St. Francis- Butterflies
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Thank you for participating in the "Make Your Own Monster" homework activity! We were thrilled to see how creatively the children made and described their monsters. Luckily, most of them were friendly, enjoyed playing with friends, and loved to eat!
Welcome back to the Spring Term!
Dear Parents/Carers,
Happy New Year! We hope you all had a wonderful and restful Christmas holiday, filled with joy and special moments with your loved ones. We are so excited to welcome you and your little ones back to nursery as we begin the Spring Term.
This term promises to be an exciting one, with lots of fun activities, new learning opportunities, and chances for the children to grow and thrive.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or updates you would like to share as we begin this new term together.
Warm regards,
Nursery Team
Dear Parents and Carers,
This year we will be using the Development Matters framework to inform the learning taking place in the classroom. The topics for each term reflect chosen texts and learning goals that will be assessed.
The yearly plan has been uploaded here for you to refer to throughout the year.
Thank you,
Mrs Szymczak
As we approach the last week of the school year, we wanted to share some highlights of our festive celebrations. The children had a wonderful time during our Christmas Jumper Day and enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch together. We also held a lively class party filled with fun activities, including musical chairs and musical statues. The students got creative with some holiday crafts, showcasing their artistic talents! Thank you for your support throughout the year. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May your holiday season be filled with joy, peace, and wonderful memories.
Today, our EYFS classes delivered their Nativity performance, and it was a wonderful success! The children were fantastic, looking absolutely beautiful as they brought the story to life. Thank you for your continued support in making this event so special!
This week in nursery, we explored the setting of the story Little Red Riding Hood. The children listened carefully, discussed what they could see in the woods, and noticed the details, colours, and patterns in an illustration filled with animals and plants. We also encouraged curiosity by asking open-ended questions like, "What else might live in the woods?" and included activities such as pointing, counting, and describing what they observed. As an extension, the children enjoyed a nature trail around the school playground. They also created a beautiful woodland collage using various materials.
This week in nursery, we introduced the story of Little Red Riding Hood! We started by discussing the characters, asking questions like "What does Little Red Riding Hood look like?" and "What do you think the Big Bad Wolf is like?" The children enjoyed exploring the story through pictures and descriptions of the characters. The children had a great time choosing to draw either Little Red Riding Hood or the Big Bad Wolf, creating wonderful crafts using paper plates, and practicing their mark-making skills. We encouraged them to add details like Red Riding Hood's cape or the Wolf’s scary features. They then described their creations using new vocabulary.
Over the past two weeks in nursery, the children have been enjoying the story "We’re Going on a Bear Hunt". They brought the story to life through a music and action map, mimicking the sounds and movements of wavy grass, splashing rivers, sticky mud, crackly leaves in the forest, a swirling snowstorm, and the deep, dark cave. The excitement peaked when they embarked on their own bear hunt, chanting the journey and discovering the bear, played by Mrs. Hopkins in costume. This week, the children retold the story in sequence and explored sensory mark-making through activities such as drawing in sand, making marks with charcoal in mud, and creating shapes and lines on whiteboards. They also engaged in math-themed fun by counting steps as they recreated the bear hunt, following a trail of numbered bear paw prints, and using ten frames to count and match teddy bears. These activities have combined storytelling, sensory play, and early math skills, sparking creativity and excitement in learning.
Today in our nursery class, we celebrated Continents Day! The children came dressed in beautiful cultural clothes. We explored the globe and map, introducing the seven continents in a fun, interactive way. Through songs, games, and hands-on activities like placing animal toys and "Mini Me" figures on a felt map, the children began to connect continents with animals, people, and cultures. Creative activities included crafting a world collage, counting and decorating numbers, and using playdough mats to bring the continents to life. It was a day full of discovery, creativity, and smiles!
Over the past two weeks, our nursery children have been having a fantastic time exploring the classic story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They listened to the story and joined in with familiar phrases like "This porridge is too hot!" The children enjoyed talking about their favourite characters and participating in a range of exciting activities based on the story. A real highlight was our "Hot Seating" activity, where children took turns pretending to be characters from the story, such as Goldilocks or one of the bears. The rest of the class asked fun questions like, “Why did you go into the house, Goldilocks?” or “Were you scared when you saw the bears?” This encouraged children to think about the characters' actions and helped build their confidence in speaking. In addition to the storytelling, the children were sequencing events from the story using story cards. They also acted out the story with props like small bears, bowls, and chairs, practising retelling it in their own words. In maths, the children learned a special skill called subitising – the ability to recognize quantities without counting. They also helped Goldilocks sort different sized items (bowls, chairs, and beds) to match each bear’s needs. Through this activity, children used words like small, medium, and large, and practised comparative language, such as “Daddy Bear’s bed is the biggest!” On Friday, the children made porridge for the three bears, following a simple recipe! It was very tasty, and everyone enjoyed a little taste of the porridge they had created, just like in the story. What a delicious way to end our fun-filled adventure with Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
Our 50th Birthday Celebrations for Our Lady of Lourdes School was a fantastic success! On Thursday, we had the honour of attending a special Mass led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at the church of the Five Precious Wounds. This service was a beautiful way to start our celebrations and truly memorable for our school community. On Friday, we continued the festivities with a throwback to the 1970s! The children arrived dressed in vibrant 70s outfits, adding colour and spirit to the day. We had fun sampling sweets invented in the 70s, danced to the timeless tunes of ABBA, and even crafted our own flower headbands. It was a joyful celebration filled with laughter.
This week, we began our exciting new topic, Into the Woods! On Monday, the children came dressed as characters from different woodland stories, and each one looked absolutely wonderful. We loved seeing their creative costumes and how they each brought their favourite characters to life. A huge thank you to all the parents for your support in getting the children ready for the day—it really made the start of this topic extra special. We’re looking forward to exploring many more woodland adventures together in the coming weeks!
This week in nursery we read "Handa’s Surprise" by Eileen Browne, a beautiful story that introduced the children to African culture and explored the themes of friendship, sharing, and celebration. We used props to bring the story to life, engaging the children with questions about the characters and the African setting. We also explored the concept of patterns. Pupils took part in many activities linked to the story, such as: role play - the children acted out the story in small groups, fruit tasting party, cultural craft - the children created African - inspired patterns using fruit and paint, and also made African necklaces.
As part of our Black History Month celebration, the children listened to the story "Mae Jemison: Little People, Big Dreams," where we explored Mae’s determination to become the first African American woman astronaut. We discussed what it might feel like to be in space, how Mae must have felt following her dreams, and even reflected on our own dreams for the future. The children then created "Dream Clouds," drawing pictures of themselves in their dream jobs—such as astronauts, doctors, and artists—and used cotton to make fluffy clouds. Each child shared a word or phrase that described their dream, like “keep people safe” or “help people.” We also explored shapes by creating rockets using 2D shapes, inspired by Mae Jemison’s journey to space. It was a wonderful activity filled with imagination, and we hope you’ll continue to encourage your child to dream big at home!
Today, we had a wonderful celebration of St. Francis Day, the patron saint of our class! The children enjoyed story time about the life of St. Francis of Assisi, learning about his care and love for animals and nature. As a special treat, we baked and shared animal-shaped cookies, which the children loved! We also went on a "St. Francis Nature Walk," where the children explored God's creation, spotting birds, insects, and leaves. To wrap up the day, they made bird feeders using seeds and cookie cutters, they were perfect to hang around our school!
Join Us in the Street Tag Challenge!
Dear Parents,
We are excited to introduce you to Street Tag, a free app that encourages families to become more physically active together. By walking, running, cycling, rolling, or scooting past virtual tags, you and your family can earn points while enjoying the outdoors.
Why participate?
- Boost Physical and Mental Health: Street Tag promotes an active lifestyle, which has numerous benefits for both physical and mental well-being.
- Support Our School: When you sign up for the Schools Leaderboard, the points you collect contribute to our school’s total score.
Please see attached.
Thank you for your support!
This week at the nursery, the children engaged in a variety of activities inspired by the story "Owl Babies". They explored counting and numbers through fun, hands-on experiences. The children counted owl pictures on the whiteboard and used counters to represent the number of owls. They practiced feeding the owls with the correct number of food items. We had an exciting "owl hunt" where children found and counted hidden owls. Using wooden numbers and owl picture, the children counted and practiced writing numbers on whiteboards. Afterwards each child created their own owl family and practiced counting as they made between 1 to 4 owls. It has been a fantastic week of learning and fun!
This week in the nursery we read the book Who’s in My Family? Children shared their family photos and talked about their unique family members. To enhance their understanding, the children created their own family portraits using natural materials developing their fine motor skills. During this hands-on activity, we continued discussing the importance of family.
This week at nursery, children began their new topic, "All About Me." We read the story What I like about Me and talked about the differences and similarities between the children, discussing what they like most about themselves. We counted how many boys and girls are in the class, and observed features like hair length and eye colour. Using mirrors, children closely looked at their faces. As an activity the children created a self-portrait using paint and a handprint in their favourite colour!
We have had a wonderful first week in the nursery class! The children are settling in beautifully, making new friends, and adjusting well to their new routines. It's been a pleasant start, and we’re looking forward to an exciting year ahead!
Welcome to Our Nursery!
Hello and welcome to all our wonderful children, parents, and carers! My name is Mrs Szymczak, and I am excited to be working alongside Mrs Hopkins and Mrs Decruz. Together, we have created a warm, loving, and nurturing environment where your child can grow, learn, and thrive.
Please keep an eye on this space, as we will be updating it weekly with important information, activities, and exciting news from the nursery. We look forward to an amazing year ahead filled with joy, learning, and new adventures!
Best regards,
The Nursery Team