Autumn Term 2026
A huge welcome to all of the children and families new to St John's and welcome back to the children transferring from the Nursery class, we are looking forward to getting to know you better. This half term we will be learning through the theme of Ourselves, we will be focusing on teaching the children to learn how to use the classroom, developing learning behaviours that support phonics and maths session and develop new friendship groups. We have some amazing core texts planned and some fun experiences.
Dates for your Diary
7th September - Children new to the school start Reception.
9th and 10th of September - Children transferring from Nursery class start in Reception.
23rd September - Individual photos, please make sure that the children are in full school uniform.
24th September - Phonics workshop.
2nd November - School closed for staff training.
11th November - Trip to the cinema through the Into Film Festival.
8th and 9th December - Parents eveings.
10th December - Torchlit Walk
We have been learning about... powerpoints
Each week we create a powerpoint of what the children have been learning about during the week, on Friday afternoon parents are welcome to come into the classroom to share the powerpoint. We understand that some parents are unable to make it into the classroom so we will uploaded it each week onto the website.
Phonics
There will be a phonics workshop for parents on Thursday the 24th of September at 9am. Come along if you can. The workshop will last for about 20 minutes and will focus on how we will be teaching your child to read and how you can support this at home.
You can access the Little Wandle parents site: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
Each week the children will bring home a phonics reading book linked to the phonics scheme and a reading for pleasure book that they have chosen from the school library. Please make sure that you are supporting your child to read to you every day and that you read to your child everyday! This will have a huge impact on the development of their phonics, their understanding and will extend their vocabulary. The children will be learning 4 new phonemes a week. Please check on Seesaw for videos of the phonemes we have been learning.
If you haven't downloaded Teach Your Monster to Read then try and do it asap. It will support the children as they learn to read. Please keep practising blending and segmenting the sounds in words and support the children to extend their ability to rhyme. I would also recommend logging on to lgflbusythings - this is a great resource for phonics, handwriting and maths.
Homework
Homework is sent out every Friday via Seesaw and should be completed by the following Wednesday. If you do not have access to the internet please come and chat to me. Please remember that your role is to support the children - not do the work for them. The homework will be linked to the learning that has happened in the classroom that week. It is important that the children complete all of it. If you need any help with the homework then please come and chat to me. I am always happy to go through it with you.
Reading books will go out with the homework on Friday, please read with your child every day. Little and often is more beneficial than reading for one long block of time. If you have any questions about the homework then please speak to me.