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Preston
Primary School
Academy

Foundation Stage Newsletter

Puffins and Penguins Newsletter, 7th July 2023

Learning Experience – ‘Oh, I do love to be beside the seaside!’

The children have enjoyed exploring the local area as part of their learning enquiry. They were visiting places in the local area and looking at features. The children found a play park, woods, green park, beach, train track, petrol station, two churches, houses, roads, shops, and a restaurant. They recorded their findings on their clipboards and took photos. Children will build on this knowledge in Key Stage 1 where they will be able to categorise these into human and physical features.

When the children returned to school, they recounted their trip and created a large scale map. They had some wonderful discussions, and some children decided to write about their trip, recalling the features they saw. We were impressed by their passion and enthusiasm, and they demonstrated good knowledge of maps and the local area. They also showed great determination to complete the walk - it was quite a challenging route! Well done Puffins and Penguins!

Sports Day – Monday 10th July

We are very excited to be welcoming you to sports day! It is always a wonderful occasion. You will have already received an e-mail with further details about the running of the day.

Your child brought their PE kit home yesterday. On Monday, your child can come to school wearing their school PE kit along with their school jumper or cardigan. Depending on the weather, please also send in sun hats or coats. If it is hot, please make sure your child has sun cream applied in the morning (they can bring more to reapply later if you like). They will also need their water bottle and book bag as normal.

Unit 4

9:10am – 10:30am

Unit 3

10:30am – 12pm

Picnic lunch

12pm – 12:30pm

Unit 2

12:45pm – 2pm

Unit 1

2pm – 3:15pm

 

12:00 – 12:30pm – Whole school picnic lunch. You are invited to bring lunch to eat with your child on the school field. If you have ordered a lunch from Aspens for your child, they will bring this out with them.

We will bring all the children out onto the field at 12pm and if they have a parent/guardian present, we will send them over to you to have their lunch. If you have arranged for someone else to sit with your child for lunch, please do tell the class teachers before the event. If you are not able to attend lunch on the field, please do not worry, as your child will be able to sit with the teachers to eat their lunch.

During lunchtime your child will need to remain with you; please do not let your child run around the field as there will be too many people. At 12.30pm we will call the children back to us, and we will take them inside school to toilet them and get ready for their afternoon races. Puffins and Penguins will be racing at 2pm. You are very welcome to stay and watch the Unit 2 races which will be happening in between lunch and our races.

At the end of the afternoon, we will bring the children back in to class to collect their belongings, before dismissing them as usual in the playground.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to ask. We are looking forward to a wonderful day!

Summer Fair and non-uniform day

On Friday 14th July, we will be holding our Summer Fair. The children will come out of school as normal at 3:15pm and then you can make your way up to the school field where there will be lots of exciting activities and stalls. It is a fun family event, and we appreciate your support.

This day will be a non-uniform day – children can come to school in their own clothes.

Please can your child bring a donation of a bottle to be used as a raffle prize at the Fair. There will be drop-off points for donations on the school drive on that morning.

Uniform Donations

If you have any good quality uniform that is no longer needed, we’re looking for donations of all clean items such as jumpers, cardigans, dresses, skirts, shorts, and trousers. The Eco-committee will be running a ‘pre-loved’ uniform stall at the Summer Fair. This means that parents can purchase uniform at a great price, and you have an eco-friendly way of discarding unwanted uniform. Please hand any uniform donations to Mrs Clague. Thank you!

Beach Trip

As reward for all their hard work and achievements, we are taking the children to the beach. We will be walking to the beach and then having a play in the sand with our friends. This trip will enhance their understanding and knowledge of their local area. We will also be doing some beach art and beach maths! We will be back at school for the usual pick-up time of 3.15pm.

  • Thursday 13th July – Puffins beach trip
  • Monday 17th July – Penguins beach trip

The children will wear their school uniform as usual. They can wear comfortable walking shoes such as trainers if they like.

Your child will need to bring a bag (ideally a rucksack type so that their hands are free) containing:

  • Packed lunch and drink.
  • A bottle of drinking water.
  • A sun hat.
  • A flannel or small towel (to wipe their sandy feet).
  • Optional - A small plastic spade. Please make sure this fits completely inside the rucksack.
  • Dependent on the weather, they may also need a coat.

Please apply sun cream to your child before they come to school.

If you have any queries, please come and speak to us.

Transition to Year 1

Over the next few weeks, we will start to have conversations with the children about the changes ahead. This is to prepare the children for being in a new classroom with a new teacher in September. The three classes in Unit 2 are Snowy Owls, Little Owls, and Tawny Owls. It is an exciting time, and we will give the children many opportunities to talk about their feelings about the coming changes.

Short visits. The teachers in Unit 2 will come for visits into Foundation Stage, and we will go to visit them. Recently, Unit 2 were all out on a trip, and we took advantage of the situation by having a walk through each of the classes while they were empty so that we could look at each of the three classrooms. Last week, Mrs Fox from Little Owls came into Puffins class to read a story. These are just two examples of the kind of events which will happen over the next few weeks.

Transition days. To support the successful transition, all children in the school will spend two days (Thursday 20th and Friday 21st July) in their new classes. They will be able to spend time with their new teacher and new classmates. This will make the first few days of September run smoothly as children will have already experienced their new class. The teachers have some wonderful activities planned for the two days. Please bring your child in to school as normal to Puffins and Penguins and collect them from the usual place at the end of the day. You will receive an e-mail with the details of your child’s new class and who their new teacher will be, before these transition days.

Unit 2 communication. Over the next couple weeks, we will post some stories on Seesaw which will be read by the teachers in Unit 2 so that the children can become more familiar with the adults. They will also be writing a parent information letter. They will post a welcome video on Seesaw.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to ask.

Home Learning

  • Enjoy the story read by Mrs Braddon, the Snowy Owls teacher.
  • Check Seesaw and your book bag for this week’s RWI books and activities. Practise reading your book at least 3 times a week.

Dates for your diary

  • Monday 10th July – Sports Day.
  • Thursday 13th July – Puffins beach trip.
  • Friday 14th July:
  • Summer Fair starts at 3:15pm.
  • Nonuniform day.
  • Bring a bottle donation.
  • Monday 17th July – Penguins beach trip.
  • Monday 17th July – Pupil Annual Reports emailed to parents.
  • Thursday 20th and Friday 21st – Transition days in new classes.
  • Tuesday 25th July 2:30pm – 3pm – Foundation Stage Celebration Show. More information to follow.
  • Wednesday 26th July – Last day of term.
  • Wednesday 6th September – First day of Autumn term.

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