But there was nothing gentle about it as 5 Willow used every last drain of energy when the virtual rowing machines arrived from Joseph Swan school. Years 5 and 6 all experienced the effort needed to row 400 metres in a timed competition against all Joseph Swan cluster schools. As the pictures show it was hard work! Well done to all, especially Carl, Nat, Alicia and Lauren B. who are the quickest year 5’s across all cluster schools.
On Friday morning 5 Willow visited the Sunderland Climbing Wall as part of their Mountains topic. After gasps of fear at the size of the 23 metre wall it was on to the safety briefing and warm up. Then, at last, TWO HOURS of climbing fun. As confidence grew so did the level of challenge, and I think it is fair to say that everyone pushed themselves to exceed their goals. Well done 5 Willow, it was great to hear the encouragement you gave each other as well as seeing the fun that was had by all!
Mr Raine took 30 of our musicians to take part in a Music Celebration Day at the Dryden Teachers' Centre. We worked with an artist to produce wooden leaves for a Music Tree sculpture for local musicians, the Avison Ensemble. When it's finished you will be able to view it on their website http://www.avisonensemble.com. We also learned to be conductors and heard Elizabethan music played by the Concert Royal, a trio of professional musicians from York.
Wednesday brought the chance for 5 Willow the visit Heworth CLC and experience a day of programming Lego robots to follow commands, (They’re far easier than children!!). After being introduced to their new plastic friends, children worked in pairs to input the commands to make them undertake a series of tasks. Judging by the smiles it was learning enjoyed by all!
On Tuesday the 8 members of the school Council spent the day at the Civic Centre finding out about the work of the elected councillors and the major. Once there they had the chance to sit in the council chamber and find out about the work of Gateshead Council. After lunch it was questions with the major before finally watching a real council meeting in operation. Not an everyday experience and one we are sure they will cherish!
Last Thursday all pupils in Year 5 visited local secondary school Joseph Swan for a sports afternoon. The idea was to experience some new sports and see what Joseph Swan has to offer. Check out the (rather dark) photos to see what we got up to!! (Sorry, flat camera battery :-( )
IT was a day that some Oakfield youngsters won’t forget.
The chance to meet five real-life astronauts was the treat in store for our School Councillors.
In spectacular style, the team-of-five from Space Shuttle STS119 landed by helicopter at Gateshead International Stadium and were whisked to the famous sports arena in a limo.
The NASA crew’s visit yesterday is part of a two-day trip to make studying science, engineering and maths more exciting.
And it did just that for the 3000 strong audience who heard Astronaut Mission Commander Lee Archambault and crew members John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Tony Antonelli, and Joe Acaba, dressed in their blue mission jump suits, talk about how they flew to the International Space Station in March to carry out assembly work on board and completing three space walks.
The school has a stunning memento of the event – a photograph of everyone with the crew. Mrs Robson said “It was a fantastic day and gave a clear message that you can do what you want to do with a little hard work and by listening in class. This is what you can achieve.”
Organised by Gateshead Council, the crew’s visit is part of a wider series of events to celebrate 40 years since the original space landing.
And as the space shuttle retires in 2010, this could be the last visit to the UK by the astronauts.
Astronaut Steve Swanson said: “It’s fantastic to be in Gateshead. This trip is part of a UK tour to raise awareness of our work and to get kids studying science and inspire them to possibly go into space.”
The crew was impressed with the warm welcome they received from the children.
“This is the biggest crowd we’ve seen since we arrived and the kids are really enthusiastic,” added Steve “I always wanted to be an astronaut but it was a long road and I had to study and work hard to achieve my dream; going to university and achieving a PhD before getting a job at NASA.
“That’s why it’s important to get the message across to kids early that anything is possible if you put the effort in.”
Year 4 had a brilliant day out at the Centre for Life last Friday. We went to enhance our study of ‘Moving and Growing’, and the way we react to our environment.
While there we took part in a set of workshops about skeletons, our lungs, muscles and heart rate; enjoyed a film in the Dome about moving in space; played games to show us how our senses work; took part in the Really Rotten Show in the theatre and, best of all (for most!!) had a trip on the Motion Ride (luckily before lunch!!).
A great day was had by all. A huge thank-you must go to all the parental helpers who helped make the trip possible. THANK YOU!
Over the last 6 weeks children from years 4, 5 and 6 have attended coaching sessions at school by members of Newcastle United Community Coaches. This concluded with an enjoyable trip to the home of Newcastle United.
Year 6 had a fantastic day at Harhope Quarry on Tuesday. We became scientists for the day as we investigated the rivers there to help our understanding in our Topic, Waters of Tyne.
The children put their wellies on and got into the river to measure the width, how much energy it had, how fast something floated down it and the angle of the slopes. It was really cold but really fun. No one got too wet though (well except from Ethan!).
A massive thank you to Mrs Soulsby, Mrs Brown, Mrs Richardson and Mrs Mather for coming with us. Without you it wouldn't have been possible.
Pictures to follow!
Dates of visits this term
15th May - 4T Whickham Thorns
22nd May - Y3 CLC
4th June - Y6 Alnwick Castle
6th June - Y4 Carlisle Castle
11th June - Y3 CLC
14th June - Y3 Bamburgh Castle
15th June - Y5 Bamburgh Castle
25th June - Y5/6 CLC
26th June - Y3/4 CLC
6th July - Y3 Sandcastle Challenge at South Shields
Basketball players and coaches from Newcastle Eagles came into school on Tuesday 28th November to work with Years 5 and 6. They talked to us about the risks of smoking, healthy eating and fitness. We all had a brilliant day and there's more to follow as we have 4 hours of coaching and a tournament to take part in, details of this will follow at a later stage.
Have a look at our pictures and see if you can spot your favourite basketball players.
Visit to Custom House on Thursday 22nd December to see Babes in the Wood.
Leaving school at 1pm and returning at 5pm