Welcome back to Term 2! We hope you all had a wonderful half term and enjoyed some lovely family time together. It has been so lovely welcoming the children back into Reception this week and hearing all about their half-term adventures! The children have been full of excitement, sharing stories about the places they visited, the things they did and the special memories they made.

We have had a fantastic first week back, and the children have settled beautifully into their routines. It has been wonderful to see their smiling faces, enthusiasm and growing confidence as we begin another exciting term of learning together. We have lots of lovely things to look forward to over the coming weeks!

RWI

This week has been a particularly exciting one in phonics as the children have officially moved into their new Read Write Inc. (RWI) groups! This is a big step in their reading journey, and we could not be prouder of how well they have embraced this change.

For some children, this has meant learning with a different teacher, exploring a new classroom and working alongside different friends. We know that changes like these can sometimes feel a little daunting, but the children have shown fantastic resilience, independence and enthusiasm throughout the week. All the adults have been incredibly impressed with how beautifully the children have adapted to their new groups and how hard they have been working.

During our RWI sessions, the children have continued developing their knowledge of sounds, practicing their oral blending skills and building their confidence with Fred Talk. Each group is working at a pace suited to their current phonics knowledge, allowing the children to build on what they already know and develop the skills they need to become confident readers.

It has been wonderful to see the children listening carefully, joining in enthusiastically and celebrating their own achievements. We are so proud of the progress they are making already!

How can you help at home?

Please continue practicing the sounds in your child's yellow sound book and enjoying reading books together. You can also practice Fred Talk during everyday activities by sounding out simple words such as c-u-p, d-o-g or h-a-t and encouraging your child to blend the sounds together.

A few minutes of practice each day can make such a difference to your child's confidence and enjoyment of reading. Thank you, as always, for your continued support!

Maths

This week in maths, we have been exploring repeating patterns, and the children have thoroughly enjoyed getting creative with their learning!

We began by looking at simple AB patterns, where two different objects, colours or actions repeat in the same order. For example, red, blue, red, blue, red, blue. The children have been learning to look carefully at patterns, identify what is repeating and explain the rule.

We have been encouraging the children to use mathematical language to describe what they can see, say the pattern aloud and predict what should come next. The children have also been busy creating their very own repeating patterns using a variety of practical resources, including colourful objects, shapes and cubes.

As the week progressed, we challenged the children to make their own patterns and think carefully about repeating their rule. It has been fantastic to see their developing reasoning skills as they explain their thinking and confidently continue patterns independently.

Thematic Learning – Let's Celebrate!

This week, we have begun our exciting new thematic learning all about Celebrations!

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who shared photographs of their special celebrations with us. It has been absolutely wonderful to see the different ways our families celebrate important occasions and make special memories together. The children have loved sharing their photographs with their friends, talking about their experiences and listening to the celebrations that are important to others.

We have been learning that celebrations can look different for everybody and that families celebrate a wide variety of special events, traditions and occasions. It has been lovely to see the children showing curiosity, respect and excitement as they discover more about one another.

As Bonfire Night fell this week, we have also been exploring the story of Guy Fawkes and learning about why we celebrate Bonfire Night on 5th November. We talked about the history behind the occasion in a child-friendly way and explored some of the traditions we might see, including fireworks, bonfires and colourful displays in the night sky.

The children were particularly excited to talk about fireworks and share their own experiences of watching them! We explored the beautiful colours, shapes and patterns fireworks can make before getting creative and producing our very own firework pictures.

It has been fantastic to see the children's creativity shine as they experimented with colours and different ways of representing fireworks bursting across the night sky. We have certainly had some wonderful little artists in Reception this week!

We have also been talking about the importance of staying safe around fireworks and bonfires, remembering that these should always be enjoyed with the help and supervision of grown-ups.

What a lovely start to our new topic! We cannot wait to continue exploring more celebrations and traditions over the coming weeks.

Love to Learn

We have absolutely loved seeing some of the wonderful home learning that the children have already brought into school! It has been so lovely to see the time, effort and creativity that has gone into their activities, and the children have been incredibly proud to share their fantastic work with us and their friends. We really do love celebrating their achievements and seeing how they continue their learning beyond the classroom!

A little reminder that our Love to Learn books were sent home before half term. We hope the children have been enjoying sharing their learning with you and completing their activities at home.

Please remember to return your child's Love to Learn book by Wednesday 18th November, ready for our next exciting activities.

Thank you so much for your continued support at home. It really does make such a difference, and we cannot wait to see even more of your wonderful creations!

Looking Ahead to Next Week!

We have another exciting week of learning ahead of us in Reception, with lots of lovely activities planned!

RWI

Next week, the children will continue learning in their RWI groups, building on the fantastic progress they have already made. We will be continuing to develop our sound recognition, blending and early reading skills, whilst encouraging the children to grow in confidence and independence. We are so proud of how well they have settled into their new groups and cannot wait to see their progress continue!

Maths

In maths, we will be continuing our learning about repeating patterns, but this time with an extra challenge! The children will be putting on their detective hats to become pattern detectives, looking carefully at patterns to spot any mistakes and work out how to correct them. We will be encouraging the children to explain their thinking, identify the pattern rule and use their reasoning skills to make sure the pattern continues correctly.

Thematic Learning – Celebrations Around the World!

We will be continuing our exciting learning about celebrations, this time exploring Diwali, the Festival of Lights! The children will be discovering how Diwali is celebrated by families around the world, learning about some of the special traditions and exploring the importance of light during this celebration.

As part of our celebrations learning, we have some exciting practical activities planned! The children will be working together to create a pretend bonfire and will also have the opportunity to make their very own edible sparklers! We are sure these activities will bring lots of excitement, creativity and smiles to our classrooms.

If you have any concerns about your child taking part in the edible sparkler activity, including any dietary requirements or allergies, please speak to your child's class teacher.

World Kindness Day and Children in Need

On Friday 13th November, we will also be celebrating World Kindness Day alongside Children in Need! We will be encouraging the children to think about what it means to be kind, how we can show kindness to others and the little things we can do to make somebody smile.

To celebrate Children in Need, children are invited to come to school wearing something yellow and/or spotty!

We are looking forward to another wonderful week filled with learning, creativity, kindness and lots of fun!

Have a Lovely Weekend!

 

Dates to Remember

• 3rd–11th November – Poppies on sale in school

• 11th November – Children can wear service uniform to school

• 13th November – Reception Come Dine with Me

• 13th November – World Kindness Day and Children in Need Day. Wear something yellow and/or spotty to school

• 16th November – Individual and sibling school photos

• 18th November – Reception and Year 6 height and weight checks

• 18th November – Love to Learn books to be returned

• 30th November – Book fair in school this week

• 1^st December – Team Turquoise Naught Bus Trip

• 2^nd December – Team Cyan Naughty Bus Trip

• 9th December – Christmas Fair, 3.15pm–4.15pm

• 11th December – Reception Nativity at 9am in the school hall

• 15th December – Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 Party Day. Non-school uniform

• 17th December – School Christmas Dinner and Christmas Jumper Day. Children should wear their usual school uniform with a Christmas jumper instead of their school jumper/cardigan

• 18th December – Last day of term. School finishes at 2pm. No after-school club

The Reception Team

kirby.walker@chiltonprimary.co.uk

maddy.kennedy@chiltonprimary.co.uk

kirsty.rockenbauer@chiltonprimary.co.uk