It has been a busy couple of weeks in Reception as always. In phonics, we've been learning some new 'special friends' sounds, which are helping the children to be able to read and write even more words. They've learnt the following sounds: ay – May I play?, ee – What can I see? igh – Fly high!, ow – Blow the snow!, oo – Poo at the zoo! and oo – Look at a book! The children have done a brilliant job blending these sounds into words, and it’s fantastic to see them confidently using their new skills. In maths, we’ve been focusing on  developing their understanding of the composition of 5. We have explored the different ways to make five using songs and manipulatives and the children have been working on securing their knowledge of the pairs that make 5 (0 + 5, 1 + 4, 4+ 1, 3 + 2 and 2 + 3).

We have continued learning about Trinidad and Tobago in our topic lessons with a particular focus on different animals you might find there such as the Scarlet Ibis and Leatherback Turtles. This week has been all about celebrating Lunar New Year. We have compared this festival to others that we have learnt about before such as Diwali and Christmas and have had lots of fun making (lucky) red paper lanterns, dragon puppets and some children have even had a go at writing their names in mandarin. 

A huge thank you to the parents who volunteered their time and energy to help make International Day a huge success! Your support in planning and delivering exciting activities for the children truly made the day special. The children loved learning about different cultures through hands-on activities, and it wouldn’t have been possible without your help.

   

                                          

 

Key messages:

• A reminder that children are not allowed to play on the climbing frame or use the school equipment before and after school, including siblings.

• Please can you continue to give us donations of clean recycling to add to our junk modeling as we use it throughout the year - small boxes, toilet rolls etc. However we cannot accept anything that once contained nuts, eggs or fish.

• Please return any spare socks, pants, trousers that have been sent home previously for your child. We have no spare socks, pants, trousers/leggings left. Alternatively any donations are welcome!

• We are going to start ‘mystery reader’ soon. This is when a parent who has signed up will come and read a story to the year group on a Thursday. The idea is to build up the excitement of who it’s going to be, to help build a love of reading. If you would like to be included, please fill in this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7IBu8fwnGVmqXf6y7DPVKcwY6RK9gj8omlUJCXjiyl5Lq_g/viewform?usp=pp_url 

• After half term we are starting our new topic ‘People who help us’. We would love for any parents who have a job such as a doctor, police officer, firefighter, dentist, builder etc., to talk to the children about the work they do and why it’s important. If you would be happy to do this, please email eyfs@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk 

• On February 14th we are celebrating carnival to conclude our topic about Trinidad and Tobago. Please could your child come to school wearing their own clothes, with lots of bright colours. It is always a really fun event in Reception!