Wednesday 23rd April 2025

We all had a fantastic time at Call of the Wild. We saw so many different animals and had a special talk all about camouflage, the keepers showed us a giant hissing cockroach, stick insect, snake and a beautiful owl, we were even allowed to stroke the snake. 

After lunch we heard all about Meerkats and saw a baby Meerkat that was only 4 weeks old. We then had time to watch the penguins being fed before leaving.

All the children were so well behaved, we were very proud of them all.   

Friday 4th April 2025

The children had a fantastic time this morning completing their Easter Bunny Dash! We were so impressed with how hard they tried and how many laps they completed! They all looked brilliant dressed up in their costumes. Well done!

Wednesday 2nd April 2025

Thank you to everyone who came to our Easter hunt, cake sale and raffle this afternoon. The children had a wonderful time and thanks to your generosity we have raised £400 to spend on resources and perishable items to use in the Reception base. Thank you all so much!

Thursday 20th March 2025

Reception have been making the most of the beautiful weather today and taking our learning outside!

Friday 7th March 2025

Thank you to the Parents and Carers who attended our Fun Phonics Friday this morning. We really enjoyed sharing our morning with you and hope you enjoyed spending the time with your children and their friends. We look forward to welcoming more of you over the coming weeks.

Across the week in Maths, we have been thinking about the sequencing of events, ranging from days of the week to brushing our teeth! This morning children had the opportunity to follow a sequence to make a jam sandwich! This afternoon we had a go at creating our own step by step drawing sequence. This is a really tricky concept and we were impressed with some of the children's drawings! Why not have a go at home with your child? We would love to see them!

Thursday 6th March 2025

Reception have had a lovely day celebrating World Book Day.  We welcomed Year 2 children to our classrooms to share each other's reading books and then took part in a whole school parade to share our costumes. 

Tuesday 4th March 2025

Today we have been learning about the traditions associated with Shrove Tuesday and how it is celebrated in different countries. The children were very excited to discover that we would actually be eating pancakes in school! They chose between jam and chocolate as a topping and had to demonstrate good control of the knife to spread their chosen topping onto their pancake before eating it- I think it's safe to say we have a year group full of pancake lovers!

Friday 28th February 2025

Thank you to those of you who came along to  Fun Phonics this morning. The children really enjoyed having visitors and were keen to show off our learning environment.

This will take place every Friday morning for the next 5 weeks. If you would like to join us, please contact the office.

Thursday 13th February 2025

We have been feeling the love in Reception today. Children played a team building game which worked on their communication as well as their fine motor skills. The children were asked to pass a cardboard heart around the circle just using a peg! The first few times were a bit tricky but the children soon realised they had to work together to ensure the heart didn't fall! We have also written down what we love and matched the number of hearts to the correct number!

Wednesday 12th February 2025

For the past two weeks we have been learning all about people that help us. We have been lucky enough to have some very special visitors. Last week we were visited by two Fire Fighters, a Police Officer and a Mental Health Nurse. This week we have met a London taxi driver, a Foster Carer, Paramedics and special guest Baloo the Welfare dog. Baloo is a retired Police dog who now helps police officers and NHS staff when they are going through a hard time. 

We have been so proud of how well the children have listened and joined in with discussions. They have asked fantastic questions and all of our visitors have commented how well behaved our Reception children are.

From our Paramedic visitors...

We would like to say thank you for allowing us to visit your school.  We wanted to say what a pleasure it was spending time with the children and how well behaved they all were. We really hope the children enjoyed the session and took something away from it .

We would also like to thank the staff for their support during the session. 

Wednesday 29th January 2025

Today we have been celebrating Lunar New Year. The children dressed up, used chopsticks and practised Chinese writing. This year is the year of the snake so we also  cut out some spiral snakes. The children looked at the animal for the year they were born and discovered that they were either a pig if they were born in 2019 or a rat if they were born in 2020.

Friday 24th January 2025

Children have been very busy making dens, caves and other structures for animals to hibernate in. First, we collected twigs and leaves from outside then discussed which animals would hibernate where. The children then got to work making warm and safe spaces for the animals to spend the winter in. 

Thursday 16th January 2025

During our Maths activities we have been working on 'one more' and 'one less'. 

We have used lots of nursery rhymes and props to help the children understand the concept of one less, which can be quite tricky to grasp!

We have revisted the term 'subitising' to the children and explained that this means to know the amount of objects instantly without counting. Reading a die is a good example of this. 

Tuesday 14th January 2025

Today we went on a walk around the school grounds to look for signs of winter. We talked about the fact that it had turned very cold and we even saw ice and frost last week! Today we felt that the grass was damp and we could see berries growing on some trees. Most of the trees we saw were bare but we also discussed the fact that some are evergreens.

Thursday 9th January 2025

We have been working hard supporting the children with their zips and buttons on their coats. Children are trying really hard to be independent and do their own fastenings. Please ask your child to keep trying at home and encourage them to get themselves dressed in the mornings. By persevering this will support your child's independence and install a 'can do' attitude.

Wednesday 18th December 2024

Thank you so much to everyone who attended our Christmas Craft afternoon yesterday. We loved seeing so many faces and the children thoroughly enjoyed all of the festive activities. They made Christmas crackers, wreaths, reindeer food, bells, gingerbread men and snowmen biscuits.

Tuesday 17th December 2024

The past two days children in Reception have been learning all about the Jewish festival, Hanukkah. We have discussed how the Jewish community celebrate Hanukkah, including the story of the Menorah. We have made dreidels to decorate our classroom and played a traditional Jewish game with a wooden dreidel.  Children have also sampled some Jewish food called latke, fried potato pancakes, which they really enjoyed! 

Thursday 21st November 2024

Thank you to all those that came along to our Story Time event, we all had a fantastic time sharing our favourite stories whilst enjoying hot chocolate and marshmallows. 

Research suggests that just twenty minutes of reading to your child each day contributes to an improved performance in school. As children hear the words and comprehend the stories and illustrations, vital connections in the brain are made.

Regular reading will also help to improve your child’s ability to sustain longer periods of concentration, improve their sleeping patterns and develop greater self-esteem.

Thursday 21st November 2024

This week we have been learning all about how we can be kind to others. We have discussed kind words, kind hands and resolving any disputes we may have. In order to demonstrate kindness outwardly, the children all picked a name from a pot to make a friendship bracelet for one of their peers. The children loved giving them every bit as much as they loved receiving them!

Tuesday 12th November 2024

We all wore odd socks to celebrate our differences for anti-bullying week.

In Maths, we have been learning about circles. Today we looked at some artwork by Fiona Rae and used this as an inspiration for our own drawings. Class 1 chose to draw some abstract pictures and Class 2 used circles to create pictures of familiar things such as snowmen and the sun. As well as supporting our Maths and Art development, this activity also helped to develop our fine motor skills and pencil control.

Monday 11th November 2024

Thanks to your generous donations we have been able to purchase lots of new resources for the children to use and explore.  

Friday 8th November 2024

This week we have been learning about the Hindu festival of light, Diwali. The children have enjoyed making coconut ice and their own Diva lamp. We also got to look at a beautiful dress that is worn as part of the celebrations! Can your child tell you anything they remember about Diwali?

Tuesday 5th November 2024

Today some of the children used pompoms to make up dances with their friends. Activities like these support the development of the children's gross motor skills whilst also allowing their creativity to shine through in the wonderful routines they created! Since today is Guy Fawkes Night, they particularly enjoyed making up dances to Katy Perry's 'Firework' song!

Monday 4th November 2024

Today the children had their first Computing lesson in the ICT Suite. We taught them how to use a mouse to draw firework pictures. They were so well behaved and all tried so hard- well done everyone!

A huge thank you to Max's Mummy for building us a water wall. We were able to buy the water accessories with the money raised from the sponsored walk. 

Tuesday 22nd October 2024

Children have been very busy in Reception working on their fine motor skills. Activities are available daily for children to practice these skills and build up strength in their hands in preparation for writing. You can help at home by exposing your child to playdough, threading, Lego and other activities which they can practice their fine motor skills. As well as these skills we have lots of opportunities for mark making and writing such as giant chalks, water and paint brushes or sticks outside. Pencils, pens, scissors and whiteboards are available inside. 

Wednesday 16th October 2024

We all had a lot of fun on our Sponsored Autumn Walk this afternoon. The children spotted lots of signs of Autumn and we were blown away by all of the generous donations we received- thank you so much to all of the grown ups for their contributions.

Friday 4th October 2024

Thank you so much for all your generous donations. The children really enjoyed visiting St Aidans this morning and singing harvest songs. The sat and listened and walked very sensibly to the church. We are very proud of them all. 

Thursday 3rd October 2024

This week in Maths, we have been looking at sorting objects and creating sorting rules. In our outdoor area we collected natural resources and created rules to sort them by such as colour, size and type. The children really enjoyed sorting the items they found. Why not try sorting some objects at home? This could be natural items from the garden or toys such as cars or animals!

Tuesday 24th September 2024

We have been learning about the five senses and today we went on a walk around the school grounds to discuss the things that we could see, hear and feel. The children liked touching the rough bark on the tree and the smooth acorns on the ground. They could hear lots of noisy cars, birds tweeting and children chattering too! They used some wonderful descriptive language which we will reinforce later in the week.

Friday 20th September 2024

Thursday 19th September 2024

The children enjoyed their first visit to our school library today. Mrs Mason explained which books the children could choose from before allowing the children to explore the books and make their choice. 

Please share your child's book with them and ensure the book is back in their back for next Thursday's library session. 

Remember to not put water bottles in school bags so they don't leak on the books.

Wednesday 18th September 2024

The children had their first PE lesson today with Mr Barker and worked up quite a sweat! They learned to listen carefully to instructions, navigate the hall space safely and to move in different ways.

Friday 13th September 2024

We have had another busy day in Reception! The children enjoyed cutting activities, building and playing in the sunshine.

Thursday 12th September 2024

We have been so proud of all the children and how quickly they have settled this week. They have enjoyed exploring the classrooms and outside area. We have been focusing on rules, routines and expectations which the children are adapting to well.

The children have been enjoying their lunchtimes for the past two days. They have been displaying exceptional manners, remembering to say please and thank you and eating with a knife and fork. Well done everyone!