News

There were many tired Foundation Stage children at the end of Friday after their first week of full days at school.

The children enjoyed their first PE lesson this week and looked very smart in their PE kits. The staff were impressed to see the children changing with some independence, which will continue to increase throughout the year. We explored finding a space of their own and played a traffic light game where the children had to listen to a colour and complete simple movements (red = stop/ orange = walk/ green = jog).

Please could I ask that you check all of your child’s school uniform and PE kit is clearly named as many items of clothing have been going missing.

During Maths this week we have been looking at the numbers 1-10 using a variety of activities e.g. using our fingers to show a number, recognising numbers on number cards and using a dice to count spots. We have been singing lots of number rhymes, which count up to and back from 10 and the children were excited about using the interactive whiteboard to complete counting and matching activities.

We have introduced our first topic called ‘ourselves’ and the children have been busy singing songs about their body, naming parts of their body, labelling parts of the body and talking similarities and differences. They have also painted a self-portrait of themselves which will be up in the classrooms soon.

One highlight from the week was seeing the children’s enthusiasm to participate in dough disco, this activity supports fine motor skills by developing your child’s hand strength.

The week ended in a sea of red, white and blue as we remembered the families of our servicemen and women who have been injured or killed in conflicts. The children took home their first set of flashcards today, please see letter which explains how you can use these flashcards to support you child with learning their phonics at home.

We hope the children have a restful weekend and come back to school on Monday ready for another busy week of learning.

The children were very excited about having lunch at school this week and it has been wonderful to see so many friendships developing.

They have been showing increasing independence when making choices about their learning and have begun to share what they know with the Foundation Stage staff. Some children have been exploring magnets outside and during their exploration of what is magnetic and what isn’t they explained “Look I have a magnet, it can stick to things.” When asked “What things does the magnet stick to?”  the children explained “Metal and other magnets.”

During our group times this week the children have started to look at numbers 1-10 and have been challenged to recognise and order them, we have also been playing a variety of circle games to help the children get to know each other, a particular favourite being the ‘Knock, knock who’s there?’ book where the children had to lift a flap in a book and say who was hiding underneath.

The children participated in their first phonics sessions this week, following the Read Write Inc. scheme written by Ruth Miskin. They have enjoyed learning the sounds m, a, s, d, t and will be bringing home sound sheets this weekend to consolidate their learning at home. The children will continue to learn five new sounds each week and will receive sound sheets on a Friday.

Next week the children are in full time 8:35am-3:15pm and will be having their first PE lesson so please can all FS children bring in their PE kits on Monday and leave them in school until Friday.

Please ensure your child has a coat in school every day and it would be wonderful if your child could bring in a pair of wellies in a named carrier bag due to being on the field during their outdoor learning time.

 

It has been an exciting and busy couple of weeks in the Foundation Stage. The children have settled in really well and are starting to make friends.

We have been learning about school rules and routines and have been busy exploring the indoor and outdoor areas.

Next week the children will be staying at school for lunch, please ensure all of your child’s belongings are clearly named.  Please read the blog each week to find out what we have been busy getting up to.

The last full week of term has been very busy with move up day, the FSR trip to Bucklebury farm, sports day and head teachers awards. Firstly we would like to say a massive well done to all the children who were presented with a head teachers award for their hard work this year. It was lovely to see the children beaming with pride when they stood on stage with their certificates, a late night for all involved!

The children were very excited about meeting their new teachers on Monday morning and all came back to the classrooms enthusiastic about September, they were keen to tell us all about how lovely their new teachers were and what they had been doing during the morning.

After a rainy day at Bucklebury Farm last week FSR were pleased to see the sunshine for their trip this week. The children arrived at school animated and eager to go on their school trip. They thoroughly enjoyed the bumpy tractor ride and feeding the deer. Many children overcame their initial fears of feeding the animals and by the end of their petting session couldn’t wait to get more food and feed the animals independently. Another highlight for the children was climbing the tower to look over the field of deer’s. All children returned to school safely and very tired from their busy day. Miss Rolfe would like to thank Mrs Grainger, Mrs Keats and Mrs Graham for coming on the trip to help.

The children arrived bright and colourful dressed in their house colours rearing to go for their first Beechwood Sports Day. It fantastic to see so many children supporting each other and demonstrating their sportsmanship. The children looked like athletes on the day and demonstrated all the physical skills they have been developing throughout the year. All staff were amazed by the children’s running for the final lap race and the encouragement from the parents motivated the children to get to the finish line.

It has been a wonderful year and the staff have all enjoyed supporting your children to reach their full potential. It has been a delight to see their progress throughout the year and they have developed into more confident and independent learners.

We would like to thank all the parents for their ongoing support and hope you have a lovely summer.

We look forward to seeing the children all grown up when they move into Year One in September.

As part of their topic about farm animals the children have enjoyed making and designing their own milkshakes, it was interesting to see which ingredients they mixed together. Some children wanted to try and make a gravy milkshake!

On Tuesday FSN went to Bucklebury Farm and despite a wet start to the day luckily the children had a dry afternoon. The children were not phased by the rain and had a great time exploring the farm and splashing in the puddles. They went on an adventure around the farm and it was wonderful to see the children overcoming their fears when feeding the animals. The children were very careful when holding the guinea pigs and stroking the rabbits, it was lovely to see their kind and gentle attitude towards handling animals. The children enjoyed going on a tractor ride to see and feed the red deer, the children were fascinated to learn about how they grow new horns every year. When asked about their favourite part most children commented about going on a minibus or playing on the equipment. It was a busy day for the children filled with lots of fun and excitement, which was followed by a quiet minibus ride home with most of the children fast asleep. Miss Rolfe and Miss Norman would like to thank Mrs Zelenka and Mrs Hancock for their help on the day. FSR are very excited about their trip to Bucklebury farm next week and are asking every day “When are we going to the farm?”

The children have continued to practise their physical skills in preparation for sports day and we look forward to seeing you there next Wednesday. It is very going to be a very busy week next week as we are approaching the end of term so please make sure your child gets lots of sleep and rest this weekend.

On Tuesday the Foundation Stage children participated in Art day and explored the work of Jackson Pollock. They were fascinated to learn how he became famous and enjoyed looking at examples of his ‘drip paintings’ and ‘movement Art’ which inspired the children’s creativity when making their own masterpieces using paint, spoons, cocktail sticks, quills, match sticks and straws. After lunch the children looked around other children’s artwork and learnt about different painting styles. The children went to an assembly where Miss Ford read a story about fish and the importance of everybody being unique, leading on from this the children painted a fish onto a pebble, which will be used to create a path in the reflective garden.

On Wednesday afternoon the children participated in their first sports day practise and we were delighted to see their enjoyment and team spirit when participating in the events. The main challenge for the children was to stay in their line when running their races! The children’s physical skills have developed well this year and this was evident when they carried out each of the events, some of which included shuttle relays, beanbag throw and obstacle course.

During the week we have been talking about farm animals and their babies in preparation for our trip to Bucklebury Farm.

A reminder of upcoming events for FS children:

• 11^th July 2017 FSN trip to Bucklebury Farm (Please ensure children wear their PE on the trip)
• 17^th July 2017 Move up morning
• 18^th July 2017 FSR trip to Bucklebury Farm (Please ensure children wear their PE on the trip)
• 19^th July 2017 FS & KS1 Sports Day (am) – Children to come into school wearing house coloured t-shirt with PE shorts, socks and trainers
• 25^th July Last day of term (school ends at 1:15pm)

Gentle reminder: Please ensure your child has a water bottle and sun hat in school every day until the end of term. Please apply sun cream before bringing your child to school.

We have continued our ‘Under the Sea’ theme this week and the children have learnt about water pollution. We have been thinking about ways to save our environment during talks about recycling and some children chose to create their own eco-saving posters, which will be put on display in the classrooms as reminder to the children.

The children have developed their understanding of place value (tens and ones) and addition. We have also been ordering numbers from smallest to largest and largest to smallest.

During English the children have explored different types of writing linked to the under the sea theme, such as writing a list for going snorkelling, writing about a snorkelling adventure, thinking of descriptive words and putting them into sentences, writing rhyming sentences and writing captions.

On Thursday Miss Norman brought in her pet tortoise ‘Fluffy’ and the children enjoyed watching her move around the classroom and asked some fantastic questions about reptiles. After snack time some children were very engaged and excited when they were given the opportunity to touch and feed Fluffy.

Sports Day preparations have begun and the children have shown their competitive steak when racing against their peers, next week we will be practising the bean bag throw and obstacle course. Please ensure your child has their PE kit in school from Monday ready for Sports Day practises.

The children took responsibility for organising a new outdoor area this week when the builders arrived to start building a new magical classroom ready for September.

They have enjoyed lots of water play in the sun and have been busy making water slides with pieces of guttering. On Monday afternoon the children were visited by PC Townsend, who talked about all of the things a policeman has to wear and explained what each piece of equipment was used for. The children were amazed to see a real police car in the school car park and covered their ears as they listened to the loud sirens.

On Wednesday the children participated in Languages Day and explored different activities within their country teams. Some activities included Spanish singing, visiting the café to taste food from around the world, sign language, learning about parts of the body in French and learning how to count in Spanish.

The topic of under the sea has continued this week and the children have been creatively making animals and have enjoyed learning more about sea life. We have been watching videos about animals under the sea filmed by David Attenborough. The children have made their own under the sea area in FSR and have been enjoying travelling around the ocean in a submarine.

We’ve chosen ‘My Son Pinocchio Jr.‘ for this year’s Year 5/6 production.

In Disney’s My Son Pinocchio Jr., the classic tale of toymaker, Geppetto’s, little wooden puppet is given new life. This new musical retells the classic Disney story from Geppetto’s perspective.

Join the Blue Fairy, Stromboli and a lively cast of characters as Geppetto journeys beyond the toyshop to discover the meaning of family. Disney’s My Son Pinocchio JR. is filled with a magical mix of unique roles for all types of performers – from blue Fairies, to Roustabouts and, of course, Geppetto and Pinnochio.

Below are the songs for this production for you to listen to and practise:

01 Orchestra Tune-Up

---

02 When You Wish Upon A Star (Part 1)

---

03 When You Wish Upon A Star (Part 2)

---

04 Toys

---

05 Toys (Playoff)

---

06 Empty Heart

---

07 The Blue Fairy

---

08 Rise And Shine (Part 1)

---

09 Geppetto And Son (Part 1)

---

10 Geppetto And Son (Part 2)

---

11 Rise And Shine (Part 2)

---

12 Geppetto And Son (Part 3)

---

13 Rise And Shine (Part 3)

---

14 Geppetto And Son (Part 3)

---

15 Stromboli’s Inner Thoughts

---

16 The Blue Fairy’s Threat

---

17 When You Wish Upon A Star (Reprise)

---

18 Geppetto’s Music Box

---

19 I’ve Got No Strings

---

20 I’ve Got No Strings (Playoff)

---

21 Bravo Stromboli

---

22 Stromboli Off

---

23 Just Because It’s Magic

---

24 Idyllia

---

25 Machine Fanfare

---

26 The Machine

---

27 Satisfaction Guaranteed (Part 1)

---

28 Satisfaction Guaranteed (Part 2)

---

29 Satisfaction Guaranteed (Part 3)

---

30 Satisfaction Guaranteed (Playoff)

---

31 Blue Fairy In

---

32 Blue Fairy Out

---

33 Blue Fairy And Stromboli

---

34 Bravo Stromboli (Reprise)

---

35 Pleasure Island (Part 1)

---

36 Pleasure Island (Part 2)

---

37 Kerplunks

---

38 The Whale

---

39 Gulp

---

40 Geppetto And Son (Whale Reprise)

---

41 Whale Sneeze_Home Again

---

42 Since I Gave My Heart Away (Part 1)

---

43 Since I Gave My Heart Away (Part 2)

---

44 Bows

---

45 Exit Music

---

46 Emty Heart (Alt. Key)

---

47 Geppetto’s Music Box (Alt. Key)

 

When the Foundation Stage children came into school on Monday they had a surprise waiting for them…. some of the butterflies had come out of their cocoons!! They enjoyed watching the butterflies flying around the butterfly net and looked carefully at the parts of the butterfly. We have been recapping the life cycle of a butterfly during class discussions and on Wednesday afternoon the children were excited about releasing their butterflies back into the wild and watching them fly away.

The children have dived into the deep blue sea with their new topic this week, where they have learnt about animals which live in the ocean. They have been actively making a new hall display to showcase their creative and writing skills, whilst also sharing some animal facts. It has been wonderful to see the children going on their own underwater adventures and dressing up as mermaids in the outdoor area.

During recent weeks, the children have shown increasing confidence to write sentences independently and are developing their understanding of using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. This week the children have been writing about sharks, dolphins, jellyfish, octopus and clown fish. 

During Maths this week the children have been continuing repeating patterns, halving groups of objects, following directional clues to move around a treasure map and developing their understanding of addition using dominoes. It would be fantastic to hear that the children have carried out their own research about sea animals using non-fiction books and the internet.

It was lovely to see the Foundation Stage children’s enthusiasm as they rushed back into school to see how their caterpillars had changed. They were amazed to see that the caterpillars are now in their cocoons and are watching every day, hoping to see some butterflies emerging soon. After being shrunk with some magical ‘shrinking spray’ the mini-foundation stage children went on an adventure around the school grounds, through the eyes of a mini-beast. When they returned to the classroom the children were amazed to see their mini-me pictures displayed on the interactive whiteboard and this provided much excitement and inspired the children’s writing.

During ICT this week the children were set the challenge of using a school iPad to take a photo, some children showed their confidence to take their own selfies (some examples of these can be seen below)!

Within maths this week the children have been recapping their knowledge of finding one more/one less than a given number up to 20, practising writing their numbers as far as they can and have engaged in problem solving activities.

It has been lovely to see that so many children have completed their half term home learning challenges with such detail and creativity, we have been amazed with the mini-beast models they have brought into school.

Thank you for your continued support, it is always a delight to see the children engaging in their learning at home.

Please find below some dates for your diary, from now until the end of term.

Dates for the Diary – June 2017 (PDF)

Dates for the diary
Monday 5th June	Inset day
Tuesday 6th  – 12th June	Book Fair Week
Thursday 8th June	School Photographer / Class Photos
Saturday 17th June	Self Help Day – 9.30am – 2.00pm
Monday 19th June	Year 6 – Rookesbury Park Residential – All week
Tuesday 20th June	Year 3-5 Forest Walk – 1.00pm
Wednesday 21st June	Language Day – Whole School Transition Meeting for New Foundation Stage – 6.00pm – 7.00pm
Monday 26th June	PTA AGM – 7.30pm
Wednesday 28th June	Wokingham Secondary School Transition Day
Saturday 1st July	Self Help Day – 9.30am – 2.00pm
Wednesday 5th July	Year 5 Fishbowl Day @ Bulmershe
Friday 7th July	1/2J – Class Assembly
Monday 10th July	Year 5/6 Production Dress Rehearsal
Tuesday 11th July	Year 5/6 Production
Wednesday 12th July	Year 5/6 Production
Friday 14th July	Year 6 Forest Walk – 1.00pm
Saturday 15th July	Self Help Day – 9.30am – 2.00pm
Monday 17th July	Moving up Morning
Tuesday 18th July	Year 6 Leavers Disco – 7.00pm-9.00pm
Wednesday 19th July	FS/KS1 Sports Days – 9.00am – 12.00pm
Thursday 20th July	KS2 Sports Day – All Day
Friday 21st July	PTA School Disco – 6.30pm – 9.00pm
Tuesday 25th July	End of Term – 1.15pm

This week started with great excitement when the postman delivered some caterpillars for the Foundation Stage children. They have enthusiastically observed how the caterpillars have changed this week and were been surprised at how quickly the caterpillars have been growing and changing each day. The children are looking forward to seeing how the caterpillars will change and grow while the teachers’ look after them during the half term holiday. The children have created their own caterpillar feeding pots in the making area and are caring for them each and every day.

During the week some children attended a trial session for Balanceability where they practised riding a bike without pedals, showing increasing control of their body whilst also developing their balance skills.

In Maths the children have been learning about halving and the importance of sharing objects/ shapes into two equal groups, they were engaged in their learning when faced with a real-life challenge of sharing a box of raisins equally with a partner. The children were only allowed to eat their raisins once an adult had checked their halving skills, this proved to be a fantastic incentive for accurate counting and halving. It would lovely to see the children halving food at home e.g. smarties.

During our English lessons this week the children have been focusing on writing simple sentences about different minibeasts.

Please look out for the half-term learning challenge in your child’s book bag, which includes some information about how to support your child to write sentences at home.

The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning about mini-beasts and their habitats this week. We are excited about starting up our own butterfly farm, the butterfly net has arrived and the eggs are on their way! We will watch the eggs turn into caterpillars and then hope to see some butterflies hatching out of their cocoons after half term.

The children went on a mini-beast hunt in the school grounds and then continued this in the outdoor area during their independent learning, it was fantastic to hear the children’s screams of excitement when they found mini-beasts.

The children have been busy preparing a vegetable planter ready to plant our seeds on Friday, hoping the weather holds out until the seeds are in. It was lovely to see the children exploring the world around them and finding mini-beasts all around them. We will be continuing the topic of mini-beasts next week and it would be excellent to see the children writing sentences and making their own mini-beast fact books at home.

During Maths this week we have been talking about capacity and the vocabulary of full, empty, half full, quarter full, three quarters full, nearly full and nearly empty. We have looked at doubling ladybird spots and made a mini-beast bar graph.

The children have been very busy showing their creativity through making and painting their own versions of their favourite mini-beast. The theme of mini-beasts continued during our ICT lesson and the children used 2Simple 2Publish to draw a mini-beast and then write sentences underneath.

Tip for home: Make a bug hotel in your garden and see which mini-beasts come to visit.

This week the Foundation Stage children have been learning about different cultures, beliefs and traditions. We talked about places of worship and festivals/ celebrations. The children listened to two parents talking about their religion and their beliefs. We would like to say a massive thank you to Fatima and Eli’s mums for giving up their time to talk to the children. We have been discussing the importance of respecting others and developing an understanding of how we are different from each other.

During Maths the children have recapped their understanding of finding one more and one less than a given number up to 20, coin recognition and making amounts using coins. The children enjoyed being given positional clues to draw a shape picture and then they had to give a partner positional instructions to create a picture/ pattern. We have been learning about estimating and the children were able to identify whether their estimate was more or less than the actual amount of objects.

The children were amazing during their first swimming lessons this week and it was fantastic to see so many happy, smiling children who are showing increasing confidence in the water.

Lastly the children have been reading words and identifying the ones which rhyme and then they were asked to think of their own words to rhyme with a given word e.g. cat.

Please find below links to the Curriculum News for Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2.

• Curriculum News UKS2 – Summer 2017
• Curriculum News LKS2 – Summer 2017
• Curriculum News KS1 – Summer 2017
• Curriculum Map FS2 – Summer 2017

We have continued our journey into space this week and the children were fascinated to find out about our solar system.

• We have been learning about the planets, the moon and the sun through looking at facts on the computer and in non-fiction books.
• The children learnt about how the earth orbits the sun and how we are always spinning but they cannot feel it.
• This has inspired some independent writing about ‘if an alien came to visit our planet’ and the children have been exploring the moon using shaving foam, glitter, moon rocks and alien lego figures.
• We have watched a video about a real astronaut… Tim Peake and learnt about what life is like in space.
• We talked about how our planet Earth is different to being in space and developed a basic understanding of gravity.

On Tuesday the children were visited by a road ranger called Lewis who taught the children all about how to keep safe near roads and how to cross the road safely.

• The children learnt four key words and actions to help them when crossing the road (hand, stop, look and listen).
• They listened to a story about road safety and met Lewis’ friend.

During Maths this week the children have demonstrated their understanding of addition using counting objects and number lines. They have recapped their previous knowledge of place value and what 2-digit numbers mean/ represent and looked at time (days of the week, months of the year, seasons, hours, minutes, seconds, time related vocabulary e.g. yesterday/ tomorrow).

Top Tip for the week:

When practising addition with your child at home here are some ideas:

• Ask your child to create an addition using single digits (e.g. 5+2=) or write an addition for them to complete.
• Using objects: Ask your child to count out the amount of objects for the first number and put them in a group, then ask your child to count out objects for the second number and put this in a different group. Push the groups of objects together and count how many to find the answer.
• Using a number line: Alternatively if using a number line, circle the first number in the number sentence, jump on the amount for the second number and then circle the number you land on/ the answer. We hope to see the children doing lots of adding at home to consolidate their learning and develop their mathematical understanding further (see picture example).