Oak Lodge School 0208 444 6711 info@oaklodge.barnet.sch.uk

First Day Nerves! Monday, 7th September, the start of the new academic year and the pupils’ minds seem to be racing with all sorts of expectations? Where is our new class room? What new teachers do we have and what’s new in the playground?

All went well and everyone seemed to

be pleased to see their friends again.

Our new year 7’s are settling into new routines well and are making new friends.

We welcome lots of new staff to the school this year.

Both students and staff are eager to get the year underway.

Therapy Input Your child may be entitled to Therapy from the Speech or Occupational Thera-pists. If you do not want this please contact the school.

Parents Social Events Committee International Food Event

Youth Club starts Thursday, 24th

Jeans for Genes day Friday, 2nd October

Quiz night 15th October.

Oak Lodge News 18th September, 2009 Volume 1, Issue 1

Last term, Mrs. Pagal and her wonderful friends organised a fabulous evening, which commenced with a spread of Malaysian & Filipino dishes.

Fortunately, it included an Oak Lodge favourite, lumpia (Filipino egg rolls),

followed up by a very enjoyable four hours of non-stop

dancing (an Oak Lodge tradition).

If any parents/carers would like assist at the next event, please contact the school.

2009-10 promises to be a very busy and exciting year and we hope to keep you informed of everything that is going on with our weekly newsletters.

A very warm welcome to the 18 new pupils and 14 new staff who joined the school this term. Eve-ryone seems to have settled in very well and we would like to thank you for the positive com-ments many of you made at the parents consultation evening this

week. If you were unable to come along, please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you have any worries or concerns.

Lynda Walker

basis throughout the year.

All students will be adequately supervised by teachers and teaching assistants and risk assessments will be carried out.

If you do not give permission for your child to participate in these trips, please contact the school.

As part of the National Curriculum, we plan to take our students out into the local area visiting places which are relevant in the schemes of work. These will include places such as the local library, local shops, fire stations and local places of worship.

We shall be travelling by foot, public transport or school minibus. These trips will take place on a regular

A word from the Head Teacher

Out and About in the Community.

and publications for their duration at Oak Lodge School, could you please let us know?

We are involved in numerous events over the year, which include day trips, sports activities, charity days out and many more. Often during these events, we take photo-graphs, some of which are published and used in various publications, such as the school prospectus. If you have any objections to your child being included in any photographs

Say Cheese!

Page 2 Oak Lodge News

I really enjoy

visiting the library

Parents Meetings Next parents’ / carers’ meeting is on Monday ,19th October.

There will be:

• Speakers from Barnet Mencap to let you know about the help & support they offer.

• A talk about Post-16 benefits for those of you with children aged 14+.

• Tea, Coffee and Biscuits!

• Other parents to chat to.

The British Safety Council recognises our commitment to educating young people about health and safety in the workplace.

We are offering our Year 11’s Certificates in Health and Safety in the Workplace and Entry Level Certificates in Workplace Hazard Awareness.

You can see the plaque we received from the council proudly on display in the school Reception.

Key Stage 3 News

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 3

L4 Welcome back Jacob, who has been in Australia. Well done to everyone for settling so well into the class.

What a fantastic start from all students in L2. This term’s theme is ‘myself and others’. We learnt about friendship and made finger puppets of each other. All students have worked extremely hard in all lessons. Keep up the good work!

We would like to welcome three new students to Oak Lodge School who are in L1. Jolene, Samuel and Reid. They are settling in to the class routine and making new friends quickly. L1 are running a Friday quiz with prizes! This tests the students’ knowledge on their learning throughout the week. This week’s winners were team 'Man You' with Louise, Jennifer and Saghar. Congratulations to all three!! Well done to Daniel for his excellent card-making designs and poster work this week and Nathan for working well with different members of the class.

L5 have really got their thinking caps on this year and have managed not only the transition to a new class remarkably well, but also the transition in and around a new school for most of them. This could not have been easy for them, so a big thumbs up to them. Let’s hope this continues.

L3 are enjoying their new classroom. We are settling back into the new school year and working with the new staff in our class.

Key Stage 4 News

Page 4 Oak Lodge News

S5 are settling well in to our new classroom with the space being utilised to the full. Next week, we are launching our first Asdan project –Party Planning and developing our physical exercise programme to include lap-running and bike-riding. S5 in action photos to follow! We would like to wish Thomas a happy 16th birthday for Wednesday, 23rd September.

Welcome to Siobhan, who has joined the S1 class this term and settled in extremely well. Although she has only been here for ten days, we can’t imagine the class without her. So welcome and well done. Here’s to a bright future with us!

S4 have been getting to know their new classmates, Shaqib and Shahista, who are really getting on well with the class. They add lots of smiles!

Welcome to this new academic year. We are S8 and there are 12 stu-dents in our class.

We have been to EasytFinchley Public Library borrowing books with our own library card. The new students collected the application forms. Mrs. Frankland and Miss Palyi are helping us, whilst Miss Cseko is teaching the class.

S6 have jumped right into Year 11. Students have already begun working hard towards their Year 11 accreditations. In English this term, we are reading scary stories and learning how to write an interesting scary story ourselves.

S2 have enjoyed their start to the year. They especially enjoyed their trip to East Finchley Public Library.

S3 are now enjoying visiting East Finchley library every Wednesday. We like to choose our own books and read them in school. Ashish likes reading non-fiction books and thinks it helps make him to be more independent.

S7 have enjoyed their first few weeks back. We have launched into all our work and are doing well. We have really enjoyed having Mr. Graham back as our Food Technology and form teacher.

6th Form are back in action. Everyone has settled in well, with the new students enjoying their new classes.

We have been enjoying lots of different activities, including shopping, gardening, cooking and lots of independent living ac-tivities.

We have included some photos so you can see what we’ve been up to.

the buzzer to be let in. Walk through beside the wooden hordings and Annie, Sally or Michèle will be there to give you a smiling welcome!

Ian Kingham, Deputy Headteacher

As you can see from the picture, builders are hard at work and making excellent progress on our new reception offices and community room. They are expect-ing to start roofing next week. Please see our website for more information. We have a temporary reception at the front of the school. If you are visiting us, just go to the normal pedestrian gate and press

6th Form News

Building for the Future

MP3 players are allowed on transport on the way to and from school, but again must be handed in

to the office in the morning and then collected at home time. This helps to keep them safe.

The school uniform is;

Black trousers or skirt.

White shirt.

Black jumper.

No chewing gum!

Mobile phones should only be brought to

school by independent travellers. They should be handed in to the office on arrival at school, then collected at home time.

Don’t forget …….

Page 5 Oak Lodge News

when you’re out and about.

• Make a shopping list and help to do the shopping.

Reading Places to practice

reading

• Read the signs at the shops.

• Read street signs

Recipes to try at Home.

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 6

In July, we had to say goodbye to our piano/keyboard teacher, Mr. Oded Abramovich. He has been awarded a first class degree in music and leaves Oak Lodge to complete his training to become a specialist music teacher.

However, we are happy to announce that, after a year away on success-ful performing tours of USA and Europe, Miss Beverley Harling will be returning to Oak Lodge as our piano/keyboard teacher. She will be

selecting pupils for lessons on Tues-days between 11.00am and 3.00pm. If your son /daughter is interested in piano/keyboard lessons, please speak to Mr Harrod.

The choir met for the first time this year on Tuesday at 11.20am. Eve-rybody had fun learning some new songs and we look forward to a great year ahead.

Once again, if your son /daughter is interested in joining the choir, please speak to Mr Harrod.

throat + Headache + Aching muscles + Tiredness + Limb/joint pain + Diarrhoea/vomiting +Chills

+ Loss of Appetite

IF SO, PLEASE DO NOT COME IN!

Keep your child at home and

DO YOU THINK YOUR CHILD HAS SWINE FLU?

Do they have a high tempera-ture (38C or above) and two or more of the following:

+cough (or shortness of breath)

+Runny nose/sneezing + Sore

contact either:-

The National Pandemic Flu Service

www.pandemicflu.direct.gov.uk

Tel; 0800 151 3100

Minicom; 0800 151 3200

or your GP.

A note from the Music Department

What to do….

water or alcohol hand-cleansing gel. At Oak Lodge, we have taken all necessary precautions under the guidelines. We ask par-ents and carers take the opportu-nity to help tackle any potential viruses/ diseases and help us by donating boxes of tissues and wet-wipes for your class. Many

thanks for your support.

SWINE FLU

The government have issued guidelines for Swine Flu and in-fectious diseases in schools. Swine flu is a type “A” influenza virus. On average, a person in-fected with the virus infects 2 other people. Hands should be washed regularly with soap and

Swine Flu

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 7

Middlesex County FA– Ability Counts Centre of Excellence Team Trials Age Groups:

Under 14’s (4 year banding)

Under 17’s (3 Year banding)

Venue:

Northolt High School

Eastcote Lane, Northolt Contact Andy Perron; andrew.perren@middlesexfa.com or 02085151927

The work on our new field has finally finished and we now have a fantastic new wheelchair accessible multi- purpose games area. Students are making full use of the new soft court field, especially with basketball and football games. The field also has a wheelchair access lane around the outside, which students often use for strolling around at break times. We have also had a bike track built, which will be available to students during P.E lessons to use with the new bikes purchased through Hearts of Oak.

Have you received the Newsletter by email? Help us save paper with

an email address!

Learning for Life

Being Healthy

Our new Multi Purpose Games Area.

Oak Lodge School

0208 444 6711

We’re on the web. www.oaklodge.barnet.sch.uk

Oak Lodge School

Dates are

Friday 2nd October

Friday 9th October

Friday 16th October

Friday 23rd October