They say smiles are contagious so what better way to celebrate World Smile Day 2017 than share some of our smiles with you.
A big thank you to all our children for the smiles you bring us everyday.
We were all very excited for our Chinese visitors to join us on Tuesday afternoon. We decided to do two of our favourite things, PE on the apparatus, which we all enjoyed.
Followed by some art. We were so impressed with their Delaunay work we have shared some below.
Happy New Year! I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas.
This term we begin our Astronomy training, with lots of creative and imaginative play opportunities while we explore Space, the facts and the fiction. As part of our mission we are hoping to travel to the planetarium at the Centre for Life and find out how to send a rocket into Space.
This topic will also give us plenty of reading and writing opportunities, using both fiction and non-fiction texts.
We will be continuing our ‘I Like To Read’ book in school, using stories from the school reading scheme to develop story ideas and also encourage sentence building and independent writing. These books will not be sent home on a regular basis as all children will have their own individual reading book to share at home and Home/ School Reading Record to share positive comments and targets.
In phonics we will review the letter sounds with the emphasis on word building and blending to support reading progress and independent writing.
In Numeracy, we will continue to explore numbers through practical activities as well as some recording of number work to reinforce patterns in number and calculations. In topic based maths we are exploring measures with lots of practical activities which the children can apply in their play.
We have a coach from SAFC Foundation of Light coming in to help us develop our football skills this term so children will need their PE kit and PE shoes on Mondays and Thursdays.
Wizzy Work will continue to be sent home on Wednesday to be returned by the following Monday.
Opportunities for investigative play and child initiated learning will continue to be a central part of daily classroom activities.
Thank you for your support.
J.Evans
Following a successful first few weeks at school we are ready and raring to go, well, until about half past 2 when our eye lids start to feel heavy and our thoughts drift towards home time, tea and snuggles! Undeterred, our first topic is ‘Bears’, developed through familiar stories and rhymes. We will be doing lots of art work to brighten up the classroom and finding out all about bears around the world.
Soon, the children will be starting their first reader, which they will bring home to share. We will be holding parent workshops this term to enable the children to show you how we do it in class. We have been working through the first phase of the phonics program, developing listening skills and exploring rhyme. There are lots of fun activities you can do at home to support your child like sound games and making up silly rhymes.
In Numeracy, the focus is on developing vocabulary through practical activities, including counting rhymes, sorting and matching activities and number recognition games with a little help from our number characters which I hope the children will tell you all about over the next few weeks.
Alongside these activities, the children have lots of opportunity for investigative play and active learning, as well as demonstrating their I.T skills. Most importantly they have time to get to know each other and to gain their confidence with us.
Thank you for your support.
Thank you so much for joining us for our Family Picnic at the park. It was lovely to see you all. Thank you also for all of your support throughout the year, we hope you have a lovely summer holiday.
The garden is full of fascinating things, some with wings that move so fast they buzz, some with eyes on sticks, some that can move with no legs at all and some with armour to protect themselves. The garden at school is full of even more amazing creatures, created by the children themselves and they have their own homes to keep them safe because ‘Bugs need homes too!’ Well done Nature Detectives.
The children certainly impressed the guides with their knowledge of castles on our visit to Newcastle Keep.They were able to answer all of the questions, some of them before they had even been asked. We were also very proud of them for their good behaviour and stamina! (There were a lot of steep steps to climb.)
On a rather warm day we set off to Bill Quay farm in search of some mini beasts! After a quick introduction to some less common creatures including Dexter the hissing cockroach we explored a variety of habitats including the meadow where we found leaf hoppers hiding in the bubbles, the undergrowth where we woke the sleeping centipedes, a few lumbricus terrestris (worms) and caught sight of a few fast moving beetles. Then it was off to the pond to see which creatures lived there. Have a look at the photographs to see what we found.
Our first topic this half term is ‘Life Cycles’. We will be reviewing our knowledge of plants and how seeds grow and hopefully the outdoor area will not only be bursting with learning opportunities but also with flowers! Of course wherever there are flowers there are always mini beasts to investigate and we will be finding out how some of these creatures help the flowers and how others don’t!
We are hoping to extend our knowledge and experience of mini beasts with a visit to Bill Quay farm for a rambling mini beasts hunt and a spot of pond dipping.
Having completed our botany studies, as well as demonstrating our skills as budding entomologists, we will be becoming historians, finding out about what life was like in the Middle Ages, with a visit to Newcastle Keep to find out just how great it would have been to live in a castle. Not!
We are also hoping to organise a ‘Family Activity Day’ at the park before the end of term for the whole family. Watch out for more details coming soon.
Reading, writing and number work will continue to build on the skills the children have developed, focussing on their needs and ability using a variety of active, practical and fun approaches with some more formal work where appropriate.
Thank you for your on going support.
J.Evans
We had a fantastic day ‘Down on the Farm’ yesterday. There were lambs to feed, pigs to wash, donkeys to brush and rabbits to cuddle with a bit of time for some fun in the park. Thank you to Year 6 for taking good care of their Reception buddies, though it was a little strange for me as I can remember taking them to the farm when they were in Reception! Also, thanks to the parents who accompanied us, I hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did. Finally, a special thank you to the children in my class for making the day so special.
We got a little carried away with the photographs so it may take a while for the gallery to load but it is well worth the wait!
