The children at Garden Village Primary Academy have been incredibly busy progressing in their learning. The progress, confidence, enthusiasm, curiosity and pride in their achievements at school is wonderful to see. 

Preparations for the Christmas Nativity are in full swing. The classrooms and corridors are starting to sparkle in glitter and the excitement for the first school trip of the year is growing.

A huge thanks to the parents who attended the Autumn Term SEND Individual Learning Plan review and target-setting meetings. Again, it is a privilege to see the progress our children are making against their individual targets.

Thank you to the friends and family who joined the celebration assembly this morning. It was a full house and the children certainly rose to the occasion in such a confident and heartfelt way.

Attendance continues to be 95.32%. Thank you for your continued support. 

Miss Matthews and Mrs Guild are super proud of the progress and achievements of every child in Reception Maple. Here are some of the highlights.

This week, we read the story 'Penguin' by Polly Dunbar. This week's vocabulary included the word 'nibble'. The children enjoyed drawing the Lion, a meal for him, and even a hiding place for the penguin! The children were also challenged with the task of using a capital ‘B’ to write the name ‘Ben’. Well done everyone!

Mathematics

In Maths, our knowledge of four-sided shapes has developed. We can now name and describe a square and rectangle using the vocabulary of sides, corners and long and short. We can also recognise rectangular, square, circular, and triangular faces in 3D shapes. We have also developed our knowledge of day and night. We have sorted pictures of activities, e.g. wearing pyjamas, and using the correct vocabulary, we described what time of day an activity would take place.

We have also developed our knowledge of numbers within 6. We’ve played ‘roll and cover’ to subitise- we are getting stronger every week! We have also enjoyed using a wide range of resources to explore the composition of 5. We are even starting to sing a number bond song to recall them automatically.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

This term, our topic is ‘Peek into the Past’. The children have been busy comparing their baby photos to how they are now, and they’ve been playing a game of guess who. Here is a selection of our pictures- can you guess who?

Expressive Art and Design

In preparation for making our soup, we tried lots of different fruits and vegetables at snack time. We especially enjoyed the pineapple and mango! The children sorted pictures into fruits and vegetables, and we learnt that tomatoes and cucumbers are fruit because they have seeds.

Christmas has also come early in Reception Maple! We’ve been busy making decorations for the GVPA Christmas tree.

Phonics and Reading

In phonics, we continue to learn some new sounds, blend new words and read more tricky words such as we, me and be. We have been beautifully blending and reading words ending in /s/ such as cats, naps, and tips.

We have also learnt the new digraphs th, sh, ng, nk, ch, and sh. We have now learnt all Phase 2 sounds, and after the Christmas break we will start Phase 3.

Phonics

In phonics, we have been continuing learning some new alternative sounds and have even started learning split digraphs. Mrs Stamp and Miss Rogers are totally amazed by how well we are reading. 

History

In History, we have been learning all about our own personal chronology. We ordered photos from when we were babies, first day of school and the present in chronological order on our own timelines. We have discussed how we remember our memories using photographs, medals, and memory boxes. 

Mathematics

In Maths, the children have been exploring 2D and 3D shapes. We have created 2D shapes using lolly sticks and discussed how many sides each shape has. We also explored the term 'faces' on 3D shapes and discussed what 2D shapes we could see on them. We are now shape experts! We have also been super clever and started to look at tens and ones in numbers up to 20 and creating them using concrete resources. 

Computing

In computing, we have started a new topic titled 'digital painting'. Very quickly, we have become experts on a Chromebook and can now confidently use a range of tools to create a picture and label it by inserting a text box. 

Elim Church Visit

On Thursday, we were delighted that Bev from the Elim Church could come to lead an assembly for the children. Bev read the story of David and Goliath and linked this to the virtue of courage.

Thank you for these learning points Bev. 

Thank you to everyone who is not parking on the yellow road markings at the front of school. Please can all adults ensure that no cars are parked or wait on the yellow lines before and after school.

Unfortunately, some cars are still parked on the double yellow lines or double-parked across the road, making it difficult for the local residents to access their property. As a polite request, please can you not do this. The local residents have contacted the local council and a PCSO was requested and, as a result, a number of car owners were spoken to and some number plates were recorded.

 I thank you greatly in advance for your support in this matter. 

This week, we had one of our Trust schools spend the morning at GVPA in Year 1, observing and sharing good practice regarding the Year One curriculum. In the Spring term, Mrs Stamp is going to repeat the same activity at their school. So much good teaching practice was shared and gained. We are all learners!

For further information about the Trust, please use this link: Fierté Multi-Academy Trust - Home

Telephone: 01827 214630

Office Email: office@gardenvillage.fierte.org

Headteacher / SENCO: headteacher@gardenvillage.fierte.org