Primary School January Highlights
Spotlight on EYFS department under the direction of Nursery and Reception Leaders
Dear DCIS Parents and Guardians,
A warm welcome from the Primary School. In this newsletter we have decided to turn the spotlight on to our EYFS department and to have a closer look at what is happening under the direction of our Nursery and Reception Leaders, Miss Faye Dennis and Miss Laura Mayhew.
The children have had a wonderful start to the year developing new skills and making new friends. With a play-based approach to learning, the children have been able to explore their own interests and gain a joy for learning. With all of these imaginations we have looked at a wide range of topics from traditional stories to space and animals. We encourage independence and support the children to become confident in their own skill development by attempting a range of different activities both indoor and outdoor.
Faye Dennis: Nursery Group Leader Laura Mayhew: Reception Group Leader
This year in Reception we have enjoyed welcoming parents into the classroom, to become more involved in their child’ s learning. The children particularly enjoy our‘ Mystery Reader’ sessions, where parents come into class to read a story and
we have more recently begun our‘ Come and Play’ afternoons. The children are very excited to see the parents in the classrooms, sharing their learning through play. Our outdoor area is very popular with the children and is an extension of the classroom with spaces for physical development, small world play, a music area and even an outdoor kitchen.
Nursery have loved our child-initiated learning. The children are confident to use the resources in the classroom to create and expand on their own ideas. We can have a group of children designing and testing Lego boats in the water tray while others are writing menus and cooking up a feast in the role play corner – every day is a new adventure! The children enjoy using their imagination to solve problems and recently, after a mystery villain stole some of the toys, the children were quick to design and make traps to catch the culprit!
This year, Nursery have been able to gain valuable social and communication skills while developing new skills in Maths and Literacy. We have had some wonderful excursions so far this year with trips to‘ The Playeum’ and to the Theatre in Reception. Nursery also loved their visit to watch‘ We’ re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and had a fun morning out to the play centre‘ Poliwogs’.
So much has happened so far this year and we are now looking forward to our next step in the EYFS adventure! Best regards,
Kara Lebihan Head of Primary School
4