Cygnus - Reflect and Review

Dear Reception families

We have fully embraced the theme of this year's Antibullying week; the power of good. The children started the week with a focus on kindness and respect. We held a 2 minute silence for Armistice day on the 11th while the children watched a cBBC commissioned animation called Poppies. We sat still, calm and quietly together while we listened to S. Ryans’s poem ‘I am wearing a poppy’.

I am Wearing a Poppy. S. Ryan

I am calm.

I am still.

I am quiet.

I am wearing a poppy today.

I am thinking of the soldiers and families, 

And of the times they were far away.

I am calm.

I am still.

I am quiet.

I am wearing a poppy today.

I am thinking of all the fighting,

And the peace we have today.

In art this week we created poppy fields using printing techniques. The children had great fun creating fields of green, with bright red and black flowers. 

We looked at ‘No!’ in the Drawing Club, a largely wordless picture book by David McPhail. The book was written in collaboration with Amnesty International to look at the concepts of war, bullying, peace and friendship from a child's perspective. Our vocabulary included: war, letter, soldier, fight, bully, guard, friend, parachute and peace. On Tuesday we also read ‘A child's garden’ by Michael Foreman which helped us think about the importance of hope and friendship. 

Wednesday was Odd Sock day which is a day to celebrate individuality and diversity. It's a simple, fun way to start conversations about kindness, inclusion, and standing up to bullying. Participants wear odd socks to highlight diversity and to show support for everyone feeling safe and respected. 

Thursday was International kindness day where we concluded our thinking about antibullying by becoming kindness superheros! The children designed their own superhero costume and then got to be the superhero in role play.

In PE the children have started their gymnastics classes. The children have been really enjoying using the equipment in the hall and are doing well with balance movement development. 

Mathematics classes focused on comparison with grouping and sharing and considering concepts of one more, one less and equal. We had a picnic with the three bears to model sharing.

A reminder of the link to saying the pure sounds for set 1:Read Write Inc.: How to say the set one, set two and set three sounds

We continue to work on achieving confidence with word blending before we start reading. 

Next week we will be exploring Diwali.

Our personal, social and emotional development focus will be Road Safety. 

Next week at a glance

Coming soon: 

3rd December-  Christmas Dinner and Jumper Day

9th December - Cygnus/Delphinus Nativity 2pm

12th December - HSA Christmas Bazaar after school (details to follow)

19th December - End of Term, 1pm finish time

Notices:  

Forest school dates this term: Friday 21st November and Friday 5th December. 

Remember that parent volunteers are welcome. If you would like to join us for one of the forest school days please email the school office.

Please ensure that any emails to inform the school of changes to pick up arrangements for the children go to the school office: office@nhps.org.uk and not the Early Years email account. Thank you. 

Please make sure the children have a waterproof coat every day. We have outdoor play as often as possible and we need to be ready for changes in the weather. 

Children also need a pair of indoor shoes/plimsoles to change into to come into the classroom and a spare set of clothes, including pants and socks, for any accidents.

Best wishes

The Reception Team