Reception Update
Friday 6th February 2026
What a busy week we’ve had in Reception!
There has been so much going on – from looking after our teeth, to flying to the moon, to dressing up for Number Day!
Dentist 🦷👩🏽⚕️
On Monday, we were lucky enough to welcome four dentists into school as part of our People Who Help Us topic. The dentists went above and beyond to explain what makes a happy tooth and what makes a sad tooth. 
We learnt which foods are good for our teeth, which foods should be avoided where possible, and how to clean our teeth properly. The children were extremely engaged throughout the visit and we hope they have learnt some valuable lessons.
Each child also received a goodie bag to take home.
Professor Brainwave 🧊 🧠💡🤓🤔💪🏻
This week was also all about numbers. On Wednesday, we enjoyed a visit from Professor Brainwave and his fantastic maths workshop. We listened to his story about flying to the moon before working in groups to create squares, cubes, triangles and pyramids. Using the rockets we made, we even got to “fly” to the moon! The professor was great fun, and the children learnt lots about 2D and 3D shapes.
The children then had a go at making their own 3D shapes in the classroom.
Number Day ❻❼❾❿
The highlight of the week was our school-wide Number Day, in support of the charity NSPCC. We were blown away by the effort put into the costumes – we saw calculators, dice, football shirts, and of course lots of brilliant Numberblocks. It was a fantastic day enjoyed by all.
The day is to raise money for the NSPCC please donate what you can - https://www.justgiving.com/page/numberday?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
Cooking 🥣👩🏻🍳
This week, Holly class made some cheese and Marmite 'pinwheels' which were delicious.
Willow class will be making them next week.
Phonics 🔤
Success. We have finished learning all the phonemes we need to in Reception. We now will spend the rest of the Spring term and all of Summer term using these phonemes to write words and sentences.
We still have lots of tricky words to learn after half term and we will put them up here.
The last two weeks of term will be about assessing the children to see what they know and what we need to focus on next half term.
Fund 💰
If you would like to contribute to the £1 a week Reception fund, please see your class teacher. This can be paid termly as well. The fund is used to purchase items for fun activities such as baking, planting and craft activities.
Art 🎨
Ms Marshall is looking for volunteers to help each Year group create a painting on canvas to be bid on at the auction of promises. We have historically made a lot of money auctioning the year group paintings. We are looking for parent volunteers to help the children create their painting - artistic skills are helpfu but not required! If you can spare some time in the upcoming month and would like to volunteer, please contact Ms Marshall with your name and year group or speak to your class teacher. lucymarshall@hollymount.merton.sch.uk
Calling all budding artists. If you would like to submit an artwork, please see Ms. Marshall.
Junk modelling 🎨🖌️✂️
We get through a lot of junk modelling materials and we know you love receiving the creations at the end of the day. If you have any recycling, please can we have it. Thanks.
Thank You💝
Thank you as always for your continued support. Have a wonderful weekend.
All the best,
The Reception Team
Useful information
Nut and Sesame Free School
We are a nut and sesame–free school. Some children have severe allergies, so please check all packaging for any food that is brought in, whether for packed lunches or birthday treats. Please note that this also includes foods such as hummus, pesto and seeded breads. Please also cut grapes in half to avoid a choking hazard.
Snacks
The children have access to fruit throughout the day, so there is no need to bring snacks for school time. The only snacks required are for after-school clubs.
Bags
We have limited space in the classroom, so please do not send rucksacks. Every child needs to bring a school bag. Please see the office if you need to purchase one. If your child is prone to toilet accidents, a drawstring bag with spare clothes, kept at school, would be very helpful.
Pick-up
Pick-up from Reception is at 3:10 p.m. This is purposefully 5 minutes earlier than the rest of the school. If you are also collecting a child further up the school, please collect your Reception child first.
Dance and PE
On days with either dance or PE, children are asked to come to school in their Hollymount PE kit which they will wear all day. PE and dance will officially start for Reception from Monday 15th. From the 15th, PE kit is to be worn on PE and Dance days detailed below.
Willow Class - Tue (PE), Thu (Dance), Fri (PE)
Holly Class - Tue (PE), Friday (Dance & PE)
