Reception 2023 - 2024

Dear Parents,

The year is flying by and we are already into November with Christmas on the horizon. As I mentioned at Parents Evening, the first half-term is all about the children settling in to school life and they have been absolute fantastic.

Literacy

Our main book this half-term is ‘I’m going to eat this ant’ by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros. It is a lovely book and I’ll be encouraging the children to go on bug hunts! Please post pictures in Tapestry. The children will be working on holding a pen, forming their letters and numbers correctly and ensuring that they can all write their name. For a lot of the children, I’ll be wanting them to spell words by identifying the sounds and then writing the sound with letters. I have placed on the school website, the next lot of sounds the children will be learning.

Numeracy

This half-term , the children will be learning about different shapes; circles, triangles, squares and rectangles. They will also be learning about numbers 1 to 5 and how these numbers can be broken down (composition of numbers).

PE

For this half-term, PE will continue to be on a Wednesday afternoon. One of the children’s Early Learning Goals focuses on Managing Self. Within this Goal, one of the objectives is for them to be able to dress themselves. Whilst we are always at hand to help the children especially with their buttons etc, the more the children can practice getting dressed at home, the quicker they will be able to achieve this target.

Civic Hall Trip

The children have been invited to a performance of ‘Santa’s Sparkly Surprise’ on Tuesday 5^th December at the Civic Hall in Nantwich. There will be no cost for this trip and details will follow. If you are able to help to walk the children down on this day, we do have some spaces available for helpers (again details to follow).

Christmas Play

Over the next few weeks, the children will be learning songs for our Key Stage 1 Nativity – ‘A king is Born’. There will be two performances of the play on Wednesday 13^th December; one in the afternoon and one in the evening. A letter will be going out in the next couple of weeks informing you what part your child has been chosen for.

Reading books

As like last half-term, every Friday children will receive two reading for pleasure books and a Little Wandle reading book.  As the Little Wandle books are used in school, they will be taken out of the children’s bags on Wednesdays. The two reading for pleasure books will be taken out on Friday. I must stress the importance of returning the books each week.

Tapestry

If you are often getting the comments of ‘nothing’ or ‘just played’ from your child when you ask them what they have done in school today, please check out their Tapestry account. Your child will have regular updates on there and if you do get a chance to look at what we post, please ‘like’ it or put a comment.

Dates for your diary in December:

Tuesday 5th December: “Santa’s Sparkly Surprise” at the Civic Hall, Nantwich

Monday 11th/Tuesday 12^th December: FOHS Wrapping Room

Wednesday 13^th December: Key Stage 1 Christmas Performance @ 2pm and 6pm

Thursday 14^th December: FOHS Christmas Disco

Wednesday 20^th December: Elf Run and Christmas Dinner

Thursday 21 December: Last day of term

Monday 8^th January: Back to school

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at p.fowler@highfieldsnantwich.cheshire.sch.uk and I will do my best to help in any way I can.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Fowler