Maple Autumn 2024 Class Newsletter
Maple Class have an exciting year ahead and I am so pleased to be able to welcome you to Overton St. Helen’s Primary School. The children have settled well into the class and over the next term we will continue to introduce the children to school life, support them to make new friends and have lots of fun learning new skills.
At Overton St Helen’s School we deliver a curriculum based on the framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This describes how “Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, relate to others, set their own goals and solve problems.” The framework also states that “Practitioners must stimulate children’s interests, responding to each child’s emerging needs and guiding their development through warm, positive interactions coupled with secure routines for play and learning.” This is what we will be putting into practice every day. In addition the framework describes “Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning ... playing and exploring ... active learning and creating and thinking critically.” These describe exactly the approach we take to learning in our foundation stage at Overton St Helen’s School.
We will very much be following the interests of the children in developing our curriculum. Our broad topic focus for the 1st half term is “All about me””, then in the 2nd half term it will be, “Colours of the rainbow” (including festivals and celebrations). We will be developing and enhancing the learning environment based on the children’s interests and their stage of development. We will do this through careful observation of the children and meaningful interactions with the children, both of which are designed to move the children on in their learning and development.
Focus Child
As well as recording day to day learning moments for all children, your child will be a ‘focus child’ for 1 week during the Autumn and Spring terms. During their focus week the staff will record your child’s experiences on a Learning Journey sheet detailing the observation, the teachable moment and the outcome. When your child has been chosen you will receive a document to fill in with any details you may want to share, e.g. any exciting news, anything happening at home, holidays etc. Please send in any photos of your child at home, either printed or emailed to us, as we will document these in their learning journeys. We would be grateful if you could return these sheets on the date stated as they are key to documenting your child’s learning and progression.
Our beloved books
Each term we have a number of books which we will continue to read and learn by heart. This is to develop the children’s ability to sequence stories and build up their story language to support with telling and writing their own stories. Some of the books we will focus on for this half term are below.
Phonics
We will be following the Red Rose phonics programme, as well as using actions associated with letter sounds to support their learning. We will begin by working on Phase 1 which focuses on learning to hear and distinguish between different sounds, rhyming words and alliteration. Once we move on to Phase 2, learning individual letter sounds (phonemes), you will receive more information about how to support your child at home as well as a resource pack. Please make use of the name card that was sent home in the summer to support your child in practicing to write their name at home, when they are ready.
Maths
We will be delivering daily Maths sessions, where we will begin by focusing on recognising numbers and counting. We will be using White Rose and Number Blocks resources as well as songs, rhymes, stories and other practical resources to develop their understanding of number.
How you can help and home!
read to your child as much as possible!
practice the new sounds and tricky words as we learn them.
practice reading numbers and counting objects.
keep sharing any magic moments you have with your child out of school!
Book bags and Home Reading books
Once your child is at school for the whole day, we will be sending home sharing books that are for you and your child to share together, discuss what is happening in the story and predicting what will happen next. We are not expecting the children to be able to read the words, but it is a good idea for you to point to the text as you read so your child recognises the difference between pictures and text and also understands that we read from left to right and top to bottom. We will be changing the books on a Monday and a Thursday. Please can you indicate in your child’s reading record if you have read the book you have been given and you are ready for a new book.
Please ensure book bags, with reading books, are brought into school every day.
Soon we will begin to send home letter sounds and key words for your child to practise at home. Once your child begins to confidently blend sounds together to read words they will then progress onto ‘reading books’ with which you can support your child to attempt to blend sounds to read simple words and sentences.
PE Kits
Our PE session is on a Monday so, please ensure PE kits are in school ready (PE t-shirt, shorts or leggings, trainers, dark coloured jogging bottoms) please also ensure earrings are removed and all long hair is tied back. Please can you make sure all items of school uniform are named, and we will do our best to make sure your child comes home in their clothes!
Forest schools, outdoor play and our muddy kitchen
In Maple Class we spend a lot of time outside! To ensure your child is comfortable when they are working outside, including in our mud kitchen and our trips to forest school, they will need to have wellies, waterproof trousers and a waterproof jacket, or an all-one suit which can stay in school on your child’s peg. Our Forest Schools session will take place on a Thursday morning.
Water bottles
Please provide your child with a named water bottle that they will need to bring to school every day. Please can we ask that you send water or well diluted, sugar free juice to school.
A fruit snack is provided by school every day, but we do not have control over what fruit is delivered. So, if you would like you can send a fruit snack into school with your child, in case they do not like the choice of fruit that day.
Thank you for your support. We look forward to working with you throughout the year.
Mrs Marsland and Miss Bailey.
maple@overton-st-helens.lancs.sch.uk
Many thanks,
