from each other, as the homework projects were presented. These were amazing, as always. We learnt about different temples, the sacrifices that were made, the food the Maya ate (and enjoyed some delicious homemade guacamole). We have learnt the Maya worshipped different gods and enjoyed telling stories. In class, we have learnt about the geography of this civilisation and what makes the Maya such an important part of world history, with their writing and number systems and calendars, for example.
There have been numerous learning opportunities outside the classroom. Many of our children have taken part in sporting events at The Purbeck School. Mr Kelly has reported back every time on the children’s positive attitude and team spirit. It was also a great opportunity for four of our Y6 children to experience maths at The Swanage School, where they took part in a competition against other local schools. The children also worked well together on planting the trees that we can see in the school field opposite our classroom – it looks like they worked really hard!
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and are able to enjoy this lovely sunny weather and we return refreshed for the start of the summer term!
Spring Term 1
We’ve had a very productive half term, with lots of great learning.
In Maths, we have worked on the following areas: Calculations with fractions, area, perimeter and volume and we have now turned our attention back to decimals, where we are rounding numbers and performing different calculations. We have found again how much we need to draw on our knowledge of times tables. All the extra practice done at home on Times Tables Rockstars, or simply quizzing the children to test their mental maths, will really support them with their maths work.
We have loved our shared reading in class and were very happy with the conclusion to ‘Varjak Paw’. Our Guided Reading lessons have allowed us to explore different genres of short texts, which all contributes to building up our knowledge for our writing. We have enjoyed writing a mystery story this half term, where I observed improved editing skills, which is vital in UKS2. We learn our spelling and grammar in different ways, and talk about this in our lessons. We had a lively ‘Kahoot’ grammar session today, which the children love, and it is a good way to check our understanding of grammar and punctuation.
In Humanities, we have compared Poole with Newfoundland and have worked on our geography skills. We had a fantastic trip to Leeson House to practise map-reading and compass skills, which complemented the work we have done in class. It was also just lovely to see the children all working together well outdoors, running around happily whilst completing the tasks they had been set.
Our work in French has allowed us to revise sentence structure with adjectives, whilst learning new vocabulary on the topic of ‘Vêtements’ (clothes). We have also looked at the conjugation of the verb ‘porter’. Our lessons have been interactive again, with the opportunity for plenty of speaking work.
We always love PSHE in Oak Class, as we enjoy talking about real-life situations. We have discussed situations relating to bullying, online safety and vaping.
In Science this half term, Oak class have been looking at how scientists categorise animals and plants using different classification systems. We have looked at the Linnaean system, branching keys and number key classification. We made our own mini documentaries about birds and have used our knowledge of classification to write an explanation text in English. We also conducted an experiment looking at what micro-organisms were on bread and monitored how the bread changed over a couple of weeks.
We would all like to thank Mrs White, who joined us this half term from Swanage Primary. She has worked very hard with the children and we all really appreciate everything she has done for the class.
Autumn Term 2
This half term seems to have really flown by, and already we are performing at our Christmas service! It has been wonderful working with such motivated, polite children and we have had another great seven weeks of learning.
Our focus in maths has been on fractions and we have improved our skills of adding, subtracting, simplifying and converting between improper and mixed numbers. The atmosphere in class is very supportive and I have been impressed with the way children have worked together and modelled answers on the board, acting as the teacher. We enjoy our daily arithmetic sessions too and are working hard on these key skills. Times Tables Rockstars is spoken about very positively by the children and any time they can spend on this helps them consolidate their learning, where we are aiming for greater speed and accuracy with any questions that draw on times tables facts.
In English, we continue to show our improving knowledge of grammar and spelling in our own written work and have completed a narrative and non-chronological report recently. We have looked at different ways of learning spellings, but one of the best ways is to keep reading and we have a real love of books in Oak. I hope the children will enjoy quiet time over the holidays to immerse themselves into a good book.
Our history lessons have focused on the Anglo-Saxons and we enjoyed hearing all about the projects in the first few weeks, which have made for a wonderful, diverse display on our topic table. The children have been asking about the next project, so perhaps this will be a regular feature!
RE lessons in Oak are always very interesting, as the children ask philosophical questions and we delve deeply into our ‘key questions’. We have studied the ways Jesus is viewed by Jews and Christians, using Bible texts to learn why he is the ‘Messiah’ to Christians and what this means to Christians today.
Oak have enjoyed taking part in a mixture of games, dance and gymnastics this term in PE. In gymnastics, they focused on counter balances and worked in partners to create a sequence of movements, displaying excellence and precision of skills. In dance, Oak focused on the theme ‘Street Art’. They worked first individually to create a tag, which displayed a variety of heights and turns, then in a group, using cannons to perform their finished piece to the class. Mrs Legg has been very impressed with Oak during these lessons!
In Science, we have explored the Earth and Space, learning about the cycles of the moon and the different planets in the solar system. The children were so interested in many aspects of this topic that we could have spent hours and hours on this!
Many of the children have experienced different sporting events on Thursday afternoons with Mr Kelly, and the most recent one, athletics at The Purbeck School, showed another display of outstanding resilience and teamwork – well done to all the children.
Autumn Term 1
We have had a fantastic start to the year in Year 5/6 with lots of great learning and a real variety of activities taking place. We have been lucky to have had two trips, one to the farm with ‘Wessex Wild’ to learn more about where our food comes from and our local history trip to Saxon Wareham.
We have been working incredibly hard in maths, with a focus on Place Value, Addition & Subtraction and Multiplication. Times tables skills are vital and our weekly test focuses on instant recall to answer as many questions as possible in a short time. It has been lovely to hear the children talking about how they learn and practise their number skills. Maths lessons have been particularly enjoyable and I am impressed with the way the children use the correct mathematical vocabulary and support each other when working on reasoning and problem-solving questions.
We started the year with Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, adapted for this age group and this was met with such positive comments – how fantastic to hear children say they ‘love Shakespeare’ as this age! We enjoyed using the BBC video clips to help us understand the meaning of the play, which led to some good writing – Lady Macbeth’s diary about her letter from her husband and a newspaper report after the murder of King Duncan. Again, I have been impressed by the enthusiastic attitude towards writing, where the children have used different resources to help improve their level of English.
The wonderful book ‘Varjak Paw’ has been a very popular choice for our class reader and has inspired us to write our own short story about an animal.
We began our first topic of the year with some fantastic project work the children completed over the summer to help them learn more about the Vikings. We have since learnt about how and why the Vikings raided, what Alfred the Great achieved and what the Vikings believed in. We are looking forward to using the knowledge gained from our trip to Wareham when we start learning about the Anglo-Saxons in Autumn 2.
R.E. lessons have allowed the children to consider differing views of Creation and whether the religious and scientific opinions can complement each other, or if they are in conflict. Our final piece of work on this question has allowed us to demonstrate our view and understanding through art.
In French, we have been revisiting language used to describe ourselves, looking at adjectives and writing sentences using conjunctions and the correct word order. We have enjoyed our Wednesday afternoons – gymnastics with Mrs Legg, then French back in our class.
Oak Class have really enjoyed Forest School. The children have relayed their activities to me with great enthusiasm: den-building, tent peg making, whittling, building rafts, making camp fires, then cooking apples from the orchard and toasting marshmallows on the fires.
Well done to you all, lovely Oak Class! We will look forward to another busy half term in November.
2023 - 2024
Summer Term 2
As we approach the final week of term, it is a wonderful time to reflect upon how well all of the children in Oak class have done this year. Naturally, the focus will be on Year 6, in the final Leaver’s Worship, but it is important to remember the achievements of the Year 5 children as well. They have been an important part of the success of Year 6, with their many contributions to lessons, as well as contributing to the positive attitude to learning within the class. This is why, during the service, they will have their moments with the Year 6 as they have all worked so hard as a team this year.
This final term has been extremely busy with many positive learning experiences for all of the children to remember. Year 6 can look back on their wonderful Leaver’s Worships at both Salisbury Cathedral and St Mary’s Church (with other schools from the Purbeck area). During these worships, the children reflected upon the people that have supported them, during their time at St George’s, and looked to the future thinking about their transition to their secondary schools. These experiences were extremely valuable and hopefully will contribute to a smooth transition to their new schools.
PGL was a highlight of the year and the children had a wonderful experience there. It was so wonderful to see so many of the children come out of their comfort zone, when attempting the activities, and there was much fun had. Highlights include the Dragon Boat races, in Portland Harbour (well done Yellow team!) as well as the climbing and Aeroball. It looked so much fun-even I had a go! The children were amazing and it was such a positive experience for everyone!
The Leaver’s worship will be the last time for the Year 6 children to demonstrate their talents and show just how brilliant they are. I am very much looking forward to celebrating their achievements with you and I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and the best of luck on the next step of their learning journey – well done Oak class!
Oak Class Summer Term 2 2024
Summer Term 1
To begin with, I would like to say how impressed I am with both the Year 6 and Year 5 children of Oak class. During SATs week, every member of Year 6 tried their very best and did not stop working from the moment they started the tests to the very end of the tests. It was so wonderful to observe how committed they are to their learning and wanting to succeed. Regarding Year 5, their behaviour throughout the week was brilliant and they were super role models for the younger children. I can see many of them becoming House Captains, Vice-Captains and School Councillors next year and doing a fantastic job!
It has not all been about preparation for the tests this term. In Science, the children have been learning about light and how it travels. They have had the opportunity to conduct experiments and they thoroughly enjoyed making periscopes with mirrors. It was so wonderful watching them crouch down below the tables and giggle as they watched their classmates during lessons. In Computer Science, the children have been developing their programming skills using the fabulous BBC Micro:Bits. These are fabulous robot-like machines that have temperature gauges, accelerometers, microphones and speakers. The children are learning how to program variables in order for the Micro:Bits to count up and down. They children enjoyed making a fortune telling programme that they could ask a question of and then it gave them a yes or no answer!
In DT, the children finished their Islamic tiles and they look wonderful. The patterns are amazing and the colours bright and cheerful. They really fulfilled the brief of designing in the Islamic style. In RE, the children have been learning about the Birmingham Qur’an and its importance to the Islamic community there. They have learnt about its history and how Moslems demonstrate respect for this important document.
This half-term has seen a welcome return of the maypole to St George’s. Oak class have been working hard on learning their maypole dances and they are really looking forward to showing their parents this traditional activity that even I remember completing at Junior school!
As the Year 6 look towards then end of their journey at St George’s, it is only appropriate to say that they have been a wonderful cohort and I am very much looking forward to completing lots of fun activities with them before they head off on the next stage of their learning journey- well done Oak class!
Mr Paxton
Oak Class Summer Term 1 2024
Spring Term 2
As we head towards the Easter break, it is wonderful to reflect upon all of the wonderful learning opportunities that Oak class have accessed this term. To begin with, we were given the opportunity to watch the Swanage School perform the Matilda musical at the Mowlem theatre. What a wonderful production this was and a complete inspiration for the Year 6 children going to the Swanage School this year. I do hope to see some former pupils in next year’s production and hope that they perform as well! Continuing with the out of class learning opportunities, Wild Wessex very kindly invited us to their farm to talk about all of the wonderful work that they do. You can tell by the way they delivered their talk how much they care for their animals and it was a delight to visit the barn and watch the newly born calves. The children loved the visit and learnt so much about both farming and the natural environment.
This term Oak class have been studying the Golden Age of Islam and found out about the philosophers, artists, scientists and mathematicians that contributed so much to present day thinking. They were astounded to find out that our present day number system was invented at this time as well as the important work of the doctors who invented many of the modern surgical instruments that we have today. Exploring Islamic art, the children were inspired to complete geometric, vegetal and ornate Arabic writing designs and then use these designs to make a tile. These have turned out wonderfully and it was a great way to complete the Golden Age of Islam topic.
In RE, the children focussed on the importance of Easter to Christians. It is always a joy to me to hear the deeper thinking of Year 5 and 6 children as they explore the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. They really grasped the deeper theological questions and concepts and were able to relate Jesus’ sacrifice to Christian lives today. On the subject of RE, the Journey Day was a wonderful opportunity to watch the older children engage with the younger members of our community and they did a great job of nurturing and supporting their learning throughout the day. It is during these moments that I realise just how special a small village school can be and you can all be justly proud of your children’s achievements this term.
Oak Class Spring Term 2 2024
Spring Term 1
As we move towards the halfway point of the academic year, it is always good to reflect on the children’ learning journey and notice the huge improvements they have made. The children have a real sense of pride in the presentation of their work, in their books, and they are always eager to demonstrate what they have learnt. This has been shown in their balanced argument writing which began with the children researching the implications of deforestation, in the Amazon rainforest, and led to a wonderful whole class debate where the children put forward arguments from the Brazilian government, the indigenous people and the logging companies amongst others. This debate really got to the heart of the issues and this was reflected in their wonderful balanced arguments. Leading on from this, the children researched the potential impact of building a dam on the Amazon river and then planned and wrote a balanced argument on the implications. This produced wonderful work and demonstrated the maturity of the children’s writing.
As we look forward to warmer days, the children have already had the opportunity to complete work on the Oak class balcony. This is a fabulous resource that allows the children to complete their activities in the fresh air. I would, once again, thank the PTA for providing the parasols for the tables for these activities to take place. Further outdoor learning, this half-term, has included the visit to Salisbury Cathedral which was a wonderful learning opportunity. The children were amazed by the sheer scale of the building and thoroughly enjoyed learning about different parts of a cathedral (such as the font, the altar and the choir stalls). The spirituality workshops allowed the children to reflect and the stained glass window activity allowed the children to demonstrate their creativity. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day! The Wessex Water Education Team visited the school and the children learnt about the company’s role in ensuring clean water provision. The children had the opportunity to complete a model, linking pipes to buildings in a grid, and worked well together to do so.
Learning about the Americas, in our Geography topic, the children researched the countries of both North and South America – placing these on a map. They explored the 50 states of the United States of America and researched information about a chosen South American country. The children really enjoyed researching and drawing famous American building and then chose one of these building to build in Design and Technology using a variety of materials.
As the children continue on their learning journey, it is wonderful to see all of the wonderful opportunities that the school provides to fulfil its commitment to allow the children to ‘Live Learning: Love Learning’. Looking at the calendar for next half-term, I can already see that we have planned an art workshop and a maths visit to the Swanage School amongst many other activities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, once again, for supporting your children’s learning and I very much look forward to next half-term’s opportunities!
Oak Class Spring Term 1 2024
Autumn Term 2
I have been really impressed with how hard the children in Oak class have worked this term. The World War Two topic has been particularly special and I have been amazed by the quality of the home learning: propaganda posters, cooking using World War Two rations and research into the ‘Funnies Tanks’ deployed on D Day. The creativity and imagination used in these tasks was amazing and we all enjoyed sharing them! For the last two weeks of term, the children have been reflecting on just how terrible war is. We completed a visit to St George’s church which inspired us to create war memorials on the nature trail. The children followed this up by reading ‘Remembrance’ poems and planned and wrote their own poems. The children also thoroughly enjoyed the whole class reading books during this topic, particularly the diaries of Anne Frank and Flossie Albright. I know that some children enjoyed them so much that they have put in a special request to Santa to receive them for Christmas!
Another highlight of this term has been the visits of Mr Keys, from the Dorset Music Service, to teach the children how to programme music on a Digital Audio Workstation. The children took on board all of the programming techniques and composed fabulous electronic musical pieces. They learnt about pitch, adding a vocal track and programming a backing track for a video. The range of compositions was amazing and the children produced work that they can be really proud of!
The school were very fortunate to receive 30 Micro:Bit robots from the BBC. These are a fantastic resource for programming and the children can programme them to complete a variety of tasks such as: rolling a dice, programme a rolling script and changing symbols. Oak class were the first class to trial them and they thoroughly enjoyed following the programming and watching the robots complete the activities. A big thank you to Mrs Astle for ensuring that we received this wonderful resource!
Our PSHE lessons this half term have focused on 'Valuing Differences'. We have talked about respecting others, not judging and the importance of tolerance and respect in the diverse society in which we live. The children are always encouraged to share their learning with you, where we hope these discussions can continue.
Autumn Term 1
The children have settled really well into Oak class this half-term and have completed fabulous learning! On Tuesday afternoons, Mr Keys (from the Dorset Music Service) has been teaching the children to programme music using a Digital Audio Workstation. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning this programming and are beginning to programme their own musical compositions using the techniques that they have learnt.
Learning about World War Two this half-term, the children had the opportunity to visit the Bovington Tank Museum and learnt so much about life on the Home Front. They heard about the life of an Air Raid Warden together with how the Women’s Land Army supported the production of food (which was in very short supply). Completing the replica shop activity, they found out about how little each person had as a ration together with what domestic life was like without the assistance of modern appliances. During the afternoon, they children explored the museum in smaller groups and it was wonderful to observe how engaged they were with their learning!
This term we have been reading War Diary, by Marcia Williams, about a young girl (called Flossie Albright) who lived on an estate near Dorchester. It is a beautifully illustrated diary about the life of a young girl during World War Two. The children have used it as an inspiration to write wonderful letters that are written in the style of the young girl together with illustrations. Such wonderful work!
As we head towards the half-term break, it only remains to thank you for supporting your child’s learning- the home learning has been amazing and I am very much looking forward to the Autumn 2 term!
Oak Class Autumn Term 1 2023
