Reception Class Summer Term Newsletter
Reception Class Newsletter Summer 2
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back! We hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable half-term holiday. We would like to warmly welcome Aaron Allison to the class who joined us a few weeks before half-term. Well done to all the children for being absolutely fantastic on our trip to Shepreth, watching the release of our butterflies with awe wonder and for a wonderful class assembly – they really are an asset to themselves, us and you!
We have another busy and exciting time ahead of us. Please do remember to send your child into school with a named water bottle and hat every day. Please also apply suncream in the morning. Please could you make sure that they have their school reading book and reading record book in their bag every day as some children are missing out on a new reading book as often as they could.
Our topic for this half-term linking nicely with our previous topic of minibeasts is Houses and Homes. We are hoping to look at habitats in nature, castles and houses around the world. Out texts will focus on these links – The Three Little Pigs and The House that Jack Built being a large focus to inspire the children’s own story writing. We would like to make some 3D models of different houses and homes so if you have any ideal boxes please can you send them in – shoe boxes would be ideal – nothing too big thank you.
Our specific focuses are as follows:
Communication and Language | Eye on the goal –
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Personal, Social and Emotional | Eye on the goal –
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Physical Development | Eye on the goal – Children show good control and coordination in large and small movements. | |
Literacy | Eye on the goal –
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Mathematics | Eye on the goal- Children count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. | |
Understanding the World | Eye on the goal- Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. | |
Expressive Arts and Design | Eye on the goal – Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. |
If you have any books about houses, photos of old houses or homes in different countries, we would love to borrow them to enhance the learning.
Transition into Year 1 – as always, at this time of year we are thinking about the children moving into their new class and year group. We will plan to do some shared activities and sessions and some of our lessons in the Year 1 classroom to support the children with their transition.
Ways to support your child – please talk to them about the long holiday and moving into a new class. They like to know that they are now the experts and will be able to help the new Reception children.
Please continue to hear your child read regularly and note in their yellow book they you have. Children that read regularly at home have made a noticeable amount of progress with their reading and writing. Do use the phonic cards in their bags to make words and practice reading the Phase 4 tricky words –
Dates for your diary:
Forest School – Friday 16th June, Friday 30th June, Friday 14th July
Picnic invitation – we would like to invite all the parents to join us during our last forest session on 14th July from 11am to share the love and enjoyment of the forest. Last year every child had a relative join us and it was very special (please bring younger siblings too). We would to stay longer and have a family picnic in the wood to celebrate their time in Reception class. Please keep this date free to join us (weather permitting) and more details to follow.
Tray day – Wednesday 28th June
Parents Consultations – 11th and 12th July
Class Swap – 19th July.
Best wishes to you all and please do catch us if you would like to help (with DBS) or have any queries.
Alison Course and Wendy Berrett
Acorn Class Summer Term 2017 Newsletter 1
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to the summer term – we hope you and your families had an enjoyable and restful Easter.
We have another exciting term ahead of us! Now that the weather is getting warmer, please make sure your child brings a named sunhat and a freshly filled water bottle each day to school. Please also ensure that sun-cream is applied before the children come to school.
The children will be sharing playtime and lunchtime with the rest of the school to prepare them for Year 1. Please can they bring in a healthy, no nut snack either as a whole piece of fruit or cut up in a named tub for morning playtime.
There is a small change to our P.E. days this term – we will be doing P.E. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and some Fridays (after half-term). We hope to be outside as much as possible so the children will need their PE shorts, T-Shirt, socks and trainers/plimsolls. It is unlikely that they will need their tracksuit this term.
Topic – Minibeasts. We will be using our school pond, wild area, allotment, Forest School and live butterflies to learn about and how to care for living things around us. If you have any spare seeds for the allotment and our outside area, they would be gratefully received, especially those that encourage bees and butterflies!
Communication and Language | Extending vocabulary – naming and grouping insects.Listen and respond to the ideas of others through discussion.Respond to two-part instructions, understanding humour. |
Personal, Social and Emotional Development | Takes steps to resolve conflicts with other children, e.g. finding a compromise.Children take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity.They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings.They work as part of a group or class and understand and follow the rules. They adjust their behaviour to different situations. They take changes of routine in their stride. |
Physical Development | Handles tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control.Uses simple tools to effect changes to materials.Children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movementsMove confidently in a range of ways safely negotiate space Children know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. |
Literacy | Attempts to write short sentences in meaningful contexts.Gives meaning to marks they make as they draw, write and paint.Begins to break the flow of speech into words.Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They read some common irregular words. |
Mathematics | Beginning to use mathematical names for ‘solid’ 3D shapes and ‘flat’ 2D shapes, and mathematical terms to describe shapes.Selects a particular named shape.Children count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20 (to 100 for MA), place numbers in orderSay which number is one more or one less than a given number Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing. Children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and solve problems |
Knowledge of the World | Show interest in the lives of people familiar to them.Notice that other children don’t always share same interests.Notice that others have different special days, e.g. birthdays.Care for creatures in the world around them. Understand the nature of the world around them. Know the life-cycle and habitats of living things. Programming using floor robot. |
Expressive arts and design | Initiates new combinations of movement and gesture in order to express and respond to feelings, ideas and experiences.Chooses particular colours to use for a purpose.Introduces a storyline or narrative into their play.Plays cooperatively as part of a group to develop and act out a narrative. |
Trip – on Thursday 18th May, we will be going to Shepreth Animal Park to support the learning about insects and their habitats. Letter to follow.
International Week – during the week commencing 1st May, parents and relatives of the pupils have offered to talk to the class about their experiences of other parts of the world.
Helpers – thank you to all those mums and dads who have been in to class to help at snack time, on trips and with reading. Morning snack has now finished, but do please come in to hear readers and to support at Forest School if you are able to.
Forest School- we will continue to visit Snail Wood every other Friday starting Friday 28th April. Dates for this half-term are as follows;
Friday 28th April, 12th May, 26th May, 16th June, 30th June, 14th July.
Please sign up on the sheet if you are able to help at Forest School- ideally we need two extra adults each session. Children should continue to wear plenty of layers as it can still be really chilly even in the summer, along with their blue waterproofs. We will collect these back washed after the last session before the end of term.
Reading – the children are making excellent progress with their reading. We will hear them read as much as possible and change their reading books. All children will read as part of a guided group this term so if you see ‘GR’ in their yellow reading record book, they have read with their group and an adult. Please do hear your child read as often as possible and read to them. They could always try to read books that you have at home to vary the genre of their reading.
We look forward to seeing you all soon, best wishes
Alison Course and Wendy Berrett