We have been astounded by the attitude in which the children have started school with, I am sure we are in for an incredible year! 

The children have been making themselves familiar with the school environment, they have enjoyed eating together in the hall and playing outside on the playground.

I would like to thank all the parents and carers who have attended the parent/teacher meetings at the start of the term. It has been lovely to meet you and get to know the children. 

Our topic this term is 'Its good to be me!'. The children started working on this during the summer holidays and they have been sharing photos of their favourite teddy bears, which you can now see on our school display.  It has been wonderful hearing the children talk about their bears and share with their friends why they are so special. This week, the children described themselves and their families by sharing their special boxes and talking about their houses and who is in their family. 

We have started Phonics this week and the children have shown lots of enthusiasm to learn  a new sound each day. Please ask your child what their sound of the day is each afternoon. 

The children have enjoyed sharing their `All about me` boxes this week and could share with their friends their favourite colours, people who are special to them and what they like to do as a hobby. 

Reception have showed great enthusiasm when learning their set one sounds to support them with their reading. The children have been identifying single sounds, learning to write them and using magnetic letters to build words. There has also been many opportunities for Fred the Frog to make an appearance and play lots of games which has included practising oral blending. 

This week, the children have been reading the story `We're going on a bear hunt.` In our Maths learning, the children have taken part in a number of practical tasks that have involved the children listening to and learning positional vocabulary. They have used bean bags, dancing, songs and Boston Bear to demonstrate their understanding of words such as `behind`, `next to`, `to the side`, `in the middle`, `in front`, `under` and `on top.` 

The children have been artists this week and painted their own self portraits. They used mirrors to help them describe the features they could see and used the correct shapes, colours and facial features such as eyes, mouths, noses, cheeks, eyelashes, freckles and ears.  

During our circle times this week, the children have been focusing on sharing and taking turns. It was wonderful today to see the children organising games with their friends and demonstrating taking turns. They all listened to the instructions and each other to make the game successful. Well done Joy Class, 

This week, the children have started reading the story `Goldilocks and the three bears.` During independent learning time and Literacy, the children have used role play to retell the different parts of the story, which has helped them to sequence key events. In Maths, the children have continued using language to describe different sizes. They have explored comparing props from the story and used vocabulary such as `smallest`, `medium sized`, `little`, `tiny`, `bigger` and `biggest`. 

The children have been enjoying PE at St Thomas' and this week we have continued to explore space and be aware of others around us. This has involved the children listening to instructions and exploring different movements at different levels. They also had the opportunity to use our trim trail safely. 

With the children reading The Little Red Hen this week, the children asked to bake their own bread. We found a bread recipe and followed the simple steps. The children were fascinated by how the ingredients changed when mixed together but also how the dough rose when left to prove on the heater. They learnt about the importance of kneading the dough to help the bread rise. The best part overall was the bread tasting. 

As part of our Autumn learning this week, the children learnt about the Artist Andy Goldsworthy. The children enjoyed learning about his art and were inspired to create their own large scale piece using items from their autumn walk. The children loved sharing ideas and thinking creatively to add additional details. 

This week the children have been reading the story The Scarecrows Wedding and creating their own life size scarecrow and miniature scarecrows. For the miniature scarecrows, the children used a range of 2D shapes and decorative materials to bring their creation to life. After, the children were asked to label their scarecrow using their phonics. We were blown away by how the children could write the sounds independently, using the read, write inc rhymes to support them.