Squirrels
Welcome to Squirrels!
Squirrel Class 2018-2019
8th September 2018
Welcome to Squirrel Class
Mrs Gasson and I have really enjoyed meeting you and your families at home this week. We are looking forward to getting to know
you all better over the coming weeks. If you have any questions, concerns or worries please don't hesitate to speak to us or any other members of the Year R team. We look forward to seeing you all in class next week.
Autumn Term 1
Our topic for this term is ‘All About Me’ and as we learn more about ourselves and each other we will explore our appearance, our families, how we grow and our senses. We will investigate and celebrate the similarities and differences between ourselves and each other. In Literacy we will read and discuss a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts including ‘Handa’s Surprise’ and ‘My Five Senses’. We will also begin our phonics journey with Phase 1 of the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme, which focuses on developing the children’s listening skills with exciting activities such as sound walks. In Maths the children will begin to develop their confidence with numbers in familiar contexts such as nursery rhymes and role play. The children will learn to count and order numbers from 0 to 10 and extend their counting abilities by reliably counting objects. We will look at shape and practise using simple mathematical language to name and describe flat, 2D shapes.
Please click on the link below for more information on our curriculum this half-term.
Meet the Year R Team
Rabbit Class: Ms Ailsa Lamble (Year R Lead)
Mrs Verity Duffy (HLTA)
Squirrel Class: Miss Tori Healy (Class Teacher)
Mrs Ammy Gasson (TA)
Owl Class: Mrs Debbie McRoberts (Class Teacher)
Mrs Jackie Hooper (HLTA)
We look forward to getting to meet you all over the coming months. If you have any questions, concerns or just fancy a chat, please come and see any of the Year R team.
Squirrel Class 2017-2018
Communication and Language support:
This year in Havant we have the highest number of children 'at risk' of a communication and language delay EVER. Due to this we thought it would be useful for you to know where you can go for support and how. The staff at Fairfield will always be on hand to answer questions and can support you as much as we can but there is also a lot of help, guidance, tips and resources for free online. These websites are full of information! If you have any concerns please please do come and speak to us, as the earlier we can give support, the better.
http://wordsforlife.org.uk/
https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/resources/resources/resources-for-parents/through-the-eyes-of-a-child.aspx
https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2015/03/4Children_ParentsGuide_2015_WEB.pdf
http://talkingpoint.org.uk/
Farm Visit 6.6.18:
We had such an amazing time with the farm animals and we learnt so much about each of them. We managed to meet every animal. There was a pig who was called George, George also has a sister called Peppa! The children listened so well and all joined in with the stroking of the animals. They all understood that their hand should not go by their mouths when they are touching animals until they have washed their hand otherwise they might get poorly.
There were two donkeys visiting us today. One called Ruby who is 4 and one called Max who is 5. The children loved it as we have a 5 year old called Max in squirrels! We were worried we might muddle them up! We learnt that Donkeys have a long hair in the winter to keep them warm but now that it is hot they loose their long hair. Loosing their hair can make them itchy so they like to roll around a lot on the floor to scratch themselves which makes them all muddy and dusty. The children each had a turn at stroking Max and hitting his side to get all the dust out.
We learnt that all ducks have webbed feet which is what helps them to be such great swimmers. Each child got to stroke the duck and see how it felt compared to the donkey.
We got the chance to name the goats. Farmer Ian asked Holly to name one boy goat so she picked Tom and Oliver was asked to pick the other name so he chose Oliver! The goats were extra cheeky because they kept chewing on Farmer Ian's top! We learnt that a young goat is called a Kid, that a mummy goat is a Nanny and a daddy goat is a Billy. Our Billy loved that! Well done to each child for being brave and with the animals.
School Council
Today the children had to vote for our first class councillors. We explained that our councilors needed to; think of good ideas, be able to talk with lots of grown ups and older children, always make good choices and be responsible. I asked the children to volunteer if they were interested and then each child had the chance to vote for one girl and one boy using multi link. Well done to everyone for really thinking about their choices. The class have selected Grace Ridgeway and Max Bentley as our new class councillors.
A Big Thank You to The Recycled Assets Company, Portsmouth:
Thank you so much to the Recycled Assets Company (TRACo) for their wonderful donations to help us improve our classroom environments. The children have loved exploring and using our new resources and it has definitely created more exciting experiences for them all.
Thank you again it is greatly appreciated by all of our children!
Havant Library Visits
This half-term we have been visiting Havant library to find out all about the library service. We learnt that we can all get our own library card and borrow up to 30 books for free. We also found out that we can borrow audio books and dvds from the library. We had fun looking at some of the fiction and non-fiction books and completing a treasure hunt around the library. Well done to all the children who cam on their good listening and keeping themselves safe on the roads and pavements. We would like to say a massive thank you to Karen from Havant library and to all the parents who came with us on our trips. I look forward to taking the rest of Squirrel class next week!
Maths Menu Summer 1
Welcome back after the Easter break!
16/4/18 We had a bit of a surprise today in Year R. Mr Lymath spotted something funny during the holidays, luckily it was captured on camera. A dinosaur has been in the wing! The dinosaur left a book and a letter for the children. We read the book and letter. The children wrote about the dinosaur and asked him questions.
We wish you all a Happy Easter. The children are bringing home an Easter Diary to complete over the holidays. We look forward to hearing holidays news and sharing the diaries. Thank you for your continued support. The Year R Team
28.3.18
Easter Bonnet Competition
We are so impressed with all the lovely entries to the Easter Bonnet competition! We hope you had a lovely last day at school and have an amazing Easter break! We can't wait to see all your lovely adventures on Tapestry and hear about it when you're back.
Firefighters visit 26.3.18
Today we met the Fire Fighters from Havant. It was third time lucky for us. They were originally visiting us on the snow day and then last Tuesday but were called to an emergency as they were pulling in to the school playground. So, we were delighted we got to meet them today. Sadly they were called away to an emergency before the children had a turn to complete all 3 activities with the Fire Fighters. We were amazed at how quickly the Fire Fighters left to get to the emergency. Andy left in such a hurry that he forgot his shoes; he was wearing his uniform boots as he had been showing the children the protective clothing when the call came in! We learnt about the protective clothing Fire Fighters wear, smoke alarms at home and how to call the Fire Fighters. We were also lucky enough to have a turn with the hose and see how powerful the water was! We had such a lovely time.
23.3.18
Sport Relief 2018
To celebrate Sport Relief we participated in lots of sporting activities. We got to play; penalty shoot outs, hockey, tennis, egg and spoon races and an obstacle course. The children really engaged with the activities and had a great morning. Thank you to all of you for your donations and for helping us to celebrate Sport Relief!
22nd March
Easter Assembly
Today in assembly we learnt about the Easter Story and why we have chocolate eggs at Easter. We sang our Easter song and signed some of the actions. We then watched the video of children signing along to "A Thousand Years" that was released for World Down Syndrome Day. Ask your child to show you how to say "I love you" in Makaton. What other Makaton signs can they remember?
22nd March 2018
Police Visit!
Debbie and Sarah talked to us about what we need to do in an emergency. We practised saying “999” so we should all remember the number to call if we need help in an emergency. They also suggested that we learn our addresses so we know where to sen them too. Next we marched like police officers out onto the playground where the Police Van was waiting for us! Debbie and Sarah talked to us about some of the equipment they use when they are working. We looked at high visibility jackets, protective clothing, helmets, riot shields and the items Police Officers carry on their belts. Some of us even tried on a belt-we decided they were very heavy! We had a try at squeezing all of Squirrel Class into the back of the Police van but we couldn’t fit them all in! Next Miss Francis, Mrs Hooper and Miss Matthews had handcuffs put on them and were put in the back of the van! The children learnt lots and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. A massive massive thanks to both Sarah and Debbie for organising such a memorable experience for the children.
19th March 2018. The children came back from Assembly and the Evil Pea had been in the Year R Wing! The Evil Pea had stuck tape all over our things and even stuck a chair onto the table! The children wrote wanted posters and stuck them around the school. The children will be making their own Super Veggies! Please can children bring in one vegetable each by Monday 26th March. The sooner the better as we will start making them this week. I hope your child tell you all about our exciting day!
16th March 2018. Karl the First Aider came to school. The children learnt about calling 999. We had a long talk about where we live. Some children were not sure where they live so we have asked the children to find out! The children learnt about the recovery position. We hope they can tell you about it! Thank you to Karl from Fasset Training.
14th March 2018. Gunner the Guide Dog and Tiny came to visit! Tiny told us all about Gunner's role as a Guide Dog. We learnt about how Gunner keeps Tiny safe at home and out and about. Ask your child about Gunner!
Spring 2 Creative Learning Journey. People who help us
Maths Menu Spring 2
Today we learnt about Shrove Tuesday why it is celebrated and how it is celebrated around the world! The children then discussed what their favourite pancake topping was plus tasting different pancakes. Yummy!
The children had a wonderful day going back in time to 1897 and pretending to be Victorian school children to celebrate the schools birthday. They did so well at following the rules and we still had so much fun! See what your child can tell you about the day and what they have learnt about Victorian schools.
Maths Menu Spring 1
8th January 2018. We had a visitor today in the playground! We hope the children will tell you all about it. The children did some wonderful writing about the bear. We came back in to class and talked about the bear, we thought about what we already know about bears and what we want to find out!
