Reminders

• Please ensure your child has both a morning and afternoon snack each day.
• Please send in 2 cardboard toilet-roll tubes by Tuesday 22 September. 
• Any other clean cardboard for junk modelling is also very welcome.
• A reminder that the school day starts at 8:30am.
• Please remember to check the Friday finish time each week, as this can vary.
• Please make sure all clothing and belongings are clearly labelled with your child’s name. We currently have several jumpers without names.

Our Week

It was lovely to see so many of you at Curriculum Evening and to share a little more about the year ahead. We’ve had another busy week in Reception! The children are continuing to settle into our routines, and we have been focusing on good listening, following instructions and becoming increasingly independent. 

Phonics

We have had visits from a tiger, astronaut and pirate this week as we have been exploring the sounds s, a, t and p. We have been focusing on correct letter formation, as well as recognising sounds, oral blending and reading simple words. Children are being encouraged to build on what they already know and extend their phonics skills. 

Literacy

We started the week by boarding our very own Kerem aeroplane, complete with rows of seats, tickets and a very important safety announcement from Mrs Monty! The children had to decide where they wanted the plane to land, which led to lots of discussion about different settings. We encouraged the children to speak in full sentences and use because to explain their ideas.

Using images from Quest by Aaron Becker, we then arrived at a mysterious magic door. The children discussed whether we should open it and imagined what might be waiting on the other side, before drawing the setting they wanted to find behind the door on their own opening-door pictures.

We also shared The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, a story about a girl who believes she cannot draw until she is encouraged to simply make a mark and see where it takes her. It gave us a lovely opportunity to talk about having a go, being brave and not worrying about getting things perfect straight away. The children then experimented with their own dots, marks, patterns and ideas.

Maths

This week we have been exploring matching, sets and sorting. These are important early maths skills that help children develop the thinking they need before and alongside working more formally with numbers. 

The children have been looking carefully at objects and pictures to spot what is the same and what is different, making matching sets and sorting collections in different ways, including by colour, size, shape and type. We have also encouraged the children to explain their thinking using words such as match, same, different, set and sort.

PSED

This week we have been thinking about what makes each of us special. The children shared special objects and talked about why they were important to them. We discussed how we may like some of the same things as our friends and some different things, and that our interests and experiences are part of what makes us unique.

Learning through play

Across our provision, the children have been busy applying their learning through play — matching and sorting, building, creating, drawing maps, practising sounds and letter formation, and developing their fine motor skills.

Jewish Studies: 

This week Reception class:

-explored Yom Kippur and some of the rules and minhagim of the day. Each of the children crafted their own beautiful Yom Kippur non-leather sandals. 

-learned about Yonah and his mission to deliver a message to the people of Ninveh. Everyone made their own Yonah and the big fish craft. 

-started on the exciting journey of the alef-bet. We started today with the letter Shin, with a spot over his Shema hand. We made jangly bracelets to go on our Shema hands, had a go at writing some Shins and made Shiny Shin collages. 

Ivrit

This week in Ivrit, we continued learning greetings:

• Boker Tov – בוקר טוב (Good morning)
• Toda – תודה (Thank you)
• Bevakasha – בבקשה (Please)
• Laila Tov – לילה טוב (Good night)

We were also delighted to see our special friends Podi HaKipod and Racheli again! 

As we prepare for Rosh Hashana, we learnt about Rimon – רימון (pomegranate), Dvash – דבש (honey) and Tapuach – תפוח (apple). The children made beautiful pomegranate cards, enjoyed pretending to blow the Shofar, and had lots of fun playing Rosh Hashana games together.

Forest School
The children had a lovely first Forest School session, learning the routines and exploring the site. They created faces using natural materials, drilled and threaded conkers to make necklaces, and enjoyed the hammocks, slackline, mud kitchen and water painting. We also saw lots of lovely teamwork, communication and confidence throughout the session.