Margaret Wix Primary School
Firetips (Nursery and Reception)
Welcome to EYFS
Our class is called Firetips.
Reception class are taught by Miss S (Mon-Weds) and Mrs Ralph (Thurs-Fri).
We are supported by Miss Sheperd and Miss Rossiter. Nursery is delivered by Miss Surridge and Miss Woolsoncroft.
PE Days
Firetips will have PE on a Tuesday and a Thursday. Children will need to wear their PE kit to school on this day and will remain in them all day. As the weather changes, please ensure your child has the correct PE kit so they can participate successfully.
Library Slot
Your child will get an opportunity to visit the school library on a Monday afternoon if your child is in Reception or on a Wednesday morning if they are in Nursery. Here they will have the chance to borrow a book that they are interested in: a book they will read for pleasure. If they wish to take a book home, this will need to be returned on a Monday/Wednesday morning ready to change.
Give Me Ten
Children are expected to read for at least ten minutes every day and this should be recorded in their reading record by a parent/carer. Children should bring their reading record to school every day. We hope to see lots of children becoming Reading Champions this year and celebrating them in our Friday celebration assemblies.
Important dates
Monday 3rd of June - Inset Day
Tuesday 4th June- children back to school
Thursday 13th June – EYFS Sharing Assembly 9am
Monday 17th June – Class photos (bring your best smiles!)
Week beginning 24th June – International Week
Friday 21st June – New to EYFS meet the head and team Meeting
Friday 28th June – New to Reception Stay and Play
Monday 1st July – New to Nursery Stay and Play
Thursday 4th July - New to Reception Teddy Bears Picnic 3.30
Friday 5th July – Sports Day
Thursday 11th July – Transition Day
Friday 12th July - New to Nursery Stay and Play
Summer 2
Wow. What a year!! We cannot believe that is another year almost finished. In EYFS, we have the important job of introducing children to the start of some of their most important years in education and we hope we have done this year justice. We have had a ball and got to know all of our families incredibly well. We’d like to thank parents/carers at this point for working so closely with us and being as involved as you could be with your child’s learning. Some of the experiences wouldn’t have happened with out you, thank you for going with all our crazy (amazing) ideas.
So what did Summer 2 bring? It saw us exploring journeys and thinking about moving on.
We ready many texts about Journey’s and trips (Journey by Aaron Becker, Mr Gumpy’s Motor Car by John Burningham, The Train Ride by June Crebbin, Naughty Bus by Jan Oke, Astro girl by Ken Wilson-Max, The Snail And The Whale by Julia Donaldson). We brought some of the texts to life as we recreated our own scenes using photography and writing our own versions of Naughty Bus. We took a real life train ride to visit our new friends over at Park Street Primary School. We created a rocket and space station in our classroom which the children throughly enjoyed exploring during child initiated play. Some of them saying they were Tim Peake/Neil Armstrong or Mae Jemison heading into space.
In ‘Feel Good Friday’ (PSED) we continued to explore growing up, change and moving on. We thought about what we were proud of and thought about all we have achieved this year, before goal setting for next year.
In R.E, we looked at houses around the world paying particular attention to our own homes. We then explored the different places that may be special to some people such as; a church, a mosque or maybe a Synagogue.
In Maths, we have explored:
20 and beyond
Number bonds to 5 and 10
Learnt how to count in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s
Explored double numbers and halving
Please do Co tiny to recap these areas of learning over summer through the use of songs/activities/games suggested in our weekly tapestry posts and using our Maths Magician’s handout (Reception only).
We jet settled around the world during International Day, as we explored many countries. The highlight for most was certainly trying and testing foods from that particular country, learning a new fact about that place and getting their passports stamped.
We demonstrated every super power during our sports day, where we were resilient if we didn’t win a race and showed great self-belief at the stations. The children were kind with each other as they congratulated friends on the Sir David Attenborough house victory.
That brings us to today. We are beyond devastated to be passing the reception children to year 1, but incredibly proud of how each and every single member has done this year. Some of these learners we have now taught for two years and seeing them blossom from Nursery to now, has been an absolute honour. We are lucky enough to get to teach quite a few of Firetips class next year as they stay within nursery or venture into the reception group.
Those of you who are moving on up to Year 1 thank you, thank you, thank you for a year we won’t forget. For your hard work, resilience and respect. We are going to miss you so much! Those of you who are coming back to us in September, thank you for making this year everything we wanted it to be, we can’t wait to hear your summer stories and spend another year together. Finally, those who are moving on to new schools, thank you for an incredible year. We wish you all the luck in the world at your new schools. Just remember, with kindness you can conquer the world!
Have a wonderful summer break with your families and friends.
It isn’t goodbye, it’s see you soon! ❤️
Summer 1
Wow, what a term! It has been another brilliant half term full of adventures, from watching tadpoles, to our trip down to the farm and setting our butterflies free. We have truly done it all and as always, the children have been amazing!
In phonics, we have reached Phase 4 this term. Phase 4 focuses on consolidating and practising the letter sounds (phonemes) that we have learnt so far in Phase 2 and 3. The children have been busy applying their phonics skills in their reading and writing more independently ready for Year 1. Don’t forget to keep reading at home so you can come and visit the vending machine at the end of the term if you have read every day!
In literacy, we have explored many texts including Farmer Duck, What the ladybird heard and Oliver’s vegetables. During the stories, we have written persuasive letters, wanted posters and even our own non-fiction books that have gone into our book corner.
In maths, we have worked on using positional and directional language to help us give each other directions to get us around the school from one place to another. Why not have a go at using this on your way to school, or maybe go on a treasure hunt at home? We have also looked more closely at numbers 10-20, focusing on teen numbers and using the part part whole model to get a better understanding of teen numbers being ten and some more. Can you spot any teen numbers when you’re out and about?
In our understanding of the world sessions, we looked at minibeasts in science, exploring minibeasts and insects, their habitats and life cycles. We made our own minibeast hotel in our garden and created our own non-fiction book about butterflies and their life-cycle after getting to observe our own caterpillars make their chrysalis and turn into beautiful butterflies first hand. In R.E Bertie Owl had lots of stories from different religions around the world in store for us, from Bilal and the beautiful butterfly to the lost coin, all having a hidden message for us.
We had our amazing Physical Development share & learn, thank you to those who came and joined in with our PE session with Mr Milbourn. We hoped you enjoyed it.
During our 'Feel Good Friday' sessions, we have been exploring ‘relationships'. We thought about what makes a good friend and how we can help ourselves and others when they are upset and solve friendship problems more independently.
Next term will take us on a journey with our topic “Ticket to Ride” which will take us on another exciting adventure.
One more half term left together, let's make it the best one yet. We hope you have a wonderful, restful break and can’t wait to hear all about it.
Mrs Ralph, Miss Stachg and the EYFS team
Spring 2
A short but sweet term, yet still jam packed with fun learning. The children have been incredibly busy learning all about life under the sea and sustainability.
I would like to congratulate all our learners that reached 75 in their Give Me Ten milestones, Scout is looking forward to hearing you read. To those who reached stage 8 in Maths magicians we hope you enjoy writing numbers with your maths pencil. Next term we go again and we can't wait to champion even more of you!
In phonics they have continued to embed phase 3 sounds whilst exploring double letters in sounds (tt, ss, ll) and compound words. Do keep working through the activities we provided at parents evening to keep brains ticking over the Easter break.
In literacy we have explored many texts including Pirates next door, Ten little pirates and our whole school sustainability focus, where Firetips chose 'Clean up' as their focus story. During the stories we have wrote new sections, autobiographies, identified similarities and differences between characters, thought about plastic pollution and explored emotions in characters.
In maths we used our Firetips shop to explore money. Some children did amazing with this and we can't wait to introduce money to our snack bar very soon. We embedded our knowledge of patterns, creating ABAB, ABCABC and AABB patterns. Ask your child to create one of the said patterns with objects from around the house. You could always upload an image on tapestry to show us. We have also continued to secure number facts to 5 and 10.
In our understanding of the world sessions we looked at sea life in science, exploring sea creatures, habitats under the sea and creating fact files. R.E saw us on a Spring walk identifying signs of spring and a trip out to our local church, to further embed our knowledge on the Easter story.
We had our amazing EAD share & learn, thank you to those who came and joined in with our music session. We hoped you enjoyed creating an instrument to take home. Don't forget we have our PD share & learn on the 2nd May (8:40-10:00), we cant wait to see as many of you there as possible.
During our 'Feel Good Friday' sessions we have been exploring 'being healthy.' We created fruit salads, thought about our bedtime routine and the importance of sleep and what different things keep us healthy.
Next term sees us 'Down at the farm' and we can't wait to head out of school on a very exciting adventure.
One more full term left together, let's make it the best one yet. Have a wonderful, restful break.
Mrs Ralph, Miss S and the EYFS team
Spring 1
There is something about this time of the year where we see the children finding their feet and stepping up to be the best versions of themselves. This is such a delight to witness. All our learners have impressed us great amounts during our topic 'Once upon a time.'
In phonics, we continued to learn new Phase 3 sounds by reading, writing and applying them correctly. We recapped Phase 2 sounds within lessons too through a variety of games and catch up sessions. Do continue this practise at home through games shared in our phonic meeting or the use of recommended apps/online games.
In literacy, we have been super busy writing lists of ingredients when we made porridge, creating wanted posters for the wolf, writing our own versions of a fairy tale, writing apology letters to the Giant and even headed to China to celebrate Chinese New Year. Here we ate Chinese food, explored the key features and walked the Great Wall of China, before heading back to England to create non-fiction fact books about China.
In maths, the children have continued to develop their knowledge and understanding of 2D and 3D shapes and their properties. They have created number bonds to 5 and 10 and explored addition and subtraction. We have also now started our whole school 'Maths Magicians' programme. You will find all the information on Tapestry regarding how you can help secure your child's/ren's maths knowledge at home.
To enhance our communication and language skills, whilst addressing understanding of the world, we headed out of school to our local Library. We took the public bus to town and had a wonderful morning with the staff at St Albans Library. The children looked scanning their books out. If you still haven't been, do visit this amazing free resource that we are so fortunate to have. We also were extremely lucky to have the story tent visit us in school which was a fabulous morning! We listened to the story ‘The Lion And The Mouse,’ which linked perfectly to our super powers, before recreating our own stories with props and material.
In our 'Feel Good Friday' sessions, we have linked our super power 'resilience' with lots of our learning. We have discussed challenges and what we could do if we find something tricky. We then evaluated these things weeks later and shared something that we are proud of achieving.
This half term we have had many adventures in and out of school, I wonder what fun Spring 2 will bring, it might be a bit wet where we are going ;)
Have a lovely half term,
Mrs Ralph, Miss S and the EYFS team
Autumn 2
Another term been and gone and what a term it was. The children have continued to grow with their self belief and resilience in all that they do, but especially in our Nativity! The Nativity is always a highlight of Autumn term and we are incredibly proud of how each member of Firetips class did themselves justice when it was show time. One of my favourite Nativities yet!
We have been busy exploring Room on the broom, Pumpkin soup, Frozen, The Jolly Christmas Postman and The Snowman in literacy. During the weeks we have made our soup by following instructions, sequenced stories, used describing words, drew story maps and wrote our own letters to Santa. Each lesson consolidating our phase 2 and beginning of phase 3 sounds. Check out below all the sounds that your child should know at this point in the year.
In maths we have continued to develop our understanding of number by looking at one more and one less, addition, subtraction and number bonds to 5. Keep creating real life opportunity for maths at home to consolidate all we do in class. Christmas can be a great one for using language related to shapes, using presents and sweet treat packaging to discuss shape and size. If you don’t celebrate Christmas use items around the house that could be related to different 2D and 3D shapes. You could always share some of your findings on tapestry with us :)
We got the children out of school to help embed a further understanding of the world as we headed to our local town via the public bus. On this trip, we posted our letters to Santa at the post office on St Albans hight street, went on a Christmas hunt around town before heading to St Albans Cathedral. Here we had a fantastic day out learning about how Christmas is celebrated around the world before making our own tile in an expressive art and design workshop.
All of the children continue to develop their personal, social and emotional skills as they are now leanring to compromise and show our schools learning powers in all that they do.
We can’t wait to see all the amazing things they achieve in Spring term.
for now, rest up and enjoy some quality family time over the festive break.
Mrs Ralph, Miss S and the EYFS team x
Autumn 1
Half term already, how can that be? Time certainly flies when you’re having fun!
Autumn 1 term was everything we hoped it would be. The children have settled into new routines, are following new boundaries and have made the most special friendships. All children are settled and therefore show that they are ready to learn.
We have been working hard this term on really embedded our super powers in all that we do. The children are starting to believe in themselves more showing resilience, especially in phonics and literacy where they are starting to write independently. They are showing kindness between one another especially to all grown ups, helping where they can and being great to have around. We are continuing to develop our respect for others power, as we are sitting and listening to others ideas and working hard to pay full attention when someone is talking.
We have began phonics, which the children are loving. They are enjoying forming and recognising letters, lots of light bulb moments which has been a joy this half term. Don’t forget to use the resources and suggestions given at parents evening, to consolidate any sounds at home.
Maths we have explored 2D shapes, subitising, number facts, counting and measure. The children have enjoyed maths inside and outside through practical games. If you’re having fun, it doesn’t even feel like work right?
In Literacy the children developed many skills and lots are starting to show the initiative to write independently which is outstanding! However not only does literacy develop our physical development and communication and language but also our understanding of the world and life skills too. For example, during the focus text ‘The Little Red Hen.,’ the children baked their own bread. As we explored the text ‘Don’t hog the hedge’ where we explored hibernation we created hedgehog homes out of recycled materials and left them in forest school to keep the hedgehogs warm and safe. During the week where we read ‘A superhero like you,’ the children thought about who their super heroes were, who keeps them safe and went on a safety hunt around school to identify how they are kept safe at school. This particular week saw the dentist join us for an amazing session about oral health. The children then each received their own toothbrush. toothpaste and timer. Thank you to high oaks dental practice for your time and care.
Next term we introduce our topic ‘Let’s celebrate!’ The children can attend their first PTFA disco developing PSED further. They will take part in our nativity which is very exciting and continue to grow and develop into the amazing little learners that they are and we are here for it all!
Thank you for all your efforts and co-operation this term.
Have a lovely half term,
Mrs Ralph, Ms S, Miss Surridge and Miss Rossiter.
