Reception Staff
Mrs Richards – Reception Teacher
Hi, my name is Chrissy Richards and once again I am going to be teaching Reception class at St John’s from September 2022. Having previously worked at St John’s for 7 years as an HLTA in Reception, I am absolutely thrilled to have been offered the opportunity to return to the school where my heart truly belongs, in the capacity of class teacher! In addition to many years experience working in the Early Years sector, my degree was also studying Early Years specifically. I am hugely passionate about my job and feel privileged to be a part of your child’s learning and development journey. I look forward to working in partnership with you. It is my intention to ensure your child thrives this year, and has a wonderful, memorable start to their school life!
In addition to being Reception teacher, this year I will be subject coordinator across school for Art and DT.
When I am not in school teaching, I really enjoy gardening and long walks in the countryside or by the coast with my family and friends. On Sundays I volunteer as a kid’s leader at my church.
Mrs Hogarth – HLTA
My name is Mrs. Hogarth and I am the Higher-Level Teaching Assistant in Reception. I work as part of the EYFS team to support the planning and implementation of the EYFS curriculum and to provide a safe and stimulating environment for all the children to learn and play in.
Since 2008 my role has evolved from working in Nursery to now being based in the Reception Class with Mrs Richards. What I absolutely love about working with this age group is being able to share with the children all the things I enjoy doing with my family such as baking, gardening, exploring the outdoors and having fun!
Mrs Elstob – Enhanced TA
My name is Mrs. Elstob and I am an Enhanced Teaching Assistant in Reception. I work as part of the EYFS team supporting children of all abilities to reach their full potential.
I have just begun my journey at St. John’s in September 2022 and I am really enjoying my time here. I love being outside and have a passion for outdoor learning. Autumn is my favourite time of year and it’s wonderful to explore natural treasures with the children.
Reception Important Information
Reading Books
Developing reading skills is fundamental to your child’s development and a huge part of their Reception journey! Children will receive a book every Friday to bring home and practise, as well as being able to access books and activities through Active Learn, with each child receiving a personal log-in. Additionally, staff will hear the children read throughout the week on a one-to-one basis. Children will also read to adults during other activities such as Guided Reading. The reading books that are sent home must be practised numerous times at home so that the children become confident young readers. Reading packets must be signed and returned to school every Thursday to be changed.
Homework
Throughout the year we ask parents to consolidate the skills being explored in the classroom such as children writing their own name, practising their counting, sharing books and developing their independence. Your child will also bring home lists of tricky words to practice recognition and spelling. From time to time we may send an additional piece of homework based around Knowledge and Understanding of the World.
PE Lessons
At the moment, Reception children will be completing all PE lessons every Friday in the hall. They will not need PE shoes until the Summer Term. We ask that your child brings their PE kit in a drawstring bag containing named white t-shirt and shorts. This will come home every half term to be washed and should be back at school on the first day back.
Attendance & Punctuality
At St. John’s Primary School, we are committed to providing pupils with the best educational opportunities available. To enable pupils to benefit from these opportunities it is essential that parents ensure their regular attendance.
The impact on children’s education through poor attendance, resulting in lost learning, is huge! Our children have already had their education disrupted due to the pandemic and every minute in school counts! To prevent anyone falling behind with their learning, we need to continue to work together to make sure that your child is in school and on time every day. We encourage all of our children to be at school for 8.40am for a prompt start to the day.
Additional Information
It would be extremely helpful if you could name your child’s uniform (especially the jumpers) in case they are misplaced throughout the school day. A spare clothes bag is not necessary for your child (unless a specific need has been discussed with staff), as we have limited storage space for this and have lots of spare clothes available to borrow if needed.
Your child should bring a named water bottle every day.
Please do not bring excess bags containing toys etc as we have limited space and belongings may get lost or damaged in school.
Finally, we look forward to getting to know you as we support your child together. If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of the team.
Thank you for your continued support!
Mrs Richards, Mrs Hogarth and Mrs Elstob.
Click on the link below to view the topics that will be taught this academic year.
Reception Curriculum Overview 2022-2023
Reception Newsletters
What we have been learning about – Reception Class 2022/2023
Christmas Nativity
We had an amazing time performing our Nativity this week! The Children were absolutely fabulous!
Children in Need fun!
Diwali
We learnt about Diwali- the Hindu Festival of Light. We talked about the similarities and differences to Christian celebrations. We listened to and acted out the story of Rama and Sita. We created colourful firework paintings! We made beautiful Rangoli patterns with Numicon and 2d shapes. We drew around our hands and created Mehndi patterns on them. We made repeating pattern friendship bracelets for our friends. At the end of the week we shared a delicious Indian banquet!
Reception learnt about Remembrance Day
We drew pictures of poppies and talked about why we are so thankful for our Armed Forces. We decorated poppy biscuits- they were yummy!
Reception Harvest Stay and Play
We had a wonderful time with our parents and carers at our Stay and Play afternoon! Thank you to everyone who supported this super afternoon!
Autumn
We enjoyed using our Autumn treasures and knowledge to aid other areas of learning- look at some of our amazing work! We especially enjoyed creating leaf print decorations with clay.
Signs of Autumn:
Reception enjoyed a wonderful walk around the school grounds looking for signs of Autumn- we found some wonderful treasures!
Guy Fawkes
Reception have loved learning all about Guy Fawkes and his plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. We learnt to retell the story in a simple way with actions and we created beautiful firework creations. We even had our own ‘Bonfire party’ in class! We ate hot dogs and drank hot chocolate; then we melted Matchmaker chocolates and dipped them in sprinkles to create our own edible sparklers!
Fire Safety
Reception have been learning about fire safety. Look who came to visit! “Red Watch” from Bishop Auckland fire station.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Reception had fun acting out the story “Whatever Next”…
Reception have begun to settle into their new surroundings…lots of fun was had by all during our first whole week in school!
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Reception Class 2021/22
Platinum Jubilee fun!
Reception travelled on a big bus to Tynemouth Aquarium. We had an amazing time and learnt lots of things about life ‘under the sea’!
Look at our amazing independent maths!
Reception walked up to St John’s Church. Rev Carol gave us a guided tour and we learnt lots of new things. We especially liked looking at the stained-glass windows. We had some quiet time to reflect and talked about different kinds of prayer and how Jesus taught us to pray.
Having learnt about volcanoes while reading ‘The Snail and Whale’, Reception decided to take part in some volcano science experiments outside!
Reception Book Reviews
Reception have been reading The Billy Goats Gruff and have been reviewing the story.
Please click on the link to view the Long Term Planning Document staff use to inform our weekly planning in EYFS.
What we have been learning about.
We have loved listening to ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ this week! During Literacy, we made WANTED posters to track down the giant. We drew super pictures and then used our phonics knowledge to write sentences to describe him or her.
Reception have had a fabulous PE lesson! They used the large apparatus safely and confidently- practising their balancing, jumping and climbing skills. They were superstars!
Reception have begun to learn about the Christian period of Lent. We especially enjoyed making pancakes today for ‘Shrove Tuesday’…they were delicious!
Reception have had lots of fun using chopsticks to eat a Chinese meal!
Reception have been learning about how different animals survive in the Winter months. We decided to make some bird feeders to give the birds a helping hand during this cold weather!
Virtual visit to The Oriental Museum
Reception wouldn’t let Covid get in the way of their school trip! The Oriental Museum had to cancel our trip so we decided we would have a virtual / imaginary trip! We travelled on a big bus and sang songs on the journey! We had a picnic lunch in the classroom, then enjoyed a range of Chinese New Year arts and crafts in our very own Oriental Museum! Before ‘coming home’ we enjoyed chatting to staff at the real museum in Durham and taking a look at some of their artifacts over a TEAMS call. We joined in with an interactive version of ‘The Great Race’ story, all about the Chinese Zodiac. We learnt that we are a mixture of roosters and dogs and that 2022 is the year of the Tiger!
Letters to Santa
Reception were working hard writing their letters to Santa last week. On Friday we excitedly posted them!
Indian food tasting experience -Diwali
We tried Pakora, onion Bhaji, samosa, poppadoms and mango chutney as part of our RE learning about the Hindu Festival of Light, Diwali.
Remember, Remember the Fifth of November!
We had our own safe bonfire in Reception. We listened to a story, sang songs, enjoyed hot dogs, chocolate sparklers and hot chocolate with marshmallows.
Visit from Bishop Auckland Fire Station
This week Reception have been learning about Guy Fawkes in preparation for Bonfire night. We were very lucky to have some very special visitors in from Bishop Auckland Fire Station. We were able to have a good look at the fire engine and learnt all about the very important job that firefighters do to help keep us all safe. We learnt how to keep safe around fireworks and what we should do if our clothes ever caught fire- STOP, DROP and ROLL!
Reception Newsletter
Reception News Autumn 1 – 2021
Home Learning
Information regarding home learning – updated 16/03/21
Reception’s virtual classroom is ready for use, you can find the link by accessing through Active Learn, or following the link Reception Virtual Classroom
Additional tasks have been added to Purple Mash. Keep checking as more tasks may be added throughout the week. You can also complete your own learning using Mini Mash. Remember to complete the games and books on Active Learn too.
Log in details for Purple Mash
Username – First name and first initial of surname, e.g. KateS
Password – 1234
Log in details for Active Learn
Username – First name and first initial of surname, e.g. KateS
Password – 12345
School Code – apxm
Please get in touch if you have any problems accessing your online learning.
Home Learning Link – https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQfKCsJWs8uP9psknfknJbdfUYQLi3WLQkuMqZ7ulklbUhhaOXOovm_e-XqqctOdiilAIRtu_G7Xd-X/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000
Other useful websites:
- Play online games to help with your counting skills – https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/3-5-years/counting
- Use the Cbeebies website and watch educational shows like Alphablocks https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/alphablocks and Numberblocks https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/numberblocks
- Phonics Play has a variety of free games for children to access to practise their sound recognition and blending https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
- Cosmic Kids Yoga – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cosmic+kids+yoga
- Joe Wickes PE https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=joe+wickes+pe
- Nursery Rhymes and Songs https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-a-to-z-index/z4ddgwx
Stay safe and we hope to see everyone soon.