Welcome to any new parents logging on to our very own blogspot! If your child is new to school then please scroll down a little. Thanks.

This week sees the final group of children starting school and then things really start to get exciting. This week we introduce the children to our question of the week box. At St Vincent’s we are committed to developing the children’s thinking skills and therefore, we aim to develop enquiry-based learning. By providing the children with a question, or series of questions, at the beginning of the week they will strive to answer the question by the end of the week. This week the question will be:

Who am I?

So…what’s on for this week?

Getting to know you, getting to learn all about you…
Can’t you tell I’m a fan of the musicals? Don’t you just love The King and I? This week the children will play lots of games which will encourage them to learn each others names. Thankfully, the staggered intake has logged your child’s name firmly in our minds.


When will we do PE?
Talk about starting the week off with a BANG!! On Monday we will attempt our very first PE lesson. This is an occasion that causes amusement amongst many of the staff. I can’t understand why. Perhaps trousers on back to front, shoes without socks and shoes on the wrong feet are a give away? On a more serious note, PE times are often the most unsettling of experiences for children when they start school so please be assured that anxiety about PE is common (even for me).

I therefore send an SOS out to you as parents. Please try to make your child as independent as possible when dressing and undressing. As a parent of a three year old I know how tempting it can be to fasten a few buttons, put on the odd sock or tuck in the shirt. As part of their learning and development, children in the Foundation Stage need to dress and undress themselves independently. Aaghh…TIES!! Don’t worry we do the children’s ties and top buttons for them.


Faces
The children will begin to learn about the different features of a face this week as a precursor to the work we will be starting next week. I have a song that they can learn to the tune of ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ which teaches them the parts of the face. We do have to be careful when pointing to the nostrils though!!

On Friday of next week, we would love to face paint the children just for FUN!! There will be a sticker in your child’s diary on Monday. Please sign below it to give consent. If your child has sensitive skin we will just do a small motif so they don’t miss out.

Click, click, clickety, click!
Not only are we doing PE this week, but we are venturing into ‘The Land of the Giants’ (the juniors) to work on the computers in the ICT suite. The children will be working on developing their mouse skills by clicking and dragging. Here are some great websites you can use to support your child. The use of these websites and the computer in general will help your child as we use the computers a lot in school.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/ted.html
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/joiner.html
http://wgfl.digitalbrain.com/wgfl/web/foundation/face.htm

Has your child sang the penguin song to you? If not ask them.



Have a great week!



Best wishes



Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team x

Information for new starters (17th September 2006)
Hi there!
Welcome to the Foundation Stage blogspot. This is our very own mini website where you can find out what your child will be doing in school for the coming week. The blogspot is updated every weekend, so you can support your child in their learning as well as finding out other details regarding what is going on. Relevant websites to support your child's learning will be posted on here also. Just click on the link and it will take you directly to the page you need. So...remember to save this address to your favourites.

So here goes. Our first blog spot of the year!

What to do after the first day at school
Today you will have come in the front entrance to bring your child to school. Tomorrow, we will open the double doors on the play ground at 8.40am. Once we have opened the doors the children are free to come in. Please feel free to bring your child in and help them put their belongings away. Please encourage them to be as independent as possible. Time spent on such things is valuable as it actually saves lots of learning time being wasted on simple domestics. Once your child has found an activity they would like to do then a speedy exit is often best. Please do not worry about your child if they are a little upset. This is perfectly normal and will soon stop.

At hometime your child will be let out of the classroom door by a member of staff. It does take us a little while to learn faces of the adults picking the children up so feel free to give us the name of the child you are collecting. Please could we ask that you do not come into the school before the children have been sent out. This can often be unsettling for the children and doesn't help them to learn the routine of hometime.

What do I need to bring each day?
Your child will need the following items every day.
A coat, a lunch box if they are stopping for packed lunches, a water bottle, a healthy snack for morning break (the children have fruit supplied by school in the afternoon) a school book bag (which can be purchased from the school office).
Needless to say, all your child's belongings need to be clearly labelled with their name. Remember to use their first name as this is the one they will recognise more readily and thus, enable them to be more independent.

TOP TIP!!

Why not print off some labels on the computer with your child's name on and a picture of their favourite animal. These can then quickly be peeled off and stuck on their snacks etc and your child will identify their belongings with more independence.

What will my child be doing for the first week?
The staggered intake allows us to work with each group of children equally. The induction of the children over the last few years has been very successful. This is an opportunity for us to assess your child on entry to school. There is no need to worry! They will not sit any test or even know they are being assessed. We are not concerned about how little or how much your child knows, or can do, in comparison to the next child. We simply want to find your child's starting point and establish their next steps. In addition to this, we have the opportunity to establish good relationships with each child on a one-to-one basis. Some nurseries have forwarded the records to us before the summer holidays. If you have any at home please send them into us, as they provide a detailed insight into your child's development. During our nursery visits we did ask them to be passed to you. Activities will be very hands on and needless to say we will have lots of FUN!!

What can I expect now?
There will be lots of information coming your way over the next few weeks. Please do not panic. If there is anything at all that you need to have clarified please call in at the end of the day and speak to any one of us in the Foundation Stage. Why not introduce your child to the blogspot by playing these games.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/ted.html http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/joiner.html http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/Foundation/builderdragsimple.html http://www.starfall.com/ - click on the ABC link at the top and then off you go!

That's all for the first week!

Take care

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx