Brookburn Primary School

Staff

Mrs Conlon	Assistant Headteacher – Early Years Teacher – Class RLC
Miss Bergin Mrs Williams	Teacher – Class RCB (Mon-Thu) Teacher – Class RCB (Fri)
Ms Jones	Early Years Teaching Assistant Lead
Ms Barbey	Teaching Assistant
Mrs Devine	Teaching Assistant

Literacy- Key texts

This half term, we will read the story, ‘The Elephant’s Umbrella’ by Laleh Jaffari and the non-fiction text, ‘Lions’. In The Elephant’s Umbrella, we will continue writing simple sentences, containing words linked to the text. We will also write a class book which we will add to our reading areas. In Lions, we will write short sentences and facts that are linked to the text. We will even attempt our first riddle all about lions.

Phonics: We will continue with our ‘Sounds-write’ programme using the following sounds: Continuing with Unit 9: with CCVC words e.g. ‘slip’ and introducing the digraph ‘sh’. We will then introduce children to Unit 10 using words made up of CCVCC, CCCVC, CCVCCC e.g. ‘crisp’. Finally, we will introduce Unit 11 with digraphs, ch, th, qu, ng and ck.

World Book Day- We are excited to be joined by the author and illustrator Tessa Singh, who wrote the book ‘Bob saves the world’. She will be working with both Reception classes throughout the day.

Maths

In Maths, we will be exploring symmetrical patterns, in which each side is a familiar pattern, linking this to ‘doubles’.

We will continue to consolidate their understanding of cardinality, working with larger numbers within 10 and become more familiar with the counting pattern beyond 20, explore the composition of odd and even numbers, looking at the ‘shape’ of these numbers, begin to link even numbers to doubles and begin to explore the composition of numbers within 10. We will describe and sort 2-D and 3-D shapes and recognise, complete and create patterns.

Understanding the World

During our unit on ‘Lions’ we will look at lion habitats and discuss the similarities and differences between hot and cold climates and where we live. We will look at the seasonal changes from Winter to Spring.

We will also look at the festivals, Easter and Holi and discuss how people celebrate these and what special events take place around the world. We will discuss how people celebrate different festivals throughout the year and compare these celebrations with others.

We have recently learnt about animals in cold countries and this half term we will learn about animal habitats in hot countries. We will also discuss how some animals live in zoos and the benefits of these. To support our learning, we will enjoy a trip to Blackpool Zoo.

Personal, social and emotional development

Through our ‘Think Equal’ programme, stories and carpet time, we will continue looking at our feelings and emotions using the mood meter. This half term we focus on us looking at kindness and friendship, inclusion and empathy. We will talk about taking care of nature- animals and the world we live in.

As part of managing-self, we will be talking about how regular physical activity is good for you and practising doing up zippers and buttons.

Our Golden Rules

We use these in class with the children and refer to them regularly. Please discuss these with your child at home.

Our class charter is also something that we refer to regularly. The 3 we chose as a class were- the right to play, the right to be safe and the right to learn.

Physical development

We will continue to practise the fundamental PE skills including rolling, crawling, jumping, hopping, climbing and skipping. We will also look at combining these different skills for ease and fluidity.

We will continue to develop children’s small motor skills so they can use a range of tools with confidence e.g. pencils for writing and scissors for cutting competently and safely. Please practise these skills at home, especially holding and cutting with a pair of scissors correctly. If you need a pair of children’s scissors then please let us know as we are happy to provide these if it helps. Don’t forget to refer to the ‘fine motor’ booklet we sent.

A huge factor in children’s development is being able to use a zip, button/unbutton items of clothing and put on/pull off a jumper. We will continue to work on children’s skills in these areas, however we would really appreciate your support with this at home. Thank you. ☺

Important Dates

Hearing and vision checks- 4^th March

Progress Evenings: 19^th March- 7pm (face to face)/ 20^st March- 6pm (virtual)

World Book Day: 6^th March- Dress up as your favourite character or come in your pyjamas. Don’t forget to bring your favourite book. Author visit.

6^th March- Design a rosette, sash or banner to promote gender equality (linked to International Women’s Day)

Comic relief day: 21st March

PTA welly walk: 28^th March

Blackpool Zoo trip- TBC

Term ends: 4^th April at 2pm

Summer term begins: Tuesday 22nd April

Brookburn
Primary
School

Reception