Maple class had a great visit from the Dentist this morning. They learnt all about brushing teeth, keeping their teeth healthy and which foods are best for our teeth, followed by which foods we should avoid or have little amounts of. The children were engaged and answered lots of questions about what they had been told during group discussions. Great work!

The children went on a lovely school trip today to the Ginger Cow Cafe, as they were taking great interests in making the role play area a cafe. Whilst there, they asked brilliant questions about What they have to do in a cafe? and What food they make? After this the children were allowed to help make smoothies. They had a choice of strawberry or strawberry and banana. They had to put the fruit in the machine, add some pure orange juice, press the button to start and wait! They were very excited! The children got to drink the smoothie they made and had a delicious treat, which was chocolate cake! This went down very well! The children all behaved extremely well and we are very proud of them all. Also we are extremely greatful to our parent helpers for Their support.

Autumn Term 1 Newsletter for Maple Class

First of all a very warm welcome to our first Maple Class newsletter of our new academic year.

Our first weeks of term will focus on getting children familiar with the staff and environment.  To begin with we organize the day to maximize periods of sustained uninterrupted play in order to encourage in-depth exploration.

They will begin to explore and take risks, make new friends, learn class routines and expectations and begin to manage conflicts and negotiations independently. We will also be carrying out assessments through play in order to ascertain starting points in relation to your child’s level of development.

Hopefully, having had a range of activities and visits in the late summer term, children will also be confident to separate from parents each morning.  However, some children find the transition more tricky and so please do not be alarmed if your child does get tearful after a few visits.  They are often very tired after the first full week and I would highly recommend a quiet relaxing home environment with outings and parties kept to weekends to begin with.

Whilst we will of course observe and support the development of all children, we will be focusing on a group of key children each week from which to plan interesting focus activities, which will then be made available to all.  This will be on a rotational basis and all children will be covered in this way 3 times in a year. This approach ensures that activities are stimulating and relevant to the children.

A parent consultation sheet will be issued to parents of focus children in advance, and photographs and comments can be added to Tapestry by the family.  Children are actively encouraged to access Tapestry and share photos with the class whilst chatting with their peers about what they have been doing at home. This also provides a basis for planning challenging and exciting next steps.

Parents of focus children are invited to attend a Play and Learn session on the Thursday afternoon during which they can join in with activities and observe their child in the classroom.  However, if you have work commitments which make this visit impossible, then please do not worry as  we also invite parents of focus children in after school the following week to review learning and development and consider next steps.

With regard to clothing and personal items can I please ask that all items of clothing are clearly labeled with your child’s name.  Personal toys are not to be brought in to class unless requested by staff for an activity.  Whilst we may still be experiencing mild weather please ensure that your child has a coat and access to wellies for wet days. Wellies can be left in school and will be stored on a welly rack.

As mentioned in summer term, we provide a wonderful online learning journal- ‘Tapestry’, for each child.  Please can you provide your full name and email address below in order for me to complete registration and access for you.  Once I have your email you will receive an email link in order to set up your own password to log on. The system really is very user friendly so please remember to use the journal to record developmental milestones and activities out of school and share it with your child so they can talk about their achievements in school.  We love looking through your responses in relation to the children, so please feel free to post comments.    It is a two way process and provides a great means of communication.

If at any point you have any queries with regard to a school or class related matter, or about your child’s progress and development please do not hesitate to contact me.

With kind regards

Mrs Spencer.