WELCOME TO RECEPTION

Apple Class - Ms Patel

Mulberry Class - Ms Ufot

Our topic this term is called 'Magical Me'.

This term will have a focus of settling into school, understanding our routines and starting to learn about managing our own needs and emotions.  We will also be learning all about ourselves including our bodies, our families and what we celebrate as well as discussing our emotions in different scenarios and self regulation.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Homework:

Every child has a home learning folder that will be given out every Friday and to be returned to school by the following Wednesday. Inside will be a fun weekly activity to complete with your child, linked to the learning that has taken place that week. The children are given two reading books every week. These should be shared each evening with a comment made in their reading record. These books are changed once a week on your childs given book change day. Please ensure you bring in your child's book on the correct book change day which will be given to you by your class teacher. 

PE:

Reception have PE on Tuesday.
 

Children should bring PE kit to school in a named bag on this day. PE kit should include: black bottoms, a red t-shirt and a pair of plimsolls or trainers. Please ensure your child has no earrings in and that long hair is tied back on this day.

Spare Clothing

In the event of spoilt clothing, please ensure that children have spare labelled clothing kept at school at all times within a named bag.

Healthy Schools

Full time nursery and reception children can be provided with a hot lunch or bring in a packed lunch from home. Healthy snacks are provided throughout the day for all children. Please ensure grapes are cut in half, no nuts and no bones included in packed lunch food. 

Reception lunch begins at 11:15am.

Star of the week

On Friday, we select our class 'Star of the Week' with the help of our class bear, who has been carefully watching the children learn. The star of the week will be addressed in assembly and be given a postcard to take home. They will have their name on our website and newsletter too. 

Meet the Teacher - September

Please find attached the Meet the Teacher presention which took place in school on Wednesday 3rd September. We hope you find this useful. 

World Bee Day - 20th May 2025

As part of the United Nations World Bee Day, we invited the volunteers of Ruxley Bee Keepers to visit us at Downderry to tell us all about the importance of bees. We learnt some interesting facts about bees as well as tasting delicious home grown honey. We even got to (safely) see some live bees! We would like to thank Ruxley Bee Keepers for generously spending their time with us, we loved it!

Health and Social Skills Week 2025

It has been Health and Social Skills Week in Early Years. We have been getting fit, eating healthy, looking after our teeth and thinking about our own mental wellbeing. It was great fun having workshops from Chartwells, riding a smoothie bike and fitness classes during our PE lessons. We even had a visit from a fluffy guest to learn about taking care of others. Take a look at some of the photos of the week below: 

Phonics in Reception

At Downderry Primary School we follow the My Letters and Sounds systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme, validated by the DFE and aligned to the DFE Letters and Sounds guidance.

 Click here to access My Letters and Sounds downloadable resources including phoneme mats, audio of enunciation of letter sounds, formation practice sheets and many other resources that support the programme.

Please find below the Powerpoint that was shared during the Reception Phonics Workshop. You will also find some useful links to phonics websites and YouTube clips.