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 02/04/2026
This week, we have been learning about Easter. We have been listening to and discussing the meaning of the Easter story. We listened to the story and talked about why Christian’s celebrate Easter. Lots of the children remembered Jesus from the Christmas story and made excellent links in their learning. Today we enjoyed an Easter egg hunt!
After the holidays, we will begin a three week topic called ‘Into the Wild’.
Mrs Glasby is having an issue sending out her whole school newsletter today. Please access it here:
https://www.stratton.cornwall.sch.uk/newsletters-1/
Phonics:
Please try to continue to share books and listen to your child read over the holidays. The children will then begin their new phonics groups based on last week’s assessments.
Maths:
This week in maths we have been learning about Shape, Space and Measure. At the beginning of the week we focussed on length, identifying and comparing lengths. Next, we moved onto identifying and comparing heights. Finally, we have looked at time and sequencing. We recapped the days of the week and identified something we do each day, creating a timetable for the week.
Spare Clothes:
Please remember to ensure that your child always has a set of spare clothing in their bag at school that can be used if they have accidents or get wet/muddy during their play. Ideally, this would include leggings/trousers, pants, socks, and a top. If your child uses their spare clothes at school, please ensure that this is topped back up.
Whilst we have some spare clothing at school, we are currently running very low, particularly on trousers, leggings and socks. If your child borrows any spare clothing from school, please ensure that the items are returned to a member of the Reception staffing team. In addition to this, if you have any unwanted school clothing at home that you no longer need in ages 3-4, 4-5 or 5-6 years, donations to our spare clothing would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.
Reception Cake Bake – Monday 27th April:
On Monday 27th April, it is the Reception and Year 6 Cake Bake Sale. Please can your child bring any contributing cakes to school in the morning, and The Friends will then be selling the cakes after school. If you would like your containers/plates returned to you, please ensure that they are clearly labelled with your child’s name and class. There will be some star baker prizes being awarded, so good luck!
Reception Class Assembly – Tuesday 28th April:
On Tuesday 28th April, it is the Reception Class Assembly. Both classes will be contributing to the class assembly performance, which will start at 9:10am in the school hall. We would love to have you there join us as the children share some of their recent learning.
Really Wild Animal Visit:
After Easter, we have arranged for the children to have a visit from Really Wild Learning. The children will be able to see and learn about lots of different animals. There will be an email sent to you before the visit with further information. We will be asking for a small contribution towards this experience which will be payable on the School Gateway app.
Toys and Cuddly Toys:
Over the past few weeks, we have noticed more and more children bringing in toys and cuddly toys from home. This is very difficult for us to manage, as they get lost, played with by other children and sometimes become dirty or damaged, all of which can be quite distressing for your child. Please do not let your child bring in items from home, unless it has been agreed with your child’s class teacher or Mrs Bridgman. Thank you for your support with this.
We hope you enjoy a restful break. We look forward to welcoming the children back for the Summer Term!
Mrs Horton and Miss Parker
Dates for the diary:
Thursday 2nd April – Last day of half term
3rd April - 19th April – Easter holidays
20th April – Back to school
Monday 27th April – Yr R Cake Bake
Tuesday 28th April – Yr R Class Assembly (9:10 start)
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