Welcome to Rabbits Class

1. Welcome to Rabbits Class Parents Induction Meeting: 12th September Amelie Selencky, Antonia Goulding and Sue Williams

2. A little poem for you …

3. A typical day in Reception… • 8.40am Encourage your child to say goodbye at the gate. Children put their book bags, water bottles and coats away. Children get their name sign from the self registration board and put it in the name card box. They then go into the playground, where they will play with the other children. • 9.00am Children line up and come in for the register, then take part in a Mindfulness Practice • Short whole class teaching sessions / morning activities- A mixture of group work with adult support and independent learning. Learning is planned to take place through fun, play based activities. • 10.20am-10.40am Assembly • 10.45am-10.55am Milk, Fruit and Outdoor Play • 10.55am-11.10am Short whole class teaching session • 11.10am-12.00pm Continued morning activities • 12.00pm-1.00pm Lunch time • 1.00pm-2.20pm Mindfulness Practice followed by a short whole class teaching session / afternoon activities - A mixture of group work with adult support and independent learning. Learning is planned to take place through fun, play based activities. • 2.20pm- 2.30pm Snack Time • 2.30pm-3.00pm Handwriting Practice/ Listening Games/ Circle Time • 3.00pm Story, Mindfulness Practice and Prayers • 3.15pm End of School • If children are being picked up by somebody else please make sure this is written on the clipboard in the entrance hall.

4. Areas of learning… The foundation stage curriculum covers 7 areas of learning: Prime Areas: • Personal, social & emotional development • Communication and Language • Physical development. Specific Areas • Literacy • Mathematics • Understanding the world • Expressive arts and design Children are assessed against the 17 Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception.

5. Topics Covered inReception • Autumn term: History of our school, Poetry Week, Ourselves- Family, Feelings and Friends, Festivals, Anti-Bullying Week, Road Safety Week, Switch Off Fortnight, Christmas • Spring term: Space, Festivals, Safer Internet Week, Book Week, Fairtrade Fortnight, Science and Maths Weeks • Summer term: Fairy Tales, Minibeasts • Trips: *The Look Out (date to be confirmed) (Science/Space/ Minibeasts) (4 adults needed) *Garsons Farm, (date to be confirmed) (Growing / Plants) (4 adults needed) *RHS Wisley Gardens, 17th June 2019 (Minibeasts) (4 adults needed) *Gatton Park, (date to be confirmed) (Teddy bears’ picnic) (4 adults needed) • Children can bring topic related items in for ‘Show and Tell’ only on a Friday.

6. How to help your child to settle in quickly • A good nights sleep! • Teaching the children to be independent (e.g. getting dressed by themselves, going to the toilet by themselves, coming through the gate by themselves, bringing their own PE bags into the classroom, etc…) • Come into playground independently. • Water Bottle: (no juice), bring each day- Please don’t put inside book bag, as it might leak and damage our books!! • Coat: bring each day as we are always outside! • Name everything! (uniform, PE clothes, coat, book bags, water bottle) • Fruit: delivered on daily basis. • Oat Cakes: Afternoon snack • PE bag and Outdoor Learning Bag: Make sure everything is in school at all times

7. Literacy Reading at Home • Book Bags: Children will bring them home every day. Please empty out any letters, pictures etc. and leave the yellow reading record and the children’s reading books, as well as the blue wow book in at all times. • Reading Books: senthome on Mondays and Fridays. Please write in the title of the books in the reading diary and leave a short comment of how your child did with his/her reading, so that we know if he/she has read the book and needs it changing. • Teddy Bear Book: sent home on Wednesdays for you to read and share it with them. Please write in the title of the book in the reading diary. • Key words: will only be changed once a week on a Friday.

8. Literacy Reading at School • First stage of reading: books with no words. These enable the children to tell story in their own words, develop story language and become familiar with features of books. • Daily reading sessions: using big books and we also read individually. • Phonics: Children start to learn letter sounds using Jolly Phonics. We will use the “Letters and Sounds” program which focuses on the importance of phonics for children when learning to read and write. • Key words are introduced to recognise by sight. • As children become more fluent they will use a mixture of letter sounds, recognition, picture clues and context.

9. How Can You Help? • Keep reading sessions fun and enjoyable. • Encourage children to use different strategies to work out unknown words. • Help children to practice key words and Jolly Phonics. • Make sure that all learning you do at home with your child is fun and your child understands the purpose behind what they are learning and why it is important.

10. Home-School Link • Good partnership between home and school is really important. • Open door policy: If you have any questions or concerns about your child please speak to us as soon as possible. • Parent helpers –please let us know if you would like to help- in school and on trips! *The Look Out (date to be confirmed) (Science/Space/ Minibeasts) (4 adults needed) *Garsons Farm, (date to be confirmed) (Growing / Plants) (4 adults needed) *RHS Wisley Gardens, 17th June 2019 (Minibeasts) (4 adults needed) *Gatton Park, (date to be confirmed) (Teddy Bears’ picnic) (4 adults needed)

11. A few Dates for your Diaries! (Autumn Term) • 18th September ‘Confidentiality and Safeguarding Meeting’ (9.15am in school hall) • 26th September ‘Dress up as a Victorian’ – History of our school • 28th September ‘Open Morning’ • 3rd October ‘Literacy and Mathematics Parents Workshop’ (7.30pm) • 9th October ‘Harvest Festival Assembly’ (9.15am) • 16th October ‘Parents Evening’ (3.30pm-6pm) • 18th October ‘Parents Evening’ (6pm-8.30pm) • 19th October ‘Inset Day’ • 11th November ‘Remembrance Day Church Service, All Saints Church, Ockham’ • 16th November ‘Open Morning’ • 1st December ‘Christmas Fair’ (2-4.30pm) • 3rd December ‘Nativity costumes in school please’ • 6th December ‘Informal Book Look’ (3.30pm-5pm, then again from 7.30pm-8.30pm) • 12th December ‘Nativity Performance’ –toddlers and younger siblings (2pm) • 13th December ‘Nativity Performance’ (9.15am) • 14th December ‘Nativity Performance’ (9.15am) • 18th December ‘Class Christmas Party’ (pm) • 19th December ‘Carol Concert at All Saints Church, Ockham’- followed by mince pies in school (9am) & 1.15pm School finishes • Cobham Light Parade (date to be confirmed)

12. A few Dates for your Diaries! (all dates to be confirmed) • 25th January ‘Inset Day’ • 12th February ‘Parents Evening’ (3.30pm-6pm) • 14th February ‘Parents Evening’ (6pm-8.30pm) • 25th February ‘Inset Day’ • 1st March ‘Fairtrade Big Breakfast’ (times to be confirmed) • 7th March ‘World Book Day’- Children dress up as their favourite book character • 27th March ‘Mother’s Day Assembly’ (9.15am) • 2nd April ‘Informal Book Look’ (3.30pm-5pm, then again from 7.30pm-8.30pm) • 5th April ‘Easter Church Service at All Saints Church, Ockham’- followed by hot cross buns in school (9am) & 1.15pm School finishes • 30th April ‘Rabbits Trip to Garsons Farm’ • 6th May ‘Bank Holiday’ • 16th May ‘School Sponsored Walk’ • 19th May ‘5k and 10k Run’ • 7th June ‘Open Morning’ & Great Get Together Picnic • 14th June ‘Father’s Day Assembly’ (9.15am) followed by Informal Book Look • 17th June ‘Rabbits Class Trip to RHS Wisley’ • 22nd June ‘Summer Fair’ (2-4.30pm) • 27th June ‘Theatre Production – the Jungle Book- for our children in the hall’ • 3rd July ‘Moving up Morning’ – Parents 9-10am, children all morning • 5th July ‘St Matthew’s Sports Day followed by Summer Family Picnic’ & Summer Ball (for parents only) • 8th July ‘Contingency St Matthew’s Sports Day followed by Summer Family Picnic’ • 17th July ‘End of Year and Leaver’s Assembly’ • 18th July ‘’Ugly Bug Ball’ Class End of Year Party’ – Children to dress up as minibeasts e.g. bee, ladybird, etc. • 23rd July ‘1.15pm School finishes for Summer holidays’

13. Some Other Things! • Wow Books / Milestone books- These are kept in your child’s book bag and are for you to tell us about your child’s achievements at home. • Christmas Church Service ‘All Saints’ Ockham 19thDecember (9.00 am). • Sports day and Summer Family picnic (5th July 2019) • Medicine- Please ensure that medicine is handed in at the School Office and you have filled in a form to say that we are allowed to give your child his/her medicine • One page profile- please help us to collect further information about your child • Junk Modelling- please help us and collect as much junk modelling as possible (e.g. cereal boxes, plastic bottles,…) • Resources- we welcome any donations (e.g. old toys, construction- guttering, drain pipes, …) you might have

14. Any Questions Thank you for coming today. We look forward to a happy year with your children! Visit our class page on our website: www.stmatthewsinfantscobham.co.uk My e-mail address: aselencky@stmatthews-cobham.surrey.sch.uk