Our blogs

September Update, by Miss Smethurst

Date: 25th Sep 2026 @ 4:16pm

As we are approaching the end of September, it's a great time to look at all we have achieved in our first month of school. We are so proud of Elephants tribe, and so are the rest of school - we have received several class compliments from other members of staff about our listening, our respect and our conduct around school. We are definitely caring for each other, growing day by day, and shining together! 🌟

✏️Literacy: Our first literacy story is Avocado Baby - we like it because it's a bit silly. We have been deepening our understanding of what babies need (and don't need) and linking this to our play in the home corner. We have practised checking lists and extending our vocabulary. 

📖Phonics: This week we learned the sounds /s/, a/ and /t/. We identified these letters in our environment and had a go at writing them. Next week we will be building on these sounds and beginning to blend them together to read words.

✋🏼Handwriting: We have been building our hand strength through finger gym, playdough and lots of funky fingers activities. We had our first handwriting session this week and practised holding our pencil accurately and using good pressure on our paper. We practised a variety of shapes including loops, zig zags and lines. 

🧮Maths: We have been deepening our understanding of matching, sorting and comparing. We have been making sets and considering what the 'rule' is for the set. We are confident sorting things by colour, and have been exploring sorting by shape, size, texture and purpose. 

💙PSED: As a tribe we have really come together and made strong connections. We have been loving sharing our All About Me books in the home corner and celebrating our families. We have developed our confidence in exploring our area and are collaborating with new friends really well. 

🍁 Understanding the World: we have been talking about the weather, seasonal changes, exploring the great outdoor. We have also linked our knowledge about babies to order the stages of human growth, we have identified different stages including being a toddler, teenager and elderly. We linked this to our own lives, who we know in our family and community, and compared what differences we can see. 

📒Homework: our homework books went out for the first time yesterday. Inside you will find a homework guide, some mark making practise and a note to request a baby photograph in preparation for our learning next week. 

Our First Week In Reception, by Miss Smethurst

Date: 6th Sep 2026 @ 6:07pm

Our first week in Elephant Tribe was absolutely lovely. We have been laughing, singing, dancing, creating and exploring. We understand what a big transition starting reception is, and we are so proud of all the children for the resilience they have shown this week. This time is all about building relationships with the children, exploring our learning environment, and developing our PSED and communication skills. 

We have been extremely busy this week but some of our achievements included:

• Learning where to put our belongings, and collecting some of them at the end of the day
• Recognising our own name pebble to join in with self registration
• Learning our welcome songs, a friendship song and our tribe chant
• Making a choice for lunch, using the hall and independently clearing our own trays 
• Exploring our indoor and outdoor learning environment 
• Developing new relationships with friends and adults.

Myself and Miss Morrison couldn't be prouder of everything the children have achieved this week. Here are a few snippets of the fun we have shared as we have been getting to know your children more. 

We would love to share photographs of what we have been up to when we have received photo permissions from all parents. If you have not yet signed the photo permissions, please make your selection of granted or declined so we can ensure our photographs are in line with these preferences.

We can't wait to welcome the children back for more curiosity and learning next week. Thank you for your support,

Miss Smethurst