A Happy New Year to all parents, children and staff of Oakfield and Temple Hill.
It seems as if we have been back in school for weeks, and that Christmas and New Year is but a distant memory! On behalf of my staff, thank you very much for all your kind cards and gifts we received. They were all greatly appreciated.
I am looking forward to this term, as this is often the term we see most progress from our children. There are very few distractions this term, which means good progress can be made in reading, writing and maths.
During the Parent Consultation meetings held this week, please make sure you speak with your child's teacher about their learning targets. Each child has a set of targets. These are displayed in the back of their work books and "flip out" at the beginning of each piece of work, as a reminder to your child what they should be working towards. A target is a small step towards achieving the next level or sub-level. A child's target might be "To use exclamation marks in my writing" or it might be "To recognise the names of common 3D shapes." Whatever the target, we would appreciate your help at home to ensure your child achieves it as quickly as possible!
I just wanted to mention that on Friday, we interviewed some trainee teachers for places on the School Direct programme for September 2014. This programme supports the training of teachers in a school setting. This year we have 5 trainees - Vikki Coombes, Tom Gale and Layla Priddy at Oakfield and Charlie McCarthy and Amanda Robertson at Temple Hill. All five trainees are doing a great job, and I can't wait until they are fully qualified. They are a credit to our schools and to the fine teachers who are currently supporting their training. Thanks to Sue Malone, Rachel Smith and Kari Hillkirk at Oakfield and to Emma Watson and Richard Moore at Temple Hill. Your hard work is greatly appreciated.
For September 2014 we have been successful in recruiting 3 trainees so far, with just one space left. Thank you so much to Sara Hawkins and representatives from Oakfield's School Council for putting the trainees through their paces during the pupil voice interviews. It is very important to me that our schools are led by our pupils. That is why six of our children had the opportunity to grill these new trainees, and feedback their findings, enabling the interview panel to make informed decisions about who to recruit for next year. Well done children - you were excellent!
GR
Monday, 13 January 2014
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Christmas Time
A very brief note to thank all parents for getting so involved in the life of our schools over this festive period. With an outstanding Christmas Wonderland organised by Temple Hill FOTHS (PTA), ice-skating for every child on the day too, as well as a great Christmas dinner, Temple Hill children and families have enjoyed lots of festive activities.
At Oakfield too, there have been lots of exciting things - such as the discos, ice-skating at Bluewater and Christmas Craft - in the afternoon and evening. I hope all Oakfield families have enjoyed themselves!
I heard on the news a few days ago, I think it was, that one headteacher had decided to cancel the school play, as Ofsted was coming... What a shame for the children and families of that school.. I firmly believe that learning to read, write and add up and take away are incredibly important skills - however, the joy of watching your child in a school play at Christmas - and the pride shown by each child as they sing their heart out will never be second place to an Ofsted inspection at Oakfield or Temple Hill.
GR
At Oakfield too, there have been lots of exciting things - such as the discos, ice-skating at Bluewater and Christmas Craft - in the afternoon and evening. I hope all Oakfield families have enjoyed themselves!
I heard on the news a few days ago, I think it was, that one headteacher had decided to cancel the school play, as Ofsted was coming... What a shame for the children and families of that school.. I firmly believe that learning to read, write and add up and take away are incredibly important skills - however, the joy of watching your child in a school play at Christmas - and the pride shown by each child as they sing their heart out will never be second place to an Ofsted inspection at Oakfield or Temple Hill.
GR
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Christmas is here....
I have had two really lovely days in school. Yesterday, I saw Oakfield KS2 children performing a range of songs and dances for their parents in the morning. I then saw Temple Hill's Reception and KS1 children in a wonderful play with even more singing and dancing. This morning I watched Oakfield's KS1 children attempt some pretty tricky songs - held together by a brilliant Mr and Mrs Claus (narrators). Tomorrow I am looking forward to Oakfield's Early Years' production.
We all love seeing our children singing and dancing. Even the smallest part in a school play makes parents and children alike, very proud. I am incredibly proud of all our children - and parents - for making Christmas' early start at our schools very special.
Over the next week and a half there are plenty of activities to get involved in at both schools. I know Oakfield children are very welcome to Temple Hill's Christmas Fair on Friday this week... Oakfield Y5 and Y6 are off ice-skating next week (good luck teachers!) whilst all of Temple Hill and our younger children at Oakfield will be off to the pantomime. "Oh no they won't - oh yes they will!!!"
PLEASE come and support our family craft sessions if you possible can. Your children love you being in school - and we love inviting you in too.
Finally, I would like to thank all the adults in school who make Christmas such a great time for our children. Many of our adults have children themselves, and are busily preparing for family Christmas events. However, night after night, the adults in our schools are preparing extra special activities and resources to make this time of year exciting in both of our schools.
Going back to the Christmas shows that many of us have seen in the last two days. They may last half an hour. There may be the odd "quiet" voice or forgotten word. However, the amount of time and effort put in to preparing these shows is immense. I think a great big thank you to all staff is well deserved.
I'm off to my son's new school on Thursday to watch his production. Haydn rarely spoke three and a half years ago. His disabilities mean that many everyday things for a mainstream child are incredibly tiring for Haydn. Two years ago I remember seeing H in a school play. He was left off the stage as his wheelchair couldn't fit, and he was dressed as a reindeer... So imagine how proud I am of my son who this year is the MAIN PART in his school play - "Big, Bad, Ben." This is a show about Ben who is a bit naughty, and tries to disrupt the Christmas story. I told his teacher this week that obviously Haydn didn't have to try TOO hard to be "Big, Bad Ben" as his behaviour at home wasn't always exemplary! Whether he remembers all of his lines or not, I will really appreciate the opportunity to go and watch him and his friends, and I will remember the huge amount of work put in by the school to ensure my memories of Haydn at school this Christmas are special ones.
Have a good week.
GR
We all love seeing our children singing and dancing. Even the smallest part in a school play makes parents and children alike, very proud. I am incredibly proud of all our children - and parents - for making Christmas' early start at our schools very special.
Over the next week and a half there are plenty of activities to get involved in at both schools. I know Oakfield children are very welcome to Temple Hill's Christmas Fair on Friday this week... Oakfield Y5 and Y6 are off ice-skating next week (good luck teachers!) whilst all of Temple Hill and our younger children at Oakfield will be off to the pantomime. "Oh no they won't - oh yes they will!!!"
PLEASE come and support our family craft sessions if you possible can. Your children love you being in school - and we love inviting you in too.
Finally, I would like to thank all the adults in school who make Christmas such a great time for our children. Many of our adults have children themselves, and are busily preparing for family Christmas events. However, night after night, the adults in our schools are preparing extra special activities and resources to make this time of year exciting in both of our schools.
Going back to the Christmas shows that many of us have seen in the last two days. They may last half an hour. There may be the odd "quiet" voice or forgotten word. However, the amount of time and effort put in to preparing these shows is immense. I think a great big thank you to all staff is well deserved.
I'm off to my son's new school on Thursday to watch his production. Haydn rarely spoke three and a half years ago. His disabilities mean that many everyday things for a mainstream child are incredibly tiring for Haydn. Two years ago I remember seeing H in a school play. He was left off the stage as his wheelchair couldn't fit, and he was dressed as a reindeer... So imagine how proud I am of my son who this year is the MAIN PART in his school play - "Big, Bad, Ben." This is a show about Ben who is a bit naughty, and tries to disrupt the Christmas story. I told his teacher this week that obviously Haydn didn't have to try TOO hard to be "Big, Bad Ben" as his behaviour at home wasn't always exemplary! Whether he remembers all of his lines or not, I will really appreciate the opportunity to go and watch him and his friends, and I will remember the huge amount of work put in by the school to ensure my memories of Haydn at school this Christmas are special ones.
Have a good week.
GR
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Temple Hill Choir needs your support!
A huge congratulations to Temple Hill Choir for making it to the finals of the Heart FM Xmas Factor, 2013!!!
Led by Mr Kitching, our music teacher, the choir's vocal abilities have reached the shortlist of 12 choirs. These will all perform on 10th December at Chatham Dockyard, before the winners are announced.
Please encourage friends and family to vote for our entry.
GR
Led by Mr Kitching, our music teacher, the choir's vocal abilities have reached the shortlist of 12 choirs. These will all perform on 10th December at Chatham Dockyard, before the winners are announced.
Please encourage friends and family to vote for our entry.
Go to www.heart.co.uk/kent/win/xmas-factor/#gusto-form-5255 and
register your details to vote and listen to our entry.
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
The BLOG is back!
I can not believe that the last time I updated this blog was over 6 months ago.... I am really sorry that this slipped by the wayside.
We have a new ICT technician called David, who is with both schools as an apprentice. He is doing a fantastic job, and he could certainly teach me a few things about ICT already - even though HE is the apprentice. He has given me a stern telling off though, and I have assured him that from now on I will be updating the BLOG as regularly as I can. I'll also make sure that there is a reminder on the newsletters for each school.
We all try very hard with communication, but sometimes, the teaching (quite rightly!) gets in the way. I was really pleased to see parents attend Dawn Funge's and Sara White's "Parent Forum" meetings recently. Ideas were shared about how to improve things at Oakfield and Temple Hill. We certainly take your ideas on board, so please keep sharing!
One item which comes up time and time again is HOMEWORK... I would love to know parents' views on homework. Do we offer enough? Would you like it online? Do you like the commercial books, or would you prefer teachers to be setting their own? Homework will be one of the topics we will be asking your opinion on during our consultation days in January.
That's it for today.
GR
We have a new ICT technician called David, who is with both schools as an apprentice. He is doing a fantastic job, and he could certainly teach me a few things about ICT already - even though HE is the apprentice. He has given me a stern telling off though, and I have assured him that from now on I will be updating the BLOG as regularly as I can. I'll also make sure that there is a reminder on the newsletters for each school.
We all try very hard with communication, but sometimes, the teaching (quite rightly!) gets in the way. I was really pleased to see parents attend Dawn Funge's and Sara White's "Parent Forum" meetings recently. Ideas were shared about how to improve things at Oakfield and Temple Hill. We certainly take your ideas on board, so please keep sharing!
One item which comes up time and time again is HOMEWORK... I would love to know parents' views on homework. Do we offer enough? Would you like it online? Do you like the commercial books, or would you prefer teachers to be setting their own? Homework will be one of the topics we will be asking your opinion on during our consultation days in January.
That's it for today.
GR
Monday, 22 April 2013
Term 5 is here!
I can not believe that we are in Term 5 already...!
Term 5 sees SATS for Year 6 and Year 2 - a stressful time for all involved.
This year's Year 6 children are facing a new test - the first time that a grammar, punctuation and spelling test has been used to assess a child's English level. I have absolutely no problem in children being assessed in this area, however, sadly for this group of children, there was very little notice and so the preparation that other year groups will have will be considerably more than this current cohort. We also have the added "challenge" that some of our teachers have never been taught grammar and punctuation themselves to this level, so there is plenty of "checking" and "revising" going on.
I really believe that there should be a high standard of grammar, punctuation and spelling in every piece of writing. However, we are currently trying to get our children to write more content - and sometimes the mechanics of the writing is secondary to the content and style. Some parents question this when looking through a child's work. Teachers want to make sure that children develop ideas and style, alongside good spelling - and sometimes, just sometimes, there is justification for focusing on the content and not just the amount of correct punctuation.
Year 2 children are currently preparing for the Y2 SATS tests. These tests are much more informal, and a teacher's judgement of the level a child is currently working at is much more important than the result of one test.
Year ONE children will also be taking a test later this year. The government now requires all schools to assess children in Year One to see their level of phonics knowledge. How well do they know their sounds? We all know that we need to know our sounds to be able to read and write - and this is why the government sees it as vital that we must assess formally a child's knowledge and skill.
Parents of Y1 children need not worry - the process is painless for most children. It involves sitting in a quiet space with an adult that the child will know well. A series of sounds and small words are shown to the children to read. The test doesn't take too long at all. Last year the children were treated to pictures of a range of "aliens," all with strange-sounding names. All the children had to do was use their phonics knowledge to read the names of the aliens. What will it be this year...?
Testing aside, the final two terms at school are incredibly busy. I have just put in a call to look at availability for our swimming gala in the final term. We are also in planning for our carnival fortnight, as well as all the other things that happen in those final terms. Trips and visits are likely to increase over the next three months - Year 4 children are off to the Natural History Museum for a sleep over in a few weeks. Good luck to them all!
GR
Term 5 sees SATS for Year 6 and Year 2 - a stressful time for all involved.
This year's Year 6 children are facing a new test - the first time that a grammar, punctuation and spelling test has been used to assess a child's English level. I have absolutely no problem in children being assessed in this area, however, sadly for this group of children, there was very little notice and so the preparation that other year groups will have will be considerably more than this current cohort. We also have the added "challenge" that some of our teachers have never been taught grammar and punctuation themselves to this level, so there is plenty of "checking" and "revising" going on.
I really believe that there should be a high standard of grammar, punctuation and spelling in every piece of writing. However, we are currently trying to get our children to write more content - and sometimes the mechanics of the writing is secondary to the content and style. Some parents question this when looking through a child's work. Teachers want to make sure that children develop ideas and style, alongside good spelling - and sometimes, just sometimes, there is justification for focusing on the content and not just the amount of correct punctuation.
Year 2 children are currently preparing for the Y2 SATS tests. These tests are much more informal, and a teacher's judgement of the level a child is currently working at is much more important than the result of one test.
Year ONE children will also be taking a test later this year. The government now requires all schools to assess children in Year One to see their level of phonics knowledge. How well do they know their sounds? We all know that we need to know our sounds to be able to read and write - and this is why the government sees it as vital that we must assess formally a child's knowledge and skill.
Parents of Y1 children need not worry - the process is painless for most children. It involves sitting in a quiet space with an adult that the child will know well. A series of sounds and small words are shown to the children to read. The test doesn't take too long at all. Last year the children were treated to pictures of a range of "aliens," all with strange-sounding names. All the children had to do was use their phonics knowledge to read the names of the aliens. What will it be this year...?
Testing aside, the final two terms at school are incredibly busy. I have just put in a call to look at availability for our swimming gala in the final term. We are also in planning for our carnival fortnight, as well as all the other things that happen in those final terms. Trips and visits are likely to increase over the next three months - Year 4 children are off to the Natural History Museum for a sleep over in a few weeks. Good luck to them all!
GR
Thursday, 14 March 2013
This weather is driving me mad!
Two and a half hours to travel thirty miles to school on Tuesday. All of this for about an inch of snow! I don't blame KCC for not gritting each road - it's just incredibly frustrating when I needed to be in work early.
I had a meeting with a representative from a company called Arbor on Tuesday. The meeting was with my Leadership Teams from both Oakfield and Temple Hill. We were looking at a new Management Information System that has come on the market. I can hear the yawns across the Internet - but seriously, this piece of software will help us to keep parents fully informed about what is going on with their child's learning.
Not only does it have the usual features of a management system that schools need (emergency contact details etc.) but it also connects with parents to let them know, completely up to date, what their child's attendance is like, how well they are doing in certain subjects, how this compares to groups of children in our schools and in the UK. It also outlines what is going on in their school day. Long gone may be the conversations we have all had with our children:
PARENT: "What did you do at school today?"
CHILD: "Nothing...!"
This system will be trialed in both schools across the next few terms, and you may be asked to help us out, with trialling the parent portal - which gives you up to date information about your child.
We are working hard to ensure our new websites are ready for launch shortly. Having trialled the new designs, I can definitely say that they are looking good - and you will all be able to have access to much more information about the school through the new sites. Of particular interest may be the new virtual tours of the schools, as well as up to date policies etc.
You will also find a link on both sites to Kent Fostering.
Fostering in Kent is a great services that looks after thousands of Looked After Children - not only originally from Kent, but from other counties and boroughs of London too. Myself and my better half are foster carers, and have been for the last three years. If anyone is interested in fostering, feel free to follow the link on the websites, or come and talk to me about it. It is so rewarding to look after a child who needs extra support and security. We love it so much - and two of the boys that we currently foster, w hope to finish the adoption process with very soon! I'll keep you all posted.
Hopefully, the weather will change in the next few weeks - ready for a bright, dry and considerably warmer Easter holiday!
GR
I had a meeting with a representative from a company called Arbor on Tuesday. The meeting was with my Leadership Teams from both Oakfield and Temple Hill. We were looking at a new Management Information System that has come on the market. I can hear the yawns across the Internet - but seriously, this piece of software will help us to keep parents fully informed about what is going on with their child's learning.
Not only does it have the usual features of a management system that schools need (emergency contact details etc.) but it also connects with parents to let them know, completely up to date, what their child's attendance is like, how well they are doing in certain subjects, how this compares to groups of children in our schools and in the UK. It also outlines what is going on in their school day. Long gone may be the conversations we have all had with our children:
PARENT: "What did you do at school today?"
CHILD: "Nothing...!"
This system will be trialed in both schools across the next few terms, and you may be asked to help us out, with trialling the parent portal - which gives you up to date information about your child.
We are working hard to ensure our new websites are ready for launch shortly. Having trialled the new designs, I can definitely say that they are looking good - and you will all be able to have access to much more information about the school through the new sites. Of particular interest may be the new virtual tours of the schools, as well as up to date policies etc.
You will also find a link on both sites to Kent Fostering.
Fostering in Kent is a great services that looks after thousands of Looked After Children - not only originally from Kent, but from other counties and boroughs of London too. Myself and my better half are foster carers, and have been for the last three years. If anyone is interested in fostering, feel free to follow the link on the websites, or come and talk to me about it. It is so rewarding to look after a child who needs extra support and security. We love it so much - and two of the boys that we currently foster, w hope to finish the adoption process with very soon! I'll keep you all posted.
Hopefully, the weather will change in the next few weeks - ready for a bright, dry and considerably warmer Easter holiday!
GR
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