Hello everyone!

Welcome to RRA!

Important Information:

• RRA need to arrive at school at 8.45am, register is at 8:55am, the gate closes at 9:00am and will finish at 3:15pm.
• If you are late to school please first sign your child in at either the Whitehouse centre or the main school office to recieve a slip to bring them to class, this is also the case if you are collecting early.
• The EYFS Breakfast Club and After School Club is in the buildings on the Key Stage 1 playgound (look out for the minions and the staff can guide you). There is a small charge for using this facility, please speak to the club team or the school office to find out more. 
• Tapestry is an online learning journal helping staff and families celebrate their children's learning and development. Together we build a special record of your child's experiences at school and home, by uploading photographs, videos and comments/diary entries, across the year. This then tells the story of your child's development, which you can keep by downloading a copy at the end of the Reception. It is also a platform used to communicate between home and school, with additional home learning activities, notes and reminders. Together we can capture your child's development so we value all those uploads made from activities and experiences you do with your child. If you have either not received your account information please speak to the class teacher. Don't forget to activate your account to receive the messages and photos. 
• Book Bags need to come into school every day. We will change Bedtime Story Books, and give out the literacy or maths homework once a week, but the phonics activities will be sent home each day. (Homework returned by Wendesdays, please.

Reminders:

• Please may you provide your child with a water bottle for use throughout the day. We are a healthy school, so may we remind you to fill the bottles with water.
• Please write your child's name in any clothing, shoes, water bottles and bags to prevent them from getting lost or mixed up. There is a temporary lost property box in RRA, or the main lost property store in the Whitehouse Centre should your child loose any of their belongings. 
• Please can you remember to pre-order your child's dinner on Parent Pay, you know your child's eating habbits best so it helps them to have something they will eat. If you need any support setting this up, please contact the school office. (Recpetion children are able to have a free school meal under the government's scheme.)
• If you are providing your child with a packed lunch may you please ensure that all fruit (such as grapes) are cut vertically to prevent the risk of choking. 
• The weather is very changeable at the moment, so please make sure your child is dressed for the day.  If you send your child into school with suncream, make sure they have some on in the morning before they arrive and please label the bottle as we have to make sure the children only use their own due to allergies. Please remember wellies too need labelling if you are bringing them into school. 
• For up-to-date information, please keep an eye on School Spider, Tapestry and the school's Facebook page.

 Learning at Home:

•  Learning at Home:

  • Read Write Phonics: Your class teacher will send home links to videos for you to watch with your child to support their development with phonics, reading and writing. Please do watch them, as it will really help your child. They will be sent out when your child is ready for that learning session. (Check your child's Tapestry account for the video links.)
  • Phonics Sound Cards and Handwriting Sheets: Your child will recieve the phonics sound card they have met duing their learning session to practise at home (if they do not already have it) and a handwriting sheet to practise forming the letter correctly. A few minutes practise each day at home as well as school will help the children to become confident with their sounds and use them to read and write. 
  • Bedtime Story Books: Each night you can read this story to your child to help develop their understanding of books and stories. It is an opportunity to ask questions about the book such as Where is the front? What is the title? What is the job of the person who writes the book? It is also a time where you can dive into the book and find out more, for example, Who are the main characters in the story? Where does the story take place? What do you think will happen on the next page? If you could change the story, how would you? Which parts did you like/dislike and why? These books will be changed once a week, so please bring them back into school on a Wednesday. Thank you. 
  • Ditty Sheets or Red Ditty Books: Some children are now at the stage to practise reading ditties (short sentences). If your child has a ditty sheet, a new one will be sent out every day. If your child has a ditty red book, they will receive a copy to practise with at home after they have used it in school first (usually a new one every three/four days). Please make sure you return the books daily as the children will be continuing to use it in their phonincs lessons and also we can exchange it for a new one when the chhildren are ready. These resources are for the children to use to read to you at home each day. 
  • Reading Eggs: there is lots to do: reading books, challenges, the lessons, spelling, and fast phonics to mention but a few. At the beginning of the year, each child will take the independent placement test, which matches their responses to the activities to an appropriate working level. We will redo these throughout the year in order to support the children with suitable activities. If you have any difficulties accessing Reading eggs, for whatever reason, please contact Mrs Tait for support, or let your class teacher know. When your child has successfully gained a certificate - Reggie sends them to us, so we will pass them onto you via Tapestry. 
  • PurpleMash: your child has also received their log in details to access PurpleMash online. There are various tasks that you can access to help support your child's learning in lots of different ways, including TODOs set by the team in school. Log in to find out more.