Reception

WELCOME TO FS2

  2023-2024

Class Teacher: Miss Tomlinson

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Haires, Miss Aspinal

A massive welcome to all FS2 children, parents and visitors. We hope you have all had a fabulous summer and are as excited as we are about starting this new autumn term. We are thrilled to see so many familiar faces returning to the team and we extend a very warm welcome to those parents and children joining us for the first time this September.

Please do not hesitate to ask me questions regarding your child and their education or if you require a general update on how your child is progressing. I will ensure I make time to meet or speak with you. 

I love working out, HIIT and lifting weights are my favourite activity followed by hiking and cold water swimming. I spend lots of time climbing mountains and exploring new places. I am so excited to learn all about your children's hobbies and interests and generally getting to know them!

Miss Tomlinson

Key Information

- School starts at 9.00am with the school gates opening at 8.35am (allowing extra time).

- School ends at 3.25pm

- Please ensure the office staff have your up to date contact details.

- Please ring the office if your child will be absent. 

-If someone else is collecting your child, please inform the office, we will not allow your child to leave the premises if we have not been notified.

►Reading - Reading is at the heart of all our learning at Holy Family. To support this at home, please could all children ensure that they read their school reading book every night and that the planner is signed by an adult. Alongside this, it is also key that all children select their own reading for pleasure book which they will also have opportunities to read and share with others in school. 

►Phonics- Phonics is a way of teaching reading where children are taught to read letters or groups of letters by saying the sound(s) they represent. The phonics programme we follow is called Read Write Inc. (RWI). In reception we are beginning to blend sounds together to create words. Your child will bring home sounds that they are learning to consolidate at home. It is really important that the children practise blending sounds together to create words so please blend, blend, blend with your children at home. Playing simple listening games can help your children understand phonics a lot more. Asking your child 'Can you get your c-oa-t?' 'Sit on the ch-air.' etc. will help them understand 'fred talk' or 'sounding out'.

►Homework - All children will be given weekly English/Phonics or Maths homework. This is to be completed and returned to school as required. 

Uniform

Here at Holy Family we pride ourselves on our smart appearances. Please ensure children come to school dressed appropriately wearing full school uniform in line with school policy, including black shoes and no jewellery.

Reception had a visit from the dental nurse. They were reminded to brush their teeth twice a day and brush them for 2 minutes. They were also reminded about all the good food and drink that help to look after our teeth and all the bad foods that give us cavities.

Children in Reception have getting better at their throwing skills, over arm and under arm.

The children had the pleasure of a comical and funny demonstration of circus tricks that gave the children the opportunity to develop social skills, improve risk taking judgement, align individuals' projected and actual selves and enhance problem solving, creativity, self-esteem and perseverance. 

Children in Reception had a great time at Ultimate Frisbee and learnt lots of new skills.

Children in Reception have had lots of opportunities to practice addition, subtraction, doubling and halving. What amazing mathematicians we have!

Children used pictures and listened to accounts from the past to explain similarities and differences.

Children were introduced to medicines and learnt how to be safe around them. Children drew on their own experiences of feeling poorly and taking medicines. Children were taught that our bodies are a gift from God in which we should take care of.

Children in reception began their day by answering the register with Bonjour. They learnt to count to 10 in French and made a variety of flags for our French Day displays using a range of different materials. Every time they heard the word 'French' they had to reply with, 'ooh la lar'. 

What a fantastic day Reception have had. It's been all about books, books, books! Children have enjoyed listening to stories in the reading room, they have read stories themselves, written wanted posters for villains, written words to describe why we love reading and written quotes from their favourite characters. All the children made an exceptional effort with their costumes too!

The children in Reception wrote Lenten Promises and attached them to our whole school Lenten Promise tree. They reflected on what Lent means to them.

Reception children have been discovering what special objects are for Muslims. They worked hard to create their very own prayer mat.

The children in Reception got to meet rare and exotic animals from around the world. Some of these animals were invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. The children really enjoyed touching and describing the animals and having this opportunity to meet such beautiful creatures.

Reception children had a great time in our 'Chinese Restaurant' sampling the delights of Chinese foods.

Reception children enjoyed exploring actions in response to a theme.

Reception took advantage of the snow and enjoyed some time making snowballs, catching snow on tongues and writing letters in the snow. 

Reception children have been busy exploring the natural world around them, learning all about plants. They have named and described some plants, their favourite being the sunflower. Lots of discussions were made to find out how plants grow. New vocabulary was introduced and children began to use this when labelling parts of a plant. They used their creative skills too to make a sunflower, using different media and colour for a purpose.

Reception children enjoyed learning about Valentines day. They learnt when it was, some pictures that represent love and that on this special day, people show their love for each other. They made cards, decorated love hearts using different media and used their fine motor skills to twist, bend and manipulate resources into their own objects of love.

Children learnt about the history of a bookmark from Victorian times versus modern-day styles. They used threading to design and make their very own bookmark.

Children in Reception used concrete representations using animals or counters. They are beginning to understand adding and subtraction.

Reception were curious as to why the table was covered in paper! They got really excited when they were asked to work together to sequence the Ginger Bread Man story in pictures. They had so much fun they asked to label the pictures they had drawn. They used newly introduced vocabulary and joined in with repeated refrains.

Prayer Bear will be coming home with children to help them learn their prayers.

I’m just a little Prayer Bear,
I’ll sit upon your bed
It’s my job to remind you
When your prayers should be said.

When you put me on your pillow
As you make your bed each day
Remember as you hold me,
To take the time to pray.

Then when you go to bed at night
And put me on the floor,
Remember to take the time to kneel
And say your prayers once more.

FS2 really enjoyed creating simple dance patterns and adapting and performing them.

Reception children joined the 'Nature Girls' as they packed their bags and started a journey, exploring natural habitats around the world. They swam in the sea, explored the desert and discovered the harsh arctic tundra. Children understood that there is so much to discover about the natural world.

This week in PE, Reception children have been exploring different body parts and how they move. They have also had to remember and repeat actions.

This second maths session was all about matching Numicon shapes to numerals, combining, equivalence, pattern and generalising and using Numicon to add. All the children worked extremely hard and completed some really tuff challenges.  

Reception children really enjoy visiting the reading room and taking part in book club. Today we discussed our favourite characters and setting.

During the first session of the Parent Maths Meeting, we covered the objects listed below.

Daily maths activities:

An introduction of a broad range of learning opportunities to develop fluency in counting and calculating across other areas of school life.

Introducing Numicon Shapes:

Introduction of Numicon shapes.

Naming the shapes by colour.

Matching Numicon shapes to a Numicon number line.

Using Numicon shapes and picture overlays.

Children joined our meeting and enjoyed learning alongside their parents and grandparents. Everyone fully engaged in singing, games and problem solving.

Session 2 to be held on 23rd January.

During the second session of our parent meetings, adults were introduced to how their children are learning to read words by blending sounds together. They were also made aware of Fred Talk and how he can help children with their reading. Parents were also informed of how they can help their children read at home.

Reception children have learnt how to keep safe on-line.

Reception have been getting better at identifying body parts and learning all about how they move.

Children in Reception chose their design to make a special Parish Christmas card.

Reception children learnt that nursery rhymes need involve a sequence and they made their own flow chart.

Children from Years 1 & 2 came and spent some time with Reception children to support them with their reading. Great reading buddies, thank you Year 1 and Year 2.

Children explored the differences between fruits and vegetables using their senses (taste, texture, smell etc.). They listened to the story ‘The best pumpkin soup’ and discussed the key ingredients the characters used before developing a class-based vegetable soup recipe.

It tasted delicious!

In module 1, Created and loved by God,  Reception children have learnt all about their bodies and being healthy, emotional well-being and life cycles.

Children listened to lots of stories about the everyday lives of children in countries around the world. They learnt that even though they live in different countries and speak different languages, they still have the same things and enjoy the same activities.

Children in FS2 love singing, especially nursery rhymes. They learn new words, develop non-verbal communication skills, 

early maths skills along with learning different beats and rhythms.

Children in Reception learnt that there is lots of different technology all around us. They looked at pictures and commentated if they had seen the objects before. They also made their own contributions of other types of technology they see at home.

Children in FS2 explored magnetism to attract and move some objects.

Reception children have really enjoyed den building. They used waterproof material and pegs to attach and sat inside and told stories.

Children have explored what makes an anti-bullying superhero. We discussed what it looks like when someone is in a unkind way and how we can help those affected.

We read the story, 'Be the Kind Kid' and and learnt about a kind hearted girl called Ellie who set up a kindness club after finding out one of her friends were being bullied.

Reception children gathered at our whole school display to reflect on the lives of the soldiers that fought for us to allow us to live in peace. After they said a prayer, they left their poppy as a mark of respect.  

FS2 children really enjoyed reading for pleasure in the reading room. They chose their own books, read independently and shared books with their friends.

Children in Reception enjoyed rolling tennis balls with control.

Reception have explored Black History focusing on Mo Farah. The children learnt who Mo Farah is, his early life when he was growing up and all about when he won Olympic Gold and all of his other medals. 

Children made marks with wax crayons and explored textures in the classroom environment using wax rubbings. They also used felt tips to develop fine motor skills whilst making patterns. Children then made marks in our outdoor provision using chalk.

Children looked at the pictures of our school and discussed the name of the road and town that our school is located in.

Reception children have used iPads to access a range of different software.

Reception children shared images of their family to develop an understanding of the past and present. We all listened to what children had to say about the pictures.

A big thank you to parents for taking the time to bring in the pictures. 

Fire Fighters came to the rescue of a stranded cat on top of a neighboring roof and stayed to share their experience and expertise with the children in EYFS.

What a treat is was! All the children enjoyed their stories and especially enjoyed sitting in the fire engine, watching the water gush out of their hose and listening to the sirens.

Thank you so much South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, what an incredible team!

What a fantastic amount of parents attending our very first phonics session. Thank you so much to each and everyone of you, your support is very much appreciated.

The first session introduced parents to phonics, what it is and how we teach it in EYFS.

Keep an eye out on parent mail for the next one in the next half term.

Reception children really enjoy being outdoors and taking part in PE. This week children were developing accuracy when throwing to a target.

Children have learnt to share and look at non-fiction texts and have explored their senses.

As part of the transition into Reception, provision has been planned to enable children to develop early mathematical concepts in classifying, matching, comparing and ordering.  Children's experiences in these concepts have been explored through child-initiated learning, and developed through incidental opportunities.

The children visited our chapel. They reflected on the word 'respectful'. Together they said a personal pray to God.

                                                                  'Thank you God for everyone'

The information and evidence below is for Academic Year 2022-2023

Reception children really enjoyed their visitors today. What a fantastic experience for them. Being able to explore the awe and wonder about these brilliant creatures.

Reception children had a great day competing in Sports day and having fun on the inflatable.

Children in EYFS explored 2D and 3D mark making. They took inspiration from videos and pictures to complete their 'Identity' challenge.

EYFS have enjoyed preparing and celebrating King Charles' Coronation. They have familiarisied themselves with our new King. Children found out what a coronation is, what happens during the coronation ceremony and some of the special items involved, such as the crowns, sceptres and orbs. Children were also encouraged to use newly learnt vocabulary associated with the event. 

The dental nurse visited FS2 today to discuss how to look after our teeth and how we can keep them healthy.

FS2 children enjoyed handling and manipulating chalk. They made marks and rubbed the chalk to make repeating patterns when making their Easter Cards.

Farm animals visitied EYFS today, lambs and chickens. The children spoke to Charley, the farmer, and her daughter Maisey. They looked at eggs and discussed how to look after various farm animals. After close observation, children commented and understood similarities and differences between the animals and ourselves. 

All children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it really did create a buzz for the animals in the natural world around them.

Reception children took advantage of the snow and joined in with an experiment. They gathered pots of snow from outside and discussed what they thought would happen. They estimated how long it would take to melt and discussed the changes they observed over time.

All children in EYFS worked together to create art work linked to World Book Day 2023. They chose 'What the Lady Bird Heard' for their reading for pleasure book. A range of different media was used to create the animals, tissue paper, felt, paint, wool and sewing were just a few resources used. Newly taught skills were used along with previous skiils. Children enjoyed their day and enjoyed creating a masterpiece that is now displayed in our reading room.

Reception children have written instructions using recognisable letters and spelling words correctly.

They drew a map using their knowledge of the story, 'What the Lady Bird Heard.'

Reception children learnt that pancake day is also referred to as Shrove Tuesday and that it is celebrated on the Tuesday before Lent begins. They were very excited to learn that pancakes were made using batter which consists of flour, eggs and milk. They really enjoyed mixing all the batter ingredients together before frying the mixture to make pancakes. 

'Delicious' was the word most used when eating the pancakes!

Children in FS2 discussed all the different types of technology they have at home. They made a ladder to rank their favourite at the top. Children answered lots of different questions and were made aware of do's and dont's when using the internet.

Together we became artists, inspired by Picasso, to create portraits. We looked at all the portraits Picasso ahd painted, decided on our favourite and used shapes and expressions to create our very own master pieces. 

Children in Recpetion learnt all about another faith -  Islam. They were introduced to new vocabulary and explored special days and ritual objects used within the religion. 

Children were introduced to the term 'Parish Family.' We discussed what the children already knew about celebrating in the  church. Children confidently remembered that we celebrate Baptism, Christmas, and Weddings in a church. 

Children learnt to pray 'Our Father,' named and labelled all the items used to celebrate in a church and write thank you letters to Father Joseph. Role play was used to reinact the Presentation Story where children were given opportunities to apply new vocabulary. 

Happy Chinese New Year 

Children in Reception have enjoyed celebrating Chinese New Year. They learnt that Chinese New Year changes each year because it follows a calendar that is linked to the moon and that it always takes place in January or February. This year is the year of the Rabbit. 

Lots of different learning opportunities were set up for children to explore Chinese New Year and to spark awe and wonder. 

Children tasted a variety of chinese foods and used chopsticks to improve their fine motor skills and perserverance.

What a fantastic experience had by all children!

FS2 had a very special visitor from CAFOD today. The children learnt that we are all unique, we are all different and that it is is OK because that's how God made us. Children also learnt a song and joined in confidently with the words and the actions. Children identified similarities and differences when reading the story.

EYFS worked together to create our whole school Community RE display. Reception made the church, Our Lady of the Assumption and Nursery children made our Preist, Father Joseph. Together we became artists, inspired by Picasso, to create the Parish Family. We looked at portraits and discussed shapes and expressions. 

Children in FS2 have been getting better at fundamental moving skills. They have moved in different directions at different speeds.

Children were given dinosaur skeletons and were encouraged to think about and discuss what they wanted to do with them. Children looked at them and together generated ideas. They decided they wanted to draw them. One child suggested they draw around the skeleton to make it look the same size and another child said to add detail. These comments inspired other children to do so.

Children have been observing and interacting with natural processess. They have used magnets to attract objects.

Children were provided with opportunities to work together to develop and create ideas. They discussed what they could make and in maths, they made a pictogram to decide on the colours to use. hildren were given a range of materials for them to construct with. 

Children also applied their joining techniques, using adhesive tape and different sorts of glue.

FS2 children have spent time deepening their understanding of immediate family by remebering and talking about special times in their lives.

We made posters and plaqards to inform everyone who they should reach out to if they saw, heard or felt bullying.

Reception children remembered all the fallen soldiers that died in wars. They learnt that the truce was agreed on the 11th hour of the 11th month of the 11th day. They worked collaborately to make a display using fine motor skills and a range of media.

Children in FS2 learnt all about Frederick Douglass.

Lot's of interesting facts were discussed and children made a timeline of his life events.

FS2 time for reflection. We lit a candle and dedicated it to loved ones.

Children in FS2 are so excitied to learn all about Winter. Snow, ice, nocturnal animals, similarities and differences and changes in the world around us. They are looking forward to being introduced to other climates and cultures and finding out about animals living in the snow and ice along with lots more!

Children in Recpeption re-enacted a Baptism. They welcomed the baby into Church, poured water on the baby's head and said, "I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". They wrapped the baby in a white shawl and said, "Recieve this white garment".

This term we have discussed the artist Jackson Pollock. We looked at images of him and his work for inspiration. We liked the that Jackson Pollock used lots of different items to paint with not just a paint brush, as our topic is all about autumn, we decided to use conkers to produce our art work.

Children were asked to place a piece of paper in a shallow cardboard box and dip conkers into autumnal colours. They then rolled the conkers around in various directions to create action paintings reminiscent of Jackson Pollocks work. 

Reception children gathered around the whole school display board to admire their art work; salt dough Rosary Beads. They learnt that the purpose of the Rosary is to help people remember the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary and to thank God for them. Children also practised praying the Hail Mary.

FS2 children are becoming skilled in setting up their own Prayer Liturgy. Today we reflected on our virtue to live by: I am grateful for all I have and praise God for all he has given me.

Children selected objects which they could talk about which referred to their own gifts and talents.

Children in FS2 have used the prayer chair to reflect. One child wrote a prayer asking God to, 'help mummy get better' whilst another had some quiet time just to sit and think.

Children learnt the importance of their name - Explore

They learnt that God knows and loves each child and knows each child by their name - Reveal

All children aquired the skills of assimilation, celebration and application of all of the above - Respond

In RSE, FS2 children have been introduced to the story of creation, where God created the earth, sea, stars, planets animals and humans. The five-story sessions encouraged children to creatively explore this topic and help them to deeply know that they are created by God out of love and for love. The children really enjoyed using their creative talents to create all things on our amazing earth that God created.

Reception children looked at the historic day when Princess Elizabeth formly became Queen Elizabeth II. We looked at photographs taken on the day of her Coronation - 2nd June 1953. We made a crown, flags and 'God Save our Queen' banner to use to role play our very own Coronation. Children were introduced to sketching and tried really hard to study the face of the Queen. We wrote a prayer together and we looked at coins, making observations and noticing that they all had the Queens head on one side.  

Children in FS2 are already enjoying reading for pleasure. They have enjoyed some time in our reading room choosing a variety of books and discussing lots of characters.

FS2 children have been introduced to a new edition to our class, everyone, please meet Prayer Bear. Prayer Bear is very excited to help the children learn their prayers at home.

After discussions in the classroom regarding everyones favourite food, the children then went out into the outdoor area. "Miss Tomlinson, Miss Tomlinson" the children shouted. "We are making you your favourite lunch, spicy soup" The children told me they had put all the ingredients together, mixed it, added water to make it runny, stirred it and then put it in the oven to cook. Delicious!

The children gathered objects from outside and within the class room to make their very own autumnal tuff tray. Children discussed texture, size and shape and expressed what part of autumn they liked the best.

Children were using the vehicles in the outdoor area and a child asked for some chalk so they could, "Make a road for the vehicles to travel" (Vocabulary introduced in last years topic). This encouraged lots of children to join in, using large movements to develop their gross motor skills.

Children in Recpeption are already demonstrating independence. They balanced their food on their tray, removed their lunch and took their own tray. The dinner staff were amazed at how well they managed their first week in the hall, also commenting on how well the children used their manners.

Take a look at our inviting classroom environment.

Children will be challenged in the maths area, use provision to apply what they have learnt in phonics and read in the reading area.

Children will also learn all about the season of autumn and observe changes in the environment.

They will create habitats and understand why animals hibernate.

Mr Smith and I are extremely excitied to start this learning journey with the children.