Reception - Friday 3rd September 2021

 A VERY warm welcome to Reception! We hope you all had a wonderful summer break?

We are very much excited to see all the children on Monday morning!

Thank you for the emails some of you have sent. I do hope I managed to answer any questions you may have had.

A letter came home to you all today to inform you that Reception would NOT be attending the sunflower trail trip on Monday afternoon. I would like to clarify our reasons for making this decision. It was not a decision we made lightly and, using our professioinal judgement and experience of "first days", we felt it would be more settling and less confusing for us to remain in the school environment. I understand that some of you may have "prepared" them for this trip, however the demands of settling in, getting to grips with expectations,  playtime, lunchtime, buddies, anxiety, new routines and not knowing anyone is a big ask for anyone, let alone a 4 year old.  We also needed to consider that, this year, we have 9 children joining us from other settings and felt that this may be overwhelming for them. Above all else, our priority is the happiness of each individual child and it is paramount that they feel safe and secure. We very much view this week as the most important week of the year because we are getting to know them and they are getting to know us and their new environment.  I am sure you will understand and support us and communicate this to your child diplomatically. Ofcourse we will also do the same as soon as we meet on the carpet at registration time.

We have many trips planned for this year which we are looking forward to.

Have a lovely weekend and we cannot wait to see lots of excited new faces on Monday morning.

Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Brooker and Mrs. Long

Reception - the "Rainbow" Class of 2021 - final words...........

 Wise words from Winnie the Pooh - couldn't be more fitting!

Words cannot quite express how I am feeling right now...................The "Rainbow" Class 2021 will forever hold a very special place in my heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They truly are a special and incredible class; their smiles, humour, positivity, curiosity, hugs, compassion, passion, talents...............(I could go on) are both aspirational and inspirational to every adult out there!!!!!!!!!!! They have triumphed and risen like a phoenix through all the challenges this year!

While we are very sad to let them go, we are equally excited to watch them continue to blossom throughout their time at PoW! I KNOW they will ALL go on to achieve great things in their lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you from the whole team, and from the bottom of our hearts, for our very lovely gift!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you would like a copy of the class assembly, please email Mr. Spracklen separately and he will send it to you.

Finally, we were unable to carry out the final RWInc assessments due to the COVID restrictions about bubbles; therefore all children will begin the Autumn term in the groups they were in before the summer. This will also enable children to re-familiarise themselves and settle back in to routine before assessing them.

Please stay in touch and have a fabulous, well earned holiday!

All our love and hugs,

Mrs. J, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Hibberd and Ms Dainton

Reception Friday 16th July 2021

 I cannot actually believe the final week is upon us...............it certainly has been a rollercoaster!!!!!!!!

We have had a wonderful Arts and Wellbeing week! Learning about and experiencing the benefits of being mindfull..........such an important life skill to have in our busy world!

Each afternoon the children have been going off, in small groups, do different activities all around the school.............pebble painting, origami, cooking, yoga, meditation, visualisation, weaving, mosaics, music, painting, working with visitors on some extraordinarily outstanding art installations............... we hope you can pop along today, at the end of the day to see the gallery and enjoy the music performed at our soiree infront of Year1-Year4. It will be a wonderful end to such a relaxing week in this glorious sunshine!

It promises to be even hotter on Monday - PLEASE ENSURE YOUR CHILD HAS SUNCREAM APPLIED BEFORE SCHOOL AND THAT THEY HAVE A HAT.

Thursday 22nd July is our Reception class Assembly. It will be at 9:30am in the school hall - you will be invited in at 9am, to the staffroom, for a Year1 Parent Information session, lead by Miss. White and then you can make your way to the hall for the assembly.

For the assembly, we would like the children to be as bright and rainbowy as possible..........feel free to go to town with sparkle, ribbons, face paints, accessories.......... they can wear it for the day - NO UNIFORM!

IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT AN AUDIT OF OUR LIBRARY BOOKS AND RWInc BOOKS, PLEASE COULD THEY ALL BE RETURNED TO SCHOOL NEXT WEEK. Mrs. Smith will also be carrying out a final assessment next week, which you will be informed about by the end of the week. Therefore there will be no more RWInc books coming home until after the Summer Holidays. 

Art Competition Reminder

 

Reception, Wednesday 30th June 2021

Happy, sunny Wednesday everyone!

A couple of reminders: Tomorrow morning is "Bump up" morning! The children will come in to Reception as normal, shortly after registration we will take them to Year 1. They will come back to Reception at lunchtime. Please bare in mind that your child/children may be feeling a little anxious, so some reassuring words and hugs may be in order!

Tomorrow afternoon are our Sports races. The children will wear their PE kits - if they want to bring in trainers to wear then that is fine!

Friday is dance day - come along and watch at 2:30pm on the school field. As I communicated in the last blog, CAN CHILDREN COME TO SCHOOL WEARING A BRIGHT (PREFERABLY PLAIN) COLOURED T-SHIRT. THE COLOUR OF THEIR DRAGON GROUP WOULD BE GREAT, BUT DON'T WORRY IF NOT!

Coming up: next week is an inspired writing week with a surprise guest on Monday..................

Yesterday we had an inspiring, awe and wonder, science day....................it was filled with experiments, chemistry, chemical reactions, demonstrations and independent investigations. We were exploring gases and thinking about gas clouds and volcanos.............is this the reason dinosaurs became extinct!!!!!??????

It was a very magical day, inspiring curiosity and challenging vocabulary! Thank you Thomas Hardye School!

Another polite reminder to please bring back any books you may find at home. Also, please could you check at home, incase someone took it by accident, a pair of Next, navy blue jogging bottoms aged 7-8. Thank you!

See you all tomorrow!

Mrs. J, Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Hibberd and Ms. Dainton

Reception - busy week ahead!!!!!!!

Happy Sunday to you all! I heard that many of you were heading off to fossil hunt at the weekend - we would love to hear all about it!!!!!

This week is a busy week................Inclusive Sports Fortnight begins

Monday = Class Photo + Stunt Bike show

Tuesday = POWSA Bikeathon

Thursday = "Bump up morning" - the children will spend the morning in their new class with their new teacher and team. In the afternoon are our Sports Day Races

Friday = Dance Day (2:30pm) Please could Reception wear a bright coloured top (preferably plain)

This week the children were thoroughly absorbed in their learning about how fossils are formed and how sedimentary rock plays it's part in the formation of fossils. There was an archaeological dig taking place on Friday - the team are planning to piece the "bones" they found, together to see what the remains are of!!!!!! Some children were very creative and enjoyed making 3d fossil pictures, selecting materials from outside as well to include! Lots of independent writing happened too - we had to share this with all the other classes in the school and in the office!!!!!! In Power Maths we enjoyed learning about odd and even numbers...............we made a rhyme up to help us remember ............." Evens are fair, Odds don't share!"

We have been VERY lucky to have some incredible student volunteers in our class - they really are invaluable..........very professional, enthusiasitc, caring and good at using their initiative..........I was proud to receive this in an email from one of them...........

 "I think Reception are a wholesome and considerate group of people who clearly have a strong relationship with each other; I was amazed to see how well-behaved they are for such a big class - especially at the end of the week! I'm looking forward to seeing the class again!"

See you all tomorrow for an exciting week!

Mrs. J, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Hibberd and Ms Dainton

Dinosaurs are "Roarsome!"

If you haven't been already, we highly recommend a day out fossil hunting at Charmouth! The Heritage Centre was incredible! So informative and welcoming - and free! Check out the tide times before you go so that you get the maximum chance of discovering some treasures!

I think these faces say it all...............it was an absolute delight to take Reception to Charmouth!

We were all thoroughly engrossed in mimicking Mary Anning, searching for curiosities and fossils.

It was so exciting to be on our first school trip! We were exemplary role models for the school. The adults that attended the trip were immensely proud of the attitude and behaviour of all children. Every child was keen and enthusiastic to be able to contextualise their learning.

Today we discovered how fossils are formed, we learned about sedimentary rock and how the bones turn to stone under the weight of the years of mud, sand, silt and water building up in layers on top of the skeleton remains.

Our class are completely captured by our humanities and science learning about Pre-Historic Aquatic Marine Reptiles.............but the science doesn't stop there! We are thrilled to be able to announce the upcoming trip to The Thomas Hardye School Science department. Next Tuesday we will be walking there for some hands on science in their lab themed around space!

Don't forget that next Thursday afternoon is our Reception Sports Races in the afternoon and on the Friday afternoon is our Dance Day celebration. For the Friday and our dance, please could your child wear a t-shirt that is the colour of their dinosaur group (they know which one it is!)

Thank you again Reception for, quite simply, one of the best trips I have been on!

Mrs. J, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Hibberd and Ms. Dainton - and thank you also to Mr. Bascomb, Mrs. Howell, Darcie and Mr. Spracklen (for his surprise visit!)