Welcome to Y Garth 2018-2019

Croeso i Reception Class- Y GARTH.

The teachers in this year group are Mrs James, Mrs Farrell, Miss Key and Mrs Rowley. 

Mrs James will be in Class Monday, Tuesday and every other Wednesday morning and Mrs Farrell will be in class on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday every week.

Some photos from today...

To put your mind at rest, all the children had a happy and enjoyable day today. 

The children playing and working independently as soon as they arrived this
morning.

The benefits of two classes working so closely together (Nursery & Reception) as a unit, encourages positive transition for the children in the first few years of their education and helps alleviate any anxieties that they could possibly have. They are all very used to the shared environment and all the staff within the department. We keep a close eye on them during their time in their new class and will let you know regularly on how they are settling and working. 

We have already begun to implement our daily routines. Today the children 

had an introduction to guided reading and worked on focused tasks.

Guided Reading Activities.

Thinking about rules and creating possible rules for our class.

Some of the children need to complete this task tomorrow.

The Autumn Term is a very exciting time for your child starting a new class, with new teachers and with regards to some children the first time attending compulsory education for a whole day. 

In Y Garth class we will be using our blog, text and Twitter school accounts  to update you regularly so please check the blog, clicking on Y Garth page, on a weekly basis. 

The children will also be encouraged to frequently use 'the hwb' which is our school and class virtual learning platform- more information and guidance on this will follow. 

What can you expect for the first half term in Y Garth? 

Our Topic/Theme this term is Yr Enfys (The Rainbow). 

All skills and subjects will be taught/delivered under the umbrella of this theme and we will be learning lots about colour.

In Reception we learn through play which includes enhanced provision- learning to play and learn independently whilst completing a differentiated task. Focused provision- small differentiated group work with the support and guidance of a Teacher, whole and half class based learning, outdoor based learning, one to one support and specific intervention groups. Everything will be very hands on and child centred. 

During this term every child will be assessed using 'The Foundation Phase Compact Profile.' This provides us with a baseline assessment for their Primary Education. You have nothing to worry about or anything to do to prepare for this. It's observational and task led and the teachers will compete all the assessments. During our Parents evening in October we will discuss the assessment profile and your child's outcomes with you. 

Every week we will provide a general overview of the learning and examples of activities that will take place. Home learning tasks, reading and maths consolidation will also be posted.

PE kits.

Please send in a labelled PE kit for your child in a labelled bag. We will store the kits in school for half a term and then return them to you for washing. 

Please ensure that all the children have a pair of wellies and coat in school which are labelled. Most of their clothing and bags are labelled but as a reminder would you please ensure that all drinks bottles, bags, clothing etc are clearly labelled with your child's name. It is a difficult job to keep track of unlabelled clothing and items.

Snack money is £16 for the first half term at £2 a week. We are providing all snacks during the morning sessions and afternoon sessions, so you do not need to send one in. 

Reading books and High Frequency Words. Over the next two weeks we will assess your child's phoneme and grapheme development and give them a book/words according to their stage and ability. 

Every child learns at a different pace from others and it is irrelevant what stage or set of words your child has compared to other children. If reading is rushed or forced in an unpleasant learning style then you might create a problem for your child enjoying and learning to read confidently at a later stage. Mrs James will be holding parent workshops on reading and writing later on in the term if you wish to attend, to show you how to support your child in doing so in a fun and enjoyable way. More information to follow with the dates and times.

We look forward to meeting you all and working with your child.  If you need to speak to us then please ring our school secretary to make an appointment. Alternatively send in a note with your child regarding any ideas, worries or concerns. 

Kind regards,

Mrs James, Mrs Farrell, Miss Key and Mrs Rowley.