Reception - Back to school...

Hello everyone,

I hope you have all had lovely half term breaks and you have all had a chance to recharge the batteries ready for a new half term! This half term promises to be a very busy one so we will keep you updated as we press on through the weeks! This week we will be taking a short look at Bonfire Night! As well as this we will also have a little look at Remembrance, although this will be age appropriate! We'll of course be looking at fireworks and the colours they produce as well as the noises and descriptions we can give them! 

Tomorrow we will also be beginning to explore our whole school learning power for this half term: Reflectiveness! More will follow about this. Lastly this week we will be having a visit from the school nurse to give us a session on washing our hands properly! This will be on Thursday. 

We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow! 

Reception team

Royal visit - arrangments 27/10/16

We have received slight changes on Thursday for the Royal visit. All children and parents from The Prince of Wales School now need to meet at the security tent which will be located at the top of Peverell Avenue East. Please be there for 10 -10.15am latest.  Mr Scott (Lexi’s dad) is going to be a representative for the school so please make yourself familiar to him when you arrive.

Mr Scott has kindly suggested that anyone wishing to park may do so at his business. This is Deane Computer Solutions, unit 6A middle Farm Way, Dorchester. DT1 3AR.

Many thanks to Mr Scott for helping with this organisation.

Reception - Learning journeys

Hi all,

Just a quick note to mention about the learning journeys that might have come home with your child today. If your child went to the Prince of Wales Pre-School then they will have had their learning journey sent home. If your child went to another setting, they will not have had anything. You may have had a learning journey already given to you but if you would like us to enquire we can.

Reception team

Reception - Phonics this week

Hello all,

We have reached the end of the first big phase of teaching phonics this week. When we return after half-term we'll be cracking on with the next phase - this tends to take a little longer to embed but there will be more information on this. Below are the last 2 sounds that we have been learning this week!

'b' as in bat - Pretend to hit a ball with a bat and say b, b, b

'h' as in hat - Hold hand in front of mouth panting as if you are out of breath and say h, h, h

You should have all hopefully received a sound mat during your parents evening slot. If you didn't, please let us know! These will have all the sounds that we have covered as well as the sounds that we'll be moving on to!

Reception team

Reception - Group reading

Hello everyone,

Today we have begun to do group reading in school. These sessions take place throughout the week and children take part in a variety of activities - some adult led, and some directed but independent. Most children will have come home with a group reading book today. This will have been put into your child's book bag. These books are intended for your child to 'Have a go' at reading You will also notice a 'Reading Record' book in your child's book bag. This is a new format for the school and is intended to act as a link between home and school with the focus being reading! The procedure will be for us to write in the book whenever we do reading sessions in school - this will include which book we have been reading a small comment. You are then free to write in any reading you do at home into the boxes below. There is no week-by-week layout and it will just flow as and when reading is done. If you have any questions about group reading or the reading record then please come and speak to us. 

Reception team

Bling Your Bike - Friday 21st October

“Bling Your Bike Morning”

Yes that is “Bling”, although we would like you to “Bring” your bikes too!

This Friday 21st October we will be holding another “Bling Your Bike” event. This is to promote “Being Safe by Being Seen” when out on your bikes and scooters. We are having a competition to see who can make their bike or scooter extra colourful and bright ,- so that it really stands out!

The children may score extra marks for having bright, colourful clothing that they can put on when parading their “blinged”-bike.

Children who would like to take part in the competition should bring their bikes to school on the morning of Friday 21^st October. Winners will be decided during the day and we have some nice prizes, kindly donated by Sustrans

It is important that any materials added to your bike or scooter should not be in the way of moving parts.

DM

Reception - Parents evenings

Hi all,

Just a quick reminder that parents evening are taking place tomorrow and Tuesday evening after school. I look forward to seeing lots of you there! If you haven't signed up for a slot, please let us know and we can squeeze you in! When you arrive, if you head to the office and then down to the reception classroom there will be your child's learning journey in the ICT suite, just outside the classroom. Please feel free to have a good look through this. I will strive to keep to the 10 minute slots that you have signed up for. However, if there is an issue that you wish to discuss further we will be able to arrange another time to meet. Thank you!

Reception team

Reception - phonics this week

Hi all,

Another week is going by and we are nearing the end of phase 2 sounds! This means that after half-term we'll be starting phase 3. Naturally, the sounds progress in their difficulty and the words that they are used in. The sounds for this week are listen below:

'f' - as in fun - Let hands gently come together as if a tyre was deflating and say f f f f f f.

'l' - as in lip - Pretend to lick a lollipop and say l l l l l l.

'ss' as in grass - the action for this is the same as a single 's' - Weave hand in an s shape, like a snake, and say ssssss.

We are also going to be teaching children the double 'ff' and 'll'. The actions are the same as for the single letters and we'll be teaching children that even though there are two letters they only make one sound. 

Reception team

Whole School Monday 10th October 2016

Whole school Monday 10th October 2016

Yippee! The Book Fair arrives this week - perfect timing for some christmas shopping!!!!!!The children will all be visiting the book fair with their class, and I am sure they will come home full of excitement about books they have seen, so do pop along and buy a book or two!!!

We really appreciate the support you show us each year at the book fair, not only encouraging your child's love of reading but, every time you buy a book, we earn commission in vouchers to buy new books for the school library and the guided reading library. Great isn't it?

We rely heavily on this source to maintain a high quality, up to date library full of the latest reads and best sellers! This ensures that ALL children in the school have access to a well stocked library to explore and foster a love for books!


Thank you in advance for your support and generosity!

Mrs. Johnson 

Reception - School Library

Hi all,

This week we are going to be introducing all children to the school library! If you have already been to the library with your child then please don't worry! Please carry on doing this. We will introduce it to children in school and they will be shown how to take a book out of the library by scanning it out! This will then be able to go home with them and you to read. We do emphasise that the library books children bring home with them will be books to share at home and may not be accessible for them to read on their own! Having said that, looking at pictures and having a go at 'telling' a story is a brilliant skill to practise! Group reading books are the books that we would be expecting children to be having a go at themselves. These will start coming home next week! More to follow. 

You are then always free to go to the library with your child to take books back and to get new books out. The library is open before and after school for you to do this. If you have any questions about how to use the library system or need a tour too find it then please come and ask us! Thank you.

Reception team

Reception - Maiden Castle Farm Trip

Hello everyone,

Firstly, thank you to all the parents that were able to help this morning on the farm trip, that is most appreciated! The children did superbly well to walk up to the farm and then back again at the end! To say that they had earned their lunch would be an understatement! At the farm we learnt all about how a farm runs, with a particular focus on Harvest time! We found out what types of crops Maiden Castle Farm grew and what they were used for. See if you can remember what was grown...! Hint, most of them were used in your breakfasts! We then were lucky enough to go up into the combine harvester! This was greatly appreciated by the children! Finally, we got to go and see the pigs and give them their snack - which consisted of the leftovers from our snacks!

Lastly, just a little not to say that the lists for parents evenings have gone up outside the classroom door. Please feel free to put your name down in a slot that suits you best. If either of these days are not achievable then please let us know because we can arrange another time when needed. Thank you.

Reception team

Harvest celebrations 7th October

Thank you to everyone who took part in The Prince of Wales Harvest celebrations yesterday. The children did a great job in presenting their songs, poems and art work to parents. Also the children have been busily cooking this week using our produce from the orchard, the goodies were sold in the café during the afternoon and they all went down a storm!

The harvest art work will be up next week so do please pop by the school hall to look at your child’s work if you were unable to come along.

The local food bank received two boxes of food from the school and it is looking like a good amount of money has been raised for the Kingfisher ward, who has asked the school to purchase some electrical equipment for children’s bedrooms. We will keep you updated.

Reception - Harvest assembly tomorrow reminder

Hi all,

Just a quick reminder about the Harvest assembly tomorrow for reception. We will be going into the hall for about 9.15am to sing a couple of songs with years 1 & 2. If you do bring in a food donation tomorrow morning we will be storing these along the back shelf in the classroom. Thank you in advance for anything that is donated! Also, we will be taking children to the Harvest cafe in the afternoon so if you want to send children in with a small money donation that would be greatly appreciated. 

See you all tomorrow!

Reception team

Reception - Phonics this week

Hello everyone,

This week has been a very busy week with lots of things happening so we have only learnt two new sounds this week. They are set out below. We are now nearing the stage where we will start having group reading sessions in school and children will begin to bring books home to read to you. More to follow regarding this!

'e' - as in egg - Pretend to tap an egg on the side of a bowl and crack it into the bowl, saying eh, eh, eh.

'u' as in umbrella - Pretend to be putting up an umbrella and say u, u, u.

We have been practising finding words that begin with different sounds. As an extra piece of home learning this week, see how many things you can think of that begin with either the sounds p, d, m or e! Write them down on a Wow! Moment or display them in your own way!

Reception team

Reception - Harvest week

Hello everyone,

We are well and truly into our Harvest themed week! We have been finding out about the origin of Harvest and why we celebrate it! We have been exploring a wide variety of fruit and vegetables that are harvested at this time of year! This will culminate in our trip to Maiden Castle Farm on Monday (10th) where we will learn about the processes that go on on a farm! As well as see some big tractors! 

Today we had some visitors into the school that helped us learn about Harvest in a different country: India. We learnt a dance that is traditionally shown and contributed to a whole school piece of art work. This link with India will be added to on Thursday when we are visited by Mr. Farrington! This is the day that we will need wellies to be in school please. 

On Friday we have two events happening. Firstly, you are invited to come into school to celebrate our assembly. The reception class will be singing a song for you all. You may have already had the pleasure of hearing it at home! 

Secondly, you are invited to come into school from 2.30pm to take your child to the Harvest cafe that runs in the school hall. On this day please head to the office if you come into school before 3.30pm as the side gates will not be open. You can then have a cup of tea and buy a cake or two (or three) that have been made in school!

Reception team