Reception

WELCOME TO FS2

  2024-2025

Class Teacher: Miss Tomlinson

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Haires

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, 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.

New School Year 2024 - 2025

Children in Reception have learnt all about good dental hygiene. 

Children picked lots of autumnal natural objects and made a cross because they love God.

Children were really excited to show the adults they had made in the mud kitchen area using simple tools, equipment and natural resources.

What a busy time we have had learning all about Black History. We have celebrated the amazing achievements and important contributions of:

Lorraine Pascale - a very talented Chef who loves to cook delicious food - Our Tiger cake was delicious!

Dame Elizabeth Anionwu - A very special person who helps take care of sick people - we used bandages and plasters to help our friends get better.

Maresia Liburd-Spencer - a co-founder of the organisation 'Black Deaf UK' - we used sign language to sign the Hail Mary.

Lubaina Himid - an Artist - we took inspiration from Lubaina's art work and replicated one her famous pieces.

Children in Reception gathered to give thanks for the food that has been gathered from the fields. We learnt about  the food we eat and how Harvest is celebrated on the Sunday closest to the Harvest Moon, which is a full moon closest to the Autumn equinox.

Children have been learning all about the way in which God made our beautiful world and everything in it and that He made us. They have also learnt the words and actions for the sign of the cross and learnt to say, 'In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Children learnt what it means for an animal to hibernate and discover what different species need. They then designed and made a hibernation box for a hedgehog.

Lots of mathematical exploration has been happening in FS2. Children have been sorting collections of objects in different ways, sorting shapes based on colour, sorting concrete objects to form sets, matching pairs and lots more!

Reception children learnt that the Rosary is to help people remember the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary and to thank and praise God for them. The children made their own Rosary using pom-poms and applying their threading skills.

Reception children dressed as Rock stars to celebrate Maths in school.

Children shared images of their family to develop an understanding of past and present and listened to what others said about their pictures.

Children are enjoying lots of different activities to improve their fine motor skills.

Children in Reception used the display to talk about where they live and what their environment looks like. Some children named the road and the City they live, the number they live at and they knew the name of our school.

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.

Children in Reception having 1:1 reading time.

Children in Reception have learnt that nursery rhymes involve sequences. They worked together to identify all the key steps in nursery rhymes.

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

Reception children are setting up their own Collective Worship and explaining why we use the cloth, cross, candles and bible.

Children in Reception really enjoy visiting the Reading Room to choose a reading for pleasure book to take home and share with their adults.

Children have been working really hard to write their letters, starting and finishing in the correct places.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

                                                                  'Thank you God for everyone'

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.