Oak Archive

Click here for a printable version of this newsletter

Dear Parents,

Welcome back, we hope you had a great half term. Our topic for Term 4 is ‘Off we go Exploring’ and our learning journey will begin with exploring a text called ‘Dear Greenpeace’, which looks at letter writing  and links into the children’s own interest of protecting our environment. We will be taking walks in the school woods, during this term, and looking at natural and man-made materials. We are then going to be looking at places further afield with “Handa’s Surprise” and finally, we will be looking at the story of Easter.

Our key texts this term are:

Areas of Learning

Literacy

Our focus in literacy this term is using our phonic knowledge to write stories using narrative language, adjectives, nouns and verbs.  In reading, we will be further developing our phonetical understanding, whilst continuing to develop and expand our knowledge of tricky and high frequency words. The focus this term will be on predicting the end of stories.

Maths

In maths we are going to secure our knowledge of addition and subtraction with the support of objects. Through making fruit kebabs, we will be creating detailed patterns. We will also begin to look at weight, measuring and comparison of amounts.

Understanding the World

The children will be making lots of observations of the world around them, and virtually exploring other countries. As Easter approaches, we will be learning about the Easter Story and talking about our Easter experiences.

Home Learning

We would like to thank you all for your effort with last term’s home learning tasks including reading with your children.

Reading

Please read with your child regularly. It is really important that the children bring their book bags, reading records and their reading book into school every day. Now that the children are using their sounds to blend new words, it is important that they begin to discuss each book and understand words such as ‘character’, ‘title’, ‘setting’, ‘beginning’, ‘middle’, ‘end’. When reading with your child please acknowledge the fact that the book has been read by signing, dating and writing a comment in the reading record book. We will continue to change their books on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The more experiences that children have of sharing books at home, the quicker they progress in all areas of the curriculum as it develops their creativity, vocabulary and imagination, as well as furthering their reading and writing skills. The Oak class reading competition is starting again this term. All children will be at the same starting point and a prize will be given, to the most consistent home reader, at the end of the term. Good luck!

Letters and Sounds

Your child will be bringing home their focus phonic sounds and high frequency word lists. Please refer to this when completing independent writing at home. Children may also like to write small reviews on the books they have read. As was the case last term, children are to place home learning tasks, once completed, under Miss Dudeney’s chair.

 Home Challenges!

Please choose one or more of the following activities to enjoy at home and record these in your home learning book. These can be brought in at any time during the term.

• Make a mini fact file of a place you have visited.
• Try different foods from around the world and write about your favourite one.
• Paint or draw a picture of the forest or a place you have visited.
• Create your own collage of a ‘new place’.
• Find out about the animals that live in hot or cold places.

Websites and Links

• ictgames.co.uk and www.topmarks.co.uk for Literacy and Maths games.
• phonicsplay.co.uk Phase 3, 4 and 5 games, blending sounds and words.
• uk.mathletics.com for maths games
• bbc.co.uk/cbeebies for literacy and maths activities and games

Quick Reminders

• Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bag each day.
• Our PE day is Thursday but PE kits should be in all week.

We hope you all have a lovely term supporting the children in their learning. Please do not hesitate to come and speak to me regarding any matters that concern you.

Thank you for your support,

Miss  Dudeney

Click here for a printable version of this newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely time over the Christmas holiday.

Our topic this term is ‘Off We Go – People Who Help Us!’ We will be learning about different types of transport and the journeys that they can take us on, as well as looking at how transport has changed over the years. In addition, we will be developing our understanding of the emergency services and what each one does in order to help us.

Key Texts

Areas of Learning

Literacy

Our focus in literacy this term is to secure our phonic knowledge to enable us to write sentences, instructions and stories through a ‘talk for writing’ format. In reading, our phonics knowledge, high frequency and tricky words will develop further from our reading of key texts and sharing and discussing new stories together.

Maths

In maths, we will be exploring 2D and 3D shapes and familiarising ourselves with the language used to name and describe them. We will be continuing to secure our number skills to 20 and then exploring addition and subtraction with games and activities.

The main part of the topic is to use the vocabulary associated with all different types of vehicles and how they are different and the same.

Home Learning

The children are all engaging with the books in the classroom, as well as continued support at home, and this is evident in the children’s reading is developing well. Thank you to all of you who support this at home. It really does make a difference.

Reading

Please read with your child regularly. It is really important that the children bring their book bags, reading records and their reading book into school every day. Now that the children are using their sounds to blend new words, it is important that they begin to discuss each book and understand words such as ‘character’, ‘title’, ‘setting’, ‘beginning’, ‘middle’, ‘end’. When reading with your child please acknowledge the fact that the book has been read by signing, dating and writing a comment in the reading record book. We will continue to change their books on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Oak class reading competition is starting again this term. All children will be at the same starting point and a prize will be given, to the most consistent home reader, at the end of the term. Good luck!

Letters and Sounds

Home learning books will be sent home every Friday. Please practice writing the sounds, finding pictures of objects that begin with these sounds, drawing, and writing short words that you can think of. Please feel free to bring in small, named objects that begin with these sounds too! As was the case last term, children are to place home learning tasks, once completed, under Miss Dudeney’s chair.

Websites and Links

• ictgames.co.uk and www.topmarks.co.uk for Literacy and Maths games.
• phonicsplay.co.uk Phase 2,3 and 4 games, blending sounds and words.
• All information for the term is also on the school website.

Quick Reminders

• Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bags every day.
• Can the children please always have a coat in school The Weather is becoming wetter and colder and we need to ensure that children are kept dry when playing ourside.
• Our PE day will continue to be a Thursday although PE kits should be in all week.
• Please can all children have a spare set of underwear and socks in their PE bag in case of any accidents. It is much more comforting for children to have their own change of clothes to put on, if the need arises.

Trip to a Fire Station

As part of our learning this term, we have arranged a visit to Uckfield Fire Station. Further details will be provided in a separate letter.

PLEASE HELP!

If you have any unusual vehicles such as an old bicycle, a tractor or a vintage car that you would be able to bring in and talk to us about, please let me know. Also if you have any models of unusual transport then we would love to see them.

Thank you for your continued support and please do not hesitate to come and see us, if you have any questions of queries.

Miss Dudeney and Ms Eldridge

Click here to download a printable copy of this newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,

Firstly, we would like to say how impressed we have been with the children since they have started with us. They have all settled into school life amazingly!

Our topic for this first term is ‘Once Upon a Time’. We will be spending time exploring some familiar stories such as ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Alongside this, we will be working on number recognition and formation. We will also be developing our foundation understanding of letters and sounds.

Our key stories this term are ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’

The boxes below explain briefly the areas we will be looking at and some of the work we will be doing which will be incorporated through play and teacher focused activities.

Home Learning

We encourage children to continue their learning at home which will enhance their progress at school. There will be a meeting on Wednesday 26th September 2.45pm in Oak Class, to discuss home learning, reading and phonics. We have sent a picture book home for you to enjoy together, we will then send home phonic reading books following the meeting.

Phonics – If you are supporting you child with their phonics at home please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ksblMiliA8  to ensure you are teaching the pronunciation of the sounds in the same way. There is also a link to the jolly phonic songs below.

As the year progresses and children’s understanding develops, home learning tasks will adapt and increase appropriately.

Reading

Please read with your child regularly. At this stage it is really helpful to encourage the children to use the pictures to tell stories. You may like to add a positive or helpful comment in the reading diary but please acknowledge the fact that your child has read by signing and dating in the comments book. As a school, we really encourage children to engage with a range of texts. We are now providing reading record books that will solely be used to record ‘at home reading’. These books allocate a page to each week of the school year. Every week, children who have read 3 or more times will be entered into a raffle at the celebration assembly. In addition, a termly competition will be held within Oak Class with a prize given to the child who has been the most consistent in their reading across the term. Children’s books are changed regularly and all books and book bags will be needed in school every day for 1:1 reading. More information about our reading strategies will be given at the meeting.

Letters & Sounds

Every week the children will bring home the sounds they have been working on during the week. In their home learning book, the children can practice these sounds by writing them, finding words that start with them and cutting pictures out of catalogues. It would be really useful to support the children in identifying these sounds when reading with them. Also to connect our learning in school with home, could you please find something small from home that starts with one of our sounds, for example P – pirate or S – Snake and bring it into school on Monday (ensuring it is named). This is so we can create a ‘Sound Table’ which the children can use.

Quick Reminders

• Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bag every day.
• Please do ensure that children always bring a coat, particularly as the British weather is unpredictable.
• Our regular PE day is Thursday but PE kits should be in all week as we fit in other sessions where possible.

Useful websites

• www.phonicsplay.co.uk – Phase 2 – phonics games and activities.
• www.topmarks.co.uk – Early Years maths and phonics games.
• www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/eyfs – Games and activities for all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

We hope you all have a lovely first term supporting the children in their learning and please do not hesitate to come and speak to us if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support.

Miss Dudeney and Ms Eldridge

Click here to download a printable copy of this newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back and Happy New Year! We hope you all had a lovely Christmas.

Our new topic is ‘I Have the Power!’ During this term, we will be looking at how we are super, what super means and how we can be super learners. We will also look at people who help us in an emergency and answer the questions: When do we need help? What is an emergency? And what do we do in an emergency? We will also be learning some basic first aid! We are hoping to have visits to school from the local police and fire services. On Friday 2nd February, to celebrate our learning we will be having a Super Hero Academy Day at Chiddingly School which will finish with an award ceremony for parents to attend, further details will follow soon. The children from East Hoathly reception class will be coming to visit for the day.

Areas of Learning

Literacy

Our focus in literacy this term is using our phonic knowledge to write sentences, stories and recounts through talk for writing about our favourite superheroes. In reading, our phonics knowledge, high frequency and tricky words will develop further from our reading of different books such as non-fiction texts about the emergency services. We will also be enjoying the book, ‘Super Daisy’ by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt.

Maths

In maths we are going to secure our knowledge of number, then we will look at addition and subtraction with the support of objects. We will also explore and compare weights using different scales and our hands.

The main part of the topic is looking at the police and fire fighters and their different roles in emergencies and prevention. This term will be filled with role play of different scenarios and how we can act quickly and safely to keep people safe. We will also look into how we can make the world around us safe and how technology can impact on this.

To develop our personal, social and emotional skills we are going to think about how we are special, our goals and ambitions and how we express and achieve these.

Home Learning

We would like to thank you all for your effort with last terms home learning tasks including reading with your children.

Reading	Please read with your child regularly, even if it is just for a few minutes. At this stage it is really helpful to encourage the children to use the pictures and their developing letters and sounds knowledge, as well as spending time discussing the events of the story.
Letters and Sounds	High Frequency word sheets will continue to come home. Please could you ensure that these are in the book bags every day so that we can monitor and review this with each child. There will be five words to learn at any one time but if you wish to do more, you could use others from the lists.

Super Home Challenges!

You might like to choose one of the following activities to try with your child at home. You can bring these into school whenever they are finished to share with the class.

• Make a superhero badge.
• Make a superhero vehicle using construction or junk modelling.
• Write a superhero story or design a superhero costume.
• Give someone in your house a super power and make a poster about it.
• Find out about someone who helps others, eg. Coastguard, lollipop ladies, doctors, nurses etc.
• Bring in any books that you have at home about people who help us to share.

Coming into School

This term we are encouraging all children to begin coming into school in the mornings independently. If children wish to be on the playground with the other classes, they can remain there until the bell rings at 8.50 and then come into school through the main door with the other children, just like at playtime and lunchtime. There will always be one of the Reception team on the playground from 8.40 for any messages to be passed on. The classroom side door will be open as normal for any children who still wish to be brought into school by parents and carers. After Easter all children will be coming in independently through the main door. Afternoon pick-ups will remain the same. This is to ensure the children are independent before they move into Year 1. If you have any questions about this, please speak to us.

Websites and Links

• ictgames.co.uk and www.topmarks.co.uk for Literacy and Maths games.
• phonicsplay.co.uk Phase 2,3 and 4 games, blending sounds and words.
• If you wish to make learning games to have fun at home, you can print from twinkl.co.uk and browse the EYFS Reception section.

Quick Reminders

• Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bag each day.
• As the weather improves, we will be setting up the area under the shelter for the day’s learning. Could we please ask that children do not touch the activities before school as they need to be ready to model to the children.
• Can the children please always have a coat in school particularly as the British weather is unpredictable.
• Our PE days are Monday and Friday but PE kits should be in all week.
• Welly Boots – Please can all children have a set of Wellies in school at all times, this is so we can use the field and outside areas when it is wet and muddy.

Please tell us what you think of our termly newsletter, this letter is for you and we would love to hear how we can improve it. Any comments welcome! We hope you all have lovely third term supporting the children in their learning and can see how much they have learnt already and how they are continuing to grow. Please do not hesitate to come and speak to us if necessary.

Thank you for your support,
Mrs Winchester and Ms Eldridge

Click here for a printable version of this newsletter

Dear Parents,

Firstly, we would like to say how impressed we have been with the children since they have started with us. They have all settled into school life amazingly!

Our topic for this first term is ‘Jaws, Claws and Whiskers’. We will be spending time exploring different stories that encourage us to think about different animals that live in different places. Alongside this, we will be working on number recognition and formation. We will also be developing our foundation understanding of letters and sounds.

Our key stories this term are ‘Dear Zoo’, ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Flip Flap Jungle’.

The boxes below explain briefly the areas we will be looking at and some of the work we will be doing which will be incorporated through play and teacher focused activities.

Home Learning

We encourage children to continue their learning at home which will enhance their progress at school. There will be a meeting on Monday 26th September at 2.45pm in the classroom, to discuss home learning, reading and phonics. Reading books will be sent home after this.

Phonics – If you are supporting you child with their phonics at home please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ksblMiliA8 to ensure you are teaching the pronunciation of the sounds in the same way. There is also a link to the jolly phonic songs below.

As the year progresses and children’s understanding develops, home learning tasks will adapt and increase appropriately.

Reading

Please read with your child regularly. At this stage it is really helpful to encourage the children to use the pictures to tell stories. We change the children’s Home Reading books regularly. Their books and book bags will however be needed in school every day for 1:1 reading. You may like to add a positive or helpful comment in the reading diary but please acknowledge the fact that the book has been read by signing and dating in the comments book. More information about our reading strategies will be given at the meeting.

Letters & Sounds

Every week the children will bring home the sounds they have been working on in the week. In their home learning book, the children can practice these sounds by writing them, finding words that start with them and cutting pictures out of catalogues. It would be really useful to support the children in identifying these sounds when reading with them. Also to connect our learning in school with home, could you please find something small from home that starts with one of our sounds, for example P – pirate or S – Snake and bring it into school on Monday (ensuring it is named). This is so we can create a ‘Sound Table’ which the children can use.

Quick Reminders

• Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bag each day.
• Please can the children bring a coat every day, particularly as the British weather is unpredictable.
• Our regular PE day is Monday and Friday but PE kits should be in all week as we fit in other sessions where possible.
• Please can children with long hair have it tied back every day.

Useful websites

• www.phonicsplay.co.uk – Phase 2 – phonics games and activities.
• www.topmarks.co.uk – Early Years maths and phonics games.
• www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/eyfs/ – Games and activities for all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Questions to think about at home

• Do you have any animals at your home? What is special about them?
• What is your favourite animal? Draw a picture of it and bring it in to share with your friends.
• What is the biggest animal you know? What is the smallest animal?

We hope you all have a lovely first term supporting the children in their learning and please do not hesitate to come and speak to us if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support.

Mrs Winchester and Ms Eldridge

Click here for a printable version of this newsletter

Dear Parents,

Welcome back, we hope you had a relaxing half term break.  Our topic for term 4 is ‘Story Rhyme, Story Time!’ We will be enjoying looking at lots of books by the author Julia Donaldson and learning about her exciting characters.

During this term we will be looking at farm animals and exploring what makes them unique. We will be visiting Plumpton College Farm to experience this for ourselves. Alongside this we will be developing our knowledge of rhyme and making our own rhyming words.

Our key texts this term are:

Areas of Learning

Literacy

Our focus in literacy this term is using our phonic knowledge to write stories using narrative language, adjectives, nouns and verbs.  In reading, our phonics knowledge, high frequency and tricky words will develop further and we will be talking about the different Julia Donaldson texts. If children have their own Julia Donaldson books at home, we would love for them to bring them in and share them with the class. (Please ensure they are clearly named!)

Maths

In maths we are going to secure our knowledge of addition and subtraction with the support of objects and begin to estimate and count in 2’s. Alongside this we will be exploring shapes and measures, as well as beginning to use money in our role play farm shops.

Understanding the World

Throughout the term we will be finding out about what happens on a farm, the foods which are produced and the animals that live there. We will also be developing our use of technology.

Home Learning

We would like to thank you all for your effort with last terms home learning tasks including reading with your children.

Reading	Please read with your child regularly, even if it is a home or library book. At this stage it is really helpful to discuss the stories that you read and use story language such as, character, setting, beginning, middle and end.
Letters and Sounds	We have sent home High Frequency Word Lists for the children to focus on. They need to be able to read these on sight. Please focus on the 5 words with a dot next to them. When we read with your child, we will look at these words and send home the next ones so that they always have some to learn at home.

Term 4 Home Learning Tasks!

Choose two of the following activities to try with an adult at home. You can record these in your home learning book if you wish. Bring these into school whenever they are finished to share with your class.

• Make a puppet from your favourite story.
• Make a list of all of the Julia Donaldson books that you know.
• Build a model farm in a shoe box or with construction and take a photo of it.
• Visit a farm shop near you and see what they sell. Write a list of all the things you could see.
• Explore measuring of different objects in your house. Can you put them in size or height order and draw a picture? Could you write down the measurement?
• Make a song or dance to teach your friends about Zog or a farm animal.

Story Day at Chiddingly

On Tuesday 21st March, East Hoathly will be visiting Chiddingly School for a special story day. More details to follow soon.

Plumpton Farm Trip

We are planning a trip to Plumpton College Farm on Thursday 9th March to support our learning about farms and animals. More details will be in the letter to follow.

Websites and Links

• ictgames.co.uk and www.topmarks.co.uk for Literacy and Maths games.
• phonicsplay.co.uk Phase 3, 4 and 5 games, blending sounds and words.
• mymaths.co.uk – Maths Games
• If you wish to make learning games to have fun at home, you can print from twinkl.co.uk and browse the EYFS Reception section.

 Quick Reminders

• Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bag each day.
• Our PE days are Monday & Friday but PE kits should be in all week.

We hope you all have a lovely term supporting the children in their learning. Please do not hesitate to come and speak to us if necessary.

Thank you for your support,

Mrs Winchester

Click here for a printable version of this newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back and we hope you all had a lovely Christmas holiday.

Our topic is ‘Off We Go!’ where we will be learning about different types of transport and the journeys that they can take us on. We will also be looking closely at how transport such as cars, buses and planes have changed since they were first invented. As well as this, we will be taking a close look at places we have visited and how we got there!

Key Texts

Areas of Learning

Literacy

Our focus in literacy this term is to secure our phonic knowledge to write sentences, instructions and stories through talk for writing. In reading, our phonics knowledge, high frequency and tricky words will develop further from our reading of key texts and sharing and discussing new stories together.

Maths

In maths we will be becoming more familiar with naming and describing 2D and 3D shapes. We will be continuing to secure our number skills to 20 and then exploring addition and subtraction with games and activities. Also we will be beginning to think about using doubles and halves.

The main part of the topic is to use the vocabulary associated with all different types of vehicles and how they are different and the same. We will also be looking at maps to see where different countries and cities are and how we might get there.

Learning Journeys

If you wish to look through your child’s learning journey at home, please feel free to pop in on any Friday after school. As explained when the children began school, you are welcome to bring in any photos or contributions for the learning journey books. Also, please continue to complete ‘I Can’ slips to celebrate your child’s home achievements.

Home Learning

Thanks to constant practise, the children’s reading is developing well. Thank you to all of you who support this at home. It really does make a difference.

Reading	Please read with your child regularly, even if it is just for a few minutes. Now that the children are using their sounds to blend new words, it is important that they begin to discuss each book and understand words such as ‘character’, ‘title’, ‘setting’, ‘beginning’, ‘middle’, ‘end’.
Letters and Sounds / Maths	Tricky words will come home on the checklist. Please learn the 5 marked words at home and we will give new ones once the children can read them in school. Keep learning to recognise numbers using the flashcards sent home at parents evening. If you need any ideas or support with this, please ask.

Super Home Challenges!

You might like to choose one of the following activities to try with your child at home. You can bring these into school whenever they are finished to share with the class.

• Go on a journey and take photos of how you got there and tell us about how long it took.
• Make a model of a new vehicle and give it a name! Be as creative as you can!
• Write a story about one of your vehicles at home that has been getting into trouble!

Websites and Links

• ictgames.co.uk and www.topmarks.co.uk for Literacy and Maths games.
• phonicsplay.co.uk Phase 2,3 and 4 games, blending sounds and words.
• If you wish to make learning games to have fun at home, you can print from twinkl.co.uk and browse the EYFS Reception section.
• All information for the term is also on the school website.

Quick Reminders

• Please can you make sure your child brings in a water bottle and their book bags each day.
• Can the children please always have a coat in school particularly as the British weather is unpredictable.
• Our PE days are Monday and Friday but PE kits should be in all week.
• Forest School Kit MUST be in school so that children do not come home muddy.
• Please can all children have a spare set of underwear and socks in their PE bag in case of any accidents. It is much more comforting for children to have their own change of clothes to put on if the need arises.

Chiddingly and East Hoathly Special Bear Day!

We are planning a special Bear Activity day at East Hoathly School on Wednesday 25th January. Chiddingly children will be joining the East Hoathly Reception Class to spend the day with their special bears, carrying out lots of fun outdoor activities. More details to follow soon.

PLEASE HELP!

If you have any unusual vehicles such as an old bicycle, a tractor or a vintage car that you would be able to bring in and talk to us about, please let us know. Also if you have any models of unusual transport then we would love to see them.

Coming into School in the Mornings

From January, we are encouraging the children to come into school independently with the other children through the main back door. We will be in the classroom to support with the morning jobs and to select lunches. We understand that some children may still need to come in with an adult through the reception side door and so we will be continuing to open this until Easter, after which all children will be coming into school independently, in preparation for moving to Year 1.

Thank you for your continued support and please do not hesitate to come and see me if you have any questions of comments.

Mrs Winchester and Mrs Woods