St Mary's Catholic Primary School

New Starters

Welcome to our school family!

September Ready

We are looking forward to warmly welcoming you into Class 1 in September. We hope you are all as excited as us about starting your first school year with us in Class 1. Things will be a little bit different at first, but we will have lots of fun and we will be there to help you settle into school. We have put some photographs of our class on this page for you so that you know what to expect when you come back to school. Can you spot Sheldon’s hutch?

We are going to be called ‘Bubble 1’. In our bubble there will be Mrs Williams, Mrs Jennings, Miss Harrison and all of you. You will be starting school at the 9am and finishing at 3:15pm. We will meet you on the playground and we will enter our bubble through the front entrance. You will need to wash your hands on your arrival and throughout the day. 

So that we can all be safe, we have organised our classroom to have lots of extra space for you to learn and play. You will have your own tray in which you will keep all of your work. You do not need to bring in any pens etc from home but we would like you to bring in a rain suit and wellies that will stay in school as we plan on doing lots of outdoor learning. We will still have our play times, sports coaches and lessons and lunch as normal, but it will all happen with just our bubble. Below are some pictures to show you what our class looks like, a hand washing video to remind you how to wash your hands properly and some information for you and your parents so that you can prepare to be September ready too. We hope you all have a lovely summer and can’t wait to meet you all soon!

 

Coronavirus  symptoms- what are they?

How to use and remove Coronavirus masks safely

Letter to parents/carers

covid-19-passenger-guidance if you plan on using the school bus

Lunch Menu From September

Meet your teachers.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to our school in September. This year things are a little bit different which means that we haven’t been able to meet you and show you around your new ‘big’ school in the way that we would have liked to. So, we have created this area on our school website just for you and your families.

In this new, special area you can meet your Headteacher Mrs Brogden; your class teachers Mrs Williams and Mrs Jennings, Miss Harrison your class TA and our school pet Sheldon, who lives in your classroom. There is also some information for your families too!

If you or your families have any questions or want to find out a little bit more about your new school please do contact us via email or phone us at school.

Mrs Brogden, our Headteacher, has recorded a special message just for you!

Reading in September

Hello everyone! I am Mrs. Shoulder and I am the Deputy Headteacher, I lead the teaching and learning of English at St. Mary’s and I am Class 4’s teacher. I am really looking forward to meeting you all very soon. I have put together some helpful ideas and tips for you and your parents to support you with your reading when you join us in September.

This year our reading routine will be slightly different due to Covid-19 restrictions on our daily school routine. Initially, we would normally ask you to choose books from our class library, books that you like or books that you may be excited to explore. Normally, you would take these books home to share each day with your parents and carers at home. However, we are unable to do this just yet, so here are a few ways we can work together to ensure you have the best start to your reading journey as possible.

Parents, 

When your child starts school with us in September they will have access to a range on online reading materials which you can access at home. The most important part of learning to read is for children to develop a love of reading and therefore we would suggest following your child’s interests as much as possible and reading in different contexts, for example looking at recipes together and baking their favourite treats! It is also beneficial to make reading part of the daily routine so that you are reading to your child every day, maybe at bedtime. Whilst we will not be sharing real books with you in September you can still follow the first stages of our early reading journey using the online reading tools and real books you have at home. At this stage, all books choices are ‘read to me’ choices and are not intended for your child to read to you.We would always ask that you read to and with your child for a minimum of 10-15 minutes per day. It is important at this stage to encourage your child to explore ideas and themes within the books they read; to ask questions and make predictions. 

At St. Mary’s we use synthetic phonics, ‘The Letters and Sounds Programme’ to teach early reading. Once your child is ready they will begin their book band reading journey and your class teachers will direct you the correct book band choices. It is important that these are adhered to as each colour band is closely matched to your child’s phonetic ability. Within each book band there are a range of different text types and include an appropriate range of challenge to promote confidence and resilience in our readers. At this point, I would like to stress that all children learn to read at different speeds and not all children will move to coloured book bands at the same time. As always if you have any questions about your child’s reading journey please raise them with your child’s teacher.

I have attached some useful links to support reading at home which you may find useful.

https://literacytrust.org.uk/parents-and-families/

Reading support BBC bitesize

A parents guide to supporting reading

Book talk ideas

7_Top_Tips_to_Support_Reading_at_Home

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/learn-to-read-phonics/

A short video to show the correct pronunciation of pure sounds in phonics.

A video of songs which the children will use in class to support the teaching and learning of phonics in class.

I hope you found this information helpful, please get in contact with school if you have any further questions.

Meet your teachers!

Next year your teachers will be: Mrs Williams, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Mrs Jennings, Thursday and Friday. Miss Harrison is your Class teaching assistant and she will be with you all week. Your teachers have been incredibly busy and have made a story video of their favourite books, they have have decided to tell you all about themselves so you can feel like you know them even before you start school and they have even set you your own summer challenge so that you can bring something you are proud of on your first day at ‘big’ school.

Meet Mrs Williams

Click here to meet and find out about Mrs Williams

Click here to find out about Mrs Williams’ summer challenge.

Listen to Mrs Williams read you the story of The Noisy Car

Meet Mrs Jennings

Click here to meet and find out about Mrs Jennings

Click here to find out about Mrs Jennings’ holiday challenge

Meet Miss Harrison

Click here to meet  and find out about Miss Harrison

Click here to find out about Miss Harrison’s summer challenge.

Your First Day at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and being in Class 1

Click here to find out what your first day at school will be like.

You can watch the next slide show to find out a little bit more about what happens in Class 1 and what we will do and how we will learn together. We normally share this with your families at your induction evening but things are a little bit different this year!

Here is a very special letter for you to read. It is from Calvin and Cherry, they are in Year 5 at the moment and next year they and their friends will be your buddies. They are very much looking forward to it and have written to you to tell you all about it.

Click here to read your very special letter from Calvin and Cherry

Additional Information

Parents and families, we have put together a list of useful contacts which may be of help to you in the coming weeks and months. You will have, or are about to receive your induction packs for next year which contain lots of useful information for you. However, If you have any further questions or need any further advice please contact school via email and we will be happy to help.

Additional links for Families