Dear Parents and carers, Term: Autumn 1
Welcome to Reception! We are very excited for the year ahead and we are looking
forward to getting to know all the children along with their families. Please remember the
doors are always open and if you have any questions, queries or concerns to speak to your
class teacher.
The children’s first day pictures will be up on the blog soon, keep your eyes peeled. If you have an application form or GDPR form at home please could these be returned to school as soon as possible. The school blog on the website and Facebook page are a great way to keep up to date with what is happening in the classrooms and any up and coming events.
This half term will be sharing a selection of stories to help us settle in at school. These stories will include: Rainbow Fish, Giraffes Can’t Dance, Owl Babies, and Izzy Gizmo. Below are some of the things we will be focusing on this term.
Communication and Language We will be encouraging the children to speak in full sentences to express themselves. Focusing on a key text each week will allow children to become familiar with the story and retell the story using their own words. We also will be singing lots of songs.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This half term we are focusing on settling the children into their new environment, ensuring they are aware of expectations and rules of the setting. We will also be working on sharing resources and taking turns.
Physical Development
This term there will be a big focus on fine motor activities to strengthen our hand and finger muscles for writing. These are all of the ‘fiddly’ activities you will see around the classrooms, such as threading, using tweezers, cutting etc. Of course we will still be working on our gross motor skills in the outdoor areas as well as starting PE lessons this week.
Maths
Starting next week, we will introduce a number of the week, beginning with zero. The children will work on number recognition and representing the number in different ways. This will deepen the children’s number sense and basic maths skills. We will also be looking at counting accurately and matching number to quantity. These basic skills will set us up for the rest of the year.
Literacy
The children will begin our RWI programme soon and will be learning a new sound each day. They will bring home a sound of the day sheet so that you know what they have learnt at school and so they can practice these at home. Will will also be focussing on oral blending (Fred Talk) and hearing the initial sounds in words. Stories are a key part of our curriculum and high quality texts will be used throughout the day to foster the children’s love of reading.
There will be a chance for you to join your child for a phonics Stay & Learn on Thursday 10th October at 2pm. The children will receive a reading book for home in a few weeks time. A letter will go home with this, explaining more about the reading scheme.
Messages:
Starting next week, we will introduce a number of the week, beginning with zero. The children will work on number recognition and representing the number in different ways. This will deepen the children’s number sense and basic maths skills. We will also be looking at counting accurately and matching number to quantity. These basic skills will set us up for the rest of the year.
Literacy
The children will begin our RWI programme soon and will be learning a new sound each day. They will bring home a sound of the day sheet so that you know what they have learnt at school and so they can practice these at home. Will will also be focussing on oral blending (Fred Talk) and hearing the initial sounds in words. Stories are a key part of our curriculum and high quality texts will be used throughout the day to foster the children’s love of reading.
There will be a chance for you to join your child for a phonics Stay & Learn on Thursday 10th October at 2pm. The children will receive a reading book for home in a few weeks time. A letter will go home with this, explaining more about the reading scheme.
Key Dates
Thursday 10th October (2-3pm)
|
Phonics Stay & Learn
Parents invited into the classroom
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Monday 14th October
Tuesday 15th October
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Parents Evening
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Wednesday 16th October
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Individual School Photographs
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21st - 25th October
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Half Term
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Monday 9th December
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Reception Nativity 2.00pm
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Tuesday 10th December
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Reception Nativity 9.15am
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Friday 13th December
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Bedtime Stories
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Thursday 19th December
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Christmas Party Day
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Friday 20th December
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Last day of term
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Messages:
- Please ensure your child has a named set of spare clothes on their peg at all times.
- All uniform should be labelled with your child’s name.
- Please can toys from home stay at home. We have lots in school and it saves toys being lost or broken.
- Your child does not need to bring snacks to school. Fruit, water and milk are available throughout the day for the children to access when they need. The children only need to bring food to school if they are a pack lunch.
- Please let your class teacher know if your child has any medical needs, allergies or dietary requirements if you have not done so already.
- We ask that your child’s reading book is in school on their reading day each week so it can be changed and your child read with.
Kind regards,
The Reception Team
