Reception
Spring Term
Friday 16th May 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
We had two amazing visits to Skelton Grange this week. It was so much fun and very exciting to enter a portal and find Jack Frost there. We learned so much about the environment including the flora and fauna. Thanks so much to the parents who made this trip possible. I hope you all made some good memories!
Once we came back, we had another discussion and a vote and we will be asking Jack Frost to send the goblins to Skelton Grange. It is a nice environment for them although we are worried they will make it into a dank valley like their world. We will be writing rules and making maps to help them to look after it better. Our goblin teaching will form part of our event on Friday 13th June. Please let us know if you can attend this even. It is in the afternoon. It will be an enormous amount of fun! More details will arrive in the newsletter next week as we need to plan it in more detail with the children.
History
We have continued to find out about the past and also how electricity is used now. Before the discovery of electricity, what did people do? We have mostly focused on cooking but what other changes have there been?
Next week we will look at the baby photos as well as delve more into how cooking was done in the Victorian era.
ILT
It is so amazing to see how well the children can plan now. This is a key part of ILT, as having an idea and sticking to it to reach brilliant blue is crucial in developing learning skills. The purpose of ILT is to develop learning skills and attitudes and it is so clear that our children have all made enormous progress in relation to these skills and attitudes. It is also wonderful to see how many children use ILT to develop other key skills like reading, writing, mathematical computation and physical development skills. Choosing to do something which you find tricky is not easy for anyone and yet these Reception children do it on a daily basis and that mustn’t be taken for granted. They have become such competent, independent learners, ready for the new challenge that is Year 1. ILT continues in Year 1 and although eventually the time spent on ILT is reduced, it holds a central place in our educational offer as we believe whole-heartedly on its impact on children and their holistic development.
Reading
Due to two educational visits and staff absence, not every child has been heard to read this week. Please accept our apologies. Everyone who has not been heard this week, will be heard next week.
Phonics
Please continue to practise the phase 3 sounds. Some children have not embedded these and this is a skill they need to have before learning phase 5 sounds in Year 1. We have subscribed again to Phonics Play and this is a great resource which school pays for, that you can use. There are a lot of fun games on here to practise skills your child needs to work on.
Maths
This week we have focused on signs: the =, + and – signs. We spent a lot of time on the = and how it is a sign of balance. Whatever is on one side must be on the other. Can your child explain this to you in drawings?
Writing
If your child is writing at home, please can you share this with us on Tapestry?
By the end of Reception, children need to be able to independently write sentences that can be read by others, sounding out words to spell.
Tapestry and end of year profiles
Ella and I will be putting the last photos and videos on Tapestry for the summer term and these will come out as an end of year summary next Friday on Tapestry. You will receive a link to download your child’s profile and the summary will be part of this. You can respond to your child’s year and final summary on Tapestry. Your child will not get a written summary over half term as Ella and I need to write the final reports.
Some people have not read and commented on the ones we have already written this year. Please do this as it will then form part of your child’s journey through school and your crucial involvement.
DT resources and outdoor resources
We are continuing to collect for the DT area but we would also love some outdoor open ended resources too. Do you have any piping, crates, safe pallets, tyres, plant pots, compost, seeds or bulbs that you do not need/want? If so, please let us know.
Thanks so much for your continued support.
Kind Regards,
The Reception Team