Newsletters

22 October 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

There have been a few highlights over the last month; seeing children donning their high vis vests, boarding coaches and going on much missed trips.  Not forgetting the most wonderful Colour Run that was held in Great Holland Recreational Ground last Monday.  It was truly breath-taking to see the support of our community as well as the fun that the children had in taking part.  Huge thanks goes to the organisers for making it happen; Miss Rees who had an idea and ran with it (no pun intended!) and Ellie and Ian Gosling of Barnes Fitness who organised the course and the logistics of the whole event and made Miss Rees’s dream a reality.  Thanks also goes to Mr and Mrs Mash who spent the afternoon setting up and clearing away the course as well as Mr Mash being tail runner and making sure he came last!  Thank you also to all the parents for donating amazing cakes and biscuits.  The cake stall was a massive hit and £190 was made on the cake stall alone!  Thank you also to the Nxumalo family who expertly ran the cake stall along with Ms Newman and several others who stepped in when the queue became too long.  Over 230 children took part and the money raised came to a MASSIVE £3967.95!  A very special thank you goes to Rachel in Rabbit class for raising a whopping £220.  A special prize will be on its way to you! Huge thanks to ALL who helped, ran, took part and sponsored our wonderful children in this fundraising event.  Thanks to your support, we will be able to purchase some more, much needed playground equipment for the children to use and enjoy and lunchtimes.  The money will also support other projects within the school which will directly benefit the children. Ellie organises events like this and says:

"If your child enjoyed the colour run and wants to do more running events, Junior parkrun is a great, FREE, weekly, all-inclusive 2km running event for children aged 4 - 14 every Sunday morning at Great Hollands Pavillion at 9am. There are also lots of others all around the country - a full map can be found here." 

As well as the parkrun, Ellie has organised Dinton Santa Dash; a 2km or 5km run dressed as santa raising funds for First Days Children's Charity on Saturday 18 December which you may also be interested in joining.  

We had planned to have a big Christmas Fundraiser again this year, like the one we had in 2019.  Unfortunately due to the COVID restrictions this won’t be possible.  Instead, we will run our colour hamper auction, like we did last year.  Further details will follow after the half-term break (and when classes have chosen their hamper colour!).   Friday 26^th November will be a non-uniform day for donations for the hamper.

This year we will be supporting Children in Need which is on Friday 19^th November and on this day, children can wear their own clothes.  Donations for Children in Need should be made direct by following this link: Donate to BBC Children in Need

I hope you all have a good half-term break and a well deserved rest and I look forward to seeing the children back on Monday 1^st November 2021.

Best wishes,

Mrs Lagares

~ Notices ~

OPEN MORNINGS

We are running a series of open morning for prospective parents looking for school places in September 2022.  Spread the word about Wooden Hill and come along to one of our open mornings on either; 

• 3rd November 2021 at 9.30am
• 2nd December 2021 at 9.30am
• or 7th January 2022 at 9.30am.

To book a place click here and complete an online booking form or email bookings@office.woodenhill.bracknell-forest.sch.uk

We look forward to seeing you. 

CAR GATES

For health and safety reasons, please do not cut through the car park if the car gates are open.

BIKES AND SCOOTERS

Please do not ride, or allow children to ride, bikes and scooters on the school premises.

NASAL FLU VACCINATION REMINDER

Thank you to everyone who has given consent or non-consent for the nasal flu vaccine. Please can we ask those who haven’t to do so before 9.00am on Wednesday 10th November 2021 via this link: 

https://www.berkshireimmunisations.co.uk/Forms/Flu  

(unique code:BK109922).

Thank you,

Mrs Squires

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER

The school photographer will be in school on Tuesday 9^th November to take individual/sibling photographs.  

• Individual photographs of children – Tuesday 9^th November 2021
• Family photographs (children in school and nursery only) – Tuesday 9^th November 2021

POPPY APPEAL 2021

As usual, we have poppies and other items in school to mark Remembrance Day. 

These will available each day from Monday 1st November to Friday 5^thNovember (if still available).  All children will have the opportunity to donate money for a poppy if they wish.  Please be aware that one donation equals one poppy, as there are only sufficient poppies for children to have one each.

May we respectfully suggest a minimum donation of 50p.

The other items available are zip pulls and reflectors. The cost for these items is 50p each.  There are also wristbands available at a cost of £1 and snap bands at a cost of £1.50.

Nursery Roundup

To keep up with all the Nursery news follow this link...

Reception Roundup

Over this term the children have been learning all about autumn. They have learnt about the first signs of autumn. They went on an autumn walk collecting natural objects and then looking at leaves and pine cones very closely with magnifying glasses. 

They have also learnt about farming and why autumn is such a busy time for farmers and have found out about which animals hibernate and how they prepare for it.

They have had lots of fun making collages with nature and using their cutting skills to create autumn trees and squirrels and enjoyed changing the colours of natural objects by using the ‘colour changing screens’.

What a brilliant first half-term the children have had in Reception! We are immensely proud of all of them and how well they have settled into their new classes.

To keep up with all the Reception news follow this link...

Year 1 Roundup

In Year 1 the children have been getting used to the new style of learning. They have planned and written their own stories for the first time and got to put their phonics knowledge to good use. The children worked so hard and wrote some wonderful stories that will be shared at parents evening.

The term finished with the children having their first school outing! They thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the Great Hollands library. The highlight of the trip for the children was donning their High Vis vests and enjoying the beautiful weather on the walk! The children got to listen to some amazing stories and also got the opportunity to explore all the books, and loved getting to read some in the nooks and crannies of the library.

To keep up with all the Year 1 news follow this link...

Year 2 Roundup

Over the last 4 weeks the children have been writing the story ‘Little red reading hood’. They have used similes, questions, complex sentences, adverbs, dialogue, onomatopoeia and many more skills. Then they have had the opportunity to show off what they had learnt, rewriting the story and making changes where they wanted. They have worked very hard with their writing. The children have been introduced to editing this term, and have been encouraged to read back their work and find spelling mistakes and missing punctuation.

The topic ‘Where does our food come from?’ finished this week, so the children go to use their learning from science on plants to begin to grow their own vegetables. They have planted lettuce leaves, cauliflower and peas, and they can’t wait to take care of them and taste them.

Perhaps the highlight of the term was the trip to Odds Farm Park. The children were very excited when they arrived at the farm. The first activity was the tractor-trailer ride, where they enjoyed spotting the pigs, horses, sheep and goats in the field. Later in the day they got to see a cow being milked and also got to feed the pigs. A wonderful day was had by all.

Have a wonderful half-term.

To keep up with all the Year 2 new follow this link...

Year 3 Roundup

Year 3 have been writing their own holiday brochures to encourage people to visit Stone Henge and Skara Brae. They have been encouraged to use adjectives, imperative verbs and repetition along with lots of different features to make their writing persuasive. 

In history, the children have been learning about Skara Brae and the Neolithic Age and the changes that happened from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. The children got to take part in a debate about which age was best to live in, the Stone Age, the Bronze Age or the Iron Age. There were some detailed points to share, and they made sure to challenge the opposition.

In art the children have been experimenting with different mediums, such as charcoal, to create cave paintings

To keep up with all the Year 3 news follow this link...

Year 4 Roundup

Year 4 have been learning about the artist Roy Lichtenstein and pop art. The children learned who he was and why he is so well known and after looking at some of his work, got to do some of their own work in his style. Over the last couple of week the children have brought their knowledge of this style of art and merged it with their history learning of the Ancient Greeks to create Greek vases in the style of Roy Lichtenstein.

In history the children have been learning about Ancient Greece and the Olympics held by the Greeks. They learnt about the different events, and then had a go at acting the events out before creating freeze frames. Can you tell which events the Ancient Greeks had at the Olympics?

To keep up with all the Year 4 new follow this link...

Year 5 Roundup

The big question for year 5 this half-term has been, ‘What impact did the early Islamic civilisation have on the modern world?’. This has resulted in a cross-curricular topic incorporating RE, history, geography and art. The children have learned about the start of Islam and the founding of the Islamic Empire and the ancient city of Baghdad. They have learned about continents and bodies of water and have incorporated mapping skills to explore where Islam started and where that is in relation to us. They have also looked at the art and architecture of the Islamic world, designing prayer mats, exploring symmetry and making their own clay tiles. In Science, we have been learning about forces and carrying out investigations. In English, we have covered The Explorer and Gorilla, writing our own independent stories based on these texts. In maths, we have covered place value and addition & subtraction, exploring maths with physical resources, jottings and formal methods.

To keep up with all the Year 5 news follow this link...

Year 6 Roundup

Year 6 got to consolidate their learning of both electricity and lights over the last half-term, by planning and conducting their own experiments. They were asked; Does the length of wire affect the brightness of the light?  

The children got to discuss their predictions based on their previous learning, used sentence stems to construct their answers as well as key scientific vocabulary that they have learnt. Then they got to make a plan, write out their aim and method, and then conducted their experiment.

To conclude their work on Iceland the children got to do some cross-curricular work and created some fantastic artwork of Northern Lights using chalk and silhouettes. 

Finally, having come to an end with both their reading lessons on Street Child and newspaper report writing the children got to combine the two and write about 'the boy who escaped the workhouse'. They were able to show off a range of amazing writing features that they have learned so far in Year 6, and we had some great fun doing it. 

To keep up with all the Year 6 news follow this link...

~ More Notices ~

COMMUNITY LEARNING COURSES

Community Learning has several courses on offer this term that may be of particular interest and relevance to parents, carers and families and I would be grateful if you could help us to spread the word please.  Maybe a mention in newsletters or emails to parents and families if you think it relevant? Courses coming up soon include Paediatric first aid and Understanding food allergies, plus a course titled, Time for you aimed at targeting stress and would be great for parents and carers ahead of the busyness of the festive season. Please see further information to cut and paste into any communications.  Feel free to use the attached images too.

Paediatric first aid

Coming up soon is our short online course in Paediatric first aid, providing a quick guide to many common childhood health issues. Designed to give you the knowledge and confidence to deal with some common first aid situations, the course is delivered in a relaxed, friendly, and informative way.  You will look at how to treat burns and scalds, choking and learn to recognise symptoms of a bump to the head. It’s ideal as a refresher or it could provide a confidence-boost for carers and grandparents looking after children in the holidays or after school.  Find out more and book your place on the course running on Thursday 4 November, 7-9pm, it’s just £6 and easy to access online, visit:  https://tinyurl.com/CLPaedFirstAidOnlineNov21

Understanding food allergies

Understand more about food allergies, intolerances and Coeliac disease on our Understanding food allergies course running online on Wednesday 17 November, 6 – 7.30pm. There will be a particular focus on the main 14 allergens and how the risk can be managed both at home and in a catering environment.  It is useful for anyone with an interest in food allergies and is particularly useful for those looking to work with food, people considering running their own food business and those looking to work in childcare. Find out more and book a place at: https://tinyurl.com/FoodAllergyNov21

Time for you

With the onset of autumn and festive stock arriving in stores, it looks like the countdown to Christmas has started. The festive season can be busy and sometimes stressful and so why not book onto our `Time for you’ course and learn how to ease some of that stress?  You’ll build knowledge of self-care providing you with the practical tools needed to improve your health and well-being ahead of this super-busy season!  We have two courses running in December, the first is on Saturday 4 December, 2 – 4pm and if you miss that session, there is another chance to book onto a course on Monday 6 December, 7-9pm.  Both courses are at Bracknell Open Learning Centre and we hope to see you there. So, get ahead and get armed for the Christmas onslaught and take some time for you! Find out more and book a place at: https://tinyurl.com/CLTimeforYouDec21

~ Dates for the Diary ~