End of Term Spring 2 and the start of Summer Term

We began the term in Oak Class by asking ourselves the question, ‘Are all eggs the same?’ Our learning has very much focused on enquiry and investigation skills and by the end of the term we’ve been able to answer our question with a resounding ‘no’.  All eggs aren’t the same; from the tiny hummingbird egg to the enormous ostrich egg, the children have loved finding out about the world around them.  We have been incredibly lucky with the number of volunteers to accompany us on our weekly Wednesday Wellie Walks.  This has enabled us to explore our village and continue to use these enquiry and exploration skills.  From practising our letters, continuing on our path to develop a love of reading, learning about length, height, number bonds, shapes and patterns to learning  the story of Easter, it has been a fun-filled, action-packed term and the children are growing, developing and changing before our very eyes.

Roll on next term when the weather promises to get better.  Our new term’s learning kicks off with a class trip to Riverbourne Community Farm when we will start to think about our next term’s question, ‘How does it grow?’ Watch this space!...

As ever, if you wish to speak with a member of staff about any concerns or queries, do contact us through Seesaw or the front office.

Our first week back after the half term break has been a busy one as always.  We have been looking at patterns to 10 in maths as well as measuring and comparing different quantities of liquids, learning new mathematical vocabulary and securing our learning of 'one more' and 'one less'.

Our reading is going from strength to strength.  We have been learning the digraphs 'oo', 'ar' and 'or' as revision from last term as well as the trigraph 'igh'.  We have consolidated this learning through our reading scheme books as well as finding success with writing these new sounds and incorporating this into our writing in class. I have been blown away by the progress the children have been making in their writing.  I hope that the Writing Workshop last term helped to inform you of the end of year expectations for our Reception children and that the weekly homework on Seesaw has helped you to embed these vital skills too.  Thank you all for your continuing support for the children.  As you know, all the extra work that is put in at home is so important in helping to bring the children on. 

Next week promises to be another busy week in Oak Class as we look forward to Book Week and lots of fun activities.

Enjoy the photos below which show just some of the things that Oak Class have been up to this week. 

January/ February 2023

At the end of January we had a visiting Gymnastics instructor, Juliet, who taught Oak class for a session.

February 2023

As the first half of the Spring Term draws to a close, we look back on what's been a very busy term. From lambs visiting our school playground, a dental nurse talking to us about how to keep our teeth clean to a very well-attended Parent Writing Workshop, it's hard to imagine that we've only been back for 6 weeks!

The children are making great strides with their learning.  They are blending the sounds they know to read stories, they are practising using all the sounds in their writing, exploring numbers to 10 through comparing, adding and taking away, exploring skills learnt in Expressive Arts and Design as well as learning about the world around them through a variety of cross-curricular links in Knowledge and Understanding of the World and RE.  They have also practiced important skills in Dance during our weekly PE sessions in the hall.

Your children's teachers very much look forward to meeting with you all for our Parents Appointments shortly after half term when we can discuss your children's attainment and progress and set learning objectives for the term ahead.  Wishing you all a happy and healthy half term break and we look forward to welcoming your children back on Tuesday 21st February. 

January 2023

We started the new term with a visit from some local shepherds who brought in some lambs and dogs- this linked really well with our story of the week 'The Snow Lambs' by Debi Gliori.  The shepherds helped us to understand how the lambs were born, what the dogs had to do and also told us about their job of shepherding.

Welcome back to school and Happy New Year to you all.  We hope you had a lovely Christmas break.

This term promises to be a wonderful, fun-packed term which always sees the children becoming increasingly independent and confident and their academic, emotional and social progress blossoms. 

We will be exploring the theme of Winter where we will be learning about Winter, the Arctic and about different habitats and making comparisons between different areas in the world.  We welcome Mrs Parsons, our music teacher into school later on this month and we are hoping to have some shepherds to visit and access to a visiting dental nurse who can talk to us about the importance of dental hygiene. 

Our Parent Planner above, details the work we will be covering within the Prime Areas of the EYFS curriculum but also within the Specific areas too.  Your support in helping the children with their reading and phonics is very much appreciated and makes such a HUGE difference to the children's progress.  We will be holding a Parent Meeting later in the month to inform you about Early Writing within the EYFS and ways in which you can further support your child at home.  Looking forward to next term, we will be putting on a Parent Workshop to do with Maths understanding and again, how you can support your son or daughter with the key concepts we cover throughout this year.  We hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend.

As always, please don't hesitate to come to speak with any member of the Reception staff.  The door is always open!