A Warm Welcome to:

 Caterpillars (Nursery) and Butterflies (Reception) and to all the parents and carers.

Welcome to Nursery and Reception – Caterpillars and Butterflies! 🐛🦋

A very warm welcome to all our new and returning children, parents and carers! We hope you have had a wonderful summer and are ready for an exciting new year of learning, exploring, growing and having fun together.

Starting Nursery or Reception is a very special milestone. For many children, it is the beginning of their educational journey, and we know that this can be an exciting — but sometimes emotional — time for parents and carers too.

Leaving your child with teachers and adults they have only just met can feel daunting, particularly during those first few days. Please be reassured that we are here for you as well as your children. We understand that every child (and every family!) is different, and we will take the time to get to know your child as an individual — their personality, interests, strengths, needs and the things that make them feel happy and secure.

Our aim is for every child to feel safe, valued, confident and excited to come to school. We will care for them, support them and encourage them as they begin to develop their independence and become confident members of our school community.

All of the Early Years team genuinely love getting to know our children and watching them grow. We feel very lucky to be part of the beginning of their school journey and look forward to helping them become fantastic members of Capel St Mary Primary School.

🐛🦋 Welcome to Caterpillars and Butterflies!

Our Early Years setting is made up of Nursery and Reception children, known throughout our school community as our Caterpillars and Butterflies.

We provide a warm, creative and nurturing environment where children can explore, investigate, play and learn. Although developing new knowledge and skills is an important part of Nursery and Reception, much of our learning happens through continuous provision and child-initiated activities.

Through these experiences, we support the children to:

• develop their language and communication skills
• make and build friendships
• learn to share, take turns and work together
• understand and follow routines and structures
• develop confidence and independence
• make choices and solve problems
• become enthusiastic and curious learners
• develop the skills they need for the next stage of their learning journey.

Most importantly, we want the children to love coming to school and love learning!

🎒 What your child needs to bring to school

Please ensure your child brings the following each day:

📚 A book bag - This is used to transport their reading book and diary to and from school. Children will place their book bag in the class book-bag box as part of their morning routine.

(PLEASE DO NOT PUT WATER BOTTLES IN THE BOOK BAG)

💧 A water bottle - Please provide a named water bottle containing water only.

🧢 A hat and sun cream - During warmer weather, please ensure your child comes to school with a suitable hat and has had sun cream applied before arriving.

🌧️ A waterproof coat - We enjoy being outside in all sorts of weather, so please make sure your child has a waterproof coat in school.

Please leave other items at home - Please do not bring toys, comforters, blankets or other items from home. We will provide all the care, support and equipment your child needs throughout the school day.

🛡️ Safety

Your child's safety is always our priority. If your child wears earrings, please ensure that these are removed for PE and Forest School sessions. These sessions are on a Wednesday for Butterflies. If your child has pierced ears, stud earrings only are permitted. Unfortunately, we are unable to remove earrings, so please make sure this is done before they arrive at school. Please also ensure that long hair is tied back.

On all school days, children should not wear jewellery, including bracelets, elasticated/beaded bracelets or watches.

💊 Medication

If your child requires an inhaler, auto-injector (such as an EpiPen) or any other medication, please ensure that:

• the medication is in school
• the appropriate paperwork has been completed
• the school office is aware of your child's needs
• the class teacher is aware of your child's needs.

Please speak to us if you are unsure about any aspect of your child's medication or care.

⭐ Our Reward System

We love celebrating the children's achievements and the wonderful choices they make each day! We use the Dojo Points reward system, through which children can collect points throughout the week.

There are lots of ways to earn Dojo points, including:

🌟 making super behaviour choices

🌟 producing excellent work

🌟 listening carefully

🌟 showing kindness

🌟 staying focused

🌟 contributing to discussions

🌟 working hard

🌟 being helpful

🌟 or simply coming into school with a big smile!

At the end of each week, the child with the most points will be our Dojo Winner and will receive a small certificate during our celebration assembly.

We will also choose a Star of the Week. This may be awarded for something a child has done, achieved or demonstrated that really stands out and deserves to be celebrated. We believe that celebrating the small steps, as well as the big achievements, helps children to develop confidence and pride in themselves.

🎉 Celebration Assembly

Our Reception Butterflies Celebration Assembly takes place every Friday afternoon. We would love you to share your child's achievements and special 'Wow' moments from home or from clubs and activities they attend. It could be anything from:

🏆 receiving a certificate

✏️ completing some fantastic writing

🚲 riding their bike without stabilisers

🎵 taking part in a club or performance

🎂 attending a special occasion

🌱 learning a new skill

💪 overcoming something they found tricky

❤️ or simply doing something that made you incredibly proud!

You can share these moments with us by adding them to your child's portfolio page on ClassDojo. We will then share them with the class during our celebration assembly and encourage the children to talk about and celebrate their achievements with their friends.

💬 We are here for you too

Please remember that you never have to navigate your child's first steps into school alone.

If you have a question, concern or simply need to talk something through, please come and speak to us. We know that settling into school is a journey for the whole family, and we want you to feel comfortable, listened to and supported.

ClassDojo is also a great way to keep in touch with us, and we will respond to messages as soon as we are able to. Every member of our Early Years team will always do their very best to support you and your child in any way we can.

We are so excited to begin this new adventure with you and your children. There will be new friendships to make, new things to discover, challenges to overcome, lots of learning and — most importantly — lots of fun!

Thank you for trusting us with such an important part of your child's journey. We can't wait to get to know you and watch your little Caterpillars and Butterflies grow!

Here's to a fantastic year ahead! 🐛🦋

With very best wishes,

Mrs Dix and Mrs Read and all the Early Years team

Capel St Mary Primary School

Meet the EYFS Team (Photos to follow)

It is really important that as a school we promote and teach the children how to look after our planet. If you have some spare time please take a look at the Woodland Trust website with your child and see how you can help the planet yourselves at home.