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Merlin Class (Year Reception)
Welcome to Merlin Class!
Class Teacher: Miss Morris
Student Teacher: Miss Young (Autumn Term)
Class TAs: Mrs Hoddinott & Mrs Hewlett
Welcome to Merlin Class & Countess Gytha Primary School!
We have had a lovely time getting to know your children over the past few days. We are incredibly impressed by their enthusiasm towards starting school and their confidence in their new environment - we are certainly in for a wonderful year together!
Please do regularly check our class page (alongside Tapestry) to see what we get up to!
We look forward to continuing to get to know the children and their families over the next few weeks.
- Miss Morris, Mrs Hoddinott & Mrs Hewlett
Maths Curriculum Evening
For those unable to attend our maths curriculum evening, copies of the documents available can be found below.
Despicable Me 4
The children represented the school so wonderfully on our trip to Cineworld Yeovil to watch Despicable Me 4. They all sat so beautifully - it was brilliant to watch them fully immerse themselves in the experience, chuckling away to themselves!
What a brilliant movie!
Autumn 2: Week 3
This week the children learnt the sounds /z/, /qu/ and /ch/. They have also practised reading /s/ at the end of words when used to demonstrate a plural or verb. Some children have found it quite helpful to 'chop off the s' to blend the root word first, before adding the s at the end. We have changed the home learning sheet to include the sounds, decodable words, sentences, and tricky words we have read this week. Please use the sheet in whichever you feel works best for you and your child - you can cut it up into its parts, or write the words on a piece of paper so that they are bigger and clearer for the children to read. If you have any questions regarding this, please do ask 😊
In maths this week, the children have been exploring the composition of numbers using part-whole models and then interpreting these to write number sentences. Miss Young and I are very impressed with how quickly the children have picked up this concept and how confidently they can apply it to write a corresponding number sentence - truly remarkable work this week!
In our writing sessions, the children have begun writing short phrases. We have introduced capital letters and learnt about finger spaces. The children have written some fantastic short phrases and all worked incredibly hard to sit their letters on the line and form them correctly - we have been celebrating lots of wonderful writing this week.
Our Nativity rehearsals have continued, each time getting better and better. The excitement continues to grow for our performances early in December!
Congratulations to Florence and Jacob who are this weeks Star and Worker of the Week!
Autumn 2; Week 2
Merlin class have been battling those seasonal coughs and colds this week but have continued to work incredibly hard.
We have started rehearsing our Nativity for our production of the 'Big Little Nativity' in the next few weeks. The children have been pracitising the songs and actions every day and have listened well to instructions as the production begins to take place on the stage - well done, Merlins! We even enjoyed practising our songs whilst on our welly walk today - we can always rely on Merlin to spread joy and cheer around the village!
We started the week with Remembrance Day on Monday. Merlin Class made some lovely poppy lanterns that we proudly took to our Remembrance service where we participated with the 2 minute silence and listened to some thoughtful readings from Lancelot Class. Today we marked Children in Need by wearing our pyjamas to school - I think many now hope this could be a more frequent occurrence 😂
In phonics this week, the children learnt the sounds /w/, /v/, /x/ and /y/. We have been writing CVC words with increased independence in our writing sessions whilst still focusing on our correct letter formation. The children have found the tricky words particularly tricky this week. I have offered the children 5 gems (house points) on Monday if they practise their tricky words over the weekend. I would appreciate if you could record that they have practised these in their reading records, thank you 😊
In maths, the children have been exploring numbers to 10, including forming the numerals 6 - 10 and matching quantities to its written numeral. Next week children will be introduced to part-part-whole models for the first time to begin exploring composition in different ways.
Well done to Primrose and Dylan for being awarded Merlin Class star and worker of the week this week 🌟
Autumn 2; Week 1
I hope you all enjoyed the half term break. We have jumped straight back into the swing of things this week...
In phonics, we have learnt some new digraphs (ll, ff, and ss) as well as /j/. We have also been practising the tricky words 'full', 'pull', 'as' and 'put'. The children have all come home with a Homework folder this week, this contains the tricky words we have been practising in class so that they can continue to familiarise themselves with these at home. Now that we have begun to learn 4 tricky words a week, it can be a lot to remember so please do try to find some time to review these words with your children as much as you can - it really does help! 😊
In maths, the children have been practising their counting skills as well as their formation of numerals 6 - 10. Our mastering number sessions have focused on making 5 and has started to look at its composition, ready to start introducing some early addition and subtraction skills.
Merlin Class enjoyed their first welly walk of the year this week. We went on a walk around the village, spotting signs of Autumn and collecting some leaves. We ended the welly walk by planting some poppies at the front of the school in preparation for our Remembrance service on Monday. We have also enjoyed making some Remembrance lanterns this week as well as learning all about Bonfire Night and creating a some lovely bonfire/firework inspired crafts!
Nativity rehearsals are set to begin from next week! Be prepared to start hearing some rather catchy Christmas songs on repeat for the next few weeks 😊🤩
Well done to Jack and Louis for being selected as Worker and Star of the week - keep up the good work, boys!
Merlin help to plant their own poppy for the community display
Autumn 1; Week 6
How crazy that we are almost at the end of the childrens first half term at school! Our timetable continues to grow busier and busier as the weeks progress.
We learnt the sounds /h/, /b/, /f/ and /l/ in phonics this week, alongside the tricky word 'the'. The children have found this tricky word particularly challenging this week so we have been working hard on our speedy recognition of the letters. We have continued to practice reading short CVC words that allow the children to apply their grapheme knowledge to their reading.
In maths, the children have been noticing the patterns in numbers to 5 and ordering numerals - putting our formation to the test! We have been exploring mathematical language of more / less / fewer than to compare quantities and will be continuing with this next week.
The children enjoyed a music session earlier in the week. We were learning about pitch and rhythm as well as learning new call and response songs. As always, yoga was a highlight of the week for many as well as our PE sessions with Mr Bunter practising various multi-skills.
Merlin Class are very lucky to be having a student teacher join us from next week. Miss Young will be joining us for the remainder of the Autumn Term (until Christmas). The children were briefly introduced to Miss Young on Wednesday but will be sure to get to know her well over the period of next week.
Hello Yellow Day 2024
Merlin Class certainly brightened up the school on Hello Yellow Day this year!
Autumn 1; Week 5
In phonics, we learnt the sounds /ck/, /e/, /u/, /r/ and the tricky word 'I'. The children were incredibly excited to learn their first digraph (2 letters that make that 1 sound) and have been proudly explaining what a digraph is to their peers all week! Excellent progress has been made with reading and some children will begin to gradually bring home worded books from next week.
(Little disclaimer: Please do not be alarmed if your child remains on wordless books for a little while longer - the goal of Little Wandle is to have all children reading by Christmas so it is certainly nothing to be worried about 😊)
In maths, the children have been perfecting their number formation. We have been learning the ditties to help us remember how to write them correctly:
1 - Straight line down and then you're done. That's how you make a number 1.
2 - Half a heart will never do, slide it back to make a 2.
3 - Around the tree and around the tree. That's how you make a number 3.
4 - Down, across and down some more. That's how you make a number 4.
5 - Make his hat, make his back, make 5's tummy round and fat.
The children have found the ditties incredibly helpful and have been forming their numbers beautifully all week.
Yoga was another success this week. The children behaved wonderfully and engaged really well with the session. Again, Paula was full of compliments about the class - keep it up, Merlin! We also celebrated World Mental Health Day (Hello Yellow Day) this Thursday. The children enjoyed a variety of mindful activities throughout the day and looked super in their bright yellow clothing.
Our PSHE focus this week has been around people who help us. We have had many class discussions about what an emergency is and the role of the emergency services. The children showed great maturity and respect throughout these discussions - it was lovely to hear all their contributions.
Autumn 1; Week 4
Phonics teaching continued, learning the sounds /g/, /o/, /c/, /k/. The children also learnt our first tricky word 'is'. We are very impressed with the children's commitment to their phonics; the teaching pace is certainly starting to increase and they are doing a wonderful job at the remembering all the sounds taught so far! We have also been working really hard on our letter formation, remembering to hold our pencils with our 'pinchy fingers' (tripod grip) rather than grasping with our palms.
In our maths sessions we continued to practise our subitising skills. We began the week by subitising regular patterns (for example, dice patterns) where we were quickly recalling the amount shown. As the week progressed, we started to move towards conceptual subitising (finding small amounts inside bigger quantities). It is always interesting to see how children spot different arrangements of numbers inside a larger quantity of objects - there was some great mathematical thinking shown by all this week!
We have also been incredibly busy preparing for the Harvest Assembly on Tuesday (tomorrow). You may have already been blessed with a little sneak peek on 'Big red combine harvester' at home (😂) - it certainly is a crowd pleaser! Alongside practising our Harvest songs we have been learning about the celebration of Harvest and creating a collaborative piece of artwork to showcase at the church.
European Day of Languages
Today Merlin Class celebrated European Day of Languages by representing France for the day.
The children have enjoyed some classroom provision based on our chosen country, including painting the flag and building the Eiffel Tower. The highlight of the day possibly being making - and tasting - some crepes!
Please ignore our minor error with the flag. In the hustle and bustle of preparing 15 children for a photo, the flag was unfortunately put up the wrong way around 🙈 - good job it's Friday!
Autumn 1; Week 3
It has been lovely to have the children join us for the entirety of the school day this week. With increased learning time we have been able to fit lots of exciting opportunities into our week.
We have continued with our daily phonics lessons; this week the children learnt the sounds /i/, /n/, /m/, /d/. We have been revisiting our previously taught sounds and refining our correct formation of these letters. We have seen such great progress from the children with this each day - their determination to master this skill is inspiring! Reading groups remain a highly enjoyable time our week. Despite the lack of words in the books, the children are enjoying sharing these with a grown up and letting their imagination and curiosity create some wonderful storylines and observations. We hope you are enjoying sharing these books with your children at home, too!
We have been practising our counting skills in maths as well as our number formation. The children have been using various different resources to represent numbers to 5 including objects, 5-frames and written numerals. Mr Gordon had the delight of delivering a maths lesson in Merlin Class on Thursday - he was certainly impressed with the children's enthusiasm and confidence working with these numbers and showing them in different ways.
On Wednesday the children had their first yoga session. Paula was full of compliments about the children's behaviour and participation during the session. There were lots of relaxed, tired faces at the end of session so it was clearly very impactful!
Autumn 1; Week 2
This week was our final week of half days. The children enjoyed a trip to the allotments this morning to go hunting for some minibeasts and to check on the pumpkins that are growing up there. This was the childrens first time in the allotments and it was loved by all - the are keen to visit there again soon!
This week, we began our phonics lessons. The children have learnt the sounds /s/, /a/, /t/, /p/ so far. We have been practising our recognition of these sounds at the beginning of words and will be really focusing on our formation of these letters next week.
Autumn 1; Week 1
Merlin Class have been incredibly busy this week settling into their new school routine. Earlier in the week, Merlin Class were excited to find a toad had been enjoying some time in our outside area! The children enjoyed seeing the toad up close and giving it a tour of our outside area before we put it up near the pond for a more suitable environment.
We have started our mastering number sessions this week, looking at numbers 1-3 in detail and practising our subitising skills (recognising a quantity without needing to count). The children have enjoyed using Numberblocks to help us explore these numbers in detail and have been busy making their own Numberblocks throughout the week.
We are incredibly proud of how the children have embraced school life - it is wonderful to see so many smiley faces walking through the gates in the morning.
