JUNIOR DEPARTMENT NEWS

This week in Reception

On Wednesday, the sun was shining for Reception’s first Forest School session; it was lovely for our pupils to be out in the woods as a whole year group.

As we walked into the forest we looked for signs of Winter. We saw that there were no leaves on the trees but we were very observant and spied tiny buds on the branches ready and waiting for the spring. Once we were at the fire circle, we enjoyed a biscuit and yummy hot chocolate while listening to Mrs Le Bas talk to us about how to safely use the mallets.

After that, Reception really enjoyed a variety of activities including; bug hunting, cooking in the mud kitchen, using the mallets, enjoying stories, den building and drawing.

We have had a fantastic first Forest School session, and hope you enjoy scrolling through the photos below!!

The Reception Team

This week in Year 1

Year One have been fabulous and loved returning to school this week. We enjoyed wishing each other Happy New Year and settling quickly into school routines.

Some children in Year 1 are now taking part in three different After School Activities – football, yoga and fencing; we look forward to hearing about these in class.

This week. the pupils have been thinking about New Year’s resolutions. learning that they are a promise that you make at the start of the calendar year. It is a positive change you can make in your life that is personal to you, that can have a good impact on yourself and sometimes people around you.

The children thought about, discussed and had fun making up a promise each and wrote them onto stars – you can have a look at these below, and also a short video where some of the children share with us their ideas fo some New Year’s Resolutions – do let us know how they are keeping to their good intentions about keeping their bedrooms tidy and looking after the dogs!

The children have also shown plenty of excitement and interest about their new Year 1 topic – Africa. They are eager to learn more about the fact that Africa is a continent made up of more than 50 countries. We look forward to sharing our learning with you over the next few weeks.

This week in Year 2

We hope that you can sense from our class photographs below (scroll using the arrows to see all three photos) how eager Year 2 were to be back at school with their friends. It has been a wonderful first week back, with lots of learning and fun in the classroom and beyond.

We started the new year by looking back at what we had achieved last year. ‘Having confidence with my maths rather than sitting worrying’, ‘writing far more than I thought I ever could’ and ‘riding my bike without stabilisers’ featured highly.

In keeping with this week and next week’s School Value, which is Aspiration, we thought about what we would like to achieve this year and then came up with some New Year’s Resolutions for both home and school. We will report back on how well we are doing on the school-related ones, and look forward to hearing how the children are getting on at home too.

2LW Targets

2B Targets

2CW Targets

After a busy first week back at school our Year 2 Yogis went on a relaxing Restorative yoga adventure. We start and finish each of our yoga adventures in Sukhasana (The Easy Pose).

Well done yogis a fantastic start to the New Year!

PE Lessons This Term

Please click on the links below for details about what your child will be working on in PE Lessons this term, and what kit they need to have in school.

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

From the Junior Library

Invented Animals, by Christiane Dorian

Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award 2022, this non-fiction book is a MUST for any animal lover’s bookshelf! Fantastic illustrations combine with seemingly ‘off the wall’ facts to create an engaging timeless read. Children can dip in and out over time, learning how sharks inspired a super fast swimsuit or how eagles are shaping camera lenses… With a double page dedicated to each animal, the book is bursting with fun facts.

Teachers’ Book of the Week

To support our pupils in their enjoyment of reading, members of staff will be sharing their favourite books over the coming weeks, starting today with Mr Balfour.

Mr Balfour has chosen an old favourite from when he was younger, and hopes that Junior Department children will enjoy it too!

Watch out for future book recommendations from staff – these will be displayed in the Junior Department entrance each week, and shared with you here. Mrs Dalkin’s choice is coming up next….

Mrs Lott and Mrs Ford