Oak Class have been learning how to respond to a... focused on a descriptive piece from the book The Story... Oak Class -

ST. ALOYSIUS’ CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
NEWSLETTER 17/10/2014
Term 1 ~ Week 7
Dates For Your Diary
October
Tuesday 21st
Thursday 23rd
FRIDAY 24TH
November
Monday 3rd
Tuesday 4th
Wednesday 5th
Thursday 6th
Friday 7th
Tuesday 11th
Wednesday 12th
Thursday 13th
Friday 14th
8.00pm ~ PTA AGM in The Courtyard
Yew Class - Synagogue Visit
3.00pm ~ END OF TERM 1
INSET TRAINING DAY - SCHOOL CLOSED
8.50AM ~ START OF TERM 2
10.00am ~ All Souls Mass, The Oratory
Magistrates Visiting Willow Class
Perform Workshop (EY and KS1)
Year 6 Primary Maths Challenge
Willow Class, Here and Now, Phoenix Cinema
6.00PM TO 8.00PM ~ PTA SPOOKY DISCO
2.00pm ~ Fig Class Mass
Willow Class, Junior Citizen
Year 5 - Skills Show, Birmingham
PTA MUFTI DAY FOR TOMBOLA PRIZES
This Week’s House Point Total
Ashmolean 305
Bodleian 270
Radcliffe 291
Sheldonian 254
Dear Parents/Carers,
It was great to see so many of you at the Read, Write, Inc. meeting on
Tuesday evening. For us it was very helpful to hear feedback from
parents so that we can plan future events. I’d like to thank my
colleagues Karen Wade, Sophie Kempton and Ruth Bellamy for
organising the evening and making phonics fun! Year 6 are having a
fabulous time in Devon. The weather has not affected any of their
adventurous activities. Apparently the Deputy Head and Chair of
Governors were last seen surfing up the Bristol Channel. By the time
you read this, I will have done my best to choose winners in the PTA
Bake Off. Thankfully there were more knowledgeable judges. I just did
the eating! Have a lovely weekend. Tom Walker - Headteacher.
Prayer (written by children at St. Gregory The Great School)
Thank you Lord for giving us life. Thank you for my family and friends.
Thank you for school and the opportunity of an education. Bless and
help those in need and those less fortunate than ourselves. Amen.
Review of the Week
Yew Class - During the last few weeks we have been learning about 3D
shapes and creating our own. We also go swimming on Tuesday which
we really enjoy. On Wednesday we have a clarinet lesson. In art we are
doing Islamic art and we have created our own patterns. Last week we
saw Lauren St. John speak and she told us about her childhood and her
pet giraffe, warthogs, horses, dogs and cats. She has a new book
coming out in March called The Glory. Her books are all very good if
you want to read them.
Fig Class - This week Fig Class have been learning about the story of
Princess Frideswide and how she escaped many suitors before finally
opening a monastery in Oxford. We looked at the time line of Oxford
and Miss Wade ran out of wall in our classroom and had to take the
time line outside because Oxford has so much history. In Numeracy, we
have been practising counting backwards and remembering that it is
the same as subtraction. In Literacy we planned and wrote brilliant
traditional tales.
Fir Class - This week in Science we have been learning about our senses
and how much we use them. In Literacy we read a book about helping
and discussed how we can help out at home. For Maths we practised
our number bonds as well as our months and seasons. In Art we drew
our favourite animals and thought about what animals we could make
with body parts from different animals.
Willow Class - The eight children who did not go to Yenworthy (Willow
8) had a relaxed week. We rearranged the desks in a U shape which
they liked very much. They finished drawing and painting their views
through the school windows, did word and number puzzles as well as
reading and writing tasks, and put their numeracy skills into practice to
draw a budget for a school garden. They especially enjoyed ICT
sessions, when they did research to write a newspaper article about the
famous urban climber Alain Robert, before playing computer games.
School Motto
Be ambitious for the higher gifts.
Oak Class - Oak Class have been learning how to respond to a text. We
focused on a descriptive piece from the book The Story of a Blue Planet
where a group of children gain the ability to fly and then explore their
island. We wrote a response imagining ourselves in the story, focussing
on what we saw, what we heard, what we thought and what we
wondered. There were some lovely descriptive pieces of writing. We
then used these ideas in response to a poem called If I Had Wings. The
children have written wonderful poems, using similes to create some
great images. On Tuesday we had a visitor in the class (Ms. Selway
Number 2) who talked about place names and how many names today
are from the time of the Saxons. We found out 'dun' and 'tun' meant
small hill, 'ing' belonging to and 'ford' a shallow part of a river. We then
looked at a local map and found out the meaning to many local names.
We had a great afternoon.
Bay Class - In the last 7 days we've had two fantastic trips and
completed lots of learning. During our visit to the Dragon School we
listened to the life story and inspirations of Lauren St. John. Our next
trip was to the Oxford synagogue where we learnt about some of the
religious practices of the Jewish faith. In writing we are finishing our
fables and just about to start narrative poetry. Our focus in Maths
continues to be time and time graphs. On Friday we printed the Islamic
designs we made at the Ashmolean museum and carried on our studies
of All Living Things in Science. The proud winner of the mistake of the
week was Kiran.
Ash Class - It was Class Mass this Tuesday. Several children did some
readings for it and they were clear and very well presented. In Literacy
we have been writing descriptions of characters from historical stories they should be on display soon with some illustrations. Our Maths topic
has been measurement and how we measure it in different units. It has
been very wet this week and apparently more then 30mm of rain fell
the other day! In PE we practised ball skills and there was a game to
see how fast the ball could be dribbled round a partner. It was very
popular and some children were very fast.
Tigger Class - This week, we have started looking at traditional tales,
beginning with the story of the Three Little Pigs. The children have
been learning some storytelling actions to help them recall key
language and phrases from the tale, and are all joining in with more
and more of the story every day. They are also drawing their own
Three Little Pigs story-maps to refer to when telling the story. We have
conducted experiments making houses from (drinking) straws, (cocktail)
sticks and (Lego) bricks to see which can stand up to the huffing and
puffing of a hairdryer! There have also been some creative bubbleblowing pictures with children trying to blow different consistencies of
paint to see which was hardest; diluted, normal, or paint mixed with
flour. In maths, we have been comparing lengths using a range of nonstandard measures, such as our hands, feet, pencils and paperclips.
Children Arriving After 8.50am
If you arrive after 8.50am please remember to sign your child in at
Reception. Doors are opened at 8.35am. Thank you.
PTA Christmas Cards
Please remember to return your Christmas card design templates to the
school office as soon as possible - the deadline is next Tuesday.
Additional blank templates are available from the office.
PTA School Calendar
Do you have a business that you would like to advertise in the school
calendar or do you know someone who may be interested in
advertising? Each ad will be on every page/month and the calendar is
sold to 250+ parents and staff. Please email the school office if you
would like further information. Thank you.
Supporting The PTA via Avon Sales
How to order? Collect a catalogue from the school office or browse
online at http://avonpta.url-go.com/. Place your order either online or
alternatively using the paper form in the brochure. Valentina Martilotti
(Oak Class parent) will contact you to arrange delivery and collect
payment 07776 205954 or avonpta14@gmail.com. Thank you.
Oxford University Press Discount
Do you work in OUP Education Department? If so, please can you let
the school office know so that we can get an education discount of 50%.
143 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 7PH
Tel: 01865 311056
E-mail: office.3842@st-aloysius.oxon.sch.uk
Website: www.staloysius.net