This week has been full of learning and excitement in Reception, with a mix of phonics, maths, creative exploration, and festive fun!

Phonics

We have been learning the new sounds ‘h’, ‘b’, and ‘f’, as well as the tricky word ‘no’. The children practised writing these on their whiteboards and explored new words containing these sounds. We’ve also been working hard on oral segmenting and blending to build their reading confidence. During choosing time, the children extend their learning by using magnetic tiles to create their own words with the sounds they’ve learnt.

Maths

In maths, we have focused on recognising numerals up to 5 and continued developing our subitising skills. The children used different strategies to identify how numbers are made, such as spotting 2 on top and 2 on the bottom to recognise 4. We’ve also started exploring shapes, specifically circles and triangles, discussing their features and how we can describe them.

Poetry

We started exploring a poem this week! The children thought carefully about each part of the poem, discussing its meaning and choosing actions to bring it to life. This activity helps to develop their comprehension and creative expression.

PE

In PE, the children have been practising changing direction and moving safely. They imagined themselves under the sea, thinking about what creatures they might encounter and how they would move like them. It was fantastic to see their imaginations at work while developing their movement skills.

Festive Fun – The Post Box Trip

One of the highlights of our week was our trip to the postbox to send our letters to Santa! The children were so excited to post their letters and share what they had asked for. Afterward, we visited the Royal Victoria Place, where the children met the giant teddy bear, passed Elf School, and proudly received their certificates. Thank you so much to the parents who joined us and helped make the trip so special!

The excitement for Christmas continues as we prepare for our nativity performances next week. If you haven’t already secured your tickets, they are still available on Arbor. Performances will take place on Wednesday and Thursday–we can’t wait to share the children’s hard work with you!

Star of the week: Congratulations to Vinnie, who is our star of the week, for an amazing development in his writing in our phonic lessons. Vinnie will be taking home his certificate and Wilfred the Elephant to write in the book all about his week spent with Wilfred over the next week and will bring him back next Thursday.

Please continue sending your children in full PE kits with labelled jumpers on WEDNESDAY'S and FRIDAY'S this term.  

If you are reading with your child, please remember to record it in the reading record. We will only change your child's book if you have read with them 2 or more times in that week! Please remember to have the library book in your children's book bag on Thursday to be changed. 

Any issues or concerns we need to know about, please speak to the Acorn team before and after school or email at: acorn@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk