Dates for the Diary

Early Learning Time sessions we will open the Early Years gate at 2.15pm and you are welcome to stay until the end of the session. 

Group 1- Friday 30th January, Friday 8th May and Friday 5th June

Group 2- Friday 27th February, Friday 15th May and Friday 12th June

12th May 2026 - Nursery children visiting Father Jim at the church (leaving school approx 9.15am)

Please also remember to read the weekly school Newsletter for whole school and local community updates. 

15th May 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week, we enjoyed our first nursery outing to the church. On Monday, we prepared for our journey by exploring Google Maps and learning about some of the buildings and objects we would see along the way. As we walked to and from the church, we kept a lookout for familiar landmarks, including Ealing Fields School, the library, the train station, Lammas Park, as well as a fish and a penguin.

Whist at the church, we spent time talking with Father Jim, exploring the space, and searching for special objects. We also challenged ourselves to find statues of Mary—Father Jim told us there were four, and we found them all. Father Jim also put on his special mass clothes that was decorated with an image of Mary and flowers. A big thank you to everyone who volunteered to join us—your support was greatly appreciated.

For the remainder of the week we have been thinking about our journey by creating a map. We reminded ourselves of the different things that we saw and the order that we saw them in. We have also looked at the photos taken and reminded ourselves of what we saw in the church, talking about them. 

The children have created some beautiful paintings of Mary; after seeing the four in the church and the big one in the Grotto outside the church.  They are very impressive and are soon to be on display, in the classroom. The children have also been encouraged by Mrs Davies to do careful colouring, in their small groups. They have been colouring in a picture of Mary within a stained -glass window. We are colouring to help develop our fine motor control.  On Friday we went for a walk around the school looking for statues of Mary. We found quite a lot! 

We have shared the story 'Rosie's Walk' about a hen that goes on a journey around a farm, being followed unknowingly, by a fox. This is an amusing story that focuses on the words across, around, over, past, through and under. We used some of these words in recalling our church journey.

On Wednesday we shared the Bible story 'The Catch of the Fishes', when Jesus appears to Peter and some of the other disciples on the shore of Galilee. We acted out the story, sang songs and ate breakfast (the fish we had caught) with Jesus. 

On Thursday the children joined the school in thinking about Ascension Thursday, the day that Jesus went back up to Heaven. We learned that Jesus walked the disciples up a mountain before telling them to wait for the Holy Spirit that will make them strong. Jesus wanted them to spread the word of God. We acted out the story, used small world props and we learnt some songs. 

The beans are continuing to grow but the tadpoles are still tadpoles. There are no signs of legs! The beans that we had on the window are being planted out, hopefully they will continue to grow! 

During phonics we have introduced the 'c' sound and we are starting to build words using the sounds that we know. We are also teaching the names of the letter as well as the sound that it makes. 

I am currently planning a trip to Kew Gardens and a letter will follow soon, outlining what will happen and requesting volunteers. The trip will take place on Tuesday 7^th July and the cost per child (£5.73) has been added Arbor. I am also in consultation with a parent in our class, discussing the upcoming Flower Festival 'Rooted' at the church, celebrating 100 years of faith. The Nursery have been asked to contribute to a floral display! I am trying to sort a date and time that is suitable for all and will let you know as soon as possible as we will require assistance with this. The Festival is at the end of June. 

This week we have unfortunately fallen behind with our Jake and Tizzy learning, so much has been happening. This means I have given the children the option to choose their favourite Jake a Tizzy book, to bring home. Please return their chosen book on Monday and we will aim to get back on track, next week.

Thank-you to those who attended our Early Learning Time, we hope that you enjoyed the time with your child. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

8^th May 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week has been short but we have managed to get a lot in. We have continued to share the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. The children have made a 'Magic Bean Stew', with Mrs Barber. The children helped to chop potatoes, onions and celery before beans were added.  Once cook the soup was blended. This was the magic part, the beans disappeared. The stew was served with a piece of tortilla and many of the children had second helpings. Mrs Davies worked with the children in small groups. This week they were practicing their 'colouring-in skills'. The children were encouraged to stay within the lines and to use colouring pencils. We are teaching the children that they draw/write with a pencil.

In phonics we have been recapping the letters we have been learning and added the sounds 'o' and 'g'. The children are being encouraged to listen out for initial, middle and final sounds in words. We are linking letters to the sounds and showing the children how simple words look.  

The children have been looking after their beanstalks and there has been a lot of growth. We started to measure some of them, using cubes. Encouraging the children to guess how many cubes tall a beanstalk is. Not much is happening to the tadpoles, they are still swimming around. No legs have appeared! 

During our hall time we have had fun playing the 'Beans Game'. The children were encouraged to listen out for a bean name that was linked to an action. We had a lot of fun!

This week we have not managed to cover all of the Jake and Tizzy activities, for book seven 'Jake and Tizzy Help Out' but we have shared the book, numerous times. I have sent the book home and we will continue with the activities at the start of next week. 

Just a reminder,  that if your child has a stomach upset (including vomiting and diarrhoea) they are not to be brought back to school until 48 hours after the last episode of vomiting/diarrhoea. This is part of our school policy.

On Tuesday, we are off to visit Father Jim, at church. Thank-you to those who have volunteered, it is much appreciated. We welcome all who would like to join us, if you are available. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

1^st May 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

The children have been very excited to see that some of the beans that we planted, last week, have started to grow. We have roots, shoots, stalks and leaves! Hopefully they will keep on growing, with our care and attention. 

This week we have been sharing the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. The children have been encouraged to join in with the retelling of the story, to talk about what is happening and to join in with repeated refrains. It is a great story and we have shared three versions. The children created their own painting of a beanstalk, with leaves and tendrils. The children were given the colours blue, yellow and white and they had to explore mixing to create the colour green. The children also decorated and cut out leaf shapes so that we can create a class beanstalk, with Mrs Davies. They were encouraged to use mark making patterns. Name writing has also been a focus. We are thinking more about how the letters in our name are formed. 

During phonics we reinforced the sounds that we already know, making simple words, and because we are sharing the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk' we focussed on the sound 'j' and 'b'. 

The children have been introduced to book 6 in the Jake and Tizzy series 'Hide and seek'. This book encourages the use of positional language. The song we have been singing is 'Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed' and we shared 'Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree'. 

Today is the start of the month of May. This is the month when we take time to think about Mary, the Queen of Heaven. The children have attended the Celebration of the Word, delivered by Ruth Class. We will continue to think about and pray to Mary over the coming weeks. We have created an altar for Mary next to our Prayer Table and we will continue to add to it over the coming weeks. 

Thank-you to those who have volunteered to help on the trip to the Church, it's much appreciated. However, we still need more helpers, for the trip to go ahead. Please let us know if you can join us. (See message below for further information.)

Have a lovely long weekend (School is closed on Monday for the Bank Holiday)

Miss Whittaker

23rd April 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

As part of our learning, we will be visiting SS Peter and Paul Church on Tuesday 12th May 2026.

We will be welcomed into the church at 9.45am. We aim to leave school at 9.15am and we will be walking to the church together. We aim to be back in school for 11.15am, at the latest. The children will have their lunch when they return.

We will need your assistance when we go on our visit. We will need at least 6 parent helpers who will walk with us and stay during our time in the church. Unfortunately, siblings will not be able to join us. Please let us know, on the door at drop-off/pick-up if you are able to help us with the walk and church visit. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I have also been advised that the visit may have to be cancelled if the church is required for another purpose.

We hope you can join us on our trip.

Miss Whittaker

24th April 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have started to share the story 'Jasper's Beanstalk' and we have been scientists, setting up our own beanstalk investigation. The children have each planted their own bean seed, they could select from a variety of seeds (the majority chose the climbing bean) and they have been asked to take care of it. Hopefully the seeds will grow; we did add two seeds to the pot, just in case!

On Earth Day we introduced Saint Francis of Assisi; “A long time ago there was a man called St Francis. He loved God very much, and he loved animals, plants and the Earth. He taught people to be kind to all God’s creatures.” Linked to St Francis' teachings we shared the book 'A Good Place' by Lucy Cousins. A great book that follows the journey of four insect friends who try to find a good place to live. We have decided that our garden is a great place for insects, we have trees, flowers, dead wood and a very small pond. The children have used cotton wool buds and paint to decorate their own insect friend and we have put these on display, in the classroom. 

This week the children have focused on the sound 'd', during phonics. We are continuing with robot arms and we are continuing to focus on initial sounds in words. The Jake and Tizzy book 'Jake is Busy' and the accompanying activities, have focused on action words. During our hall session we extended this further by thinking about how insects move, for example, spin like a spider, wriggle like a worm, swoop like a dragonfly, creep like a beetle and curl like a woodlouse. 

We finally got to eat our Easter Egg off the Prayer Table. We recapped on the Easter morning story, shared our 'Jesus is Alive' song and then cracked the egg open. We then had to share the egg between us all. The children enjoyed the small piece of chocolate!

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

17^th April 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to the summer term. This half term we will focussing on the theme 'Journeys'. This will include further investigating life-cycles, going on an actual journeys and books with journey themes. 

This week we have welcomed some very small visitors into our class, some Tadpoles. We are not sure how many we have (the water is very green) but there are quite a few. We have created a small pond, added some blossom petals (for food) and we will watch them as they grow and change.

The trees in the big playground have been full of blossoms. We went to have a look at them and noticed that of the three trees, two of them has white blossoms and one of them has pink blossoms. The children have been creating a lovely blossom picture, with Mrs Davies, using their cutting and sticking skills. They were asked to cut out some small pictures of blossoms before sticking them, with a glue stick, onto a tree outline. The children were asked to carefully count how many blossoms they had stuck onto the tree and to recall how they had created their picture. 

We have changed our Prayer Table to gold/white and we have been learning about what happened on Easter morning. The children have been talking about what they did at Easter and that they had Easter Eggs.  We still have Easter Eggs on our Prayer Table. We are waiting for a day when everyone is in school, so that we can share them. 

This week we have shared book four from the Tizzy and Jake series. We have been focusing on 'big' and 'little', we created a height chart in the classroom to explore this further and we have done further activities. The song that we have been learning is 'When Goldilocks Went to the House of the Bears'. 

The focus sound this week was 'm' but we are also recapping on previous sounds learnt. The children have been encouraged to mark make the letter shape. We have been segmenting and blending words that start with 'm' including, mop, map, mat, man and mad. 

I have provisionally booked a visit to see Father Jim, at St Peter and St Paul Church. This will take place on the morning of Tuesday 12^th May 2026. This date may be changed due to unforeseeable circumstances.  We will need parents/carers to help us on the journey to and from church. Unfortunately, siblings will not be able to attend. I will send out further information, soon. 

Please be reminded that Book Bag Bundles are sent out on Monday and are returned on Thursday. Currently, we are sending out the Jake and Tizzy books on Friday and these are to be returned the following Monday. Please continue to check the Nursery Home Learning page as this is updated as well.

Well done on receiving your child's Reception place. I hope that you got your first choice. I have added a document above, this was in an email sent to me and it gives great advice on preparing your child for Reception.

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

27th March 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

Happy Easter!

The children should all feel very proud of the hard work that they have put in over the last term. We have been so busy learning all about 'New Life' and this will continue into next term. 

This week your child has brought home an Easter card, that they spent time creating for their family, a grass head, which they can continue to care for at home and an Easter Garden.

The Easter Garden contains:

- a plant (for the garden)

- a cross, to remind us of the cross that Jesus died on, on Good Friday

- a stone to remind us of the stone that was rolled in front of the tomb

- an Egg to remind us of giving Easter eggs on Easter Sunday

- a figure of Jesus

- a purple ribbon for Lent (to put on the cross) and a yellow/gold ribbon (this can be put on the cross on Easter Sunday)

Please talk with your child about the garden, help them to take care of it and remind your child to change the ribbon to yellow/gold, on Easter Sunday. 

I have not given out a Jake and Tizzy book, we will continue this learning after the holidays. 

Have a lovely Easter holiday

Miss Whittaker

20th March 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week as been very much duckling focussed. We've had them out swimming, had a cuddle, been watching them run around and we have been thinking about what we like about them.  The children have used potatoes to print their very own duckling picture and we have been busy sharing different duck related story books. The children have been drawing a duckling, with Mrs Davies. They had to trace over the lines of a duckling outline before drawing their own version. The drawings all look very different.

The children have been singing the song 'Five little ducks went swimming one day'. We changed to words and the number of ducks that we were focussing on. We did a little problem solving. For example, if three ducks came back how many ducks swam away? We have started to think more about the total remaining the same when a set number of objects are separated in different ways. We are also learning to recite number names from a given number up to ten.

On Thursday we said goodbye to our lovely ducklings as they headed back to the farm. We went with them as they were carried up to the van, in the car park. They got a good send off. The ducklings had grown very big during our time with us; we looked after them very well. We demonstrated that we are growing in caring during Lent.  

The grass heads are continuing to grow. The children have been keen to water them. They have been given a lovely haircut and hopefully they will continue to grow. We have been recapping what we did when we planted them. 

This week the children have been sharing the story 'Jake and Tizzy Go Shopping'. We have been talking about what we may buy when we go to the shops. We have also been learning the song 'Jelly on a Plate'. We even made some jelly, to explore!

Next week we will focus on the Easter Story. We keep it really simple and just mention that Jesus died on the cross. We don't go into the detail of how this happened. We also emphasise that only Jesus came back to life on Easter Sunday, this will not happen to anyone else.

The children have been introduced to the story of Saint Patrick. We talked about him travelling to Ireland, in a boat, him talking about God and that he got the snakes to leave. We also talked about the significance of the shamrock.

Next Friday, 27th March we will be having an Easter Bonnet Parade and the children make their Easter bonnet/hat. This is a home learning challenge that we ask you to do with your child. Your child can bring in their bonnet/hat next Friday and we will join the Reception classes in parading them. Please don't bring them in before Friday as we have no space to store them. The Nursery will also take part in the Easter Raffle that was mentioned in last week's school newsletter. The tickets cost £1 each or it is £5 for a strip of tickets. Usually, children from the older year groups come round the school selling the tickets. Please give any raffle ticket money to Mrs Barber or I and we will ensure that the tickets are bought. Please do this before Friday.

Thank-you so much for the generous sponsorship money that has been brought in, so far. The children did work hard for the charity the Catholic Children's Society, in the sponsored scoot. Please bring in any monies by 25^th March 2026. All donations are greatly appreciated, thank-you.

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

13th March 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week has been an extra special real 'New Life' week. Our 'Grassheads' have started to grow, the seeds in the Easter Garden have started to grow and on Monday we had a very exciting delivery. 

The children were introduced to an incubator, on Monday morning. This incubator contained five eggs. We compared the eggs to a hen's egg and decided that they weren't chicks in the incubator. We looked at the creatures that could come out of an egg after sharing the story 'The Odd Egg' and the children were told about some of the other creatures that could hatch from an egg. We made predictions (guessed) what might be growing in the eggs inside the incubator. We also talked about what an incubator does. 

On Tuesday we were amazed when one of the eggs hatched. Some of the children were able to see this happening and all of the children had a look to see what was now in the incubator. We had one little duckling and four eggs. Some of the children had predicted that there would be a crocodile hatching, thankfully there wasn't! 

On Wednesday morning Father Jim popped into see our new arrival and he blessed the duckling and the eggs. On this day we had two more ducklings hatch out of the egg. This was great news but we also had some sad news. Unfortunately, one of the ducklings died. We talked about the duckling now being with God in Heaven. We also performed a burial and said a prayer. 

On Thursday another egg cracked and out hatched a duckling. We now have four fluffy, yellow, little ducklings in the Brooder. 

Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Lent, and a very special one. It's Mother's Day. The children have been busy drawing pictures for mummy, they have created a lovely floral picture by printing with fruit and vegetables and they have been learning a song. They have all been done with love. 

On Friday we took part in our Sponsored Scoot, raising money for the charity 'Catholic Children's Society'. The children all did very well, with some fast scooting and they have each brought home a certificate informing you of how many laps they completed. Please collect sponsor money and return to the Nursery by 25^th March 2026. All monies will be greatly appreciated, thank-you.

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

6^th March 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank-you so much for attending Wednesday's Parents Consultations. Please be reminded that Mrs Barber and I are always happy to chat with you, if required, please make an appointment; the best time is after school.

This week we have continued to focus on growing in love, caring, giving and goodness, during Lent. We have been on a Spring Walk looking for signs of New Life. We found lots of flowers growing in our school environment, maybe you could continue looking for signs of Spring when you are out and about. 

The children have planted some grass seeds and we have created a grass head. It is the children's responsibility to look after their seeds and to help them to grow. We have also started to make our Easter Garden; we will continue to look after this over the coming weeks. 

The children have been looking very carefully at the parts of a daffodil. We used the vocabulary bud, stem, bulb, corona/crown and petals and we talked about roots growing down and shoots growing up. We also counted how many petals a daffodil has. The children painted some lovely daffodil pictures and they have created a daffodil using salt dough. We have also been learning a number rhyme, about daffodils, showing the correct number of fingers for up to five daffodils. We encourage the children to show five in different ways. 

This week we have recapped on the letter sounds s, a, t, p and introduced the sound i. I have added a video, below, to show you how these letter sounds are pronounced. We are introducing the phase 2 sounds and we continue to recap these over the remainder of the year. The children are encouraged to segment and blend, words, using Robot Arms. 

In the hall today we have continued to practice throwing and catching. The children were encouraged to throw, using an underarm throw, towards a marker and then working in pairs to throw and catch. 

Thank-you for getting your child ready for World Book Day. The children looked great and they took part in a parade to show off their word and costume. Yesterday, I sent them home with a 'Story Reading Star' challenge. We wonder how many you can do. I have attached a copy below.

The children have brought home two things today. A sponsor form and the book we have shared, this week. Please return the book on Monday.

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

27th February 2026

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back, the children all came in to Nursery well rested and ready to learn. Some of the children talked about their break and it was good to hear about all that they had been up to. Thank-you for sharing the half-term holiday photos on Tapestry, the children like to see themselves on the Interactive White Board (not TV!).

This half term we will be focusing on our topic 'New Life', which will lead us up to Easter. It is a short half term and we have got so much to fit in but we will do it.

This week we introduced the children to Lent, a time for growing in love, kindness, goodness and caring, just like Jesus. On Tuesday the children had pancakes (pretending that it was Shrove Tuesday) made with Mrs Barber. They helped to make the batter and slice the fruit topping, that the pancakes would be served with. The children had a choice of topping and hopefully they shared this learning with you. We also shared a pancake making rhyme "Mix a pancake, stir a pancake, pop it in a pan. Fry a pancake, toss a pancake, catch it if you can!". Luckily, Mrs Barber managed to catch the pancakes! We also shared a story 'The Runaway Pancake' which is very similar to the stories The Ginger Bread Man and The Runaway Chapatti, that we have previously shared.

On Wednesday we changed the colour on our Prayer Table to the Lenten (waiting time) colour of Purple. Father Jim popped in and put a cross on our head, using ashes and whilst doing this he spoke the words "Let us change and believe in the good news". We started to learn a story form the Bible about Jesus going to the desert/wilderness, for forty days and nights. We have put a wilderness tray, next to our Prayer Table and each day we will say a Lenten Prayer. The children have been practising forming crosses with one line going down and another going across. 

In phonics we have recapped on the sounds that we learnt last half term and we have introduced the new sound 'p'. The children are working hard to hear the sounds at the start of words and they join in with robot arms when we sound out simple words. 

The children are being encouraged to make triangle, circle and square shapes, when they are mark making. We will continue with this over the coming weeks. Mrs Davies has been working with the children to go in and out of shapes using a shoe lace, in the fine motor activities. 

I have added the Early Talk Boost presentation below and we will be starting these activities, next week. 

Just a reminder that next Wednesday we have Parent Consultations. Please note that there is an earlier pickup and Nursery will be closed in the afternoon. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

24th February 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank-you for attending today's Early Talk Boost workshop. I hope that you found it useful. The activities will start next week and as discussed your child will bring the book home at the end of each week. This will replace the Home-Wow Book, for the time being. The children will still receive Book Bag Bundles. Please look after these books and return them to Nursery after each weekend (on the Monday). 

Any further questions, please ask.  

Miss Whittaker

13th February 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

We made it through another half term, time is surely flying in this Nursery. 

This week we have focused a lot on our feelings, as part of Children's Mental Health week and we have touched on what it feels like to belong. We all belong in Genesis class and it's important that we are kind and care for each other. The children have now created a new portrait for our board. We focused on painting the whole body, not just the head. The children looked at a photo of themselves and selected the colours that they needed. Mrs Barber reminded them about adding the key features. Some children added their own features. We had a fun activity were the children had to first draw Mrs Barber and then me. You should try this at home. Ask your child to sit in front of you, with a pencil and a piece of paper. Ask them to draw you, whilst you sit quietly. We all had a laugh looking at the pictures. 

At the start of the week we recapped on Jesus loving us and who we love. The children each made a lovely heart to give to someone that they love, at home. It's really important for us all to feel loved, safe and secure at home. We talk about being kind, sharing and looking after each other. 

Mardi Gras was a focus of learning for Thursday. The children each created a beautiful mask that they could wear in the parade, on Friday. I have told the children that we will be revisiting this learning after half term. In the first week back we will learn about Shrove Tuesday, make pancakes and I have requested that Father Jim brings us some ashes in after his Lenten Mass on Wednesday, so we will learn about ashes then and the story of Jesus in the Wilderness. 

I hope that you can join me in the music room on Tuesday 24th at 8.40am. I will not keep you for too long. I just want to talk to you briefly about Early Talk Boost and show you the resources that will be used. 

Have a lovely half term break

Miss Whittaker

6^th February 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have focussed our learning around Chinese New Year, this takes place during half term, this year.  The children have been learning the story 'The Great Race' and we have been sharing another story about Maisy Mouse, 'Maisy's Chinese New Year'. 

The children created a lovely lantern, using our developing scissor skills and they used their developing knife skills to chop and slice vegetables for a stir fry that they made with Mrs Barber.  The children also had the opportunity to try vegetable Spring rolls and some even tried the sweet chilli sauce, which was a bit hotter than expected!

During phonics we started to learn the sound 't' and we recapped on the sound's 's' and 'a'. The children are being encouraged to use Robot Arms to join in with segmenting and blending CVC (Consonant, vowel, consonant) words. 

Father Jim popped into see us on Wednesday afternoon. On his brief visit I asked him if he would be able to show us how he Baptises a baby, He was more than happy to do this and he used our classroom props to Baptise a doll. This week we started to share the story, Jesus and the Children, from our very special book, the Bible. The children used their scissor skills to cut out a heart shape, a photo of themselves and they stuck on some heart shaped stickers, to help create a display reminding us that Jesus loves us. Father Jim commented on the display and he also had time to share the story, with the children.  This has been added to Tapestry.

The children are being reminded about using manners at school, especially in response to others. A simple good morning, hello, please, thank-you or good-bye shows a developing respect for others.

Just a reminder: 

Home -Wow Books go home on Friday and are to be returned on Tuesday. If you add learning to Tapestry please write that this has been done. 

Book Bag Bundles - These go home on Monday and are to be returned Thursday, of the same week. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

30^th January 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been learning another traditional tale, The Gingerbread Man. We have been joining in with the retelling of the story, we have been singing the Gingerbread Man's song and again we have revisited the language characters and setting.  We did think of some other versions of the story by changing the characters. 

We investigated what happens when a Gingerbread Man is put into water and we found out why the Gingerbread Man couldn't cross the river. The children made some amazing Gingerbread Men, with Mrs Barber and they were encouraged to add three buttons, two eyes, one nose and a mouth. That was seven raisins/marks, altogether. The Gingerbread Men tasted delicious. Mrs Davies has been working with the children on their pencil control. There were some amazing Gingerbread Men patterns. 

We thought about words that rhyme with man, during phonics. We came up with van, ran, can, pan. We used our robot arms to sound these out. We also started to think of words that begin with the 'a' sound. The children are being encouraged to listen to the initial sound, in words. 

A song we shared this week was 'Five Currant Buns in a Bakers shop'. We talked about what happened to the number of buns as they were taken away. We also changed the words to 'Five Gingerbread Men in a Bakers Shop'!

Thank-you for sharing your child's Baptism photos. We had a look at these, together and we talked about what happens at a Baptism. We noticed that the children were wearing white, some children had a candle in the photo and there is a font. We spotted Father Jim in quite a few of the photos. 

A fun time was had in the hall with the Parachute. We had to work together to keep three snowballs on the Parachute. One of the children suggested a challenge, that the snowballs touch the ceiling. We managed to do this by working together. 

Thank-you to the parents of Group One children who attended our first Early Learning Time, today. I hope that you enjoyed your time with us. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

23rd January 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been sharing the story 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. We have been using the words 'characters' and 'setting' when sharing books and small world play. The children have been joining in with the retelling of the story and they have been joining in with repeated refrains. We have particularly enjoyed singing the trolls words. We are continuing to encourage the counting of the characters and the language of size and we have been thinking about what a troll would look like. We have seen a variety versions of a troll in different books/animations that we have shared. 

The children have been introduced to the sound 's'. We have been thinking about objects that begin with this sound and we have been making some lovely Silly Soup. The ingredients that we used to make our soup began with the 's' sound for example, sock, scissors, seal, snake.

The children have been encouraged to order the letters in their name. Mrs Davies has worked with the children to put the letters of their name, in order, before using a glue stick to glue the letters down. We are noticing that some children are starting to write the letters in their name using all capital letters. We teach the children that there is only a capital letter at the start of their name, the remainder  of the letters are lower case. Please reinforce this at home. 

The children have been learning about John the Baptist and we have shared the Baptism of Jesus, from our special book, the Bible. The children each created a dove, using different materials to create a collage and they were encouraged to recall key moments in the story. Next week we will be thinking about our Baptism.

Next Friday we will have our first Early Learning Time, for group One. Please see the letter that you received to see if you have been allocated to this group.  If you are unable to make this time please let your child know so that they know not to expect you. All children will be in Early Learning Time sessions.

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

16^th January 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week the children have been introduced to the story 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. We have been retelling the story, counting bears and making porridge.  

The children have followed instructions to create playdough bear shapes, with Mrs Davies. They had to create balls, sausages and splat the dough, using their hands.  On Thursday, the children made porridge with Mrs Barber. The challenge was to make the porridge 'just right' so that they could eat it all. The children had a choice of toppings including, banana, raisins, golden syrup and raspberries. The porridge went down well. When retelling the story, we focused on the sequence of events and the language of size. The children were encouraged to join in and to answer questions. 

We have started to talk about the life of Jesus, this week and he is no longer a baby. Over the coming weeks we will continue to learn more by sharing stories from our very special book, the Bible. 

I am aware that you received a letter introducing you to Early Learning Time, from Mrs Crouch. Please note that the Nursery sessions are on a Friday. I have added the dates as a reminder, above.

Have a lovely weekend 

Miss Whittaker

9th January 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to the new school term and Happy New Year to you all. The children returned happy and well rested and soon got back into the routine. Although we are having to reinforce tidying up. Spring One has the theme 'Once Upon a Time' and over the coming weeks we will be sharing some Traditional Tales. 

This week we have focused on the journey of the Three Wisemen/Kings/Magi. The children have made a shiny star, to guide them, they have acted out the story, we have been singing songs and they even made some special edible stars, with Mrs Barber. The puff pastry, lemon curd stars were a lovely treat, on Thursday. Mrs Barber was impressed with the way children followed instructions, to make them. Mrs Davies helped the children to put together and glue five strips of paper that when put together created a picture of the Three Wisemen, following the star, to Bethlehem. When acting out the story we talked about the journey not being easy. On camels, following a star the Wisemen travelled across a desert, across the sea, over mountains and through valleys (the scary part with wolves and snakes!). We did think about when the Wisemen travelled. If they were following a star would they travel by day or night?

The weather has been very mixed. The ice that we found outside was great. We did our own mini investigations freezing some objects, outside, over night. We talked about water freezing and then melting. Unfortunately, one night it wasn't cold enough and our underpants that we had wet (with water!) and put outside didn't freeze. The children were encouraged to think about where the coldest place in our Nursery could be. The underpants had to be put in the freezer! The children loved seeing the results of this experiment. Frozen underpants! We had to put socks in the freezer to find out what would happen to them. 

Please ensure that your child is wearing a suitable coat for these wet and cold days. We do go outside in all weathers. Also, name all clothing. We do encourage children to put hats, scarves and gloves into their own bags but we still seem to have them disappearing. Please check that your child has their own items when going home. 

A shout out - we no longer have any spare tracksuit bottoms in the Nursery.  If your child has been changed and worn them home please return them as soon as possible. For now, please put some spares in your child's bag, just in case. 

Just a reminder that Book Bag Bundles are sent home on a Monday and MUST be returned on Thursday. Please share the books with your child. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

19^th December 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

We made it to the end of the first term and all of the children deserve a good rest. They have worked super hard and should feel very proud of all that they have achieved. 

Thank you so much for the beautiful gifts, vouchers, and cards we received. We were truly overwhelmed by your generosity and kind words. We really enjoy working in Nursery and it is a pleasure to teach a lovely class, everyday. Thank-you.

We hope that you have a lovely Christmas break and a restful time over the break. 

All the best for 2025

Miss Whittaker, Mrs Barber and Mrs Davies

12th December 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank-you so much for attending our Christmas Show, today. I know that the children really appreciate you being there. 

This week we have been busy preparing for the show that the children put on today. They all performed brilliantly and Mrs Barber and I are super proud. They helped make cakes, salt-dough decorations (for the tree), the hats that they wore and they learnt all of the songs, with actions. The children were encouraged to use mark making patterns that we have been learning, when decorating their hats. They painted diagonal crosses, rainbow arcs, dots, straight line (both horizontal and vertical) and circles. We have also started to use clay to create a candle holder.

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

5th December 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been busy learning the Christmas Story. The children have been introduced to the characters in the story and we have talked about the long journey that Mary and Joseph made, with their donkey, from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We have been learning about the shepherds and the three Kings. The children have been learning songs that we will share with you in our little show, next Friday at 9am. Please see above for more information.  

The children have been introduced to the Advent Wreath and the class Advent Calendar. Each day we learn a little bit more about the Christmas story. We have been making bauble Christmas decorations, using our mark making skills and we have all made an angel, that are now displayed in our classroom. The children have also started to make a salt-dough tree decoration and these, when finished, will be added to the tree that is on the wall in our classroom. 

We hope to see all of the children at the Christmas Fair on Sunday, ready to sing the songs that we have been learning. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

28th November 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

We started the week by celebrating the birthday of Mr Troll. Mr Troll was feeling very sad because his friends had forgotten that it was his birthday. So, we had a few games of musical mats and statues, the children made pictures, the children made him cakes (out of playdough) and they sang the birthday song to him. He also joined us for a snack. Mr Troll was very happy by the end of the day.  The children have really enjoyed sharing the birthday photos that they have brought in from home and there has been lots of talk about them. The photos are on display in our Role-play Area, for all to see. We have also been talking about how old we are and the children have drawn themselves and these drawings have been added to either the 'I am 3'/'I am 4' board.

This learning about birthdays is leading us up to thinking about a very special birthday that we celebrate on the 25^th December and this week we introduced Mary and the Angel Gabriel. Angel Gabriel visited Mary, at home to give her a message from God. She was going to have a baby, a little boy called Jesus. This time of year is so special and it will be very festive over the coming weeks. The main message, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus. The children have started to create an Angel and this activity will carry on next week. 

The children have been busy making Candy Cane patterns. We have been given the important job of creating a decoration for the hall. The children have been very busy learning about patterns, printing and painting. These will be on display very soon. We have also started to learn some songs, ready for our Christmas Show. 

Please be reminded that ALL items of clothing need to be labelled. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

21^st November 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

On Monday we continued our Diwali learning by making and eating chapattis, with Mrs Barber. These were served with a side of mango chutney, raita and a bit of curry sauce. Mrs Barber told me that the children had a go at trying something on their plate. We also shared the stories 'Chapatti Moon' and 'The Runaway Chapatti'. Two very different stories that resulted in the eating of a chapatti. We did discuss if a chapatti would be able to run away and concluded that the chapatti could roll!

On Tuesday we started to introduce another Festival of Light, Hanukkah. The children have been learning about the Menorah. There are eight candles, one is lit per day, during Hanukkah. We have shared stories, we have been singing songs and Mrs Barber and the children made Potato Latkes, served with apple sauce. These were very yummy and the oil that the Latkes were cooked in reminded us of the oil used to light the Menorah. The children have also been busy making their own Menorahs, using their handprints.

On Wednesday there was a lot of excitement when it started to snow. We went outside to experience the snowfall and we were very disappointed that we couldn't build a snowman! This led to us sharing the story 'Snowball'. This is a great book with lots of rhyming words and it was fun to share.

The weather is turning colder and we do go outside in all weathers. Can I please request that you provide your child with mittens, unless they are able to put gloves on by themselves. The putting on of gloves takes a long time when we are assisting with coats, hats and scarves. Please continue to help your child to be independent in putting on coats and now, scarves, mittens and hats. Please also name your child's clothing. We are teaching them to put hats, gloves/mittens and scarves into their bag to keep them from going missing but we are aware that items are being misplaced so please check that your child brings home the correct accessories. If your child does bring home something that does not belong to them please return it to Nursery. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

14th November 2025

Dear Parents/Carers

This week we have been learning about Diwali, Remembrance Day and we have been thinking about how we can be kind, to others.

The children have decorated their salt-dough poppies with glitter, using their pinchy fingers and they have created a lovely field of poppies, using potatoes (to print) and poppy seeds, for the centre. These are on display and look lovely. A lot of thought and attention went into them. We continued to learn a song and poem and we joined in with a one minute silence. This involved us watching the Remembrance animation on cbeebies, a poignant animation that we discussed, leading us into thinking about the feeling 'scared'. 

Our learning about Diwali started with a dance workshop. The children joined in with the actions whilst learning the story. We have continued to use the moves whilst retelling the story, in class. The main characters in the story are Rama, Sita, the Goden Deer, Ravana and Hanuman. Ask your child about what they can remember from the story. At the end of the story lights are lit to light the way home for Rama and Sita, to lead them back home in the dark and to remind us of this we created our own Diwa lamp. 

On World Kindness Day we focused on how we are kind and help others. We shared books about what it means to be kind, we listened to some songs and we thought about how we can be kind to others, in class and at home. In Nursery we have been highlighting the acts of kindness that we have seen. We also shared the story 'The Good Samaritan, from our very special book the 'Bible'. The children are still being encouraged with good manners, particularly using the kind words please and thank-you. 

Thank-you so much for attending this weeks Parent Consultations. It was lovely to see you all and to hear that your children are happy coming to Nursery. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

7th November 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to the second Autumn half term. This is always a busy one and Christmas will be upon us sooner than we think. We have our Nursery Christmas Show on 12^th December 2025, at 9am-10am. Please join us for our festivities. 

This half term we are looking at the theme 'Let's Celebrate'. Over the coming weeks we will be thinking about how we celebrate with our family and friends and how this is the same/different for each of us. We will learn about some Festivals of Light, that take place around the world, Diwali and Hanukkah and we will think about birthday celebrations. This learning will lead us into thinking about the very special birthday that we celebrate on Christmas Day.

This week we have come back to Nursery and settled back into the routine, well. We have been reinforcing our class rules, especially the tidy up one! The children are now being encouraged to self-register, when they come into Nursery. The children are encouraged to find their own name and to add it to the Colour Monster feelings chart. 

Thank-you for going on an Autumn walk, over the half term and for collecting the objects. The children have been busy exploring them, this week. We have shared the story Leaf Man and we have made ourselves out of the Autumnal objects that were brought into school. The children took time to consider their creations and they look amazing.  I will add them to Tapestry. 

We have also been learning a little about Bonfire Night. The children had been commenting about the Fireworks that they have been hearing and seeing in the night sky. We learnt a Firework number rhyme and we have been moving like a Firework, in the hall. 

On Sunday it is Remembrance Sunday and we have been thinking about this. The children have been introduced to a Poppy and we have been talking about why the Poppies are worn, at this time of year. In November, we remember. We have started to learn a poem and a song about Remembrance day and we will continue to learn these, next week. We will join the school in a one minute silence, on the 11^th November. 

On Monday we have our Diwali Dance Workshop, this will be a great learning experience and it will introduce us to the story of Diwali. 

Next Wednesday we have Parent Consultations, in the afternoon. Please ensure that you have signed up and that you pick your child up at the earlier time of 1.15pm. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

24th October 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

Can you believe we have reached the end of the first half-term? The children have settled in well and they have been amazing. We have been impressed with them all. Please have a well-deserved rest, over the holidays, the children have got a big half term ahead. The run up to Christmas is always very busy.

This week we have been thinking about how God created our family. We each drew a picture of our family and chatted whilst we did so. We talked about who was older/younger/bigger/smaller in our family. The children did some good work.

We have continued to learn the Nursery Rhymes 'Incy Wincy Spider' and 'Little Miss Muffet'. The children did perform these to Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, and they did well. Unfortunately, the recording of this was too quiet so we performed it again, in the classroom.  I have added the classroom recording to Tapestry. Maybe you could ask your child to perform the rhyme and actions at home. 

Pumpkins have become a topic of conversation, this week. This came from the children talking about the pumpkins that they had decorated for the Autumn Antics. This gave us the opportunity to talk about the size, colour and shape of pumpkins. We also talked a little about the pumpkins growing from a seed. We cut open a pumpkin to explore what was inside, so many seeds. Mrs Barber and the children used pumpkins in a baking activity to make Pumpkin and Ginger cakes. They were delicious. 

Have a lovely break

Miss Whittaker

17th October 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have continued to focus our learning around the story of Creation and Spiders! Today, we have been moving around like Spiders, in the hall and we have been creating our own movements for a Spiderling, an egg, making a web and catching a fly. We have continued to share different versions of Incy Wincy Spider and we have introduced Little Miss Muffet, with actions. 

The children are being encouraged to add their name to the Colour Monster feelings chart. We are teaching the children to recognise their own name. Their name is important to them. 

The children have each produced a lovely painting of their face, looking closely at a photo of themselves, choosing from a selection of colours. We talked about how God made our eyes to look, our ears to listen, our mouths to talk and eat, our nose to sniff and our hair, to keep our head warm. Just imagine if God hadn't created these body parts. God made us and God loves us. These paintings are now on display and they look great. 

The weather is starting to get cooler. Please ensure that your child has a coat in school, everyday as we go out in all weathers. We are teaching the children the 'flip-trick' when putting on their coats; his will help them to become more independent. 

Step 1: Child to put the coat down on the floor/a table.

Step 2: Child to stand near the hood (hood to toes).

Step 3: Child to put their arms through the arm holes.

Step 4: Child flips the coat over their head.

Also, we are teaching them that the floor is not a peg. They are to hang their coats on their peg. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

13th October 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

You child has brought home a Book Bag Bundle, today. The bag contains four books. Please share these books with your child. They are to be returned on Thursday. Each week your child will receive a Book Bag Bundle on a Monday and they are to be returned on Thursday, the same week. 

Enjoy sharing the books with your child.

Miss Whittaker

10^th October 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week has been Spider themed. You may have noticed more spiders when you are out and about, or more in your home, it's Spider Season. We are teaching the children about these lovely creatures that God has created. 

We have been learning a number of spider themed songs, creating new words and rhymes and we have shared a couple spider themed books namely 'Aaarggh Spider' and 'Incy Wincy Spider'. We are sharing non-fiction and fiction books, to find out more. Over the next couple of weeks we will continue with this learning, including learning the life-cycle of a Spider. 

The children have had the opportunity to create their own spider, using different materials, glue and a spatula. They have been encouraged to count out eight legs. These amazing, individual creations will be on display, soon. 

The children have been exploring shapes, with Mrs Barber. They did this with toast. The children were able to use a knife to butter their slice of toast and then they  sliced the toast into different shapes including a rectangle, square and triangle. 

In the hall today we played a game of spiders and flies. Mrs Barber was the spider and she was catching flies (the children), to take back to her web.  Once caught the flies had to stay in the web until all of the other flies had been caught. A lot of fun was had getting away from the spider! 

Today, your child has brought home their Home-Wow Book. Please follow the instructions inside the book to find the Home-Wow challenge. You will find it on the Nursery Home Learning, webpage. Please return on Tuesday so that we can share our learning. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

3rd October 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

'God made me, God loves me', has been a big discussion point this week as we share the story of Creation from our special book, the 'Bible'. We have been learning a new song and the children are starting to join in with the chorus.  'God made me', is something that we have been learning about and the children were asked to draw a picture of themselves for the classroom door. We talked about the names of body parts and that we are all loved by God.  

We have also been thinking about the shapes circle, rectangle, square and triangle. The children did some lovely cooking with Mrs Barber creating an 'Apple and Pear Turnover'. The children created square shapes with the pastry before turning them into triangles. They did a great job at slicing the apples and pears. We also talked about the apples and pears growing on the trees that God has created. 

We also had to talk about Christmas trees and we created one with our hand for the MCCA Christmas card activity. The children did very well with these and we look forward to you seeing the end result when they are distributed by the MCCA. 

During our hall time we played a listening game. Each child was allocated a marker and the children were instructed to move between markers before returning to the one they were at when a signal was given. 

All of the children have now been out into the big playground and they have had fun exploring. 

The weather is turning more Autumnal. Please ensure that your child has a coat in school, everyday. Please continue to encourage personal hygiene, at home. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker

26th September 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

We have reached the end of the first full week and the children have done really well. We have been learning more rules, playing lots of name games and we have been encouraging the following of simple instructions. 

This week we have shared the story 'The Enormous Turnip' and we have used the language big, small and enormous. We have encouraged the children to join in with the story and we have used different characters to create a new version. As part of our learning the children helped to create a Harvest vegetable soup using the ingredients leek, potato, carrot, sweet potato and swede (we couldn't get turnip). The children used knives to cut the vegetables and they did some great slicing. We did talk about where the vegetables came from and that God has created the sun and rain to help the vegetables to grow.

This week Mrs Barber has started to take small groups of children into the 'big playground'. We do this as a class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but we are taking out small groups to teach the rules. We have also taken the class to the hall to play a listening game, using markers, they did very well. 

There has been a lot of sneezing and coughing which has led to us sharing the book 'Germs are not for Sharing'. In this book it talks about catching our coughs and sneezes, washing our hands and throwing tissues in the bin (not on the floor). Please encourage your child to develop their personal hygiene, whilst at home. Especially, washing hands after going to the toilet. 

Thank-you to those parents who joined us for the 'Meet the Teacher' evening, on Wednesday. I have attached the slides (in PDF format), below. 

Have a lovely weekend

Miss Whittaker 

19th September 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to Genesis class. 

What a great first week we have had. I am pleased to say that the children appear to be settling in and they are starting to adapt to Nursery life. You may find that your child may be reluctant to come into school. This is all part of settling as they realise that they will be coming to school five days a week. In our experience we find that this is short lived and will soon pass.

This week we have been introducing 'Whole Body Listening' and this will be reinforced throughout the year. We have been learning our Nursery prayers, singing songs and sharing stories. The children have been exploring inside and out and next week we will start to learn some of our Nursery rules. The children are being encouraged to tidy up and this will also be reinforced everyday, throughout the year. Please encourage your child to tidy up after themselves, at home. 

Please make sure that all of your child's clothing is named and add a keyring to your child's school bag so that they can recognise it.

We look forward to welcoming you back next week. On Monday the children finish at 2pm and then going forwards the end of day will be 3.30pm. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker