This is a very important part of your child’s time at St. John Fisher. It is the beginning of our journey together.
Our staff team are Mrs Badhan, working as class teacher supported by Mrs Mohammed, Mrs Dechamps, Mrs Simmonds and Mrs Wilcox, working as our teaching assistants (although our TAs also serve elsewhere in the school).
During this very important year we will work in partnership with you to care for and educate your child. We aim to offer new opportunities to your child to help draw out their ability and potential, helping each individual to grow and develop in preparation for the future.
At St. John Fisher we strive to ensure that the children get the best possible start to their school life by providing them with a fun and engaging curriculum. We encourage your child to work through adult-directed tasks and self-chosen activities. Our learning environment is both indoor and outdoor, with resources that children can self-select during “Exploring Time” with some provocations to build on our adult-directed learning. This balance is designed to develop your child’s independence, enjoyment and learning through play.
Guided by Jesus’ love and example, we use our gifts to grow, pray and learn as a community; united in faith.
Our school Mission Statement is at the heart of everything we do in Reception Class. Your child will learn that Jesus loves us all and that we are special. We all try hard to treat everyone that we meet with love and respect, just as Jesus did. We encourage the children to join in and say our prayers together, experience and engage in Collective Worship and respond to Bishop’s themes of Encounter, Discipleship and Missionary Discipleship. Children in Reception will follow the Come and See Programme through the topics of Myself, Welcome, Birthdays, Celebrating, Gathering, Growing, Good News, Friends and Our World. We will also learn about the cultures, rituals and celebrations of other faiths and communities around the world.
Your child will be learning skills, gaining new knowledge and demonstrating understanding through seven areas of learning and development.
The three prime areas are:
- Communication and Language;
- Physical Development;
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
Your child will also develop skills in four specific areas. These are:
- Literacy;
- Mathematics;
- Understanding the World;
- Expressive Arts and Design.
These seven areas are used to plan your child’s individual learning.
We look forward to working in partnership with you and your child.
Advent Term Curriculum
This term our focus texts are:
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
Nibbles The Book Monster by Emma Yarlett
We will be using the pictures to predict what might happen in the story. We will also discuss characters and settings and use everything we have discovered to write our own versions of the story.
Topic
This half term the EYFS and Year 1 children are going to work together in their Understand the World, Science, Geography and History topics. We are going to be finding out about our likes, dislikes, our families and our homes. We will be investigating different seasons and the weather we usually experience during those seasons. We will also learn about different animals and explore how to group them into carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.
Detailed information about our curriculum can be found on the Curriculum tab on the main website page.
EYFS Staff
Mrs Badhan
Mrs Wilcox
Mrs Mohammad
Mrs Simmonds
Mrs Dechamps
Useful Links
EYFS and Year 1 Reading at Home
Each week, we ask that all children read with somebody at home at least three times a week. This could be any adult, an older sibling or friend. Every little bit of reading really does help children on their learning journey. Please write in your children’s communication diary when you read with your child each day.
Please bring your child’s book bag to school every day as this will help when we change their books. Please read the same story book several times with your child. Talk about the cover, ask them to tell you what is happening and talk about the characters. At the end of the week, encourage your child to tell you the story, using the pictures to guide them.
Year 1 Spelling Homework
Year 1 will have spellings to practice each week. The children will be sent home with spelling sheets for them to practice each word 4 times, ready for their spelling test on a Friday. Please practice these words with your child at home.
PE Kits, Wellies and Puddle Suits
Please send in your child’s PE kits as soon as possible. They will stay in school for the whole half term. We will send them home to be washed at every school holiday.
Please also send in wellies and puddle suits ready for when we start Forest School.
PE and Forest School are on Thursday afternoons.
Please ensure every item is clearly labelled with your child’s name.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s learning, please feel free to speak to any member of the team after school at the end of the day. Alternatively, you can send an email to EYFS@djf.srscmat.co.uk. We are unable to reply to emails during the school day but will reply within 72 hours of receiving your email, excluding weekends or school holidays.