Nursery Class Teacher - Mrs Evans

Learning Support Officers  - Mrs Sara Baldwin, Mrs Hannah Harbison Evans, Mr Daniel Murdoch,  Mrs Penny Bill,

Mrs Rebecca Woszczycki and Mrs Maxine Pooley.

Welcome to the Summer Term in Nursery.

We can't believe we are in the final term of the school year—and what a busy year we have had! 

We are incredibly proud of the children and their achievements this year.

• May - Co-operation and being a good citizen within society

• June - Showing Gratitude, Care and Generosity

• July - Taking and managing risks

We will continue to build on our phonic knowledge, and the children are impressing us with their progress. Working in small groups, they will learn individual sounds and how to form the letter. The children will also develop their fine motor skills through varied activities in the classroom, both adult-led and independently. The children will be encouraged to use letters and initial sounds in their writing and begin to write from left to right.

Language and Literacy skills are developed throughout all sessions and activities within the day.  Children are encouraged to discuss and describe their feelings, activities and ideas.  Clear speech is modelled and vocabulary is extended through all of our tasks.  Stories and poems will be shared and enjoyed daily.

Mathematics forms part of our daily routine, and this term we will be consolidating all of our previous learning.   Children are given opportunities to explore all aspects of mathematics from number to pattern, shape and data.  They will be encouraged to understand the concept of numbers and extend their mathematical vocabulary.  

We will use numicon to allow the children to explore numbers and counting.  Children practice counting both forwards and backwards using songs and rhymes that they recognise,  They will be encouraged to start counting from various starting points.  When counting they will use one-to-one correspondence to help them count objects up to ten.  The children will be encouraged to make marks to represent numbers in their play and to record collections.   They will be shown the correct numerals for amounts and encouraged to try and form these numbers.  In their play and activities, the children will use the concept of ‘one more’ and ‘one less’.  

Health and Well-being are big focuses for us in the Nursery.

We will continue to have lots of fun activities to get our bodies moving, like dancing, jumping, and running! Understanding that exercise helps us grow strong and feel happy. 

We'll learn more about our feelings and how to talk about them with our grown-ups and friends, emphasising that it's okay to feel happy, sad, or even a little bit grumpy sometimes.

We also practice being kind to our friends and ourselves because being kind makes everyone happy!

With the arrival of warmer weather we will be embracing the outdoor environment even more. The children will be encouraged to  develop physical confidence on uneven terrain, explore sensory wonders in our mud kitchens, and build early scientific curiosity by observing the springtime shift in nature. 

Beyond the fresh air and Vitamin D, these sessions foster independence and teamwork.  We look forward to seeing our little explorers thrive as they trade their heavy coats for sun hats and dive into a season of discovery!

Through this term's concept, Toys Through Time, we will explore toys, looking at their purpose and why we play with them.   

We'll draw pictures of our favourite toys at home and talk about them in school, using lots of vocabulary to describe them. We will also ask the children to bring their favourite toy for a show-and-tell and share with their friends why they love it so much.   

We will also get creative and try our hand at making our own simple toy by following instructions and using them to explore the concept of push and pull.

Please ensure that all of your child's personal effects are labelled; this includes water bottles, fruit pots, jumpers and hats.

Please ensure that water bottles contain water, not squash or fruit juice.   During the afternoon session, we have our fruit snacks; please could we ask that only fruit or vegetables be provided?  Grapes should be cut and not kept whole.

Please could the children bring a sun hat, labelled with their name, which could be left in school.

If you are not personally collecting your child at the end of the school day, please inform the Nursery staff who will be collecting them. 

We have several children in school with a nut allergy.  We strive to be a nut-free school, so please do not send in nut products in packed lunches such as Nutella.

Please can children wear PE kits to school every  Thursday.

Don't forget to download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  

Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.  The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.