Reception

Welcome to Reception

Classroom teachers: Miss Garnett & Mrs O'Connor

Nursery Nurses: Mrs Coppola & Mrs Senk

Week ending 17th January

The children are really back into the swing of learning and have thoroughly enjoyed using their knowledge of space and planets to design their own planets this week. We have started to turn our designs into models by using papier mache to create them. It's a work in progress but the children enjoyed using this technique and got very sticky and messy!

We have been very impressed with the home school challenges that have been brought into school this week. The children loved talking about their experiences and showing off their creations. Well done! Some children have already started on the spring challenges and we have seen some fantastic model rockets!

We are having a whole school focus on our love for reading and would love you to share your love of reading at home. Please could you send in photos of your child or family reading. Where is your favourite place to curl up with a book? ...Let us know!  We welcome children to share their favourite books too and make recommendations to their friends about why their book is worth reading. You may even be inspired to create character puppets, story stones or story tins to accompany your favourite books or to make up your own oral stories!

Happy reading and have a lovely weekend!

Week ending 10th January

Welcome back to our new year and our new decade!

 It was lovely to hear all about the childrens Christmas holiday adventures and how good they must have been to receive a visit from Father Christmas!

They have come back to school full of enthusiasm for our new topic on Space and we have been finding out some amazing facts from our non-fiction books this week.

 We would like the children to share their home, school challenges from the autumn term on Tuesday 14th January. You may send in any models, photos or pictures that the children could use to support them as they discuss their challenges. 

 Stay and play sessions resume next Friday so please check the rota to see if it is your time to visit.

Wishing you all a restful weekend.

The Reception Team

Week ending 20th December

The children have had a very festive week preparing for the end of term. We hope you enjoyed your cards and calendars.  The children took great care when making them for their families.

We have enjoyed our Christmas lunch and parties this week. Lots of fun, games and dancing took place. They enjoyed their yummy treats too!

The children loved their trip to Santa's Grotto and had a lovely time completing Christmas activities with the Year Six children . Thankyou Year Six! All donations will go to Clic Sargant cancer charity for children.

Look out for your "Build a profile" observations which will be emailed to you today. Please respond to the email link in order to receive them.

Our new term begins on 7th January and we look forward to learning all about Space with your children.

Thankyou for all the lovely gifts and cards we have received. We all feel truly spoilt by your kindness and generosity.

All that remains is to wish you all a merry and peaceful Christmas and a very happy new year!

Best wishes from the Reception team.

PLEASE NOTE OUR CLASS PARTY WILL NOW TAKE PLACE ON 19TH DECEMBER AND OUR ADVENT SERVICE TIME HAS BEEN CHANGED TO 10.30AM ON TUESDAY 10TH DECEMBER. APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED. 

Week ending 6th December

WOW! Didn't Year One and Reception do an amazing performance! We were all very proud of their enthusiasm and efforts with singing, dancing and learning so many lines. Thanks to Mrs Federico, Miss Wells and of course the wonderful Mrs Ewington for their hard work and organisation. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Thanks to all parents who attended our meetings on Maths and Writing. Please find the powerpoint presentations below. We hope you found the information shared useful. Please contact us if you have any queries or questions.

We are certainly feeling festive with our Advent preparations underway. Please take time to enjoy the Travelling Crib experience that will be coming your way soon, with your children. We would love them to share any drawings pictures or photographs of their experiences.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Costumes for our Christmas performance

Please could you provide your child with a Christmas or festive jumper to wear over their uniform and a woolly bobble hat as we are going to be dressed as carol singers for our performance with Year One.

Please ensure your child's costume is clearly named and placed in a named carrier bag. Could you send your costumes in to your class teachers by Friday 29th November.

Thankyou for your support.

Mrs O'Connor and Miss Garnett

Dates for your Diary!

Writing workshop for parents: Thursday 28th November 3.30pm (crèche available) and 5.30pm

Maths workshop for parents: Thursday 5th December 3.30pm (crèche available) and 5.30pm

Year One and Reception Christmas performance: Friday 6th December 10am and 2pm

Two tickets per family are available from Mrs Federico and Miss Wells in the playground before and after school.

Mrs O'Connor's Orange Bear parents may attend their Stay and Play session early on this day. Please arrive at 1.15 pm as our performance begins at 2pm. Thankyou.

Advent Service : Tuesday 10th December 10.30 am. All parents are welcome to attend at St Thomas of Canterbury church.

School closed: Thursday 12th December for General election polling station.

Christmas Disco: Friday 13th December. Reception and  Year 1 -3.30pm to 4.30pm. Purchase your tickets for £5 on Scopay.

Christmas dinner :Wednesday 18th December

 Please wear your Christmas jumper and hat for the festivities!

Class Christmas party: Thursday 19th December.

Please provide a plate of party food and a soft drink for your child.

 School closes: Friday 20th December at 1.30pm

Week ending 15th November

Another week has flown by in Reception!

Unfortunately it is the season of coughs, colds and flu and a lot of the reception children have been affected by the virus this week.

We also have a couple of cases of chicken pox which starts with a high temperature and flu like symptoms before the spots appear. Please  keep the school informed of any illnesses.

 The children have loved reading Owl babies this week and created some beautiful collages.

We have completed Phase 2 phonics and many children are ready to move onto Phase 3. Your support at home is invaluable so keep sound hunting, segmenting and blending. 

  In Maths the children have enjoyed talking about their daily routines and are developing their vocabulary related to time. We have also compared day and night and sequenced the days of the week.

Our Stay and Play session focussed on exploring texture and pattern using our senses.  We made colour mixing sums, discovering what happens when we mix red and yellow or blue and yellow. The children loved the tickly feeling of painting their hands. You may have noticed some messy uniforms at home time as the children were exploring mixing food colouring in cornflour. Lovely sensory fun and it will wash out easily. We also made pattern and texture rubbings using the soles of our shoes and autumn leaves. See what different patterns and textures  you can find around your home or garden.

 The Reception team wish you all well and hope you have a lovely weekend.

Apologies for the delay in our Reception spellings homework being sent out this week. Please return your books as normal on Friday 15th November so we can add new homework, however if you need more time to complete this weeks homework please continue next week.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

The Reception Team

Week ending 8th November

Thanks to all parents who attended our phonics workshop. Please find attached the power point for your reference including links to some good phonics websites which will help you support your child at home.

The children had a lovely week and thoroughly enjoyed taking Knuffle Bunny on adventures around the school. The children enjoyed talking about their own special toys.

 In maths the children were excellent at identifying one more than a given number. We also worked on finding one less from a given number and counting back on a number line. It would be great if you would consolidate this learning at home.

The children attended singing with Mrs Ewington for the first time this week and absolutely loved it. We are starting to practise our Christmas songs for the Year one and Reception performance which will be here before we know it.

Thanks to all the RO parents that attended our stay and play session today. Your children loved having you visit them at school and couldn't wait to show you all the things they do in Reception. The children really engaged with our work on skeletons and were able to name lots of their body parts as well as dancing and singing along to Dem bones, dem bones !

Have a lovely weekend and wrap up warm!

Week ending 1st November

It was lovely to welcome the children back to school happy and smiling after their week away. The children were excited to share their holiday stories of the places they had been and the activities they had experienced.

Reading, spelling and impact homework were started this week and the children were so enthusiastic about their key words and story books.  Enjoy sharing them with your children. A little bit each day really does make all the difference.

Can we remind you to hand in homework on the correct day. Spelling homework needs to be returned every Friday so we have time to mark your child's work and prepare the new homework ready to go out again on Monday.

We had our first stay and play session with parents from RG joining us today.The children were delighted with our firework themed afternoon and safely held sparklers, made firework patterns in corn flour and did spaghetti painting. Messy but so much fun! The language it created was wonderful to hear.

 Can we please remind parents to send in correct P.E kit. The children need navy shorts, St Antony's t-shirt in their given colour, navy jogging trousers, St Antony's sweatshirt and black plimsolls that fit correctly, all to be kept in the St Antony's drawstring P.E bag. Everything should be clearly labelled with your child's names. The jogging suit is really important as we often do PE outdoors and the weather is getting cooler.

 Our next meeting for parents on phonics is on Thursday 7th November at 3.30pm (Creche available) and 5.30pm. We will be explaining how you can support your child at home with phonics.

Have a lovely weekend and stay safe if you are celebrating Bonfire night.

Week ending 18th October

The children have reached the end of their first half term! They are happy and settled but ready for a well deserved rest. We look forward to seeing you all on Monday 28th October.

 This week has been full of fun as we donned blind-folds to become mystery taste testers. The children tried marmalade, honey, olives and pickles and were able to describe the different tastes and their likes and dislikes.

 The children's counting skill are developing well and they have been estimating how many objects they can see and counting them all to check.

 The Reception team wish you all a lovely, restful half term break.

Week ending 11th October

Another week has flown by full of fun and learning. The children are really getting to grips with their phonics and we have introduced the sounds s ,a, t, p, i, n, m and d. Have a look around your home to see what you can find beginning with each sound.  We are beginning to segment and blend simple three letter words using these phonemes and would love you to have a go at home with your child. Some of the words we have been making are s-a-t  sat, t-a-p tap, p-i-n pin, m-a-p map, t-i-p tip. See what others you can make at home.

 The children have loved talking about food this week and have made some fabulous plate collages. Next week we will be doing a taste test to see what the children like and dislike.

Thankyou for attending our parent consultations. It was great to share the progress your children have made in a short period of time.

We are fast approaching our half term break and school will be closed from Monday 21st to Friday 25th October.

 Have a peaceful weekend and stay dry! 

Week ending 4th October

Thank you to all of you who attended our Welcome meeting.

 If you were not able to attend you will find all of the information shared here on our class page.

The children have finished their second week and are really getting into the swing of Reception. They are getting used to our routines and have enjoyed the activities we have provided for them as well as building  friendships with their peers. The children have all produced a wonderful portrait of themselves which are proudly displayed in our classrooms.

We have enjoyed sharing our story " Oh no George!" and the children have enjoyed painting pictures, making their own puppies and talking about their favourite pets.

 In maths we have been sharing cakes with teddy on the interactive screen and making play-dough cakes to share with our friends. We also learned that movements and actions can be counted as well as objects. There were lots of jumps and claps to count!

Don't forget to book a slot on scopay for your parent/ teacher consultation on 8th or 9th October.

 Have a lovely weekend!

Reception Stay and Play

Our Early Years Aims

At St Antony’s Catholic Primary School, our aim is to create a happy and secure environment, where children will develop confidence, key skills and an eagerness to learn. We recognise that as parents, you are the first educator in your child’s life and it is our wish to create positive partnerships with families from the outset.

We have introduced Stay & Play Sessions and we welcome all family members to attend, including; Mums, Dads, Grandparents and Carers etc. You are invited to stay and play with your children as we value your support and recognise the importance of partnership with parents.

Benefits of Stay and Play sessions

Stay & Play sessions allow you the chance to see your child interact with other children and learn through play in a relaxed environment. Staff will set up activities following the children’s interests and parents/carers can come along and take part in the activities, learn new skills and ideas for learning at home through play. You will also have the opportunity to find out about school life and daily activities that take place in the early years.

Session structure

We offer two Stay and Play sessions per child per year in the autumn and summer terms. We ask that only one adult per child attends the session and this can be a different adult each time to allow other family members to enjoy a Stay and Play session throughout the year. The purpose of the session will be to stay and play with your child only and not to look through books or consult with teachers, as opportunities for this will be provided on parent’s consultation evenings. It is important to remember that confidentiality is vital within the school, after your visit if there is anything you feel it is important to share please speak directly with the class teacher. Sessions will last from 2:15pm to 3:15pm on Friday afternoons and children can leave directly from the classroom with their adult at 3:15pm. Please see Stay and Play timetables on our webpage for your child’s session date.

Week ending 27th September

The children have had a fantastic week settling into their new class and getting to know their teachers and new friends. They have shown great enthusiasm for their learning and have explored a wide range of activities while getting to know our daily routines and expectations.

We look forward to seeing you at our welcome meeting next Thursday at 3.30pm (creche available) and 5.30pm where we will be able to answer any questions you may have. 

 Have a wonderful weekend.

Welcome to St Antony's.

Welcome to our Reception classes at St Antony's. We are looking forward to meeting you all at our drop in sessions on Friday 6th September from 9.30 am to 12 pm and 1.30 pm to 3 pm. This will be an opportunity for you to meet your child's teachers and to familiarise the children with their new environment. If you have any questions or concerns please talk to a member of staff during your visit.

Dates for your diary:

We have arranged some meetings to share our expectations and explain ways to support your children at home with Phonics, Writing and Mathematics.

Welcome Meeting: 3rd October 2019 at 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

Phonics Meeting: 7th November 2019 at 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

Writing Meeting: 28th November 2019 at 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

Mathematics Meeting: 5th December 2019 at 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

A creche will be available for children of parents attending the 3.30pm meetings.

Our Topics this academic year are:

All about me

Space

Superheros

Dinosaurs

Pirates

Under the Sea

Homework 

Big Talk posters will be given out fortnightly on a Monday. Please complete this with your child for that week's Friday.

Impact goes out fortnightly on a Friday.  Please complete for following Friday. 

Phonics goes out on a Monday. Please return by Friday.

Weekly reading please ensure you read with your child every night (as much as possible) and update the reading journal with comments based on the focus. This helps us to choose and set books tailored for your child's progress. This is alongside the group words which are to be returned on your child's reading day. 

If your child's books are not returned on time then they will miss out on the tasks/spellings and/or given back out again. 

There is more information about what is expected on the 'Reception Homework Timetable' at the bottom of this page.

Uniform  

 Please make sure that all school uniform and PE kit is clearly labelled as it helps the children to identify and encourages responsibility for their own belongings. Earrings and other jewellery are not permitted.

Lost property boxes are located by the year 2 classrooms- please make sure if you need to access the lost property that you gain entry via the office so they are aware of who is on site at all times.