Personal and Social Development and Cultural Diversity is one of the seven areas of learning which is at the heart of your child’s school experience. You can help support your child’s development by encouraging them to:
·Take turns
·Use their manners
·Be patient / not interrupting when others are speaking
·Become independent with their toileting.
·Be aware of personal hygiene e.g. Washing hands, wiping noses.
·Be kind and gentle with others.
·Talk to you about school
·Take on board small responsibilities e.g. looking after possessions.
You can also encourage your child by:
·Talking to them as much as possible and discussing life in general.
·Encouraging them to ‘take risks’ e.g. Climbing and balancing activities, etc.
·Reading lots of different books (story and information books) together and outdoor signs.
·Playing with your children, including indoor and outdoor games; throwing / catching balls, etc
·Walking around locality with them and discussing familiar sights.
·Sharing the experience of shopping and the value of money.
As you are aware, the children were set individual targets in their July reports at the end of the summer term and these will be discussed in further detail at the parents evening in November. In order to help you understand some of the targets the ‘average’ child is expected to reach by the end of Reception a list of developmental areas from three of the curriculum areas has been included for your information. Please be aware these are a guideline only and some children may not achieve all the skills while others will move on further. All children are different and do not work at the same rate.
Personal and Social Development
I can:
Can fasten my coat.
Hang my coat up,
Get changed for PE,
Tidy away my activity,
Line up quietly,
Eat all my dinner and say thankyou,
Sit on my chair properly,
Listen well on the carpet,
Language, Literacy and Communication Development
I enjoy listening to stories,
I know words that begin with each letter,
I know the order of the letters in the alphabet.
I can:
Sit quietly and look at a book,
Point to each word as I read,
Say a word that rhymes with....
Use pictures to help me read,
Retell a story,
Say all the letter sounds.
Mathematical Development
I know which is longer / shorter, heavier / lighter.
I can:
Count to 10,
Count to 20,
Recognise numerals to 10,
Recognise numerals to 20,
Make a repeating pattern,
Order numbers to 10,
Order numbers to 20,
Recognise 2D shapes: circle, triangle, square and rectangle.
Add numbers to 10 ( 3 + 5 = 8 ),
Reading begins in Reception with the Oxford Reading Tree activities. Reading books will go out on a Friday along with keyword packets. All reading books should be returned onWednesday. Keyword packets should be returned on a Wednesday to give staff time to assess the children’s progress and put new words in to learn if appropriate. We would ask for your help by encouraging their reading activities at home and keeping to a routine in returning their reading books to school. It is very important that you continue to discuss the “story element” of their reading books at all times. Learning the text is only a small part of the reading process and reading must not be seen as a race from beginning to the end of the book.
Later this term the children will be taking part in our Harvest and Christmas celebrations. Nursery and Reception will join together to perform their Christmas play.
We hope this booklet has helped you understand more about your child’s school life at St.Peter’s. However, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to discuss them with any member of the Lower Foundation Team.
Thank you for your Support
Mrs Matthews and Miss Jones
General Information
Term Dates for 2014-15 academic year.
- Autumn Term 2014
Term starts on Tuesday September 2nd and runs until Friday December 19th , with the week beginning Monday October 27th for half term.
Sept 1st is a staff training day.
- Spring Term 2015
Term starts on Tuesday January 6th and runs until Friday March 27th with the week beginning Monday February 16th for half term.
Monday January 5th is a staff training day.
- Summer Term 2015
Term starts on Tuesday April 14th and runs until Friday July 17th, with the week beginning Monday May 25th for half term.
Monday April 13th , Friday June 19th and Monday July 20th are staff training days. Monday May 4th is a bank holiday.
School starts at 9am. Please make every effort to arrive on time.
Foundation Phase children finish school at 3pm and KS2 children at 3.15pm
Our nursery sessions are 9-11.30 for the morning group and 12.30-3 for the afternoon group.
If possible we ask that children are not taken out of school for holidays during term time.
School Status
We are a Church in Wales primary school and as such have close links with our local church and the Vicar, Rev. Canon Pauline Walker, is a school governor and regular visitor. We celebrate Harvest and Christmas with services in Christ Church, Rossett. We are visited termly by our Bishop’s Visitor, Rev. S Evans, who works on behalf of the Bishop of St Asaph, visiting schools and supporting and assessing the collective worship and religious teaching that goes on.
Lunchtimes
There are 3 options for families at lunchtime- for their child to have a packed lunch from home, to have school dinners or to go home to eat. The school lunchtime is from 12-1 for foundation phase pupils and from 12.15-1.15 for key stage 2 pupils.
The school meals are provided by WCBC and the menu cycle is carefully planned to ensure children receive a nutritious and well balance meal. The menu cycle changes over the course of the school year and we will send home copies for your information. It is also available on the council website-
School dinners cost £2.15 per day for infants and £2.20 per day for juniors. This money should be paid each Monday. It is important that money is sent in an envelope showing your child’s name and class and the days for which you would like them to have a dinner.
School Uniform
We have a School Uniform, and the wearing of it is strongly encouraged.
The School uniform consists of a golden yellow polo shirt, with a black sweatshirt (school logo in gold/yellow). Black trousers/skirts should compliment this uniform. In the Summer months, the girls wear a Summer dress of yellow/white check gingham. Shoes are also encouraged NOT training shoes.
We would like to recommend that children wear the following P.E./Games kit for activities:
Indoor Work:
Infants and juniors:
Boys:- Black Shorts, Yellow T-shirt.
Girls:- Black Shorts and Yellow T-shirt or Black Leotard (Bare feet for all P.E. Work).
Outdoor Work:
Games Kit:
Boys:- Soccer Shirt/Sweatshirt, Shorts, Football Socks, Trainers or Soccer Boots.
Girls:- Sweatshirt, Black Shorts, Trainers (soccer boots if playing football may be worn).
(in winter Track Suits/Shell Suit, Jogging Suit can be worn).
N.B.
Soccer/Athletic shorts should be worn for P.E. lesson and not ‘Bermuda/Cycling Shorts’.
Please ensure that all School clothing (including coats and P.E. Kit) is clearly marked with your childs’ name. All items of School Uniform and P.E. kit can be bought from the school shop, which is available from the school office – any time of the day.
Items of lost property are normally stored in the cloakrooms close to the girls’ and boys’ toilets.
Jewellery
Children should not wear jewellery for school, with the exception of a wrist watch or small stud earrings. If you chose for your child to wear these items please be aware of the risks involved. All jewellery must be removed for P.E., games and dance to avoid accidents. The children themselves must be responsible for removing and replacing of earrings (because of the risk of cross infection).
Absences
Please contact the school office to inform of absences. If school is not informed of a reason for absence then it will be recorded in the register as unauthorised.
Child Care
To help our working parents we have the following child care facilities in school.
Nursery age pupils can attend ABC Club which is held every day from 11.30 until 2.50pm. Children will need to bring a packed lunch. Payment for sessions should be made in advance.
All children can attend Breakfast Club from 8-9 am and After School Club from 3 (3.15 for juniors) until 5.30pm Mrs Elizabeth Davies is the Co-ordinator for these facilities. Regular inspections of our facilities and staff are made by Care Standards Inspectorate.
Please see Mrs Davies if you would like to know more about these clubs.
Extra Curricular Activities
Many staff give up their own time, either at lunchtime or after school, to offer extra curricular activities for our children. These vary each term, according to season and details are sent out at the start of term.
The School Year
We hold traditional celebrations for Harvest in October time and of course during December Christmas concerts are held.
St David’s Day on March 1st is an important event in the school year and a school Eisteddfod is held. This gives pupils the opportunity to celebrate Welsh culture and their own creativity. A selection of events is held for each year group, including poetry recitation, art, craft, creative writing and music performance. Specific details are sent home nearer the time and each year a theme is also chosen to inspire the creative work. Sometimes, it is necessary to hold preliminary rounds for children to audition, with the best being chosen to perform at the Eisteddfod. Many children come to school dressed in Welsh National Costume on this day.
The summer fair is an important fixture in early July and the PTA will be appreciative of any support you can offer.
Snacks
During the morning break many children enjoy a snack. As a school we are encouraging our children to make healthy choices and we would ask you to support this when choosing snacks to send with your child. In our foundation phase classes (nursery, reception, years 1 and 2) healthy snacks are provided each day and children sit down together to enjoy a sociable time before or after going out to play. School staff make a small charge for this service.
Parking
Space in the school car park is very limited and therefore is for staff and official visitors only. Parents should not park there at the beginning and end of the school day. Please note this is to safeguard the health and safety of your children.
Handwriting Scheme
Capital letters don’t join
Always start with lower case letters from the line and finish with a tail.
All tall letters are the same height
All letters with tails go down to the same depth
All letters join without taking the pen off the paper
All letters join with tails except
r o vw
which don’t go back to the line but join as a bridge.
Familiarise the children with the names of the letter families, as this will help them to remember the letter formation.