Big Acorns Reception Class
Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome to the Autumn term 2026 in Big Acorns class!
We have been so excited to welcome the children into school as Big Acorns and they all look so smart in their school uniform! We hope that they have enjoyed their first day as Big Acorns and that they share some of the exciting things that they have done.
Grown-ups in Acorns Class:
Big Acorns is taught by Mrs Helen Hewson as Acorns Class Teacher. Mrs Jasmine Muchmore is the Big Acorns class Teaching Assistant and Miss Briony Hill is an Early Years Apprentice. The children will also work alongside staff in Little Acorns (preschool): Mrs Laura Weeks, Mrs Cindy Dyer and Mrs Tina Hill.
PE Days:
Big Acorns have Football Factory on Mondays and should come to school wearing their PE kits and trainers. PE kit consists of a red polo top, black shorts/leggings/joggers and a plain red or black jumper. Children can wear trainers to school on PE days.
On Friday afternoons, Big Acorns will have forest school sessions. Children will wear their forest school clothes into school on Fridays. Wellington boots can be brought into school in a named bag and placed in the box provided. Children will also need all-in-one suits or waterproof trousers and a waterproof coat. We have a few of these which can be borrowed if necessary.
Snack and drink:
Children can bring a named healthy snack to school each day. This can be placed into our snack basket and will be given to children at break time in the morning. Children only need to bring a small snack (1-2 items) so they have time to play as well as eat snack!
Children should also bring a refillable, named bottle with their drink in. This can be water or squash and can also be placed in our bottle box each morning.
We also provide milk and fruit each day for snack times.
Weather:
A sun hat and suncream should be provided while the weather is still nice and then during the winter months, a hat, scarf and gloves should be placed in your child’s bag. Please name all items so that they don’t get lost. Please also name your child’s cardigan/jumper as these often get lost or muddled if not named!
School Lunches:
Children in reception class (Big Acorns) are entitled to free school meals. These can be ordered and paid for on parent pay. A menu will be available which details the hot item choices for each day/week. There is also jacket potato, tomato pasta, and a selection of sandwiches and wraps are available each day. We will let you know if there is a meal or food that your child does not eat well for the next time it is on the menu.
Children can bring a home packed lunch if preferred. Some parents provide a few extra snack items in case their child doesn’t like the school lunch, but this is totally up to you.
Communication with parents:
We use Tapestry as an electronic learning journey where we share photos and videos of your child at school. You can also add your own photos and videos to Tapestry which we love to share in school.
Class Dojo is a messaging app that I use to communicate with parents as a group or for individual messaging. Parents can message me privately and I encourage you to do this if you have any questions/queries. I will try to ensure that I pass on all messages via dojo so please sign up for this once you receive an invite. If you have any problems accessing Dojo or Tapestry please do not hesitate to ask.
Our school admin team send messages and the school newsletter using Parent Mail and any bills can be paid using Parent Pay. You will receive logins for this as soon as the admin team have set up your account. Pop into the school office and speak to Mrs Kendall Heard or Mrs Zoe Wheeler if you need help with these. You can also call 01884 2536430 or email stjohnstiverton@plymouthcast.com to contact the school office.
You can also email me, Mrs Hewson:
Topics this term:
This term, our main topic is, ‘All About Ourselves,’ including learning about families and creating our own family trees. We will also explore ‘Playground Archaeology’, harvest and healthy foods and the festivals of Bonfire Night, Remembrance and Diwali. There will be so much more, and we will let you know about our learning via Tapestry and Dojo. Sometimes, we may ask you to send things into school to support your child’s learning so please don’t hesitate to send something in if you feel it is relevant to our topics!
Reading, Maths and Writing:
We will begin our Read, Write, Inc phonics programme and Fluency Maths sessions during the first few weeks of term. A date for an evening to find out about how we teach reading and phonics will be communicated to you and at this meeting I will explain our schemes a little more and ensure that you feel able to support your child with reading and writing.
As soon as your child starts to learn letter sounds, they will bring home their first reading books. We will explain about supporting your child with this at the reading meeting, but again please ask if you need support. Your child will also bring home some picture/story books to share at bedtime and these are for you to read to your child. Please keep the books and sheets that are sent home in the plastic wallet provided. These will be collected in on Thursday evenings and then returned to your child on Friday, ready to share at home over the weekend. We ask that books are financially replaced if they are lost or damaged as they are costly to the school. Please refrain from putting your child’s drink in their book bag as this is often the biggest cause of damaged books!
Finally, thank you for sharing your child with us. We are so looking forward to our fantastic year ahead and we hope your child enjoys their time in Big Acorns with us. At St. John’s we pride ourselves on our relationships with families, so we welcome you to share your child’s journey with us. We love to hear all about the great experiences they have at home too. We love to share news and wow moments.
Kind Regards,
Mrs Helen Hewson
Foundation Stage Teacher and Leader