Mother's Day messages in the Echo!

See below for a special Mother's Day treat!! 

Reception and Year 1 have written messages that will be printed in the Echo.

Pets, Fictional Animals & Fun Adventures!

Hello Reception Families,

What a fantastic and fun-filled week we’ve had in Reception! Our theme for the week was Pets and Fictional Animals, and the children have been busy engaging in exciting learning experiences! Here’s a little snippet of all the wonderful activities we’ve been up to.

We started the week by learning all about how to take care of our pets. The children explored what animals need to be happy and healthy, using engaging resources from the RSPCA. In small groups, they had the opportunity to ‘adopt’ a stuffed animal and practise looking after it—feeding, grooming, and ensuring it had plenty of love and attention! This hands-on activity helped to develop their sense of responsibility, teamwork, and empathy.

On Tuesday, we took part in a breathwork and movement workshop designed to support mindfulness and mental wellbeing. The children learnt simple but effective techniques to help them feel calm and focused. It was wonderful to see them practising deep breathing, stretching, and movement strategies that they can use anytime they need to feel relaxed and in control. A fantastic way to build resilience and emotional awareness!

We were lucky to have beautiful weather on Wednesday, so we spent a large part of the day exploring the great outdoors! The children engaged in various learning experiences outside, from imaginative play to investigating nature, building structures, and developing physical skills, it was a wonderful day of active and creative learning in the sunshine.

On Thursday, Reception joined the Switched On railway safety live assembly. The children learned about different signs at train stations, the importance of staying behind the yellow line, and how to keep themselves safe on train platforms. This was a valuable learning experience, helping them to understand key safety messages in an interactive and engaging way.

We ended the week with a splash of colour—by wearing red to celebrate Red Nose Day! The children had so much fun taking part in activities to raise awareness and show kindness. Thank you to all families for your support; it was fantastic to see everyone getting involved in this special day.

Next week, we’ll be continuing with our Animal Kingdom topic as we dive into Farm Animals! 

As part of this week, Reception will be taking another trip to Maiden Castle Farm on Friday morning! In preparation for this trip, just a few reminders: 

Children will be having lunch in school as per usual. Please do not worry about packing any packed lunches for this trip, as children will all be getting their hot dinners when we return to school. We will be walking to and from the farm and there is always a possibility for rain. I have made a small list of things that will make this more comfortable for the children. 

Essentials:

- A light waterproof coat

- Wellies

- Trousers 

- School shoes to change back in to when we return to school

- A spare pair of clean and dry socks

- A spare pair of comfy and dry trousers

Thank you for helping your child to prepare for all weather conditions and thank you for your continued support. 

Best wishes,

Miss Godden and the Reception Team

Exploring Under the Sea!

Hello Reception Families and Friends! 

What a fantastic week we’ve had in Reception Class! Our theme this week was Under the Sea, and we’ve been fully immersed in learning all about the incredible creatures that live beneath the waves. From hands-on crafts to exciting adventures, here’s a look at what we’ve been up to.

The highlight of our week was our amazing trip to Weymouth SEA LIFE Center. The children were full of excitement as we explored the different zones and got up close to some incredible sea creatures.

Before our tour of the SEA LIFE Center, Reception spent a little time at Weymouth Beach, where we explored the different types of shells, seaweed and sea glass!

Once in to the Sealife Center we started our journey with a special talk where we watched the seals having their lunch. The children were fascinated as the seals playfully swam and interacted with their keepers. We learned about what seals eat and how they are cared for. It was amazing to see them up close and learn more about these wonderful marine mammals!

A visit to Fairy Penguin Island was another favourite part of the day. The little penguins were a delight to watch as they waddled around.

Next, we walked through the Ocean Tunnel, where we were surrounded by graceful rays and mesmerising sharks swimming overhead. 

As we moved through the park, we saw seahorses, jellyfish, and lots of brightly coloured fish! 

After all the excitement of exploring, we visited the adventure play park at the Sealife Center. The children had a fantastic time climbing, sliding, and playing together. It was a great opportunity for them to burn off some energy and enjoy the fresh sea air before we came back to school!

Back in the classroom, we got our creative juices flowing with some fantastic under-the-sea crafts! The children made beautiful jellyfish using paper plates and tissue paper, giving them long, wavy tentacles. We also created lots of fish inspired by the story The Rainbow Fish – some were sculpted from clay, others were painted, and we even made some using collage techniques. Our classroom is now a beautiful underwater world full of colourful sea creatures!

In our writing lessons, the children have been working hard on their very own sea creature fact files. They have been learning lots of interesting facts about different ocean animals, from how sea creatures communicate and protect themselves from predators. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm and growing confidence in writing!

As part of our learning, we also had an important discussion about keeping our oceans clean. In our Under the Sea Cleaning Spree lesson, we talked about how rubbish in the ocean can harm sea creatures and what we can do to help. The children were very engaged and came up with great ideas on how we can all help protect marine life by reducing plastic waste and always disposing of litter properly.

It has been a truly magical week of discovery, creativity, and fun. We are so proud of how engaged the children have been and how much they have learned about our amazing oceans.

We hope they’ve been telling you all about their adventures at home! And thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to another exciting week of learning next week!

We look forward to another fantastic week in Reception looking at amazing animals!

Miss Godden, Mrs Rogers, Mrs Smith and Mr Long.