St Mary's

Catholic Primary School

Foundation Stage

Welcome to Early Years!

Class Teacher: Miss Taylor

Teaching Assistants: Miss Day and Miss Lindley

A very warm welcome to our Foundation Stage page.

At St Mary's Catholic Primary School, we take a holistic approach to education and encompasses all areas of learning and development. We believe that all children are entitled to the best possible start in their school life, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually to enable them to develop their full potential. Children develop quickly in these early years, so we look to ensure that all children are provided with the highest quality early learning experiences, as we understand that during their first years of education, children form attitudes about learning that will last a lifetime. Children who receive the right sort of support and encouragement during these years will be creative and adventurous learners throughout their lives. We strongly believe that children thrive in an environment where they feel safe, happy and respected. At St Mary's we achieve this through providing children with fun and engaging lessons, forming positive relationships with parents and listening and responding to each individual child’s need.

Rumble in the Jungle Environment - Summer 2

EYFS had a lovely day celebrating the King's coronation. They familiarised themselves with our new King and have been learning what a coronation is. Each child made their own crown which they decorated in sparkling jewels and royal colours. They also enjoyed a delicious royal lunch 👑

This afternoon, EYFS took part in a fairy house building session. They began by creating our own journey sticks which were used by Native Americans to help them remember what journeys and adventures they have been on. Each group then worked together to build their own small world fairy house using a range of building blocks, sticks and natural materials. Great teamwork EYFS!

We've had a great start to the term in EYFS with some super Maths learning! - Well done everyone!

EYFS love sharing stories with Year 5 on a Monday afternoon 📚❤️

This afternoon, EYFS have been comparing the differences in farming equipment (old and new) from the past and present. We discovered that in the past butter was made by placing cream in a container and shaking it until it has broken down into butter. This inspired us to work in groups to make our own butter which we will taste tomorrow with some crusty bread. Great team work EYFS! 🍞

Nursery and Reception have had a very special visitor from CAFOD this morning. The children learnt that we are all special and we are all different and that it is is OK because that's how God made us. Children also learnt a song and joined in confidently with the words and the actions. Children identified similarities and differences when reading the story. All the children then drew a picture of Musa. Look at the fantastic pieces of art work. Well done EYFS!

In RSE, we have been thinking about why the bible is so special and how we are all part of God's family. Today, the children have been thinking of ways in which they can follow in Jesus's footsteps. They drew around their feet and decorated the footsteps to remind us that we are walking in his path ✝️👣

Happy Pancake Day!.mp4

Happy Pancake Day! 🥞

Today, the children learnt that pancake day is also referred to as Shrove Tuesday and that it is celebrated on the Tuesday before Lent begins. They were very excited to mix the batter ingredients before frying it to make pancakes 🥞

We have eggs in our classroom! 🥚🐣🐤🐥 This week we have been given 10 eggs and we have put them in a special incubator. In the next few days we will be watching them hatch into tiny baby chicks! We will learn all about the life-cycle of chicks and learning all about how to look after them! We are so excited to see them hatch and grow!

EYFS have been learning about a special holiday called 'Diwali' and why it is celebrated. We listened to and retold the story of Rama and Sita and made lanterns which represented the 'festival of light' 🏮🏮

Today, the children listened to a story called 'Stone Age Boy'. Where a young boy travelled back in time to visit the stone age and saw what it was like so many years ago. He saw the amazing paintings they made on the walls of the caves, of people, animals and handprints. The children then got to experience what it was like for them to make such pictures. We turned out all of the lights, made our very own cave using our school tables and made some amazing pictures using only the light of little candles!

We love doing Art in EYFS! The children have done some amazing learning about the primary colours! ❤️💛💙 The children mixed the primary colours and made wonderful sunset pictures for a silhouette of their favourite dinosaurs 🦕

This morning, we discovered the dinosaur egg had fully cracked. We discussed together how to care for a dinosaur and what a dinosaur needs. Later this week, the children will be creating their own set of instructions on how to care for a dinosaur 🦕

❤️ Today we all gathered together in the hall at 11:00 for the remembrance day service. In class, the children have created some beautiful pieces of work to pay respects to our soldiers ❤️

Information

Please check on Class Dojo, Facebook, Twitter and of course the school website, to see all the wonderful activities we have been up to.

Notice Board

PE Days - In the Spring 1 term, PE will take place on a Friday afternoon - please bring an outdoor and an indoor kit if possible, as the weather starts to get colder.

Uniform - We have a beautiful uniform at St Mary's and we pride ourselves on our fantastic appearance. Please make sure you attend school in the correct uniform, always looking lovely and neat! Can you also remember to send your child to school with a coat that is fit for the weather and a spare set of clothes in their bag.

Reading - Reading is at the heart of all our learning at St Mary's. To support this at home, please could all children ensure that they read their school reading book every night and that the planner is signed by an adult. Alongside this, it is also key that all children select their own reading for pleasure book which they will also have opportunities to read and share with others in school.

School times

Nursery 30hrs and Reception: 8.45am - 3.20pm
Nursery 15 hours: 8.45am - 11.45am

Children in Nursery and Reception are already demonstrating independence. They balanced their food on their tray, removed their lunch and took their own tray.

The Curriculum

In Early Years at St Mary's, we follow the EYFS statutory framework which is based upon four themes and principles which shapes the way in which we teach.

These are:

• Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured

• Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships

• Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.

• Importance of learning and development. Children develop and learn at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Intent

At St Mary's Catholic Primary School, we believe that a good early education is fundamental for a child’s success. Through achieving the balance between play and adult led sessions, our early year’s curriculum is designed to provide children with the best possible start in life. The children’s interests are at the heart of our syllabus which enables us to deliver a high quality and child led learning. We strongly believe that children thrive in an environment where they feel safe, happy and respected. At St Mary's, we achieve this through providing children with fun and engaging lessons, forming positive relationships with parents and listening and responding to each individual child’s need.

Implementation

Each half term, we plan a topic which we feel will interest the children. This topic is then broken down into seven areas of learning which are: personal social and emotional development, communication and language, physical development, literacy. mathematics, expressive arts and design, and understanding the world. When delivering these sessions, children will participate in physical activities, discussion and role play activities to enable them to gain good knowledge and understanding of what is being taught. We strongly believe that children learn best through play therefore, anything which is taught is placed into the provision for children to explore in their own time either independently or with their peers. Communication and language is essential in ensuring that children are able to reach age expected levels (or higher), across all areas of learning. Communication and Language is broken down into three vital parts which are: listening and attention, understanding and speaking. At St Mary's, we provide the children with these skills through introducing a wide range of stories, poems and rhymes. We also ensure that children are exposed to high quality texts which build their vocabulary and promote questioning to develop their understanding further.

Impact

Delivering an enriched curriculum in the early years will provide children with the foundations they need to reach their full potential. By the time the children leave the foundation stage unit, they have learnt skills which will enable them to be successful throughout their school life. Explicit modelling, promoting independence and providing ongoing assessments, promotes high levels of engagement in learning, and enables the children to make rapid progress throughout their early years.

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