Reception M & W 2025 - 2026
Miss Millington
Reception Teacher
Miss Woodcock
Reception Newsletter January 2023
RW - Miss Woodcock, Miss Ward, Mrs Begum
RM – Mrs Millington-Stubbs, Mrs Landell, Mrs Ali
We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and would like to wish you a Happy New Year! It is going to be a busy term with lots of exciting activities planned up until February half term which commences on the 13th February!
This half term our topic is 'A place called home.' During this topic we place a large emphasis on developing children's early Geography skills as we deepen their understanding of the place they live, their sense of community and the connection they have with other countries through their family and friends. Through exploration of the illustrations within both of our Literacy focus texts, we will look at different landscapes and begin to learn about different climates across our world. This topic also has a large focus on Expressive arts and design with children having the opportunity to design and make their own hats.
In Literacy, the children will be focusing on the books; ‘Handa’s Surprise’ by Eileen Browne and 'A Hat for Mr Mountain’ by Soojin Kwak As always these texts will support them to develop their literacy skills, building on their knowledge of book concepts, story structure and vocabulary with consistent opportunities to apply their phonics through their adult initiated activities.
In Mathematics this half term the children will consolidate their knowledge of numbers 1 to 5 by recognising patterns and arrangements of up to five. When ordering numbers they will be able to see the effect of one more as numbers get bigger. They will start to work on 5 and a bit more (numbers bigger than 5) and this will lead on to looking at equal and unequal numbers – odd and even. Please have a look at our medium term plan for more information on our topic which can be seen in the files below.
In phonics this term the children will be moving onto phase 3 of 'Little wandle letters and sounds'. During this phase they learn;
Phase 3 graphemes
Week 1 ai ee igh oa
Week 2 oo oo ar or
Week 3 ur ow oi ear
Week 4 air er words with double letters: dd mm tt bb rr gg pp ff
Week 5 longer words
Tricky words: was, you, they, my, by, all, are, sure, pure.
A few quick reminders...
Each week each class awards 2 pupils the 'Star of the week' certificate and 'The citizen of the week' certificate. The certificates will be given out to the pupils in the closest celebration assembly held in the studio at 9am on either the 15.01.26 or the 05.02.26 so please do come along. During our assemblies we will also be sharing relevant updates or providing information and guidance on how to best support your children with their reading.
Homework: We would just like to remind you about homework. We appreciate that life is busy, but helping your child at home is vital for their learning. Each Friday, your child will continue to be sent home with a story book for enjoyment, this is the one you can read to them at bed time. They will also have their E-Book updated on the collins website each week, which is the book they read to you. In addition homework is sent home in wallets each week that we ask for you to encourage them to complete. Please comment on their reading record each time you have heard your child read their ‘Big cat for Collins' book. We have now had the go ahead to purchase physical books for the children to practise their reading with, and will move away from the Collins hub system so please look out for more information on this, this term.
Attendance and Punctuality – if your child is not in school on time or off school altogether, they miss out on so much learning – please make sure your child is in school, on time, every day.
Outdoor play- please make sure your child has suitable clothing, waterproof coat, wellingtons, sunhat, gloves, etc. We go outside every day, snow, rain or shine.
P.E- continues to be run by city in the community on a Friday afternoon. Children do not need to come to school in an P.E kit however please make sure they have suitable footwear on that day. We would also like to remind you that children have access to physical activities daily, both inside and outside.
Rainbow Challenge - In Reception a key priority is for us to support children to become independent, confident and resilient learners. We consciously spend the first weeks building positive relationships and creating a fun and safe space that the children both enjoy and feel comfortable in. Continuing on from nursery they will be encouraged to display independence and take ownership over their learning through the use of the ‘Rainbow Challenge’. For those pupils and parents who are new to school the ‘Rainbow challenge’ is used by the children during their ‘continuous provision time or extended learning’ which occurs after adult input lessons. The classroom is broken up into areas such as construction, roleplay or reading and each represents a different colour of the rainbow. Children are encouraged to explore their whole environment throughout the week and in doing so gain a coloured lollipop stick for completing the purposefully planned activity within that area that builds on their prior learning or skills. If they complete the Rainbow they are rewarded with a sticker at the end of the week.
Please remember to put names in all clothes, shoes, bags, lunch boxes, etc.
Useful websites
The school website:
https://www.ashburymeadow.co.uk/class/reception-m-b
E book access:
Online Learning Journal:
Oral health:
https://www.dentalhealthcareeoe.nhs.uk/services/oral-health-improvement/early-years
Thank you for all your support!
Reception Team