On Monday he found a …
Bean!
This week we have started to notice the changes in the weather and that Spring is on the way!
Our focus story this week was Jasper’s Beanstalk, the children have really enjoyed this story, anticipating what might happen next, retelling what happens and exploring how Jasper is feeling.
Jasper found a bean on Monday and he planted it on Tuesday – Ella D
He waited a long time for it to grow, it made him feel sad because it wasn’t growing quick – Ella M
Snails have a shell and slugs don’t have a shell- Charlie
It’s really long- Elliott
There might be giants – Louie
He needs to climb to the top- Evie
As we approach our ‘growing’ season, we decided to plant our own beans to see how long it will take them to grow. Over the next few weeks we will observe, discuss and draw how our plants have changed. Exciting!
In maths, we’ve been learning about the number 3. We looked at 3 spots on a dice, 3 counters on a five frame and spotted that there were 3 corners and sides on a triangle.
Help at home: Have a look to see if you can find groups of three things around your home. Can you spot the number three on any house doors or number plates? We also liked watching this song all about the number 3.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Next week, we’re learning about growing up and looking at how we change as we get older.
It would be great if we could look at some photographs of children when they were babies and toddlers. If you are able to, please send us an email with one photograph of your child as a baby and one photograph of them as a toddler. We’ll use these in group time and will also be adding them to our Home Corner family display.
Stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
This week sound/s was: ‘U’ for Umbrella
Rhyme of the week: Baa Baa black sheep
Notice:
Born of the Forest has officially finished for Nursery- so a big thank you to Shaun! The children have enjoyed it so much we have decided to continue our own forest school sessions, these will now be on a Tuesday starting 27 February. Your child can come in their PE kit or some comfy clothes.
- joggers/jumper
- spare socks
- wellies
- waterproofs/puddle suit
You are more than welcome to leave these at school for the rest of term!
Have a super weekend!
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
The Train Ride
Welcome to Spring 2!
This week we have started our new topic Let’s Go, our first book is called The Train Ride by June Crebbin.
We have really enjoyed this story, we have talked about old trains like Stephenson’s Rocket, The Mallard and of course The Flying Scotsman! Plus new trains like the Eurotunnel and The Bullet!
“It is an old train because it has steam coming out of the funnel!”
“It is old because I can see some rust on it!”
We are also very excited about out upcoming trip to the National Railway Museum, we have had lots of discussions about how many sleeps it will be and what we will be taking in out lunch boxes! It is all very exciting!
Our Word of the Week was: Destination, the children have really enjoyed using this during their learning.
“My destination in the morning is school, at night time it is home, or sometimes the park!”
“When we go on our school trip our destination will be the Train Museum.”
Help at home: Talk to your grown up about the different destinations you go to over the weekend.
Phonics
This week in our phonics we have reviewed the digraphs ai, ee, oa, oo/oo, ar, or, ur, ow, oi, and the trigraphs igh, ear.
Help at home: Please support your child with the ‘learn at home’ sheet sent home today. Please also keep accessing the ebooks.
Poetry Picnic
This week our poem was Pancakes
Mix a pancake,
Stir a pancake,
Pop it in the pan.
Fry a pancake,
Toss a pancake,
Catch it if you can.
Maths
In Maths this week we have looked at comparing and in particular looking at differences and similarities. In our activities we have looked at the numbers of objects in a set, without being diverted by colour, shape or size. The children have then been encouraged to notice when quantities are equal or unequal, and to consider how they can manipulate the number of objects in 2 sets to make them equal. Our stem sentences have been
____ has more than____.
____has fewer than____.
Help at home: Can you share an even number of objects (e.g. counters, pens etc) between two teddies. Do the objects need to be the same colour, shape or size?
The Classroom Challenges this week have been
- to make a train
- to make a bridge for a train to either go over or under
- to make a large train track outside
- to write a list of the things they go past in the story The Train Ride
- to make the scales balance
- to draw something you can see out of the window
Also this week, we had a visit from MindMate on Monday, who read us the story Ruby’s Worry by Tom Percival.
We already love this book in reception and have used it a lot when we have talked about our own worries and anxieties. Tom Percival also writes other books that deal with different emotions, they are a great starting point to support young children.
Next week our focus book is The Hundred Decker Rocket by Mike Smith.
Reminders and Notices
PE is on a Monday, please send your child to school wearing their PE kit and trainers they can fasten themselves.
Library Day is on a Friday this term, please can all Library books be returned on Friday ready to swap for a new one.
Forest School is on Friday, please see additional letter sent home for information.
Waste Innovation- Please don’t forget to send in any donations for us to be creative. We really appreciate anything!!
Please can we also ask for any donations of children’s underwear, socks and old school uniform, we work hard and play hard in reception so things can get a little bit messy!!
Stay and Learn Sessions
World Book Day 07.03.24-8.50am-9.20am
Please don’t forget to email any pictures from home stjameseyfs@spherefederation.org thank you!
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. Kendrew, Mrs. Rippon and Mrs. Feldman
Updated timetable
Please note the change to our PE days. These will now be on a Wednesday and a Friday morning. Our timetable for the next half term is below.
Year of the Dragon!
This week Nursery have been celebrating the upcoming festival- Lunar New Year!
This year is the year of the Dragon, the children wanted to make a really big Dragon for the classroom, so we got busy practicing our gross motor movements and fine motor skills. The combination of both help to support control and balance, preparing them for early writing.
We asked the children- ‘What is Lunar New year?’
They clean their houses to get rid of the dust- Savannah
Red means lucky – Ella M
It’s a big Dragon- Louie
They have lot’s of fireworks – Mia
We also tasted some traditional Oriental food. We had sweet and sour rice, vegetable spring rolls, and vegetable Bao Buns.
It’s really yummy, I didn’t think I would like it – Charlie
I like the buns, they were fluffy – Ella D
Forest School
We had an exciting time in forest school this week. We made a fire!
The children learnt the importance of not being left alone around a fire as it is hot and dangerous!
Help at home: What 3 things can you remember that you needed to make a fire? .. think about what Shaun needed to put into the fire-pit!
Of course when you have a fire, you have to toast some marshmallows!
This week sound/s was: ‘C’ for Cat ‘K’ for Kite. We know that both letters make the same sound.
Rhyme of the week: Jack and Jill went up the hill
We’ve had a fabulous first half-term, we welcomed some new faces and we’ve all made some new friends. We hope you have a lovely half-term break and we will see you on Monday 19 February.
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
Living and Learning: I know how how to treat others with respect online.
Years 5 and 6 have been busy this week with lots of our learning based around internet safety.
In our sessions regarding being respectful to others online, we focussed on messages being sent through social media sites and thinking about why people may choose to be unkind. This was mainly discussed in our reading fluency sessions with a text around respect and safety on the internet.
Here are some ideas of what children came up with when asked why people may choose to be disrespectful online:
- ‘It doesn’t feel like real life if you type it onto a screen.’
- ‘People don’t get caught easily and there’s no consequence.’
- ‘You can’t see the other person’s feelings through a phone so you don’t know how they feel.’
- ‘People say things online that they wouldn’t say in person because they can.’
Following these responses, we looked at some top tips to help prevent us from ever taking part in this kind of online activity, and what to do if we are a victim of this.
Help at home:
Check in with your child and their experiences online. Make sure they know that they can talk without worry about their thoughts, feelings and actions online. Could you create some tips at home to help your child feel safe and to continue being respectful online?
Safer Internet Day
As part of Safer Internet Day, Year 1 listened to a story all about staying safe whilst online. The children have learnt about what personal information is and why it is important to keep it private.
Smartie is a very happy penguin who receives a tablet for his birthday and the story is about the situations he finds himself in as he starts to use his new device. He finds a pop-up wanting him to spend money, his brother goes on his tablet and he also plays a game online too. The key message is to go to an adult for help.
Following this learning, the class enjoyed making their own internet safety penguins and singing a very important song.
Help at home by talking to your child about the importance of internet safety and how essential it is to talk to someone you trust if you are ever unsure about an online issue.
Here are some resources to enhance this learning further.
What is Jessie and friends?
Here are some books that are a great buy, too.
Safer Internet Day
Yesterday was Safer Internet Day. We had a jam-packed day of learning, all centred around staying safe on the internet. Here’s what we learnt…
I know that some things online may not be true.
An adventurous little chick goes exploring in the farmer’s house. Soon she discovers that the farmer’s computer is wonderful fun. She buys a frilly blouse, some bees and a motorbike. The farmer is very surprised when they arrive. Chick clicks away and a diamond watch, hundreds of handbags and squillions of shoes arrive at the farm. But she’s feeling rather lonely, so decides to find an online friend. Chick uploads her photo and spots a chicken just like her. After lots of chatting, they arrange to meet in the wood. But Chick’s new friend is really a hungry fox…
- Check who’s posted the information.
- Check the website. Is it a reliable source like the BBC?
- Check another website. Can we find the same information elsewhere online?
If you’re still not sure, speak to a trusted adult.
I know that I shouldn’t share personal information online.
- first and last name
- birthday
- home address
- photo
- school
Keeping something private means only sharing it with a few people you know and trust.
I know that people should treat others respectfully online.
The children enjoyed exploring and discussing ‘Troll Speaks’ in our reading lesson. It links to our Living and Learning statement for this week and was a fantastic platform for discussion around treating others respectfully online.
“It’s not safe to message strangers even if you think it’s funny.”
“It might be a joke to you, but it could hurt someone else’s feelings.”
“Always be kind to people. It’s never ok to be nasty.”
I know that we should have a balance between being online and offline.
We had a great discussion around all the ways in which the internet is amazing. It seems like you could live your whole life on the internet. The children identified some issues with spending too much time online:
- sore eyes from too much screen time
- not enough exercise
- harder to sleep
- don’t spend enough time with family
- harder to concentrate at school
Help at home by discussing the day’s learning with your child.
- What are the benefits of the internet?
- Do you have any internet safety ‘rules’ specific to your household?
- Are there any negative side-effects of spending too much time online?
- What is the balance between online and offline in your household?
- How do you seek help if something worries you online?
Give Rugby a Try
For the past 3 weeks, we’ve been really lucky to have Josh and Tom from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation visiting St James’ for our PE sessions.
The children have enjoyed learning the basics of rugby, putting their passing and try-scoring skills to the test.
This Thursday (08.02.24), the Leeds Rhinos Foundation are hosting a free rugby taster session in Wetherby. The session is open to children in Year 1 & 2, no matter their ability or experience. Sign up here.
Litter Picking Crew
Thank you to some of our pupils who have been making a difference in our local community by picking up litter on Hallfield Lane. Some of the Year 4 children have noticed litter on the paths as they walk to swimming each week and they feel really strongly that they want to do something about it. Well done for suggesting a great way to keep our streets tidy!
Internet Safety Day
Today, we have learnt about some key aspects of keeping safe online:
- I know that some things online may not be true, either accidentally or deliberately.
- I know it’s important to check with a trusted adult before sharing personal information online.
The internet is such an amazing resource and one we use countless times throughout the day. It can however, be a place that is not always safe and secure. The children in Year 3 and 4 have learnt to be critical users of what we read and that some headlines and news stories may be misleading. We now know how to check the validity of a story and its source.
In addition, we are confident in knowing the dangers of sharing personal details online. We know that there are many platforms on the internet where we may need to share our details and what to do if we are unsure about sharing.
Help at home – Ask your children about some of the fake news stories that we read about today. How did we know that some news stories where misleading? Who should we check with when sharing personal data about ourselves? What might happen if we do share some personal details online?