Oakridge Parochial School

Children enjoy China Day

Web Admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:19:51 +0000

The children at Oakridge all enjoyed learning about China today. A variety of activities were experienced by all of the children including paper cutting, food testing and a Chinese wake and shake. The school was also visited by Mr Song who talked to the children about the differences between his school in China and Oakridge. The staff would like to thank all of the parents who helped make the day such a success.

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Newsletter 8

School Administrator — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:48:59 +0000

Oakridge School Running Stars – is it the altitude training?

All our cross country runners in the Y3 and Y4 Stroud District finals on Wednesday were amazing. Their enthusiasm and efforts were noted by many. Our team was awarded two first and one second place medals – which for a very small school is such a fantastic achievement. We would like to give a special mention to Amy, Hester and Libby who apparently have been wearing their medals twenty four hours a day. However, we need to say a big well done to all runners and parents who have supported training. It is rumoured that training at altitude in Oakridge is the key to success.

Parent Questionnaire

At the end of Term 3 a parent questionnaire was sent to all families. To date six completed forms have been received. Your feedback is important to us. It helps to inform decision making and review current practice. It’s not too late, please return any forms to the box located in the reception area.

Governor Newsletter.

In order to further improve and enhance communication between families and the Governing Body an overview newsletter has been produced. The aim is to send out a similar document three times during the academic year. Your response to this publication would be much appreciated.

Celebrating China

A full and informative day is planned for next Tuesday. See the flyer sent out on Thursday for more details. If you would like to assist in the smooth running or have any artefacts or resources that could be used to support learning, please contact Carolyn to discuss this further. Any empty unwanted shoe boxes would also be appreciated to help in the making of our dragon – please bring them in on Tuesday morning.

World Book Day

Thursday 4th March is the annual World Book Day. Official World Book Day Tokens will be distributed to all pupils on that day and we plan to celebrate the occasion by coming to school dressed as your favourite book character and bringing a favourite book to share.

Cloak Hooks

Our cloakroom mayhem issue has been solved! Pupils, parents and staff were frustrated by the congestion and “sea of coats” that existed in our new cloakroom area. During the break a bespoke rack of hooks and shelving has been added aimed at giving a better storage solution. All within school are now working hard to keep the area tidy and functional.

Thank you to Mr Heath and associates who helped to resolve this issue.

Recycling

Mrs Warren would like to say thank you to all KS1 parents for responding so well to the recycling homework set. We found it really interesting and earned four glitzys!

Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter Egg Hunt will take place on Monday 29th March after school at The Village Hall. This year there will be one main craft activity to make and decorate a hat. Children may like to start collecting bits and pieces ready. Tickets costing £2.50 can be purchased for this event from Caroline Priestley or Kim at the shop. See Mrs Priestley for further information.

Celebrating China Day – Tuesday 2nd March 2010.

School Administrator — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:12:27 +0000

In order to further enhance our understanding of other cultures we will be spending the day exploring the traditions and celebrating Chinese culture. During the day our pupils will experience a number of practical workshops including calligraphy, paper cutting and cooking. We look forward to welcoming Mr Song who will be joining us for the morning. Mr Song is a visiting teacher from China, currently working in a Gloucestershire secondary school.On the day your child/children will need to bring an old apron or shirt to protect their clothes when taking part in the art activities.

All staff are excited about sharing the artefacts we have collected. If any children/parents would like to do the same please bring them in on the morning.

KS1 Trip to Oxford

School Administrator — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:30:04 +0000

On Friday 5th March as part of their studies of ‘dinosaurs’ the KS1 and Foundation Stage children will be visiting The Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The coach will leave school at 9.15 am and return by approximately 3.15 pm. The children will be taking part in a ‘Dinosaurs and Fossils’ session and have time to look round the museum. They will need to take a packed lunch in a small back pack, wear suitable footwear and take a raincoat although everything is undercover. There is no charge for entry to the museum. On this occasion we are asking for a voluntary contribution of £10.00 per pupil towards the cost of the coach and school will fund the remainder. Please ask Carolyn for a permission slip and return to the school office by Monday 1st March.

Newsletter 7

School Administrator — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:37:06 +0000

Helping Haiti.

We are very pleased to announce that our school raised a total of £135.89 to help children in Haiti. Well done and thank you to all who supported this event. All monies have been sent to UNISEF.

Run Oakridge Run.

Congratulations to all the pupils in Key Stage 2 who took place in the first Cross Country race at Marling School last Friday. We are very proud of all our runners and wish to give a special mention to our medal winners this time Hester, Amy and Libby.The next dates for diaries are Wednesday 24th February for the Y3/4 championships and Friday 26th February for the Y5/6 championships both to be held after school at Stratford Park Leisure Centre.

Storymaking project.

Has your child told you the story of The Little Red Hen yet?

Staff have been inspired after attending the first of a series of professional development sessions run by Pie Corbett at a primary local school. We feel that the children have been inspired too, so why not ask your child / children to tell you a story. We’d love to hear your feedback.

Links with Holy Trinity School, Camden.

The Key Stage 2 class have started to communicate with the Year 5 class at the above school. We are all very excited about the prospect of linking up and learning about the similarities and differences between our schools. We plan to use a range of ICT in order to get to know each school and already have a provisional date in the diary for the class from Camden to visit us.

Watch this space.

Violin lessons.

There have been a couple of requests regarding violin lessons. If your child would be interested in taking up this instrument please could you register your interest with Carolyn.

Celebrating China – a date for next term.

As part of our learning about other cultures and festivals, we plan to hold a Celebrating China day on Tuesday 2nd March. If you would like to assist in running a workshop please let myself or Carolyn know.

Achievement Worship.

There will be an achievement worship held in church this Friday 12th February at 9.10am.

This term has moved at a rapid pace. Let’s hope we have seen the last of the snow for a while. We look forward to the start of Term 4 on Monday 22nd February.

Birthdays this month – February.

Oli (KS1) – 7 on 12th

Florrie – 6 on 12th

Harry – 7 on 15th

Hannah – 9 on 21st

Alban – 11 on 26th

Proposed KS2 Residential Trip

School Administrator — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:49:51 +0000

We are writing to inform you of a proposed KS2 residential visit in July this year. Our plans are to take the KS2 pupils to Court Farm near Ross-On-Wye. This centre, run by PGL, is the location used in our 2008 residential. During our visit we were particularly impressed by the expertise and professionalism of the instructional staff and group leaders. The pupils who participated in 2008 thoroughly enjoyed the experience and those still with us have requested that we return there. We would ensure that the range of activities would be different to those chosen last time. A provisional booking has been made to stay in the main complex on

Wednesday 14th July – Friday 16th July (3 days / 2 nights)

The cost of the PGL visit including accommodation and activities etc is £167.00 per pupil and the total cost of the coach to and from Court Farm is approximately £340. The Oakridge Parochial School Charitable Trust will subsidise these costs by paying for the cost of the coach so on this occasion we will be asking for a contribution of £167.00 per pupil. In order to proceed with the booking we need to confirm numbers by Friday 12th February. Please complete the form available from Carolyn and return to the school office as soon as possible, no later than Friday 12th February.

Election of Parent Governor

School Administrator — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:38:41 +0000

I am pleased to inform you of the result of our election for parent governor.

Elected: Mrs Lisa Channing

We would like to thank those who put their names forward and we are sorry that there were insufficient places for all those interested this time. Details of the actual number of votes cast can be obtained on request from the school office.If you would like to be considered in another capacity as one of our school governors at a later date, please either contact the chair of governors or let me know. There may also be vacancies in other schools in the area, and if you would like to be considered as a school governor elsewhere, I know Gloucestershire Governor Services will be pleased to hear from you.

Thank you once again for your interest.

Yours sincerely

Lisa Austin-Harrison

Headteacher

Newsletter 6

School Administrator — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:50:17 +0000

Helping Haiti.

At the request of our children a meeting of the Pupil Council was held to discuss ways in which the school could help raise money to support the children suffering in the earthquake that hit Haiti. It was decided that a non uniform day would be held on Thursday 28^thJanuary. Pupils are asked to pay £1 and to come to school in non uniform clothes with pink or yellow being the theme. All money collected will be sent to Unisef whose work specifically supports children and young people.

On Friday the pupils in Key Stage 2 wrote some thoughtful and supportive prayers for the children in Haiti. They are all on display in the entrance hall for everyone to read. Some pupils also made collection boxes for homework. Any extra contributions will be sent to Unisef on Friday.

PE for Terms 5 and 6 – advance notice.

The facilities at Cirencester Leisure Centre have been booked to provide PE and swimming provision for ten weeks starting Wednesday 21st April. Ten afternoon sessions have been booked for the whole school. All pupils will travel to and from the centre by coach. This year the swimming slot allocated is at a slightly later time and we envisage that the coach should arrive back at school by 3.30pm.

PE for Class 1.

Due to the snowy weather we have been unable to take our pupils to Miserden in order to use the PE facilities in the school hall. We hope to take all the pupils in Class 1 to Miserden School for PE this Wednesday 27th January and the remaining Wednesday afternoons in Term 3.

Primary Schools Cross Country.

The second event (the first one had to be cancelled) of the primary schools cross country calendar will now take place on Friday 5th February. The venue for this event will be Marling School with the first race for Y3/4 girls starting promptly at 4.15pm. In total there will be four races 1.Y3/4 girls, 2.Y3/4 boys, 3. Y5/6 girls and 4.Y5/6 boys. If your child / children are interested in taking part please could you inform Carolyn or myself by the end of this week.

Oakridge School Association.

The new date for meeting is Tuesday 2nd February 7.45pm at school. All welcome.

School Travel Plan.

The school is currently working with an adviser from the County to develop a School Travel Plan which when approved will entitle us to a small grant. The issues raised from the parent travel survey sent out last June will be considered. However, if you have any further comments about travel related to school please do not hesitate to speak to myself or Mrs Wynter.

With all best regards

Lisa Austin-Harrison

Our value for this term is

TRUST

Class 1 PE – Wednesday 20th January 2010

Lisa Austin-Harrison — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:29:08 +0000

Unfortunately, the visit to Miserden School to use the PE facilities is cancelled this week. Visits will start from next Wednesday 27th January.

Governor Vacancy

Lisa Austin-Harrison — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:12:18 +0000

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

We have a vacancy for a parent governor which we need to fill as soon as possible. Oakridge Parochial School has always aimed for a partnership with parents which undoubtedly brings great benefits to the children. One of the most significant ways you can help in promoting this aim is to volunteer to be a parent governor. The governing body’s main tasks are to support the school, ensure that pupils receive high quality education and plan for future development and improvement.

Parent governors are welcomed as valued members of the team and play a vital role in the successful working of a governing body.

We feel sure that there are parents prepared to take on this important role and give their time and commitment to helping us to continue to improve the school’s performance.

If you are interested in becoming a governor, contact the school office with your nomination (Self nomination is acceptable), which will need to be with the school by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 20th January 2010. (Please obtain your nominees consent)

The guidelines giving full details about how vacancies are filled can be obtained from the school office. You might also like to look at the information for prospective governors on the Gloucestershire County Council website . Please note that for the protection of children all governor appointments are subject to a vetting process and identity check.

If there are more nominations than vacancies, an election will be held on Friday 29th January 2010 and you will be sent a voting paper. You may return the ballot paper either via your child or by post.

You may download the nomination form from the link below.
Nomination form

Yours sincerely

Lisa Austin-Harrison