Welcome

It has been a wonderful couple of weeks, and we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know the children. Starting school is a very important moment for you and your child and it has been a delight welcoming you to Preston Primary.

We are incredibly proud of how the children have settled. They have enjoyed exploring their new learning environment and they have been busy learning new routines and developing new friendships.

The atmosphere in the classroom has been happy and calm. We are thoroughly looking forward to working alongside you all this year. We will regularly produce a newsletter to keep you informed of your child’s learning and our exciting curriculum.

Our Curriculum

We are incredibly proud of the curriculum we create for children.

This half term our learning enquiry is ‘Marvellous Me’. We will be supporting the children to answer the following questions:

1.Who am I? What makes me unique and special?

2.How are we the same and how are we different?

3.What are our school values, class rules and routines?

4.How do we look after ourselves and others?

Please also support your child at home to answer these questions. We are keen to share your child’s learning with you and we appreciate your support.

Curriculum continued

The children have encountered some new experiences this week - first PE lesson, first visit to the Woodland Camp, and first phonic session. The children have approached all these new situations with excitement and enthusiasm. We are incredibly proud of them!

PE

In PE this week the children enjoyed playing games and moving their bodies around the hall in different ways. They were great at following the instructions and enjoyed the exercise to help keep their bodies and minds healthy.

Woodland Camp

The children had lots of fun exploring the Woodland Camp this week. They had a tour around the camp, and we talked about how to keep themselves and others safe. They all looked very smart in their clean mud suits and wellies, but they will not stay clean for long! The children were very excited and cannot wait to visit again next week.

Phonics – Read Write Inc

Read Write Inc (RWInc) is the phonic programme we use in school. Your child’s reading journey is exciting, fascinating, and fun. At this stage we do not learn the letter names we learn the sounds of the letters. This week we started learning the phonics sounds ‘c’, ‘a’, ‘d’ and ‘o’. We have started with these sounds to assist the children with their letter formation. When the children write all these sounds, they start in the same place using a curved line traveling in the same direction.

As part of RWInc, the children are learning to orally blend sounds in cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words. You can do this at home using pictures or real objects. Ask your child ‘Please could you get me the b-a-g’ and give your child chance to jump in and blend the sounds to make the word bag. Do this for simple words like hat, dog, bin, mug, leg. We will assign an oral blending video on Seesaw for your child to join in with.

Phonic Information Session – Wednesday 4^th October at 2.30pm

On Wednesday 4^th October at 2.30pm we will be holding a phonic information session in the school hall for all parents and carers. We will explain how your child learns to read in school and how you can help at home. We will talk about the importance of reading and phonics and how your child will progress through the Read Write Inc programme. We hope you can all join us. The session will finish by 3.15pm so you can collect your child as normal. We will send out a link for you to confirm your attendance. If you have any questions, please ask a class teacher.

Seesaw

We hope you are enjoying the updates on Seesaw; we find this an incredibly effective form of communication.

We will continue to use Seesaw to post images and information about your child’s learning. We will sometimes assign activities on a Friday for your child to complete. These are short, fun activities often linked to phonics and maths. The activities will link to our learning in school to help your child revisit key knowledge and skills. We encourage you to engage with these as much as possible.

Reading for pleasure is a whole school priority and we love to share our passion for books. To support this, every Friday we will post a video of ourselves reading a story for your child and the family to enjoy. You do not need to complete any activities, just enjoy the stories. If you have any queries regarding Seesaw, please contact us.

Please note we are not using the Seesaw messaging service; this function will not be monitored. If you need to contact us please e-mail the foundation address foundation@preston.torbay.sch.uk or the school admin office admin@preston.torbay.sch.uk

Thank you

Special Boxes

Please continue to send in ‘special boxes’ for the children. Every child will have a turn to share their special items with their friends. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn more about one another and make connections. It can take quite a while to get through all the boxes as we want to make sure each child is given quality time to talk and share.

Thank you for your support.

Special Person

This week we introduced ‘Special Person’ of the day. In Foundation Stage, we support children to understand that they are all special in their own way. We take it in turns to celebrate one ‘Special Person’ each day. This role involves wearing a special badge, being the line leader, as well as being the ‘shopkeeper’ at snack time. We take the time to talk about why this particular child is special to us. This supports our learning enquiry, ‘Marvellous Me’.

It is important for children to feel confident about their strengths and abilities and we support them throughout their time in Foundation to articulate this.

Water bottles

Please can we ask that your child only has water in their drinks bottle. We have already had some spillages in the classroom - juices and squash are very sticky and can stain.

Please be assured that your child is also served water in a beaker at lunchtime, as well as having their milk carton at snack time. We also refill their water bottles throughout the day.

Home Learning

• Enjoy the story on Seesaw ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ read by Mrs Bastin
• Watch and join in with the oral blending activity on Seesaw.
• Create a box of special items to share with your friends.

Dates

Monday 25^th September – Tempest Photography individual and family photos

Children’s individual photos will be taken during the school day. You are welcome to bring siblings to school from 8am to have a photo together before school starts.

Wednesday 4^th October 2.30pm – Parent Phonic Information Session in the school hall

Monday 23^rd October – Friday 27^th October – Half Term

Monday 30^th October – Non-Pupil Day

Tuesday 31^st October – Children return to school

Kind Regards Mrs Bastin, Mrs Clague and the Foundation Stage Team