www.burleyoaks.co.uk
Belong, Believe, Achieve
BURLEY OAKS SCRAP BOOK SPRING TERM 2012
Burley Oaks Primary School, Langford Lane, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Ilkley LS29 7EJ Telephone: 01943 862642 Fax: 01943 864648 E-mail: office@burleyoaks.bradford.sch.uk Headteacher – Mrs Lee
KS1 Dig Trip – 18th January Year One and Two enjoyed a brilliant 'hands on' day out as archaeologists at the Dig, York. They were handed a trowel and sent to the excavation pits to find Roman, Viking, Medieval and Victorian items. They used the clues to discover how people lived in the different times. The visit included a session at Barley Hall where the children were able to play with toys from the past.
SHINE Afternoon – 27th January As usual the Shine afternoon was a great success (even with the torrential downpour!). The children had a fantastic time trying new skills and working alongside children from across the school. The workshops, which were led by teachers, teaching assistants, admin staff, parents and outside agencies, this year included: Indoor golf
Kite making
Orienteering
Tag rugby
Music
Football
Cake decorating
Line dancing
Bath fizzes
Fort making
Biscuit making
Felt badges
Australian art
Pasta building
Strictly Come Dancing
Byron Link – 30th January Our link with Byron Primary School, Bradford has continued successfully this year. It is a great opportunity for children with different lifestyles and cultures to meet, share work and develop their communication and team work skills. Thirty of our Year 5 children spent the day at Nell Bank with pupils from Byron. After initial ‘get to know you’ activities the children took part in a woodland wellie walk, orienteering activities and a problem solving assault course. This term we will be visiting Byron School and then welcoming them to our school. Links are also being developed in Reception and Year 1.
Travelling by Tuba – 2nd February The children were thoroughly entertained by a performance by the musical duo of ‘Travelling by Tuba’. They were told about, heard and had the opportunity to play a variety of ancient, weird and exotic instruments from all over the world. The finale of the show was the opera of Carmen in four and a half minutes!
Olivia – 9th February Year 3/4 wowed their audience with a brilliant performane of the musical Olivia. The show was set in Victorian times and traced the steps of a poor downtrodden orphan called Olivia as she became a star of the stage.
Pancake Race – 21st February We took part in the annual Ilkley Rotary Club Pancake Race held at The Grove, Ilkley. Andrew B and Jessica S were winners of their races and were rewarded with some fantastic chocolate based prizes donated by Betty’s. The highlight of the day for the children was when they were interviewed by a BBC Radio Leeds presenter!
Maths Calculations Meeting – 28th February We were joined by over 150 parents for an evening sharing how maths calculations are taught in our school. The feedback from the event was very positive. If you were not able to join us the PowerPoint presentation is available to download on our website alongside videos of some of our Year 6 children demonstrating the methods we use for multiplication.
Dragon’s Den – 8th March Our after school Enterprise Club entered the 'Step Up Market Challenge'. The district-wide competition focused on finding a team with the most 'enterprising' idea for a market stall. The children devised the concept, produced sample products, marketed the products and demonstrated costings and potential profits to a panel. Two teams were entered:
Super Stationery: Football Mad:
Phoebe B, Ella May D Sam B, James B, Joe S, Jack S, Santosh G
After success in the first round, our intrepid business teams then headed to Keighley to face the ‘Dragon’s Den’ where both teams were put through to the final round. The children will now run their very own market stall on a Saturday in Keighley Town Centre. More details will be provided as soon as we know so that as many people as possible can support the teams, helping them become 'Step Up Market Challenge' Champions!
Musical Soiree – 15th March The musical soiree is a fantastic opportunity for children to showcase their musical abilities. This year, over 70 children took part, from beginners to more advanced instrumentalists, on guitars, keyboards, the piano, strings, woodwind, brass and drums. The children supported one another brilliantly and cheered on their friends through solos, duets and larger ensembles. It is amazing that, from such a young age, our children learn how to conquer the nerves and develop such confidence. A very encouraging and supportive audience showed how proud they were of the children's achievements.
Ripon Museums – 19th March Year 5/6 had a fantastic day visiting Ripon Museums. The children (and staff!) arrived in school dressed as poor Victorians and set off on the coach to go back in time. Once in Ripon, they began to find out what life was like for a Victorian. They were enrolled in a workhouse where they oakum picked, went to school, rag rugged and did the laundry. The next stop was the court room where they acted out a trial about a stolen cart horse. The accused was found guilty by our jury and sentenced to prison. We moved on to the prison to find out what life would have been like for a prisoner - not very nice!
‘Eggniting’ Writing – 19th March After the success of ‘Chocolate Week’ another ‘eggciting’ writing project was delivered with the focus this time on eggs. The aim of the week was to inspire and excite children through a totally new curriculum area with the intention throughout of focusing on key writing skills. This was achieved by filling the days with stimulating, creative and meaningful activities. The excitement was created immediately as the live eggs arrived. The suspense of waiting for them to hatch proved to be a great motivator. The live webcam of the action was watched by pupils and relatives from near and far with many reports of people glued to the screen from as far away as Australia! We were not disappointed and, within days, the sound of chirping chicks could be heard on every corridor.
The children's writing, once again, was of superb quality in a range of genres from stories to non fiction books to advertisements. We are currently in the process of putting the work on the website to share. The chicks have been collected and I am pleased to tell you that they all have been re-homed in a free range egg farm in Malton.
KS1 Outside Play - Building Begins 22nd March The area between Reception and Year 1 is currently being transformed. What was an unused and boggy slope is being developed into a covered outdoor learning area for Reception. Once complete, large patio doors opening on to the space will mean that Reception children will have access to high quality free-flow, indoor and outdoor learning opportunities all day long.
Seema Buttoo Visit – 27th March Reception had a visit from Seema Buttoo from the Interfaith Centre in Bradford. They spent the afternoon finding out about Indian culture.
Easter Bonnet Parade – 29th March Reception's 'Easter Bonnet Parade' was a super opportunity for the children to show off their beautifully decorated bonnets. Immense effort had clearly been put in with the most amazing results! There were feathers, ribbons and sparkles galore in a magnitude of colours, all accentuated by the glorious sunshine that afternoon. Well done for all your hard work.
Easter Services – 30th March The Methodist Church was full again as we were joined by parents for our annual Easter Services. We were entertained with Easter songs, the sharing of the Easter story and other related Easter facts through a variety of forms including poetry, drama and art. This was the first time that Reception have taken part in the performance/celebration - well done!
Habitat Heroes – Ongoing Throughout the term, we have continued to work alongside Habitat Heroes to learn about and improve the school's outside environment. This term, the activities have included the creation of the willow fence, bird table construction, hedgerow planting. A dead hedge has also been created around the bog garden. Part of the hedgerow was planted with trees given by the Woodland Trust. This included a Royal Oak sapling which was grown from an acorn collected in a Royal Estate to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Sports Throughout the Spring Term the children continued to represent the school in many sporting fixtures. We competed in over 20 different matches including football, dodgeball, swimming, cross country and netball. A huge well done to the children who always set an excellent standard: not only in the way that they play but for the sportsmanship they show throughout. A huge thank you too to the parents who support with lifts and to the staff who give up their own time to take the children.
Communication You can now follow us on Twitter (@burleyoaks). It is a great way to find out up to date information and photos about what is happening in school. The twitter feed is also shown on the homepage of the school website. Please remember that important updates and information are regularly added to the website and therefore, it is a good place to check for information at any point. We have installed a screen in the school entrance, giving information about school life, achievements, dates for the diary etc. We hope that this will be a useful tool for parents dropping off and collecting their children, particularly for those who regularly use the out of school clubs.
Headteacher Note Once more, the term has been incredibly busy and eventful for all the children in school - and staff!! Well done to everyone for such dedication to the life of the school. Not mentioned above are the 'class assemblies', an opportunity for the children to share their learning and excitement with the rest of the school. It has been wonderful to see the children teaching one another and sharing their classroom experiences to an audience. Thank you also the parents who have joined us to celebrate in our good work assembly. Please look out for the invitation when it is your child's class' turn!