Welcome to our class
We’re daring and determined, quick and strong.
We face every challenge head-on!
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling
This week, we have held a French week. Each year group has been learning about the geography of France, famous people and replicating works by French artists. Lower school have built models of some of France’s most iconic landmarks. Today we opened a French café, which was run by the Year 6 pupils. All children attended and were able to place an order in French and enjoy a French snack et boisson!
To finish off the week, the French Ambassadors performed a short play, ‘Le Navet Geant’ to the rest of the school. Bon travail, tous le monde!
Our theme for Arts Week this year is Diversity. On Monday, we went on a trip to Harrogate Theatre. We had a tour of the theatre and found out some interesting facts about shows and how theatre is run. Then, we took part in a visual impairment workshop and learned about using audio description to describe things that others might not be able to see.
We have also taken part in a dance workshop lead by a visitor from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. We thought about how we can use movement to communicate with others.
For our Art project, Year 5 have been creating our own self-portraits inspired by Freida Kahlo. We surrounded our self-portrait with objects and words that are important to us. We used iPads to create a Pic Collage then drew these onto a canvas. Then, we used watercolour paints, pastels and poster paint to add colour.
Tigers class enjoyed taking part in a diving talent search program called “Little Rippers”. It is run by Harrogate District Diving Club, in partnership with Harrogate Borough Council and Swim England Diving designed to unearth Harrogate’s next generation of Olympians. The Little Rippers Talent Search is a school based Talent Identification programme for the Olympic sport of diving, with the aim of testing as many children as possible from Primary Schools across the Harrogate District.
Today we began to read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle linking to our new Sci-Fi English topic. Here's a bit more about the book: A Wrinkle in Time is the story of Meg Murry, a high-school-aged girl who is transported on an adventure through time and space with her younger brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O'Keefe to rescue her father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.
I just wanted to wish all the children and their families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and a thank you to all of you that gave me a gift or a card, it is much appreciated!
Mr Moore
On Tuesday many of you joined us for our annual concert at St Mark’s; it was a fantastic evening and we are proud of the children at Oatlands for their musical talents. The children in the Arts Committee spoke confidently as they shared their Christmas wishes and we were entertained by the audience participation on The Twelve Days of Christmas.
Thank you to all those who donated to our charity – Martin House Hospice - during the collection. We received a generous £529.16 – thank you!
Last Friday’s cake sale was a huge success; the stall was wiped clean and we saw lots of you leaving for the weekend with bags filled with goodies! Toby and his supporters raised a fantastic £140.33, all of which will be donated to JDRF, a type one diabetes research charity.
Well done to Toby for his great idea and the parents who helped to organise the event. A big thank you to the pupils in Year 5 and 6 who donated the cakes.
On Monday 3rd December the children from Year 5 and 6 welcomed Grandparents and relatives to a World War 2 Tea Party to share experiences and artefacts with the children. Some adults brought in artefacts like: ration books, medals, telegrams and badges. Once the stories had been shared, everyone got the opportunity to try some of the WW2 recipes the children had made using a weekly ration allowance. The children were really creative with their ideas and brought in things like: chocolate potato cake, scones, elderflower jelly, oat biscuits and carrot cookies. After the children had eaten their food, they went into the hall to sing some songs from the era. They sang ‘We’ll meet again’ and ‘Run Rabbit’, singing these songs brought back lots of memories for all of the visitors.
Today, Friday 26th October, a fantastic, musical-theatre inspired House Event took place. Each of the four houses entered a comedy act, a dramatic performance, a song and a dance. The standards were incredibly high and our three judges: Mrs Wilkinson; Mrs Gerry and Miss Barratt had a difficult decision to make when it came to the scores. They each awarded a score out of 10 to the acts, giving a maximum of 30 house points to each act. The Green House were unfortunately unable to enter their comedy act.
The scores were as follows:
Red Kites |
Blue Jays |
Yellow Hammers |
Green Kingfishers |
91 |
88 |
89 |
70 |
A great big ‘well done’ to all the children who entered – they had a huge audience and we were all thoroughly entertained!
We have had a lovely morning celebrating the homework from this half term. I have been amazed by the quality and creativity of some of the homework. Pictured are some of the super models that were created. Well done everybody and thank you to all of the adults who have supported their children with the homework.
Our new class book is Good Night Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian, linking nicely to our WWII history topic.
Here's a little more about the book:
Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of the Second World War. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley - but his new-found happiness is shattered by a summons from his mother back in London . . .
Our current class book is The French Confection by Anthony Horowitz.
The hard-up Diamond Brothers win a weekend for two in Paris, but as soon as they arrive, they find themselves in danger. There's a nasty smell in the air and it's not the cheese. If Nick and Tim aren't careful, their dream holiday could end up being a nightmare from which they'll never wake up.
Anthony Horowitz is the creator of the phenomenal Alex Rider books and the bestselling Power of Five series. He won the 2006 British Book Awards Red House Children's Book of the Year for Ark Angeland the 2003 Red House Children's Book of the Year Award for Skeleton Key. Anthony also writes extensively for TV, with credits including Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War. He lives in north London with his family.
Well done to all the children in the class who gave speeches for our pupil voice groups. The following children were elected:
School Councillors - Seth and Georgia
Eco-Committee - Lilidh
French Ambassadors - Ava and Padraig
Sports Crew - Tom and Winnie
Librarians - Toby and Izzy
Digital Leaders - Noah and Leila
Arts Committee - Anthony and Charlotte
We have PE on Monday and Friday so please have your full PE kit in school.
Our library session is on a Tuesday. Please remember to bring your book to school every Tuesday so it can be changed for a new one.
Weekly spellings are tested on a Friday and please remember to record reading and sign homework diaries. Thank you for your cooperation.