The importance of attendance
The importance of attendance
What did you do today? ‘We just played’…is the answer many parents of Reception children get. But here’s just a few of the things your child would miss if they’re absent for five consecutive days.
Phonics: Children learn four new graphemes and three tricky words each week.
Reading: Children practise reading books that closely match their phonics, plus loads of stories are read aloud and celebrated. We visit the school library once a week to choose a book to take home.
Poetry picnic: There’s a poetry session every day –another valuable activity which helps children learn to read.
Writing: We write every day using the graphemes that we’ve learned.
Handwriting: Children learn how to form letters correctly, otherwise joining letters will be difficult in Key Stage 1.
Maths: We’ve four maths sessions a week, setting the foundations for children to be successful in using and applying numbers in the future.
Alongside all of this, children learn Science, Music and other subjects. Even more importantly, children learn to concentrate in a large group, to share resources, take turns when speaking, answer in full sentences, regulate our feelings and prepare ourselves for future learning.
There’s a lot happening when ‘we just play’!
Autumn 1: Week 4
We have been very busy in reception this week.
This week, we have started our reading groups. These groups may alter slightly throughout the year as we get to know the children and their abilities. Please bear with us.
If you have any problems with the login, please feel free to contact me.
Maths
This week in maths, we have been subitising and looking at different ways in which we can arrange 1,2 and 3.
Areas of provision
The children have been exploring in our areas of provision. They have been making cube towers that are taller than them, filling different containers with different amounts of water and practising their letter formation.
PE
During PE, the children have been exploring with different equipment. They were able to select appropriate equipment to build castles and then select different balls to knock them down.
Poetry Picnic
We have completed our first week of poetry picnic. The children have enjoyed learning the poem and the actions to match. Some children asked if they could perform the poem to the rest of the class.
Help at home: by practising our phonics sounds from this week. See if you can spot them in your local environment.
Connect Challenge Wednesday 02 October
What is it?
The Connect Challenge is in memory of Rob Burrow CBE. It involves a rugby ball being ‘passed’ between local schools and each school taking part in a physical activity event.
When is it?
The challenge will run from Thursday 26 September, (Rob’s birthday) until Thursday 3 October. Our event is in the morning of Wednesday 2nd October.
Why are we remembering Rob?
Rob Burrow CBE sadly died on 2 June 2024, four and a half years after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Throughout that time, Rob and his family bravely chose to publicly share their MND journey to raise awareness of the disease.
What is our Connect Challenge?
We will complete seven (Rob’s rugby shirt number) laps of the green and the back playground by travelling in different ways – walking, jogging or skipping. Children should come to school in outdoor PE kit on the day.
We will be raising money at the event, to be split between the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal and our school charity, The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
We request a donation of at least £1. This can be paid online via school gateway.
Help at home: discuss this challenge at home and the reasons why we are remembering Rob. This challenge is also about friendship. Rob’s ex team mate and friend Kevin Sinfield has now raised over £8 million for MND charities. Ask your child how can they be a better friend?
Autumn 1: Week3
Thank you to all those that attended the parents information evening on Tuesday. I have uploaded the slides for you so that if you were unable to attend, you still have all of the information that was shared.
Introduction to Reception 2024-25 (1)
Please feel free to chat to me if you have any questions about it.
On Wednesday, you will be emailed a Collins Ebook user guide. This is the website that your child’s reading book will be uploaded to every Thursday.
The children are all settling into school life well.
They have enjoyed exploring the classroom equipment, building models and playing teachers.
During the week, we went on a walk exploring the school grounds. The children were following a map in order to find key landmarks and tick them off.
Yesterday, we were lucky enough to have a zoom with Farmer Verity. We will be zooming with Farmer Verity though out the year. This will allow the children to explore seasonal change and learn more about animals and their young.
The children will have brought home a sheet of paper today. This is what we have been learning in phonics this week.
Help at home: by recapping the sounds on the home learning sheet with your child.
Reminder: welcome to reception class meeting
An invitation to this event was emailed to you back in July but here is a reminder.
Come into school to find out some basic “need to knows” about life in Reception.
17.09.24 – 6pm – 6.30pm
Autumn 1: Week2
The children have now completed their first full week in reception.
They have all settled in beautifully and enjoyed getting to know each other as well as exploring their new environment.
Next Friday and the subsequent Fridays, I will be sending home a Little Wandle phonics sheet. This is a sheet showing you the phonics that we have been learning for the week and our tricky words.
I will also be sending home our poem of the week. This will be a poem that as a class we will have explored each day. The children can then enjoy sharing the poem with you at home.
Autumn 1: Week 1: dates for your diary
Welcome to Reception Class.
The staff are very excited to see you all again.
In our classroom there will be:
Miss Lowry (class teacher)
Mrs Boulton (teaching assistant)
Mrs Kaur (teaching assistant)
Mrs Pawlak (teaching assistant)
Our classroom is all set up and ready to go.
We hope you and your child are as excited as we are about this new chapter in your child’s life. We hope you have been provided with all the information you need, but please ask if you are not sure about anything.
The First Week
After your child’s transition days, school will begin at 8.45 and finish at 3.15.
Please wait by the gate to our outdoor area and one of us will come to greet you.
At the end of the day, please wait at the gate of the Reception outdoor area. In order to ensure your child’s safety, we only let the children out as we see the parent /carer who is collecting them at the end of the day. As we are still getting to know you, this may take a little time at the beginning of the term so please bear with us.
If your child is being collected by somebody else, please tell us or phone the office. We will ask whoever is collecting your child for the password you chose.
Key information
I will post on our class news page every Friday to give you an update on what we have been learning about that week.
Please email in photographs of things that you do out of school with your child. This could be woodland walks, finding shells on the beach, baking etc.
Our class email is: moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
PE will be on a Friday. Please ensure that your child comes to school in full school PE kit.
Library will be on a Thursday. Please ensure your child comes to school with their library book on this day.
We will assign new reading books on a Thursday. Please make sure your child comes to school with their reading record book on this day.
Dates for your diary
This year we will be offering various opportunities for you to find out more about Early Years at school.
There will be after school meetings with your child’s teacher.
There’ll be stay and learn sessions where you can come into school and be part of a lesson and then find out how you can help at home.
Then, opportunities to pop into school to share your child’s learning journey book with them.
We hope that you can join us for as many of these sessions as possible.
Welcome to Reception
An invitation to this event was emailed to you back in July but here is a reminder.
Come into school to find out some basic “need to knows” about life in Reception.
17.09.24 – 6pm – 6.30pm
Stay and learn sessions
This is an opportunity for you to come into school to find out about the Early Years Curriculum and watch your child learning in school.
Phonics Phase 2 and coffee morning –10.10.24 9-10am
Number 1 – 13.11.24 9-9:30am
Phonics Phase 3 – 14.01.25 9-9:30am
Fine Motor and coffee morning – 03.02.25 9-10am
World Book Day- 06.03.24
Number 2 – 18.03.25 9-9:30am
Learning Journey Drop In’s
An opportunity to “drop into” school and share your child’s learning journal with them.
Learning Journey Drop in 1 – 03.12.24 and 05.12.24 Times – 8.45 am-9.15am and 3.15pm-3.45pm
Learning Journey drop in 2 – 28.03.25 and 01.04.25 Times – 8.45 am-9.15am and 3.15pm-3.45pm
Learning Journey drop in 3– 08.07.25 and 10.07.25 Times – 8.45 am-9.15am and 3.15pm-3.45pm
School Games Mark Platinum award
We are delighted to announce that we have achieved the School Games Platinum Mark Award for the 2023/24 academic year.
The School Games Mark is a Government-led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust, to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our success.
As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year.
Thank you to all the children who have represented school at different inter school events and competitions, parents for their support and staff for accompanying the children. We look forward to more events this year.
We are very proud of our children for engaging with these physical activities both in and out of school to support our ethos of being a happy and healthy school.
Summer 2: Week 7
This week we have been talking lots about change. We have been looking at the way we change during our lifetime from being:
a baby
a toddler
a child
a teenager
an adult
someone that is elderly
The children were able to act out each stage and discuss the things that you can do during these times.
The children have been talking and drawing about the things that they are looking forward to in year one.
We had a great Sports Day on Wednesday. The children showed real courage taking part in races infront of their peers and parents.
What a wonderful year reception class have had!
It has been a pleasure being able to share the last 9 weeks of their journey in reception. Even in that short time, the children have been a joy to teach and shown great progress.
They are now ready to start their new adventure in year one.
Thank you for all of your wonderful cards and gifts to reception staff.
Have a safe and fun summer.
Summer 2: Week 6 Safety Week
This week has been learning all about safety.
The children have been learning all about staying safe online, people who help us and staying safe around animals.
We have been lucky enough to have lots of visitors this week too.
During the week, we had a visit from two of our local police officers. They we able to help us identify who we need to speak to if an adult asks us for help. They also showed us some of the special equipment they use in order to keep themselves safe.
A person from our local dog’s trust came to talk to us about being safe around dogs. They taught us the five rules to stay safe around them.
We were also lucky enough to be taught some martial arts this week too.
Maths
During maths this week, we have been looking at time. We have been identifying why we need to tell the time and what different things we can use to tell it. The children have enjoyed timing eachother to do different activities.
Reminder
Please can all children bring a bag in on Thursday 18th July so that they can take their school books home.