Reception

  Welcome to our Reception Page! 

Our Reception unit consists of 2 classes:

Butterfly Class:  Mrs Wendy Birch and Mrs Alison Edwards with Mrs Jo Hutchinson

Ladybird Class:  Mrs Tanya Smith and Mrs Katie Jones with Miss Tanya Alborough

Both classes have a spacious learning environment with all areas of continuous provision available.  Our learning is fun and varied following the EYFS Curriculum.

Whilst children have separate classrooms, both classes share the creative area and outdoor classroom.  This enables the children from both classes to mix, and in addition free flow between classes is possible during Discovery Time.

This page is aimed to keep you updated with our exciting learning!

At the very bottom of the page you will find some links to useful learning resources and activities.

India!

Hugo's mum came in today and spoke to all of us about her life in India, and told us many interesting facts about this wonderful country. We learned about the Taj Mahal, and discovered that one of our favourite games - snakes and ladders - originated from India. We also discovered that the characters in a film many of us know, The Jungle Book, are named in Hindi. Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Khan and even Mowgli have meaning in Hindi - Baloo means bear, Bagheera means panther, Shere is tiger in Hindi and Mowgli means small frog! We looked at rupees and learned a little about Gandhi. One of our favourite stories was about Krishna and his love of butter! We also learned about the sad fact that some children, even as young as 5 or 6, might need to work in factories to help earn money for their family, as some people in India do not have very much money. In discussions afterwards, we felt this was not very fair, and wondered how the children would learn if they could not go to school. We found this very surprising that it could happen.

We learned so many things, and would like to say a HUGE dhanyavaad (thank you) to Hugo's mum, and grandma, for giving up their valuable time to come and teach us about India, it was fantastic!

Hugo's mum also brought along some bindis so we could all wear one if we wanted - most of us did and felt very smart indeed. Thank you once again!

Father Cliff and his Special Clothes

We have been very lucky today to have had a visit from Father Cliff, who came to show us his special clothes that he wears in his role as Father in our local church, St Barthlomew's, and also when he visits us for our school worships. This visit was arranged as our RE focus last half term was all about special clothes and their importance, so this visit helped hugely in our understanding of the special clothes that Father Cliff wears as part of his work and faith.

We listened carefully, and were all surprised at how many different clothes he needs! We learned lots of new vocabulary - ask us about his clerical collar, cassock, surplice, stole and preaching scarf! We loved learning about the different stoles and the emblems and signs on them, which all represent different things. Have a look at the photos to see if you can guess when he might wear certain items of clothing?

Thank you Father Cliff for helping us deepen our understanding of special clothes and why we wear them.

We visited the Life Bus

Having been very curious about the strange bus that appeared one Monday morning, today both classes had the opportunity to enter into the Life Bus, and experienced a great 45 minutes, with lots of learning and participation involved. We learned all about how the food we eat gets into our blood, and what our heart and other vital organs do for us. We learned where they are located in the body and enjoyed fixing them into the velcro skeleton body suit!

We heard all about the importance of exercise, and thought about other ways to keep ourselves healthy and clean, such as washing our hands, having a wash and brushing our teeth. We met Harold the Giraffe, and had a great time checking that he had the right things in his wash bag for a sleepover with his grand parents. Finally we considered ways to keep ourselves happy, if we ever feel a bit sad and helped Gerald on his sleepover, as he missed his parents. We are happy to report that we succeeded in cheering him up with our thoughtful and appropriate ideas!

Many thanks to the Life Bus staff - we had a great time!

What a Week!

This week, we have not only walked to The Theatre Royal in Winchester, to watch a very clever production called 'Tiddler and Friends', but on Friday each class participated in a workshop, arranged by the theatre, which took place in our school hall. Following this, we returned to the the theatre in the afternoon, and continued our efforts, working towards going onto the stage to learn a song and a dance which we then proudly performed to our parents and carers at the end of the day. We had a fantastic time, and enjoyed being on the same stage that we had seen only a couple of days earlier.

Learning about Sharing

Over the last few days, we have been thinking about sharing, and how to make sure that a quantity is shared fairly and equally. We decided to give 1 each to all the 'plates' so everyone had the same, and keep repeating until all the original amount has gone. We found that this method always worked! We call it the 'one for me, one for you' way. We then discovered that if there are lots of items to be shared, we can be more generous, and it is quicker to try to give 2 each time, or even 3, to begin with until the quantity is smaller, and then it is better to return to one each. Great thinking and explaining everyone!

We have been planting beans

This week, we have all planted at least 1 bean, and are carefully looking after them all, to help them grow. We are wondering what kind of plants they will grow into, and also how tall they might be! We have been very patient, while waiting to see signs of growth, and now that there are some beans sprouting, we are remembering to be gentle when tending to our new plants.

Andy Goldsworthy Art

Today, we learned all about the artist Andy Goldsworthy, who creates beautiful sculptures out of natural materials. After discussing some of his work, and looking closely at what he had used and how he had arranged the materials, we then created our own art using his style as inspiration.

Take a look at some of our work below - we enjoyed deciding where to carefully place the natural objects we used to create these unique sculptures and art work.

Our Easter Egg Competition Entries

Each year all of the children in the whole school are invited to be creative and to decorate an egg in any way they like, with the only rule being that the whole creation be no bigger than a shoe box. From year to year, the entries get more creative, inventive and egg-stravagant, and we certainly look forward to seeing the new entries.

Please have a look at our YR entries this year - we think they are fantastic, and well done for entering! Which eggs do you think will get 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize?

People Who Help Us...Part 3

Today Butterfly class were very lucky to have our of our lovely parents in to talk about her job as a doctor. Mrs Johnes spoke very knowledgeably about what her job entails, and also brought some interesting props with her as she told us all about inside the human body. We were fascinated! Thank you very much Mrs Johnes for  giving up your valuable time to come and help us learn.

People Who Help Us...Part 2

We had a second visitor today. Our very own Mrs Feeley from the school office came in and spoke to us about her job and the important work that she does to keep the school going. We were all surprised to hear that she feels she does over 100 different things to keep everything running smoothly, and one of these things is very dear to our hearts - getting the lunch number correct so we can all get the right dinner! We usually do, so THANK YOU MRS FEELEY!

People Who Help Us...Part 1

As part of our current topic of People Who Help Us, a police officer came into school to see us today. We listened very attentively to CPSO Fletcher, who told us all facts about the police, and how they help us in so many ways, not just the catching of 'baddies' that we all knew about. We also took note of some  important safety messages such as Stranger Danger. We enjoyed his visit tremendously, and were very excited to be able to go inside a patrol car, and also to try on various pieces of police equipment. This visit inspired the children to write police reports, create jails, wear disguises and even do some burglar maths subtractions.

Sleeping Beauty Came to our School

We had a real treat today as a touring production of Sleeping Beauty came to St Bede, and along with Years 1 and 2, we had a fabulous time experiencing live theatre in a very familiar setting. We sang along, we laughed, we were surprised, we were a little bit frightened, we boo'd and hissed, and generally had a great time. Even two of our YR staff had an unexpected role within the show, and both Mrs Hutchinson and Mrs Smith were brilliant, joining in wholeheartedly. Thank you to the HSA for arranging this - it was SO much fun!

Welcome, and WELL DONE, to ALL Our New YR Children!

We are delighted to welcome into St Bede our 60 new YR children, who are a fantastic group. They have settled in extremely well and we have had lots of smiling, giggling and laughing over these first few weeks. Even though some of the children have not been to pre-school with any of the others, all the children have been making friends and have been very busy with a whole host of enjoyable and fun activities. As a staff team, we are thrilled that the transition from pre-school (or home) to school is going so well and that the children already feel very comfortable to share information and show us what they know and can do.

We would also like to thank all our parents for giving us time on a home visit, so we can get to know your child as well as possible. This really does make a huge difference, so THANK YOU.

Ideas for activities/support

In order to assist your child with key skills, here are some ideas which will help support them:

General:

• Practice dressing and undressing, especially buttons, zips, shoelaces, socks/tights and jumpers.
• Share stories regularly, including books that your children are now starting to read to you. Point  out 'tricky' words such as the, said and help your child to become familiar with such words.
• Practice using a knife and fork for cutting.
• Use ICT at home, especially using the mouse on a computer (if you have access to one).
• Encourage independence by getting your child to remember all the things they need to take to and bring home from school, without you needing to remind them.

Topic related.

• With your child, assemble your child's 'Marvellous Me Box' and send it in to school for your child to show. Rehearse with your child what they might like to tell everyone about the items inside their box.
• Sharing stories about families.
• Tell your child things about themselves when they were young.

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                                                                                     Academic Year 2016-2017

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It's Multicultural Week!

There are always plenty of activities happening in school, but this week in particular we have even more going on than usual! It is our annual Multicultural week, and here in the Early Years we have lots of fun, exciting and different activities to take part in.

On Monday we had a day learning about India, and experienced an Indian Dance workshop, wonderfully led by Bridget Lawrence and her Bollywood-acting husband Surendra Singh, who has appeared in many Bollywood films. We learned a Bollywood dance based on the Teddy Bears' Picnic, called Ta Ra Rum Pum Teddy Bears' Picnic. This was a lot of fun, and there was plenty of excellent listening and dancing going on, and not just from the children....the staff got fully involved too!

If you are interested in finding out more about Surendra and the workshops he runs, please click on the link below:

http://bollywoodworkshopswithsurendra.co.uk/

We also created Rangoli patterns using dried pasta and legumes, and devised our own Mehndi hand patterns.

On Tuesday we learned about Africa, and enjoyed an African drumming session - it felt like Africa too in the lovely heat we have this week! The children listened wonderfully and loved learning songs and drumming to the African beat. The sound each class made was fantastic, and this was a brilliant way for the children to play an instrument en-masse, something that they had not experienced until now. We borrowed a few of the drums and took them outside, where several children continued creating wonderful rhythms. We also used watercolours to create an African-inspired background for some silhouette work, as well as learning all about some of the wonderful African animals that roam the continent.

On Wednesday, Butterfly class were treated to a Spanish class, thanks to Mrs Adie who came in for the second time to speak to us, and both classes took part in an aborigine emu dance, which we completed outside in the Bedery, and we studied aborigine patterns.

On Thursday, we had a day in the Caribbean where we learned about Anansi the Spider, and enjoyed a steel pan concert where we also discovered interesting facts about steel pans. Did you know they were invented in Trinidad and Tobago, or that the deeper the skirts (the sides), the deeper the sound they make? Each note is tuned by hand, and the price of a steel pan varies up to about £2,000!  We also had great fun in a Caribbean dance workshop, where we learned a routine and also practised our limbo skills.

Friday is a day of celebration where everyone dresses up in items of national dress, or simply bright and colourful clothing. Parents from our community are manning stalls showcasing their own culture, and in the afternoon, parents are welcomed into school to see for themselves the range of activities their child has taken part in throughout the week,

Please enjoy looking at these photos that give a flavour of this week's proceedings.

A Special Visitor!

As part of our current topic of 'All Around the World', we welcomed one of our parents who came and talked to both classes about the country where she is from - The Netherlands. Mrs Van Der Noord had made an amazing presentation for us to look at while she spoke knowledgeably about her own country. The children were very interested to learn all about the King and why the colour orange is the official colour of The Netherlands. We looked at images of Amsterdam, clogs, cheese, windmills and beautiful rainbow fields of tulips. The children also spotted a familiar book character - Miffy, as the lovely Miffy books are written by a Dutch author. The children were especially fascinated to hear that in The Netherlands, a common food for breakfast is chocolate sprinkles on bread! Mrs Van Der Noord had kindly made some of this for us all to taste, and everyone thought it was extremely yummy!

The children listened very attentively, and made us proud with the careful thought and  good questions they put to Mrs Van Der Noord at the end of her time with us.

Thank you so much to Mrs Van Der Noord for giving up her time to come and tell us all about The Netherlands - we decided we would all love to visit after such an interesting talk.

Our Outdoor Learning at St Bede

Our outside area is always available, but with the advent of better weather, more children are inclined to spend more time outside than ever.  Outdoor learning has many benefits to children, and some of these are detailed below for your information:

• Learning outside supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles by offering children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement, and promoting a sense of well-being.
• •Learning outside gives children contact with the natural world and offers them experiences that are unique to outdoors, such as direct contact with the weather and the seasons.
• •Playing and learning outside also helps children to understand and respect nature, the environment and the interdependence of humans, animals, plants, and life cycles.
• Outdoor play also supports children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness.
• An outdoor environment provides children with space, both upwards and outwards, and places to explore, experiment, discover, be active and healthy, and to develop their physical capabilities.
• An outdoor environment offers space, and therefore is particularly important to those children who learn best through active movement. Very young children learn predominately through their sensory and physical experiences which supports brain development and the creation of neural networks.
• For many children, playing outdoors at their early years setting may be the only opportunity they have to play safely and freely while they learn to assess risk and develop the skills to manage new situations.

An outdoor space is essential to the healthy development of our youngest  pupils, and we try to use this as much as possible.

Here are a few pictures showing the diversity of outdoor learning that goes on in our outdoor classroom.

Our Trip to St Bartholomew's Church

We excitedly donned our coats and high-viz jackets today to walk out of school for a new experience for Butterfly and Ladybird classes. Usually Father Cliff comes to worship with us at St Bede, but today we were welcomed into the ancient church of St Bartholomew's where we learned about some of the special places in his church. He showed us the pulpit, the lectern, the font and the altar and explained what they were used for and why these places are important. As part of our time in church, we listened to a Bible reading, sang a hymn and said some prayers including The Lord's Prayer. Whilst we were inside, the sun streamed in through the stained glass windows, and we all thought that the church looked very beautiful.

Thank you Father Cliff for a lovely worship.

Reception Entries to the Annual St Bede Easter Egg Competition

We are 'egg'cited to show you all of this year's Reception competition entries. They are all brilliant, unique and wonderful!

A Fantastic Art Day!

We have all been very fortunate today to experience working with 2 local artists. Jenny Muncaster and Rachael Alexander took the short trip from The Colour Factory to St Bede and took small groups in turn throughout the day to work with the children in creating artworks inspired by different pieces of music. The children were encouraged to use their imagination to respond to the changes in tempo and style of the music, as well as more unusual ways of mark-making, to create unique art.

We worked so hard with our listening and concentrating, and all thoroughly enjoyed this lovely experience.

Many many thanks to Jenny and Rachael, plus a special thanks must go to Granny Pam, who helped to organise this for all the children. We most definitely appreciate it.

PS Jenny and Rachael are the artists behind the colourful bollards in The Square - if you go into Winchester, take your child and have a look!

If you are interested in discovering more about The Colour Factory, click on the link below.

http://www.thecolourfactory.org.uk/

People Who Help Us - Part 3

Both Reception classes were treated to not one but two police officers, or PCSOs, who came to visit us and talk to us today. We all listened very well to information about the job of a PCSO, and the varied work that is involved, and we loved looking at the equipment that PCSOs carry as they go about their day. We asked lots of questions and were particularly interested in the handcuffs and radios. We learned all about callsigns (the code name for each PCSO) and we now all know that dialling 999 is only for a true emergency, and also that a police officer is someone you can always go to if you need help for any reason.

After we had listened very well, the fun didn't end as we then got to go inside a patrol car, and try on handcuffs and other police clothing!

Thank you so much to our two local PCSOs who took time out of their busy day to tell the children important safety messages that will help keep them safe. The PCSOs would also love it if, when you see them out and about, you remember to give them a wave and say hello!

People Who Help Us - Part 2

Mr Netherwood, one of our parents, kindly gave up some of his time and came in to talk to both classes about being a firefighter, and what his job entails. He made quite an impression on the children, and they all listened intently to what he was saying and the safely messages he spoke about. We had plenty of questions to ask him, and now know much more about ways to keep ourselves safe and what to do if there is a fire.

Thank you so much Mr Netherwood - we learned a lot from you and loved having you visit us!

Taking an imaginary journey

We have all experienced a truly fantastic theatre workshop today. Perform worked with each class and Funky Fairy transported us to a magical forest where the wicked Red Queen lived in her palace. We needed to find her magic story book, and we searched the palace for it, being careful that the Queen did not find us. She kept on nipping back so we had to be very observant! We had a huge amount of fun, whilst practising our listening skills and using our imagination. Funky Fairy captivated children and staff alike, and everyone was fully engrossed and enthralled in the whole workshop.

Thank you SO much to Funky Fairy and Perform for giving us all this wonderful opportunity. Please come again - we'd love to work with you another time.

World Book Day

Although we do concentrate on developing reading every day at St Bede as it is such a crucial life skill, we had a super-charged fun-packed day today to help us celebrate books and reading even further! We arrived at school dressed up as a book character of our choice, and we all looked FANTASTIC!! Year R led the whole school Parade round the playground in front of all the parents to start the day, and then the rest of the day was filled with activities all relating to books and our characters. We wrote about our characters, we danced and moved as our characters in PE, we drew our characters, we shared books about our characters, we described our characters and why we had chosen them. At the end of the day we got together with Millais class who came to share books with us, and this was a huge success. Thank you to Millais class for coming to spend time with us - we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Thank you to all our parents and carers who sorted out costumes, they really helped the day go with a swing.

Below are a few photos to give a flavour of our day - take a look!