Reception

Dear Parents

As I sit here writing this final newsletter I find myself with such a mixture of emotions. I've been looking at their September pictures and I cannot believe how much they have grown. 

To see how they have grown and matured fills me with great pride. To see them negotiating with their friends and showing empathy, skills that many adults often lack, I cannot help but smile. 

To see their confidence develop has been amazing. The confidence to put up their hands and talk in a large group. The confidence to negotiate the climbing frames or the balance bikes. The confidence to put pen to paper and write their names. The confidence to start putting sounds together to read CVC words. Each child has had their own challenges but they have persevered and I couldn't be more proud. 

Some children have learnt numbers to ten and some have worked with teen numbers and some have challenged themselves with numbers up to one hundred. But each child has achieved and I couldn't be happier. 

I think one of the highlights for me were the chicks in the class. This was such an amazing experience for the children and the adults. It is something they will remember for a very long time. Just an update on the chicks. Six of them went to ethical farms while Ms Angel's mum has taken three of them to live in her garden. 

Thursdays at Forest School have sometimes been a challenge, particularly in the freezing cold of winter. Emma has often commented on how amazing the children have been, comparing their behaviour and listening  skills to those of much older children and finding in favour of ours every time. When outsiders make comments like this I cannot help but feel great pride.

I think the thing that has impressed me the most has been their imaginations, their inventiveness and their creativity. From the construction toys to the junk modelling the paper creations to the super complicated snakes and ladders inventions. They have amazed me every day.

And of course I could not finish this note without a final mention of their performance yesterday in the ‘End of the Year Show’. They were amazing and I was super proud of them (and if anyone has a clip of Liora’s unscripted outburst I would love to have it:) Their confidence and pride made my heart melt. I would have loved to have said more at the end of the show but I couldn’t speak much more.

Talia (Angel) and Sarah (LeForte) and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your generous gifts. Your kindness is overwhelming. We had the lovely gift vouchers and then your lovely presents at the end as well. So, again, thank you so very much. 

I could go on and on but, as one parent wrote in an email, if I continue I might just start crying.

So the time has come to finally say goodbye.

I cannot thank you all enough for your support, your friendship and, above all, your trust. I will miss you all. 

Some of you I will see next year. Some of you will go by my door to the nursery next year. And for some of you, as one parent put it, it's the end of an era. If you are off to the Main School at 8.30am or at 3pm, feel free to come past the EYU occasionally just to say hi.

Have a great summer everyone. Stay well and travel safely.

In Jewish Studies this week we recapped all the stories of the Parashot learned throughout the year. It was absolutely amazing, to confirm, once again how much the children have learned. Each question that i asked found so many children wanting to answer and it made me very proud to see how much the children learned in Kodesh and in aleph-bet.

I would like to wish all the Reception children a wonderful summer and a fruitful and fun time in year 1. It has been a privilege to teach your children. 

Chazak ve Ematz!

Kind regards 

Lindsay and the Reception Team.

Friday 8th July

Dear Parents

This really is the final countdown. The last Friday in reception is upon us. We have had a really busy week practising our end of the year show and I am very happy with the way they have been learning what to do.

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week the children have had to  remember their friendship rules about being kind to each other. I think there is a certain amount of exhaustion amongst the children and some of them have been a bit fussy and unkind to their friends. However, on the plus side, I have seen some really kind behaviour happening and this makes me so proud. I have also seen some new friendships forming which is very pleasing. 

Their Communication and Language this week has been around their independent play and the games and stories they have invented. The large construction has been in full use and the ‘Trolls and Castle’, ‘Ponies’ and ‘Playmobil Theme Park’ have created some lovely dialogues.

In Physical Development this week the children have connected the ‘Interstars’, painted props for the end of the year show, ridden on the balance bikes and scooters, built with the large construction, cut paper and generally had a lot of fun with the resources which have been set up. I have had some little ‘monkeys’ swinging on the ropes. This has proven to be a bit difficult to photograph because as they are flipping over, all I can see is knickers. Despite this, we appear to have a few budding gymnasts in reception.

In Literacy this week the children have been reading and learning their lines for their end of the year show. We have also tried to have lots of ‘downtime’ and read many stories, which they have really enjoyed. 

In Phonics this week the children have been using their phonic knowledge to write independently. They have been making cards and letters and writing messages to the teachers. There has been some delightful, phonetically plausible spelling happening and I was even told that the big white board in the playground had ‘invisible writing’ on it. 😝

In Maths this week the children have been doing a lot of addition and subtraction, using their knowledge of number bonds. They have added dots on the dice, used Numicon to work out their addition, counted unifix cubes and used their fingers to work out if they weren’t sure of an answer. Well done everyone!

In Understanding the World this week, the children did some cooking.  They made chocolate cornflake cookies and it was amazing having the smell of melting chocolate wafting down the corridor.  The children were very excited to finally get their cookies at the end of the day and eat them on the way home.

There was also great excitement when we saw that our butterflies had hatched out of the chrysalises. We had five caterpillars and so far we have four beautiful butterflies. Unfortunately I think one butterfly may not survive in the urban jungle due to the fact that it has an underdeveloped wing and struggles to fly. This is a good lesson for children to learn about nature.

In Expressive Arts and Design the children have been creating amazing designs with the large construction. They made a spa and I was invited to join them in the warm water. They have been cutting and sticking and making books, bags, pictures and all sorts of things. Their imaginations really know no bounds. They have created dialogues with the minibeasts and the trolls and have played happily together. They have played with the sea creatures in the water tray and the sharks have bitten fingers and eaten crabs. 

In Forest School this week the children had their final lesson of the year.  The children thought about their year and their favourite season and their favourite area in the woods. They then had the choice to make an end of year medal by sawing a log and drilling a hole through it. They have refined their knots by tying the string in order to hang their medals around their necks.  They could make a bandana or they could explore the woods. The children ended the fun by toasting marshmallows on a fire. They were yummy and enjoyed by all.  

This week in Jewish studies, amongst our studies of Aleph bet and the Parasha, we started to say our goodbyes. We started the week learning a little bit about last week's Parasha. We spoke about Korach and about how being jealous didn't help him and he ended up being swallowed by the earth. The children pictured the earth opening and all the people who were challenging Moshe being swallowed.

We then moved on to this week's Parasha. We learned that throughout their journey in the desert, because of Miriam, the Bnei Israel had a well of water all the time, so they didn't ever get thirsty! When Miriam was called to be with Hashem, her well dried up and the Bnei Israel ended up without water. Hashem commanded Moshe to speak to the rock but Moshe hit the rock, and although he didn't do what Hashem said, Hashem still sent water through the rock. We spoke about how Hashem always hears us and answers us. Sometimes the answer is "no", but this is because He is so kind and will always do what's best for us.

On Friday we had a fun time, discussing some of the themes we learned in Parasha throughout the year. The children were so happy to show how clever they are in their knowledge. It made me so proud to see how much they've learned this year and I'm sure this will stay with them forever. 

Our Shabbat party was very special, with the children singing extra loud and being happy and excited about having their last Shabbat party all together at Reception.

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Joshua

Ima - Ilse Bella

Ben - Ben

Bat - Eva

Reminders:

End of the year show:

Next Tuesday the EYU is having their end of the year shows. This will be at the main school at 1.15pm.  We will walk over to the main school with the children after lunch.

The Nursery will perform their show while the Reception children and parents watch, followed by the Reception children performing while the nursery children and parents watch.

After we have finished, it will be the turn of KS1 and KS2. 

When we have finished, the children can either:

1. Stay with you to watch their KS1 or KS2 siblings. If you do not have older children in the main school you will need to leave to make way for other parents.

2. Leave with you for the day.

3. Remain at the main school with the staff for you to collect at 3pm.

If your child is having a birthday over the summer holidays, they may come to school in their own clothes on Monday and we will celebrate with them on this day.

Kind regards

Shabbat Shalom

Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 1st July

Last week Friday, as I was dismissing the children, I looked around the playground and saw parents standing chatting, children running around and playing on the climbing frames, playdates being arranged and everything looked ‘normal’ and I suddenly realised how long ago it was that I last saw this. For more than two years now, parents have had to collect their children and leave the premises immediately and it was so sad.  Looking at everyone suddenly made me realise just how much I had missed it without even realising I was missing it.  Long may this last!

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development the children have continued to discuss next year and the expectations of year one. They had the second of their transition visits on Friday and again they could not stop talking about it. Mostly it's the ones with older siblings in the main school who are excited to be seeing their brothers and sisters on a daily basis.

In Communication and Language the common thread this week has been around their independent play. It is so gratifying when we see children who have English as their second language suddenly become confident little chatterboxes. We have had aeroplane journeys, houses, cars and trains and even a child in a box being sent in the post to Israel. 

The highlight of this week has been the much anticipated Sports Day! The children practised so hard in their PE lessons for these events and on the day it really paid off. It was a fun-filled, exciting morning and the children were super keen. I know the weather was a bit unpredictable at times but at the end of the day we had no rain and no scorching heat. There were a few tumbles along the way but the children quickly got up and continued with the fun. The team spirit and camaraderie was great to see and I could not be more proud of the reception and nursery children. 

In Literacy this week the children have continued to write their 'personal information' to pass on to the year one teacher. I think she is going to be very pleased with their phonic knowledge and the use of phonetically plausible spellings.  

In phonics this week some children  learnt the third trigraph 'ear'. It was all about the ear that did not hear. Some children were revising the digraphs and trigraphs and the CVCC and CCVC words. Their homework will reflect this.

This will be the last time your child will receive homework or reading books in reception. Please can I ask that all homework folders, reading folders and reading books are returned, along with the reading record book, by Wednesday 6th July.

In Maths this week the children have been revising number bonds and counting in twos, fives and tens. They have played number games and explored the giant Numicon in the playground. 

In Understanding the World this week the children have been looking after the remaining three chicks. They continue to comment on how big they are now and how their feathers are growing. They have also been admiring the flowers in the garden, commenting on which ones  attract more bees. The general consensus seems to be that although bees sometimes give us a fright and we don't like them near us, bees are our friends and we like them in our garden. 

In Expressive Arts and Design the children have been making the most amazing creations out of paper. Every day they astound me with their imagination and creativity. They have successfully used up all of our scrap paper supplies with their work. I am very impressed with the handbags, wallets, books, houses, tents (and those are just the ones I can think of) etc. that have been created and the stories surrounding them. 

In Forest School this week the children continued the theme of pirates. They started with a game of launching cannon balls (throwing dry pine cones) and seeing who could throw the farthest. Emma then read a lovely pirate story, after which the children were able to choose their activity. Some children decided to whittle the bark off of a stick to create a mermaid. They used wool for her hair and leaves for her tail. Some children were looking for bugs, identifying them in Emma's books. Some children chose to go and find adventure in the woods. It was perfect weather for a lovely Forest School. 

This week in Jewish Studies we learned about how Korach and some other people revolted against Moshe, accusing him of choosing his brother (Aharon) to be the Cohen Hagadol. Although the Cohen Hagadol was chosen by Hashem, once again the people lost emunah and were not happy with what Hashem was giving them. Hashem told the people to bring a stick each, and only Aharon’s stick blossomed.  We made a beautiful blossoming tree to show just how beautiful Aharon’s stick blossomed.

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Dylan

Ima - Alex

Ben - Raymond

Bat - Erin

Reminders:

• Please remember sun cream and hats in the hot weather.
• Please remember to send your child's reading and homework folders, along with all reading books and reading record books, to school by Wednesday 6 July.

Thank you and kind regards

Shabbat Shalom

Lindsay and the Reception team.

Friday 24June

Dear Parents

As we approach the end of the year we have had many discussions about year one and the main school.  Most children are super excited but some children are still, quite understandably, filled with trepidation.

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week the children had their first transition visit to the main school to meet the teachers. After the visit to the year one class, a lengthy chat with the adults and some fun activities, the children met up with their buddies who then showed them around the school. Miss LeForte and I then walked over to the main school to escort them back again and there was a lot of very positive chat about their experience.

In Communication and Language the children have discussed what it felt like to hold the chicks.  They described how soft the chicks were. ‘It’s so soft and fluffy’.  ‘It feels soft and furry’. They also described the feet of the chicks.  ‘They are itchy’. ‘They are scratchy’. ‘They are ticklish’. They also discussed their visit to the main school as well as what they did, telling me: ‘I like Miss Nathan’ and ‘I think I am going to like year one’. 

In Physical Development this week the children have been drawing, cutting, sticking and collaging their own pieces of work. There have been some amazing creations and we have heard some fantastic stories about what they have made. They have also been clicking the Mobilo and the Cogs and Wheels as well as making pictures with the shapes in the Tap-Tap game. 

In PE this week the children went over to the park on Monday and Wednesday to practise the activities for sports day. They were divided into groups and did the ten fun activities that they will do on Tuesday. They also practised their running races and were very proud when they were declared winners. They are very much looking forward to Tuesday.

In Literacy this week the children have started writing a page of ‘personal information’ to give to the year one teacher. Each child will complete a page before the end of the year. They need to write their name, names of their family members, what they enjoyed most about reception and what they are looking most forward to in year one. 

In Phonics the children have learnt/revised the first two trigraphs (that is three letters that make one sound). The have learnt the ‘igh’ sound and the ‘ear’ sound. Some children have continued practising CVCC and CCVC words. Their homework will reflect this. 

In Maths this week the children have been revising counting in twos, threes, fives and tens. They have also continued to practise the bonds of numbers to ten as well as halving and doubling. 

In Understanding the World the children have been observing the young chicks very closely. They were very excited when they were told they would be able to finally hold them. Most children were very gentle and the chicks responded to their calmness and were very well behaved. The chicks are growing so beautifully and their little wing feathers are coming through. The children are commenting on their differences every day. Unfortunately we were taken a bit by surprise on Friday when the chick company came to collect them.  I really thought we had them for another week. However, luckily Ms Angel’s mum is taking three of them so we get to keep some of them for another week. 

In Forest School this week Emma continued the theme of Pirates. She built a slack line for the children to walk along. The children were also able to saw logs to make a ‘treasure doubloon’ which they then drilled a hole into, decorated and threaded onto string to put around their neck. They could use charcoal to draw a treasure map. They could also play with the forest friend animals if they chose to do so.

In Expressive Arts and Design the children did some junk modelling. They have also had some lovely thick card which they could draw on or cut. It has been lovely to see their focus develop when they ask if they can keep their project ‘to finish tomorrow’ and it then becomes a week-long creation. They have also had the Playmobil pirate ship, the ponies, the dinosaurs and many other small world characters. 

This week in Jewish Studies we learnt Parashat Shlach Lecha. In this Parasha, the Jewish people were getting closer to Eretz Israel. They had been in the desert for a long time and they were becoming a bit nervous about leaving the desert and entering Israel, as they didn’t know what to expect.

The Jewish people said to Moshe that they wanted to check out the land before they went to live there, to see if it was really a good place. We spoke about how everything Hashem does is for our own good, and how we should be happy when someone gives us a present, like Hashem wanted to do, by giving us the land for ourselves. By asking to check the land first, the Jewish people showed lack of emunah (faith in Hashem).

Hashem was angry and said to Moshe that he could send people to check the land, if he wanted to.  Moshe sent 12 spies, one man from each tribe. When they arrived at the land, they saw giants and they were scared. They saw giant fruits, and they took some of the fruits back to show the people what awaited them. Out of the twelve spies, ten said bad things about Israel. Only two spies, Yehoshua and Kalev wanted to say good things.  The ten men said: “ Seen these giant fruits, the people there are also giants”. And the people started to cry: “ We don’t want to go to Israel”

Hashem was very sad and punished the ten men, and out of the twelve men only Yehoshua and Kalev had the merit to enter Israel again. From here we learn how important it is to never speak bad things about Israel, and how that makes Hashem sad.

The children worked on drawings of giant fruits, and they were very interested to know what a giant bunch of grapes looked like!

In this week’s Parasha we also learn about the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit. We learn that tzitzit represents the presence of Hashem, close to us all the time, and that we want to turn everything we do into a mitzvah. The children made a beautiful craft of a “boy with tzitzit''. They had a lot of fun making them.

In aleph-bet we continued to practise writing our names, revising individual letters and focusing on the vowels . Our Shabat Party was happy and beautiful as usual.

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Yanai

Ima - Eliya

Ben - Zachary W

Bat - Bella

Important Letter:

The children were very excited on Monday when they saw we had received a letter from the queen, thanking them for the lovely book of paintings and quotes which were sent to her on the occasion of her platinum jubilee.  Please see the pictures in the gallery.

Sports Day:

• Sports day will be held on Tuesday 28th June at The Wilf Slack Sport Ground, East End Road,N3 2LE.
• Please bring your child to the Reception drop off point for 9.00am which will be signposted. 
• Please ensure your child has sun cream on and has a cap or a hat.
• Please provide your child with snacks and plenty of water as well as a packed lunch.
• Please make sure the lunch is Mezonot, and all foods sent in are nut and sesame free. We have staff and children with serious allergies, so it is important that this is adhered to.
• The event will be finished at 1.00pm the latest.
• If your child is returning to school you will need to arrange their transport.
• If you have not already informed us whether your child is returning please can you let us know.
• When Sports day is finished, please sign your child out with Mrs Collier before leaving the Sports grounds. It is important that all children are accounted for.

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 17 June

Dear Parents

What a wonderful, crazy, busy, exciting week we have had and I would not want it any other way.

We have had STEAM week, new furniture delivered for our playground and, of course the highlight of the week, our baby chicks. 

On Monday morning the children were all dropped off at the main school for a whole school assembly by ‘The Science Boffins’. It was great fun and the children enjoyed everything they were shown. There were many experiments shown to the children and they were quite impressed by the danger aspect of the ones which involved fire.  Anything that comes with a ‘Don’t try this at home’ warning is guaranteed to be interesting and fun. I think the highlight was the toilet roll that unravelled right over them when blown by a leaf blower. 

On Monday too, when we got back from the main school, Ismail had assembled our new playground furniture. It was very exciting and the children listened very carefully to the instructions. Because much of our learning takes place outdoors in the EYU, they have been able to enjoy the fact that so much more can now be set up outside. 

Unfortunately due to the extreme heat this week we have had to cut our outside time by quite a bit. Without any cover we just could not be outside in the afternoon. Also our current playground does not show our new furniture off to its best. In order to be truly amazing, it really needs a new surface and some cover. Please parents…if you have not already done so, dig deep and donate what you can to our BIG fundraising drive in order to make the area great for the nursery children coming up and for all the children who will use it in the future. 

Also on Monday the eggs arrived in the class. It was quite late in the afternoon so there wasn’t time to get too excited. On Tuesday morning they were just eggs so after a cursory glance, they were pretty much ignored. On Wednesday when the children came in and saw three chicks was when the excitement erupted. We had parents and siblings come in to see and it was fantastic. It seems like it’s been such a long time since we have been able to have different people in the class. There was not one second, apart from lunchtime, that the chicks were not being observed. Some children were lucky to be able to see a chick hatch right in front of them. It was an amazing experience for everyone. So far it looks like we have five little girls and four little boys.  On Friday the children got to see the chicks out of the brooder box and next week they will be able to touch and hold them.

On Thursday the children had a Lego workshop. This too was part of STEAM week. The children were divided into three groups and were challenged to make a tower, make a vehicle and make a spaceship or a workable hammer. There was great excitement and the children did brilliantly. I think we might just have some budding architects or engineers in reception. I was really pleased to see the amount of sharing and teamwork that was happening. 

This week the children have also had the new hard hats, walkie talkies and high viz jackets in the playground.  It has been wonderful seeing them take their role play to a different level with these simple additions. 

On Thursday we had our usual Forest School but instead of first thing in the morning it was in the afternoon. I was a bit concerned about the heat in the park at that time of the day but the wise Emma had it all under the trees where it was lovely and cool. First Emma discussed the treasures of the forest and the children all had to go and find a piece of ‘treasure’ and bring it back and tell us why they thought it was valuable. There were gold leaves, special sticks for digging and a few pretty stones. After that Emma read a pirate story and the children got to play a lovely pirate game. The crafts this week were making a skull and crossbones out of clay, making a pirate eye patch, making a treasure map or making a pirate flag on a piece of fabric and tying it onto a stick. It was a great lesson and we all had lots of fun.

On Friday the children had a surprise visit from their year 5 buddies. It was a wonderful experience. Some of them knew their buddies but many didn't. They introduced themselves then chatted together. Then the year 5's read a story to their buddy. This lasted about 30 minutes and then we had to say goodbye to the year 5's. 

In between all the excitement we have actually managed to do some formal learning (but admittedly not much). In phonics this week the children learnt/revised the digraphs ‘ow’ and ‘oi’. Some children have continued to learn CVCC and CCVC words. Their homework will reflect the work they have been learning in the class. This brings us to the end of the digraphs and there are just the last few trigraphs (three letters that make one sound) to learn in the last few weeks.

In Maths the children revised halving and then learnt that doubling was the opposite of halving. The children have continued to revise their number bonds to ten and are becoming very confident with these.

In Jewish Studies we learned the importance of being thankful. In this week’s Parashah, Behaalotecha, we see how some of the people complained to Moshe about not having meat to eat. Some people even said that they preferred their lives in Egypt (as slaves!) because they had better food there. This made Hashem very angry and he sent quails from the sky - so many of them that the people that complained ate so much that they fell ill and some died. The children gave many examples of how kind it is to be thankful, stating what we like in a different way. The children made a beautiful quail in arts and crafts, to represent this theme of Parashat Hashavua.

We also kept working on Hebrew writing and reading. We played writing games on the board. The children practised individually and also wrote their names on the name sheet.

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Jethro

Ima - Serena

Ben - Zach

Bat - Scarlett

Reminders:

There are no new reminders this week. 

• This message is particularly for the parents of our little girls. As summer approaches you might like to consider letting your little girls wear a pair of shorts under their dresses.  The girls are very active in the class and we have knickers flashing everywhere. 

• As the warmer weather approaches and we are still going to Forest School, please use your initiative in the morning and decide whether your child will need protective clothing. If your child is wearing a dress or shorts, please decide if the long grass is going to cause them to itch and dress them accordingly. For example, if your little girl is wearing a dress, you might want to put a pair of leggings on them which can be removed when we get back to school. 

• I have been very lax about allowing your child to wear pretty hair bands and nail varnish. As we now approach the last term in the EYU can I please ask that all accessories be proper school uniform. This includes socks, jumpers, nail varnish, hair accessories, etc. This will get the children used to the proper uniform at the main school. Thank you ☺️ 

• Please be aware that as the weather gets warmer and sunnier, the children spend more time outdoors.  If it is going to be hot and sunny, please send your child to school with a cap/hat and with sunscreen on.  Please apply the sunscreen in the morning and don’t send the tube/bottle to school with your child.  

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 10 June

Dear Parents

I cannot believe we are in our final half term of the year. Where has the time gone? In just a short five weeks I will say goodbye to your children and send them off to the main school, secure in the knowledge that they are confident and ready to be going.

Important notice for next week:  Next week is STEAM week (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths). There will be a range of activities occurring across the school from Lego Workshops; a visit from the Science Boffins; a whole-school glider competition; Engineering workshops by Boeing and a tallest plant competition.  We will also be selecting 5 KS2 children to represent the school in the RAF Glider Challenge 2022 at the end of June. 

On Monday morning the Reception Children will need to be dropped off at the Main School in order for us to have our session with the Lego Workshop. 

On Thursday Reception will not be having Forest School first in the morning. It has been swapped in order for us to have another STEAM session at the EYU. Our Forest School session will be in the afternoon. If you wish for your child to wear their wellies and waterproofs, please send them to school and we will be sure to put them on the children before we leave.

I am sure that you have seen information about Kerem's BIG Fundraising campaign. If you are able to support the campaign, it would be greatly appreciated. Click here to make a donation.

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week we have had to discuss being kind to our friends again. There have been some very unkind things being said in the playground and many feelings have been hurt. The children listened carefully to what was being said and many of them contributed to the conversation, saying how they felt about things. The others were quite empathetic and agreed that being unkind made everyone feel sad. It was a good learning curve for all and we all hope that next week will be a much kinder week.

In Communication and Language this week the children all told us very excitedly about what they did over the half term. It sounds as if there was lots of fun had by all. A few holidays abroad. A few holidays in the UK and many visits to see Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

In Physical Development this week the children have been creating their own games of Tag with different rules. It has been so much fun to watch them discuss the rules of their game and then play it, allowing others to join in. They have also been making their own books and some have been learning how to fold paper to make a fan. There has been much cutting and sticking as well as playing with Lego and the Playmobil holiday park.

In Literacy this week the children have been writing about their half term holiday news. I have enjoyed reading their homework stories about what they have been doing.  There have been some delightful phonetically plausible spellings happening and this week I think my favourite has to be “on my bathdai I had a bownsee cusl” (on my birthday I had a bouncy castle). Great use of digraphs. In phonics this week the children learnt/revised the digraphs ‘ur’ and ‘ow’. Some children have continued to learn CVCC and CCVC words. Their homework will reflect the work they have been learning in the class.

In Maths this week the children have revised number bonds to ten, saying the number bond rap and playing ‘number bond tennis’. They have also learnt about halving numbers. Next week they will continue this and go onto doubling. It is important they see the correlation between halving and doubling. E.g. half of ten is five, so double five is ten.

In Understanding the World this week the children have been excited to observe the bees in the playground. These are the harmless big white tailed bumble bees. All they are interested in is getting nectar. The children always come and call me very excitedly when they see a bee and ask me to put out some sugar water for it to drink. Because of this I was very pleased to go to Forest School and

have Emma reinforce what we were learning.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

In Forest School this week the children learnt about bees. Their first activity was using the pipettes to collect 'nectar' and putting it into a bowl. There were some good fine motor skills being used. The children then learnt about different kinds of bees. They had to go into the woods to find matching bee pictures. After that the children had the opportunity to make bees using tiny elder cones or larger pinecones and decorating them with yarn, felt and pipe cleaners. It was lovely and sunny in the park and we all had lots of fun.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have moulded with playdough, painted with the sponge paints, cut and stuck their own paper creations and created dialogues with the small world characters. They have built with the Lego and the Cogs and Wheels. They have sung songs and danced in time to music and they have created amazing constructions with the crates and blocks. I went outside and four children were ‘sleeping’ in the house they had built. 

In Jewish Studies we started the week having a good chat about what we did during half-term. The children told me lovely things they did for Shavuot and what milky treats they ate. Some children said that they bought flowers to decorate their home and it looked beautiful. What mitzvah boys and girls!

This week we studied Parashat Naso. In this Parasha the children learnt that Hashem divided the Jewish people into groups and gave each family in each group a task. One of the people, the Kohanim, had a special mitzvah to bless all the Jewish people. This is called Birkat Kohanim. The children were excited to share that this is the same bracha that daddies and mommies do to their children under the tallit in shul.

We also learned what a Nazir is. We discussed the fact that if a person was a Nazir, they couldn’t have a haircut or eat anything made of grapes.

Another subject present in this week’s Parasha is the mitzvah of maasser, the kind act of giving ten percent of what we earn to those in need. The children talked about tzedakah and some said they have a tzedakah box at home. We spoke about how Hashem is so proud of us when we help people that have less than us and He also rewards us with more good things. The children gave beautiful examples of how we can help others.

In aleph-bet, we carried on practising our letters and vowels. We focused on the letters “shin” and “sin”, and we did some activities with these letters. These activities included writing words that start with them, a mosaic with a shofar and recognizing the word "Shema".

On Friday we had our usual but super fun Shabat party. 

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Joshua

Ima - Sienna

Ben - Raymond

Bat - Ruby T

Reminders:

• This message is particularly for the parents of our little girls. As summer approaches you might like to consider letting your little girls wear a pair of shorts under their dresses.  The girls are very active in the class and we have knickers flashing everywhere. 

• As the warmer weather approaches and we are still going to Forest School, please use your initiative in the morning and decide whether your child will need protective clothing. If your child is wearing a dress or shorts, please decide if the long grass is going to cause them to itch and dress them accordingly. For example, if your little girl is wearing a dress, you might want to put a pair of leggings on them which can be removed when we get back to school. 

• I have been very lax about allowing your child to wear pretty hair bands and nail varnish. As we now approach the last term in the EYU can I please ask that all accessories be proper school uniform. This includes socks, jumpers, nail varnish, hair accessories, etc. This will get the children used to the proper uniform at the main school. Thank you ☺️ 

• Please be aware that as the weather gets warmer and sunnier, the children spend more time outdoors.  If it is going to be hot and sunny, please send your child to school with a cap/hat and with sunscreen on.  Please apply the sunscreen in the morning and don’t send the tube/bottle to school with your child.  

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 27 May

Dear Parents

Wow! I cannot believe we have come to the end of the half term. It is scary how quickly the weeks are flying by and I’m beginning to feel a bit sad that in seven weeks time I will be saying goodbye to your children and, in some cases, to you the parents. 😢 

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week the children discussed keeping safe and being scared. This was linked to the police visit and their discussion about stranger danger. Some children were amazed to hear that even grownups get scared sometimes and that if children hide away or cannot be found then their adult feels anxious and scared. They were taught that if a stranger approaches them they must shout “stranger danger! Help” in their biggest voice.

In Communication and Language this week the children recapped things they have learnt about the queen. Most children focussed on how many palaces and guards she had or the number of dresses and crowns she has. One little lady told me: “The queen only has one pair of undies that she wears for every occasion”. These quotes are all going alongside their paintings of the queen and will be sent to the palace. 

In Physical Development this week the children have been cutting and sticking, writing and drawing. They have made collages and pictures, paintings and treasure maps. They have constructed with boxes and had huge junk modelling fun. They have enjoyed the bikes and the new scooters and they have played many games of tag and different running games. The weather was a bit unsettled at the beginning of the week but they managed to get out and have some fun.

In Literacy this week the children have been writing messages for the queen. They are very proud of their messages and can’t believe that their paintings and notes are actually going to be sent to the palace. My favourite phonetically plausible spelling this week has been ‘The queen is veree speshl’ (The queen is very special). 

In phonics this week the children learnt/revised the digraphs ‘ar’ and ‘or’. Their homework this week will not be the usual phonics sheet but, instead, a page for the children to draw a picture and write about something exciting they did during the half term holidays. 

In Maths this week the children have revised number bonds to ten, saying the number bond rap and playing ‘number bond tennis’. They have also learnt about telling time. They are familiar with the hour hand and the minute hand and can tell you an o’clock time. Many of them also understand and can read the half past times. It has been so lovely seeing many of them relating their learning to the clock in the classroom.

In Understanding the World this week the children were very excited to have a visit from the police. Three officers came to chat to them about the role of the police and how to call for the police in an emergency. They also discussed what is an emergency and what is not. The children got to try on different pieces of uniform and then they got to look in the police van and press the button for the siren. They were super excited and a great time was had by all. Thank you  PC Stalick, PC Nicolou and PC Rose. The children really enjoyed your visit.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

In Forest School this week the children learnt about life cycles, particularly the life cycle of a ladybird. First they played a game of bug tag. If they were tagged they had to lie on the ground with their legs in the air and pretend to be a bug. Another child then had to come by and release them. The children then had to work in pairs and go into the woods and find four different pictures. These pictures were the life cycle of a ladybird. The children had to place them in order. Emma spoke about different life cycles and was very impressed with how much knowledge the children had. They then went to find ladybird larvae in the willow leaves. The children then had the choice to look for more larvae or other bugs, or they could use a bottle and some sticks to make a bug hotel or make a bee or wasp using an alder cone and coloured yarn. It was a lovely session with perfect weather.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have made their flowers, moulded with playdough and had fun with junk modelling. They have built with the Lego and had fun creating dialogues and playing with the Playmobil theme park. They have sung songs and danced in time to music and they have created amazing buildings with the large construction. 

This week was packed with Jewish activities. We started the week learning about Shavuot. We said that on Chag HaShavuot, Hashem gave us an amazing present, a present that would stay with us forever – the Torah, our laws to live better in this world. The children learnt that Hashem chose the smallest and most humble mountain, the Har Sinai, for such an important mission. Once Moshe brought the Torah down to us, the mountain started to blossom with extraordinary flowers of every colour. From that we learn the importance of having good middot and a good heart, even though it is nice to look good as well. The children made a pair of paper flowers, and then created a garden to put them on. The children also created a large and very beautiful paper flower. It was very colourful and the best part of it was the middle with a picture of themselves. It was a lovely touch!

On Parasha Bechukotai we learnt that Hashem said that, if we follow His rules and walk in the Torah way, He will reward us with peace and food in the world.

Still about Shavuot, the children learnt about the other names of the Chag, such as Chag Matan Torah, and Chag Habikurim - the First Fruits Festivity. The children did another activity representing all the fruits that the Bnei Israel would bring to Jerusalem at the beginning of the season.

We also spoke about Yom Yerushalaim (Jerusalem Day) – the day that Jerusalem was reunited under the State of Israel in 1967. It is a day of great importance to all Jewish people all over the world! Mazal Tov Yerushalaim. We spoke about sightseeing in Jerusalem, about the Kotel HaMaaravi (the Western Wall), and also about the Beit Hamikdash (The Temple), which we pray to be rebuilt soon, in Jerusalem.

In Aleph Bet, the children continue to thrive in their writing and reading, and are now recognising and writing letters for different objects. On Thursday we had our Second Aleph-Bet party where the children played games, won prizes and had aleph-bet cookies! It’s so much fun learning the aleph-bet!

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Ben

Ima - Eva

Ben - Dylan

Bat - Rachel

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Hashavuot Sameach and Yummy!

Reminders:

• This message is particularly for the parents of our little girls. I have been very lax about allowing your child to wear pretty hair bands and nail varnish. As we now approach the last term in the EYU can I please ask that all accessories be proper school uniform. This includes socks, jumpers, nail varnish, hair accessories, etc. This will get the children used to the proper uniform at the main school. Thank you ☺️ 

• Please be aware that as the weather gets warmer and sunnier, the children spend more time outdoors.  If it is going to be hot and sunny, please send your child to school with a cap/hat and with sunscreen on.  Please apply the sunscreen in the morning and don’t send the tube/bottle to school with your child.  

Thank you and have a wonderful half term.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 20 May

Dear Parents 

We have had the most amazing week celebrating `It's great to be British’ for the Queen’s Jubilee. 

On Monday the reception children had a visit from the year ones who came to help them make bunting for the garden party.  It was so lovely seeing my old class from last year and to see how much they have grown.  They were wonderful with the little reception children and it was a lovely time seeing them all having their snack together. The reception children were so happy to see them all as many of them have friends in the year one class.  

On Tuesday we welcomed the year 5 class to reception.  They joined us for Tefillah with Mrs Hill and the year fives were very impressed with how much the reception children knew.  They then set about making tissue paper flowers in red, white and blue and putting them into pots.  These served as very sweet table decorations for the tea party.  Later on Tuesday morning the year four class came and helped the reception children to make paper chains.  They made lovely patterns in red, white and blue and these, too, served to decorate the hall for the tea party.  The children were very excited when they got to the hall and saw all the decorations they had made.

On Wednesday the children had to cut and decorate their crowns for the tea party.  They did lots of cutting and sticking and were very proud of their crowns, even wearing them to walk across the park to the main school. Luckily there was not much wind and the crowns arrived unscathed. After lunch we did a quick tidy up and packed our bags.  I was so proud of the way the children walked across the park to the main school.  We were walking behind the little nursery children and they were so patient walking slowly.  They also all carried their bags to the main school and were feeling very strong and tough doing so.

When we got to the main school the children were very excited to see their brothers and sisters again.  They learnt a new Jubilee song, to the tune of Happy Birthday, they watched a video about the queen’s coronation, they had a little plate of food with a cucumber sandwich, a jam scone and a special jubilee cookie. We ended the party all standing up straight and singing the national anthem.  There were many times during the course of the party that Ms Simon and Mrs Sharman were waiting for silence, but never were they waiting for nursery or reception.  I was so proud of their behaviour in the main school.

On Thursday we again went to the main school where the children got to engage in some fun activities which were organised by the year six children. They played ‘hook-a-duck’, pin the crown on the queen and many more.  They were able to make paper aeroplanes which they had to throw through a hoop and some made fancy headbands.  After that they went upstairs and had a dance workshop.  They learnt a bit of military marching mixed with a bit of Morris dancing.  By this time they were exhausted and I am sure they all slept extremely well on Thursday night.

In between all of these amazing activities we still learnt a new phonic sound, the short oo.  This short oo is usually written with little eyeballs inside the oo sounds, as you will see on their homework sheets. This is the oo sound you will hear in words like look, hook, book, foot, etc. as opposed to the long oo sound in boot, room, moon, etc.

The children also practised their bonds of numbers up to ten and revised the number bond rap as well as playing another game of number bond tennis.  

In Forest School, in celebration of Lag B’Omer, Emma allowed the children to make fires using the flints.  They were then lucky enough to be able to toast marshmallows on the fire. Some children were also able to make bows and then shoot ‘arrows’ (sticks) into the bushes. It was loads of fun and I think I had the most fun of all shooting with the bows and arrows.

This week in Jewish Studies we learnt about Parashat Behar. Parashat Behar tells us about Shemita, the rest that we must give to the earth every seven years. Like our Shabat, the earth in Eretz Israel rests for a whole year, after working hard for 6 years. The children made activities that show fruit and vegetables that grow in the fields. They used many different resources to draw bananas, carrots, grapes, wheat, etc. and they all agreed that as long as they weren't grown in shemitah year, we can enjoy eating them.

The other highlight of the week was Lag B'Omer. We spoke about the Omer, the period between Pessach and Shavuot. Rabbi Akiva’s 24 thousand students were taken by Hashem because they were being mean to each other, but on the 33rd day of the omer, the students stopped dying and that is a reason to celebrate.  On this day we light bonfires to remember the light that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who was one of Rabbi Akiva’s students, brought into this world.

In Aleph bet we kept practising the letters and vowels. Now that we have finished learning all the letters and vowels we keep practising by copying the letters, playing games with the sound each letter makes and writing our own names. The children are working hard and the results are impressive.

On Friday we had our Shabbat party, with a lot of light and happiness!

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Zach

Ima - Lily

Ben - Yanai

Bat - Liora

Reminders:

• Please be aware that as the weather gets warmer and sunnier, the children spend more time outdoors.  If it is going to be hot and sunny, please send your child to school with a cap/hat and with sunscreen on.  Please apply the sunscreen in the morning and don’t send the tube/bottle to school with your child.  

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 13 May

Dear Parents

We have had a lovely week at school this week.  I think our biggest challenge has been trying to predict what the weather was going to do.  Outdoor play was slightly hampered but that did not stop us from having lots of fun and doing lots of learning. 

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week we recapped what made us happy.  We then discussed things that make us sad.  Sophie lost her Bunny and she was sad.  Some of the children talked about how they felt when they lost things or about other things that made them feel sad. Many children described feeling sad as a result of children not wanting to play with them. 

In Communication and Language this week the children have talked about what they did on the weekend.  They also discussed what made them feel sad. It was lovely seeing some children show great empathy and understanding if they had been through a similar situation. The children are all generally doing great, confident speaking and listening to one another.

In Physical Development this week the children have practised letter formation and number formation.  They have also built some amazing models with the Lego and the small waffle blocks.  They have cut and pasted a phonics revision activity and have written on whiteboards. The balance bikes have continued to be a popular choice, as have the large construction blocks

In Literacy this week the children have been writing sentences based on their phonics sounds. We have reinforced the three basic rules of sentence writing, which are: a space between words, a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and a full stop at the end of a sentence.  The children are growing in confidence with their sentence writing and I am so proud of them.

In Phonics this week, some children have finished learning the digraphs and trigraphs and have started on the next phase, which is sound talking and writing CVCC words (consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant) e.g. t-e-n-t and CCVC words (consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant) e.g. s-t-o-p.  We have also incorporated some digraphs into these words e.g. s-l-ee-p.  Your child’s homework will reflect what they have been learning. 

In Maths this week the children have revised number bonds to ten, saying the number bond rap and playing ‘number bond tennis’.  They have also revised 2D shapes and pattern.  It was very exciting to hear some children refer to pattern as ‘things that repeat’.  I thought that was an excellent description.

In Understanding the World this week the children planted some more seeds.  Hopefully these won’t get eaten 🤦🏻‍♀️.  They have observed how our beans in the experiment have grown and have concluded that seeds definitely need water, soil and sun to grow.  The children also had an amazing Forest School this week as well as a lovely mini first aid course, which they all enjoyed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

In Forest School this week the children learnt about spiders.  They learnt that spiders have eight legs and that they are called arachnids.  They were shown how to shake trees with a white sheet underneath so that any spiders that fall out of the trees can be easily seen and carefully captured for observation. The children listened to the story ‘Aaargh Spider’ by Lydia Monks.  The children then had the opportunity to saw logs to make a spider spinner. They could also make a clay spider with pipe cleaner legs or they could go into the forest to look for spiders.  It was a lovely day with gorgeous weather. 

This week the children were very lucky to have a mini first aid course.  Martin came to teach them some basic first aid.  The patients were all teddies and the children were placed into groups to work on their ‘patients’.  They were shown how to stop bleeding by applying pressure and then putting on a plaster. They were then taught that if someone has bumped their head, we should ask them ‘are you feeling sick?’ and ‘are you feeling dizzy?’  They were shown how to apply an ice pack for a head bump.  The children were then shown how to place someone on their side (recovery position) if they are not waking up.  They were then told how to call for an ambulance, that the number to call is 999 and that they should know their door number and street name.  It was amazing how many children knew their address. However, many were not sure.  Perhaps you could reinforce this with your child so that they feel confident if they ever need to place a 999 call.  

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have begun some ‘It’s great to be British’ activities.  They have looked at pictures of the queen and have been painting her portrait.  The plan is to make a book and send it to the palace to wish the queen a happy jubilee.  I hope the queen gets to see the book and that she has a good sense of humour because some of the pictures are priceless.  When they are all complete I will take pictures and put them on the blog next week.

This week in Jewish Studies we have been enjoying many different activities. We started the week preparing for ShabbatUK. The children made their own candlesticks on Monday to give enough time to dry and paint them later on in the week. We also made beautiful kiddush cups, and we spoke a lot about activities that we can’t, but mainly what we can do, on Shabbat. We spoke about how Shabbat is a present that Hashem gave us, to make us rest one day a week, and therefore we don’t go to school or work. It is a mitzvah to be happy on Shabbat and the children gave lovely examples of things they can do to have fun on Shabbat, like playing with friends, going to the park, eating yummy things and cuddling mummy and daddy.

We also spoke about the Parasha of this week, Parashat Emor, which discusses all the chagim in the Torah that we celebrate. The children could name Rosh Hashanah, Pesach, Yom Kippur and Shavuot, and they made activities to show key elements of each Chag.  They also learnt that the next Chag is Shavuot, which is coming in 3 weeks' time.

In aleph-bet the children continued working hard on their vowels. It gives me great pleasure to see so many of the children working at home as well as in class. The results are huge and the more they practise at home, the more confident and proud they are to show what they know in class.

We hope you enjoy your Shabbat packs and that Shabbat is peaceful and happy to all of us, in the UK and all around the world.

On the Shabbat table this week we had the following children:

Aba - Zachary W

Ima - Ruby F

Ben - Joshua

Bat - Serena

Reminders:

• Please ensure that you have read the email from Mrs Sharmin about the plans for next week.  On Wednesday and Thursday the children need to be collected from the front of main school at 3.20.
• On Wednesday the children need to dress in red, white and blue.
• A reminder about school photographs on Friday. 
• Please be aware that as the weather gets warmer and sunnier, the children spend more time outdoors.  If it is going to be hot and sunny, please send your child to school with a cap/hat and with sunscreen on.  Please apply the sunscreen in the morning and don’t send the tube/bottle to school with your child.  

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 6 May

Dear Parents

What an exciting week it has been.  The staff all had a great First Aid course on Tuesday.  It is one of those things that we are glad we have but we hope we never have to use. The children all behaved beautifully on Tuesday with Mrs Onona and the staff from the main school and they made me so very proud. 

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week we have continued with the Heads-Up Kids programme.  Although we touched on it briefly last week, this week we focussed on what makes us different and how our differences make us special. The children played a fun ‘sit up sit down’ game which highlighted our differences. 

In Communication and Language this week the children spoke about their differences. They identified things that made them special.  It was lovely to see the other children listening so carefully and, in some cases, children saying what made their friends special. 

In Physical Development this week the children have continued to focus on the correct pencil grip and on letter formation.  They have also moulded, rolled and cut playdough, built with the Lego and connected unifix cubes.  In the playground they have built with the Mobilo, ridden on the balance bikes, run around playing tag, used the climbing frames as an obstacle course and built with the crates. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       In Literacy this week the children have been writing about what makes them special. I have seen some lovely phonetically plausible spellings this week. While others are still writing initial sounds in words, they are beginning to hear some middle and end sounds, which is lovely. 

In Phonics this week, some children learnt the trigraph ‘ure’ about ‘A Girl Called Azure’. The rest of the children have learnt the digraph ‘ee’, all about ‘Lucy Leek’ . Your child’s homework sheet will reflect the work they have been doing.

In Maths this week the children have learnt the number bonds to ten. They are getting very good at recognising the pattern in the numbers.  They learnt the ‘number bond rap’. Please ask them if they remember this. I have put a copy of this with their homework.  It is a fun learning tool.  We also played ‘number bond tennis’. I used an imaginary bat and ball and when I hit the ball to them I said a number e.g. ‘six’.  They then had to hit the imaginary ball back to me and call out the partner ‘four’.  They really enjoyed this game and it would be lovely if you could perhaps play this with them at home to reinforce their learning.

In Understanding the World this week the children have been observing the bean seeds in the experiment. So far it is going very well.  The bean in the cupboard is not growing while the one in the sun is.  The bean that has received no water has not sprouted but the one getting water has. Finally the bean in the soil is growing beautifully while the one in the water has a tiny sprout but then stopped growing. It looks like our theory might prove correct after all.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut with lots of different activities.  They collaged their own flags using blue paper. They collaged a map of Israel using different materials for the different areas. They also decorated biscuits using blue and white icing. In addition to these activities, the children have played with the small birds and animals, build homes with the Lego and created a fort with the large constrution.

In Jewish Studies the children learnt about Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israel's 74th birthday. We started the day standing up for the Israeli anthem. We spoke about what an anthem is and why we stand up when it is sung. On the day of Israel's birthday the children enjoyed wearing special blue and white clothes. The children enjoyed a selection of different activities - they ate Israeli salad which consisted of tomato, cucumber and avocado. The children then did an arts and crafts activity, the Israeli flag, and we discussed its colours and pattern.

The children watched a video of how Israel celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut, with dancing and singing in the streets and barbecues in the parks.

Speaking of dancing, just before an Israeli themed lunch of Schwarma and Israeli salad, Nursery and Reception had an Israeli Dancing session.  It was fun and a great way to celebrate the birthday of Medinat Israel.  They ended the morning by icing a biscuit in blue and white icing. Reception and Nursery had lunch together in the lunchroom which was decorated with Israeli flags.

The children then had fun walking over to the main school for a musical concert to continue our special Yom Haatzmaut celebrations.

The children learnt which currency is used in Israel, the Shekel, and we discussed some geography:  the size of Israel, its location on the map and its size compared to other countries. The children were surprised to know how small Israel is in comparison to the UK. We then made our own map and spoke about which countries border Israel.

In Parashat Kedoshim we  learnt about shaatnez. The word shaatnez, means a mixture of different species (in clothing), which we, as Jews, are not allowed to wear. We mustn’t wear wool and linen together. The children asked how they would know if their clothes were made from these materials?  We learnt that there are shops and specialised people who check our clothes for us and can tell us if our clothes are 'kosher' to wear. The children did a beautiful activity, showing that we are not allowed to mix linen and wool together.

Oh Friday we had our Shabbat Party.

On the Shabbat table were:

Shabbat Aba - Raymond

Shabbat Ima - Ilse Bella

Shabbat Bat - Hanna

Shabbat Ben - Jethro

Reminders:

• Please be aware that as the weather gets warmer and sunnier, the children spend more time outdoors.  If it is going to be hot and sunny, please send your child to school with a cap/hat and with sunscreen on.  Please apply the sunscreen in the morning and don’t send the tube/bottle to school with your child.  

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Thursday 7 April

Dear Parents

Wow! When we came back to school after the half term holidays, everyone was reeling from the effect Covid had had on everyone, staff, pupils and parents.  One week did not seem like nearly enough to recover and a seven week term loomed endlessly. However, here we are and still, thankfully, all well and healthy.  And what an exciting term it has been. 

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this term I have tried to focus on ‘being kind’.  We have discussed what makes us happy and also what makes us sad. We have tried to remember how to say things in a kind and respectful way and, although there have still been some incidents where adults have had to intervene, overall there has been a sense of happiness and kindness. The children have been using their voices to solve disputes and many of them have been very mature and understanding in their approach. 

In Communication and Language this term I have tried to build confidence to speak in a large group.  While many children were very happy to do this, quite a few felt daunted, which is quite understandable. One of the ways I did this was to do the register in a ‘silly’ voice, eg. in a gruff voice, in a singing voice, etc. The children came up with some lovely ideas of their own and this encouraged them to be a bit silly too.  They were always given the choice of using a silly voice or a normal voice and their choice was always respected. It  was great to see some of the more shy and reserved children being silly and having a good giggle. We have discussed weekend news, holiday news, Purim news, Pessach plans and much more and the children are learning to be a good audience and to listen to their friends with respect. 

In Physical Development the children have honed their gross and fine motor skills.  They have run and jumped and hopped and skipped. They have ridden the balance bikes and played games. They have built with the large construction toys and balanced on the climbing frames.  They have also used pencils and felt tips, focussing on the correct pencil grip. They have cut and stuck and painted and collaged. It has been amazing to see their progress in so many areas and I am super proud of them.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      In Literacy the children have been reading and writing.  Sound talking has improved generally in reading and writing and many digraphs have been learnt. It is so pleasing when you see a child who has struggled with reading suddenly ‘get it’ and then soar.  I have loved the phonetically plausible spellings which the children have used and I am excited to see where their writing and reading takes them next term.

In Phonics this week, some children learnt the trigraph ‘igh’ about ‘An Owl called Dwight’. The rest of the children have learnt the digraph ‘th’, about a boy called Theo. Your child’s homework sheet will reflect the work they have been doing.

In Maths this week the children have made a chart of the weather in March.  They have counted how many days each weather type had.  They have added days, compared days, discovered that no two weather types had the same number of days and learnt to count how many more days there were in one column than in another. This is always a tricky concept which some children still struggle with.

In Understanding the World this term the children have observed and marvelled at the changes in the weather.  They have worked on the IPads and made playdough.  They have enjoyed the slime and seeing it being made.  They have had the most fun exploring space and learning about the different planets. They have enjoyed creating the solar system, using papier mache to make the planets and collaging an enormous sun.  Next term we are looking forward to learning more about our planet earth and how we can look after it.  We will also be learning about life cycles and growing things.
 

In Expressive Arts and Design this term the children have expressed themselves in many different ways. They have cooked some delicious food in the home corner and sort of looked after the babies. (I did find them trying to put a baby in the microwave one day:).  They have dressed as princesses and danced around the classroom.  They have made amazing pictures using different media and generally had lots of fun being creative. 

In Jewish Studies the children continued learning about Pesach.  We had our beautiful Model Seder and the children were so excited to experience what they had been learning for the last three weeks - we even saw water turning red!

These are some of the points that your child has learnt and will be proud to share with everyone at Seder night:

1) Who took Moshe out of the river?

Answer: Batia, Pharaoh's daughter

 2) How come Batia managed to reach the baby if the basket was still far from the riverside?

Answer: Hashem made a miracle and Batia’s arm got longer, so she could pull the basket. 

3) How did Moshe’s mum make sure that her baby was ok? Who was watching the basket all along the river?

Answer: Miriam, Moshe’s sister

4) Why did Hashem choose Moshe to lead the Bnei Israel out of Egypt? 

Answer: Because when he was a shepherd, he cared for each one of his sheep, never letting anyone fall in danger, so Hashem knew he would be as caring with His people.

5) How many plagues did Hashem send to the Mitzrim? Name one.

Answer: 10. Blood, frogs, wild animals, boils, darkness, etc.

6) Why do we have mezuzot on our doors today?

Answer: To remember that during the final plague in Mitzraym, Hashem told Bnei Israel to make a red mark on the doors, so the angels would protect the Jewish people’s homes.

7) Why do we eat matzah on Pessach?

Answer: Because Bnei Israel left Egypt in a hurry and had no time to let the dough rise, so we eat flat matzot.

8) Why do we eat zroa (shankbone)in Pessach?

Answer: to remember that Hashem took us out of Egypt “Beyad Chazaka, UbeZroa Netuya” (with a strong hand).

9) In what month do we celebrate Pessach, and what is so special about this month?

Answer: Nissan (15th). It’s special because it’s a month of miracles (Ness=miracle/nissan =miracle maker)

10) What is the name of the angel that visits us in Pessach? What do we need to do for him to give us a bracha?

Answer: Eliahu Hanavi (Elijah). We leave a cup of wine and open the door to welcome him.

We hope you all enjoy using the amazing Haggadot your children made. It made us all so proud to see their fantastic work and the end result.

From the whole reception team we wish you all a fantastic Pessach holiday.  If you are travelling anywhere, please travel safely and if you are remaining at home, as I am, enjoy the break.

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 29 April

Dear Parents

Welcome back after a lovely two week Pesach holiday.  I have heard all about what you and your child have done over the holidays. There have been some amazing holidays as well as some good, relaxing stay-at-homes.  Whatever you have done, I hope it was relaxing and enjoyable and that you are all ready for the new half term.  This is going to be a very short but very busy half term.  It is only five weeks long and there is so much happening. Thank you to those parents who put lovely holiday pictures onto Tapestry.  We all enjoyed looking at them.

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week we have started a new programme by Heads-Up Kids.  The whole programme is about Sophie, her friends and her toy bunny.   The children have enjoyed learning about Sophie and her friends, who are all represented by puppets.  We have talked about how we are all different and how our differences make us special.

In Communication and Language this week we have listened to the children talk about their Pesach holiday news.  There have been some lovely stories about holidays and how they saw friends on holiday.  Everyone was very excited to share their news and everyone was keen to listen to their friends’ stories.  It was lovely having the pictures on Tapestry to support their speaking.

In Physical Development this week the children have focussed on the correct pencil grip and on letter formation.  They have also moulded, rolled and cut playdough, built with the Marble Run and connected unifix cubes.  In the playground they have ridden on the balance bikes, run around avoiding obstacles, used the climbing frames as an obstacle course and built with the crates. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      In Literacy this week the children have been writing about their Pesach holiday news. It is so wonderful to see  how their writing has progressed. Many are using phonetically plausible spellings while others are still writing initial sounds in words.  Whatever their level is, they are all making progress and that is the main thing.

In Phonics this week, some children learnt the trigraphs ‘air’ about ‘A Fairy called Clair’ and 'ear' about 'The Ear that Does Not Hear'. The rest of the children have learnt the digraph ‘ai’, all about ‘In the Rain’. Your child’s homework sheet will reflect the work they have been doing.

In Maths this week the children have revised number bonds to nine.  Some children have remembered the number patterns while some children have remembered the bonds.  They are all very proud when I ask them a question and they know the answer ‘in their heads’.  We have also been counting the children and working out how many are absent. The children have also been investigating capacity in the playground using coloured rice, scoops and small bowls.

In Understanding the World this week we are conducting an experiment. The children told me they thought that a seed needs three things to grow: soil, water and sunshine.  In order to prove (or disprove) this theory, we have planted bean seeds.  One we are watering and one not, one is in the sunshine and one is in the cupboard and one is in soil and one is just in water.   We will observe the seeds for the next few weeks to see how they progress. We also tried putting sunflower seeds on cotton wool to see them germinate.  The idea was to plant them in the garden once they sprouted.  Unfortunately we left them outdoors one night and a little creature came and ate them, leaving the empty husks very neatly in a couple of the little pots🤦🏻‍♀️.  However, we will persevere and try again next week.

We were so lucky to have Mr Budwig come in to speak to the children on Thursday. He has a keen interest in renewable energy solutions. Mr Budwig started by introducing the concept of electricity. He asked the children what makes lights shine brightly when you wake up in the morning? Our session moved on to discuss how electricity is generated, with a demonstration of a solar panel powering a small lighting setup, as well as considering coal, hydro and wind as alternatives.

We then separated into 3 groups, which the children rotated through. The first group saw the children learning how to build solar powered toys, and they were able to play with them. This helped demonstrate how the sun’s energy can be used to make things move, spin or shine. The second activity saw the children learning to fit solar panels, through cutting out solar panels and sticking them onto a bird eye view picture of the EYU. The third and final activity was an interactive learning session where the children were given the opportunity to generate their own electricity with a dynamo, see a model solar village, and learn about how the angle of the sun impacts solar energy.

Whilst this is only the beginning of the children’s journey in renewable energy, it is a good starting point, and if our planet is to succeed in the future, we will all have to adapt to a less impactful way of living.

For more information about solar energy, Mr Budwig has a number of blog articles on the subject, and many in-depth video’s covering all things solar @  www.nextdaysolar.co.uk or search Next day Solar on Youtube. 

 In Forest School this week the children learnt about worms.  Caroline read a story called ‘Yucky Worms’ by Vivian French.  It was a fiction book but it contained lots of facts about worms.  Even the adults learnt a lot about worms from hearing that story.  The children then had choices.  They could either make a worm by puncturing elder sticks and threading them onto a pipe cleaner. They could make clay worms.  They could choose to go and look in the woods for worms or they could play in the woods and climb the trees. They even had the opportunity to use bent willow sticks to blow bubbles.  

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have had some adorable dialogues with the Barbies and babies.  I overheard them discussing how the mummies were going to go and have coffee and the babies needed to be good children because ‘mummy has a headache’. They have played with the Happyland tree houses. They have created their own books, writing and drawing some lovely original things in their books.  They have dressed as princesses and cooked some delicious food in the home corner.  I am pleased to see we have some potential male chefs in reception. 

In Jewish Studies this week it has been delightful to hear the children tell us all about their Pesach break. We heard about the places visited and all the wonderful activities that the children were doing during their holidays. It made me very proud to know that the children had beautiful sedarim and that they sang and participated with their families. I hope you all enjoyed their input and Haggadot as well.

This week in Jewish Studies we learned that in Parashat Acharei Mot, Hashem tells us the laws of Yom Kipur, including boys and girls  should not eat or drink once they are over bar/bat mitzvah, and we are not allowed to work or wear leather shoes. We also learn that on Yom Kippur, we have the chance to say sorry to our friends for things we might have done, on purpose or not, that may have upset them. We learn that it is Hashem’s wish that we treat each other nicely, just as we like to be treated. The children made a beautiful activity showing the famous and important saying: “Ve'ahavta Lere'echa Kamocha”, Love your neighbour as yourself, and they are able to express how they should treat their friends and everyone else.

We carried on with our Aleph Bet. The class has moved on now to writing words with vowels, and they are doing great. This week we started practising their Hebrew names.

We also started talking about Yom Haatzmaut and we are excited about all the great things we will do to celebrate Israel’s birthday next week.

We also enjoyed our lovely weekly Shabbat party.

This week our Shabbat Aba was Dylan

                       Shabbat Ben was Ben

                       Shabbat Ima was Lia

                and  Shabbat Bat was Erin

Yom Hatzmaut:

Next Thursday 5th May we will be celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut in school. Please send your child to school wearing blue and white clothing.

The children will be walking over to the main school in the afternoon for an organised activity to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut. 

As the activity will end a little later than normal home time, please can you pick up your child at the main school at 3.15pm at the front of the school.

Please don't send your child in with a school bag on this day. 

Please can you send your child’s fruit snacks in a disposable bag. Water bottles can be sent in as normal.

There will be no Forest School on this day.

First Aid Training:

On Tuesday the EYU staff will be attending first aid training at the main school.  The reception class will have Mrs Onono as their teacher for the day as well as having two teaching assistants from the Main School, Ms Reiff and Mr Terblanche.  I will see some of you first thing in the morning as I will only be walking over at about 8.45.

Have a great bank holiday weekend and Shabbat Shalom to everyone.

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 1 April

Dear Parents

What a busy week we have had.  The children have been doing so many activities and preparations for Pessach and there has been a loud, busy buzz in the EYU. 

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week, after discussing what makes them happy last week, the children have been thinking about things that make them feel sad.  While many of them were happy to discuss this within the large group, no one was forced to speak and if they wanted to tell me quietly, on their own, they were entitled to do so. Mostly it was about friendships and children not wanting to play with each other but one little girl told me “I feel sad when my flowers in my garden die”. 

In Communication and Language the children have been thinking about, and discussing, things that make them feel sad.  They have shared their weekend news with us and have had many conversations about the preparations for Pessach which are happening at home.  They have been asking some very interesting questions about Pessach and then discussing possible responses to the questions.

In Physical Development the children have been outside as much as possible, despite the colder weather.  They have been playing tag, running around the playground climbing on the climbing frames or moving around them.  They have stacked the bricks and clicked the waffle blocks.  Indoors they have coloured and cut and stuck, used their pencils, with the correct pencil grip, for writing and done amazing drawings.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

In Literacy the children have been thinking and writing about what makes them sad. There were many different ideas and thoughts, some about friends and some about siblings. My favourite phonetically plausible spelling for this week was: I feel sad when I am torking to sumwun and __  torkx to me. (...I am talking to someone and __ talks to me). Quite rightly so! No one likes to be interrupted when they are talking to someone.

In Phonics this week, some children learnt the digraph ‘oi, about Colin Coin. The rest of the children have learnt the digraphs ‘ch’, about Charlie Chimp and ‘sh’ about Shaun Sheep.  Your child’s homework sheet will reflect the work they have been doing.

In Maths this week the children have learnt the bonds of number nine.  They have seen the pattern in the numbers when we write down all the bonds of nine in order.  They are really understanding the number bonds and some of them are understanding the relationship between addition and subtraction. They have also been ordering the number mats outside in the garden.

In Understanding the World this week we have come to the end of our March weather chart. The children had lots of fun taking it apart and creating a maths chart, counting and comparing the numbers.  I think the highlight of this week was when we made slime.  The children watched in fascination as the white glue became something they could play with.  This is such a fun activity that I think we will make it again next term.

In Forest School this week the children played a fun team game.  They were then given tiny little boxes which they could go and fill with ‘treasures’ from the forest.  It was very sweet seeing what they could fit into such a small space.  Then, because it was snowing and sleeting, Emma changed the plans and the children were divided into four groups and each group had to work collaboratively to build a shelter using rope, a tarpaulin, sticks from the forest floor and a mallet.  They did really well and made some pretty impressive shelters.  We were very pleased to get back to school and into the warm classroom.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have played with the small world Happyland trees and characters and enjoyed the Playmobil Theme Park.  They had fun with the slime and pretended it was a sandwich. They cooked in the home corner and played with the dolls.  They built a fabulous chocolate shop outside with the large construction and used the waffle blocks to create computers to work on.  Their imaginations know no bounds and I am loving it.

Jewish Studies this week was all about Pesach! We have been working really hard on our haggadot and have learned about the items on the seder plate – maror, charoset, carpas and salty water, zeroa, egg, and the star of the show – the matzah.

The children learned that Bnei Yisrael had a very bitter life as slaves in Egypt.  To remember this, we eat maror. To remember the buildings that we made for the Egyptians, we eat charoset, which has the same texture as the cement used in the building. We discussed why we eat matza, and the children will be so proud to explain to you how Bnei Yisrael left Egypt in a hurry and had no time to let the dough rise. Your child can also tell you all about the sea splitting. It is a true pleasure to hear the little ones explaining, with so much detail, and in their own words, such an important part of our Jewish story.

In Aleph Bet, we learned the letter “Reish” and the vowels “tzerei” and “shuruk.” We have been practising writing our names, reading individually and reviewing all the letters learned so far. You will be able to see some of your childrens’ Hebrew writing in their haggadot.

We wish you a Shabbat Shalom.

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Rachel

Aba - Joshua

Ben - Yanai

Bat - Ruby T

Reminders:

• There will be no Forest School next week as it is the last day of term and we close early.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 25 March

Dear Parents

What an amazing week we have had.  The weather has been gorgeous and the children have just wanted to be outside enjoying the sunshine.  It has put everyone in a good mood, especially the adults in the class. 

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week the children have been discussing things that make them happy.  Mostly it has been about playing, either with siblings or with friends.  It has just been so gratifying speaking about positive things and not focussing on negative behaviours.  

In Communication and Language the children have discussed what makes them happy.  They have also talked about their weekend news, telling me about things they have done with their families.  This is always a very exciting time for the children as they love sharing their stories. Please remember to put on Tapestry any exciting (or mundane) things your child has done on the weekend so that we can all have a look and share. 

In Physical Development the children have been drawing and writing, cutting and sticking, painting and tearing.  In the playground they have been riding the bikes and climbing on the climbing frames. They have built with the large construction and with the Megablocks. They have run around enjoying the sunshine and climbed over and avoided obstacles.  There has just been so much joy in the playground.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

In Literacy the children have continued to develop their fiction alien story.  This is taking a long time but it will be so worth it when it is finished.  It will be completed next week and then we will start to illustrate it.  The children are really enjoying the activity and can’t wait for it to be completed. They have also been writing about things that make them happy.  One little girl wrote about her friend who 'olwais plais with mee'. This is such a gorgeous example of phonetically plausible spelling.

In Phonics this week, some children learnt the digraphs ‘er’, ‘ur’ and ‘ow’.  The stories were about ‘Ernie Otter and Bert Beaver’, ‘Curt the Turtle’ and ‘Brownie the Cow’.  Some children have been practising reading and writing CVC sentences while some children have continued to learn the phonemes.  Your child’s homework sheet will reflect the work they have been doing. The children are all making amazing progress within their group and I am very happy with them.

In Maths this week the children have learnt the bonds of number eight.  They have seen the pattern in the numbers when we write down all the bonds of eight in order.  Many of them have observed that, for example, if five add three is eight, then three add five is also eight.  Many of them are starting to understand that if five add three is eight, then eight take away five is three.  They have also been ordering the number mats outside in the garden.

In Understanding the World this week we have finally completed our ‘Space’ display.  It has been a long two term project and I will be very reluctant to take it down. We have also continued with our Weather Chart for the month of March.  The children are so excited and always remind me that it needs to be done.  At the end of the month we will make a bar graph of the different weather days and compare the numbers. The children have been talking a lot about the weather and how warm it is, many of them explaining quite seriously that mummy says they don’t need to wear a coat, almost as if I am going to ask them to put one on. Miss Cowen has been doing quite a bit of gardening this week and some of the children chose to go and help her plant.

In Forest School this week the children learnt about colour in nature.  They first looked at all the shades of green in the park and were then challenged to make a green colour chart, ordering natural objects from light green to dark green. Carrie then told a story about how the world was first all grey and how a little butterfly changed all of that and brought colours to the world.  It was a lovely old fable and the children listened intently. They then had the choice to make their own paper or make colour printed fabric using a mallet and some juicy green leaves.  They could also go and explore and create their own game.  It was a lovely Forest School experience in the lovely weather. 

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have played with my collection of wooden, clay and soapstone animals, placing them in woodland scenes. They have built with the Megablocks, painted with the water paints, made potions with coloured water, drawn on the cement with chalks. I hope you enjoy looking at all the photos of our activities this week.

This week in Jewish Studies we learned a lot about the coming festival – Pesach.  We started making our Haggadot, which so far, look amazing!

We learnt what a Seder is and what a Seder plate is. We discussed the items that go on the plate and the reasons for each of them.

We spoke about how Bnei Israel were avadim (slaves) in Egypt and how Pharaoh made us work hard. Bnei Yisrael cried to Hashem to save us from Egypt and we learned that this is why we dip our vegetables in the salt water – to remember the tears of the Bnei Yisrael.  We also learned about the reason we eat charoset, to remind us of the cement that the Bnei Yisrael used to build all the buildings in Egypt.

We spoke about the ten plagues that Hashem sent to the Egyptians. The children created their own activity to reflect this, which you will see in their Haggadot.

We learned a lot of Pessach songs and we can’t wait to have your child singing with you at the Seder table.

Next week we will continue with our Haggadot and our Pesach preparations.

In Aleph Bet we learnt the letters Tzadi and Final Tzadi. The children were very excited to learn that one more letter has a final version. We read in class and we had Aleph Bet activities. Please continue to read with your child at home. This is the best way to make sure they are improving in their Hebrew reading.

We wish you a Shabbat Shalom.

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Serena

Aba - Dylan

Ben - Zach

Bat - Ruby F

Wishing you a great weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 18 March

Dear Parents

What an exciting week this has been.  Purim is always such an exciting day for the children and they have been talking about it for the last couple of weeks. 

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week we have continued to discuss being kind to our friends.  It has been lovely hearing some children come and tell me how their friends have done something kind for them and some children have also come and told us about how they have shown kindness to others. I am so happy with how many of them seem to be really taking on board what is being said.

In Communication and Language the children have discussed their weekend news.  They have also talked about Purim and there has been much excitement discussing what they are going to wear and which characters they are going to dress up as.  They have talked about feelings and how they feel when someone is kind or unkind to them.  

In Physical Development the children have been using the correct pencil grip, practising their letter formation.  They have played with the trains and tracks and have cut and stuck to make collages.  They have honed their fine motor skills by balancing the bamboo huts and tapping the nails into the boards in the TapTap game.   The children also made their Purim Challahs, tearing the dough and rolling into long strips before plaiting it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

In Literacy the children have continued to develop their fiction alien story.  This has taken quite a while and now that the story plan is complete, we will begin to write our story.  It is a story about two children who want to go to the moon but get lost and end up on another planet.  The children are very excited about the story and have all enjoyed thinking about it and contributing to it.

In Phonics this week, some children learnt the digraphs ‘or’ and ‘ar’.  The stories were about ‘At the Park’ and ‘Mum’s Fortieth Birthday’.  Some children have been practising reading and writing CVC words and sentences while some children have continued to learn the phonemes.  Your child’s homework sheet will reflect the work they have been doing.

In Maths this week the children have learnt the bonds of number seven.  They have seen the pattern in the numbers when we write down all the bonds of seven in order.  Many of them have observed that, for example, if four add three is seven, then three add four is also seven.  They have understood for themselves that in addition, it doesn’t matter which order the numbers are in.

In Understanding the World this week, we have eventually managed to continue with our planets for the display.  The children used papier-mâché two weeks ago and this week they painted the planets according to the colours they should be.  We have also continued with our Weather Chart for the month of March.  The children are so excited about this and always remind me that it needs to be done.  At the end of the month we will make a bar graph of the different weather days and compare the numbers.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children have decorated Mishloach Manot boxes to give to their friends.  They have painted papier-mâché planets and dressed up for Purim.  They have had music and have danced and sang.  They have played with the train tracks and in the home corner, with the dressing up clothes and the dolls.  

This week in Jewish Studies, the days were all dedicated to Purim! It’s been such a fun week. The children enjoyed making special Purim Challahs with Ms Tabach.  It was so beautiful to learn that some children already knew how to make challah from when they bake them at home. This links to the area Physical Development and Mathematics.

Celebrating Purim was a lovely way to end the week. We started the morning with the children saying tefillah. They enjoyed hearing the megillah read by Rabbi Gedalia Hertz and made lots of noise when they heard Haman’s name. We had a Purim parade, when all the children and teachers walked down the catwalk showing everyone their different costumes. It was lovely to see the children walking with great confidence and excitement.

On Friday, it was a pleasure to hear all the exciting parties that children went to celebrate Purim, we shared our happy experiences and the children are so good in their knowledge about the Meguillah! Well done Reception!

On Purim there are four special mitzvot:

• Hearing Megilat Esther
• Children send gifts called mishloach manot to each other – gifts of two foods to at least one person.  
• Have a Purim Seudah (a special meal).
• Give Tzedakah (Matanot La’evionim) on Purim.

During all the Purim celebrations the children were able to achieve all of the mitzvot of Purim. On Friday we had our very special Shabbat Party.

Wishing you all a Shabat Shalom!

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Sienna

Aba - Jethro

Ben - Raymond

Bat - Scarlett

Reminders:

• Please remember to return your child’s homework by Tuesday and your child’s reading folder by Wednesday. 
• Please remember that school starts 8.30-8.40 and Tefillah starts at 8.45.  This means that if your child is late, they will miss this important time of the day. 

Wishing you a great weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 11 March

Dear Parents

What a wonderful book week we have had.  It has been exhausting yet at the same time so immensely satisfying.  The children have experienced so much and have felt the freedom of being off timetable for a week.  

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week we have spoken about kind and unkind things we can say or do to each other.  The children came up with some lovely ideas and I have scribed everything they said.  We are going to put this onto some flowers in our Wellness Wood.  After this lesson, we went outside and it was so sweet with the children all being so visibly kind to each other. One little girl came to me and told me “Mrs Collier. I have been spreading happiness all over the playground”.  I thought that was such a lovely thing to say.

In Communication and Language the children have all been speaking about their favourite books and the props they have made.  It has been so incredible to see some children who are usually quite quiet and shy really shine when talking about their book and their prop.  This has been such a wonderful exercise that I think I will bring in something similar in the future. 

In Physical Development the children have been using the correct pencil grip, practising their letter formation, linking the train tracks, cutting and sticking masks for Purim, running around outside and climbing on the climbing frames, riding the balance bikes, building  with the large construction and generally having lots of fun.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

In Literacy the children have had many, many books read to them.  It has been so lovely to have so many of you volunteer to come in and read and I have really enjoyed the variety of books that have been brought in.  Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to come in and read.  If anyone would still like to come in and read, there will be a list of time slots for you to sign up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon from next week until the end of the term.  

On Monday we had a visit from Gareth P Jones, the children’s author.  He was very entertaining and the children loved listening to him. He read one of his stories, ‘Rabunzel’, which the children really enjoyed.  The children had thought about different questions they could ask him but, unfortunately, we ran out of time and there was no time for questions and answers.  

In Phonics this week we have been revising the phonic sounds which we have previously learnt. The homework sheets this week will be revision homework sheets. Some children will revise the digraphs which they have learnt, some children will revise reading and writing CVC sentences and some children will be filling in missing sounds in CVC words. 

In Maths this week the children have been doing lots of counting.  We have counted children, working out how many are missing and how many there should be.  We have worked on sequencing, looking at our visual timetable and using the vocabulary of before and after. We have done the date board, again using the vocabulary of before and after and how to say the ordinal numbers, i.e. first, second, third, etc.  

In Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design this week, the children had an amazing workshop with PERFORM all about Space.  It was so much fun, as I’m sure you can see from the pictures and videos on Tapestry.  The children had a visit from Bob the alien.  He told of the Cruel Commander who wanted to rule the world. The children had to journey through space, making snowballs and having a snowball fight on Mercury, make rings around Saturn, find friendship dust on Venus.  They walked through a magic mirror, and went in a rocket. India (aka Bob) was amazing with the children and I found myself enjoying it almost as much as they did.  

In Forest School this week, Emma read the story ‘The Trouble With Dragons’.  It is a story about looking after our planet.  The dragons eat everything, use everything, and then breathe fire so that the planet is too hot and the Ice Caps start melting.  They then discussed ways that we can look after our earth.  The children then had choices. Some of them made sock and stick dragons, some made homes in the woods for the baby dragons, some made seed balls with wild seeds to grow wild flowers and some boys decided to try and revive the boat they made last week.  It was such a lovely time.  The weather was beautiful and the children really enjoyed themselves.  We have planted the seed balls in the tyres in the garden and hopefully soon we will have wild flowers to attract insects. 

This week in Jewish Studies we learned that this Shabbat we will start reading the third book of the Torah - Vayikra, which is also the name of the parashah. Whenever Bnei Yisrael wanted to show their love for Hashem, they brought a gift to the Mishkan. Bnei Yisrael also brought gifts to the Mishkan whenever they wanted to say sorry or thank you to Hashem. The presents were according to what each one could afford, they brought what they could.

The presents were called “korbanot”, and were either animals or flour and oil, and they made Hashem very happy. Hashem is also very happy when we learn about the korbanot and He gives us a reward for learning about them. The children made a beautiful parashah activity, where they cut parts of a paper dove and ordered it together, showing some of the things that make Hashem happy.

This Shabbat is also special for another reason – it is Shabbat Zachor, that is, the Shabbat immediately before Purim. It is a tradition from the Talmud that Haman, the baddy of the Purim story, a very evil man, was a descendant of Amalek. The portion that is read includes a commandment to remember the attack by Amalek, and therefore both men and women make a special effort to hear the reading. We discussed this and talked about how Hashem is always protecting us.

In Aleph-Bet we’re up to the letter “Ayin”. The children had activities and practised writing the letter on the white board.

This week we continued learning about Purim. We continued to learn about the Megilla, its characters and the mitzvot that Hashem expects us to fulfil. The children created lovely Purim characters, like Queen Esther, King Achashverosh, Mordechai and even Haman, to recount the story. It was a fun and very creative activity. Your child might be able to do a show with the characters they’ve made!

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Bella

Aba - Ben

Ben - Zachary

Bat - Eliya

Purim:

Thursday 17th March 2022

We are so excited to celebrate Purim with your child in school on Thursday 17th  March.

• Your Child can come to school in their dress up costume. Please make sure that the costume your child is wearing is easy for them to put on and take off for toileting purposes. Please ensure that any trousers/dresses are not too long as this could cause a trip hazard. Any props, including hats and glasses, must have your child’s name in it please.
• So that your child can fulfil one of the mitzvot of Purim, please can you send them in with some Tzedaka.
• The children swap Mishloach Manot with each other. So that everyone has the same, please can you send in 1 small bag of crisps, one carton of drink and a packet of raisins. You do not need to gift wrap these as the children will be decorating special boxes to put their Mishloach Manot into.
• Please make sure all food sent in is on the Kashrut list. Please can this be sent in, in a small named plastic bag. For the children to be able to swap Mishlaoch Manot with each other, we need you to send this in on Monday 14th March.
• On Thursday 17th March  (Purim) the children will stay at school until 1.30pm. They will have lunch which will be our Purim Seuda.      .
• On Purim please send your child in with a fruit snack as normal.

Reminders:

• Please remember to return your child’s homework by Tuesday and your child’s reading folder by Wednesday. 
• Please remember that school starts 8.30-8.40 and Tefillah starts at 8.45.  This means that if your child is late, they will miss this important time of the day. 

Wishing you a great weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 4 March

Dear Parents

What a busy and fun filled week we have had.  We have continued to learn about our Solar System.  The children are learning the names of some of the planets and some of the features of the planets.  We have read books about space and we have watched videos about space.  We have even begun creating our own Solar System.  

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week we have had to discuss using kind words with our friends. We have had a few incidents in the class of children being a bit unkind and calling other children names and using their hands.  As you can imagine, this kind of behaviour, while age appropriate with four and five year olds, is not acceptable and the children need to learn how to be kind.  We have also had quite a few incidents where a child has come to me saying someone doesn’t want to be their friend.  However, when we have investigated, it turns out they do want to be friends, they just don’t want to play the same games.  So this week we have been focussing on the vocabulary which can be used to tell others ‘I do want to be your friend, I just don’t want to play what you are playing right now’.  We will continue this topic into next week and possibly even the week after.

In Communication and Language the children told us their weekend news.  They really enjoy this time to express themselves and they feel very important when everyone is listening to them.  We have also started creating our very own non fiction book about space.  The children have been listening very well in the lessons and are coming up with some very good ‘space facts’. They were all very proud to share something they have learnt.  I am also fascinated to learn how many of the parents out there are actual astronauts.  You have certainly kept that quiet 😝.

In Physical Development the children have been focussing on pencil grip and writing.  They have also clicked together pieces from the Marble Run, dressed and undressed the Barbies, used paint brushes, cut and stuck collage pictures and made papier mache planets.  We have not had too much time outdoors as the weather has been a bit wet. However, when they were able to go outside, they rode on the balance bikes, built with the Mobilo, and had the usual creative fun with the large construction. 

In Literacy the children have begun to think about an alien story that we could write as a class.  We have created our story mountain, discussing the main characters, the setting, the problem, the solution and the ending.  Next week we will write our story.

In Phonics this week the children have been doing a lot of revision. One group has learnt the short ‘oo’ sound, as in ‘book’, ‘hook’ and ‘foot’.  This is different to the long ‘oo’ sound, as in ‘moon’, ‘boot’ and ‘spoon’.  The short ‘oo’ sound is differentiated in the class as having two little dots inside the two ‘o’ sounds to look like two little eyes.  However, when writing the words, the children do not do the eyes.  They write ‘oo’ as normal.  One group has been revising reading and writing CVC words and sentences while the other group has been continuing to learn the phonemes and starting to sound talk words that they hear.  Your child’s homework reflects the work they have been doing. 

In Maths this week the children are continuing learning the bonds of four, five and six. They are learning, using concrete apparatus, that, for example, if two and three make five then five take away three is two.  Some of them have chosen to work independently at the table, rolling two dice and adding the two numbers together. 

In Understanding the World the children have continued to learn about space.  We have also started our weather chart for the month of March.  Each child will get the opportunity to record the weather for a particular day and at the end of the month we will analyse how many days of each type of weather we had during the month. The children also got to work with the IPads this week.  This caused great excitement for everyone. .  

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children experienced papier-mâché.  We are busy making the planets and next week the children will paint them.  They have also been illustrating their non fiction space book. They used wax crayon to draw their pictures and then washed over it with lightly coloured black food colouring.  The effect is amazing. When it is complete I will put it all on Tapestry for you to see. 

In Forest School this week, it was very wet.  Apologies for the muddy coats, socks, trousers, scarves and gloves. Emma read the story ‘How to Catch a Star’ by Oliver Jeffers.  The children then had the option to make a star by bending a green stick and tying it with pipe cleaners.  They could also build a log and stick boat in the big puddle, investigate the woods and use the binoculars to see what they could see.  Some children made the most of branches which had fallen down and used them for climbing and someone spent a long time looking for dinosaur bones.  It was so great to be out without the rain. 

This week, in Parashat Pekudei, we learned that the Mishkan was finished and ready. A cloud came down from heaven and rested on the mishkan. When it began to move from the Mishkan, Bnei Israel knew that it was time to fold up their tents and move on to another place. When it stopped moving, Bnei Israel knew that it was time to set up their tents round the Mishkan and rest. The cloud showed Bnei Israel that Hashem is always with them. It also protected them from heat and cold and from sandstorms. The children created some pieces of art. After observing the clouds, they tried to recreate them with paint and blue card. We also had an interesting experiment, where we saw steam going up to the sky, and we learned that these tiny particles of water will later be part of a cloud, and when the clouds get very heavy, they release the water back to us.

We continued to learn about Purim. As the month of Adar Sheni (Second month of Adar) started this week, we get closer to Purim. We spoke about the importance, as Jews, of following the mitzvah of being happy all the time, but especially during the month of Adar, when the Jewish people were saved from a bad decree, when Hashem made sure that Haman’s plans of wiping out the Jewish people failed.

Mishenichnas Adar Marbin Besimcha! (When the month of Adar starts we increase our happiness!) Following on from last week, we learned that Esther was the new wife of King Achashverosh and the Queen of the Persian Empire. Haman wanted to destroy the Jewish people and Mordechai tells Esther about Haman’s plans. We will learn more about the Purim story next week. We talked about the mitzvot we do on Purim. One of the mitzvot is to send Mishloach Manot (food packets to friends). We discussed which healthy foods we could include in the packets this year. We practised making mishloach manot as a craft, before the real thing in two weeks! I hope you enjoyed your child’s Mishloach Manot craft.

In Aleph-Bet we learned the letter “samech” and the vowel “shuruk”. We keep practising all the letters learned so far. Next week the children will start learning to write their names in Hebrew. COULD YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY MONDAY WHAT IS YOUR CHILD’S NAME IN IVRIT, PLEASE.

We wish you a Shabbat Shalom and a very happy Adar Sheni!

On Friday we had our usual and special Shabbat party.

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Alex

Aba - Yanai

Ben - Joshua

Bat - Liora

Book Week- W/B 7th March

We are looking forward to book week this year. 

• A detailed email has been sent out giving you full details of what we will be doing during book week. Also included in the email is a rota for which day your child can bring in their home made prop from their chosen book.
• We are really looking forward to parents coming in to read to the children. The afternoon session will start at 2.45pm. If you are reading in the afternoon please make sure you arrive promptly to ensure you have time to read your book before the children go home at 3.00pm.

This is the rota of children whose parents are coming in to read.  We have an opening at 9.00 on Friday if anyone would still like to volunteer.

Purim:

Thursday 17th March 2022

We are so excited to celebrate Purim with your child in school on Thursday 17th  March.

• Your Child can come to school in their dress up costume. Please make sure that the costume your child is wearing is easy for them to put on and take off for toileting purposes. Please ensure that any trousers/dresses are not too long as this could cause a trip hazard. Any props, including hats and glasses, must have your child’s name in it please.
• So that your child can fulfil one of the mitzvot of Purim, please can you send them in with some Tzedaka.
• The children swap Mishloach Manot with each other. So that everyone has the same, please can you send in 1 small bag of crisps, one carton of drink and a packet of raisins. You do not need to gift wrap these as the children will be decorating special boxes to put their Mishloach Manot into.
• Please make sure all food sent in is on the Kashrut list. Please can this be sent in, in a small named plastic bag. For the children to be able to swap Mishlaoch Manot with each other, we need you to send this in on Monday 14th March.
• On Thursday 17th March  (Purim) the children will stay at school until 1.30pm. They will have lunch which will be our Purim Seuda.      .
• On Purim please send your child in with a fruit snack as normal.

Reminders:

• Please remember to return your child’s homework by Tuesday and your child’s reading folder by Wednesday. 
• Please remember that school starts 8.30-8.40 and Tefillah starts at 8.45.  This means that if your child is late, they will miss this important time of the day. 

Wishing you a great weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 25 February

Dear Parents

It was so lovely to see you all on Monday morning and to finally have a Covid free class, children and adults.  Whatever you did over the half term, I hope you had fun and it was restful.

This term we are focussing on ‘Space’.  Last term we read many stories about Aliens and the topic was quite a fun one.  This term we are looking at our solar system and the planets. When we have exhausted that in a few weeks, we will focus on our planet, Earth, and what we can do to look after it. 

This week in PSED the children had to think about how they felt when someone said something nice about them.  It could be something about an ability to do something, or a positive comment about a physical attribute, or saying something positive about what a good friend they are. We discussed how we felt when someone said something nice about us and then we discussed how we felt when we said something nice about someone else. The children sat in a large circle and took a name out of a box and had to say something nice about that person.  It was a really lovely activity and the children enjoyed all the compliments.  They also learnt that when someone gives you a compliment, you must say thank you. 

In Communication and Language the children discussed their half term holiday news.  The children were encouraged to listen to each other and then to think of questions they might like to ask.  This required the speaker to speak in a loud and clear voice which could be heard by others and it required the listeners to be polite and listen carefully to each other.  

In Physical Development this week the children have been focussing on pencil grip and letter formation. Most of the children in the class hold their pencil correctly.  They have also manipulated playdough, done cutting and sticking, some did threading of pasta to make a necklace and clicking together of unifix cubes to make long towers, which then got converted into walking sticks. They have been constructing with the large straws, making some very interesting designs. In the playground they have ridden on the balance bikes, run around playing tag, had competitions to see who can throw objects the furthest, clicked Interstars together and built with the large construction.  

In Literacy this week the children have been writing about what they did in the half term.  They had to remember a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop at the end. There were some lovely examples of phonetically plausible spellings. We have also been reading many stories about space and the children are learning the difference between a fiction and a non fiction book.  They are learning that you can find out information from a non fiction book. They have also been building the alphabet puzzle, identifying the sounds and then placing them in the correct order,.

In Phonics this week the children remained in their phonics groups.  One group continued to revise the phonemes s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o, c and k.  Another group continued to revise all the phonemes, focussing on reading and writing CVC words and sentences. The other group continued to learn the digraphs.  This week they learnt ‘oa’ and long ‘oo’.  The books were about ‘Goat on a Boat’ and ‘Goose on the Moon’. It is really hard for some children to differentiate between the long oo (as in moon) and the short oo (as in book), so next week we will practise this quite a bit after learning the short ‘oo’ sound. The homework will reflect the work that your child has been learning.  The children have not had any new tricky monster words this week.  They have continued to revise the words already learnt. 

In Maths this week the children have been finding out different combinations to make a number.  For example, one group was learning how many different ways there are to make five. They learnt that five and zero, four and one, three and two, etc all make five. They saw the pattern when you write them one beneath the other, in the correct order, that the numbers go in order. Next week they will continue with the same numbers but will see that if two and three makes five, then five take away two is three.  Some children have also been having lots of fun with the snakes and ladders game in the classroom. This has been great for sharing and taking turns and allowing other children to join in the game.  

In Understanding the world we have read many stories about ‘Space’.  The children were fascinated by the stories, learning about the International Space Station and about gravity.  We watched a few short videos about space and they particularly enjoyed the video of Tim Peake landing back on Earth after his journey into space. 

As you know there was no Forest School this week.  Emma is very sensible and as much as she enjoys her teaching, she is able to identify when a situation is potentially unsafe. Next week, hopefully, Forest School will be back to normal.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children played in the home corner, played with the Playmobil, painted with sponge paints, made a very good attempt at writing their names in bubble writing, cut and stuck collage pictures and then, at the end of the week, the children experienced working with papier-mache to begin to make our planets to create our solar system.  This was such a fun activity and some children really enjoyed making a mess.

In Jewish Studies we learned that in this week’s Parashah, Moshe assembles the people of Israel and repeats to them the commandment to observe Shabbat. The children are always very happy to talk about Shabbat and how they enjoy the special day.

Moshe then conveyed Hashem’s instructions regarding the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The people donated the required materials in abundance, bringing gold, silver and copper and any other materials they had to contribute to this incredible mitzvah. The children created a mini-mishkan with some of the materials that resemble what Bnei Israel donated back then: the bread table, the mizbe’ach, the golden menorah and the Aron Hakodesh, with the Ten Commandments inside

We started talking about Purim and we discussed countries that have kings and queens. Some children were very excited to share that they have been to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen of England lives.

In our Aleph Bet lessons we learned Final Nun, and the vowel of the week was Chirik. We continued to practise forming the letters on activity sheets and on white boards, where the children can get more familiar with writing in Ivrit.

On Friday we had our usual and special Shabbat party.

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Hanna

Aba - Zach

Ben - Dylan

Bat - Rachel

Book Week:

We are looking forward to celebrating Book Week in school this year. 

• As Purim is the week after Book week and all the children will be dressing up for Purim, we felt that instead of dressing up as your child’s favourite book character in book week we would like the children to make a homemade prop featured in their favourite book.  Your child can then bring this to school to show their friends during book week and, if possible, bring in their favourite book too.
• We would also like parent volunteers to come in and read to the class. It would be great if you brought from home a book chosen by your child. There will be morning and afternoon sessions each day during this week. If you would like to come in to read please can you let me know.  Thank you :)

Reminders:

• Please remember to return your child’s homework by Tuesday and your child’s reading folder by Wednesday. 
• Please remember that school starts 8.30-8.40 and Tefillah starts at 8.45.  This means that if your child is late, they will miss this important time of the day. 

Wishing you a great weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 11 February

Dear Parents

This week has been Children’s Mental Health week.  As a class we have been focussing a lot on different feelings and emotions

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development this week I reiterated what we discussed last week about using kind words to our friends and to think about how we would feel if someone said something unkind to us.  We then extended this to kind actions as well, whether we are playing with our friends in the class or with our friends in the nursery or even our friends or siblings at home.  We discussed how children feel when they get hurt by someone on purpose.  We also discussed that it is not a nice idea to do something to someone if you wouldn’t like it done to you.

In Communication and Language the children listened to lots of stories about feelings. We discussed some of the stories we have read in the class and talked about some of the emotions that different characters might be feeling.  For example, ‘How did Baby Bear feel when he saw that Goldilocks had broken his chair.’ The children then had to cut out an emoji that they thought would correspond.  After reading ‘My Big Shouting Day’ the children discussed what would make them want to shout and what would make them smile.  Some children had great difficulty with the concept that there were no right or wrong answers and that everyone’s opinions and thoughts are different. 

In Physical Development the children manipulated playdough, cut out pictures, drew on T-shirts with fabric markers, joined the straws together, poured coloured rice from container to container, etc.  When playing outside the children rode the balance bikes, clicked the ‘interstars’ together, built with the large construction blocks and even had some throwing competitions.

In Literacy this week the children listened to the story of ‘Pumpkin Soup’. We discussed the story, focussing on things the characters were thankful for.  Some suggestions were that they had a nice house, that they had food to eat, that they had friends, etc. After that they had to think of something that they were grateful for and write it on a leaf which will go onto our display with our gratitude tree.

In Phonics this week the children have continued with the phonics groups.  Some children have continued to learn the digraphs.  This week they learnt the ‘ee’ digraph.  Some children have continued practising writing and reading CVC words while some children have continued revising the phonemes (individual sounds).  Their homework will reflect this. I have not given the children any new tricky words this week as I feel they need to revise the ones they already have.  It is so pleasing to see, when I am reading with them, how they identify the tricky words then they look up to find where the tricky monster is hanging in the class. 

In Maths this week the children have been investigating capacity using the coloured rice.  They had different size scoops and different size cups.  They had to find how many scoops filled the small cups.  How many scoops filled the larger cups.  How many smaller cups filled the larger bowls, etc.  all the while learning through play.  

In Understanding the World this week the children have been discussing the weather.  They have struggled to understand why one minute it’s warm and the next minute they need their coats.  They feel like it’s Spring but then they feel like it’s switched back to winter.  They have enjoyed the sunny times in the playground when they have been able to go out without their coats.  We will make a class weather chart over the month of March where everyone will get the opportunity to record the weather and then we will collate all the information at the end of the month.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children thought about what makes them happy.  They drew a picture of what makes them happy on a T-shirt template and then, using fabric pens, onto a T-shirt, which they wore on Friday.  They then used the paper T-shirts to make pictures of themselves to put onto a display.  Your child will come home today wearing their T-shirt.  Please iron the T-shirt before you wash it.  This is to stop the ink from running when it goes in the wash. 

This week in Forest School the children learnt about fire.  They learnt that you need three things to make fire: fuel, heat and oxygen.  They were then given the opportunity to try and make a spark using flints.  Emma then made a proper fire and the children got to toast marshmallows on the fire.  

In this week’s Parashah the children learnt that Moshe told Bnei Israel to build the Mishkan for Hashem. The Mishkan was a very special holy place for Bnei Israel to daven in.

The children learnt what Bnei Israel had to build to put inside the Mishkan: An aron (ark) with keruvim (angels) on top.  Inside the aron were the Luchot HaBrit (the Tablets of the Covenant). We spoke about how the angels would keep their wings together if Hashem was happy with Bnei Yisrael, but would separate their wings if that was not the case. This was a sign for Bnei Yisrael to do Teshuva. The second thing that Bnei Israel had to put inside the Mishkan was a Shulchan –  table, to hold 12 loaves of bread. The children learnt that the bread stayed fresh for the whole week! There was also the Menorah – made of gold with beautiful decoration, and a mizbeach – a table[SH1]  for the Bnei Israel to bring presents to Hashem.

We discussed the fact that we don’t have a Mishkan anymore, but we still stay very close to Hashem, especially when we go to shul, which is like HaShem’s house nowadays.

We carried on with our Aleph-Bet learning. Please continue to practise with your child at home, as they tell me, very proudly how they showed their mummies and daddies what they have learned so far in Aleph-Bet. 

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Ruby T

Aba - Raymond

Ben - Jethro

Bat - Lily

Book Week:

We are looking forward to celebrating Book Week in school this year. 

• As Purim is the week after Book week and all the children will be dressing up for Purim, we felt that instead of dressing up as your child’s favourite book character in book week we would like the children to make a homemade prop featured in their favourite book.  Your child can then bring this to school to show their friends during book week and, if possible, bring in their favourite book too.
• We would also like parent volunteers to come in and read to the class. It would be great if you brought from home a book chosen by your child. There will be morning and afternoon sessions each day during this week. If you would like to come in to read please can you let me know.  Thank you :)

Reminders:

• Please remember to return your child’s homework by Tuesday and your child’s reading folder by Wednesday. 
• Please remember that Tefillah starts at 8.45.  This means that if your child is late, they will miss this important time of the day.
• Please remember to iron your child’s T-shirt before washing it to ensure that the colours don’t run.

Wishing you a great weekend and a safe half term.  

Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 4 February

Dear Parents

Although the topic of Aliens is still in our minds, this week we have been focussing on Chinese New Year.

The children learnt about Chinese New Year and a bit of Chinese culture.  They watched a very informative video about the significance of Chinese New Year and the Chinese Dragon.

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development I have had to speak to the children about saying nice things to each other.  There has been a bit of name calling and telling children that they don’t like them or that they don’t like certain attributes about them.  This, as you can imagine, is very distressing for any child and I hope that I have nipped it in the bud before it has time to get any worse.  I used the puppets to illustrate this and the children really seemed to identify with them.

In Communication and Language the children discussed Chinese New Year.  Many of the children knew certain things about China and were able to contribute to the discussion. They thought that the years named after different animals was quite funny.  Some children were insistent that they had visited China and I even had two who were adamant that they’d been born in China. 

In Physical Development the children had messy play with the black tray filled with spaghetti which they had to try and pick up using chopsticks.  They had so much fun with this, but then got tired of the spaghetti falling off the chopsticks, so they started mashing it with their hands to make spaghetti balls.  It was a great tactile experience which was enjoyed by all the children.  

In Literacy this week the children tried writing their names in Chinese writing.  Some of them did really well with this and I was very impressed with the level of focus and concentration which they showed.  We also read stories about China and Chinese New Year.

In Phonics this week the children have continued with the phonics groups.  Some children have continued to learn the digraphs, while some children have been practising writing and reading CVC words while some children have been revising the phonemes (individual sounds).  Their homework will reflect this. We have also learnt the new tricky monster words ‘all’, ‘’they’ and ‘you’.  I have added these in your child’s homework folder.  I have noticed that a few children still have their tricky monsters in the homework folders.  Please take these out and place them somewhere that your child can see them every day in order to revise them.  Some parents have also told me that they have lost theirs or that their child did not receive a certain page.  This week I have given you another copy of all the tricky monster words which your child has learnt, just in case yours has gone missing,.

In Maths this week the children have been discussing pattern.  When I asked them what a pattern was, I was told, very knowledgeably, “It is something that is there and it is repeated”.  I just loved this description because that is exactly what a pattern is.  We used the giant glitter shapes to create a pattern and then we used the linking camels to make patterns.  The children also made patterns when threading different colour pasta onto string.

In Understanding the World this week the children were fascinated to be looking at a world map and finding out where China is.  We first discussed where we live.  Some of them were quite amazed to discover that we all live in London.  We then found other places of interest on the map.  Finally we looked for China and we found it.  The children really enjoyed learning about another culture. 

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children collaged dragons, wrote their name in Chinese Writing, made dragon masks, played with the Lego and the Pirate ship as well as the wooden castle, creating dialogues with the characters and sharing the resources.

This week in Forest School the children learnt about Chinese New Year.  Emma read them a story about Chinese New Year and about how the years got to be named after the different animals.  The children then had the option to make a stick tiger using orange and black pipe cleaners, or they could use the small puppets to re enact the story or they could explore the woods using the binoculars, magnifying glasses, trowels and metal bowls.

In this week’s Parashah the children learnt that Moshe told Bnei Israel to build the Mishkan for Hashem. The Mishkan was a very special holy place for Bnei Israel to daven in.

The children learnt what Bnei Israel had to build to put inside the Mishkan: An aron (ark) with keruvim (angels) on top.  Inside the aron were the Luchot HaBrit (the Tablets of the Covenant). We spoke about how the angels would keep their wings together if Hashem was happy with Bnei Yisrael, but would separate their wings if that was not the case. This was a sign for Bnei Yisrael to do Teshuva. The second thing that Bnei Israel had to put inside the Mishkan was a Shulchan –  table, to hold 12 loaves of bread. The children learnt that the bread stayed fresh for the whole week! There was also the Menorah – made of gold with beautiful decoration, and a mizbeach – a table[SH1]  for the Bnei Israel to bring presents to Hashem.

We discussed the fact that we don’t have a Mishkan anymore, but we still stay very close to Hashem, especially when we go to shul, which is like HaShem’s house nowadays.

We carried on with our Aleph-Bet learning. Please continue to practise with your child at home, as they tell me, very proudly how they showed their mummies and daddies what they have learned so far in Aleph-Bet. 

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Erin

Aba - Joshua

Ben - Zachary W

Bat - Lia

We wish you a Shabat Shalom and a very happy month of Adar Rishon !

Reminders:

• This is a reminder that your child's reading record will be in the book in their reading folder and no longer on Tapestry.  Thank you to all the parents who sent feedback in the record book this week.  It is much appreciated.
• Please remember that Tefillah starts at 8.45.  This means that if your child is late, they will miss this important time of the day.
• Please remember that homework folders should be returned by Tuesday with the completed homework and reading folders should be returned to school on a Wednesday in order for me to have enough time to have them ready to hand out again on Friday.

Wishing you a great weekend.  Stay safe and Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 28 January

Dear Parents

We started the week with just 14 children and slowly but surely we are nearly back to a full class.  It has all been a bit surreal but now it looks like we can hopefully move forward, with our little covid peak behind us. 

This week we are focussing on the book 'Whatever Next' by Jill Murphy.  It's about Baby Bear who wants to go to the moon so he sources a space suit, a space helmet and a rocket.  He finds the moon a bit boring so he comes back to earth.  The children really enjoyed this story and we had a great discussion about who we would take to the moon with us if we were going on an adventure.

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development the children talked about someone that they know and love.  It could be anyone in their lives.  They had to say why that person was so special to them. Some of them spoke about a parent, some about a sibling, some about a friend in the class and some about other people in their lives.  It was really sweet to hear what they had to say.

In Communication and Language the children discussed where they would want to go for an adventure.  There were some really lovely ideas with some children saying they would go to space, many would go to another country with the main reason being that it's hot there (I wonder why), and I even had a couple wanting to go to Cape Town.   The children also continued to describe and design the class alien.  They told me different ideas, using lots of describing words, and I drew the alien and then painted what they told me.  The class alien is called Bong and is the leader on our class alien planet.

In Physical Development the children have been making aliens, moulding with playdough, cutting and tearing paper to make a spaceship for our display and clicking Lego pieces together.  They have also been digging in the sand as well as creating amazing constructions outside in the large construction area.

In Literacy this week the children wrote labels to name their aliens.  They were very excited to do this as they knew their labels would be going on the large display in the corridor.  There was some great spelling, some using initial sounds and some using phonetically plausible spellings.  I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures of the display as far as it is.

In Phonics this week we have split the children into groups. We all know that children learn and develop at different rates.  Some children continued learning digraphs and trigraphs, while some children revised sound talking and reading and writing CVC words. The homework today reflects this.  We have not learnt any new tricky words this week as they have been revising the ones they already have.  Please continue to revise these at home and I will teach some more next week.

In Maths this week the children have been investigating the Numicon.  Numicon is a great teaching tool for children.  It teaches a whole host of different number concepts.  The children were delighted when I brought out the giant Numicon and had great fun matching numbers and finding two amounts to equal another amount.

In Understanding the World this week the children again used the BeeBots.  They revised all the buttons and I then set them a challenge, creating a path out of wooden blocks, for their BeeBot to move through.  They had to estimate how many moves the BeeBot had to make in each direction and then programme it to move.  There was great delight when their BeeBot achieved its destination.

In Expressive Arts and Design this week the children created aliens. They had to think about their alien and what it might look like.  They then used the bright paints to paint their alien, which then got cut out and stuck onto the display.  They also built with Lego, played in the home corner, looked after the baby dolls, and had wonderful discussions and dialogues with the Trolls.  I taught the children two songs about aliens.  One was ‘Ten Little Men in a Flying Saucer’ and the other was ‘One Naughty Alien Jumping on the Bed’. Please ask your child to sing them to you.

This week in Forest School the children learnt about birds.  This is because this weekend is "The RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch."  First the children played Ostrich Tag which was great fun.  The children then worked in two teams to find and match pictures of birds which were hidden around the park. After that the children had choices. They could:  look at the bird sound books, play with Emma's special bird friends, explore the woods looking for mini beasts using the trowels, use the binoculars or magnifying glasses or make a pine cone bird feeder.  It was a great morning which everyone enjoyed.

In Jewish Studies, we learnt about this week’s Parashah of Mishpatim .  We talked about some of the laws that Hashem expects us to follow. For example, we learnt that it is very important to listen to mummy and daddy, and to respect them in every way. We also learned that we should daven to Hashem 3 times a day, to say thank you for all the wonderful things He gives us all the time.

We also learned that we mustn’t mix certain types of food, for example meaty and milky foods, because this is another commandment that Hashem gave to us. We created a milky dish - a pizza, with lots of vegetables on top, since vegetables are parve, and can be eaten either with either milky or with meaty foods.

In Aleph-Bet we learned the letter “Lamed”. We discussed words that start with Lamed, and the children’s favourite word by far, was lollipop. We made lollipops using strings, which you can enjoy watching whilst practising reading aleph-bet with your child.

We also had our special Kabbalat Shabbat with a lot of songs and dance.  We were so thrilled to have mums and dads joining in on Zoom and we hope you enjoyed being with us.

We wish you a Shabat Shalom!

This week, on the Shabbat table we had:

Ima - Bella

Aba - Dylan

Ben - Yanai

Bat - Ilse Bella

We wish you a Shabbat Shalom

Reminders:

• Please remember that from today, the reading record will not be on Tapestry but will be in a Reading Record Book in your child’s reading folder.  Please read what I have written and then write a comment about your child’s reading and return the record book by Wednesday in your child’s reading folder.
• Please remember that Tefillah starts at 8.45.  This means that if your child is late, they will miss this important time of the day.
• Please remember that homework folders should be returned by Tuesday with the completed homework and reading folders should be returned to school on a Wednesday in order for me to have enough time to have them ready to hand out again on Friday.

Wishing you a great weekend.  Stay safe and Shabbat Shalom

From Lindsay and the Reception Team

Friday 21 January

Dear Parents

What a busy week it's been.  Tu B'shvat was a great success and the children looked so lovely in their tree colours.  Thank you too for all the lovely fruit that was brought to school.  The children had a great time.

This week we are focussing on the book 'My Sister is an Alien' by Rachel Bright.  It's about a little boy called Alfie who is not very happy with his new baby sister.  She looks like an alien. She sounds like an alien. She smells like an alien. Therefore she must be an alien.

In Personal, Social and Emotional Development the children with babies in the family told their friends all about having a new baby in the house.  There were some very sweet stories and a couple with just a tinge of jealousy. Most, I'm pleased to say, were very happy with new little siblings.  Many that didn’t have baby siblings told of baby cousins or friends with babies.

In Communication and Language the children discussed what they did as babies that they don’t do anymore and things that they can do now that they couldn't do as a baby.  Some children found it quite hard to understand the concept of then and now but with some support were able to think of many things and subsequently they felt very grown up. 

In Physical Development the children have been honing their building skills with the new Citiblocks in the classroom.  They have been cutting and tearing paper and sticking using glue sticks and white glue.  On Monday we had our Tu B’shevat fruit party.  Many children only ate the fruit which they knew but it was very pleasing to see some children asking about unknown fruit and then trying some.

In Literacy this week the children wrote about what they could do now that they couldn’t do as a baby.  We have also been reading lots of books and discussing the structure of the story. We also used lots of describing words (some children might remember the word adjective) to create our own alien.  This was lots of fun and the children really enjoyed it.

In Phonics this week we have split the children into three groups. We all know that children learn and develop at different rates.  Some children are ready to move onto digraphs and trigraphs, some children still need some support with sound talking and reading and writing CVC words and some children need to revise the sounds we have learnt. The homework today reflects this.  The new tricky words for this week are ‘he’, ‘we’, ‘be’ and ‘me’.  The tricky monsters are in your child’s homework folder.

In Maths this week the children have been doing lots of weighing using the balancing scales.  The children had various objects which they had to put on one side of the scale and then see how many unifix cubes weighed the same.  They then had to record their findings.  This was a great activity and enjoyed by all the children.