This week: 2nd - 6th September

The end of the first week already and the end of the induction programme for our new Reception children.  The children have all managed so well learning their new routines and showing a real independence.  There is a lot to learn as the children start school, so you might find they are more tired than usual, especially with the hotter weather as well.  We are proud of how they've all managed their first few days and taken everything in their stride.  

Next week will be full time hours - 8.45am until 3.20pm.  In a morning, the children have a ten minute window in which to come to school, so the back Reception door will be open from 8.45am until 8.55am.  If you find your child is getting upset on a morning and showing some separation anxiety, it may be better to leave it until nearer 8.55am to come to school, when the playground will be less busy and most of the children are already in class.

A few reminders:

-Please name all uniform - we've been taking jumpers and cardigans off with the warmer weather today and have had to put names in quite a few jumpers;

-Please also name shoes;

-Children will need to bring in their book bag, a named water bottle and a piece of fruit/veg in a named pot or bag (or just write on the skin of bananas and oranges);

-Please don't put water bottles in book bags because sometimes they can leak and in previous years, reading books have been spoiled due to water leaking on them;

-At the end of the day, please wave only when your child is at the front of the line, otherwise it can take time locating the right parent which slows things down;

-If you are sending someone different to pick your child up who we have not seen before, please ensure they know the password & ring school to let us know in advance;

-Please try and always stand in the same place when picking up so we get used to where to look - this does help speed up the process;

-If you want to speak to us in a morning, please stand to one side and allow us to get the children in first - getting the children in safely and happily in a morning is our main priority and it can get very congested around the door if there are lots of parents giving us message.  We will be available to speak to anyone that needs to, but please stand to one side and wait until after the majority of the children are in, then we will come and speak to you.  

Thank you for your co-operation with the above - I know it seems like a lot, but the sooner we get into routines, the better and the smoother things will run.  Next week we will be carrying out baseline assessments with the children to assess their starting point for school and allow us to plan future learning.  The children will not realise they are doing assessments, because they are just little, child-friendly activities with the teacher.

Have a good weekend everyone - we hope to see as many of you as possible at the Reception Curriculum meeting on Weds (11th September), starting at 5pm.  We will give everyone a home learning pack and discuss how we teach the children and how you can support at home to give the children the best possible start.

The Reception Team