A new term!

Please join us on Tuesday 10 September at 7:00pm for our Pre-Prep Open Evening. This will be a brilliant opportunity to meet the team and find out a little bit more about the year ahead in Reception. Individual parent consultations will be taking place later in the term, on Thursday 17 October.

This term our topic is:

Do You Want to be Friends?

The children will have the opportunity to settle into their new classes by sharing information about themselves, their families and their friends. We will cover several areas of the EYFS Curriculum during this topic; paying particular attention to the key areas, which include: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development and Communication and Language.

You can see more detail in our topic tree here.

Arc Pathway is our online system for sharing observations, making assessments of children’s progress and sharing reports. You can also use this to share key moments from home.

If you have not yet signed up to use Arc, please use the link here to do so. Please let James Davis know if you have any questions.

We will be following the Read Write Inc. phonics programme throughout the year, which is aligned with the rest of Pre-Prep and delivered during timetabled sessions every day. Parents are invited to a Read Write Inc Phonics Workshop on Monday 23 September after drop off to learn more about the scheme, and how you can support your child learning to read at home.

This term we have 2 trips planned for our Reception children!

We’re so excited to be able to offer the children some real-world experience of what they are learning in school. Trips are a brilliant way of making learning more tangible and memorable, as they enable the children to engage with the material in a more active and immersive way than can often be possible in the classroom. They are a powerful tool for broadening the children’s horizons, and also a lot of fun; we cannot wait to enjoy these days out over the Autumn Term!

• Thursday 19 September – The Reception children will spend the morning at Tilgate Park.
• Thursday 12 December – We will be taking the children to the theatre to see Robin Hood.

More information will follow nearer to the dates.

For all absences, please complete the absence request form via the Parent Portal. Please see the guide here on how to request an absence for your child.

Please ensure your child is well enough to attend school each day. If they’ve required Calpol in the morning, they aren’t well enough for school, so please don’t send them in. If in any doubt, please contact Matron to discuss your concerns.

If your child will need any prescribed or over-the-counter medication administered during the school day, please complete the following form here. No medication can be administered without this form.

Children may be brought to the Reception classrooms via the rear classroom doors between 8:15am – 8:25am for registration, so please make sure your child is in school ready to start by this time. Children arriving earlier should please be booked in for breakfast from 7:30am or join our Early Birds in the Pre-Prep Hall from 8:00am.

The afternoon session finishes at 3:00pm starting in the new academic year in September. This is in response to feedback that by the time the children reach the end of the day they are too tired for formal sessions. From 3:00-4:00pm, Reception children will be invited to join classroom club, with quiet games, drawing and an opportunity to rest before going home or joining an extended day club. The cost of after school care will remain as it is currently structured with care provided free of charge from the end of the school day at 3:00pm until 4:00pm.

Please wait to meet your child outside the Reception classrooms at the rear of the Pre-Prep building, and make sure your child has ‘blobbed out’ with their teacher. If they are going to after school supervision, or a hobby, the children will be taken to that directly from the classroom. 

If you’d like your child to join us for breakfast, or stay beyond 3:30pm, please contact extendedday@pennthorpe.com to arrange this.

As well as your pocket-sized diary, parents can also view the Autumn Term calendar via the website and Parent Portal.

Please do have a look through and pop important dates in your diary.  Of course, sometimes plans need to be updated, and so any changes will be updated on our electronic calendar and communicated to you as soon as possible.

The key events for our Reception parents include:

• Please join us for a Settling In Tea & Talk for Pre-Prep Parents on Thursday 5 September at 8:30am.
• Parents are invited to our Pre Prep Open Evening on Tuesday 10 September between 7:00-8:30pm.
• We will be hosting a PSHEE & RSE Tea & Talk for Reception – Year 4 Parents on Thursday 19 September.
• On Thursday 19 September the Reception children will visit Tilgate Park.
• We will be hosting a RWI & Phonics Workshop for EYFS Parents on Monday 23 September after drop off.
• Individual & Sibling Pupil Photographs are scheduled for Tuesday 24 September.
• There will be a Pupil Wellbeing Tea & Talk for Parents on Thursday 10 October.
• EYFS Class Teacher Parents’ Evening is scheduled for Thursday 17 October between 4:00-7:30pm.
• The Reception children have a Friendship Dress Up Day on Friday 18 October.
• Our Whole School Remembrance Service will be held on Monday 11 November at 10:30am.
• Please join us on Wednesday 4 December at 9:30am for our Christingle Service for children in Beehive to Year 4.
• Save the date for our annual Pre-Prep Christmas Production on Wednesday 11 December at 9:00am.
• We will be taking the children to see Robin Hood at The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Thursday 12 December.
• Carols Around the Tree takes places on Thursday 12 December at 4:00pm.
• Friday 13 December is the end of term with school finishing for Reception at 11:40am.

Children can wear either summer or winter uniform until half term, after which all children should switch to winter uniform.

Whilst the sun is shining, please apply sun cream to your child at home, before the beginning of their session as we will be outside as much as possible. We cannot provide sun cream in school so it is essential that children bring this in themselves.

The children should have their play coat, waterproof clothing and wellies in school at all times, as we will get outside in all weathers at break times, as well as for our Forest School session on a Fridays. If things get particularly muddy, these will be sent home to be washed, but please can they be returned to school on the following Monday.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the children have their Games and PE lessons. On these days, we ask that the children come to school wearing their Games Kit to reduce the amount of time spent changing. Normal uniform is not required on these days.

Swimming is on a Monday morning, and the children will be taken to Billingshurst Leisure Centre by Minibus, and return in time for school pick up time. Billingshurst Leisure Centre ask that ALL children wear a swimming hat as part of their kit.

If you have any uniform requirements, please place an order via our website here. You can also book an appointment at the Uniform Shop by contacting uniform@pennthorpe.com or drop in during the times below:

• Monday 8:30am – 9:30am
• Tuesday 3:30pm – 4:30pm
• Wednesday 3:30pm – 4:30pm
• Thursday CLOSED
• Friday 8:30am – 9:30am

Please do not park in the drop-off lanes at the front of school if you are coming past the gates to drop your child into school, or collect them from the Pre-Prep. These lanes are intended for dropping-off only!

Instead, please park up in the car park, or find a safe place to park on the neighbouring roads (being considerate of our neighbours, especially with regards parking near to junctions or driveways).

Our Wellbeing Ambassadors, who are children in Year 8, are available to support families at the busy drop off time by walking children from Reception to Year 2 down to the Pre-Prep. Please do use this option if you are in a rush and need to drop your child and leave.