Reception Class Newsletter – Spring Term
Reception Class Newsletter 2018
Dear parents / carers,
Happy New Year to you. We trust you all had a lovely Christmas. Firstly, let me say an enormous ‘thank you’ for all the kind presents and cards that we received at the end of term. You were so very generous, thank you very much. Thank you also for coming to see your talented and wonderful children in our nativity – what a special morning. Your support has been brilliant.
We have another exciting term ahead of us in early years. We will continue to use Tapestry – our online learning journal – to make individual, group and whole class observations. Many of you are looking at the photos, videos and notes so that you can see how much learning is going on! Please do let us know if you are having any technical issues. Thank you for those parents who are responding with comments. It is great feedback for us.
The children are now full-time at school so the Spring term timetable is slightly different in that there will be more focussed group work in the afternoons. Please let us know how they children are adjusting to full days – we would like to help in any way we can.
We are starting this term with the book; The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas. This a beautifully illustrated story about feelings and encourages children to express how they are feeling and associated a particular feeling with a colour. We will do lots of work around colours in pattern, art and literacy. Then our topic will be Houses and Homes. We will enjoy learning about different places around the world and compare the homes there. We will also be reading a number of books about animal homes using stories by Julia Donaldson. After half-term, our topic will be Space. We are trying out some new ideas. Our role play area inside will become a ‘deconstructed’ role play area. The children will have a variety of resources such as boxes, empty tubes and fabrics so their role play could go anywhere. This will encourage the use of their imaginations and the language they use. Outside, they will be able to match this with the community wooden blocks. We have also made ‘mini-me’s’ which are small laminated photographs of child to be used in their small world and role play to encourage story telling and language development. They will be able to become a character in the stories we read.
| Personal, social and emotional development. | Children are confident to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others. They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and take changes of routine in their stride. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. |
| Communication and language | Children listen attentively in a range of situations. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. |
| Physical Development | Children show good control and coordination in large and small movements. Children know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. |
| Literacy | Children read and understand simple sentences. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.
They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read. Children use the phonic knowledge to spell words to write ad begin to write sentences. |
| Mathematics | 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. Children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. |
| Understanding the World | Children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools.
Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. |
| Expressive Arts and Design | Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. |
Phonics – we are continuing to follow the Letters and Sounds programme Phases 3 and 4. We will learn the final single letter phonemes and move onto digraphs – where two letters make up one sound e.g. sh/th/ch/ee/oo etc. We will send these home in their sound books so please make sure they bring this to school in the reading folder every day. Please refer to the sheet given out at parents evening which includes all of the phonemes, digraphs and trigraphs. We will be learning to read and write new tricky words. It would be worth having these up at home – my, we, me, he, be, she, are, was, they, you, her, all.
Reading – all children now have a reading book. DO please hear your child read / discuss the book with them as often as possible and record in their reading record book so that they can continue to make progress. Children will also be doing Guided Reading in small groups so please make sure their reading folder with both books are in school every day.
Library – we will visit the library on Monday afternoons so that the children can return their book and borrow a new one. Please keep their book mark in the book. They only need to bring the book in on Mondays so they don’t have to carry it in their school bag all week.
Bags – we have noticed that a number of the pupils bring a book bag and a rucksack into school. This is not really necessary. The book bags are ideal as they fit in their tray and don’t take up lots of room on the pegs which the rucksacks do! They only need to bring one bag in.
Forest school – we will continue to visit the wood on alternate Friday mornings. Please make sure children are dressed suitably in plenty of warm layers and wear a hat, scarf and waterproof gloves if possible. Again, we need some parent helpers – three per session – please. DO sign up for a slot in the classroom if this is possible. The dates are as follows:
Friday 12th January, 26th January, 9th February, 23rd February, 9th March,
23rd March.
Snack money – thank you for your contributions towards morning snack. The Government funded fruit is provided in the afternoons. Snack money continues to be £1 per week so that is £5 for the first half term plus £6 for the second half of term. Please send cash in a named envelope in the Friday Folder.
Helpers – we currently have parents who help at snack time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you would be free to help at all on Tuesdays or Thursdays, please do let us know. It is so helpful for us.
Named items – please make sure ALL items are clearly labelled – water bottles, clothes, bags and P.E. bags especially could be named on the outside to differentiate them from others! Our P.E. days continue to be Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Proud Clouds – thank you for all the lovely proud clouds you have sent in informing us of their out of school achievements. The children love sharing them with the rest of the class. We have been sticking them in their learning journeys. Do please continue to send them in. The children could make them and cut them out and even write them for you!
We look forward to catching up with you all soon.
Mrs Course, Mrs Berrett, Mrs Wyatt and Mrs Barker.
