This week in reception we watched our caterpillars become chrysalides, we are now very excited to watch them emerge as butterflies. We have been reading the story Jack and the Beanstalk, using our phonics knowledge to write captions and sentences alongside our story pictures. We have learnt about the life cycle of a bean plant and have each planted our own ‘magic’ bean so that we may grow our very own beanstalk to take home and plant in the garden, we are enjoying checking them and watering them each day, making sure they have all they need to grow.

As you have seen, this term is all about growing and changing, next week we will be thinking and talking about the ways that we have grown and changed as people, what we have learnt, not just since starting school, but even since we were born and how we might change and grow in the future, what new things we hope we might learn to do. It would be really great if you could send in a photograph of your child as a baby to support our discussions and learning. You can send in a print, or email one to me or send it via tapestry, whatever suits.

In phonics we have been practising our writing, listening for the sounds we know in words and then writing them down to build words, captions and sentences. Next week we will move on to level 4 and begin to read and write longer words, learning to blend consonants and read and write polysyllabic words.

In maths we have continued to focus on the pattern of 10 and “how many more of the next 10” using different resources and contexts as well as counting on beyond, so that children begin to become familiar with 2-digit numbers beyond 20 and to start to spot the patterns within them.

In R.E. as part of our ‘special places’ learning, we looked at pictures of Mosques, noticing their features and how they were the same or different to a church. We learnt that a Mosque is a special place for Muslims, followers of Islam, to go to pray and be together. In P.E we had so much fun with balls, learning to bounce and dribble them, throw and catch them, maintaining control of the ball with our hands.

Reminder: Please remember to order a school meal for your child. If nothing has been ordered, your child is given a jacket potato, which can sometimes result in disappointment. Also, if you send in a packed lunch containing grapes, please could you cut them in half lengthwise. This is a safety measure advised for children up to at least the age of 5, to prevent choking in young children.

Thank you as always for your support, enjoy the lovely long weekend,

Jo Bentley

Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or queries: jbentley@stjohnsprimary.org