Teacher Contact Information
Your teachers are: Miss Parker, Mrs Reay and Mrs Harris
You can email them at:
Miss Parker (Sweet Chestnut)
cherylparker@stratton.cornwall.sch.uk
Mrs Reay (Horse Chestnut)
naomireay@stratton.cornwall.sch.uk
Mrs Harris (Horse Chestnut)
merrynharris@stratton.cornwall.sch.uk
Weekly Update 02/10/2026
This week we have been learning about what humans need to stay healthy. We have talked about healthy foods and drinks, exercise, sleep, rest and mindfulness.
We have also continued the Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment. More information about the assessment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reception-baseline-assessment-information-for-parents/reception-baseline-assessment-information-for-parents
Maths
In maths, we have been practising our counting skills and making sets of 2 and 3 objects using objects from around the classroom.
Phonics
We have introduced the following sounds this week: i, n, p, g, o. We have also continued to play games with Fred the frog. Fred talks in sounds to help us learn to blend words. For example, instead of ‘cup’, Fred would say the sounds c-u-p. You can help your child practice their phonics by using Fred Talk at home. For example, by asking your child, “Put on your c-oa-t”. We have started learning to write the sounds and we have also been using magnetic letters to ‘Fred talk’ and make simple words using the sounds that we have learnt.
Reading Homework
In your child’s book bag, you will find a phonics homework envelope. This contains copies of the sounds we have taught this week. These are to fold into flashcards at home to help your child recognise the sounds. For their reading homework, your child needs to practise saying the sounds using the flash cards 5 times per week. Please record in your child’s reading log every time you go through these at home. Reading logs will be checked every Friday. This envelope needs to stay in your child’s book bag. Every Friday until half term, we will add the new sounds that have been taught that week to the envelope until they have a full set of single letter sounds. Please also read your child’s lilac book, allowing your child to practise their story telling skills by making up stories and sentences to match the pictures in the book.
Your child has also taken home a set of letter formation worksheets. These are an optional extra for your child to practise writing the sounds that we have learnt this week. Please encourage your child to say the letter formation rhymes as they write to make sure that they are starting and finishing their letters in the correct place. Please also check that your child is holding their pen or pencil correctly. The letter formation rhymes can be found on the phonics flash cards that are in their phonics homework envelope. If your child chooses to fill these out, they do not have to bring them back into school. The sheets are to keep at home for your child to refer back to.
Please ensure you check the phonics memo that has been uploaded on Tapestry. If you go to the ‘Memo’ section, you will be able to access this. The memo has links for virtual classroom videos for your child to play Fred Games and practise the sounds that we have learnt this week. This will allow your child to go back over the sound that they have been taught at home and for you as parents to see how your child has been taught the sound. There will be a new set of videos added onto Tapestry every Friday until half term. These videos will be available to re-watch until the Christmas holidays.
Snack time
The children have a morning snack and an afternoon snack each day. Our morning snack is fruit/vegetables provided by school, alongside a drink of milk if they would like it. We have our snacks from home in the afternoon. Please remember that this needs to be fresh fruit or vegetables e.g. an apple, a banana, a pot of grapes (cut in half), a pot of carrot sticks etc. Children will not be allowed to eat any snacks that are not fruit/vegetables. We also ask that water bottles should only have water and no squash please. If your child is finding that they are hungry in school then we would suggest giving them a larger snack for the afternoons, this may be two pieces of fruit.
Tapestry
Please check regularly to see photos of your child’s learning experiences. To access Tapestry, please ensure that you have activated your parent account via the link that was sent to your email account, this was sent during the children’s first week of school, it may have gone into your junk folder. If you are having any trouble accessing Tapestry, please let a member of the Reception team know.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Miss Parker, Mrs Harris and Mrs Reay
Dates for the diary
Thursday 22nd October – Halloween Disco
Friday 23rd October – Last day of half term
26th – 30th October – Half Term
2nd & 3rd November – INSET Days
Wednesday 4th November – Back at school
4th – 6th November – Reception Parents Evening
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