Find out the latest news about our activities and events.....

• News from the Isle of Wight

  Tue 13 May 2014

  12/05/14

  Our Field Trip party arrived safely and walked from Ventnor to Shanklin in glorious sunshine (with just the briefest light shower of rain).  All are happily settled and looking forward to the rest of the week!

   

  13/05/14

  We had a lovely visit to meet Snowy the Donkey at the Donkey Sanctuary (he sends his love) and lots of fun rockpooling and seaweed pressing.

  

• URGENT - e-mail changes

  Tue 01 Apr 2014
  Please note: On Tuesday 1st April all former @rbwm.org e-mail addresses will change to @rbwm.org.uk. School e-mail will become oakfield@rbwm.org.uk . Please be patient during the transition phase, which we hope will go smoothly. Our phone number 01753 861347 is unchanged. Thank you.

• New Pictures added

  Thu 13 Mar 2014
  New pictures from World Book Day and Royal Albert Hall have been added to our gallery, which can be found under the Children pencil.

• Science Week Report

  Mon 24 Feb 2014
  Finger printing biscuit thief suspects, exploding rockets, rainbows in jars and exploring micro organisms can only mean one thing...

  Science Week at Oakfield!!

  
  There was such a buzz around school as the children, staff and volunteers immersed themselves in all things science.
  
  Parents braved the weather on Wednesday evening to take part in a science workshop, brilliantly led by Mrs Anne Bunce, a leading science teacher and science consultant for the Royal Borough. This was very well received by the parents who went home inspired and full of ideas of how to support their children at home.  Please find a link to a presentation from the evening.
  
  All the children were treated to an exciting performance of ‘Octopushy’, the science of pushes and pulls, on Thursday morning by the Quantum Theatre group.
  
  Please enjoy browsing through the photographs below which will give you a flavour of the science ‘adventures’ the children experienced.
   
  
  Food Glorious Food - The Secret Science of Cooking.
  In Birch class they had great fun investigating a very common ingredient used to make bread.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

  That’s right; they were looking at yeast!

   

  Yeast is a living microorganism made up of only a single cell – humans are multicellular organisms, this means that we are made up of lots of cells. They learned that in the right conditions, yeast will feed on sugar and produce a gas called carbon dioxide. During their experiment, they set out to discover which conditions yeast liked best by changing the temperature of the water.

   

  Can you remember how you measured which temperature it liked best?
   
  You can find some more information about other microorganisms by following the link below.
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/living_things/microorganisms/read/1/
   
   
  Rise and Fall – Investigating Floating and Sinking
  This promised to be a wet session and it didn’t disappoint!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

  The children had super fun testing different objects made from different materials to see whether they floated or sank?

   

  The best way to learn science – hands on

   

  
  One of our wonderful parent volunteers helping the children discover the wonders of science  
  
  
  
  ‘Will it float or sink?’
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

  
  Good Vibrations – The Science of Sound
  In Cherry Class the world famous stage show Stomp was the inspiration behind their session.
  Through numerous tests the children learned how sound was made. They discovered that the human ear is a perfectly designed ‘sound catcher’ and learned how our ears hear.
   
  Feeling the vibrations move up through the fork and string and ‘tickle’ our fingers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

  The Dancing Pieces of Paper. What was happening here?

   

  ‘Hello is anyone there?’

   

  
  The second half of the session combined science and music and using what they had learned the children made their very own musical instruments and put on their own performance of Stomp.
  
  
  
  

  The ‘West End’ here we come!!

  Science Week or auditions for Britain’s Got Talent?

   

  Chestnut Class – Fabulous Forensics

  In Chestnut Class they had been having a terrible problem of things going missing!  Naughty adults have been stealing Miss Hill’s not-so-secret stash of her favourite biscuits! 
   
  Fortunately, the children were amazing at studying all the evidence and helped to find the petty pilferers ...
   
  ... and had a lot of fun along the way, becoming experts at fingerprints, learning how to identify pens using chromatography and a cunning way of testing what’s on the bottom of each suspect’s shoes...They know exactly WHO DUNNIT!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

  Up, Up and Away – Forces and Rockets
  In Holly Class the children had great fun making all sorts of marvellous rockets.
  First they watched video footage of a Space Shuttle taking off and then watched the first landing of man on the moon. These video clips stimulated many questions so they had a short discussion about these and used the internet and books to answer their questions.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

  Even a little rain didn’t stop this group from getting outside and testing out their film canister rockets. Whose rocket went the highest?

   

  Mysteries of the Miniature – Playing with microscopes

  Have you ever wondered what the skin of an onion really looked like, close up? Well in Sycamore the children got the opportunity to find out. They used microscopes (very exciting) to carefully examine onion skins and crystals close up.

   

  Eye spy with my little eye

   

  Abracadabra - The Magic of Science

  Well we did think that Miss Garius was going to make a rabbit appear from a top hat but the ‘magic’ the children saw was much more exciting than that!

  Our lady scientists trying to figure out what was happening!

  

• Science Week Starts Today!

  Fri 07 Feb 2014
  Science Week has started, and will finish on Friday 14th February. The children are working in family groups across Key Stages 1 and 2, while Saplings (Foundation 2) will be having their own scientific based week of fun and activity.
  Each teacher has prepared a set of activities based on a different area of science, which they will repeat throughout the week as the children travel in groups from room to room. Comments after the first session on Friday afternoon 7th February included, 'That was the best afternoon ever!' and 'Really cool!' We are all looking forward to the rest of the sessions this coming week, and also to the Quantum Theatre's production of their play 'Octopushy - the Science of Pushes and Pulls' on Thursday 13th February.
  Parents who have not yet signed up but who would like to volunteer to help at a Science Week session, please contact the school office.

• Congratulations to our Benchball Team!

  Wed 22 Jan 2014
  Congratulations to our KS2 Benchball Team and Mrs Hart who won the final yesterday afternoon!

• Donate to Oakfield through your online Holiday shopping!

  Wed 04 Dec 2013
  Please sign up as a giver and donate through your regular online shopping with Tesco, Sainsbury, John Lewis, Next and more, at no additional cost to you.
  
  Register as a giver to Oakfield First School at www.thegivingmachine.co.uk and shop through their website each time and in return Oakfield will receive a donation, from that retailer, of anything from 75p to 4% of each shop!
  
  At the moment we only have 17 active givers but have raised almost £60 since September!

• Philippines Disaster Appeal

  Tue 12 Nov 2013
  Oakfield strongly supports the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal for victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.  You can donate via the DEC website or send a donation via school if you wish.
  
  http://www.dec.org.uk/

• Golden Anniversary Celebration - Report

  Sun 03 Nov 2013
  We were absolutely delighted with the success of our Golden Anniversary Celebration Day on Friday 25th October. The children thoroughly enjoyed their 1963 school morning, sitting in rows, chanting tables, learning Imperial measures, practising handwriting and writing essays on 'The Life Cycle of a Penny'. Many of them commented that they particularly liked working in silence! 
  
  During the morning, Mike Burgess, chainsaw wood sculptor, spoke to all the children about his work as he started carving a larger than life Oakfield owl from the fallen bough of one of the Oakfield Oaks.
   Meanwhile, the children of Sycamore Class started the day's recording in our Heritage Recording Studios with the help of volunteers from the Windsor Museum Oral History Project, asking some of our present staff who are also past Oakfield pupils and parents about their experiences and memories of life at the school in the past. The children discovered that seven of our present staff are ex-pupils.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  In the afternoon, the 1963 scene was transformed back into 2013. Over 200 past pupils, parents and staff joined us for our birthday afternoon. Names were discovered in old Admissions Registers, and old photos and school reports pored over in the school hall, while the children proudly demonstrated their 21^st Century classrooms and equipment as the visitors toured the school. Many of them willingly shared their stories and memories of Oakfield with the Oral History volunteers in the recording studios, and we await the outcome with interest. Once the tapes have been listened to and edited, we will have a very special and unique record of the school.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

  At 2:30 the Town crier arrived to summon us all into the school playground where we eagerly awaited the arrival of the Mayor and Mayoress of the Royal Borough Cllr Andrew and Mrs Julia Jenner, who officially opened the new buildings at 3pm with much ribbon and cake cutting to rapturous applause.
  Then it was on to the (very popular!) Tudor Hog Roast, celebrating the Tudor Oakfield Oaks in our grounds from which the school gets its name.
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  

  A highlight to end this exciting day was the presentation of Mike Burgess’ finished Oakfield Owls carved during the day out of genuine Oakfield Oak. The small one will join our family of Oakfield owls in our entrance hall, but the large one will remain in the playground where he will become the centre of a special garden area which we plan to make as a permanent reminder of our 50^th Birthday celebrations.

   

  If you would like to commission an original Mike Burgess sculpture from Oakfield Oak, Mike will donate 20% of the purchase price to the school.  See his website for details of his work.

   

  We would like to thank everyone who helped in any way to make the day so special, and also to thank everyone who came. If you missed the day and would still like to drop in and see the exhibition and displays, please contact us to arrange a time.

   

   

  

• Golden Anniversary Open Afternoon Plans Revealed

  Fri 11 Oct 2013

  We have a very exciting programme of events planned for our Golden Anniversary Celebration Day  on Friday 25th October.

  All day long, Mike Burgess, famous chainsaw wood sculptor, will be creating sculptures for us from the recently fallen bough of one of our Oakfield Oaks. He is visiting school beforehand to discuss designs with the children - current ideas are an Oakfield Owl and a fairy ring of oak toadstools - and will realise these on the day.

  In the morning the children will be experiencing some lessons from the first days of Oakfield. Mrs Tina Rainbow (nee Hole) has lent us her Oakfield school report from 1970 so we know that the children studied reading, handwriting, creative writing, arithmetic, social studies, handicraft, PE and art. In the afternoon the children will be doing a variety of modern 2013 activities using all the wide range of equipment which we now have at our disposal - Interactive Whiteboards, laptops and practical apparatus of all kinds - so that the past pupils and parents visiting us can see how the school has changed.

  At 3pm the Town Crier will announce the arrival of the Worshipful the Mayor of Windsor and Maidenhead who will officially open the new building extensions, after which refreshments will be available for purchase. To celebrate our Tudor Oak Trees, the centrepiece of the food will be a Tudor Hog Roast.

  During the day, the Windsor Museum Oral History Team will be working with the children in Sycamore Class to capture interviews with the past pupils about the school in their time. The children have been practising interviewing and recording and designing some probing questions.

  Theroughout the afternoon the children will be offering visitors tours of the school, and old pupils will have the chance to find their names in the old admissions registers. There will be an exhibition of memorabilia - the more things that people lend us the bigger the exhibition will be! We will be showing films of past Field Trips and there will be plenty of photos  and past press cuttings to see. You will also be able to purchase our Oakfield Anniversary Cookbook, with delicious recipes provided by Oakfield families and staff.

  Last, but by no means least, we will be revealing the beautiful now Golden Anniversary wall-hanging created by our family Sewing Bee Club under the guidance of artist Benta Hicks.

  Please come and join us! Just e-mail/phone/drop into the school to let us know that you're coming so that we have a guide to numbers for catering. 

  We look forward to seeing you!