We had another lovely start to our day today celebrating a wonderful week in Reception. We talked about our learning in maths and lots of children were keen to talk about how they created repeating patterns using different equipment and resources from inside and outside the classroom. Children were also excited to talk about how they have been writing amazing words in our message centre using what they know from phonics lessons. It was great to hear children talking with such enthusiasm about their learning. Keep up the super work everyone.

Today in Reception, we enjoyed another successful community meeting, where we came together to celebrate the wonderful achievements of our children. It was a special time to reflect on all the hard work, kindness, and determination shown across our classes this week.

Well done to all of our stars — you truly show us what it means to Be Kind, Work Hard, and Get Smart!

This week, Class 1 have done an amazing job exploring their brand-new books. The children have been so enthusiastic, showing great focus and excitement as they read together in class. It has been lovely to see their confidence grow and their joy in discovering new stories and ideas.

The best part is that the children are now looking forward to taking their books home. This means their reading journey can continue from school to home, giving them the chance to share their stories with family and keep practising every day.

This week, Class 1 took part in their very first Counting Collections session — and what a success it was!

Working with a partner, the children began by choosing a collection of objects to count. Together, they thought carefully about which strategies might help them — such as grouping, sorting, or counting in different ways. With lots of concentration and teamwork, they counted their collections carefully, making sure not to miss or repeat any items.

To finish, the children even had a go at recording their mathematical thinking, showing the strategies they used and the numbers they discovered. It was fantastic to see such enthusiasm, collaboration, and persistence in action.

Well done, Class 1 — you are already becoming brilliant mathematicians!

This week in Class 1, we have been busy exploring art as part of our current expedition. To celebrate everything that makes us special, we created our very own self-portraits. Using a mix of oil pastels and watercolour pencils, the children experimented with colour, line, and texture to capture their individual features.

We are so proud of Class 1 for their creativity, focus, and confidence in expressing who they are…

Today, we came together for our weekly Friday Community Meeting—a time we all look forward to each week. It’s a wonderful opportunity to reflect, celebrate, and recognise the fantastic efforts and attitudes our children have shown over the past few days.

This week, we celebrated our “Work Hard, Get Smart, Be Kind” stars—children who have gone above and beyond in demonstrating our school values. Whether it was through focused learning, a growth mindset, or acts of kindness, each child has truly earned their moment of recognition.

This week in Class 1, we’ve been diving deeper into our Marvellous Me expedition, celebrating all the things that make each of us unique and wonderful. As part of our journey, we’ve been reading the heartwarming book “What I Like About Me”—a joyful story that encourages children to embrace their individuality.

At the end of the book, we had a very special moment where each child looked into a mirror and shared what they liked about themselves. The positivity they expressed were truly touching.

Here are just a few of the heartwarming things the children said:

• “I like my glasses because they help me see.”
• “I like my freckles.”
• “I like that my hair is curly at the bottom.”
• “I like the colour of my hair and when it is in an Elsa plait.”

It was a moment filled with smiles, pride, and self-love. These small reflections showed just how confident and thoughtful our children are becoming, and how important it is to recognise and celebrate what makes us all special.

At our school, the outdoors isn’t just a place to play—it’s a space where some of the most meaningful learning happens. Whether it’s bright sunshine, a light drizzle, or a brisk breeze in the air, you’ll find our children outside, exploring, investigating, and connecting with the world around them.

We are excited to share that we have officially launched our very first case study of the year! This term, we are diving into the big, meaningful questions: “Who am I?” and “Who is in my family?” These questions are at the heart of helping children explore their identity, build self-awareness, and celebrate the unique stories that make each of us who we are.

To kick off our exploration, we read a delightful book called Measuring Me. This story is packed with fascinating and fun ways to measure yourself. It inspired us to start measuring ourselves too.

In addition to measuring, we’ve been busy exploring new vocabulary from the book. The children have shown so much curiosity as we unpacked the meaning of different words, building our understanding and adding some exciting new terms to our word banks. One of the highlights? Discovering what stapes are! (Ask your child if they remember!) The children were amazed to learn about this tiny bone in their ears—and couldn’t believe just how extraordinary they really are!

We’re also thrilled to share how well the children are doing in phonics. This week, we’ve been focusing on identifying initial sounds in words. The children have been listening carefully and working hard to write down the first sound they hear. It’s been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they connect sounds to letters—a big step in their early reading and writing journey!

We had a lovely community meeting this morning where we celebrated our first HoWL stars in Reception. It was a very difficult decision as all children have made a wonderful start to their time in Class 1 and 2 and we are very proud of them all. Here are the first children to receive a postcard:

We celebrated our first few weeks in school and the end of our hook week with a lovely breakfast of fruit, toast, croissants and juice. Well done everyone.

We’ve absolutely loved kicking off our new expedition, Marvellous Me, this week! It was wonderful to see all the children dressed in their favourite colours—Class 1 was definitely a bright and colourful place to be on Monday!

It was another exciting day on Tuesday when the children brought in their favourite toy to share with the class…

The children have been drawing their favourite foods…

It has been wonderful getting to know more about your child this week—it’s been such a purposeful and rewarding start to our expedition. To round off our hook week, we’re really looking forward to our Teddy Bear Breakfast tomorrow morning!