News and Photos from The Oaks
For information about our curriculum, please visit our Year 5 and Year 6 Termly Curriculum Information page here.
Welcome to The Oaks 2023/24
We are very fortunate to have two teachers in Oaks who work part time across the week, bringing a variety of knowledge and skills to ensure learning is productive but also fun! Ms Feather teaches the class from Monday to Wednesday lunchtime and Miss Laws teaches from Wednesday afternoon until Friday. Mrs Constable is our Teaching Assistant on Tuesday and Thursday and Mrs Pearce is with us on a Friday morning.
We have worked together to create our set of pro-social behaviours that enable us to all grow and learn together.
In Oaks, we:
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Take turns to use equipment
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Listen to and follow instructions
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Share resources fairly
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Listen to the person who is speaking
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Look at the person who is speaking
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Are kind and supportive to others
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Start a task quickly
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Line up quietly
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Admit mistakes
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Are honest
Our PE lessons are on Monday and Thursday, so make sure you come to school in your PE kit on those days. Homework is handed out on Friday of each week and due in the following Thursday.
Please come back regularly to see what we have been up to!
Spring 1 2024
Have a look at our Curriculum Overview to see what we are learning about this half term, and follow below for what our learning looks like in action.
English
In English this half term the Oaks have been learning about the language and structural features of a biography. Through reading a variety of biographies about people who have changed the world, pupils have been inspired to write their own biographies about somebody who they admire greatly for making a positive contribution to the world. The Oaks really enjoyed having the freedom to choose who to research and write about and they all published very high quality writing to be proud of. The whole published book is available to read in the Oak's classroom.
Key Text Titles: Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt; Ground Breaking Scientists by J.P. Miller and Chellie Carroll; Little Leaders- Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison; Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofksy; Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World by Kate Pankhurst.
Maths
In maths, this half term The Oaks have been reasoning with fractions, and developing our multiplicative reasoning to understand how to carryout short division, and why it works. Pupils have been working hard to present and organise their thinking clearly so that they can follow their steps and check for errors, making sure they have always answered the question.
The key learning for fractions has been that 'the denominator is the number of parts in the whole'. Knowing this has helped pupils understand equivalent fractions and how to convert from a mixed number to an improper fraction and vice versa. All these skills are crucial to add and subtract fractions. Developing a strong understanding of fractions also supports their understanding of decimals and percentages that are key for financial literacy in life.
Science
In science this half term, pupils have focused on Life Cycles through our ‘Circle of Life’ topic. They have found out about the life cycles of plants and different animals including- mammals, amphibians, birds and fish. The children have also been describing the life process of reproduction of plants and animals.
Art
Linking beautifully to science, The Oaks' art lessons have had a sketching focus through their ‘Wildlife’ topic. The children have been learning sketching techniques and developing skills to add tone and shade to their drawings. They have looked closely at natural objects and animals. The pupils have particularly enjoyed applying their drawing techniques to a symmetrical butterfly drawing where they observed the key details closely.
Computing
In computing, The Oaks have been architects, learning how to use SketchUp, a computer aided design (CAD) tool, to create a virtual gallery space to exhibit their very own artwork above!
Geography
In geography, the pupils have been learning about economic activity including trade links and what goods and services are traded around the world and how. They have explored the UK's trade links. The children have also described how the climate and landscape impacts on goods produced in countries around the world and issues that some people face for example living in El Salvador. This has been a great topic to connect understanding between the physical and human world, realising the direct impact that climate and topography have on the livelihoods of people and the global impact changes can have.
PE
In PE on a Monday, The Oaks have been learning about different types of fitness e.g. strength, stamina and agility, and how exercise impacts positively on our mental well-being. They have understood the importance of warming up safely and cooling down to prevent injury. In addition, they have demonstrated great resilience when beating their personals bests and they have really enjoyed working collaboratively in small groups to design their own exercise as part of the circuit.
Autumn 2 2023
Have a look at our Curriculum Overview to see what we are learning about this half term, and follow below for what our learning looks like in action.
NHSSP Sports Leaders
In December, The Oaks gave a presentation to the rest of the children in the school. Their aim was to introduce an activity that they will be running during break times in the Spring Term. The Year 6 children are working towards their NHSSP Sports Leaders Badge and are being supported from the Year 5 children who will be well prepared next year! We had an impressive variation of activities being offered ranging from Golf to Playground Monopoly.
Cross Country Championship
Well done to the Year 5 and 6 children who took part in the Cross Country Championship in Baldock. The children all enjoyed the experience and represented the school positively.
English
In English, the Oaks have been reading and identifying features of a non-chronological report in order to write their own. The pupils have been inspired by a series of non-chronological reports written by Charlotte Guillain. The language, structure and layout of the books are very appealing to children and captures their interest, for example through interesting information and engaging illustrations. The Oaks noticed that some of the more formal features of non-chronological report like the index and glossary, often seen is more adult or educational texts, were missing. The Oaks then made their own choices as authors for their own non-chronological reports which they linked to the history topic on World War II, which they have been enjoying very much. One member of the class suggested linking the 'above, on and below the ground theme' from Guillain's books to the Blitz, which was very effective!
Key Texts: The Sea Below My Toes; The Street Beneath My Feet; The Skies Above My Eyes (Look Closer) by Charlotte Guillain Illustrators: Yuval Zommer and Jo Empson
Geography
In geography this half term The Oaks have been learning about the Netherlands. The country can be split into two areas: the low and flat lands in the west and north, and the higher lands with minor hills in the east and south. The former, including the reclaimed polders and river deltas, make up about half of its surface area and are less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) above sea level, much of it actually below sea level. The physical features and location of the Netherlands makes it quite unique. Did you know that Europe's biggest port is in Rotterdam? This makes it an important place for trade and economics.
Autumn 2 2023
Have a look at our Curriculum Overview to see what we are learning about this half term, and follow below for what our learning looks like in action.
November 2023
What a busy start to the year we have had and the first half of the Autumn term has simply flown by.
We have been so impressed with how the children have shown increased maturity and are beginning to act as role models for the rest of the school. Highlights from last half term included: Bikeability, house captain elections, a poetry competition, sports leadership training and a visit from Phase who helped our Year 6 children begin to prepare for the transition to secondary school.
This month, we are looking forward to taking part in the District Cross Country competition at Knights Templar School in Baldock.
June 2023
How do you solve a problem when you are given the final answer? Working backwards of course! Pupils applied their knowledge of the four operations to work backwards towards the original number, by starting with the final solution and working backwards one step at a time to get to the beginning.
Pupils were also challenged to think creatively, considering what a question could be if they were only given the answer. They enjoyed working collaboratively, discussing their ideas and providing justification for their answers.
This week we Oaks had a lovely surprise visit from Mrs Dollman.
Mrs Dollman taught our year 5/6 class when they were in year 2 and it was wonderful to be able to show her what the children have been doing and achieved over the last few years. She is also helping us with a special end of year project which is very exciting!
May 2023
Pupils thoroughly enjoyed taking on a challenge to celebrate the Kings coronation this month. Pupils had to design a product which would be suitable for purpose and carefully consider what ingredients, skills and techniques they would apply to make a suitable coronation cake or biscuit.
April 2023
This term our topic is coastal erosion. We began by discussing what we had learnt so far to link our learning back to previous years.
So far we have discussed rock types and how some rocks are more resistant to erosion than others. This is how headland and bays are formed.
January 2023
In computing we have moved on to a new unit: We are Artists!
Pupils are learning to fuse art and geometry. Here you can see our simple tessellations which we created in class.
December 2022
In D&T we spent some time researching theme parks, before creating roller coasters out of paper. We tested them with marbles and had some successful constructions.
December 2022
In English we are reading the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. We have looked at a couple of different re-tellings of the story so far, as well as reading extracts from the playscript. Today we had a go at taking on the parts of the Witches, Macbeth and Banquo in Act 1 Scene 3, where the prophesies are made. There has been lots of unfamiliar language to explore so far.
November 2022
This week we investigated another irreversible change. We mixed milk with white vinegar and observed that the reaction between the protein of the milk and the acid of the vinegar created a new material. This material will be a form of plastic known as casein plastic.
November 2022
In Science, we are working on changes of materials. Today we saw two different chemical reactions which result in irreversible changes. We enjoyed conducting an investigation using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, where a gas was created and a balloon was caused to inflate.
November 2022
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
- Robert Laurence Binyon
October 2022
Over the past couple of weeks, the children have been busy working on presentations to deliver to their classmates. We have really enjoyed learning a little bit more about the interests of the children through listening to these! There were some very confident and clear performances, and many children who felt nervous about this task stood up and gave it a great go - well done to you!
October 2022
If you joined us for open classroom, you may have noticed the smell of cooking - and hopefully some of the children's delicious chapatis made it home today! To link with our RE, in which we have been studying Hinduism, we made traditional Indian flat breads.
The children worked in pairs to measure out their ingredients and mix chapati dough, then added their chosen seasoning for their individual breads. There were some very tasteful flavour choices. Everyone got the chance to cook one of their chapatis, then we were very thankful to Mrs Daniels who cooked the remainder.
We wish all the best to any of our families celebrating Diwali next week.
October 2022
Our topic in Science this half term is 'Materials and their Properties'. This week we were investigating the question 'Will it dissolve?' by testing a range of different solids in water and making observations. A few of the children were surprised to see that the tea leaves were still visible when mixed with water and were not soluble as they had predicted.
September 2022
In art this half term, we have started to explore South American design. This week, we have had a go at painting a sugar skull for the Mexican Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. The children have created a symmetrical pattern by painting on half of the paper and folding for it to print on the opposite side of the page. There was some lovely attention to adding in delicate detail.
July 2022
This week we had Transition Day, where the children move up to join their new classes for the day. In Oaks, we had some great team building activities throughout the day - there were some brilliant marshmallow-spaghetti towers on show! We hope you all had a fun day and are looking forward to building new friendships and memories in the year ahead.
July 2022
Today we had a go a changing a story from one genre to another. We made the most of the beautiful weather to take part in some dramatic re-tellings of the historical fiction piece that we have been reading. What is your favourite genre: adventure, fantasy, horror?
July 2022
Are you joining the Herts Libraries Summer Reading Challenge? We had an assembly at school today to kick off the challenge, which starts from tomorrow. The children are encouraged to read at least 6 library books over the next few weeks and collect their stickers from the library. We'd love to hear which books you have chosen!
June 2022
In Science, we are developing our skills of working scientifically. To do this, we will be investigating the concepts of floating and sinking and linking our learning to the Titanic disaster. Today, we tested whether oranges float or sink and how the orange peel makes a difference.
June 2022
KS2 have joined forces for English lessons this week, with a focus on sentence structure. Using the text of the poem 'The Spider and The Fly', we have been considering what elements a sentence needs to ensure it makes sense. We have used activities such as 'sentence unscramble' to help us understand what makes a sentence.
June 2022
How many possible cube nets are there?
In Maths, the children are investigating 3D shapes and how to create shape nets. They have different strategies to discover how many possible nets there are to create a cube.
June 2022
We are so happy to have had the chance to take the Oaks children away on a PGL residential trip this month. They were able to experience many fun and challenging activities. We were so impressed with their willingness to try new things, especially when feeling slightly nervous about some of the heights involved! Lots of the children really stepped out of their comfort zones, which was wonderful to see, and they have really achieved things they didn't think they were capable of.
The children were beautifully behaved and we were proud to be there with them. We hope that they enjoyed the trip and weren't too tired over the weekend!
May 2022
We have had a brilliant end to the half term with Sports Day and Forest School in quick succession! The Oaks put in great effort throughout the sport events in the morning. It was really lovely to see the children working in their Houses; some of the Oaks demonstrated super support and encouragement to the younger children and there was all round good sportsmanship. Thank you to all the grown-ups who came along to support the children and watch the races, we hope you enjoyed the afternoon.
We also had the opportunity to visit St Paul’s Walden Bury for a wonderful morning of activities in the sunshine. The children completed a ‘treasure hunt’ for clues all around the gardens and then had a go at den-building in the forest. We were very impressed with the stamina and teamwork on show!
May 2022
Very huge congratulations to all of our Year 6 Oaks children, who worked so hard completing their SATs papers last week. We are very proud of you and loved your attitude and resilience throughout the week! Well done!
May 2022
In Science this half term, our topic is 'Evolution and Inheritance'. This week, we were considering how many of our characteristics are inherited from our parents, and what we have in common with our siblings. We used the Mr Men characters to create new offspring that would share some characteristics with their parents!
April 2022
We are so pleased that the Oaks have been able to start swimming lessons - what a great way to start the summer term! If you are participating, remember to bring your kit every Friday.
March 2022
Oaks made use of the outdoor classroom today to present their short role plays based on Robin Hood, which is the text we have been working with in English this week.
March 2022
We are continuing to work on understanding how organisms (living things) are classified and named, and today the children researched key scientist Carl Linnaeus. They have produced some fantastic information pages, which you can see below.
March 2022
We had a lovely day on Thursday celebrating World Book Day. It was brilliant to see some of the class either dressed up or with their own favourite book. Very well done to the children who had prepared something to say and for standing up in front of the school to share their book review. There was also some great teamwork in the afternoon when the children listened to a video from the author of 'Think Like a Boss' (one of the £1 WBD books) and then thought up their own business ideas.
February 2022
In Science this half term, we are going to be looking at how to classify living things. We started off by reviewing our knowledge of how a branching or classification key works, and designed one that could be used to group Liquorice Allsorts.
February 2022
Geography
Our Geography unit this half term is Trade and Economics. Pupils have been surprised to find out where various products come from and what we as the UK import and export. We have been looking at supply chains, how they work, who is involved and profits per contributor. We have also discussed fair trade and why it is important.
January 2022
RE
In Religious Education, we are learning about some of the key festivals in the Jewish faith. Today we started to look at Passover (Pesach), and the children were able to see a Seder plate and consider the meanings behind the different symbolic foods.
January 2022
This half term in Science, we are looking at the life cycles of a variety of plants and animals. This week, the children have looked at the reproduction of flowering plants. They worked in pairs to carefully and accurately dissect a tulip. We have some lovely displays of the male and female parts of the flower, and the children enjoyed making their observations.
January 2022
Happy New Year! It is brilliant to see the children back in school, we hope you have had a lovely break.
In art we have been sketching - there are a few examples below. All of the children produced brilliant pieces of work by making careful observations of half a photograph/drawing of an animal portrait, and completing the picture. We were really impressed with everyone's efforts!
December 2021
Well done to the children who were able to complete their model Anderson Shelters - we had some successful construction and some thoughtful additions in the gardens. Share some photos on Google Classroom if you make one at home!
December 2021
This week, the Oaks class were lucky enough to visit the Imperial War Museum at Duxford as part of their WW2 history topic. This was an exciting opportunity to look at some of the equipment and aircraft that they have been learning about, and to extend their understanding of key moments in history. The children were beautifully behaved and engaged throughout the trip - well done and we hope you all enjoyed it!
Remembrance Day
The Oaks have produced some thoughtful watercolour artwork for Remembrance Day.
November 2021
Science
In Science, we are increasing our understanding of how our body functions. We have been focusing on the circulatory system and today have been looking at the heart being a double pump. The children made some videos (below) to explain their learning.
October 2021
We have seen some great examples of writing this half term - have a look at some of the Cyclops reports below. We have noticed that many of the children are confusing the homophones their, there and they're. Some children also confuse 'our' and 'are'. Please spend some time at home revising these.
For further reference, the National Curriculum spelling appendix can be accessed online and shows the expectations for the children at each year group along with the word lists.
October 2021
In English this half term, the Oaks Class have studied some of the Greek Myths. This week, they have written their own myth and have also shown their knowledge of the Cyclops by creating a non-chronological report. There have been some super pieces of independent writing - well done to all of you! There are a few examples below.
October 2021
Decade Dioramas
We have some fab designs for the 'Decade Dioramas', Oaks, well done! The children spent some time researching a decade of their choice (from 1950s-1990s) and then decided which elements to include in a 3D scene. As you can see below, there was lots of inspiration from games, food and music of the times!
October 2021
Decade Dioramas
Well done on an excellent start to the 'Decade Dioramas', Oaks. Thank you for the support from home, there were some lovely 'artifacts' from the 1980s and 1990s! We will be finishing them on Friday so make sure you bring any pieces back in that you want to include, or you are welcome to make extra bits at home to add to your design. There are a couple of examples of the works-in-progress below.
Art - Optical Illusions!
Oaks created some successful optical illusion drawings in art!
English - Writing Instructions
In English this week, the Oaks have been looking at different types of instructional texts. We have written our own version of a recipe for homemade sherbet - why not test it out this weekend?
English Lessons and Reading
This year we have introduced a new literacy and language scheme of learning, which we are really excited about teaching. The children will be introduced to a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts in lessons, and will cover all the skills of the National Curriculum. We are looking forward to seeing the writing they produce!
There are some recommended texts that will complement the stories that we read in class: you may want to read some of these with your children at home (list for Unit 1 below). If you do read any, please note it in your planners so that we can see!
Our first unit is Prometheus and Pandora by Janey Pursglove (A myth).
Wider Reading:
Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan
Heroes of Olympus – Rick Riordan
Persephone – Sally Pomme Clayton
Pandora – Robert Burleigh
Pandora’s Box – Rose Impey
Biscuit Icing!
We had some excellent designs on the Oaks cookies today! A very tasty mid-afternoon snack!
Good Luck to the England Football Team from all of us in Oaks Class!
Today we made some origami style football shirts to decorate and show our support for the big game on Sunday.
We Are Reading...
In Oaks, we are always looking at ways to build our resilience, confidence and self-esteem. This half-term, to support that, we are reading Marcus Rashford's book 'You are a Champion' together in class. We have been reading about how Marcus started small and built up to who he is now, constantly trying to improve himself. The children have been starting to think about what unique attributes they might have and have themselves and things they are proud of.
Focusing on the four operations.
Oaks have been working hard on securing the four operations. Have a scroll through the document below as a refresher on formal written methods. Maybe you could make your own poster!
Seaside Art
The Oaks have been working on creating a vintage travel poster-inspired painting. There are a few examples below - we hope it puts you in the holiday mood in time for half-term!
Science Investigations
During this half term, The Oaks have been studying 'Light' in Science: learning how shadows are formed, how we see things, and how light travels. This week we completed a number of investigations to see the effect of refraction - when light slows down and bends as it travels through different materials. There was some super group work, making predictions and recording observations.
Over the past two weeks, The Oaks have been learning about what makes an interesting biography (they may even have interviewed you at home as part of their homework!). After researching the inspirational Michelle Obama, the children have all done her justice in their final piece of writing – well done Oaks!
The Oaks have been creating mixed media seascapes in art over the past two weeks.
.........And we're back! March 2021
It is so wonderful to have the buzz of busy classrooms again! This week we welcomed the Oaks back into school and have enjoyed celebrating British Science Week together. We started the week designing simple machines inspired by Rube Goldberg. To find out more, click on the picture below.
As part of British Science Week, Oaks have been learning about how the body fights viruses and infections, and the importance of vaccines. They have created some great comic strips to show how antibodies act to fight infection!
Science
In Science, Oaks are learning about space and the structure of our solar system. We have been looking at the different phases of the moon, and have used cookies to show how the appearance of the moon changes as it orbits the Earth.
Remote learning 2021
In PSHE, we have discussed how to keep ourselves healthy both mentally and physically via our virtual classroom. We have looked at fake news and online safety, ensuring we are aware of our digital surroundings.
In addition to this, we have thought carefully about how we can stay active whilst accessing live lessons. We encourage each other to take time to stretch, look away from the screen and have time for discussion with our peers.
Here you can see some of our 'remote exercises' which you can do at, or away from your computer.
There has been some brilliant construction work happening in D&T this half term. The Oaks have worked in small groups to design and build roller coasters out of paper and carboard, using a range of techniques to support their structures.
Ever wondered how post it notes were invented? Watch the video to find out.
Home learning
For home learning we like pupils to develop skills and discover their own interests. This term we set Oaks a challenge - What would you like to learn? Our pupils showcased some fantastic learning on our virtual classroom, from dog training to speaking Italian! Here you can see Suneet who learnt to bake her own bread - well done Suneet!
For homework our pupils were asked to learn about synonyms and antonyms, finding a fun way to teach others. Here you can see Eva and her Dad who created a synonym and Antonym game based on Go Fish!
The Oaks produced some excellent work researching inspirational people to mark Black History Month. How many of the people below can you name?
Autumn term 2020
Christmas Designs
The Oaks have been using pastels and chalks to create some fantastic Christmas artwork!
Mayan Masks
This term, pupils will be studying The Mayan Civilization. We began by designing and making Mayan masks and creating a class display.
Reading with Willows
When one door closes another one opens, or in our case a virtual door! One of the lovely things our pupils do well is read with others of all age groups.
Through the wonders of technology, Oaks were able to read stories to the Willows class. We enjoyed it so much, we will continue this until we can cross bubbles once again! Well done everyone!
Purple For Polio - painting and planting!
The Oaks enjoyed welcoming Jean Howe, from the Rotary Club, in to school to raise awareness of Polio and how it is still prevalent in some countries. We enjoy members of our community visiting the school and teaching us something new.
We have been enjoying the lovely weather and learning outside the classroom. Here are pupils from the Oaks class working collaboratively to discuss the theme of peer pressure, creating a performance to show what it may look like.
From little acorns, mighty oaks grow!