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Preston
Primary School
Academy

Foundation Stage Weekly Newsletter

Puffins and Penguins Weekly Newsletter 18th September 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been a fun filled week, the children continue to impress us. We have been making the most of the weather, spending lots of time outside. This week, we visited the woodland camp for the first time, found a magical tent on the field, enjoyed our first Maths sessions, and were excited about doing PE twice this week.

We enjoyed our first trip to the Woodland Camp this week. We talked about all the wonderful opportunities and how to keep ourselves and others safe in the camp. The children had the chance to explore the area, manage risks and play with their friends. It was magical to see the excitement on their faces as we entered the Woodland Camp. Some of Puffins were lucky enough to see a deer when they first arrived at the camp. Needless to say, it soon ran off! A photo of your child in the woods has been shared on Seesaw. We will be visiting the Woodland Camp in all weathers so it is important that all children have named wellies and a waterproof suit.

The children were very excited to find a magic tent on the field. They have enjoyed stories, music, singing and drama in and around the tent this week. The children demonstrated great creativity and turn taking.

As part of our curriculum plan this half term, we have two Physical Education (PE) sessions a week. PE encourages children to be active and healthy. It promotes the skills of listening and attention, following instructions, spatial awareness, coordination, balance, and much more. Children are able to demonstrate their school values during a PE session and become confident learners. It is lovely to see the children so excited about PE and they are showing great independence whilst changing.

This week we started our group Maths lessons, we had lots of fun. Our curriculum aims to develop children’s Mathematical thinking through hands on experiences and Mathematical talk. We will be exploring the pattern and structure of numbers, this week we focused on numbers ten and one. We introduced the children to a ten frame to help them notice patterns and make links.

It is not only important for children to be able to recite numbers in order but they also need to have a deeper understanding of numbers and how they can be represented.  We are keen to share our enthusiasm about our teaching of Maths and have plans to send you more information via Seesaw over the next few weeks.

British Value

This half term, we are learning about the British Value of Individual Liberty. In Puffins and Penguins, we talk about ourselves, our abilities, and the choices we make.

Here is the school value Respect in dinosaur form: "I am Respectosaur. I am always in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. I always use kind words and have kind hands and I am great at sharing. I show respect by being polite and using my manners. When it is listening time, I always look at the person talking and do not use my own voice."

Learning Ladder

This week we have been using the Learning Ladder. During Choosing Learning time the children are encouraged to challenge themselves and demonstrate what it means to be a good learner. They talk to the rest of the class about the things they have created and they gradually move up the ladder. When they get to the top they get a dip in the special box to choose a small treat.

Read Write Inc

In Read Write Inc this week, the children learnt the sounds d, t, i, n, p. Encourage your child to complete the handwriting pages in the booklet sent home. As part of the Read Write Inc session the children learn how to orally blend the sounds in words. For example, “c-a-t… cat, b-a-d…bad”. Oral blending is key to early reading and we will be practising this a lot over the coming weeks. Links to the RWI speed sound videos will be assigned on Seesaw. Unfortunately we are unable to hold our usual phonics workshop for parents in school but we still very keen to share information with you. We will be assigning a RWI presentation on Seesaw over the next few weeks.

My Special Box

If you have not already, we would love your child to bring in a decorated box of their favourite things (photos or objects) for them to share with the rest of the class as part of our circle time. This activity helps your child to settle at school and feel more confident, they enjoy sharing special things from home. It takes us a few weeks to get through the boxes so please be patient. More information can be found on a Seesaw post but please do not hesitate to ask any questions.

Consent Forms

Thank you to everyone who has returned the consent forms for the Brush Bus and online learning journals Seesaw and Tapestry. If you have not returned the forms please do so as soon as possible.

You will soon receive a link to complete a school consent form and a school medical form. There is a section on the school consent form asking for permission to include photos of your child in newsletters. We like to include photos of your children in these weekly newsletters but we can only do this with your consent and support.

Messages

  • Please could you send your child in with named wellies, waterproof suit and PE kit as soon as possible, these will be kept on their peg. Thank you to those who have already done this.
  • Please ensure you order your child’s lunch via the Aspens website by 9am each day. Due to new procedures we are unable to order lunch for your child in school. You can pre-order meals weeks in advance. This is the link to the website   https://select.aspens-services.com/

Home learning options

  • Watch the RWI speed sound videos on Seesaw and practise reading and writing the sounds.
  • Write your name trying to use the correct letter formation.
  • Enjoy a story with your grown up.
  • Use the ten frame in your child’s red book and represent numbers one and ten using small objects around the home or environment.

Upload any photos on to your Seesaw journal and then you could use the microphone button to record your voice telling us about your work.

Dates to remember

Wednesday 23rd September – Tempest Photography in school to take individual photographs.

Half term starts Monday 26th October

Return to school on Monday 9th November

From Mrs Bastin, Mrs Clague and the Foundation Stage Team

Address
Preston Primary School Academy
Old Paignton Road
Torquay
Devon
TQ2 6UY

Phone
01803 607075