Settling in
It’s been wonderful to see so many happy faces this week as children came into their new classrooms. Most have now completed their transition sessions and we’re really enjoying getting to know them and seeing new friendships forming.
There are lots of routines to learn and things to remember at this stage, but we’ve been amazed at how quickly children are settling in. We’ve had a few missing lunch boxes, water bottles and cardigans – thank you for your patience at the end of the day as we help children to become more independent at home time. Labelling all of your child’s items with their name really helps with this.
We’ve had lots of fun exploring our new environment and learning this week. Take a look at what we’ve been up to:
Phonics
We started our phonics lessons this week. Children have learnt the sounds s, a, t and p. They practised listening carefully to the initial sound in a word and sorted objects into those beginning with ‘s’ and those that didn’t.
In phonics lessons, we teach children to use the pure sounds. For example, we say ‘ssss’ rather than ‘suh’. If you’d like to hear the sounds pronounced, you can watch a short video clip which shows all the letters we’ll cover this half term.
You’ll find out more about how we teach phonics at our Stay and Learn Phase 2 Phonics session on 06.10.25.
Help at home: Each week, you’ll receive a recap sheet of the phonics learning. Please look at this with your child and complete the short activities together.
PE
Children loved their first PE lesson this week! Lessons are fun and active, with a focus on developing fundamental movement skills.
- Reception PE will take place every Tuesday and Wednesday.
- On PE days, children should come to school wearing their PE kit. Further details can be found by following this link to our uniform policy.
- We won’t be starting swimming lessons just yet – we’ll send out more details closer to the time.
The Great Big Book of Families
Next week, we will be reading this story to help us learn more about each other’s families. (This is a YouTube link. Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.) We’ll then talk about our own families and about people who are special to us.
Help at home: To help support our discussions, please send in a family photo that can stay on display in the classroom or email us a copy.
Everyday Items
Please make sure your child brings the following to school each day:
- Book bag
- Water bottle
- Waterproof coat (we spend lots of time outdoors, rain or shine)
We also ask that each child has these items, which can stay in school:
- A pair of wellies (kept under their peg)
- A bag of spare uniform/PE kit including underwear and socks (we’ll send it home to be replenished if needed)
All items should be clearly labelled with your child’s name. Please take a few minutes this weekend to check for any missing labels – thank you!
School Gateway App
If you’d like to receive important reminders and updates, please make sure you’ve downloaded the School Gateway App. You’ll find details in the information pack you received when your child started school, or email scholesoffice@spherefederation.org for support.