Reception Class

Happy New Year and welcome back to the start of the spring term! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and managed to spend some quality time as a family and had some much needed rest. It has been wonderful to see the children again and they were all very eager to tell us about their Christmas break and the huge snowfall!

This half term our topic will be 'Superheroes to the rescue!' where we will be learning all about superheroes- fictional and non fictional. We will be looking at the everyday roles of people who help us such as nurses, doctors, postal workers, firefighters, builders etc. and we are very lucky to have a firefighter, police and chef visit this half term. We will be reading lots of non fiction books about these people as well as lots of wonderful fictional superhero stories- our all time favourite, Supertato! In Maths we will be looking at capacity, weight and numbers up to 10 and as part of our understanding of the world, we will be exploring the season of winter and learning all about Chinese New Year. 

As we have hit the colder weather, please ensure your child has a hat, gloves and a warm coat with them every day as we are always outside, whatever the weather!

Important dates for your diary this half term- 

 Thursday 9th January- People who help us- Dress up day

Tuesday 14th January- Stay and Read- 8:40-9:30am- All parents/carers are welcome to attend. 

Wednesday 15th January- Firefighter visit (nothing needed)

Week commencing Monday 3rd February- Children's Mental Health Week

Thursday 6th February- Police officer visit (nothing needed)

Friday 14th February- School closes for half term.

Monday 24th February- School reopens. 

Staff

Monday – Miss Griffin, Miss Mackenzie, Miss Appleton, Miss Battye

Tuesday- Miss Griffin, Miss Mackenzie, Miss Kane and Miss Appleton

Wednesday- Miss Griffin, Mrs Pape, Miss Mackenzie Miss Battye, Miss Rama, Miss Kane.

Thursday- Mrs Pape, Miss Mackenzie, Miss Battye and Miss Kane

Friday- Mrs Pape, Miss Mackenzie, Miss Battye and Miss Kane

Reading at home
Your child is now bringing home 2 books each week. One is based on their learning that they have completed in Phonics and the other is to read for pleasure with your child. This is usually selected by your child and it's a great way to model reading and discussing books. Please ensure your child reads their phonics book at least 3 x week as this helps build their fluency and recognition of words. 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. T 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 a Tuesday this half term. 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. This will begin at the start of the children’s first full week of school, Monday 16th 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