Author: John Galvin

P.P.S. Oak Cass

September 2020
Autumn Term

Dear Parents,
Welcome to Petworth C of E Primary and Oak Class. We hope everyone has had an enjoyable and restful summer break. We are looking forward to a very exciting term ahead!
During the first few weeks of the term our learning will focus on supporting children in their transition into Oak Class. Our aim is to enable all of the children to feel safe and secure in their new environment, and to know what is special and unique about them and their new class. As the children begin their new school year, we will talk about the rules we need to follow in order to make Oak Class a happy place, as well as showing respect for our school and other people around us.
Our Curriculum
In Reception the children are working within the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is a continuation from the curriculum that your child will have followed if they attended nursery or pre-school. There are seven areas of learning within this curriculum:
Prime Areas
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Specific Areas
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
The children in Oak Class will develop their skills in the above areas through a wide range of play based experiences. Our role is to observe the children in their play and plan experiences based on the children’s interests, which may take place in one to one, small group or whole class activities. Although we will plan some set topics throughout the year, the majority of our topics and learning is guided by the children. As parents, you know your child inside out and therefore it is important that we work together in order to find out their interests and achievements throughout the year. We will periodically ask you for information from you about your child’s current interests, any important events in your child’s life at that time, as well as any other information you wish for us to know. We can then plan activities and experiences around this information, as well as taking into account what we have observed in school.
We will have daily Phonics and Maths sessions which will support your child in developing their early reading and mathematical sills. Our blog will updated weekly and will have information about the letter sounds we are learning, as well as the area of Maths we are covering. You can find our blog at http://oakclasspetworth.edublogs.org/ .
Daily Phonics teaching will include specific teaching of reading skills. The children will be learning to recognise and use letter sounds in everyday life and begin to blend those sounds for early reading.

P.P.S. Oak Cass

September 2020
Autumn Term

Tapestry
We will upload photos and observations of your child onto Tapestry regularly. You will be able to view these and comment as you wish. It is always great to see what your child has been doing at home, therefore please upload any learning experiences or interests that you have captured so that we can share these within the class and inspire your child’s peers too!
Home Learning
In addition to uploaded messages and photographs to Tapestry we are always keen for the children to share any learning that they have carried out at home. This could take many forms; for example a drawing, writing or number work. If your child would like to share their home learning, please bring it in so that we can put it on our home learning wall and celebrate it as a class.
General information
Oak Class will take part in weekly P.E. sessions on a Wednesday afternoon, as well as having opportunities to use the outdoor climbing equipment on a regular basis. Please ensure that your child has their P.E. kit in school every day and that it is all named. This will be sent home fortnightly to be washed. Please ensure that earrings are removed on a Wednesday for health and safety reasons.
We spend a lot of our day learning outside in all weathers. Please ensure your child dresses appropriately dependent on the weather forecast for the day. This may include gloves, hats and raincoats.
Supporting your child at home
Throughout the year there will be a number of ways in which you can support your child with their learning at home. During the first few weeks your child will be issued with a reading book chosen for their age and stage of development, which we will change regularly. We encourage you to read at home with your child everyday, to give them valuable practise with this key skill. In the early stages of their reading journey, think about the story in the pictures with them, can they talk about what might happen next or role play the narrative? Or perhaps identify letters and sounds that are familiar with them. Please use the Reading Record book provided in your child’s book bag to comment on your child’s understanding of the story and what skills they have been practising. As well as their reading books, children will bring home library books. These will be chosen by the children themselves during our regular library sessions and as they are the children’s own choice, they may be more suitable to be read to them or shared in a more collaborative way in order to develop their love of books!
We look forward to an exciting year in Oak Class and thank you for your support during your child’s transition into school. If you have any questions, please speak to Mrs Fogden or Miss Rawlings.