This week has been all about the trip to London Zoo!

On Tuesday, the children were shown video clips about London Zoo and were given maps to look at. In small groups, the children discussed and planned what animals they would like to see. They recorded the information on large pieces of paper and presented it to the rest of the class. It was truly amazing to witness the wonderful team work, oracy skills and the children’s ability to consider one another’s choices. They have come such a long way since the beginning of the year!

The children also took part in a poll where they had to choose five animals from a list. This was recorded in the form of a whole class tally chart and the results were then used to map the route around the zoo. It also meant that everyone got to see at least a couple of their top five choices!

Yesterday, was trip day!

The children were VERY excited, but despite this, their behaviour around the zoo was exemplary; they were true ambassadors of Pope Paul Catholic School! It was a wonderful day!

Amongst many other animals, the class saw: snakes, crocodiles, exotic frogs, reptiles, gorillas, lions, vultures, spiders, a coral reef, tigers, penguins, giant tortoises, meerkats, gibbons, flamingo, otters and monkeys.

A special thank you goes out to Mrs Strange, our Chair of Governors, Mrs Menicou and Mrs Quinn, who all volunteered to support the staff in keeping the children safe and happy on the trip! Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend,

The Reception Team

This week, the children have continued to learn about the importance of loving neighbours, through the story of The Good Samaritan.

Love of neighbour involves the whole of creation. It means working for a just society. It includes love for the poor which results in active support of our neighbours locally and globally. Love of neighbour means concern for truth and justice in this service of the Common Good.

The children discussed who their neighbours are. How are they the same or different? How do they help us? How do we help them?

They then had fun role-playing, painting, retelling and rewriting the story themselves.

In English, the children have been focussing their learning around the themes in the book, The Bad-Tempered Ladybird by Eric Carle.

Again, they enjoyed acting out the story through role-play and small world.

They also talked and wrote about the things that make them feel bad-tempered!

On Wednesday, the school played host to some very exciting visitors- some children from Beijing in China. They popped into Reception class to say hello to the children and to look around the classroom and outside learning environment.

Please remember to supply your child with a sun hat, water bottle and apply sun cream before school, in order to keep them safe and protected from the sun. The warm weather has been wonderful and the children are really enjoying their time outdoors at the moment.

Thank you!

Enjoy the weekend,

The Reception Team

This week, Reception have joined the rest of the school in participating in Spirituality Week. The focus for this week has been Walking with Jesus.

On Monday, the class wrote prayers for the children in Year 5 and gave them to them in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, the children took part in a beautiful, prayerful activity called Praying in Colour. We have never seen the Reception children so quiet and reflective!

On Wednesday, the class went on a walk around the field. They were encouraged to be silent and ‘notice’ God’s creation all around them. The children were asked: What can you hear? What can you smell? What can you see? The class finished with some time in the peace garden, where they were delighted to find that a pair of blue tits had built their nest in one of the bird boxes. They were amazed to see how frequently they brought back food for their young!

On Thursday, Reception took part in the wonderful prayer stations led by Year 5.

On Friday, the class took part in a guided meditation sessions, focussed on meeting Jesus. The children were so impressive doing this and one child even fell asleep!

We are looking forward to seeing you at the Pentecost Celebration next week!

Have a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team

Despite it being a very short week, Reception have managed to pack a lot of learning in!

Inspired by the week’s story focus ‘Whatever Next!’ by Jill Murphy, the children decided to make a new spaceship role play area. They worked hard to make their spaceship shiny and made signs to help the astronauts keeps safe when in flight. They had lots of fun playing inside it, once it was finished!

The children also made planet mobiles to create a more authentic space feel and wrote lists of things they needed to take with them into space. They enjoyed using the space rocket small world play too.

As part of our learning about King Charles III’s coronation, the children drew their own portraits of him and learnt that Queen Elizabeth II was Charles III’s mother. They also learnt that he was the eldest child, so the law determines that he is the next king. They learnt about the ceremony itself and how the king will travel to and from his coronation tomorrow. The children were very excited to share their home learning and plan a coronation party!

Today, the children made their own St Edward’s royal crowns and celebrated the coronation by decorating and eating coronation biscuits with their Year 6 reading partner. They then had a very exciting time in the big playground with the rest of the school, enjoying an ice lolly and waving their union jack flags.

Enjoy the extended bank holiday weekend and if you are celebrating the coronation of King Charles III, have a fabulous time!

The Reception Team