‘Our vision is for our children to be happy, healthy, independent learners who communicate effectively and show respect for their environment, their peers and the global community’
9th September 2016
Dear Parents and Carers,
We hope you have all had a lovely summer and it was fantastic to see every one settle in so well this week. This letter will provide you with some further information regarding the start of school.
Reading books
As you are aware your child brought home their first reading book on today. These books are picture books, this will encourage telling a story using the pictures and character names. You child will move onto books with words when they are ready and confidently tell a story using the pictures. We will listen to your child during the week and aim to change their reading books twice a week.
Phonic sound books
We will begin to teach ‘Phonics’ next week. We will be learning four sounds a week and your child will bring home a purple ‘sound book’. This book will contain a picture of the action, which compliments the sound and a handwritten letter. It would benefit your child if you practice the new sound everyday and only practice the letter formation of the sound of the day.
Handwriting
At Cam Woodfield Infant School, we teach pre-cursive handwriting. We will send home a copy of the sound mat on Friday and some instructions on how we form the letters at school.
Book Bags
You will have your own book bag with your own special book to read at school and home. There will also be a reading record for the grown ups to write about what you have been reading. This will need to be in school everyday.
Named Wellington Boots
We do lots of exciting things outside even in the rain and sometimes we get muddy!
Spare clothes
We all know accidents may happen, in addition, we plan to use the outdoor environment to support our learning. Please can you provide a spare set of named clothes in case it is needed.
Named PE Kit
We enjoy PE twice a week; our P.E. days are MONDAY and WEDNESDAY. Sometimes we play games, dance or do gymnastics.
Water bottles
As a school, we provide a water bottle for each child so they have access to water throughout the day. We will wash the water bottles in school throughout the week. If you prefer to bring home your water bottle on a Friday, please ensure to return them the following Monday ready for the next week.
Parent Helpers
We value our partnerships with parents, so, if you can spare an hour to listen to readers or have a hidden talent or skill that you would like to share with us please can you let a member of staff know and after the October half term, once the children have settled in, we would love to see you.
Tapestry
We use an electronic learning journal called Tapestry, you should have had some information within your starting school pack in June. Tapestry allows parents to keep up to date with your child’s progress and you can include observations too. If your child attended Woodfield Nest Pre-school we already have access to your child’s learning journal, however, you will still need to complete a permission form. If your child attended another setting all we need is an email address from you, the parent or carer and your name, then we can add you onto Tapestry. You will receive an email from Tapestry that will provide instructions on how to access your child’s account.
Thank you if you have already completed and returned the completed form. If you have not already done so, please can you fill in the form at the bottom of the page and return it to your class teacher. This will enable us to input the correct information and start the process as soon as possible.
All information put onto Tapestry is confidential and must not be shared through social media.
With thanks,
Abbie McClung, Michelle Collings, Alison Tilson-Phillips and Tracey McHale
Dates for your diary:
5th and 6th September – Reception parent meetings
7th September – Reception children start half days
12th September – Older children start full time
19th September – All Reception children in full time
27th September – 3:15pm / 6:15pm Reception Parent curriculum meeting
29th September – Reception ‘stay and learn’ all parents are welcome to join us in class
12th and 13th October – Parents evening (Wednesday 4pm-7:30pm, Thursday 3:30pm – 5:30pm)
Half term - 19th October -31st October
Tapestry consent form
Child’s name______(PRINT NAME)
Child’s class______
Child’s class Teacher ______
1. Name of parent or carer ______(PRINT NAME )
1. Email address to be used______
2. Name of parent or carer ______(PRINT NAME )
2. Email address to be used______
I ______give consent to be able to access the ‘TAPESTRY’
Learning journal. I understand that everything that is put onto ‘TAPESTRY’ is confidential and I will not share anything on social media. In addition, I will inform my child’s class teacher of any changes to the above email addresses.
Signature______
DATE:______