Thank you so much for returning your autumn bags. The children have enjoyed exploring the items collected, reinforcing our learning from last week.

We have reached the end of the penultimate week of term, and we have been busy bees learning.

RWI

We encourage you to continue practising the sounds we have covered in the yellow sound books. This will help reinforce your child’s learning. Please focus on quick recognition of sounds and correct letter formation, as these skills are foundational for their reading and writing development.

By the end of next week, all children will have covered the complete Set 1 alphabet sounds, which is a brilliant achievement for them! Following this, we will be starting group work in Term 2, based on their progress. This group work will allow us to tailor our learning experiences to best meet the needs of each child and further support their phonics journey.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication in helping your child succeed.

Maths

This week, we have begun a new sequence of learning in maths, focusing on counting. The children have been developing their understanding of how to count objects carefully and accurately.

We have learnt that objects should be counted slowly and one at a time so that none are missed. We have also learnt that the last number we say tells us how many objects there are altogether. The children counted a range of objects, including objects arranged in irregular formations. To help them count each object once, they practised moving the objects into a line before counting them.

These activities are helping the children to develop secure counting skills and to understand that the arrangement of objects does not change the total number. We will continue to practise counting carefully as part of our mathematics learning next week.

You can support this learning at home by encouraging your child to count everyday objects slowly and carefully, touching each object once as they count. Thank you for your continued support.

Next week we will continue to practise our counting.

Thematic

This week  we continued our exploration of superheroes, focusing on the delightful story of "Eliot the Midnight Superhero."

In our sessions, the children embarked on adventurous journeys through Eliot’s night-time escapades. We collaborated to create a vibrant story map that illustrated Eliot’s thrilling adventures, which really sparked their creativity. Afterwards, the children had the opportunity to craft their own stories, drawing inspiration from their imaginations and the adventures we mapped out together.

Additionally, we ventured into the world of art with a collage activity, where each child created a superhero medal. They used various materials to reflect significant elements from the story; for example, gems to represent the queen's jewels and yellow wool for the lion's majestic mane. It was wonderful to see their individual interpretations come to life!

Looking ahead to next week, we will shift our focus to Michael Recycle, another engaging story that will help us understand the importance of recycling and caring for our environment.

Important Messages

• For our thematic next week linked to Michael Recycle, we ask if your child helps out with the recycling or does a litter pick outside of school, please email a photo of your child doing this and we will present them with a rosette at school.

• Forest School: Please ensure your child has a pair of named wellies in school.

• A separate blog post has been added to support phonics at home. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask you child's class teacher or email kirby.walker@chiltonprimary.co.uk

Key Dates for Term 1

23rd October – Halloween Disco! All children are invited to come to school in fancy dress.

23rd October – Final day of Term 1.

It is great that we are able to talk to families at the start and end of the day. If there is anything else you would like to share with us, please email:

kirby.walker@chiltonprimary.co.uk

maddy.kennedy@chiltonprimary.co.uk

kirsty.rockenbauer@chiltonprimary.co.uk

We hope you have a great weekend!

Reception Team