Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Friends of Ukraine - our collaboration with The British International School in Warsaw - AN UPDATE
Sun 17 Apr 2022Hi Stephanie,
We hope you are all well, here is an update for you to share with everyone at High Oakham Primary School.
It’s been a very exciting and busy time at our Saturday Community Support Club for the Friends of Ukraine and Refugees.
We have seen numbers steadily rising and now have up to 80 refugees visiting the school each Saturday.
Here is a lovely letter from one of our guests.
Доброго дня дорогі наші нові друзі! Доброго Вам дня, Кевін. Від усієї нашої родини хочу висловити Вам подяку за той час, яки Ви присв'ятили нам, тим хто знайшов прихисток від війни в Варшаві. Це дуже цінно розуміти, що ти не опинився наодинці зі своєю бідою. Це незабутній час і масса приємних вражень, цікавого спілкування і смаколиків ;) Скільки будемо жити не забудемо. Зі свого боку дуже хочеться Вам віддячити і будемо раді, якщо змжемо бути Вам корисними в будь якій ініциативі! Сподіваємося ще не один раз відвідати Вашу чудову школу!
Good morning dear new friends! Good morning, Kevin. From all our family I want to express my gratitude to you for the time you assigned to us, those who found refuge from the war in Warsaw. It is very valuable to understand that you are not alone with your misfortune. This is an unforgettable time and a mass of pleasant impressions, interesting communication and goodies ;) How long we will not forget. For my part, I really want to thank you and we will be glad if we help you in any initiation! We hope to visit your wonderful school more than once!
Sincerely, Natalia Hudyk
Last week we had some of our Primary Year 5 students, helping to organise and run some fun games and activities for all the children. One of our Year 5s was overheard saying to her mum how she really enjoyed helping and it was a great day, the best.
We also had 4 of our graduates, who left last year, hear about the project. They are currently in Universities in Milan, London, Rotterdam and here in Poland. Visiting home for the holidays, they asked if they could come in to help and volunteer. It was great to see them again and affirm that the IB CAS program really is helping to encourage students to develop that caring sense of social responsibility.
This week we are planning an Easter theme – Some of our Secondary Year 10 students are excited and very keen to help, they have donated chocolate easter eggs and are planning an Easter Egg hunt. We will also put together some Easter Baskets for the Mothers, something similar to what is done in Ukraine at this time of year. Each basket will have a special Easter Cake, Fresh Free Range Eggs (from our own hens) cured sausages, a chocolate Easter Bunny and of course Vouchers (from your kind donations).
Here is another message that we received this morning from one of our other community partners, who have a number of refugees, that we also invite into school.
Dear Kevin,
I was at the College earlier today and the kids were so eager to share with me how much they are enjoying their time at the Saturday Community Support Club. Somehow we were able to communicate with each other. I ended up staying with them today playing much longer than expected. I am sharing this to show the positive effect you (and the school) are creating in these families lives. Moms and kids are smiling and venturing out of the College with a much more positive attitude. Thank you Kevin for inviting these families to join!
About this coming Saturday, they will not be able to attend. There is a good reason for it. All these families decided to prepare a "Family Easter Breakfast" at the college. They invited the director of the College and his wife and they want to have breakfast as a big family. This is the first time they ALL are doing something together.
Kevin, if the invitation for the following Saturday stands, I will happily organize for these families to attend.
Thank you very much.
Best Regards,
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It is only through the wonderful support from other schools, the generosity of our parents, teachers and school community, with fund raising and donations. Not forgetting the wonderful volunteers who give their time, that we can run this project. It is humbling to know that we are making a positive difference to help our Ukrainian friends and refugees during these awful times.
Kindest Regards,
KEVIN HALPIN
COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER
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Friends of Ukraine - our collaboration with The British International School in Warsaw - AN UPDATE
Mon 28 Mar 2022Dear Stephanie,
I thought I would give you an update on how things are here.
We have used the first of our donations to purchase vouchers which we will give to the refugee families that we are helping to support through our Saturday Community Support Club.
We will receive the first batch of vouchers in School this week.
As you know, as part of our Friends of Ukraine and Refugee project, we have started opening our school facilities for the new ‘Saturday Community Support Club’ I’ve attached photographs from our last 2 get togethers.
We like to provide a relaxed atmosphere for our guests, with tea, coffee and refreshments in the morning and a hot meal at lunchtime. What a wonderful success it has been!! Many of our IB and secondary students, along with some teachers and PTA members willingly volunteered. Bringing in a fabulous array of home baking and fresh fruit to add to the snacks available.
Our Ukrainian families have enjoyed being able to connect with each other. The food and toiletry donations have been very well received and we will continue to provide this along with the vouchers for the foreseeable weeks.
The children have really enjoyed meeting other children and playing together on the many fun activities available and burning off lots of energy in the gymnasium and outdoor play. Our outdoor community garden proved to be a huge success, with the weather improving, they helped to plant some seeds, including peas, beetroot, radish and lettuce. The look of surprise and wonderment on the faces of the mothers and children when they met and helped feed our very friendly and well trained free-range hens was just heartwarming. A couple of the parents confided in me afterwards that this was the first time since they had to flee Ukraine that they had seen their children laugh and smile.
We were also delighted and surprised with impromptu piano performances, one of our guests was a Jaz pianists who’s eyes lit up when he saw the piano and happily entertained us all. Another retired music teacher from Ukraine took over and said how wonderful it was for her to be able to play the piano again, something she hasn’t been able to do since leaving Ukraine. We even had a young girl shyly join one of our IB students on the piano and very ably played some lovely songs too.
Kindest Regards,
KEVIN HALPIN
COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER
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Friends of Ukraine - our collaboration with The British International School in Warsaw - AN UPDATE
Fri 18 Mar 2022Dear Stephanie,
Just an update of this weeks ‘Friends of Ukraine and Refugees’ project.
I’ve attached a letter that was sent to our parents yesterday by our Principal Ms. Sue Hill, this will give you a more detailed overview. (see below)
We are in full swing and our newly organized ‘Saturday Community Support Club’ will be starting this weekend, the plan is for the school to open every weekend, to provide a relaxed atmosphere, with our wonderful PTA serving tea, coffee and snacks through the morning and a hot meals at lunchtime.
We have fun activities for the children, supervised by our volunteer students and teachers, giving older family members a chance to relax and meet others who are in a similar position as themselves.
We will also be setting up tables so they can take home any toiletries and food items that they require. We had a big donation drive on Wednesday (I’ve attached a few photographs) we were moved and overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. Moving forward, we will be offering the voucher scheme, empowering them to more independence.
With the wonderful response to our donation drive, we are also able to offer support to other refugees in the wider community, later today (Friday) students and teachers will be delivering 12 large bags to the train station in Warsaw who are in real need of toiletries for the refugees arriving from the border.
We will also be sending a further 8 large bags, which will be driven this weekend, to an orphanage in Ukraine itself.
Kindest Regards,
KEVIN HALPIN
COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER
Dear Parents,
Our thoughts remain with members of our community who have friends and relatives affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. These are anxious and confusing times for our students and at times like these we know that they often turn to their teachers to talk through and better understand what is happening in the world. I want to thank all the teachers and teaching assistants for how they are supporting our students.
When faced with a problem of how to support the humanitarian effort, our decisions have been made through a series of collaborations. Parents, teachers and students have all contributed ideas and now I would like to update you on our actions so far.
Donations of items
This week, I have been incredibly touched by the kindness and generosity of our TBS community. On Wednesday, our Curiosity Cove was filled with donations of food and toiletries to support the refugees. The sheer volume of donations took almost a full day to sort into various categories and I must say a very big thank you to the PTA for their invaluable support.
12 bags of items: Healthy bars and snacks, medication, nappies and toiletries have been packed and will be handed out to refugees on Friday, at the railway station.
8 bags are being donated to an orphanage in Ukraine and are being driven to their destination to be delivered this weekend.
The remaining donations will be delivered to those being supported by families in our TBS community.
Saturday Community Connections
Sometimes, playing games, having conversations and meeting people provides a well-needed sense of community. Mr. Halpin and Ms McElhill have been busy coordinating a large number of volunteers so we may run our TBS Saturday Community Connections Club. Many members of our community have been opening their homes to those who have fled Ukraine. We aim to offer a way of connecting everyone, whether they are a host or a guest, during these sessions. Fun games and activities and food and drinks will be offered in a relaxed atmosphere. Please contact Mr Halpin if you would like to bring your Ukrainian guests along this week or next.
Raising funds
Nord Anglia Education has made an initial corporate donation of $100,000 to UNICEF’s Ukrainian appeal. Students can also apply for Charitable Giving Grants through our NAE Social Impact Programme, which is another excellent avenue for our students to make a positive difference. We already have a small group of inspirational students who are working with Mrs Sawday and Ms McElhill to apply for this fund.
Fundraising events are also being arranged, the first one being the PTA Quiz on March 25, so there will be many ways that we can continue to contribute to supporting the humanitarian effort.
Schools in the UK and US have also reached out to TBS to ask where their own fund-raising will make the most impact. They are keen to are keen to join with us and purchase food vouchers to be personally distributed to refugees.
School places for Ukrainian students
We have welcomed a number of new families over the past couple of weeks and I would like to extend a warm welcome to all those who have arrived from Ukraine.
Finally, we aim to make sure that everyone feels respected and valued. During class sessions, teachers will be helping children to talk about the way they are feeling however please do reach out to class teachers and form tutors if your child is personally affected. This will help us to provide special support and care for your child.
SUE HILL
PRINCIPAL
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Library refurbishment at HOPS
Mon 16 Aug 2021High Oakham Primary School has embarked on a refurbishment journey - to create an inspirational, calm and engaging school library. This is being completed in memory of Di Stendall who was our Chair of Governors and sadly passed away on 30th July 2020 following a fierce battle with cancer.
Visit our @justgiving page to find out more or scan the QR code below. Please share. Thanks! Click here or copy and paste the link below into your browser.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/highoakham-primaryschool-1?utm_term=Mzb63343K
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Transition timeline for Year 6 children going to Brunts
Mon 17 May 2021The Brunts Academy - Transition Key dates for parents 2020-2021
Primary school information and meetings
• Brunts staff have meetings with all Primary schools to discuss new students (17/05/2021 onwards)
• Mr Charity/Miss Duffy visit Primary Schools to meet year 6 students* (7/06/2021 onwards) *Please Note – where there are only 1 or 2 students coming from a school, meetings will take place virtually.
Welcome packs
• Official welcome pack from the Brunts Academy with key information about the school such as uniform, expectations, tutor for next year plus lots more (w/c - 21/06/2021)
• Reading packs (w/c - 21/06/2021) Virtual transition Our Official virtual transition programme will go live on the school website on 28/05/2021 and content being added will include the following:
• Welcome from the Principal
• Welcome from Head of Year 7
• Welcome videos from all the Year 7 Tutors
• Subject videos giving information on different subject areas
• Virtual tour of the school by Mr Charity
• Full range of other information about the Brunts Academy relating to Uniform, expectations, map of the school, attendance, enrichment opportunities etc.
Live events
Live events will be taking place and links will be sent through to parents via email address provided on your application form.
• Welcome Evening with presentations from the Principal and Head of Year 7 (21/06/2021)
• First Tutor welcome meeting with year 7 Tutors virtually meeting their new Tutees (5/07/2021)
• Second Tutor meeting with year 7 Tutors virtually meeting their new Tutees (12/07/2021)
Visit to the academy
We hope to be able to offer a one day visit to the academy (9/07/2021 TBC) subject to Covid restrictions at the time. For any queries during the transition process, please email transition@brunts.evolvetrust.org
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September starters 2021 - have you been offered a place at our school?
Thu 15 Apr 2021IF YOU HAVE BEEN OFFERED A PLACE AT HIGH OAKHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL, PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ACCEPT THE PLACE AS DIRECTED IN YOUR OFFER INFORMATION.
ONCE ALL PLACES HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED AND THESE HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATED TO US BY THE LOCAL AUTHORITY, YOU WILL BE CONTACTED BY THE SCHOOL OFFICE BY POST WITH A WELCOME LETTER AND FURTHER INFORMATION. THESE LETTERS WILL NOT BE SENT OUT BEFORE THE WEEK BEGINNING 10TH MAY 2021.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT ARE URGENT, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO GET IN TOUCH - EMAIL office.school@highoakham.notts.sch.uk OR PHONE 01623 46131 TO ARRANGE A CALLBACK.
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Wildlife watch - use 'screen time' for 'green time'!
Mon 01 Mar 2021Use ‘Screen Time’ for Green Time
and enjoy talking about wildlife and nature with
Wildlife Watch leaders and helpers
If you’re 8 to 13 years old, why not join us to
find out more about the natural world.
We are Mansfield & Ashfield Wildlife
Watch Group and we get together on Zoom on
the first Saturday of the month from 10.30 for
approximately 40 minutes. On Saturday 6 March we
will also be talking about beavers in Notts.
For more information or to book your first session,
please contact Sarah Spurry, Watch Leader by email:
mansfieldwatch@nottswt.co.uk or mobile on
07885169111
Have a look at our Facebook page and website:
www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/watchgroups/mansfieldashfield
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Being thankful - it makes you feel great!
Fri 19 Feb 2021Some lovely 'thank you' messages this week:
A well deserved thank you for our amazing superstar staff and their green pocket heart hugs from the Chad and also lots of messages from parents - very much appreciated.
https://www.chad.co.uk/education/superstar-staff-send-pocket-sized-heart-hugs-to-mansfield-pupils-3139033
Mansfield Police Inspector recognises our Early Years children and staff for their thank you pictures from Children's mental health week - Thankful Tuesday!
https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/neighbourhood/mansfield-north
We have also have this photo from the paediatric department in Kings Mills displaying our Year 2 thank you posters from Thankful Tuesday.
A lovely message was received from East Midlands Ambulance Service where Year 5 sent their Thankful Tuesday letters.
#nicetoberecognised #beingthankfulmakesyoufeelgreat
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The updated school plan - coming soon
Tue 25 Aug 2020Autumn term 2020 - our school plan
Planning and confirmation will take place this week in relation to our school plan - currently, this can be found in the 'letters home' part of our website. We will continue to be guided by updated government and local authority guidance, taking into account union recommendations and of course our own school context and governing body advice.
Please remember, this is unknown territory and the plan will only work with everyone on board and ensuring that they are doing what they need to do in relation to their part of the plan e.g. not being too early or late for drop off or collection.
A final copy of the plan will be sent out with changes or updates highlighted, on Thursday via ParentMail, will be posted on Dojo and will be put in the 'letters home' part of our website. Please ensure that you check where you need to be and when - any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch - office.school@highoakham.notts.sch.uk
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Preparing for going back to school - gov advice
Wed 19 Aug 2020Launch of the #backtoschoolsafely campaign
The government have launched a #backtoschoolsafely campaign to reassure parents and students that schools and colleges are ready for their return in September.
This is part of the Government’s wider Stay Alert campaign. You will see newspaper and billboard advertising from today, with radio and digital adverts from Monday 24 August, which will run until early September, alongside wider engagement with the teaching profession and local communities.
The latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics show there is growing confidence among parents that their children will return to school in September, testament to the hard work of school staff.
Parents are encouraged to visit gov.uk/backtoschool for information and practical guidance to help them plan for their children’s return to school.
Click here to visit the website.
