Friday 5th July 2019

Wow!  What an amazing performance by the Reception children this morning!  We are so proud of each and every child for making it such a great morning.  Well done, children.

This week the children were very busy preparing for the show, learning lyrics and lines.

Thank you to Mrs Avital for arranging the special treats for the children after the show.

This afternoon, Samuel taught the children how to make their own origami boats.  We then had boat races outside, with the children blowing their boats across the water.

Our caterpillars are now butterflies!  

It is hard to believe the year is almost over- there are only 7 more school days!   Please note that the weather is due to be warm until the end of term.  Please make sure your child brings a water bottle, hat and sunscreen to school so that we can enjoy the sunshine.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 28th June 2019

It is hard to believe the end of term is drawing near! We are continuing to prepare the children for Year 1 with special activities and Circle Time discussions.  On Friday morning, they had a wonderful time with Mrs Borman and I am sure that they are going to have a great time in Year 1. The children will have another session with the Year 1 team next week and before the end of term, the current Reception team and the new Year 1 team will be carrying out a full transfer of information.

We have continued our topic of 'Minibeasts'.  The children have been keenly observing the changes to our caterpillars, which have each now made their own chrysaliys.  They have also been enjoying our 'MInibeast Investigation Lab' role play area, finding new additions for our worm tank and gathering new specimens of minibeast to identify and observe.

Rehearsals for the EYU Graduation on Friday. are well and truly under way.  Please note that we will be rehearsing on Tuesday morning at the Norrice Lea site, so children should be dropped off there as on a Wednesday.

Each child has been given their lines to practise.  Please help your child to learn their lines off by heart.  Please also practise the songs daily at home- there is a link to the song lyrics on the 'Important Information' page.  Thank you for your support with this.

In Phonics, we have been consolidating the correct spelling of many 'tricky words' through a range of games and activities.  We have also been assessing each child's reading, to ensure they are on the correct reading level.  It is so lovely to see just how much each child has progressed over the course of the year!  Please do continue listening to your child read daily.  All school reading books will be collected in on Monday 15th July.  

In Mathematics this week, the children have been learning all about symmetry.  They enjoyed making symmetrical butterfly paintings, pictures, using the geoboards and making symmetrical patterns using the hama beads.  

To celebrate the end of term, Reception children are invited to a special breakfast party on the last day of term after drop off (9am).  

Please sign up for a Summer Term Focus Meeting using the following link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15j3jzILTrlrnwnx6xIxCkxvgk_yZFSCd-cO2RQMszvA/edit?usp=sharing

Please also send in a large bag on Friday 12th July for your child to bring home their books.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 14th June 2019

It has been another short but action-packed week in Reception!  We continued our focus on Jack and the Beanstalk, and the children were very excited to see how their beanstalks have grown.  We have been working hard on our dioramas, painting shoe boxes and making houses out of clay.  We will be finishing this project next week.  If you have not yet sent in a shoe box, please do so on Monday so that your child can complete their diorama.  Thank you.

On Thursday afternoon, the children had a fantastic time at Forest School, despite the weather.  The learnt how to tie knots and made shelters using tarpaulin, hammering twigs in to the ground as tent pegs.  Some children also enjoyed using peelers to whittle sticks.

In Phonics this week we have been working on segmenting CVCC and CCVC words to spell them correctly, ensuring we write all sounds in a word, as well as working on the correct formation of 'bouncy ball letters'.  We have also been keeping 'beanstalk diaries', recording the growth of our beanstalks. 

In Mathematics this week we began learning about money.  The children took part in activities to become more familiar with the different coins.  

A reminder that Sports Day is on Monday- please see the email from Mr Moses for more information.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Reception children will be watching a dress rehearsal of the Year 6 show.  Children should be collected from the Norrice Lea site at the usual time.

School photos will be taking place next Friday.  Children should come to school wearing full school uniform.  Please see the email from the school office regarding sibling photographs.

We are very excited to have a dog coming in to visit the class next Friday.  Please email Miss Brand to let her know if your child is scared of dogs.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Thursday 13th June 2019

Wow!  What a great time the children had in Forest School today, despite the weather!

Friday 7th June 2019

It has been another busy week in Reception!  We continued our topic of 'The Jolly Postman', this week focusing on the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  The children planted their very own beanstalks, which they are nurturing in the classroom.  We will be making Jack and the Beanstalk dioramas next week.  Please send in a shoe box next Tuesday for your child to use for this.  

Thank you to all the parents who joined us for the EYU Tikkun on Thursday morning.  We hope you enjoy your special Shavuot table decorations.  Thank you to Mrs Haziza and Mrs Stalick for organising this lovely event.  

Preparations for Shavuot have been in full swing- on Thursday the children made their own cheesecakes to enjoy over Shavuot and today each child shaped their own flower shaped challah.  Challot should be brushed with beaten egg and baked at 180 degrees until golden brown.  Thank you to Family Avital for kindly donating the challah dough.  

On Thursday afternoon, the children took part in their second Forest School session.  They learnt all about different types of minibeasts and went on a minibeast hunt.  They also took part in some craft activities using natural materials, such as grinding their own charcoal paint, making paint brushes using sticks, leaves and flowers and making clay minibeasts.  

Today we welcomed a wolf, a giant, a witch, Cinderellas, Goldilocks and several postmen and women to the class as the children celebrated all of their work on The Jolly Postman so far.  They took part in a special story mapping activity.  

The children have been busy writing beanstalk diaries, carefully recording how their beans have changed over the week.

In Mathematics, we have been learning all about telling the time.  The children each made their very own clock with moving hands, which they used to make the clock show different times.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,

The Reception Team

Friday 24th May 2019

It has been a great week in Reception!  On Monday, the children enjoyed their outing to the Postal Museum.  They completed special museum trails and had a wonderful time in the 'Sorted!' play area.  Thank you to all our parent helpers.  

On Wednesday, 'Postie Rosie' came to visit again, this time teaching the children all about post in the past.  Each child was also given their own special letter writing set to enjoy at home.  

On Thursday the children in Nursery and Reception enjoyed a special picnic lunch in the park to celebrate Lag B'Omer.  A wonderful time was had by all!

In Literacy this week the children have been consolidating their writing skills, writing all about their visit to the postal museum.  

Please note that for the half term break, all children have been given 4 reading books.  Please ensure that these are returned to school after half term.  

In Mathematics, we have been assessing the children on their counting, addition, subtraction and number recognition skills.  It is lovely to see how much progress the children have all made!

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful half term break,

The Reception Team

Friday 17th May 2019

It has been a very exciting week in Reception!  As part of our Jolly Postman topic, on Tuesday, the children celebrated Goldilocks' 8th birthday.  They wrote lists of what was needed for the party, made bunting, party hats and birthday cards.  They also baked cupcakes, weighing the ingredients themselves using balance scales.  I am reliably informed that Goldilocks had a wonderful time at her party (and the children did too!).  

We love to enjoy the sunshine- please send in sunscreen and a sun hat when the weather is warm.  Thank you.

We are looking forward to our outing to the Postal Museum on Monday.  Please ensure your child brings their packed lunch.  All boys must wear a school cap.  We are also looking forward to our EYU Picnic in the Park on Thursday, to celebrate Lag B'Omer.  A packed lunch will be provided.

In Phonics this week, we have been practising our story writing skills.  The children have begun writing their own Goldilocks stories.  We have also been assessing each child on their recall of all sounds learnt this year.  Please continue to review the digraphs and trigraphs regularly.  

In Mathematics, we continued learning about weighing.  The children put their weighing skills to good use baking cupcakes for Goldilocks' birthday party.  We have also been learning about odd and even numbers, to help the Jolly Postman sort and deliver his letters.  The children enjoyed a variety of activities to consolidate this.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 10th May 2019

It has been another short but packed week in Reception.  On Tuesday we welcomed a very special visitor- Rosie Postie.  She ran a thoroughly enjoyable, interactive session for the children, all about sorting and delivering the post.  This visit was part of the Jolly Postman Learning Program, run by the Postal Museum.  The children are looking forward to another great, interactive session with her when we visit the museum on Monday 20th May.

On Thursday, the children had a great time celebrating Yom Ha'atsmaut.  They took part in a whole day of special activities led by Mrs Haziza and Mrs Stalick.  These included a special Israel- themed 'Stretch-n-Grow' session, making Israeli salad and making a giant map of Israel.  A wonderful time was had by all.

In Phonics this week, we have been busy consolidating our writing skills.  As part of our 'Jolly Postman' topic, we read the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  The children wrote their own apology letters from Goldilocks to Baby Bear, focusing on writing in full sentences.  We have also started to plan a birthday party for Goldilocks, which will take place next Tuesday.  Each child is invited to bring in a teddy bear as a guest!

In Mathematics we have been learning about weight.  The children used balance scales to compare heavier and lighter objects and weighed them using Numicon.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team 

Friday 3rd May 2019

Welcome Back!  We hope you all had a wonderful Pesach break.  The children were eager to share their holiday news on our return to school on Wednesday.  

It has been a very short but exciting week.  On Thursday morning, the children were the very first Kerem class to have a Forest School session.  The children thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful experience, completing activities such a scavenger hunt, sawing wood, drilling holes and identifying different plants.  We were very lucky to have our session in the glorious spring sunshine and the children are already looking forward to our next session!

On Thursday afternoon a special parcel was delivered to the Reception classroom.   We discussed how it had arrived in the post, how it was addressed and how it was delivered to the EYU.  The children all had a turn holding the parcel and shaking it.  They then wrote about what they thought may be inside.  At the end of the day we opened the parcel to reveal a copy of 'The Jolly Postman', our topic for this half term.  The children are looking forward to our outreach session from the Postal Museum on Tuesday.

On Friday we read the first page of The Jolly Postman.  We discussed who might be writing a letter to the three bears, recapping the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  The children then wrote their own apology letters to Baby Bear from Goldilocks.  

Please have a look at the updated 'Important Information' page.  

Please do send in photos or postcards from your holidays for us to add to our 'Where in the World' display.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 29th March 2019

This week we have been enjoying the glorious spring sunshine!  We started a new topic- 'April Showers Bring May Flowers'.  The children were busy outside looking for signs of spring, such as blossom on trees, which they enjoyed sketching.  They were also delighted to see that the bulbs we planted in the autumn are now beautiful tulips in full bloom.  

As part of this topic, we have been exploring the painting 'The Umbrellas' by Renoir.  The children made some very interesting observations about this wonderful work of art.  We have also started to make our own painting of 'The Umbrellas', with each child painting a different section.  We are looking forward to displaying this next week, once complete.  We will also be recreating this painting and learning how to take photos using the iPads.  If you have a child-sized umbrella at home, please send these in to school on Thursday.  Thank you.

We have begun reading the book 'Katie's Picture Show' by James Mayhew and the class are waiting with baited breath to see which picture Katie will visit next!

In our Jewish Studies lessons with Mrs Haziza, we have started work on our Pesach Haggadot, which we are very excited to bring home and use at our own Sedarim!  We have also been practising Ma Nishtanah, ready for the 'big night'.

Date for your Diary- Reception Pesach Workshop 

Thursday 11th April at 9am in the Max Weinbaum Hall.  Each child is invited to bring a parent to this new and exciting event.

This week Mr Phonics taught the children the new sound /air/.  They practised reading and writing words with this sound.  We have also been working on our handwriting, consolidating the correct formation of each letter.  This week we focused on the 'bouncy ball' letters, which are formed by drawing a line down and then 'bouncing' up again.  These letters are r, n, m, p, h, b and k.  The children enjoyed practising these using the chalks outside in the playground.  

Each child has been given two new reading books today.  Please see the email sent out today regarding reading books.  Thank you for your support with this.

In Mathematics this week we have been learning all about doubles and halves.  The children enjoyed a variety of games to consolidate their doubling and halving skills, such as using a 'halving machine'!  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 22nd March 2019

Wow!  What an exciting week it has been.  The highlight of the week was definitely celebrating Purim together on Thursday.  The children celebrated with a wide variety of activities themed around the four special Mitzvot of Purim.  They enjoyed listening to a short Megillah reading by Rabbi Guttentag (and of course making lots of noise when the name of Haman was read out!).  Each child also decorated a Mishloach Manot box which was then filled and exchanged with a friend.  The children also enjoyed a special play of the Purim story, put on by the staff!

We are now looking forward to Pesach.  We have some exciting activities in the pipeline- please watch this space!

In Phonics, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sound 'ear' as in the words near, beard, appear.  They have been busy practising their writing skills through a variety of activities.  The children have also been busy practising their writing skills, writing about how they celebrated Purim and what their special costume was.  

In Mathematics, this week we have been assessing the children on their counting and number recognition skills, as well as practising correct number formation through lots of different activities.  

We are looking forward to learning all about Pesach next week!

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 15th March 2019

It has been another busy week in Reception!  Preparations for Purim are in full swing- the children have been busy turning the role play area into a royal palace, complete with thrones, crowns and royal gowns!  We have also been busy discussing what we would do if we were King or Queen and writing about this- there were some really lovely ideas.  Ask your child what they would do!

Towards the end of the week each child planted their own pot of parsley seeds- these should be kept on a sunny windowsill and they will hopefully be grown and ready for use at your seder!

A reminder that Library books should be returned on a Thursday.  Please note that this week Library sessions will take place on Friday, as we will be celebrating Purim on Thursday.

Purim- Thursday 21st March

We are looking forward to celebrating Purim together on Thursday.  Children should come to school in fancy dress.  Please make sure your child is able to remove their costume easily to use the toilet!  Children should bring in a small packet of ready salted crisps, a small carton of apple juice and a small box of raisins for Mishloach Manot.  We will be decorating boxes and filling them at school.  Children should also bring in 2 £1 coins for charity on Purim day, in keeping with the Purim Mitzvah of giving to two separate charities.  Please note that school ends at 12:30pm

This week Mr Phonics taught the children the new sound /ow/.  They have been busy practising their writing skills, this week focusing on sentence writing, leaving finger spaces between words.  We have also continued to assess each child on their reading skills.  Please look out for an update about reading, to be sent out early next week, once we have finished assessing each child.  

In Mathematics, the children were busy practising their subtraction skills.  They used Numicon to check their calculations.  We have also been practising forming each number correctly.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Happy 100 Days!  Today the children celebrated 100 days of school in style, dressed how they will look when they are 100.  Thank you for providing such lovely costumes, this really does help to enhance your child's learning experience.  Photos to follow soon! 

As part of our '100 Days' celebration, the children took part in a wide variety of activities to consolidate their counting skills, such as jumping 100 times, making a paper chain with 100 links, building a tower using 100 plastic cups and making a necklace with 100 cheerios.  Ask your child how far they can count!

Preparations for Purim have begin.  The children enjoyed learning about the Purim story in their Jewish Studies lesson.  They then made some lovely decorations which are on display in the EYU.  Each child has also made spoon puppets for the main characters of the Purim story.  We are very excited for Purim- A reminder that children should come to school on the 'big day' in fancy dress.  Purim this year is on Thursday 21st March.  Please note that school finishes at 12:30pm on Purim for Reception.

On Thursday afternoon,the children enjoyed another library session.  Please make sure your child brings in their library book on a Thursday so that they can select a new book.

We have been busy assessing all the children on their reading skills this week and we will be slightly changing the way that reading books are changed.  Please look out for an email about this next week.  

In Mathematics this week we have been busy practising our counting skills, in preparation for our 100 days celebration.  The children are getting really good at counting to 100 forwards and backwards.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 1st March 2019

It was lovely to welcome the children back after the half term break, refreshed and ready to learn.  This week we have been busy preparing for Shabbat UK.  Thank you to all the grandparents and parents who joined us today for our challah bake.  The challot should be brushed with beaten egg and baked at 180 degrees until golden brown.  Enjoy!

On Thursday the children enjoyed their Library session.  Please remember to return library books each Thursday.

We are looking forward to celebrating 100 days in Reception next Friday.  A reminder that children should come to school dressed how they will look when they are 100!

Please note that as Shabbat is now later, the Friday finishing times change too.  Reception always finished 30 minutes before the Norrice Lea Site- please see the times on the school calendar.  

Please ensure that children do not bring toys in to school- they often get lost or broken.  We have plenty of toys for playing with in school!  Thank you for your support with this.  

In Phonics this week the children have been busy revising all the sounds and 'tricky words' learnt so far.  Please go over these regularly at home to consolidate.  The children each wrote about their holiday news.  We also read and enjoyed the story 'Is It Shabbos Yet?' and then wrote about what we need to do to prepare for Shabbat.  The children were also busy drawing their own full-size shabbat table.  

In Mathematics this week, the children learnt how to add by 'counting on', putting one number in their head and then counting on to find the answer.  They enjoyed completing different activities to practise this skill.

Wishing you a Shabbat UK Shalom,

The Reception Team

Monday 9th February 2019

Well done to Layla for looking so carefully after the cucumber seeds she planted on Tu B'Shevat.  It is lovely to see that they have sprouted! 

Are your seeds sprouting yet?  Please email photos to sbrand@keremschool.co.uk

Friday 8th February 2019

Wow!  This half term has gone so fast it is hard to believe that there is only one more week until half term.  This week the children completed their topic of 'Sandwiches'.  We learnt about the different food groups and how a balanced diet is important to keep healthy.  Each child then designed their own healthy sandwich, including protein, carbohydrate and vegetables.  Each child then baked their own 'healthy bread' using wholemeal flour, olive oil and honey, and then filled this to make the sandwich they had designed.  These were enjoyed at our special picnic, which had to be held indoors due to the weather.

Thank you to Mrs Sloam and Mrs Sawdaye for running another great library session on Thursday.  

The children are looking forward to Book Week next week.  Please note that on Monday morning, all children should enter the EYU through the main front door for a surprise!

We are excited to be holding a Scholastic Book Fair in the yellow classroom next week.  Times are as follows:

Monday- 3:15-3:45

Tuesday- 8:40-9:05 and 3:15-3:45

Wednesday- 8:40-9:05 and 3:15-3:45

Thursday-  3:15-3:45

We are looking for parent volunteers to help run the book fair.  If you would like to help, please sign up using this link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13RMGBY8IdqmurWKPSRE1hEFA3-3e4jZGTC77MIZQ7M0/edit?usp=sharing  

We will be taking part in some exciting whole-school activities.  Please drop off at the Norrice Lea site on Thursday morning, as on a Wednesday.  Thank you.

A reminder that next Friday (15th February) children should come to school in a home-made space themed costume, along the lines of Baby Bear's costume in the story 'Whatever Next'.  Please see this link for ideas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn73STXrPP0

Please send in newspapers and 'clean scrap'- we are collecting this for some exciting activities we have planned.

Please note that there are planned lead pipe replacement works taking place on Middleway for 5 weeks, beginning on the 18th of February.  Parking will be very limited.  Please walk to school where possible.  Thank you.

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sound /ur/.  They enjoyed a variety of activities to practise their writing skills.  Each child also wrote their own recipe for making the sandwich they designed. 

In Mathematics we consolidated our 'counting in 10s' skills and looked at finding missing numbers by looking at the previous or next number on a number line or 100 square.  the children especially enjoyed working out which numbers 'Naughty Norman Numbers' the Maths Monkey had scribbled over.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 1st February 2019

What a lovely end to the week!  Today the children thoroughly enjoyed learning how to build snowmen by rolling small balls of snow to make them larger.  Have a look at our Kerem Snow Class!  

We continued our topic of 'Sandwiches'.  We read the story 'The Giant Jam Sandwich' and the children continued role play in our sandwich cafe.  They are looking forward to designing and making their own sandwiches next week. 

The stage version of 'The Giant Jam Sandwich' is on at the Polka Children's Theatre over half term.  

Thank you to Mrs Akkerman and Mrs Grant for running another great library session.

Unfortunately our Perform drama workshop was cancelled, but we hope that this will now take place next week. 

We have lots of exciting upcoming events:

Friday 15th February- Our Book Week activities this year will be themed around the book 'Whatever Next!' by Jill Murphy.  On Friday 15th February, children should come to school in a home-made spacesuit/astronaut costume, as Baby Bear does in the story.  There will be small prizes for the best costumes!

Friday 1st March- Grand Reception Challah Bake.  To celebrate Shabbat UK, each child is invited to bring one grandparent (or other relative) to the Grand Reception Challah Bake.  This will take place at the EYU at 9am.  

Friday 8th March- We will be celebrating 100 days of Reception.  Children should come to school dressed as they will look when they are 100! 

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /ar/ and /or/.  The children have been busy inside and outside practising their sounds and correct letter formation.  Each child also wrote about how they would help get rid of the four million wasps from the story 'The Giant Jam Sandwich'.  

The children are very proud of their disgusting sandwich designs, now on display in our classroom!

In Mathematics we have been busy learning number bonds to 10.  The children made 'number chains' to show the pairs of numbers that made 10.  They also experimented with making 10 in different ways, recording their calculations.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 25th January 2019

It has been another wonderful, action-packed week in Reception.  On Monday we celebrated Tu B'Shevat with a delicious Fruit Party.  We also joined together with Nursery to decorate our own plant pots and plant seeds (please see below for photos).  Please email in photos of your child's plant as it begins to grow!

The lovely water colour paintings the children worked on last week are now on display in the EYU.

We have started a new topic this week- 'Sandwiches'.  The children have been very busy in our new role play 'Sandwich Cafe' where they have been taking and filling sandwich orders!  

Thank you to Mrs Grant and Mrs Traube for helping with our Library session this week.

The children have also been very busy using the clics to make a variety of structures using our instruction book.  They have achieved some impressive results!

Today the children took part in 'Blueish Jewish Child's Day'.  Each child wore blue and white and we raised money for a wonderful cause.  Thank you for your donations.

Next week we will be having a 'Perform' drama workshop on Thursday.  

We are looking forward to Book Week, which will take place during the week commencing Monday 11th February.  We will be having a Scholastic Book Fair at the EYU.  Please email Miss Brand if you would like to coordinate parent helpers for this.  There will also be lots of exciting events and even some dressing up- watch this space for further details!

Mr Phonics taught the children the new sound /oo/ and the 'tricky words' he, she, me, we and be.  They enjoyed lots of different activities to consolidate their recall of these.  Please do have a look at the games on 'Busy things'.  These have been updated to include all the sounds we have learnt so far and are a great way of consolidating reading skills.  The children loved sharing the story 'The Disgusting Sandwich' by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw.  Each child then wrote what would be in their disgusting sandwiches.  They particularly enjoyed using adjectives to describe, such as 'dirty washing', 'rotten eggs' and 'stinky cheese'!  Their work will soon be on display in the classroom.

In Mathematics we learnt all about pictograms.  The children used the data they gathered last week on their tally charts to make pictograms.  We also made a lovely class pictogram, which will soon be on display in our classroom.  The children have also been learning to count in 10s.  They enjoyed lots of activities to consolidate this knowledge- ask your child to count in 10s to 100!

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Monday 21st January 2019

Happy Tu B'Shevat!

Friday 18th January 2019

It has been another busy week.  On Monday the children enjoyed their first Gym lesson at Hendon Leisure Center. See what we got up to below!  We have been busy preparing for Tu B'Shevat.  The children made a beautiful blossoming tree display by colour mixing, cutting, sticking, rolling and gluing!  

We have also been learning to use water colours, to paint cross sections of different fruits.  These beautiful pieces are now on display in the EYU.

Thank you to Mrs Durkin and Mrs Samuels for helping with Library this week.

The children are looking forward to celebrating Tu B'Shevat on Monday.  Please have a look at the fruit list on the 'Important Information' page for which fruit to send in for our fruit party.  If you are able to come in and help prepare the fruit on Monday morning, please email Miss Brand.

Next Friday, 25th January is 'Blueish Jewish Day' (formerly Jewish Child's Day).  Children may come to school wearing blue and white.  Please send in a minimum donation of £1 for this worthy cause.  Thank you.

We have also been busy enjoying our new outdoor play equipment!

The children love being outdoors whatever the weather- please ensure your child comes to school with a warm coat, hat and gloves.  Please also ensure your child has a full change of clothes in their 'spares bag' in case they get wet playing.  Thank you.

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new diagraph /oa/.  The children practised writing a range of words with the diagraph in.  The children loved reading the book 'Ketchup on your Cornflakes?' by Nick Sharrat.  Each child has been busy making their own book with some very strange combinations!  

In Mathematics we started to learn about data handling.  The children conducted surveys about their favourite fruits and recorded the results on tally charts.  We have also begun making a whole class pictogram of favourite fruits.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Wednesday 16th January 2018

We are looking forward to Tu B'Shevat!  Please see the fruit list on the 'Important Information' page for which fruit to send in for our Fruit Party.  Thank you.

Monday 14th January 2019

We loved our first Gymnastics lesson!

Welcome Back!  It was lovely to welcome the children back to school after the winter break- We hope you all had a wonderful time!  Please send in postcards or photos of your holiday- we would love to add these to our 'Where in the World?' display.

This week the children have been enjoying our new outdoor resources- new water and sand trays and toys, a 'builders' yard' complete with bricks, cement mixer and hard hats, and our construction area in the front playground.  This consists of construction crates, tyres, poles, ramps, flags etc and is designed to develop creativity, gross motor skills, team working skills, Literacy and Numeracy skills.

On Thursday, the children enjoyed our special 'group challenge', where the children worked as a group to make a vehicle out of a large cardboard box.  They made all decisions collaboratively.  We will be continuing this next week.

Thank you to Mrs Avital and Mrs Horwich for running the library session on Thursday afternoon. 

Reception children will be going to Hendon Leisure Center each Monday morning during the spring term, for a Gymnastics lesson.  Children should wear a school tracksuit and t-shirt- no tights, please!  They will be barefoot for the sessions.  Each child should bring a water bottle to school as well as an individual morning snack.  We will be travelling by coach and will be accompanied by a security guard.

All parents are invited to an E-safety information evening on Monday 14th of Jan 7:30pm-9pm at the Norrice Lea site.

This week we welcomed Mrs Steinberg, who will be teaching Jewish Studies in Reception.  

In Phonics Mr Phonics taught the children their first trigraph- /igh/.  We have also been assessing the children on their knowledge of all the sounds learnt so far.  Please continue to practise all the sounds daily using the flashcards, focusing on the digraphs.  

The children all wrote about their winter holiday.

In Mathematics this week, we have been working on our counting skills.  The children were very excited to play on our new giant 'Snakes and Ladders' carpet, practising their number recognition.  We have also been assessing the children on their addition and subtraction skills.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Monday 10th December 2018

We will be having an extra Library session tomorrow and the children will be able to choose a book to take home for the holidays.  Please return library books tomorrow.  Thank you.

Friday 7th December 2018

It has been a great week in Reception!  We have well and truly celebrated Chanukah, with a wide range of activities.  The highlight of the week was definitely the Chanukah Show on Tuesday morning- It was wonderful to see the children perform with confidence in front of a large audience.  Well done! 

On Monday, the children enjoyed decorating their own doughnuts, on Tuesday they made edible chanukiah pictures using fresh vegetables, which they then ate!  On Wednesday the children played a game of dreidel and on Thursday, they made chanukiot out of pasta!  The children loved the 'Stretch and Grow' session on Thursday morning.   Please have a look at the photos in the blog posts from earlier in the week.  

On Monday morning, we will be watching the second Chanukah Show.  Please drop off at the Norrice Lea site, as on a Wednesday morning.  Thank you.

The Winter Break is fast approaching.  Please do continue to read with your child over the holidays- this is a lovely opportunity to visit your local library and select some books to enjoy together.  We will also be sending each child home with two reading books.  

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /th/ and /ng/.  We have also been practising letter formation.  There are some lovely games for this on Busy Things- please see the login details on the 'Important Information' page.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach,

The Reception Team

Thursday 6th December 2018

Happy 5th Night of Chanukah!

We loved making Chanukiot out of pasta!

Our 'Stretch and Grow' session was great fun!

Wednesday 5th December 2018

The children had a great time playing ‘dreidel’ this afternoon!

Happy 4th Night of Chanukah!

Tuesday 4th December 2018

Wow!  The Reception children were superstars in the Chanukah show today.  Well done!  

Happy 3rd Night of Chanukah!

This afternoon the children were busy making edible healthy Chanukiah pictures, which they then ate for afternoon snack. 

Monday 3rd December 2018

Happy Chanukah!

The children at the EYU enjoyed lighting the Chanukah candles and singing 'Maoz Tzur'!

Reception loved decorating their doughnuts, which they brought home to share.  Enjoy!

Friday 30th November 2018

The highlight of the week was no doubt our outing to see 'Room on the Broom' on Thursday.  The children all had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the performance!  Thank you to all the parent helpers who joined us.

The children are very excited for the Chanukah Show on Tuesday morning.  We look forward to seeing you all there!  Please continue to practise the songs with your child at home to make sure they really know all the words (Links in previous blog posts).  Children should be dropped off at the Norrice Lea site for 8:45am on Tuesday.  The show will start at 9am prompt.  Children should wear their school tracksuit bottoms and a plain, brightly coloured top or t-shirt.    

Thank you to Mrs Durkin and Mrs Baliti for helping out with Library this week.  Please remember to return library books on a Thursday.  

The children were also very busy making special Chanukah cards today, and they were excited to bring home the Chanukiot they made with Miss Gorman.  We would love to see photos of these in use- please email them to sbrand@keremschool.co.uk

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the children the new sounds /qu/, /ch/ and /sh/.  The children are getting really good at forming their letters correctly- please encourage your child to practise using Busy Things (link and password on the Important Information page).  They also enjoyed cutting out and sequencing the pictures from the story 'Room on the Broom'.

In Mathematics we looked at length.  The children enjoyed comparing the lengths of different Chanukah candles, using the language of 'longer, longest, shorter, shortest'.  We used cubes to measure different objects around the classroom. 

Wishing you and your families a Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach,

The Reception Team 

Thursday 29th November 2018

What we loved about 'Room on the Broom'...

Wednesday 28th November 2018

In Jewish Studies...

We have had great fun learning about Chanukah!

We learnt about the story of Chanukah and the two miracles (battle and oil). We learnt about how Chanukah is celebrated and have been singing a lot of Chanukah songs!

We made a real Chanukiah to use at home! We painted a tile, glazed it and waited very patiently for it to dry. We used hex nuts for candle holders. Please be careful this Chanukah - DO NOT LEAVE LIT CANDLES UNATTENDED!!

Happy Chanukah!

Friday 23rd November 2018

It has been another busy week in Reception!  Rehearsals for the Chanukah Show are in full swing and the children are getting really good at the songs!  We are looking forward to welcoming you on Tuesday 4th December.  Please continue to practise both these songs (a new one has been added to the repertoire).  The new song can be found at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ivNn8tvDgY

The children enjoyed another Library session on Thursday.  Thank you to Mrs Mahalla and Mrs Dagul for helping with this.  Please remember to return library books on a Thursday so that your child can take out a new book.

In anticipation of our theatre outing next Thursday, this week we read and enjoyed the book 'Room on the Broom' by Julia Donaldson.  The children had a go at making their own broomsticks using twigs gathered in the playground.  

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /x/, /y/, /z/ and /zz/.  The children enjoyed lots of activities to consolidate these sounds.  They have also been busy with our new special 'Writing Kits', which contain all sorts of special equipment for writing.  Please read at home daily with your child and sign the reading record to indicate that they have read.  Thank you.

In Mathematics, this week we learnt about ordinal numbers. We used the story 'Room on the Broom' to help us with this, using the language of 'first, second, third' etc. We have also been assessing each child on their number formation and will continue to work on this over the coming weeks.  

Friday 16th November 2018

It has been another week full of fun and lots of laughter in Reception!  The highlight of the week was definitely celebrating Kerem Mitzvah Day today.  The children joined together with Nursery to work on three exciting projects.

Upcycling chairs for sale in the JAMI shop 

Decorating tissue boxes for a women's shelter

Baking and decorating biscuits for volunteers at Noah's Ark Children's Hospice

We are also collecting new toys for the Camp Simcha Toy Drive which donates new toys to children in hospital .   Toys should be brought in to school by Wednesday   21st November and placed in the box in the EYU entrance (no soft toys please due to risk of infection).  Thank you for your support.  

On Thursday afternoon, the children enjoyed another library session.  Thank you to Mrs Sawdaye and Mrs Grant for coming in to run this.  Please remember to return library books on a Thursday so that your child can select another book.  Thank you.

Rehearsals for our Chanukah Show are now in full swing.  Please practise the songs with your child at home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUXj4Hqax_8

We will be using this to support our Mathematics learning over the coming weeks, learning about ordinal numbers.

Thank you to all the parents who returned the flu nasal spray forms- this will be taking place on Monday for the children with a completed consent form.  

Please note that focus Meeting times are on the 'Important Information' page.  Please also complete the Parent Information Sheet and bring this with you to the focus meeting to aid our discussion.  Thank you.

This week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /ss/, /j/, /v/ and /w/ as well as the tricky words 'the' and 'no'.  We have also been busy assessing each child on their knowledge of their sounds and tricky words.  It is lovely to see them apply this knowledge in their independent writing!

The Reception Team are thoroughly enjoying reading with each child in Reception- please ensure that reading books are brought in to school daily.  Books are changed every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, only if the orange reading record is signed to indicate that the book has been read twice.  Thank you for your support with this.

In Mathematics, we have continued our work on subtraction, learning how to use Numicon to help find the answer, and then record this using the - and = symbols.  we have also been working on correct number formation using different activities such as ipads.  

We are looking forward to our outing to the theatre on Thursday 29th November.  We had an overwhelming response from parents offering to accompany us.  Thank you to all the parents who volunteered- we have been in touch with everyone who will be joining us this time.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 9th November 2018

This week the children were very interested to learn all about Remembrance Day.  They learnt that this day marks the end of the First World War, which ended 100 years ago this Sunday.  We discussed how poppies help us to remember soldiers that fought in wars to keep us safe.  The children used a variety of media to create their own poppies, which are on display in the EYU.  

Our Poppies on Display

On Thursday, the children enjoyed their first session in the EYU Library.  Each child spent time in the library listening to a story or reading a book independently.  They then selected a book to take home and enjoy.  Library sessions will take place each Thursday afternoon.  Please return library books on a Thursday- children will only be able to take out a new book if their book is returned.  Thank you to Mrs Zisser and Mrs Elghanian for coming in to help with the library session this week.

Our Finger Gym is now well and truly up and running.  The children are enjoying a variety of activities to develop their fine motor skills.  This takes place each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning from 8:45-9am. 

Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /ff/, /l/ and /ll/.  They enjoyed lots of activities to practise forming their letters as well as segmenting and blending.  They have also been busy writing in their free writing books.  

The children were all very excited to bring home their very first reading books today!  Each child has a reading book in a folder, together with a reading record book.  Please read with your child daily at home and fill in the reading record accordingly.  Reading books should be brought in to school daily so that we can read with your child.  Books will be changed on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, only if the reading book has been read twice and the reading record is completed to reflect this.  When reading with your child, please discuss what they have read. Thank you for your support with this.  

In Mathematics, we started to learn about 'taking away'.  The children took part in a variety of practical activities to develop their subtraction skills.  They have also begun to record their calculations using the - and = symbols.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team 

Tuesday 6th November 2018

The EYU Finger Gym is now up and running!

Finger Gym takes place on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:45-9:00 for Reception.

Friday 26th October 2018

It has been another busy week in Reception and it is hard to believe that half a term has already passed!  Finishing off our topic of ‘Marvellous Me’, the children have been thinking about what they want to be when they are grown up.  The highlight of the week was no doubt dressing up today!

Miss Gilbert Rang the bell after playtime!

The children are very proud of their family trees, which are now on display in the Reception classroom.  

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /h/, /b/and /f/ as well as the tricky word ‘to’.  The children were very excited to complete their first piece of writing in their new writing books!  They wrote about what they want to be when they grow up. Please practise all sounds and tricky words daily over the half term break.  Reading books will be given out during the first week back after half term!

We have also been practising our rhyming skills.  Please practise rhyming with your child by playing games such as giving them 2 or 3 words and they continue the rhyming string.  There is a lovely rhyming game on Busy Things- look for the 'Robert Robot' game.  

In Mathematics the children have been recording addition sums using the + and = symbols.  They especially enjoyed using a dice to generate their own sums and then check their answers using Numicon.

If you visit anywhere interesting (whether at home or abroad) over the half term break, please send us a postcard or photograph to add to our ‘Where in the World’ display.  Thank you.

After half term, we will begin weekly Library sessions at the EYU for both Nursery and Reception children.  Each child will be able to select a book to bring home for the week.  Library books should be returned to school each Thursday please.  Thank you to Mrs Avital for coordinating parent helpers for this.

We are very excited to announce the launch of the EYU ‘Finger Gym’.  This is a new initiative to strengthen children’s fine motor skills.  This will take place daily during ‘soft start’ for Reception- please ensure your child arrives at school on time so that they are able to take part!

After half term, we will be starting 'Show and Tell'.  When it is your child's turn, they should bring in one special item to show the class.  Please see the list on the 'Important Information' page.  

Please check out the updated 'Important Information' page.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a lovely Half Term break,

The Reception Team

This week in Jewish Studies:

This week we learnt the letters Gimmel and Daled. Please review the names and sounds of the letters learnt so far with your child. Please test your child's knowledge of the letters out of order, too!

We have really enjoyed singing this Aleph Bet song!

We continued learning about Berachot (blessings) and learnt about the berachah Ha'etz recited over fruits that grow on a tree like apples, oranges, pears and plums.

We learnt about Parashat Vayera - about Avraham and Sarah's love for inviting guests. They even had 4 doors on their tent so that if guests came from any direction they could come into Avraham's tent. In this week's Parashah, Avraham invited three guests (who were really angels!!!) We made Avraham's tent with four doors and a palm tree outside where Avraham would offer his guests to sit under to have some shade.

Shabbat Shalom!

Friday 19th October 2018

It has been another packed week in Reception!  Thank you to all the parents who joined us on Tuesday evening for the Reception Reading Information Evening.  We hope you found this event informative.

We continued our topic of 'Marvellous Me'.  The children have been enjoying our role play home corner and have been taking good care of the 'Baby Emily' doll.  We read the book 'Me and My Family tree' and then each child made their own family tree, first painting a tree using finger paints, then drawing the members of their family and finally combining the two to create lovely family trees!

Next week we will be discussing what children want to be when they grow up.  On Friday, children should come to school dressed as what they want to be when they grow up.

Mr Phonics taught the children four new sounds this week- our first digraph /ck/, and /e/, /u/ and /r/.  They also learnt the 'tricky word' I.  They enjoyed lots of different games and activities to practise their segmenting, blending and letter formation skills.

This week in Mathematics we have been adding!  We learnt that adding means putting two groups together and finding the total.  The children used counting bears and Numicon to support their calculations.  We have also begun to use the + and = symbols to record calculations.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

Friday 12th October 2018

Our first full week in Reception has definitely been a busy one!  We continued our topic 'Marvellous Me' and put the finishing touches to our 'Guess Who' display in the classroom.  The children have been enjoying guessing which baby picture is of which class member.  They even had a look at some baby pictures of staff members!  Each made a mini fact file all about themselves and drew a self portrait to complete the display.  

The children have also been busy planting our new vegetable garden in the front playground with vegetables such as rainbow chard, cavolo nero and spinach and writing signs for the garden.

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /g/, /o/, /c/ and /k/ as well as their very first 'tricky word' I.  This is a tricky word as it can't be sounded out- it must be learnt as a sight word.  Please continue to practise the sounds and 'tricky words' at home daily- more information about how to support your child's reading will be shared at the Reception Reading Information Evening on Tuesday.  We have also been busy blending sounds to read short words, and sounding out words to write.

In Mathematics, the children completed a range of activities to consolidate their counting skills and one to one correspondence.  We also started to explore the concept of addition, using the language of 'one more than' a number.  We will begin looking at adding by combining two groups next week and discussing ways of recording calculations.

Focus Meetings will be starting soon- the list will be posted on the 'Important Information' page early next week, along with the Parent Feedback Form.  Please email your completed Parent Feedback Form to Miss Brand the week before your focus meeting.  If you are unable to make your meeting time, please let Miss Brand know as soon as possible.  Thank you.  

Next week, the children will begin taking it in turns to bring Benzi home for the week.  He will be sent home on a Tuesday and should be returned the following Monday.  Please email Morah Aviva photos of Benzi out and about with your child for discussion in their Ivrit lesson and display.  Thank you.

For some interesting ideas of how to support your child's physical development at home, please have a look at the resources in the Inclusion section of the school website. 

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

The Reception Team

This Week in Jewish Studies

We are so excited to have begun learning the Hebrew Alphabet - the Aleph Bet! We started with Aleph (no sound) and learnt the name and sound. Your child came home with their Hebrew sound bag on Tuesday with the very first letter. Each Tuesday we will put in the letters we will learn that week. Please review letters (name and sound) old and new with your child every day. Please send your child's folder to school every Monday and they will receive it back on a Tuesday.

We had great fun learning to write the letter Aleph!

We learnt about Chodesh Cheshvan, a month with no chagim but a month we daven to Hashem for rain.

We also learnt about Parashat Noach and the flood. We learnt about Hashem's promise never to make a flood again and to remind us, He made a rainbow. We had great fun making edible rainbows.

We welcomed Rabbi Friedman to our Shabbat Party today. He quizzed us on our Parashah knowledge, and boy did we WOW him!

Shabbat Shalom!

Miss Gorman

Friday 5th October 2018

This week the children were very excited to start their new topic 'Marvellous Me!'.  Over the coming weeks they will be learning about themselves in the past (as babies), in the present (their likes and dislikes, similarities and differences and their families) and in the future (what they want to be when they grow up).  

They have been very busy writing fact files and drawing self-portraits which will be used to make a giant 'Guess Who' game, together with their baby photos.  Thank you to all the parents who emailed in baby photos- if you have not already done so, please email this to Miss Brand by Monday at the very latest.  

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /m/and /d/. They have been very busy practising the correct formation of the letters learnt.  The children also enjoyed learning how to play the game 'Buried Treasure', reading words and then deciding whether they are 'treasure' or 'trash'.  

In Numeracy the children have been getting familiar with the Numicon pieces and using these to help them make numbers up to 20.  They enjoyed lots of activities such as using Numicon to make crayon rubbings and putting the pieces in order.

This week in Jewish Studies:

This week we started our learning about Berachot (blessings) that are recited over food and drink. We started with the berachah of 'Al Netilat Yadayim' when washing hands with the wash-cup before eating bread. We learnt how to wash our hands and had a go at doing it independently.

We then learnt about the Berachah of Hamotzi - recited before eating bread, matzah, bagels, rolls etc.

We learnt about Parashat Bereishit and the creation of the world. We made dark and light biscuits to represent what Hashem made on Day 1.

Friday 28th September 2018

Wow!  What a busy week.  We have been very busy celebrating Succot by visiting lots of different Succot and eating lunch in the EYU Succah. 

On Thursday afternoon, the Reception children joined together with Nursery for a joint art project.  We looked at a painting by the Israeli artist Chanan Mazal and then worked together to make our own reproduction of the painting, with children working on different elements of the picture using a variety of media including finger painting, cutting, sticking, gathering twigs and crayon rubbings.  A wonderful time was had by all!

On Wednesday afternoon we visited the Witkin family Succah.

On Thursday we visited the Dagul family Succah...

..and the Akkerman family Succah.

On Friday we visited the Salem family Succah.

Thank you very much for having us- we had a really wonderful time and the children enjoyed all the delicious treats!

Layla was very excited to share her special news with the class this week- the arrival of her new twin sisters.  Mazal Tov to Layla and the Gilbert family!

This week in Phonics, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sound /n/.  The children enjoyed lots of different activities to practise the correct letter formation.  We have also been reading and writing short words using the sounds learnt so far.  Please continue to practise daily at home.  Thank you.

Next week we will begin a new topic- 'Marvellous Me'.  Please email Miss Brand a baby photo of your child by next Wednesday.  

As a finale to this topic, on Friday 26th October Reception children should come to school dressed up as 'What I want to be when I grow up'.  

We will also be looking at numbers in the environment- please take a photo of your child standing next to your house number and email this to Miss Brand for a class display, along with any other numbers your child spots in their environment.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Friday 21st September 2018

It has been another short but busy week!

In Phonics this week, Mr Phonics taught the children the new sounds /t/, /p/ and /i/.  The children enjoyed lots of different activities to help them remember the sounds.  They have also been working really hard to form each letter correctly.   Please use the sounds and sound mat to practise daily at home.  Sound bags should be brought in to school daily so that the new sound can be added.  

The children were very excited to blend some short words to read!

On Monday, the children were very busy in Numeracy, cutting and sticking number chains to decorate the EYU Succah, practising their number recognition and scissor control skills at the same time.  On Thursday and Friday we started to work on the correct formation of the numbers 0-6, learning a short rhyme to help with the correct formation of each number.  The children enjoyed a variety of activities to practise this, including 'painting' in rice.

Here is the number formation the children are learning:

We have also been making 3D fruit Succah decorations.  The children drew their own fruit shapes, cut them out and then drew round them to create two shapes the same.  They then cut slits and slotted the two together to create their decoration.  

We are looking forward to Succot at the EYU.  The EYU Succah is now up and ready for use.  The children will be having lunch there every day next week (subject to the British weather!) and we will also be visiting lots of different succot.  Please see the 'Dates for your Diaries' section for Norrice Lea Drop Off dates.

If your child has their own real or toy Lulav and Etrog, they are welcome to bring these to school next week.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

This week in Jewish Studies:

On Monday, we completed our learning about Yom Kippur. We made paper slippers to wear on Yom Kippur instead of leather shoes.

We also made Yonah and the Big Fish story puppets to retell the story.

On Thursday we learnt about Sukkot - how it is celebrated and the Mitzvah of eating in the Sukkah. We also learnt about the Arba Minim (Lulav and Etrog).

Here's something fun to watch to get you in the Sukkot spirit.

Chag Sameach!

Friday 14th September 2018

It has been a short but packed week. The children have settled in really well!

The children were very excited to have their very first Phonics session on Thursday. They were introduced to ‘Mr Phonics’, who helped the children learn the new sounds /s/ and /a/.

Mr Phonics

We have also been learning the correct formation of these letters and the children enjoyed lots of different indoor and outdoor activities to practise forming their letters correctly.

Each child has been given a special ‘sound bag’ which will be sent home daily, containing the new sound that the children have learnt that day. Please use these to practise the sounds at home with your child, and return the sound bag to school each day so that the new sound can be added.  Please practise the phonic sound and not the letter name e.g. ‘s’ says ssssssss. Your child will also learn an action to reinforce each sound. Please encourage them to show you the action.  The list of actions can be found on the ‘Key Information’ page.  Each child has also been given a phonics mat to use when practising sounds. This should be kept at home.  More information on how this can be used will be given at the Reading Information Evening.

In Numeracy we have been assessing each child on their counting and number recognition skills. They enjoyed a variety of activities and games to consolidate their number recognition skills, including making their very own play dough to form numbers!

Please help your child by dropping them off at the classroom door and encouraging them to come in and unpack by themselves. This really helps to develop independence. 

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom from the Reception Team.

This week in Jewish Studies:

We have begun learning about Yom Kippur; how it is observed and the significance of the day. We learned about the Story of Yonah and the Big Fish. We started making Yonah and the Big Fish story puppets to retell the story. We also learnt about the prohibition of wearing leather shoes. We had a look at different materials, including leather.

We had great fun playing in the Shul in the role-play corner, too! Did you know Joey is an expert Shofar blower?

Here's something fun to watch to get you thinking about Yom Kippur: click here

Shabbat Shalom!

Friday 7th September 2018

Welcome to the very first blog of the year!

The children have settled in smoothly to the routines of Reception and we have well and truly begun our learning! They have been enjoying the sunshine and using the outdoor area lots to enhance their learning- they have particularly enjoyed our new outdoor camping area.

On Wednesday, the children enjoyed their very first morning at the ‘big school’, where they joined in with infant Tefillah and used the computing suite for their very first ICT lesson with Mr Moses.

The children have been very busy learning all about Rosh Hashanah, playing in the class Shul role play area, decorating apple plates, making Rosh Hashanah cards and much more.

We have also begun to assess each child individually, ready to begin Phonics and Numeracy sessions next week.

Wishing you and your families a Shana Tova- A happy, healthy and sweet new year!