Oak Class 2023-2024

Welcome to Oak Class 2023-2024. I really look forward to sharing an exciting, hard-working, creative and enjoyable year with you all. 

Oak Class is made up of Year 5 children and the adults who work with them. We are the second most senior class in the school and, alongside our friends from Lime Class, we are part of 'Upper Key Stage 2'. We aspire to be kind, mature, independent, supportive and hard-working members of the school, pushing hard to get the most out of ourselves and each other, setting an example for those around us and upholding school, class, Christian and British values in all we do.

I am Mr Oliver-Dean, the class teacher. I am assisted in Oak Class by Mrs Lemery, a learning support assistant, for three mornings a week, by Mrs Gilbey, who provides teaching cover, and by coaches from KAS, who provide PE lessons once a week.

PE Lessons and Kit

Mondays and Wednesdays (until half-term)

Mondays and Thursdays* (after half-term)

On PE days, please wear PE kits. You may bring in plain tracksuits or equivalent when the weather is colder and/or wet. If a change of shoes is needed when the field gets muddy, we will ask you to have two pairs in (for example, school shoes for during the day and trainers for PE). Jewellery must be removed for PE. This includes hard hair ties and earrings. Please have soft hair ties available for PE. If earrings cannot yet be removed as they are within six weeks of ear-piercing, we will include children as best we can with alternative, meaningful activities or roles.

Please note that until half-term, the second PE day will be Wednesdays not Tuesdays as initially planned. This is because we have been fortunate to secure the services of a Chance to Shine cricket coach. *After half-term, the second PE day is likely to be Thursday but we will confirm this closer to the time.

Reading

Reading is of paramount importance for development and accessing the curriculum. It is a key focus in school and in Oak Class. Children have reading record books to chart their own progress and I will keep a regular record of what children have read. In Oak, there will be many opportunities to develop reading, individually, in groups and as a whole class.

The more quality reading a child gets outside of school, the better. Where possible, reading with and to an adult out of school is also very powerful and can have a positive impact on reading development. As a guide, typically a child in Year 5 should be able to read an appropriate fiction book in two weeks. Depending on the book, they may be much quicker or slightly slower. If a child is finding it hard to work their way through a book - either due to fluency or comprehension - I will likely intervene to help them find something more appropriate. 

Homework and Spellings

Homework and spellings are explained on the weekly letter, please see links to this above.