St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School Reception

Reception class has been learning about Palm Sunday.  Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey.  The people cheered 'Hosanna!' and laid their cloaks and palm trees down to make way for Jesus.

In Reception we have been looking for signs of Spring.

We found buds on the trees and bulbs growing.  We also saw some blossom!

Back in class we made some daffodils  and symmetrical butterflies.  We have a lovely display in our classroom.

In RE we walked outside and found things around our school that are alive, used to be alive or have never been alive.  We used our ears and our eyes to help us decide whether something is alive or dead.  We made a collection and sorted them in our classroom.  We are going to grow some bulbs which look dead at the moment but our teacher says that if we care for them well, they will begin to grow and come alive again.  We hope so.

This week we have been reading about the Gingerbread Man.  On Tuesday, a very strange thing happened because our classroom was all messed up and our teacher was very upset.  There were oranges on the floor, the chairs had been turned upside down and other mess too.  We found out that it was gingerbread people and we saw them on the video.  Mrs Emmony and Miss Hunt have collected some evidence and are looking into it.

We have also been reading Jack and the Beanstalk and are growing our own beans.  We have to water them every day and they are now beginning to grow.

This week Reception have been busy decorating Christmas Cakes.  First they covered the top with marzipan. Then they covered the marzipan with icing and chose a decoration for the top with silver dust and silver balls.  They hope their families enjoy eating them at Christmas! Yum, yum!

This Week Reception have been very busy.  On Monday they had their dress rehearsal with Year 1, followed by two performances on Tuesday when their parents and grandparents came in and were a very proud audience.  The children performed very well, saying their lines clearly, so that everyone could hear and sang the songs beautifully.

On Wednesday, Reception made Christmas cakes and enjoyed weighing and mixing the ingredients.  Next week they will decorate the mini cakes, ready to take home at the end of term.

Fire Service Visit: 23^rd November 2017

Our Topic this Autumn Term is ‘People who help us’. We have been learning about the emergency services. We were lucky enough to have a visit from the Hertford Fire Service.

The Firefighters came in to talk to our class about fire safety. We learnt that we must have a working smoke detector in our home. The Smoke detector has a really loud beep beep beep! We also learnt that the emergency number to call is 999.  

After the talk we got to see a real fire engine! We learnt all about how they work, and what different tools are used for. We each got to sit in the fire engine and squirt the hose! It was amazing. We think the fire fighters are very brave. The whole class made them a special thank you card to say thank you for visiting us.

We have been busy in Reception this week learning about Guy Fawkes and making some firework pictures using paint and a cardboard tube which our teacher had cut on the end and splayed out like a messy brush.

We went for an Autumn Walk around the school grounds.  We found lots of leaves that were turning colour from green to yellow , orange and red.  We found red berries, which we know we mustn’t touch, some fungi and sweet chestnuts which had fallen from the sweet chestnut tree.  We saw the cheeky squirrel hunting for the sweet chestnuts and taking them away for his lunch!

We are looking forward to our Harvest Festival service in church and are learning a song to sing to the whole school.  It’s called Autumn Leaves.

During RE discussions, we talked about the school's 50th anniversary on this site.  During Child Intiated Learning some children chose to make a party hat.  They then organised a party for their friends.  We are looking forward to our school's anniversary celebrations next week and meeting the Bishop during our special assembly on Tuesday.

This week Reception Class has been making repeating patterns.  They made patterns with various resources for example, interlocking cubes, chain link and painting shape patterns.  On Wednesday they went into the playground and made a pattern.  Can you say what comes next? Later in the week, the class made musical patterns and followed shape patterns to make the music.

Our new Reception children began school and have had great fun this week exploring their new surroundings and finding out all about their new classroom, making new friends and meeting the teachers.

On Thursday morning, they went to church with their families and teachers, where they met the Reverend Anne who welcomed them into the school community and presented each child with a book of bible stories.  Everyone then enjoyed refreshments back in school.

The children have settled in really well and we look forward to an exciting year together as they begin their school journey at St John’s.