"Every child is a different kind of flower and altogether make this world a beautiful garden."

This week began with Remembrance day. Reception made poppies and shared them with one another. We watched a short video about Remembrance day and why people all over the country participate in 2 minutes silence. The children had clearly understood the importance of this day, as each one of them remained so still and respectful during the two minutes silence. It was such a special moment to see all of the children, so young, yet so full of understanding and self-control.

Certificates

Bobby Bee Hugo for… being so enthusiastic towards our learning. It is lovely to see and hear you during our Nativity singing with such gusto. You are also such a helpful friend towards others because of your smiley nature, and because of this you are always surrounded by friends. Thank you Hugo, it is a delight to have you as a part of our Reception family.

Bobby Bee Toby for… always being so enthusiastic towards your learning, even when you have been feeling under the weather this week. You are always so focused and show great determination, these are all such important learning skills. Toby, you most certainly have  a growth mindset, I cannot wait to see what you achieve this year!

Phonics

This week we have been learning our ‘High Frequency Words’: These are; is, it, in, at, and, to, the, no, go, I.

I have given each child their own pack of these words. The idea being to use these frequently at home. The aim of this is for each child to be able to recognise the words by sight. With High Frequency words, the children need to over read them to be able to recognise these words by sight, not sounding out. This later helps to build fluency when reading as the children don't need to sound out these words, they just remember the pattern/ sequence of letters and the word they make.

This week we have learnt the sounds:

th, z and ch . Please practise saying, hearing, reading ad writing these sounds.

PE

This week our skill has been: Throwing and catching

The children have had great fun practising their throwing and catching skills using balloons. I have included a balloon for each of you to continue practising at home.

Maths

This week we have focused our vocabulary and have been exploring width. Our new maths vocabulary is: wide, wider, widest, narrow, narrower, narrowest.

RE

We have been thinking carefully about kindness, what it looks like and why we behave this way to others. We have shared times when we have been kind, and when others have been kind to us and how his felt. I wonder what kindness you can spot at home this week.

Nativity parts

It is that exciting time of year once again… Christmas! Hopefully, you have found your child’s Nativity part as these came home this week. Next week we will begin practising so please, please, please, prioritise learning these parts. Remember to talk about the line before, so that they know when to speak. Thank you!

Reminder

On Thursday 21st November we have our annual Curriculum Evening. This is always such a brilliant night! It is the perfect opportunity to discover a little more about your child’s learning journey in school. This year our focus is Maths! And we have many fun and exciting activities at the ready for you to have a go at. Please come along to see how exciting Maths is!

We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

“The world was hers for the reading.” – Betty Smith

It has been another lovely week, although, we have been on high a alert for a big bad wolf. We received a letter on Monday from the Three Little Pigs, they were very concerned and wrote a letter to Reception. They wanted to let us know that the big, bad wolf is missing and could be near to school. The Three Little Pigs wrote a great description to tell us what he looks like and Reception have made wanted posters, which we are putting up around our school, just in case he is spotted. We will keep you informed…

Certificates

Concentrating Cooper Crab Teddy for... Improving your concentration skills so much. We are SO impressed with you and how much you have already grown this year. You now take part in class discussions brilliantly and follow all classroom rules, and even encourage others too. A huge well done Teddy, we are so proud of you!

Curious Clara Clownfish Gus for... Always being such a curious learner. You have been so enthusiastic to help the 3 Little Pigs find the big, bad wolf and have been making sure that our classroom is safe! We have also noticed how focused you have been which is brilliant. Keep up the great work.

Phonics

It has been lovely to hear so many positive comments about your child’s reading. Reception are so enthusiastic and concentrate so carefully during their Phonic lessons.

This week we have learnt the sounds:

j, v, y. Please practise saying, hearing, reading ad writing these sounds.

PE

This week our skill has been:

Side galloping

The children have really improved their side gallops. Please practise these at home.

Maths

This week we have focused our vocabulary and have been exploring heights. Our new maths vocabulary is: Tall, taller, tallest and short, shorter, shortest. Again, it has been lovely to hear you share how your child is already using this vocabulary at home!

We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

"Forget your troubles and dance."

Welcome back everybody, the children have come back refreshed and full of enthusiasm. Danceathon was such a success and any of the initial nerves were soon banished as all of the children danced all day long with huge smiles! At the end of the school day all of the classes went out onto the playground to dance the Cha cha cha. It was fantastic!

We have also started our new story focus, the traditional tale, ‘The Three Little Pigs’. On Thursday we found hay, sticks and bricks and the children concluded that the only possible explanation could be that the three little pigs had been into our classroom. Next week we will be exploring the story further, creating story maps and actions to help us to retell the story.

Today we went to church, our first time as a class! The children were beautifully behaved and sang the hymns we have learnt in class wonderfully.

Certificates

Seth for... always being so enthusiastic towards learning! Your excitement really rubs off on those around you and this means you are always surrounded by others. You are also very curious, you think carefully and wonder about how things work. Keep being curious and enthusiasm Seth, it is just wonderful to be around!

Tilly N for... Always concentrating so carefully. You are such a determined little girl with such a desire to succeed. You concentrate so hard during our learning challenges. It is so lovely to hear you chanting, “Concentrate Cooper” as you spur yourself and others on. You really do encourage your friends with such kindness and love. Well done Tilly!

Phonics

This week we have learnt the sounds:

L, h, sh and r. The ‘sh’ is made up of two ‘special friends’. When they are together in a word they no longer make their initial sounds ‘s’ or ‘h’, they make the new sound ‘sh’. I wonder if you can spot our new sounds in any words this week…

RE

We have been thinking carefully about our families this week and how special they are to us. We explored the similarities and differences between many different family structures. The children understand that we all belong to one big family, God’s family!

Reminder

Reading books should be in your child’s school bag each day. We change all of he children’s reading books on a Thursday. However, if your child has read their book a few times, shows good understanding and is able to tell the story or read the story fluently, please let either myself or Miss Neves know when dropping your child off and we can change their book that day.

We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

Happy Half term everybody!

Although we have had a short week, we have certainly packed in a lot! We were kept busy on Monday, making special harvest biscuits ready for our harvest celebration. On Tuesday we joined together with our friends from Year 1, 2 and Nursery, for our harvest celebration. We listened to Year 2 beautifully read a gospel story, Year 1 shared a special poem and  Nursery danced away to the harvest festival song. It was such a nice way to celebrate! Today, we have been looking at how to use electrical equipment safely and  what we should do if we are ever unsure, when using an IPad, IPhone or computer game.

We have had the most wonderful first half term in school. The children are all settled and have made delightful friendships with one another. We hope that you all enjoy the next week, spending time together as a family and resting up ready for our next exciting half term together. 

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

"If you can dream it, you can do it..."

It is hard to believe that we are already at the end of our first half term together in reception. The children have settled in brilliantly. It is always so wonderful to see their self belief and, “I can” attitude grow during their first term. They have gained greater independence and some of the difficult tasks, such as putting their coats on or getting changed from PE, are now becoming much easier!

Certificates

Enthusiastic Bobby Bee WILLIAM for… Your brightness, smile and enthusiasm. You are an absolute delight William. You have the most wonderful manners which every adult who spends time in reception notices. Well done William, you have had the most positive start to you school life, I cannot wait to watch you as you grow and achieve new skills.

Brave Tommy Turtle BETH for… Gaining so much confidence over these first few weeks in school. It is lovely to hear your voice during larger group discussions, this is something that was quite scary at first. Well done Beth! Keep believing in yourself, I know that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.

Our Phonic sounds this week are:

This week we have spent time focusing on blending (putting sounds together, p-a-t: pat) and segmenting (cat: c-a-t) words. We have also reinforced our learning of previous sounds and have focused on the sounds u and b. Please practise saying and hearing these sounds at the start, middle and end of words. We have also provided the sound cards to help you to practise forming these letters.

Maths

This week we have increased our understanding of the number 3 and the children are great at explaining how the number 3 is made up of; 2 and 1, or 1 and 2, or 1 and 1 and 1. Next week we will be focusing on 2d shapes and how these shapes link with our numbers.

RE

In RE this week we have been discovering all about how we pray the Rosary, using Rosary beads to help us. As you know we are collecting toiletries for a local food bank as we prepare for our Harvest celebration in school. Thank you so much to all of those who have already donated items! Please make sure that all donations are in school by Monday. Thank you for your support.

(Some item ideas: deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap etc)

Reminder: Next week on Wednesday 16th October we have our school photograph day. Please make sure that your child is dressed is full school uniform (not PE uniform). Thank you.

Danceathon

On the first Tuesday back after the half term holidays, we are holding our annual Danceathon. On this morning, the children should arrive at school around 8:15 ready to dance the day away. Everybody meets outside on the school playground for a whole school outdoor dance! We have so much fun on this day and all money raised will go towards updating our schools trim trail… which Reception are very excited about! Thank you once again for supporting our school events.

 Winning house teams: Well done Harcourt and Marsden. Your teams have managed to collect the most learning tokens this half term. Remember to wear your own clothes (Wearing their house colour if possible) on Tuesday next week!

We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

Good things come to those who wait. But the best things come to those who DO.

What a wonderful week we have had! Miss Neves and I are really noticing the children’s speaking and listening skills improve day by day which is fantastic! On Monday afternoon we had music with Mrs Mallinson and she too was impressed with the growth in confidence. Only a few weeks ago some of our children were nervous and reluctant to join in with singing and action songs… well not anymore! All of the children were up, singing and dancing with enthusiasm and excitement, it was lovely to see.

Certificates

Sean is a Concentrating Cooper Crab for... Focusing so carefully during your learning Sean. This week we have watched you concentrate carefully during your activities and carpet time. You have also been full of enthusiasm when taking part in learning challenges, determined to do your best. Well done Sean!

Charlotte is a Concentrating Cooper Crab for ... Concentrating carefully during your learning and really improving your self control. We have already seen a huge growth in your behaviour and confidence Charlotte and we could not be happier. This week you have tried so hard to make sure that you are always following our school rules, we are so impressed! Keep up the great work!

Our Phonic sounds this week are:

This week we have looked at the sounds p, g, c and k. Please practise saying and hearing these sounds at the start, middle and end of words. We have also provided the sound cards to help you to practise forming these letters.

Maths

This week we have increased our understanding of the number two and the children have been creating repeating patterns using 2 colours. You could reinforce this understanding at home by creating patterns using actions. For example: 2 claps, 2 nods, 2 claps, 2 nods ...

RE

In RE this week we have been thinking about how much God loves us. We went on a hunt around our school to find really big objects and the children proudly exclaimed that God loves them more than each object they found.

Next week we will start thinking about the Harvest celebration and how we are going to help families who need our help. Reception and Nursery are collecting toiletries for a local food bank. Please donate however many items you can. Our children always want to help make the world a fairer place. (Some item ideas: deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap etc)

Physical skill of the week:

Jumping!

Can your child do 3 jumps forwards? Are their feet together as though they have superglue in between them? Are they able to do 3 jumps backwards? Do they remember our special jumping checklist: Feet together, squishy knees, swinging arms?” Are they able to increase the amount of jumps they can do? How about changing the type of jump, i.e. jumps for distance or jumps for height?

We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

Anything is possible if you just believe...

Our learning has continued at a fast pace and we have already moved onto the third set of sounds. We have also been busy using our sounds during ’Word time’ by blending the sounds together to hear two letter (VC: Vowel constant eg. at, am, it) words. In Art this week the children have created wonderful paintings of autumn leaves! Mrs Curtis was very impressed with their painting skills. Alongside all of this we have been busy focusing on a new learning character called, Roger Robin, who COOPERATES with others, learning from those around him! After hearing all about Roger’s story the children set off creating their own Roger robin. These are going to create a fantastic display!

Certificates

Finley has been awarded a Roger Robin certificate for… Making such a wonderful shoulder partner during our class discussions. Miss Neves and I have watched as you kindly ask questions and listen to your partner. Well done Finley.

John Paul has been awarded a Bobby Bee certificate for… Always being such a happy and positive learner. You show great enthusiasm during your learning and always have a wonderful smile on your face! You are always surrounded by others because of your friendly, smiley nature. Thank you John Paul.

Our Phonic sounds this week are:

Set 3 sounds: d, i, n, and o. Please practise forming these at home by using the sound cards provided. We have also continued to spend time practising ‘Fred Talk’. This is our special way of speaking in sounds, for example, s-a-t, s-ea-t, s-w-ee-t-ie-s. Please practise this skill when talking with your child to support them to hear and identify sounds

Next week: We will continue to learn new sounds and hearing these sounds in words.

Maths

In maths this week we have introduced the number 2 by, “another one”. We had so much fun getting objects and pairing up with a partner to make 2! Following this we used red and orange cubes to REPRESENT our Numberblocks.

Physical skill of the week:

Balancing!

How long can your child balance on one leg?

RE

In RE this week we listened to the story, ‘Guess how much I love you..’ after which, the children drew all of the people who love them and discussed the ways in which we can show our love for each other. We then thought about God, and how He loves each one of us. The children are enjoying learning the song and sign language for, “There is Someone who knows me”. Hopefully soon they will be able to share this with you at home!

We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see..." - Edgar Degas

We have had such a busy week together as a whole class. This week the children have enjoyed trying new foods at lunch time. The dinner ladies have been very impressed with how well the children are eating their lunches. They have already noticed an improvement in the amount of food on the floor, well done Reception! We have also had our first art and music lessons with Mrs Curtis and Mrs Mallinson. I know that Mrs Curtis was blown away with the children’s concentration when drawing their family portraits. Please have a look at Mrs Curtis’s art page on our school website. There are many pictures of the children’s wonderful artwork from the week.

Certificates:

Concentrating Chloe for... really using your concentration skills during all of this weeks activities. Miss Neves, Mrs Curtis and I have been wowed with your detailed drawings. These certainly show off your super concentration skills. A huge well done for your first week in school Chloe, we are so impressed!

Exthusiastic Hudson for... being so smiley and happy each and everyday. You are a ray of sunshine in our classroom! Well done Hudson, you have had such a brilliant first week in Reception. You have made so many wonderful friends because you share, play and look after others so beautifully.

Our Phonic sounds this week are:

Set 1 sounds: m, a, s and t. The ‘m’ and ‘s’ sounds are stretchy sounds, “mmmm” “sssss”. The ‘a’ and ‘t’ sound are “a-a-a” and “t-t-t” Please practise forming these at home by using the sound cards provided.

Can you hear the sound in different words? Do you hear the sound at the start, middle or end of the word.

Next week: We will continue to learn new sounds and we will begin lots of ‘Fred Talk’. This means that we be speaking words in sounds, such as, “what word can you hear? C-a-t…” “cat”

Physical skill of the week:

Travelling in a space, avoiding obstacles.

We have been learning how to travel safely in our hall space. We have explored travelling in these ways; gentle jogging, side stepping and galloping.

Reminders:

Our PE days are TUESDAY and THURSDAY each week.

We ask that on both of these days children have access to shorts and any jewellery is removed before coming to school. Just a gentle reminder to label ALL uniform as it does become extremely difficult to trace uniform that is unnamed.

Show and Tell:

It was so special to see all of the children’s precious family items this week. All of the children spoke so proudly and confidently when sharing their show and tell with their class friends.

Next weeks theme for show and tell is: Something you had when you were a baby

(Photos, clothing, shoes, toy, blanket etc)

We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett, Miss Neves and Mrs Malley

"Let your dreams stay big and your worries stay small."

We would like to say a huge thank you for the support you have shown as your child has been settling into school life. We could not be more pleased with how well they have all settled into school. This week, during our settling in days, we have been learning all about some of our school learning characters. We have discovered all about Bobby bee’s ENTHUSIASM, Tommy turtle’s BRAVERY, Cooper crab’s CONCENTRATION and Lizzy ladybird’s desire to IMPROVE.

We have also been learning the Nursery rhyme called, ‘I’m a little teapot’. The children really enjoyed learning the actions too. I think we may just have some budding musicians and dancers.

Reminders for next week:

1. School begins at 8:45 and finishes at 3:30.

2. Our PE lessons will begin next week. These are TUESDAY and THURSDAY each week. Please remember that if your child does have their ears pierced, that their earrings are removed before coming to school on both of these days.

3. On Wednesday at 6:00pm, you are most welcome to come and spend some time in the classroom exploring our new school website. This also will give anybody the chance to ask any questions that they maybe wondering.

Show and Tell:

Next week our Show and Tell theme is: Our family. We would love for the children to continue to learn more about each other and therefore this topic will help us to do this. Please could you help your child to select a toy, maybe one bought by a special family member or one that holds a particular memory, or a photograph and discuss this with them before show and tell. Thank you.

 We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend together as a family.

Miss Bassett and Miss Neves

"One smile can start a friendship..."

We have been overjoyed with how well all of the children have settled already. New friendships are forming and we have already started to see their confidence grow, it has been magical. Miss Neves and I have been so impressed with how well the children are able to share and take turns independently. Like our school mission statement says, “You are precious in My eyes.” and our new Reception children are certainly making each other feel this way.

Some reminders:

1. Our PE days are on Tuesday and Thursday. Children are able to wear their tracksuit uniform all day, saving their time getting dressed and undressed.

Please bring (or wear) shorts for our PE days.

Remember all jewellery must be removed before school on PE days.

2. Our school lunch menu is on our school website under: Engage—Lunchtimes.

(Week beginning the 16th September, we will be on the week 2 menu)

3. Show and tell will be every Friday. You will find out what the theme is in your child’s Learning Log (Home Learning book) each week.

4. Please remember to send your child into school with a coat each day.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Bassett and Miss Neves