Menston Primary School

Making our world a better place

Foundation – Acorn & Oak

INFORMATION FOR NEW STARTERS (SEPTEMBER 2024)

Have a look here at what our unit looks like.

Our New Starter 23 handbook can be found here.

STAFF

Acorn Class – Miss Hammans (Class Teacher), Mrs Bunney (Teaching Assistant – Mondays and Tuesdays), Mrs Garbutt (Teaching Assistant – Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays), Miss Wiggs (Teaching Assistant)

Oak Class – Miss Lain (Class Teacher & Phase Leader), Miss Drye (Teaching Assistant), Miss Jones (Apprentice Teaching Assistant)

On Monday afternoons PSED and yoga are led by Mrs Meakin and Mrs Maher.

FOUNDATION ETHOS

Our aim in Foundation is to support the children so that they:

WHAT TO BRING

Children need to bring to school every day a named water bottle, a hooded waterproof coat and their reading folder. Children have access to outdoor learning daily. They all need to keep a pair of wellies in school. On sunny days, children should come to school with sun cream already applied and with a named sun hat. On wintery days they need a warm hat and gloves in addition to a warm hooded coat.

TIMETABLE

Children have phonics, maths and literacy/topic sessions daily, and weekly RE, PSED, art/DT and PE lessons. They take part in regular reading sessions, 1:1, and whole class shared reading. Children also have time to follow their own learning in outdoor and indoor provision.

On Thursday it is PE and the children need to come to school already dressed in their PE uniform.

HOMEWORK

A Foundation newsletter is sent out via email every Friday.

Reading: Please read with your child at least five times a week. Their book will be changed when they can read it confidently and it has been read at home.

Big talk: Children are given a topic to discuss at home and are expected to come to school with a sentence to share about it.

Maths/Literacy: Practical maths activities are suggested to do at home that fit in with the current teaching, for example, hunting for numbers. Ideas to support learning in literacy are also offered.

Phonics: The newsletter will outline which phonemes and tricky words the children have learnt that week, those that they have learnt so far this year, and how their learning can be supported at home.

LEARNING OVERVIEW

For information about our learning over the year (including writing and maths), please see our EYFS New Curriculum Long Term Plan.

For information on the visits, visitors and events that have already taken place in Foundation this year, click here.

For information on reading over the year, please click here.

For information on how we teach British Values in Foundation, please click here.

For information on EYFS end of year expectations, please click here (pp.11-15).

OTHER INFORMATION

For information on school milk click here.

 

Announcements

We are extremely happy to share with you that Menston Primary School has achieved Silver Award Status for the United Against Bullying Programme.
Our My Happy Mind theme for this half term is ‘Appreciate’. The Appreciate module teaches children to understand why gratitude matters and how we can develop gratitude as a habit. Gratitude is key to wellbeing and resilience and we’re all about making it a habit!