WELCOME TO RECEPTION! 

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

Welcome to Reception! We are looking forward to seeing you, having fun and getting busy. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and outline the class routines. I am Miss Townsend, and I will be welcoming your children into Reception while working closely with Miss Ang until after the October half-term, when Mrs Gaffney-Jones will return from Maternity leave. We’ve had an excellent start to our week, and all the children have settled well into their new class and routines. If you have a query or want to discuss any matters, please just let us know and we will answer any questions you may have or arrange a time to discuss this further. 

This Autumn term, our school topic is ‘Play, Learn, Hatch and Grow’. Where we will be looking into dinosaurs and digging into the past to explore the discovery of dinosaur eggs and how we should look after and nurture them. We will be looking at how we have grown and developed over the years, to help us in our mission of looking after the dinosaur eggs. ‘How have you changed since you were a baby?’ ‘What will you be when you grow up?’.  

To start our Autumn topic, could you bring in a photograph of your child as a baby by Monday, 15th September.  

Drop-off and Collection 

For drop off, school gates will be open 8.40- 8:55 am, and school finishes at 3:00 pm. I will be at our classroom door, where I will greet you and the children. Miss Ang will be waiting to help your child place their snack and drinks into the correct boxes and to assist them in putting their belongings on their own pegs, etc. 

At the end of the school day, we will dismiss children individually when we see their parents. Initially, this may take a little time; however, once we learn all your faces, we will get quicker! Please let us know if another family member or friend is picking up your child that day. If you have any concerns over how your child is settling, please don’t hesitate to contact the office to gain further reassurance. 

Reminders:  

Please label everything, yes, we mean everything – socks, shoes, pants, bags, drink bottles etc.  

Please place a set of spare clothes, shoes and socks in your child’s bag every day, as they may have accidents. The children will be encouraged to change into their dry clothes with support from the staff. We kindly request that all items of clothing, coats and jumpers be clearly labelled with your child’s name. 

Please provide your child with a healthy snack each day, which is labelled in a container, as we will be collecting all snacks at the start of the day. Children will need to bring their own bottle of water/squash each day.  

Please remind your child if they are having dinners in school each morning, as we will be asking your child when planning their orders for that day. Free School Meals are available for all Reception children.  

When your child is ready and blending words, they will receive their first reading book. This will be staggered to meet the needs of each child’s development.  

There have been slight changes to homework this year. Children will have homework on Friday and are asked to return it by the following Wednesday. Homework will be on our class page on our website. If you have any questions, please read the school newsletter for any further information.  

PE. Your child will need to come to school dressed in their outdoor PE kit every Friday. They will need black shorts or joggers, trainers and a white T-shirt or their school colour.  

Welly Wednesday! The children will be spending some or all of the morning outside, carrying out a range of activities and experiences, linked closely to our topic. The children will experience all weathers; therefore, on a Wednesday, they will need warm clothing, a waterproof coat, wellies/ old trainers, gloves, a scarf and a hat if particularly cold. As the children will get a little messy, you may want to send them to school in old trousers, jeans or tracksuit bottoms along with their school T-shirt, Jumper or Fleece.  

No equipment, pencil cases or toys are to be brought into school. We will provide everything that is needed.  

Please visit our school website where we have an exciting class page. I will upload information, photos and activities in this area to keep you up to date with all the wonderful things that are happening in Reception. This is where you will find the children’s weekly homework starting next Friday.

I hope this letter answers any queries you have, however if you have any questions please just ask.  We sincerely hope that your child has a wonderful time in Reception this week, and we look forward to working with you to build a strong, positive partnership.  

Kind regards,  

Miss Townsend