Reception Week Beginning 3.10.22

It has been a very busy week in Reception Class!

On Monday, the children had an online road safety session with the Hertfordshire road safety team. The interactive session covered the important themes of:

  • Seatbelt safety
  • The dangers of traffic/the road
  • Getting into the car on the pavement side
  • The pavement being the safest part of the street

The children have also been thinking about the people around us that help and serve our local community. They learnt about the importance of key workers and as a result, have expressed a lot of interest in the emergency services and in particular, the role of the police.  The children helped to create a role play police station, where they had lots of fun booking in prisoners, looking for criminals and taking 999 calls.

This theme spilled into the outside area, where the children were inspired to independently build police vehicles and prisons.

The children also enjoyed creating disguises, building police stations from construction, making emergency vehicles and police props.

Yesterday, Donnie’s mum came into class to talk about her role as a nurse. Thank you so much!

Finally, this morning as part of the RE lesson, Reception went outside for a walk in the school grounds to refelect on the story of creation. They used their senses to explore and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation all around them.

Next week, we will be opening a Tapestry account for each child in the class, following our initial assessments. You will be sent an email with a link to your child’s account which you will need to activate. In the past, this has ended up in parent’s junk email, so please remember to check the folder over the week. We will also send home a parent’s guide, with instructions on how to add your own photos and special family moments for you to share with us.

Have a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team

Reception Week Beginning 26.9.22

It was lovely to see so many of you at the parent phonics meeting yesterday; thank you for your support, we hope you found it useful.

Today, in your child’s book bag, you will find two reading books and the parent comment book. On the inside cover, you will find information regarding your child’s reading day. Remember, their books need to be returned on this same day every week. Please note, we haven’t sent home a class library book this week; this will start next week. Thank you!

This week, Reception have been thinking about when they were babies and growing up. On Wednesday, we had some very special visitors- Conor’s mum and his baby brother! The class loved listening to how Conor and his parents take care of him.

The children also had fun planning a birthday party held in the new home corner! They made birthday cards, banners and bunting and even designed their own birthday cakes and planned the birthday food!

The class have got off to a great start in their phonics learning. There are no new sheets on a Friday, as we always do our consolidation lesson on this day. Thank you again for supporting your child with their learning. It makes a huge difference to their reading and writing outcomes.

Thank you to everyone for returning your data collection form. Below you will find some of the photos from the past couple of weeks!

Have a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team

Reception Week Beginning 19.9.22

Stick Man (TV Movie 2015) - IMDb

This week, Reception have been focussing on the story ‘Stick Man’ by Julia Donaldson. The children absolutely loved this story! You can find a fantastic adaptation on the BBC iPlayer here:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06t09rk/stick-man

The class started the week off by going for a walk around the school field on the hunt for Stick Man. Sadly, they didn’t find any sign of him, but they found lots of fantastic sticks that they brought back to the classroom instead! The children thought about lots of different uses for the sticks. Ideas included: a bridge for an ant, a handle on a grass cutter, a bicycle frame and a broom. Some children made cards to send to Stick Man’s family and lots of children enjoyed the challenge of building a tower higher than the longest stick.

Many Reception children in the class are experiencing difficulty using scissors, and so this week, they have been practising their cutting skills and creating beautiful collages in the process! Following on from last week, when they drew self-portraits, Reception have also been painting their own portraits this week.

This afternoon, Reception met their Year Six reading partners for the very first time. They all exchanged cards and pictures and spent time getting to know each other. The children will meet up for half an hour every Friday from now onwards.

Next week, the children are going to be thinking about growing and when they were babies. If possible, please provide your child with one photo of themselves as a baby. Each child will be talking about their picture and they will also be used as part of a class display. Thank you!

Families with little babies- if anyone is able to come into class one morning next week and talk to the class about how you take care of your baby, please speak to Ms Pemberton on Monday morning, thank you!

Next Thursday, we have our Phonics Meeting for parents at 2.30pm. If you are unable to make this meeting, we will make sure that you are given any handouts and a copy of the PowerPoint will be available for you to view on the school website.

Just a reminder-we will be starting phonics on Monday morning. Please check your child’s book bag that evening, as we will also be sending home a phonics home learning book. Over the next week, we will be sending home a reading book, along with a class library book too.

Have a wonderful weekend,

The Reception Team

Reception Week Beginning 12.9.22

We said goodbye to some very shattered children at hometime today, after completing their first full week at Pope Paul! The class have settled in tremendously well, so much so, that we were even able to bring them into the main hall this morning to participate in the whole school assembly!

This week, the children have been thinking about the themes in the story Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. This beautiful story tells the tale of three little owl babies who wake up to find out that their mummy isn’t in the nest! They are all worried about being separated from her and are concerned that she won’t come back for them. The children were able to really relate to the story, as they too have been separating from their own families in the morning, which has been tricky for some children in the class this week. Amongst many other things, the class have been making nests and owls from lots of different materials, acting out the story and drawing pictures of their own families. They have also created their own self-portraits and helped to create a shop in the outside role-play area.

Unfortunately, we are still unable to put photographs of the children on the blog, as the office still doesn’t have all of the data sheets in from parents. If you haven’t done so already please give them into the office asap. We have so many lovely photos taken that we are desperate to share with you!

Finally, thank you so much to all of the parents who took the time to fill in the Ofsted parent view survey, who said kind words of encouragement to staff, wrote a lovely email to the inspector supporting us, or gave us cards or treats for the staffroom. Your overwhelming generosity has made a stressful week, much easier to get through!

Have a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team

 

Welcome to Reception

Welcome Images – Browse 813,052 Stock Photos, Vectors, and Video | Adobe StockWelcome to Reception!

It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know all of our new children and their families this week.

The children have enjoyed exploring their new indoor and outdoor learning environments and have already impressed us so much with their fantastic learning behaviour and listening skills, during both carpet time and child initiated learning time!

Today was our first day as a whole class together. Reception started off the morning by participating in a special prayer time, where they learnt a song and heard the school’s mission prayer for the first time.

At lunchtime, the children were fantastic at carrying their own lunch trays back to the classroom and clearing their trays away, when they had finished eating.

This afternoon, after singing some number songs and playing some number games, Reception went for a walk around the school grounds and had a class photo taken.

We have sent home some very tired children tonight!

Unfortunately, we are unable to upload any photos this week, as the school office is still waiting for all of the data collection sheets to be returned; as you know, these sheets include photographic consent. Hopefully, by next week, we will be able to include photos too.

Have a wonderful weekend,

The Reception Team

 

 

Reception Week Beginning 21.7.22

It’s been a week to remember- record breaking heat and lots of emotional goodbyes!

The Reception team would like to finish the year by saying a huge thank you for choosing to send your child to Pope Paul Catholic School and for trusting us with your wonderful children. They are a very special class who have been lots of fun and an absolute pleasure to teach; we will miss every single one of them!

Thank you also for your overwhelming generosity and for all the beautiful and touching words that you have written to us in cards, or in response to your child’s report.

Wishing you all a well deserved rest.

Looking forward to hearing all the news in September!

With love,

Ms Pemberton, Ms Gymer and Ms Steff

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Reception Week Beginning 11.7.22

What a fantastic Fun Day the children have had  today!

They started the day by having a jump around on the bouncy castle, followed by a Nerve Gun Shoot out!

After a short break to refuel with some fruit, the class had their first ever go at playing on the KS1 tower. This was quickly followed by a very thrilling go-karting session!!! We definitely have a few budding Lewis Hamiltons amongst the children!

Following this, Reception had some beautiful, sparkly tattoos applied and went back to the classroom to cool down and get ready for lunch- this was the perfect time to watch the BBC adaptation of The Snail and the Whale,  the book that the class focussed on a couple of weeks ago.

In the afternoon, the children were collected by their Year 6 reading partners and together, they choose from a range of fun activities. This included: face painting, the sponge water experience, splat the rat, hook the duck game and many more. They also had some delicious treats- fruit kebabs, cakes, ice lollies and sweets.

I’m sure they will all sleep very well tonight!

Thank you for supporting this day!

Just to let you know that we will be collecting in all of the children’s reading books and records next week. If your child’s reading day falls on a Thursday or Friday, please being them in on Wednesday. Thank you. 

Have a wonderful weekend in the sunshine.

Stay sun safe!

Ms Pemberton, Mrs Gymer and Ms Steff

 

 

Reception Week Beginning 27.6.22

This week, Reception have been learning about snails and other gastropods. They started off the week reading the story of The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson.

One tiny snail longs to see the world and hitches a lift on the tail of a whale. Together they go on an amazing journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins, and the little snail feels so small in the vastness of the world. When disaster strikes and the whale is beached in a bay, it’s the tiny snail who saves the day! 

In response to the story, the children have:

  • discussed what it would be like to live with your house permanently on your back
  • written about where they would travel to on the tail of the whale
  • found rhyming couplets in the book
  • made maps detailing where in the world the snail and the whale travelled to
  • wrote their own slimy messages
  • made collages inspired by the story and The Snail by Henri Matisse
  • explored spirals
  • recreated places in the book using small world

After some heavy rain on Wednesday, the children were amazed to find snails everywhere!! In fact, the total snail count was around 45!! The children carefully placed the snails onto the class Snail World and  spent lots of time observing them.

Immediately after finding the snails, a frog was suddenly spotted, causing lots of excitement. Mrs Gymer managed to carefully catch it for a very short while, so the children were able to have a good look at it. While this was happening, a butterfly landed on Mrs Gymer’s shoe and wouldn’t fly away! So much excitement!

In Maths this week, the children have had lots of fun solving problems based on the book Mr Gumpy’s Outing. Activities included: making a boat and predicting how many marbles it could hold before sinking, ‘How many legs?’ problem solving, where the children in pairs, had to select a number and explore which combinations of characters would total that number of legs. They were also given the task of working out who could be in Mr Gumpy’s boat, if there were 6 legs in there altogether, then 10, then 12. The children had fun trying to work it out through role play too.

We are all very excited for our class trip to the zoo on Tuesday. Currently, the weather is predicted to be around 23.C and sunny. Please ensure that your child has a bottle of water with them and a hat. Ideally, a rucksack should be brought to carry lunches or a paper bag that can be recycled. The children will be carrying their own bags all day, so nothing too big and bulky please.

Have a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team

Reception Class Week Beginning 20.6.22

After the recent Sports Day and Healthy Eating Week, this was a remarkably quiet week in Reception!

The class have continued to concentrate on their new topic ‘The Hidden World in our Garden’, with a particular focus on ladybirds and the story ‘The Bad- Tempered Ladybird’.

Reception have had fun acting out the story together, and as there are so many characters in the story, everyone had a role!

The children also thought about what the term bad-tempered means; they thought of other words that have a similar meaning, including: mad, cross, angry, grumpy, livid, furious and fed up!

Reception discussed what makes them all feel bad-tempered and then wrote about it in their English lesson. They also thought about the things they can do to change their mood, so that they are feeling happy rather than cross. Some of the ideas were: to go for a walk, play with friends, go to soft play, have a game of football and watch their favourite film.

One of the themes in The Bad-Tempered Ladybird is telling the time, using an analogue clock. Inspired by this, many of the children made their own clocks and watches, complete with moving hands!

Reception also made their own ladybirds, wrote about their favourite part of the story and wrote a conversation between the the friendly ladybird and the bad-tempered ladybird, using speech bubbles.

We have had a big response to the request for parent helpers for the London Zoo trip- thank you so much! We will pull the three names from a hat on Monday and let you know if you have been selected on Monday after school.

Have a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team

Reception Week Beginning 13.6.22

What a busy week it has been!

This week was ‘Healthy Eating Week’, and Reception joined the rest of the school thinking about the big message this year, which was:

Eat well for you and the planet!

The children learnt about the importance of having a healthy diet and lifestyle and how to keep our bodies healthy, by exercising, staying clean and regularly brushing teeth properly. The children learnt about why the body needs protein and made their own healthy protein snack.

Our story focus this week ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, linked the healthy eating focus beautifully with our new topic, ‘The Hidden World in our Garden’. Through this book, the children not only continued to learn about foods that are good for you, but they also about the lifecycle of a butterfly!

The highlight of the week was Reception’s first ever Sports Day. The children were absolutely fantastic, demonstrating their sports skills, listening skills and care and support for one another. Thank you to Josie for starting off each event so confidently!

This afternoon, the children took part in The Blessed Sacrament Procession. As usual, Reception made us all proud with their exemplary behaviour and reverence.

Happy Father’s Day to you all for Sunday; we hope you have lots of fun celebrating together in the sunshine.

Wishing you a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team