Welcome to the Spring Term in Nursery!

This term our focus within the overarching concept is 'Plants and Animals'.

The children will begin to learn sounds during our phonics time. In small groups they will begin to learn individual sounds, words beginning with that sound and how to form the letter. They will also begin to blend simple sounds together and begin their reading journey. The children will also develop their fine motor skills through varied activities. They will be writing in sand, glitter, shaving foam and using pencils and crayons. As you can see we will be very busy!

Mathematics is used as part of all of our daily routines. The children are immersed in number activities from discussing how many children in school to focused maths activities. Children will be given opportunities to explore all aspects of maths from number to shape and data. They will be encouraged to understand the concept of numbers and extend their mathematical vocabulary. We will use numicon to allow them to explore numbers and counting. Children will recite up to 10 forwards and backwards using songs and rhymes. Children will also be encouraged to compare and order numbers up to 5 or 10 and will be taught to use one-to-one correspondence to help them count. The children will be encouraged to make marks to represent numbers in their play and to record collections. We will also encourage the children to begin to use the concept of ‘one more’ and ‘one less’ in their play and in activities.

In other areas of the curriculum we will continue to develop their fine and gross motor skills through a range of focused, enhanced and continuous activities. The children will be encouraged to explore and investigate the world around them both indoors and outdoors while using a hands on approach. During morning sessions the children will participate in a variety of activities in the big hall including 'Write Dance', 'Sticky Kids' and 'Breathing & Stretching'. These are music and movement activities which help to develop their fine, gross motor skills and develop listening skills. The children will continue to use the outdoor environment to develop their learning. Within the Nursery we will be celebrating a variety of festivals and traditions during the term, these include Chinese New Year, Valentine day / Santes Dwynwen, Easter and St David's Day where they will all take part in activities for our school Eisteddfod. Every day the children will be encouraged to follow and use simple Welsh words and phrases and each day Helpwr Heddiw will be chosen

The Nursery class will be provided with various opportunities to use role-play to explore their feelings and be encouraged to empathise with how their peers may be feeling. We also have a Thrive Practitioner based in the school that may work one to one or in small groups with some children. These sessions are designed to help children learn to manage their feelings and teach them strategies that will help promote their learning at school. More information on Thrive is available on our website.

Please ensure children bring water bottles with their name clearly labelled on them every day and that they contain water and not squash.

Please could all parents ensure that they regularly update their child's spare clothes bag to ensure there are clothes should an accident occur.

We have a number of 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.

PE is on Friday afternoons, children will need to wear their PE kit to school on a Friday.

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.