Teacher Contact Information
Your teachers are: Mrs Horton and Miss Parker
You can email them at:
Mrs Horton (Horse Chestnut)
sophiehorton@stratton.cornwall.sch.uk
Miss Parker (Sweet Chestnut)
cherylparker@stratton.cornwall.sch.uk
Weekly Update 07/11/2025
This week we have been learning about Bonfire Night. We have learnt about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot and discussed how we might celebrate. We have made some firework art and have danced like a firework using ribbons. The children have learnt about being safe on Bonfire Night and have ended the week by watching a firework display on the interactive whiteboard with a hot chocolate!
Next week, we are moving onto a three-week topic of People Who Help Us. We will begin by learning about Vets. We will also learn about Remembrance Day.
Parent Meetings:
It has been great to meet with you all this week and discuss how your child has settled into school and their progress so far. Thank you for coming.
If you haven’t yet made an appointment, please arrange one with us next week.
Church Trip:
Our trip to the Church for our Countdown to Christmas event is on Tuesday 9th December, during the morning. We will need approximately 10 volunteers to help walk the children to and from the church during the morning for the trip to go ahead. One class will walk to Stratton Church after registration. Volunteers will then walk back to school to help the second class walk down the Church. Volunteers will then walk the first class back to school and then return to the church to help the second class return to school. We aim for the second class to be back to school for 11:45. If you are unable to help, grandparents or other family members are welcome. Unfortunately, we cannot count volunteers that need to bring a younger sibling with them in our ratios.
Please let us know if you are able to volunteer – it is very much appreciated!
Phonics/Reading:
This week, the children have begun their new phonics groups, based on their assessments before half term.
We will re-assess them in approximately 2 weeks to see if we can move the children up through the phonics groups more quickly. We really appreciate your support with practising phonics at home, it has a big impact on the children’s progress.
Please remember to keep your child’s reading record and books in their book bags everyday. This helps us the change them regularly and check that they are practising their reading at home. Thank you for your continued support with this.
Maths:
This week in maths, we have been exploring number 5. We have learnt the rhyme ‘5 Little Peas in a Pea Pod Pressed’. We have discussed the fact that one whole hand is five fingers and that two hands are 10 fingers. We have also looked at the representation of 5 on a die.
For your home learning challenge this week, we would like you and your child to sing counting rhymes such as ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive’. Then see if your child can collect sets of five items. Ensure they are saying one number for each item. As a challenge, see if they can split their 5 items in different ways, such as 2+3 and 4+1.
Mrs Horton and Miss Parker
Dates for the Dairy
Monday 10th November – Odd Socks Day for Anti Bullying Week
Thursday 13th November – Individual Photos
Friday 14th November – Children in Need – Dress as a teacher!
Friday 21st November – Forest School Afternoon
Friday 28th November – Christmas Fayre After School
Tuesday 9th December – Trip to the Church (AM)
Friday 12th December – Bike Track
Wednesday 17th December - Christmas Lunch/Christmas Jumper Day
Friday 19th December – Last Day of Term/Christmas Party Day
Weekly Reading Homework
With your child, please carry out a variety of the following tasks at least 5 times a week, recording in their reading log each time.
Practise recognising letter sounds using flashcards daily – this is essential practise to get your child reading.
Engage in 'Fred Talk Games'. These are games that support your child to orally blend sounds into words. For example, "Fred says, tap your h-ea-d... your head!" Please see the PDF document in the 'Read Write Inc. Phonics' section below for further 'Fred Talk Games' that you can play at home.
If your child is consistently recognising most of the single letter sounds from their flashcards, make simple words out of the flashcards for them to practise reading. For example, sat, tap, dog, bed. Encourage your child to point to each letter as they say the sounds. Once they have said each sound, they need to blend them together to say the whole word. For example, s – a –t, sat. They may need you to demonstrate this initially before they have a try.
Share your child’s lilac book. This book has no words. Your child needs to look closely at the picture and talk about what they think is happening to tell a story. This develops their oracy comprehension and inference skills.
Based on your child’s most recent phonics assessment, the may also bring home a 'blending book' or a 'ditty sheet' to read at home.
Please keep all of the above in your child’s book bag. They need to bring their book bag to school every day.
Homework tasks need to be recorded in your child's reading log at least 5 times a week so that we know that your child is practising their reading at home. Reading logs are checked every Friday to see how your child is getting on at home. Please make sure that you date and initial each time you record in your child's reading log to show that your child has read their lilac book/blending book/flash cards.
Please speak to any member of the Reception team if you have any questions.
Thank you for your continued support in helping your child learn to read.
The YR Team