Welcome to Reception: Week 2!
We are so pleased to have all of our children in full-time! They have all settled into Reception so brilliantly and we are very proud of them all. We are enjoying getting to know them and all of their unique personalities and interests.
Take a look at what we’ve been up to this week:
Did you know…
Your child has their very own named space on display in the classroom, where they can choose to display the learning that they feel most proud of!
School library visits and books for home…
Each week, your child will visit the school library with their class. When they visit the library, they will be able to choose a book to share with their adult/s at home. It’s important that alongside teaching the children the skills they need to become readers, we help to develop a love and enjoyment of reading too! Here are some fun ways that you can support your child’s reading at home:
- Have conversations about the pictures in the book- what can you see?
- Introduce the author, illustrator and blurb. Discuss whether you have read any other books together, written by the same author. Does the blurb seem similar to anything else you have read together?
- Ask your child to predict what might happen in the story? What happens after the story finishes?
- Ask your child how the character feels. How do they know? Do the pictures give us clues?
- Ask your child to retell the story in their own words.
Snacks and Water…
In class, we provide a healthy fruit or vegetable snack each day. If your child would prefer to bring in their own snack, please ensure this contains only fruit and/or vegetables and that it is in a named container, which your child can keep in their tray. We are a nut-free school, so no nut products in snack or lunch boxes please.
If your child brings grapes as part of their morning snack, please always ensure that they are cut lengthways.
Water bottles should contain plain water. Your child can choose to have milk with their morning snack, which is free until they turn five. If you would like your child to continue having milk after their fifth birthday, you can contact the school office. The cost of milk is £12 each term.
Home-link Activity- Week Commencing 20.09.21
Our current learning is All About Me! This week, we’ll focus on our families and the way that all families are different. Please send a photograph in, of your child with their family. You could email the photo to the email address below and we’ll print it in school.
Please also feel free to use the Reception email address any time, to share achievements and learning from home. We’d love to celebrate these in class!
Helping Support Your Child at Home…
Thank you to everyone who has attended our recent Zoom sessions to help you support your child at home. Watch the phonics session and the Early Years introduction. (And apologies for the distracting cursor in the latter – maybe that’s a nervous habit of Mr Roundtree!)
Isolation Home Learning Emails…
This week, you will receive an Isolation/ Home Learning Email. This will be sent each week, to provide home learning activities. The activities should only be used if your child needs to isolate and cannot attend school.
Reminders…
Please ensure all of your child’s clothing and property is clearly labelled with their name.
Diary Dates…
–Reception: Support your child’s reading– 6.00pm, Thursday 30 September 2021 (Zoom link TBC)
–Individual School Photographs– Wednesday 13 October 2021
Class novel – The Enchanted Wood
We have started our class novel, The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton, and all the children are enthralled already. It is a classic, which you may have read yourselves or have a copy of at home. Read along at home, if you like, or you could ask your child which characters we have met so far and what they like about the story.
Living and Learning: I know the 8 Rs
This week, the year 5/6 have been reviewing our 8 Rs. They were even better than the staff at remembering all the 8 Rs – reflecting, remembering, responsive, ready, resilient, responsible, resourceful and risk-taking.
Children then ranked the 8 Rs by the importance to them.
One pupil said, “Risk-taking is the best because if you don’t take risks then you might miss out on some opportunties.”
We are Living in a Material World!
Year 5 and 6 have been hard at work this week – we have been planning, testing and evaluating properties of materials!
First, we had to plan our scientific experiment. We decided to test the strength of bags (made from different materials) by adding weights to them, until they reached their maximum capacity. We had to think about the variables to keep and change, as well as how to remain safe during this experiment.
Well, what did we find out? It turns out bin bags are rubbish… but we knew that already. The cotton bag was a huge surprise – it could hold a huge 40 kilograms! Some pupils went one step further and showed off their data presentation skills by using bar charts and line graphs to record results.
Where in the world am I?
This week we have been discussing green spaces, including urban green space. This is linked to the vocabulary that we are learning in class. We used OS maps to look for green spaces in Leeds and then moved onto discussing green belt areas. This is an area that is protected against most forms of development in order to preserve areas of natural beauty and to protect wildlife. This is to also stop city expansion impacting on our green space. Can your child identify and urban green spaces in Leeds?
Wake up Shake Up – WUSU
It has been great getting back to regular physical activity. We have been trying to remember our dances or making sure we are active for 10 minutes at WUSU to count towards our recommended 60 Active Minutes.
Living & Learning – 8Rs for learning
This week, we’ve introduced our new living and living theme: The 8Rs for learning.
These are 8 characteristics that help us to be effective learners – they apply to wider life, too.
We’ll be referring to these lots in school but for some practical tips on how you can help at home check out this parents guide.
Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) is statutory for all schools from September 2021.
It is a short, interactive and practical assessment of your child’s early
literacy, communication, language and mathematics skills when they begin
school, using materials that most children of your child’s age will be familiar with.
All Reception children will be participating in the reception baseline assessment (RBA) within the first 6 weeks of starting school.
The purpose of the assessment is to provide the starting point for a new measure that will help parents understand how well schools support their pupils to progress between reception and year 6 / the end of key stage 2.
For further information about the RBA, please see this guide.
Introduction to Reception – Zoom session
We’d like to welcome new Reception parents to our school by inviting you to a short Zoom session on Wednesday 15 September at 6pm. This session will be a 30 minute introduction to Reception at our Sphere Federation schools.
The sessions will outline the recent changes to the EY’s Framework and the introduction of a Reception Baseline Assessment. It’ll also offer you a few top tips on how you can support your child at home.
The session starts at 6pm. It will last around 20-25 minutes, plus there will be a questions and answer session at the end of around 5-10 minutes.
If you’re interested in attending this Zoom session, please either send us a message on the School Gateway app or email the school office. We’ll then email the Zoom joining details out to all those who have expressed an interest.
Watch out for further workshops relating to both English and Maths on your child’s class website page in the coming weeks.
Year 5 swimming survey
As part of the government PE and Sport Premium for primary schools, there is a condition requiring schools to publish how many pupils meet the National Curriculum requirements. As school swimming lessons have been disrupted due to Covid-19, please could you complete this short survey to provide up to date information for your child.
Thank you
Mrs Latham
PE/Health Leader