Welcome to Mrs Palmen's Class

Faithfully following in the footsteps of Jesus,

we serve, love and learn together

inspiring each other to excellence.

Hello and welcome to Reception P!

Class Email: rp@stpatricks.sefton.school

We are so excited to welcome both old and new faces to our St. Patrick's family and are looking forward to getting to know you and your children.

We have lots of exciting activities planned for the year ahead and you will not believe how your child grows and progresses throughout their first year at school. 

Our Early Years Curriculum is based on learning through exploration and play. We access a variety of different activities in Reception to support us with our learning.  

A typical day in Reception:

Our school day begins with Early Doors at 8.45am. Children are welcome to arrive anytime between 8.45am and 9am. 

After registration and prayers, we are ready to start our Phonics lesson. We start by singing the alphabet song and each day we learn a new letter or sound. Then we practise our reading and writing skills at our tables. After our whole class learning, we have snack time before we go out to play. We have a healthy snack each day except on Fridays when we have a treat. 

After playtime we take part in Maths activities, which can involve counting, singing, shape games, ICT, water play, sand play and measuring. We like to learn through fun, practical games and activities. Lunchtime begins at 11.30 am. Most of us have hot dinners and some children bring in a packed lunch.

At 12.25 pm we go back into class for our afternoon session. Each day we focus on different areas of the Early Years Curriculum. Our activities can be linked to our Religious Education topic, Show and Tell, Music, Knowledge & Understanding of the World or Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Circle Time Games). Our outdoor area is set up so that children can access activities both inside and out. We have a piece of fruit each afternoon as part of the free fruit scheme Healthy Schools Government initiative.

Each day we take part in Celebration of the Word and we enjoy learning about Jesus through our Religious Education topics. We say prayers each morning, before and after lunch and before home time.

Before we go home, we like to finish our day with a story and sing songs.

General Information 

The Reception newsletter is uploaded to this page each Monday evening and will contain information about our learning and how you can support your child at home. Please also check this page regularly for updates and photos. 

P.E. 

This term our P.E lessons will be on a Thursday morning. Please send your child to school in their full P.E kit. Children can wear wear plain navy leggings, joggers or shorts and trainers with a white t-shirt.  The children must have their school jumper or cardigan to wear.

Snack

Snack money is £1 per week or £6 per half term. 

Staff

Mrs Palmen - Class Teacher

Miss Benson - PPA Cover (Tuesday and Thursday pm)

Miss Cresswell - Classroom Assistant

Communication

Please ensure all contact details are up to date at the office. 

Medical Conditions

If your child has any medical conditions we need to know about please inform us as soon as possible. If your child requires an inhaler or any other medication please ensure this is in school and in date. 

Uniform

Please ensure that all uniform, book bags, lunch boxes and water bottles are clearly labelled with your child's name. 

Curriculum

Please see our Long and Medium Term Overviews below as well as the curriculum pages on the website for further information on what we are learning about in school.

Parental Involvement

 The Early Years curriculum is based on learning through play and exploration, There are a number of ways you can help your child to learn and make progress:

* Good attendance

* Home reading

* Point out numbers and letters in the environment

* Count at every opportunity

* Encourage your child to talk about the world around them.

Reading

Here at St. Patrick's, reading is at the heart of our curriculum. Reading can be a special time for you and your child. Research has shown that reading for as little as 5 or 10 minutes each day can help support your child's educational development. We operate a Lending Library in school and your child with bring home a Library book each week. This is a story book for you to read to them and enjoy talking about your thoughts and ideas together. We begin our Phonics Scheme in the Autumn term and your child will also bring home a book each week for them to read to you to practise their phonics knowledge.  

Head Teacher Awards

Shining a light for others - 07.02.25

A very well-deserved Head Teacher award for Ben this week. He really is a shining light for others, leading by example in everything he does. Lots of adults around school have commented on how polite and well-mannered he is, always remembering to say good morning or good afternoon to people he meets. Well done, Ben!

Reading - 29.01.25

Congratulations to Lennon for astounding us all with your incredible progress in reading. Lennon is now reading two-syllable words containing digraphs. This is a very well-deserved Head Teacher award. Fantastic job! Keep up the hard work. Lennon, you are amazing!

Lunchtime Behaviour - 29.01.25

By special request, Mrs Halsall said RP had two Head Teacher awards this week! One of our lovely ladies in the kitchen spoke to Mrs Halsall and asked for Eleanor to receive a special Head Teacher award for her impeccable manners and behaviour in the dinner hall. What lovely news! We couldn't agree more, Eleanor is so polite and shows perfect behaviour at all times. Well done, Eleanor!

24.01.25 - Serving Others

Congratulations to Harry for winning this week's Head Teacher award. Harry consistently serves other people, putting other people's feelings before his own and showing great kindness and selflessness. We are so proud of you Harry. Well done.

16.01.24 - Courage

This week our Celebration of the Word theme is 'courage' and we have talked about about what this word means and how we can show courage in our daily lives. Our Head Teacher award winner is Edie who shows tremendous courage and is never afraid to have a go at something new. As a result she is making fantastic progress in school and it has been wonderful to see her confidence grow since starting school in September. Well done, Edie!

13.01.24 - Mission Statement

Congratulations to Alice for winning this week's Head Teacher award for following the words of our Mission Statement. Alice really does "faithfully follow in the footsteps" in everything that she does. She is a wonderful friend and full of joy and fun! Alice, we love having you in our class. Thank you for being such a fantastic role model for our school.

11.12.24 - Serving others

Congratulations to Iris for winning this week’s Head Teacher award for serving others. Iris is always putting the needs of others before herself. She always looks after her friends and is so helpful around the classroom which Miss Cresswell and I are so grateful to you. Thank you Iris!

06.12.24 - Progress

we could not be more proud of this week’s Head Teacher award winner, Benjamin. He has worked so hard at school and at home on his reading, writing and maths. We are blown away by the progress he has made in all areas since starting school in September. Congratulations, Benjamin!

27.11.24 - Celebration of the Word

Congratulations to Micah for winning this week's Head Teacher award for her contributions during our special daily reflective prayer time, Celebration of the Word. Micah joins in with reverence and respect, helping to set up the focus area and remember the words to our prayers. Well done, Micah!

22.11.24 - Friendship

Congratulations to Ronnie on winning this week’s Head Teacher award for Friendship. Ronnie is a super friend to all members of the class, listening to their ideas and making sure they are happy and included in games.

15.11.24 - Respect

Congratulations to Finley on winning this week’s Head Teacher award for Respect. Finley is so incredibly kind and respectful to adults and children alike. He is always on hand to offer his help or support to anyone who needs it and takes on board other people’s ideas for games and activities. Well done Finley. A very well deserved award. Well done, Ronnie.

24.10.24 - 100% Attendance

09.10.24 - Handwriting

The children have all worked so hard on their pencil control and letter formation since starting school in September and it has been wonderful to see the progress that every child has made in such a short amount of time. However, we could only choose one winner so this week the Head Teacher award's deserving recipient is Rory who has practised and practised forming the capital 'R' and 'y' in his name to the point of perfection! Rory, I cannot believe what an incredible job you have done. You should be so proud of yourself!

04.10.24 - Helping Others (school values)

A huge well done to Ronnie for winning this week’s Head Teacher award for helping others. Ronnie is a fabulous help in class and is always there to help someone in need. I know he’s been a huge help to his mummy and daddy at home in looking after his new little brother, Tommy.

26.09.24 - Reading

Congratulations to Cecilia, who has won this week's Head Teacher award for Reading. Cecilia adores books and loves sitting in our Calm Corner listening to a story read by an adult. She enthusiastically joins in with Story Time and has some fantastic suggestions for what might happen next. Her love reading is a joy to behold. Well done, Cecilia! 

20.09.24 - Behaviour

A huge well done to Isaiah for winning this week's Head Teacher award for behaviour. Isaiah is impeccably well-behaved. He follows every instruction perfectly and is a role model to all of his friends. Miss Cresswell and I could not be more proud of you, Isaiah. I cannot believe you only started school a few weeks ago. You are amazing!

13.09.24 - Mission Statement

Congratulations to Grace for winning our first Head Teacher award. Grace embodies our Mission Statement and is a perfect example of serving, loving and learning together. We are so proud of the incredible start she has made to school life. Effortlessly helpful and caring, Grace is a friend to all and a fabulous member of our class.