Reception Class

Happy New Year and welcome back to the first term of spring.  We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and managed to spend some quality time as a family.

Our topic this half term is 'People who help us' where we will be learning about fictional superheroes, as well as important people in our world who help us such as doctors, nurses, firefighters etc. We will be kicking off our topic with a People who help us' dress up day where we will explore these jobs in more detail. We are also very lucky that we will be having some visitors into our class, who will be talking about their important jobs and we will have the opportunity to ask them some questions. In Literacy, we will be covering lots of stories about fictional superheroes such as 'Max' and 'Supertato'. In maths, we will begin by refreshing our knowledge of numbers 1-5 and then move onto measure where we will focus on capacity and length. In science lessons the children will explore 'winter' as well as completing simple freezing and melting experiments. In RE, our theme is 'Special Places' and we will be exploring these in detail around the world as well as at home.

As the weather is usually very cold over the next few months, please ensure your child has a coat in school every day along with a hat, scarf and gloves, where possible. These need to be NAMED please. We are always out in all weathers so this is really essential that we have them.

 Communication is really important to us therefore if you have any questions or concerns, please come and speak to one of the team. 

Here's to a cold but fun first half term back!

Thank you for your continued support. . 

The Reception Team. 

Important dates for your diary this half term- 

Monday 12th January- People who help us dress up day

Friday 30th January- Stay and Count maths workshop for parents/carers- 8:40-9:30am

Week commencing Monday 2nd February- Whole school Children's Mental Health Week

Week commencing 9th February- Online Safety Week/Chinese New Year theme week in Reception 

Friday 12th February- School closes for half term 

Monday 23rd February- School reopens for Spring 2 term

 Reading at home
Your child brings home 2 books a week. One will be a book that you can read to them at home and the other will be their phonics reading book. Please read their phonics books with them at least 3 x a week. The first read can be read together, the second read read by your child and the third child read by your child with a focus on comprehension. 

We aim to listen to your child read at least once a week and books are changed on a Thursday. 

Communication

3.15pm Pick-up

At 3.15pm, the children have been leaving the classroom via the same door they enter school, one at a time. If someone new to us is picking up your child, or there is a change to the usual routine, please let us know at morning drop-off, via the office or by email.

At home-time and after school, please do not allow your children to play on the climbing frame or other equipment in the ‘Garden’ area or on the school field. This is for health and safety and insurance reasons. Thank you.

Outdoor Learning

In Reception we love to be outside in our garden, exploring on the field or visiting our Conservation Area. We try to go outside in all weathers (and particularly enjoy the rain!) so, if you haven’t already, please provide your child with an all-in-one waterproof suit or a waterproof coat and trousers, along with wellies to avoid lovely new uniforms from becoming not-so-lovely. These would be best left in school if possible please. Please provide a named coat hanger on which we can hang the wet waterproofs! Thank you. For indoors, we ask that each child keeps their pair of pumps in school, we will send these home at the end of a term for you to check their fit. Please name everything that comes in to school. 

PE

Reception’s PE days will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please ensure your child comes to school dressed in their PE kits on this day with a suitable pairs of trainers. 

Milk and Water Bottles

The children have a snack (fruit or vegetable) each day and are always encouraged to try all new foods. They will also receive cow’s milk each day until they turn 5, unless specified by yourselves. This will begin at the start of the children’s first full week of school, Monday 15th September. If you would prefer your child not to have milk, please let the school know. Once children are 5, their milk will need to be paid for as outlined in previous information received. Please be aware that there is a delay between your payment happening and your child being added to our school milk order. Children have access to their water bottles throughout the day and are encouraged to drink regularly. Please ensure children have their names on their water bottle and bring fresh water to school each day. The children are able to re-fill their bottle throughout the school day as needed.

Book Bags

It is helpful if children can bring a book bag to school each day so they can bring home drawings and books etc. We would also appreciate a spare set of underwear and socks being kept in your child’s bag. This could be in a spare bag, left on your child’s peg, or inside their book bag.

Communication 

An 'open door' policy is really important to us here at Adel St John so if there is anything you wish to discuss or mention, please let one of the Reception team know. Mornings tend to be our busiest time so after school is preferable, where possible. We are all here to ensure your child has a smooth transition into school life so please speak to us if you have any concerns and we will work together to support them. 

You can also email us and our email addresses are given below. Please be aware that we may not be able to check these when we are teaching the children but we will aim to get back to you as soon as we can.

anna.griffin@adel-st-john.leeds.sch.uk

katie.pape@adel-st-john.leeds.sch.uk

As always, thank you for your continued support. 

Here's to a wonderful half term! 

Miss Griffin, Mrs Pape, Miss Kane, Mrs Appleton. Miss Mackenzie and Miss Battye