School’s newsletter 24/25 – term 6, newsletter 30

Hi all,

We’ve had a wonderful week at Nursery School. Bug hunting was a big hit, especially spotting snails. There has also been some fantastic teamwork and creativity on display in the construction area. Some of the children took part in ‘Brave, Kind Minds’, which was focused on exploring different weather conditions. Additionally they have been discovering symmetry while making butterflies paintings with Marlena. To top it off, we have also enjoyed some brilliant performances in the garden, with enthusiastic actors and a very supportive audience.

Maths – Continuing from last week, the children have been exploring shapes through fun group activities, using the blocks to create and copy a variety of different shapes. They’ve enjoyed recalling the names of shapes (circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds) and discussing their properties, for example the number of sides / edges, as well as the differences between 2D and 3D shapes.

Phonics – We have also been continuing with oral blending and segmenting, encouraging the children to listen carefully to the names of objects or toys with 2 or 3 phonemes (the smallest units of sound in a word) and identify the whole word. For example, words like zip, hat, cup, chain, boat, tap, and ball. You can try this at home by pretending your child’s favourite toy whispers a word to you. Then, say the sounds slowly and see if they can identify the word.

Forest School – The children embraced the rain during Forest School, enjoying every splash and muddy moment. This week, our focus was on worms and their important role in helping the soil stay healthy. We talked about the types of things worms like to eat and made our own worm food, using peelings and leftovers from snack-time. We discussed how they turn food into rich soil that helps new plants grow. It was wonderful to see the children’s curiosity and excitement as they explored the natural world.

Core Song – ‘Two Little Dickie Birds’

Core Poem – ‘The Fox’

The fox is smart,
And and as sly as can be,
And a great big bushy tail has he.
He can run very fast,
And his fur is red,
And he lives in the woods in his tree trunk bed.

Library books – Please remember to return any library books to us that your child borrowed when we visited the library back in the Spring term.

MISSING BOOKS:
1) ‘Picnic’ by Hazel Geatches
2) ‘Head Over Tail’ by Rachel Bright
3) ‘Escape from the Nether’ by Nick Eliopulos
4) ‘Squash and a Squeeze’ by Julia Donaldson
5) ‘Dot and Dan and Snack Attack’ by Katie Dale

Forest School Working Party – Unfortunately, with not quite enough volunteers this time, the working party scheduled for June 14th (tomorrow) has been called off. We’ll be in touch soon with details of the next date, and we hope more of you can join us then 👍

Photographs – Just a reminder, if you would like to purchase any of the professional photographs please do so, using the instructions on the card, by the 26th of June.

Independence – As some children are preparing for their transition to school, we are increasingly encouraging the children to become more independent in their daily routines. Simple tasks like putting on their own coat, tidying up their toys, or pouring their own drink is really helping to build their confidence. Supporting your child to to be as independent as possible at home will also make a big difference in their confidence.

Reception teacher visits to Nursery School –
Holy Trinity – Mon 16th June (am & pm)
Charlbury – Thurs 19th June (am)
Enstone – Fri 20th of June (am)
Great Rollright – Mon 23rd June (am)
Kingham – Thurs 26th June (am)

Wishing you all a lovely weekend filled with sunshine.

Kind regards,
Zoe

 

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School’s newsletter 24/25 – term 6, newsletter 29

Hi All,

I hope you all had an enjoyable half-term break. It has been lovely welcoming the children back to nursery and they have settled back in well. Despite the wet weather, they have embraced outdoor play with great energy and resilience, making the most of every opportunity to explore and learn. They have also loved our new pizza creation station and building dens in the garden, using blankets and pegs.

Please see our medium term plan to see our curriculum intentions – https://www.ace-chipping-norton.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Medium-Term-Planning-2024-25-Term-6.pdf 

Maths – This week, our learning has been inspired by the core story Walter’s Wonderful Web, which explores the theme of shapes in a fun and engaging way. The children have been focusing on shape recognition and exploration, using resources such as lollipop sticks to create their own shapes. We have also been learning to identify and name both 2D and 3D shapes, while discussing the differences between them. The children have also enjoyed playing ‘Top Marks’ shape games on the interactive whiteboards, here is the link if you would like to try these at home – https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=37 

Phonics – This term, we are focusing on oral blending and segmenting—a key skill for early reading ad writing. The children have been learning to listen to and put together (blend) the sounds in words, as well as break them apart (segment). We’ve been working with the letters s, a, t, p, i, and n, and building simple words like sat, pin, nip, pat, tap, and pit. The children have enjoyed clapping out each sound in the words to help them hear each letter clearly. We’ve also used props and played games where the children guess objects by listening to the sounds. A favourite activity this week was making our very own robot – “Robot Mike”. The children loved feeding him pictures while sounding out the words.

Core song – ‘Row, Row, Row Your boat’ (During their independent play, they enjoyed making their own boats and singing, pretending to fall out and jump back in)

Core poem – ‘Five Little Peas’ :

5 little peas in a pea-pod pressed.
One grew, two grew and so did all the rest.
They grew and they grew and they did not stop.
Until, one day, the pod went “pop!”

Independence – At nursery, we are actively promoting independence, particularly among our older children, by supporting them in tasks such as putting on their own coats, tidying up, and assisting with snack time. Encouraging these routines at home helps to build confidence, responsibility, and prepares them for a smooth transition to school.

Returning Clothes – Please take a moment to double-check your child’s bag at pick-up. A few spare clothes and belongings have accidentally made their way into the wrong bags. If you happen to find something that’s not yours, please return it to us so we can reunite it with the right owner. Also, if you haven’t already, we kindly ask that all children have a full set of spare clothes in their bag – thank you!

Forest School Working Party – Thank you again to the parents who helped at our recent working party – your support made a big difference! We are trying to organise our next working party- Is anyone available on the 14th June (9.30 – 12.30)?

Reception teacher visits to Nursery School:
St Marys – Fri 6th June (am & pm)
Chadlington – Mon 9th June (am)
Holy Trinity – Mon 16th June (am & pm)
Charlbury – Thurs 19th June (am)
Great Rollright – Mon 23rd June (am)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week.

Kind regards

Zoe

 

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