Year 6 Forest School Junior Science Competition
On Wednesday 6 February a team of Year 6 pupils went to the Forest Junior School’s Science Competition. Their challenges began with ‘Detective work’, matching chemical solutions to those left at a crime scene. Secondly they were asked to design a burglar alarm using electrical circuits, sponge and tin foil. Finally they identified and drew samples from slides, using microscopes and hand lenses.
The afternoon finished with exciting demonstrations in the Forest Dining Hall, including exploding balloons and a Science teacher setting light to his tie! The Oaklands team performed well in all of their challenges and were each awarded a certificate.
Well done to Charlotte, Isabelle, Ava and Olivia.
Year 2 Stratford and East London Festival
6.30am on a Monday morning in January- fling back the curtains and - SNOW! Please! No! Not today! Because, today, Year 2 are competing in the Stratford and East London Music Festival. A first for Oaklands School.
As the snow continues to fall, the children begin to arrive - slowly, one by one... Lunchtime and we are ready to leave for St Mary’s Church, South Woodford and we are only seven ‘men’ down! On the coach, the children are excited and nervous and ready to do their best.
At the Church we meet three other schools, all looking like veterans of the Festival and we settle to listen and wait for our turn. Now it’s time - Mrs Rathbone is smiling and encouraging us and we are off: “My Paddle’s keen and bright... Land of the Silver Birch... The School Rule Song... and then it’s done. Have we impressed the judge?
Once everyone has sung, Mr Bill Ives, the adjudicator stands and delivers his verdict - “very lively, intricate part singing, smiling faces”... and... no, we did not win. To be honest, we are all disappointed after working so hard, but there can only be one winner and this time it was someone else’s turn.
Despite no cup, we were awarded a Merit Certificate with a score of 84% - not bad for first timers and Oaklands will definitely be there next time - preferably without snow!
Year 4 Visit to the Globe Theatre
On Friday 23 November Ms Zaidi and Mrs Norris accompanied Year 4 to the Globe Theatre on the South Bank.
This was a thrilling experience for the children as they actually stood on that world famous stage and uttered, “We are such stuff as dreams are made of”. We then went to a rehearsal studio with one of the actors for an hour longworkshop on “The Tempest”. All the children threw themselves into the exercises with energy and real enthusiasm. After the picnic lunch we walked across the Millenium Bridge in brilliant sunshine and looked at various landmarks - St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tate Modern, the City of London School, the Gherkin, and watched boats on the Thames, discussing the river’s fast moving tide. On the way home in the coach the children reckoned it had been “the best trip ever” - we agreed! The memory of the day will stay with the children for a very long time.
Year 6 Trip to British Museum
"We went to the British Museum by train to learn more about Aztecs. We spent some time investigating artefacts in the Mexico room. Later we pretended we were Spanish conquistadors and had to find evidence about the Aztecs so we could tell King Charles whether or not to invade and make the Aztec world part of the Spanish Empire. That was followed by a good ten minutes in the gift shop before returning to Loughton Station. An excellent day for everyone."
Year 6 Pupil
Choir Trip to Royal Albert Hall
On 6th November, Oaklands School Choir joined with 1500 other pupils to perform in the Royal Albert Hall. The concert was in aid of the Barnardo’s Charity and an audience of over 5,000 came to watch.
It was a busy morning of rehearsing, with a picnic lunch in Hyde Park, followed by another rehearsal in the afternoon. We were very proud to have two soloists chosen from Oaklands, Ava Frankel and Isabelle Dickinson. They both sang confidently and appeared to show no nerves! An amazing feat in front of such a huge audience! The concert was enthusiastically performed and received by all. Thank you to all the parents and friends who came along and supported the choir. Well done everyone!
Years 3 and 4 visit to Gilwell Park
Years 3 & 4 participated in a day of outdoor pursuits activities at Gilwell Park, Chingford in October.
Despite the chilly weather, all the boys and girls enjoyed negotiating the revolving climbing wall, solving the team building challenges, balancing on the low ropes and scoring baskets playing aeroball.
PGL Trip - Isle of Wight
In the Spring Term, Years 4 & 5 travelled to the Isle of Wight for a two night stay at the PGL camp. They all had a wonderful time and spent the days tackling tricky puzzles, obstacle courses, team work activities and individual challenges. Activities included abseiling and climbing, zip-wire, the giant swing and archery - to name only a few. The girls returned on Thursday evening feeling very tired but pleased with themselves.