Thursday 6^th November

Two girls football teams travelled to Western Primary School in Winchester for away friendly matches. For many of the girls this was their first seven a side match on grass so they were particularly excited. Our B team played first and adapted well but unfortunately they ended up losing by a goal to nil. Our A team also lost by the same score line after conceding a goal to a well taken penalty despite dominating the game. Even though both teams lost Mr Stredwick was pleased with the overall performance of all the girls.

Tuesday 11^th November

Herne Junior School brought two girls football teams to Fair Oak to play a couple of friendly matches in preparation for the next round of the Hampshire Cup. Our A teams played their game first in terrible conditions which did not allow for any quality football to be played. Unfortunately, our girls lost two nil. Fair Oak B team fared little better and despite their best efforts, went down by four goals to nil.

Monday 17^th November and Friday 21^st November

Twenty five pupils were given the exciting opportunity to test out the new themed climbing walls at Rock Up in Whiteley. The pupils went in two groups over two days and had great fun trying out what for many is a challenging new sport. The centre offers multiple climbing walls all of which tower over 25 feet high! There are different routes up each one depending on the level of challenge the climber wants to have. All of the pupils who participated enjoyed their day and many were keen to try this exhilarating sport again in the future.

Tuesday 18^th November

Star Paralympic Swimmer Kate Grey put our children through their paces today during a fun-filled day designed to raise money for the school.

The Great Britain athlete, who won a Silver and Bronze Medal at the World Championships in 2009, led the whole school in a series of sponsored exercises, from star jumps to sit ups, while also teaching our pupils all about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Pupils also got the chance to pose for photographs and quiz the Great Britain athlete on anything from eating to exercise and hobbies to heroes during a special assembly held by Kate.

A big thank you must go to all of our pupils who participated in the event with energy and enthusiasm and also to the extremely supportive Fair Oak community for contributing to this sponsored event. Please could any outstanding sponsor money be handed into our school office as soon as possible.

Thursday 20^th November

Four girls teams were entered into a football tournament held at Wyvern between local schools. For some of the girls this was their first tournament but despite this, all of our teams produced some great football. The eight competing teams were separated into two groups with the winners of each group playing each other in a final and the second placed teams in each group playing off for third place. Group One was won by Fair Oak Reds with Fair Oak Greens runners up. In Group Two, the winners were Fair Oak Blue with Stoke Park finishing in second place. Fair Oak Yellow finished in fourth place in this group. That all meant that the third place playoff game was between Fair Oak Green and Stoke Park. In a very close encounter it was Stoke Park who came out on top by a score line of one goal to nil which meant that they finished third overall. The final was also a close affair but Fair Oak Reds ran out eventual overall winners of the tournament again by one goal to nil.

Tuesday 25^th November

Three of our Year 6 pupils had previously qualified for the first round of county cross country races held at Thornden School. Their age group races also included the best Year 7 athletes so our runners were really up against it! The top twenty finishers would progress through to the next round of races. In the girls race, one of our runners finished a creditable 39^th while our other competitor finished a superb 7^th! Our representative in the boys race also did our school proud by finishing 43^rd. Well done to our fantastic cross country runners.

Fair Oak Junior School entered four teams into a Year 3 and 4 boys football tournament held at Wyvern. The tournament included other local schools and the standard of play was extremely high. The teams were split into two groups of five with each team playing all the other teams in their group. Fair Reds, Blues and Greens were all placed in the same group while Fair Oak Yellow were placed into the second group. Fair Oak Reds finished runners up with a record of three wins and a defeat while Fair Oak Blues and Greens finished in joint fourth spot with two wins and two defeats each. Fair Oak Yellows finished their group as champions having won two and drawn two of their matches! Well done to all of the boys who participated with skill, enthusiasm and superb sportsmanship.

Wednesday 26^th November

Our boys A team played a football friendly match away to Colden Common. The Fair Oak boys quickly got into their stride by scoring early on in the game on an extremely difficult pitch and by half time they had raced into a three goal lead. Colden Common staged a revival in the second half to quickly make it two - three but our team asserted themselves on the game again and this was reflected in the final score, a six - two victory for the away team. Great preparation for the next round of the Hampshire Cup.

Thursday 27^th November

The Fair Oak girls A team played their Hampshire Cup quarter final match away to Herne Junior School in Petersfield. Having played Herne in a friendly earlier in the month our girls knew that they would face a stiff test but our team had trained well in preparation for the game. Fair Oak battled hard throughout the first half but at half time, Herne led by two goals to nil. Our girls fought back to make it two one but were hit by two well taken goals on the break from the home side. The result ended up in a four one victory to Herne. The Fair Oak girls could not have given more and Mr Stredwick was proud of the team at the final whistle despite the loss.

Friday 28^th November

Both our boys and girls table tennis teams had previously qualified for the prestigious country finals held at Testwood College in Totton. As usual, the standard of play between the teams was unbelievably high but our teams really gave a good account of themselves. The boys competition was split into two groups with the winners of each group playing in a final. Unfortunately our boys lost two really close matches to Abbotswood and Northern Parade which meant that they did not qualify for the final. The girls competition format was slightly different in that there was one pool of teams where everyone played everyone else. Fair Oak ended up finishing third overall beating Purbrook and Brockenhurst along the way which was a great result. Well done to all of our players!

The Fair Oak boys A team made it through to the quarter finals of the Hampshire Cup with a fine five three away win to Vigo Junior School in Andover. In a topsy turvy match in which Vigo twice took the lead early on, it was Fair Oak who eventually asserted their passing game onto the opposition who could not cope with their power, pace and accuracy. The final scoreline could have been more convincing in favour of Fair Oak but for last ditch defending by the home side. We now eagerly await the draw for the next round.

Star Paralympic Swimmer Kate Grey put our children through their paces today during a fun-filled day designed to raise money for the school.

The Great Britain athlete, who won a Silver and Bronze Medal at the World Championships in 2009, led the whole school in a series of sponsored exercises, from star jumps to sit ups, while also teaching our pupils all about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Pupils also got the chance to pose for photographs and quiz the Great Britain athlete on anything from eating to exercise and hobbies to heroes during a special assembly held by Kate.

A big thank you must go to all of our pupils who participated in the event with energy and enthusiasm and also to the extremely supportive Fair Oak community for contributing to this sponsored event. Please could any outstanding sponsor money be handed into our school office as soon as possible.

To commemorate one hundred years since the outbreak of World War 1, Fair Oak Junior School decided to invite each child, together with their family, to create a poppy. This poppy could have been created from a variety of materials in a number of different ways. We were astonished to see the range and variation of poppies that were proudly bought into school after half term; the poppies were beautiful. Carefully, Mrs Burns, Mrs Cox and Mrs Reynolds displayed the creations all around the school, ready for parents and relatives to visit as part of an exhibition. It was a huge success with parents commenting at the array of wonderful poppies on display. We are pleased to say the exhibition also raised over £200 to put towards the Royal British Legion’s 14-18 Legacy campaign. Well done to all the children and parents at Fair Oak Junior School that helped to create such stunning, original poppies and made this event incredibly memorable.

Pupils at Fair Oak Junior School will soon be rubbing shoulders with a Paralympic hero.

Star Paralympic Swimmer Kate Grey will be putting the children aged 7 - 11 through their paces during a fun-filled day designed to raise money for school funds.

Grey will lead pupils in a series of sponsored exercises, from star jumps to sit ups, as they turn keep fit into cash, while also learning all about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

The Great Britain athlete, who won a Silver and Bronze Medal at the World Championships in 2009, will be visiting our school on Tuesday 18^th November as part of the Team Super Schools Challenge run by Olympic gold medallists Darren Campbell and Jason Gardner.

“It’s fantastic for us to be able to welcome a Paralympic star to Fair Oak Junior’s,” said Head Teacher Jane Laurie.

“I’m sure it will inspire our children to take part in sport, whether that be aiming to compete at a high level or just having fun and staying healthy.

“We also hope to raise a lot of money in the process and that’s obviously a welcome bonus.”

Pupils will also get the chance to pose for photographs and quiz the Great Britain athlete on anything from eating to exercise and hobbies to heroes.