MOVING ON...to YEAR ONE!

It is hard to believe that we have begun our final half-term of this school year! Our final topic is ‘Moving On…to Year One’.  We plan to really make the most of what is left of our time in Reception by reflecting on all the special times we have shared this year, celebrating the end of our time in Early Years before beginning our preparations for transition to Key Stage 1. 

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

The children will be encouraged to share their personal memories and experiences of their first year at school.  This will conclude with our Reception Graduation on 11 July at 9.30, where we will all be awarded a special certificate, sing some of our favourite songs and share some treasured memories, you might need your tissues!

We will turn our thoughts to moving up to Key Stage 1, and support the children to develop their self-confidence by understanding that they are ready now to move on to new opportunities and fresh adventures in Year One.  The children will have opportunities to visit their new classrooms and meet their new teachers with the Reception team to ease this transition.

Communication and Language

During circle time, we will talk about our aspirations as we ‘reach for the stars’ each day. Exploring different professions and careers, the children will have an opportunity to share their dreams for the future and reflect upon their talents and unique gifts.  The children will contribute to their end of year school report by talking about their ‘magic moments’ in Reception and articulating their feelings and memories about their first year at school. 

Literacy

All the literacy skills we have taught this year will be consolidated over this half term.  The children will know their literacy targets and understand what they need to do next in order to be ready for Year One.  These skills include:

*Recognising, remembering and saying all the RWI sounds, including special friends, taught this year

* Reading red words, nonsense words and green words using Fred Talk or Fred in your Head, watching out for tricky letters

*Using Fred Fingers to spell: segmenting simple words into individual sounds then writing them down

*Practising handwriting skills to write letters using the correct sequence of movement

*Developing confidence to write independently: full name, labels, captions, sentences

*Extending writing skills to write for a purpose: stories, lists, letters, signs, instructions, cards, messages

Our learning log homework books will focus on each of these skills as the half-term progresses.

Mathematics

As with literacy, the mathematics skills and key concepts relating to number and numerical patterns taught this year will be revised and consolidated to prepare the children for the Maths curriculum in Year 1.  These include:

*Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number.

• Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5.

• Automatically recall number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.

• Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system.

• Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity.

• Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally

Understanding the World

The children will be invited to identify the different ways they have grown and changed since they were babies and how much they have learnt since starting school as they prepare to move on to Year1.  Please send a baby photo to reception@emmaus.liverpool.sch.uk if you haven’t already so that we can include everyone in our end of year slideshow.

We will sensitively approach the changes ahead and symbolically, we will look after caterpillars and watch them transform into butterflies.  This will remind us of the changes ahead as we move on to new adventures. We have grown our wings in Reception all year and now we are ready to fly on into Year 1!

Expressive Arts & Design

We are rehearsing and learning a selection of songs, dances and speaking parts for our Graduation.  The children will be encouraged to perform their part with confidence to ensure our final emotional performance together will be an event to remember.

Physical Development

Sports Day is re-scheduled to take place on 30 June at 2.15 on the school field.  We will participate in 12 fun events that will practice all the physical skills we have been developing this year. We hope you can join us to cheer us on!

With the recent fine weather, we continue to reinforce our sun safety message: hats, drinks, sun cream.  We are unable to apply sun cream directly, so please ensure this is applied before coming into school or you may send in a labelled bottle of sunscreen for the children to apply themselves within the school day.

We are all looking forward to an exciting and memorable conclusion to our year together.  Please let us know if there is anything we can advise or help with as the children move ever closer to their transition to Year 1.

Yours sincerely

Emmaus Reception Team