28.04.25 Science Week
This week in science, Oak class have been thinking about the best way to play Kurling! They have been thinking about the fairest and most accurate way to test which surface has the least friction. They evaluated each test and thought about constants, variables and how they could most accurately measure their results.
07.04.25 DT
In DT this half term, the children have been designing and creating Mars Rovers. They created a chassis and used their knowledge of electrical circtuits to power a motor so that they could create a fully working vehicle.
28.03.25 We Are Artists
During this art topic, the children have been inspired by Bristol-based street artist, Banksy. They thought about a political topic they would like to base their art work around. They then used stencilling to create their final piece. Every single one looked amazing and we were so impressed by the children’s thoughtfulness and care.
We also had a special treat in singing assembly this week, when we got to find out about the double bass. The children performed three songs, accompanied by this great big instrument and learnt all about how it creates it’s very deep sound. They all sounded fantastic!
14.03.25 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!
We had such an amazing time this week, going to watch Joseph at the Bristol Hippodrome. The children were fantastically behaved- we were so proud of them. The show was memorising and we were all really inspired by the amazing performers, musicians and production! What a super experience!
07.03.25 World Book Day
Oak Class had an amazing day celebrating World Book Day! The children had the opportunity to spend time in each class across the school and enjoyed a story read to them by each teacher! In Maple, Mrs Cripps read ‘Dinosaur Lady’ by Linda Skeers, in Willow Mrs Clarke read ‘We are Going on a Lion Hunt’ by David Axtell. In Elm Mr Coysh read ‘The Monkey with the Bright Blue Bottom’ by Steve Smallman and in Oak Miss Middleton read ‘Little Red Riding Hood: The Wolf’s Story.’ In the afternoon the children shared their favourite stories with their class and talked about their favourite authors and books.
14.02.25 Cricket and Archway Performance
This week Oak class really enjoyed their rainy cricket session with Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation. This is a charitable foundation, who aim to provide all people the opportunity to play and be involved in cricket. It was a really inclusive session, in which all of the children were able to feel successful. If your child expressed an interest in the session, the coach recommended ‘Dynamo Cricket’ sessions which run locally.
Oak class also had the opportunity to watch the Archway School performance of Oliver this week. The performance was fantastic and it was great to see some former Whiteshill pupils. The children behaved beautifully on the walk to and from Archway and during the performance. It was great for them to be inspired by the older children and to get some ideas of the opportunities that will be available to them at secondary school.
07.02.25 PE
This half term in PE, we have been studying Haka as part of our dance topic. We learnt how Haka are a variety of ceremonial dances in Maori Culture. We have been thinking about how Haka are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. The children have learnt some traditional Haka and have developed some dances of their own, thinking about the features of Haka. They have practised chanting traditional Hakas using instruments to enhance their performances. This week Oak Class thought creatively about how they could introduce props into their dances. They also learnt how to use canon, unison and mirroring as dance techniques. Many of the groups performed theirHakas in assembly this week and we were really proud of their creativity and confidence.
31.01.25 Poet Visit
This week we were really lucky to have a visit from a local poet, Ronnie McGrath, who gave us a wonderful talk about poetry, art and about Black History Month. We are looking forward to creating our own art and poetry based on Ronnie’s talk.
24.01.25 RE
In our RE topic this term we are thinking about how Christians choose how to live. We have studied a range of bible stories and thought about their message. This week we did a dramatisation of the bible story ‘The Centurian’s Servant.’
10.01.25 Science Week
This week has been science week in Oak Class. We have been looking at the question ‘how do we see things?’ We conducted lots of experiments to demonstrate how light travels in a straight line. We thought about how light is reflected off objects into our eyes, where our brain can process the image. We also thought about how shadows are formed. We had great fun making our own periscopes!
13.12.24 Maths and Singing
This week our Year 5s have been learning all about cube numbers. They used the multilink cubes to create different cube numbers and used their multiplication knowledge to work out how many smaller cubes they had used.
We have also started to practice the songs and dances for our School Show ‘Rock Bottom’. The songs are so catchy and the children are doing a wonderful job with them. Please have a listen to them at home if you get chance.
29.11.24 Computer Aided Design
This week in computing, the children wowed us with their designs for a desk tidy. They learnt the skills to accurately size 3D objects, create holes in hollow 3D designs and combine a number of 3D objects. We had so much fun and their designs were fantastic!
22.11.24 Maths, French, RSHE and Computing
In maths this week, the Year 5s have been working hard developing their understanding of multiplying a 4-digit number by 10, using place value counters. The Year 6’s have been learning to add fractions with different denominators using an interactive fraction wall.
In French, we had fun learning the French vocabulary for zoo animals. In computing, they continued their work on digital 3D modelling, designing their own 3D name badge. They learnt to rotate and duplicate images during this lesson. In PSHE, the children were extremely grown up and thoughtful in our discussions about how we can keep our bodies safe.
15.11.24 Computing and Art
We have had lots of fun this week with our computing topic on 3D modelling. In this week’s lesson the children were familiarising themselves with working in a digital 3D space, moving, resizing and duplicating objects. They will work towards creating hollow objects using placeholders and combining multiple objects to create a model of a desk tidy.
In art the children began their topic on sculpture and form. They created a baseline piece of art using clay, which included pattern and texture. They also learnt about the difference between ‘actual texture’ and ‘visual texture’. In this topic the children will be studying the work of contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei.
08.11.24 Science Week and Stroud Book Festival
This week has been Science Week in Oak class! We have had great fun finding out about combining substances by dissolving. We then learnt about separating mixtures by filtration and evaporation. On Friday we visited Stroud Book Festival to see author Eloise Smith, who was incredibly inspiring. Eloise Smith is an Olympic fencer, who writes fictional children’s books based on Olympians that have inspired her. The show was very interactive with all the children taking part, including a few brave children (and teachers!) who went up onto the stage. All of the children were absolutely fantastic and we were really proud of them.
18.10.24 Cross Country Superstars!
Congratulations to all of our wonderful Oak Class runners who took part in the Stroud Cross Country event this Wednesday at Stratford Court Fields. They all showed incredible skill, determination and sportsmanship. We were so proud of their fantastic efforts and kind behaviour. A huge thank you to our fantastic parent volunteers who attended the event and gave their invaluable support.
20.09.2024 RAF Midlands Museum
On Wednesday, Oak Class visited RAF Midlands Museum. This was a prize won by the children for their Net Zero competition entry, which part of their science unit last term. The children took part in a series of fantastic science and engineering workshops and loved seeing all of the amazing exhibits. They were fantastically behaved and we were really proud of them.
12.07.24 Summer Rock Concert!
We are so proud of all our Oak Class drummers and guitarists, who blew us away with their confident and skilled performances at Mr Cormack-Hick’s Summer Rock Concert this week! You rocked!
28.6.24 School Play Rehearsals
In Oak Class, we have been busy practising our spooky school play, ‘The Wrong Way Round’. We are so proud of the children for working so hard to learn their lines and lyrics. They have had so many funny and creative ideas for their scenes and can’t wait to perform it for you!
21.06.24 Art Competition
This week we have been very lucky to take part in a fantastic art competition, organised for us by Mr Turner. We all bought our favourite plushies into school and did fantastic pencil drawings of them. We hope that you all enjoyed seeing them in the gallery on Thursday. The judges are making their final decisions and the winners will be announced soon! Thank you to Mr Turner for supplying us with the brilliant art resources and organising this special day for us.
14.06.24 We are Readers
We have completed this week with a look at what we are reading in class and sharing our books with each other. The children thought of their own questions to ask about their story which enabled them to come up with a detailed synopsis of the story so far. The children really enjoyed sharing their thoughts and opinions with each other. It also lead the way to an impromptu story writing session when the children all enjoyed listening to each other’s story starters. Well done everyone!
07.06.24 We are Scientists
This week, Oak Class have been answering their science question – What am I like on the inside? They have looked at how diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle have an impact on the human body. They have been predicting what the effects are before learning about each one. It has created some great opportunities for group and class discussion and the children have been reflecting on their own life style choices! The children have a great awareness of positive and negative choices and have become real experts in advising and decision making.
The children also had a very exciting day on Thursday, when they were given a BMX lesson by an expert from Fusion Extreme. We were so proud of the children’s confidence to have a go and we were very impressed with their extreme stunts! They also had the chance to watch an amazing BMX demonstration.
24.06.24 We are Chefs!
This week, Oak Class have been in the kitchen! Their brief was to design a 3-course meal, which would include seasonal ingredients, for the staff of Whiteshill School. They made a survey for the staff to find out their nutritional needs and preferences. They then put together recipes to meet all of their success criteria. They prepared all of the food themselves in teams and chose how they would like to present them. The staff tasted each course and gave feedback so that the children could evaluate the food they had created. The staff loved their seasonal 3-course meal of warmed asparagus and lettuce; an orange and ginger chicken bowl; and rhubarb chocolate brownies. Delicious!
17.05.24 - P.E. and Fun at the Park!
This term in PE, Oak Class have taken part in the Try Rugby Programme run by the Gloucester Rugby Charitable Foundation. They have loved learning the rules and skills to play tag-rugby and next term some of the children who have expressed a particular interest in the sport will have the opportunity to play in a friendly tournament at Gloucester Kingsholme Stadium with one of the top teams in the country! The children in Oak class have also really enjoyed athletics training with a specialist teacher from Atlas sports.
We also wanted to share with you how proud we were of our Year 6s this week as they completed their SATs tests. They supported and encouraged each other throughout the week and tackled everything with confidence and maturity. They finished the week with a special trip to the park for ice creams! They were also very excited to receive their Year 6 leavers hoodies. Well done year 6s- you are incredible!
10.05.24 Seasonal Food!
This week in Oak Class, we started our new DT topic. In this topic, we will be designing a 3-course meal for the teachers of Whiteshill School using seasonal ingredients. We began by thinking about where our food comes from. We also learnt about seasonality and the time of year when food it at its best for taste and harvest. We researched chefs such as Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall and Rick Stein, who have promoted the use of local, seasonal ingredients in cooking. We researched which foods are naturally harvested in Britain in May. We enjoyed tasting some seasonal fruit and vegetables!
03.05.24 Net Zero Competition Winners!
This year, we were very lucky to have Pete and Harry from AtkinsRéalis to visit in Oak Class. They taught the children about lowering our carbon footprint and helped them create entries for the AtkinsRéalis Net Zero Superheroes Competition. The children worked in teams to develop innovative ideas to lower our carbon emissions in school. We are very proud to announce that Alex, Livara, Texas and Ayla were awarded 1st place in this year’s competition with their eco-friendly glasses design for children with dyslexia. They reached the final out of over 330 submissions from 40 schools across the UK and spoke incredibly eloquently in front of a panel of judges about their design. This was the judge’s feedback…
“Thank you for delivering your presentation on the Dyslexic Glasses – what a
fantastic, creative design! We loved that your invention as based on personal
experience, empowers those with dyslexia and champions inclusion. The Dyslexic
Glasses have impact from not only an environmental perspective, but also a
social perspective. You put in some great research and we loved your colourful
poster – well done, and keep up the great work!”
Well done to all of the children in Oak Class for their brilliant ideas and a huge congratulations to Alex, Livara, Texas and Ayla.
03.05.24 Mixed-Media Self-Portraits!
Oak Class have had a fantastic week putting together all of the skills they have learnt in our art topic. Working from their final designs, they created mixed-media self-portraits. They did incredibly well with their sewing and combined materials really effectively to create portraits that reflected all of their unique personalities. We are so proud of their amazing creativity! A very big thank you to all of the kind parents who donated material, ribbons, buttons, sequins and thread for the children to use. They were so lucky to have such a fantastic selection of resources to choose from.
26.04.24 Self-Portraits in the Forest!
This week in forest school, Oak Class continued their mixed-media art project by creating their faces using natural resources found in the woods. We loved the effect! In class the children have been developing their sewing skills in preparation for their final mixed-media piece next week. They learnt running stitch, cross stitch and applique. We were so impressed with their patience and perseverance.
20.04.24 We are Artists!
This week in Oak Class, we began our art topic. We have been learning about the mixed-media artist Eduardo Paolozzi. Over the course of the topic, we will be developing our skills to create our own mixed-media self-portraits on fabric. This week, we had a go at creating our faces using a range of resources including magazines and newspapers. All of the chidren’s pictures were so effective and unique!
12.04.24 Darwin's Finches
This science week in Oak Class, we have been learning about evolution and inheritance. The children have had lots of great discussions about the different family characteristics they have inherited! They thought about which of their characteristics might be due to genetics and which might be due to their environment. The children researched how different plants and animals have adapted to their environment. They also learnt about Charles Darwin. The children found out about how his observations of the Galapagos Island finches and their variation in beak sizes and shapes, led to the development of his theory of natural selection. They made origami beaks of different shapes and sizes and investigated their effectiveness!
22.03.24 Computing: creating video
This week we learnt about how to create videos using different techniques: head shot; body shot and long shot. Then the children learned how to create a story board before shooting their own videos. The children worked individually or in small groups and everyone produced their very own video.
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