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FEBRUARY 2017 PARENTS & FRIENDS OF

OAKHYRST GRANGE SCHOOL

EXPL RE

WELCOME TO NUTSHELL Welcome to the February 2017 edition of the Nutshell which aims to update you on School

news, PFOG activity and general School life news.

This half term is always busy, particularly alongside the examinations that our Year 6

children all sit for their next schools. By the end of this term, it is also when the children

find out their results. As such, the PFOG team would like to wish all our Year 6 the very best

of luck.

Later this month, we’re holding our Family Night PFOG quiz on Saturday, 25 February and

look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. The event will take place at the

School from 6pm. Please make sure you complete your form and meal preferences in good

time. May the best team win!

This half term has seen a number of exciting sports events, including the recent Cross

Country event at Frewen pictured here. On the back page we provide further details

on Oakhyrst’s performance and results. Wishing you all a fabulous half term break.

The PFOG Team.

NUTSHELL The

Update from PFOG

Headmaster update

When I’m not @ School

Sports round up

25/02: Family Night

10/03: School Disco

22/03: Experience Day

24/03: Mother’s Day Tea

31/03: Easter Egg Hunt

20/05: Summer Fair

KEY DATES

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UPDATE FROM PFOG

Welcome to Nutshell. We hope that 2017 has started smoothly for you all. We’ve really enjoyed seeing the children wearing their house badges and they all seem very pleased to be displaying them on their blazers. Whilst we hope that the children are able to hang on to their badges, we also know how much fun they can have in the playground. Therefore, if your child happens to loose theirs, please don't hesitate to contact me. PFOG will be happy to replace it once. However, in the event that it happens again, badges will be available to purchase at a small cost of £1.00. Our Nutshell feature, “When I am not at School” has received considerable interest and it has been wonderful to learn more about what the children do in their spare time. Please continue to support this article by contacting us with information and photos about your child. We look forward to hearing from you and meeting more of our pupils. This half term, PFOG has been busy preparing forthcoming events and we have a number of exciting activities planned for the Spring and Summer terms including the Summer Fair (20th May) and the Summer Ball (23rd June) - make sure you return your form to guarantee your place. For both events, we would like to request your support in donating raffle prizes. If you would like to donate a prize or know someone who will be happy to help us in this regard, please contact me. With the entrance exams for Year 6 now over, next term’s activities get underway in earnest. These include our Family Quiz Night and Disco. We really hope that you can join us. - see front page for dates. We are now actively working with Mr Gear to agree the requirements for the sound system in Cameron Hall and we hope to be able to give you more details in the next edition of Nutshell. Thank you for your continuous support and to PFOG and the Nutshell teams for their continued hard work. Wishing you all a lovely half term. Emilie

SHOOTING PRACTICE FOR YEAR 2

On Saturday 21st January, I arranged for a crack squad of elite shots to try

their hand at clay pigeon shooting at Gatton Bottom. Sadly, they couldn't

make it so I got a few Year 2 OGS Dad's along instead.

After a few practice rounds, we got stuck in to a 30 clay competition.

Conscious I was probably the most experienced, I missed a few to help them

out. Nick (Samuel) Mulvihill soon shone through as a likely winner, his navy

experience aiding his cause. However, he was literally pipped at the post by

Stuart (Ellen) Hill with the very last shots of the day. Not all the other children

should be disappointed in their respective Dads though, the clear winner of

best dressed was Chloe's Dad, Mark (see photo and award winning scarf, I

think he might have borrowed from Jackie?).

It was a glorious day, only made better by the fine company, lunch and

drinks. The next day out will be at Bisley National Shooting ground, for any

other interested parties, please feel free to get in touch.

Dan Parr (Jasmine Y2 and Lucas Y4)

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OGS MUSICAL MASTERY

SCHOOL COUNCIL

ANNOUNCED

NEWS THIS TERM

This term, Year 4 performed the class concert. Here’s a few quotes from the children on their performance:

“We all thought that everyone played really well”

“The best piece was the class piece, everyone played different instruments.”

“We played symphony no. 9 by Beethoven”

Pupils who play an instrument meet together to play the hymn in assembly. Well done to all the children taking part.

HEADMASTER UPDATE

This half term has been particularly rewarding. Our swimmers had an incredibly successful day

representing the London South team in the ISA National Championships at the Olympic Pool on

Saturday, 21st January. 11 of our swimmers were competing and represented in excess of one quarter of

the London South team. Aspen achieved two magnificent bronze medals and Oliver secured a gold and

silver medal. All of our swimmers are to be highly congratulated. A special word of thanks to Mrs Evans

and Mrs Ashdown-Parkes for the magnificent work in coaching all of our children.

By the time that you read this, events will have moved on with regard to the proposed traffic calming measures in Stanstead

Road. I am aware of considerable concern about the proposed measures and have taken steps to express our concerns to the

Highways Agency.

Our Year 6 pupils are on the verge of being informed about the results of their next school entrance examinations. At this

point I can say that I am really proud of the amazing amount of hard work and effort that they have put in and that I am sure

that they will have done themselves justice. At a time when there have been several changes at Headship level in the senior

schools that we feed to, I strongly advise parents of children in Year 3 upwards to begin the process of considering next

schools. My experience has taught me that there is fierce competition for places at all of these schools and an awareness of

their individual composition and ethos is important in narrowing your choices. I am of course on hand to offer relevant help at

any time.

I close by thanking Emilie Gayral and her PFOG team for their continued help and support in organising events and activities

for the children and parents. We circulated information about the PFOG ball today and I would encourage you all to attend

this magnificent event.

I trust that you will all enjoy a happy and safe half term holiday. Alex Gear

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NEWS THIS TERM

The nearly new uniform shop is now managed by PFOG. If you require any uniform or wish to donate any nearly new items, please contact emilie@qst-ltd.com. Please note that we can only accept blazers with the updated OGS crest logo.

NEARLY NEW

UNIFORM

Congratulations to the students who sat their LAMDA exams just before Christmas. I am delighted that we received a 100% pass rate with all students gaining either a merit or a distinction grade. This is an

excellent result as a majority of the students were sitting these examinations for the first time and this can be a fairly daunting experience. All students worked incredibly hard and I was delighted with their attitude, enthusiasm and focus during the preparation period. Every student came out of their examination beaming with stories of how much they had enjoyed the experience. The comments from the examiner were very encouraging; revealing a high standard of knowledge, memory skills and confidence. A number of students were awarded full marks for their technique and their conversation with the examiner which is outstanding and a great life-skill to master and such excellent practise for interviews for senior schools and scholarships. Many thanks to all parents who listened and helped with the memorising of pieces. Your support is greatly appreciated.LAMDA examinations are designed to equip learners, whatever their age or aspirations, with a range of skills which will serve them throughout life. They are an excellent way of developing a child’s vocal and communication skills as well as their understanding of the written word. They combine an opportunity to unlock imagination and creative thinking and to build confidence in a non- threatening and enjoyable environment.

The examinations are open to all students and held at OGS in November and March. Students only sit one examination a year and I will be sending out a letter in the Summer term asking parents to register their child’s interest in sitting LAMDA exam when preparation begins in September. In the meantime, if you would like further details please don’t hesitate to contact me at alisondawson@hotmail.com. The LAMDA website is very good and has a lot more details. www.lamda.org.uk Good luck to all the students who are about to sit their examinations in March. Well done everyone. Alison Dawson

Saanya - Introductory Stage 2, Distinction

Introductory Stage 3 - Merit

Introductory Stage 3 - Distinction

Entry Grade - Merit

Entry Grade - Distinction

Rosie - Grade 1, Distinction

Amber Isabella Kian Claud Emma

Ava Alexandra Sabrina Jacob Finn

Amberley Alfie Freddy Tomas

Sebastian Paul Charlotte Aimee Sophie

Isla Eleanor Shen Syan Samuel Ayra

LAMDA RESULTS - THE SPEAKING OF VERSE AND PROSE

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WHEN I’M NOT @ SCHOOL... We want to know more about your amazing children and what they do outside

school—send your articles and photographs to your Form Mums for future editions. Here’s what some of our

children have been getting up to this term...

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As part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of Cubs, each pack was asked to find somewhere interesting to renew their promises. On Friday 16th December 2016 our group - 29th Purley - went to the Houses of Parliament.

Our MP, Chris Philp, gave us a tour then we were able to stand in the main chamber of the House of Commons to renew our promise. It was great to know the MPs had been there in the afternoon. It was a mind-blowing experience and the best trip in Cubs. Abi and Seanna

RENEWING OUR PROMISES

I’m Henry and am in LKG. I enjoy being busy outside of school and do a variety of activities but my favourite is Taekwondo.

I find the meaning and values behind Taekwondo teach children like me courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control and fortitude .

I attend Taekwondo once a week and thoroughly enjoy it. I’ll be moving up to a new belt soon which makes me very proud.

Here’s a picture of me in my uniform. Henry

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TAEKWONDO TALENT FOR HENRY

A MUDDY WEEKEND WITH THE SCOUTS

William, Jack and I braved the weath-er on the first weekend in January and went to a big scout camp in Gilwell Park. There were over 2,000 scouts attending.

The tents were close together and there was so much mud. We spent the whole weekend in our wellies but that didn’t matter as the activities were fab. We did 3G swing, axe throwing, cave bus, the big jump, archery, Segway, and loads more. We would all definitely go again. Megan

Thanks to our sponsors, Cleankill for

printing this edition of Nutshell.

Visit them at www.cleankill.co.uk

MINITHON

PFOG’S FACEBOOK PAGE Keep up to date with news and events..

Last December, I competed in a minithon.

You could choose three track and field events. I chose long jump, 60m hurdles and 600 metres. I was doing long jump first, I was very nervous but I got 2nd.

Next I had my debut hurdles, my tummy turning knots this time!!Finally I had my 600 metres and came 3rd.

At the end I got to meet Christine Ohuruogu, who handed out the medals, she is a former Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion.

I came 19th out of 43 girls. Estee

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SWIM SENSATIONS

OGS REPRESENT LONDON SOUTH On Saturday 21st January I went to the Olympic pool to compete in the ISA National Swimming finals representing London South Year 4 in backstroke and breaststroke. The pool was amazing, it looked massive which was really exciting. There were children from Oakhyrst and other schools who had qual-ified to represent London South, although we didn't all know one another there was a great team spirit and we all cheered each other along. My first race was the Breaststroke and I managed to come 3rd which I hadn't expected at all, but as we were all getting out of the pool at the end if the race they announced that there had been a technical fault and the race would have to be swum again. Luckily after swimming the race again I managed to still get 3rd place and got my first bronze medal of the day. There wasn't much time to recover before I had to race again in backstroke and I was thrilled that I managed to win another bronze medal. Although my races had finished I stayed the rest of day to support the other swimmers who all did really well. It was a great experience, I really hope I'm lucky enough to qualify next year and get the opportunity to try and win more medals. Aspen Year 4

DEFENDING MY TITLE

It was a freezing cold morning in January when we queued outside the London Aquatic Centre for the ISA National Swimming Finals, but luckily we get to swim inside in a nice warm pool!

In the first session I swam in the Year 5 50 metres backstroke event against the winners of the other six regions across the country. I was excited but also a bit nervous, mainly because I was swimming against several boys I had swum against last year. The race was extremely tough and it took all my effort to fight my way from third place to win the race by a few tenths of a second in a per-sonal best time. I was very excited to have defended my title from last year!

In the second session I took part in the 50 metres freestyle event. When you get to stand on the starting block that my hero, Michael Phelps, stood on in the Olympic Games in 2012, it is a very special feeling. This race was also very fast and despite a good start, I fell back a bit until the last ten metres when I was able to come through into second place and win the silver medal, also in a per-sonal best time.

The final race for me was the 4 X 50 metres freestyle relay with Ethan, Tom and Harry. This was yet another fast race and we swam our best to finish in fourth place, after finishing fifth last year.

A special thanks to Mrs Evans who helped us prepare for the Finals and looked after us and encouraged our team poolside at the National Swimming Finals. I hope we can build on this success for Oakhyrst Grange and get more swimmers to the 2018 Finals. Ollie Year 5

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SPORTS ROUND UP

TABLE TENNIS

The first ISA National Table Tennis Tour-nament took place at Sherfield School in Hook, Hampshire on Wednesday, 1st February. Oakhyrst entered a team of 8 children (Matthew, Ethan, Harrison, Edward, Rhianna, Sophie, Erin and Estee). In total, 14 schools entered the competition. In the U11 girls, there were 12 entries - Estee came 4th, Erin finished in top half. Sophia and Rhianna each won final matches to finish 8th - 10th. In the U11 girls doubles Estee and Rhian-na finished 3rd. In the U11 boys singles there were a massive 34 entries. Edward and Ethan finished 2nd in their groups and quali-fied for the knock out of the Cup but both lost in the next round. Harrison and Matthew both finished 3rd in their group and qualified for the Shield knockout stage; both lost in the quarter finals. In the U 11 boys doubles, both pairs won half their matches. All the children benefitted from playing so many matches and learning from each one. They played with a smile on their face and showed great sportsmanship.

Thanks to the mums and Marek who also gave their full support and with trying to cover 8 children who could all be playing at the same time; their support was invaluable. Janet Spicer

It’s been a quiet half term focusing on hockey and preparing for tournaments.

Our Inter House Cross Country event also took place this term and it was so nice

to see so many of you cheering the children on, in the fog!. This year was one of

the closest competitions I have ever seen; points are awarded with 40 for 1st, 30

for 2nd, 25 for 3rd, 15 for 4th, 14 for 5th and so every place counts.

The final scores were Stanstead 1192 and Hillside 1198, . Well done to all of the

children who ran their hearts out; I would just like to put your minds at rest that

the children do not run any more than what we do every week in lessons.

The following children won medals –

KG 1st Benjamin Holly

2nd Zachary Daisy

3rd Joseph Amala

Year 1 1st Max Claudia

2nd Calvin Sophie

3rd Harry Isla

Year 2 1st Samuel Leah

2nd Isaac Chloe

3rd Henry Jasmine

Year 3 1st Tomas Seanna

2nd Paul Gracie

3rd Adam Milli

Year 4 1st Declan Estee

2nd Jacob Aspen

3rd Joseph Lea

Year 5 1st Samuel Tamsin

2nd Ethan Rianna

3rd Harry Megan

Year 6 1st Conrad Sophie

2nd William Freya

3rd Tate Megan

We’ve had our

usual lost items

and many are

still unnamed.

Please check to

make sure all

names are still

present on

children’s items

as they do seem

to wear off.

Many thanks. Paula Pumphrey

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ISA SUCCESS AT FREWEN

ABRSM RESULTS AUTUMN 2016

There were 29 entries last term. Congratulations to all on their success!

Grade 5 – Jessica: Tenor horn, Piano and Theory; Freya: Clarinet, Piano and Theory; Clementine: Piano

Grade 4 – Sophie: Alto Saxophone; Kate cornet

Grade 3 – Megan: Violin; Lara: Flute; Abigail: Piano; Elisabeth: Violin; Sophie: Clarinet

Grade 2 – Lea: Violin; Ethan: Piano: Jack: Guitar; Seanna: Piano; Sebastian: Saxophone; Conrad: Piano

Grade 1 – Jacob: Singing; Tom: Cornet; Rosie: Violin; Tobias: Cornet; Estee: Piano

Prep test— Tamsin: P iano; Molly: Piano; Sebastian: Piano; Arya: Piano

Jessica, Freya and Sophie all achieved well deserved distinctions for their performances. Mary Byers

Monday 6th February saw the annual ISA London South Cross Country

at Frewen College in East Sussex. This year saw our biggest team

entered with 30 children - made possible by the generosity of parents

to offer to drive to the event – thank you.

The event started with the U9 Girls and as usual the whole field

sprinted off from the start, it was a joy to see red shirts coming down

the home straight with a healthy lead. Estee 1st, Aspen 2nd, Lea 9th,

with Gracie and

Seanna finishing

just outside the

top 10. The U9

Boys were

equally as impressive with Declan 3rd, Joseph 5th, Jacob 10th with Oliver,

Edward, Daniel and Christopher finishing outside the top 10.

It was the turn of the U11 Girls next and this was a strong field and the

girls all ran their best.

Sophie achieved an

impressive 5th place

closely followed by

Jessica, Megan,

Freya, Kate, Anya, Erin and Amali. The last event of the day was the U11

Boys; Conrad (despite being injured) ran a blistering race and was clear of

the field and stormed to victory followed by Samuel coming in 5th with

Jake, Ethan, Luke,

Sebastian, Tom, Tate,

William and Harry just

finishing outside the top 10.

In the overall categories we won the U9 Girls, the U9 Boys and came second in

the U11 Boys, a fantastic achievement. Well done to everyone who ran, we all

had a brilliant day out and we all especially like our new name – Oakyhyrst!