Reception
We have two Reception classes - Mrs Kennedy/Mrs Keay and Mrs Barnett/Mrs Gillard
Support Staff - Ms Tkacova, Miss Burt and Mrs Player
This newsletter aims to inform you of some of the routines, expectations and key learning areas so that you can continue to support your children at home.
This year we are pleased to be able to work again as a Reception Base. This means the two Reception classes are working together in one large space. The children will be interacting with all of the adults. Within the base, the teachers are Mrs Sophie Barnett, Mrs Ruth Kennedy, Mrs Laura Keay and Mrs Jocelyn Gillard . We are supported by our fantastic teaching assistants - Ms Martina Tkacova, Miss Tasha Burt and Mrs Gemma Player. The classes are called ‘Nightingales’ and ‘Jays’. In Nightingales Mrs Barnett teaches Monday to Thursday and Mrs Gillard teaches on a Friday. In Jays class Mrs Kennedy teaches Monday to Wednesday and Mrs Keay teaches on Thursdays and Fridays.
As you will appreciate, the mornings are a busy time and staff are not always available to speak with each parent directly. If you need to pass on information about changes to collection arrangements, future appointments etc please email pickupchanges@bithambrook.wilts.sch.uk by 1.30 pm rather than informing teachers at classroom doors. Any concerns or queries can also be directed to KS1Phaseleaders@bithambrook.wilts.sch.uk.
Please ensure children bring a water bottle to school every day. Please note drinks bottles should be named and only be filled with water, not squash please.
Can we please remind you that children need a pair of welly boots which will remain in school for the year.
Supporting your child at home
We expect you will want to support your children to achieve the very best that they are capable of and to this end we encourage even our youngest children to continue their learning at home. This might include:
- Sharing a reading book
- Learning phonemes (letter sounds)
- Learning a rhyme
- Practising name writing, letter formation or number formation
- Practising common exception words (more on this to follow)
Your child will bring home a sharing book in their reading folder. This is for an adult to read to them and we change these twice a week.
From time to time there may be a task or activity to complete which is topic related.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind you to please write in your child’s reading log book each time you read with them, as this is helpful for us to know how the children are progressing at home. Children will be rewarded with gold stars for their reading at home. If your child does any writing at home please bring it in to show us so the children can be celebrated in class.
As the year progresses and the phonics and reading knowledge becomes increasingly challenging, we would ask you to take the time to support your child with their learning. When children are consistently reading at home, progress is good. Please ensure that you are reading 5 times a week, practising common exception words and also support your child to practise correct letter formation.
PE
The children will need to come to school on P.E. days wearing their P.E. kit. We would ask that they wear a white t-shirt, black shorts or jogging bottoms and trainers on their P.E. days. Our PE days are Tuesday and Thursday in Jays and Wednesday and Thursday in Nightingales.
Clothing
Please, please, please could you make sure your children’s belongings and uniform are named. It is difficult to dismiss the children at the end of the day when so much uniform is unnamed. Despite our best efforts to keep all uniform in one place, they do get mixed up. If there is no name, it is very difficult to know which clothes belong to which child, especially as they are so similar. Frequently washed biro does fade so it is not sufficient to label clothing with this. In order to help the children become independent and responsible for their own uniform they do need to be able to recognise their name. In conjunction with this, we would like to ask parents to support us in developing your children’s independence. This may take the form of encouraging them to take off their jumper independently or showing them how to turn things the right way out. Now your children are at school we will be encouraging them to be as independent as possible, so anything you can do to support this at home would be great! Here are a few ideas:
Can they take their shoes on and off? (laced shoes are not appropriate and are not to be worn in Reception please) Can they take their jumper off on their own? Can they peel a banana? Can they zip up their bags or coats? Can they put their coat on themselves? Can they eat with a knife and fork? We’re sure you can think of many more.
Jewellery is not permitted except for watches and stud type earrings and if these cannot be removed children will have to wear micropore tape across their ears for PE.
This term our topic is 'Lost and Found'.
Phonics
- We will revisit and revise the Phase 3 phonemes and common exception words with an emphasis on spelling.
Maths
Our Maths work will focus on exploring numbers 9 and 10. We will be looking at ways to represent, order and compare, e.g. arranging 9 or 10 items into small groups. This enables them to subitise (recognise instantly) these larger numbers and explore their composition, e.g. ‘I know it is 9 because I can see 3 and 3 and 3.’
We will be developing our knowledge of number bonds within 10, using real objects in different contexts.
We will be exploring length, height and time.
We will introduce the concept of doubling.
Literacy
We will be reading ‘Mrs Lathers’ Laundry’ by Ahlberg and Amstutz, ‘Lost and Found’ by Oliver Jeffers and ‘Song of the River’ by Joy Cowley and Kimberly Andrews. We will be learning to make predictions, write letters, add our own ideas to a story and
draw story maps.
We will read non-fiction books about the life cycle of a frog. The children will learn to write captions and include facts in a sentence.
The children will take part in weekly handwriting lessons.
Music
Music will be based on the theme of Spring. The children will listen to Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’, particularly focussing on the spring section and think about the composition for this season of the year.
They will enjoy creating music and dance and learn some songs associated with Spring.
Art
In Art we will be learning to add finer details to observational drawings.
We will explore creating texture in clay.
We are going to learn joining skills in order to develop our models and would appreciate continued donations of small boxes.
Physical Development
In PE we will be continuing to participate in our weekly dance sessions.
We will also be returning to football in our Thursday sessions. We will be thinking again about using our dominant foot to kick, how we successfully pass to our team mates and how we can receive the ball from others.
PSHE
Our PSHE topic this term is ‘Healthy Me’. We will be discussing the importance of a healthy diet, sleep routines and regular exercise.
We will continue to explore ‘feelings’ and encourage children to talk about how they are feeling and how to manage emotions.
Understanding the World
We will be learning to observe and compare and find similarities and differences.
We will investigate the life cycle of a frog.
We will extend our knowledge of animals, their key features and varied diets.
We will observe our surroundings for signs of spring.
In History we will be identifying and comparing changes in how washing has been done over time. We will compare artefacts linked to the way washing was done 100 years ago, e.g old iron and new irons.
In Geography we will focus on developing our knowledge of mapping through stories. We will focus too on investigating the key features of Antarctica.
Previous Class Newsletters