Foundation Stage Newsletter
FOUNDATION STAGE NEWSLETTER
Friday 5th September 2008
Hello and welcome back to school! I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer break – despite the weather! I am really looking forward to an exciting year and I am sure that the children will have lots of fun in their learning journey.
F2 Parents’ Meeting
There will be a meeting for all F2 parents on Wednesday 24th September, at 3.30pm in the Foundation Unit. This will be an opportunity for F2 parents to find out more about what their children will be learning this year and how they can help. I will be explaining some of the approaches we use to teach Phonics, reading, writing and maths. There will be a chance to ask any questions you may have and time to explore the Foundation Unit to learn more about what we do. If you cannot make this meeting due to work commitments, please do see me to arrange an alternative meeting.
There is a whole-school open evening on the same day, from 4pm until 7pm. You will be able to walk around the school and see what happens in other year groups. The open evening is not a parent’s evening for individual appointments - we will be holding one later in the term.
Curricular Targets
The school curricular target for reading is to identify and blend phonemes (sounds). In Foundation 2 we are learning around 4 new sounds each week and practising reading these sounds. Foundation 1 children are learning to recognise the letters and sounds in their own names and are also able to access some of the activities done by F2.
The school curricular target for writing is to improve our handwriting and presentation. We will be using our new handwriting scheme to practise different letter shapes on a large scale, as well as learning our letter formation for specific letters.
The target for Maths is number bonds. In Foundation we will be learning to use the Numicon shapes, which will help us to see the relationships between numbers.
Please keep checking the Parents’ Notice Boards for information about what we are learning and how you can help your child at home.
Reading
Please feel free to select a library book for your child and write the title in your child’s section of the record book. Please take one book at a time, but this can be changed as often as you wish.
Reading books will be sent home for F2. These will be the books we are reading in our group guided reading sessions. Your child may keep the same book for a few weeks, as the aim is to develop their reading skills rather than race through a scheme of reading. This will be discussed further at the parents’ meeting on Wednesday 24th September.
Topic
This half term our topic is All About Me. For the first few weeks we will mostly be concentrating on settling in to the new school year. Towards the end of the half term we will be learning about teeth and eating.
P.E
F2 children participate in two P.E. lessons per week. For the first half term these will be on a Monday and Friday morning, so please ensure that your child has a named P.E. kit in school on these days.
Baking
Baking will commence NEXT half term.
Fruit
Fruit is free for Foundation 1 children. Foundation 2 children get free fruit in the mornings, but if you want your child to have fruit in the afternoon it costs 10p per day. There is a fruit record book and money tin under the parents’ notice board – please ask if you are unsure about this.
Guinea Pig
This year we are lucky enough to have a new addition to the Foundation Stage – our class guinea pig. The children have named him Ben. We would welcome donations of fresh fruit, raw vegetables, dry food, hay or wood shavings to help keep our guinea pig healthy.
Dates for your Diary
Wednesday 24th September F2 parents’ meeting 3.30 – 4.00Whole school Open Evening 4.00 – 7.00
Friday 26th SeptemberTRAINING DAY – school is closed to pupils.
Friday 3rd OctoberHarvest (details to follow)
Jeans for Genes Day (details to follow)
Friday 24th OctoberLast day of Half Term.
Monday 3rd NovemberStart of the second Half Term
The ‘Key Person’
We have started a new ‘key person’ system, which is now a national requirement in Early Years Settings. Each child is assigned a ‘key person’, who will be responsible for checking their Foundation Stage Profile and monitoring their general wellbeing.
Miss Kell is the Key Person for F2 children and Mrs. Potter is the Key Person for the current F1 children. Mrs. Walton will be a Key Person for the children starting in Nursery later in the year.
However, this does not change the day-to-day running of the Foundation Stage. All the Foundation Stage staff members are equally committed to the education and welfare of each and every child, regardless of whether they are the child’s ‘key person’ or not.
Please understand that you may still speak to ANY member of the Foundation Stage Staff about your child, their education and wellbeing.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the information in this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Miss S. Kell