It has been so lovely to welcome the children back after the half-term break. They have returned full of energy, enthusiasm and ready for another exciting half-term of learning. We have had a wonderful first week back in Badger Class, filled with curiosity, creativity and plenty of smiles!

In Maths, we have been exploring shapes and position. The children have enjoyed investigating triangles and circles, noticing their different properties and using them to make pictures and patterns. We have also been learning about positional language, using words such as behind, on top of, under, next to and in between through lots of fun, practical games and challenges. It has been brilliant to see the children using this new vocabulary confidently as they describe where things are around the classroom and outdoor area.

In Writing Jobs, our focus has been on vegetables – perfect preparation for our upcoming trip to the Village Veg Shop! The children have been cutting and sticking a variety of vegetables into their own bowls, talking about the different colours, shapes and textures they could see. They then used their phonics knowledge to label the vegetables with their initial sounds, which they did with great care and enthusiasm. We’re all getting very excited about our visit next week, when we’ll be choosing fresh ingredients to make our own delicious vegetable soup!

Speaking of our trip – just a reminder that we’ll be visiting Brockenhurst Village Veg Shop on Monday 10th November. Then, on Wednesday 12th November at 2:30 p.m., we’d love for you to join us in class for our special Soup Tasting Afternoon. This will be a lovely opportunity for the children to share their learning and for everyone to enjoy a warm, healthy treat together.

This week also marked the start of our Nativity rehearsals, which has been a real highlight! The children are already singing the songs beautifully and showing lots of excitement about their roles. Nativity letters are coming home today, letting you know which character your child will be and the costume they’ll need. We’ve also attached their lines – please help them to practise these at home so they can feel confident for the big performance!

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Notices:

• Safer Eating 2025: We have a new healthy eating and safety guideline from our catering provider, which asks that all snacks brought into school are cut into small, manageable pieces (for example, grapes should be cut lengthways). Thank you for your support with this.

• Tricky Word Pots: Please ensure your child has a named tricky word pot in school if they haven’t already. We are sending home tricky word cards to support early reading, and regular practice makes a huge difference.

• Christmas Cards: Your child’s Christmas card design has now come home. Orders can be placed until next Thursday!

• Reading at Home: Thank you for continuing to read regularly with your children – it really helps to build their confidence and love of reading. I have also given each of the children a letter formation practice pack! If you have time, it would be really beneficial to practise this with them at home.

It’s been a fantastic start to the new half-term, and the children have settled back beautifully. I’m so proud of how eager they are to learn and how much effort they are putting into everything they do. Have a lovely weekend, and I look forward to another great week ahead!

Mr Harmer-Manning