Cygnus - Reflect and Review

Dear Reception families

This week we explored day and night; light and dark. The children learnt that the earth spins on an axis and that only one half at a time is lit by the sun. They explored light and dark with shadow play. 

In art this week we looked at spirals in nature, especially in the form of galaxies. We learnt that we live in a galaxy called the Milky Way. The children created their own spiral galaxies on black paper with pastels. The children also painted their clay aliens. 

Maths this week was all about money. In the next phase of Milo’s money we revisited the concepts of spending and saving and reviewed the British currency coins and notes. 

The children played Milo’s money game where they had to think about how much their shopping added up to and what their change would be. Then they had to decide to spend or save their change. Each time they were offered the choice they chose to save at least some of the money. They continued their shop based play in the classroom in their continuous provision time. 

We had a special rocket DT project this week where the children thought about the best design for a simple rocket and fired them with a stomp rocket. The class were delighted with their results. 

This week our Drawing Club book was ‘The way back home’ by Oliver Jeffers. It helped us think about friendship and the meaning of home. In Big3 and Me this week we talked about knowing ourselves. We asked: ‘What makes you special?’ In response, the children talked about helping family and friends and learning new things. The children learned the British sign language signs for interested, embarrassed and confident. The Big 3 and Me challenge this week was to show your special quality. 

We had a very special visitor on Friday. Michael’s mum came to talk to the class about her work as an earth scientist and they loved hearing about her work and having the chance to ask lots of questions. Thank you Mina!

Next week at a glance

Next week is our RE week. We will be looking at celebrations around the world: New Year, Chinese New year, Nowruz and Holi.

On Tuesday it is National Safer Internet day and we will be talking about core internet safety messages.

Newt week is also National mental health week and the theme this year is ‘This is my place’ and relates to belonging. 

Dates for your diary: 

23rd February - Start of Term 4

25th February - Parents Evening

5th March - World Book Day (See School News on Greenhouse for details)

11th March - Parents Evening 

12th March - HSA Cake Sale

26th March - Easter Service at SS Peter and Paul's Church 10am start leaving school 9:15am

27th March - End of Term 1pm 

Notices:

Children need a pair of indoor shoes/plimsoles to change into to come into the classroom and a spare set of clothes, including pants and socks, for any accidents.

Please make sure the children have a waterproof coat every day. We have outdoor play as often as possible and we need to be ready for changes in the weather. Please also bring a hat, scarf and gloves for the colder weather.

If your child is going home with someone else, please make sure you email the school office to advise us of the change: office@nhps.org.uk 

Please can all children bring a book bag daily to allow us to send written work and books home when needed? Small rucksacks are too small to accommodate A4 paper and library books.  

Best wishes

The Reception Team