Reception Class Week Beginning 31.10.22

/0 Comments/in , /by

This week, Reception have been very busy learning about the Hindu festival of light-Diwali.

The class learnt about how Hindu families from all over the world celebrate this very special festival by: coming together to dance, sing and eat, attending a special service at their temple, decorating their homes with Rangoli patterns, lighting diva lamps and drawing Mehndi patterns on their hands. The class then had a go and creating some of these things themselves.

Diva lamps

Mehndi patterns

Rangoli patterns

Mehndi patterns

Here are the firework displays happening in and around Milton Keynes this November - MKFM 106.3FM - Radio Made in Milton Keynes

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Reception Class have also been learning about why we celebrate Bonfire Night and how to keep safe around fireworks and bonfires.

Inspired by this, the children decided to write some Bonfire Night safety posters to educate the older children. These posters have been displayed outside the classroom in the main corridor, where they can be seen and read by the whole school.

Fireworks Safety Poster | Rooftop Post Printables

Reception also had fun creating their own fireworks art pieces, through painting, printing, drawing, collaging and making 3D models.

Some members of the class even decided to work together to construct  a model of the Houses of Parliament- what a great team effort!

If you are going to a fireworks display at the weekend, have a fantastic time!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

The Reception Team

Reception Week Beginning 17.10.22

/2 Comments/in , , /by

This week, Reception have been taking part in One World Week, along with the rest of the school. The focus country for the class was Ireland.

The children learnt that a pilgrimage is a special journey made to a holy place. They learnt about the Apparation of Mary in 1879 in Knock, County Mayo and how the place is now a shrine to the Virgin Mary.

Over the week, the class had fun taking part in lots of activities inspired by Irish history and culture. They were amazed by Elle, Eimear and Kate in Year 6, who shared their talents by giving the class a special Irish dancing performance. The children made Irish soda bread, flags and painted portraits of Our Lady of Knock. They also acted out the story of The Apparation, as a whole class, and thought about their own special journeys that they have been on with their families.

On Monday, the class were visited by Joshua’s mum who is a dentist. She taught the children about the importance of oral health and showed them how to brush their teeth properly. They then had a chance to practise their brushing techniques on models of teeth! Thank you Joshua’s mum!

On Tuesday, Reception were then visited by Summerain’s nanny, who cares for ladies in her role as a midwife. She told the class all about how she helps mummies and babies keep healthy and safe during and after pregnancy. The children then had the opportunity to explore the equipment that midwives use during check up appointments. Thank you Summerain’s nanny!

It was so lovely to see you all at the parent consultations and again at today’s Harvest Festival. Thank you for your support!

Wishing you all a well deserved half term break.

We hope you have lots of fun!

The Reception Team

Reception Week Beginning 10.10.22

/1 Comment/in , /by

This week, Reception class have been thinking about the theme of friendship. They have also been focussing on how they show respect towards one another and their learning environments.

The story focus this week ,The Rainbow Fish by Mark Pfister, fits in beautifully with these two themes; it is a lovely, heart-warming story of sharing and the happiness that sharing can bring yourself and others.  It also depicts how difficult sharing can be and the impact that sharing can have on friendships.

Over the week, the class have been making and sharing friendship cards, bracelets and models. They had fun building an under-the-sea scene and then retelling the story. They also worked together as a team and created a large scale collage of the Rainbow Fish!

In Maths, the children have been building and comparing different measurements. They had lots of practical experience measuring length, height and also explored and compared size.

Yesterday, we were paid a visit by Mrs Falco, mum to Fraser and Vincent in KS2. She is a district nurse and came in to tell us about how she helps people in our local community who can’t leave their house to get medical treatment. The children had lots of fun exploring the medical equipment! Thank you so much Mrs Falco!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend,

The Reception Team

Reception Week Beginning 3.10.22

/3 Comments/in , /by

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

/2 Comments/in , /by

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

/1 Comment/in , /by

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

/0 Comments/in , /by

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

/2 Comments/in , /by

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

/0 Comments/in , /by

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

X                        X                        X

Reception Week Beginning 11.7.22

/0 Comments/in , /by

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