Welcome to Nursery!
Croeso i Dosbarth Meithrin!
Teacher: Mrs Mendonça
Teaching Assistants: Miss Smee & Miss Ford
Hello! My name is Mrs Mendonça and I am the Nursery class teacher.
Working alongside me is Miss Smee and Miss Ford, our Learning Support Assistants.
Communication
Contact us on:
nursery@stmellonsprm.cardiff.sch.uk
Google Classroom code: 6t5hki42
X (Twitter) - @stmellonsprm
Our Schoop ID: 13339
About Us
Our learning environment is made up of three main spaces; the main classroom where free play takes place, our quiet room, where we share stories, songs and inputs and the outdoor area, where we enjoy lots of fresh air!
Our main aim here in Nursery is to enable and share the wonder and magic of early childhood. We want our children to feel happy, engaged and safe whilst developing a love and curiosity for learning.
Wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do and we enjoy genuine and valued relationships with our children and their families.
Overview of the Sessions
|
8:45 am |
Doors Open |
12:45pm |
|
8:55 – 9:10 |
Registration, session starters, assembly (am session only) |
12:55 – 1:05 |
|
9:10 - 9:30 |
Enabling Adults amongst provision |
1:05 – 1:30 |
|
9:30 – 9:50 |
Adult led activity, Topic & Play-based learning |
1:30 - 1:50 |
|
9:50 - 10:00 |
Tidy Up Time |
1:50 - 2:00 |
|
10:00 - 10:15 |
Phonics/Numbers/Rhymes |
2:00 - 2:15 |
|
10:15 – 10:45 |
Snack Time & Outdoor Play time |
2:15 - 2:45 |
|
10:50 - 11:05 |
Welsh, Dough Disco |
2:50- 3:00 |
|
11:05 - 11:20 |
Stories/Songs |
3:00 - 3:10 |
|
11:20 - 11:30 |
Bags, Coats & home time. |
3:10 - 3:15 |
Important Dates
Copy of Diary Dates 2025-26 CC
Classroom Routines
Snack
Please send your child to school with a bottle of water every day, clearly labelled with their name. Healthy snacks can be purchased from school at a cost of £2 per week, using Parent Pay or can be sent in from home for the children to enjoy with their cup of milk or water.
Please only send fruit or vegetables for snack as we have various allergies in the school.
Uniform
Please ensure that all items of clothing are labelled with your child's name when they come to school so we can identify who they belong to, should they ever get left behind.
Spare Clothes
Please ensure that your child has a spare set of clothes in their bag every day that includes a top, skirt/dress/trousers, knickers or pants and tights or socks.
P.E
P.E will take place every Friday this half term. Please ensure your child comes dressed in appropriate clothing and trainers for P.E activities.
Our Learning Context
Our learning context this half term is “Once upon a Rhyme/ Spring has Sprung".
For our learning we will be exploring popular Nursery Rhymes and using our creativity and communication skills to learn the rhymes and recite them. We will create different crafts and learn about the characters in each rhyme.
As the term progresses, we will explore what happens in the environment around us during the season of Spring and discover the different celebrations we have in Springtime.
We will complete our term by learning the rhyme Hickory Dickory Doc in Welsh to perform for our school Eisteddfod.
Once upon a Rhyme/ Spring has Sprung!
🐣💐🐭🌺🐸
Home/School Learning Links
As part of the learning journey we are continuing to learn our phonic sounds using the RWI Scheme. Below is the chart we use within the class to help us learn. Please support your child at home using the chart to help.

The Four Purposes
In Nursery, we will begin to support ourselves and each other in becoming:
- Ambitious, capable learners who are ready to learn throughout their lives.
- Enterprising, creative contributors who are ready to play a full part in life and work.
- Ethical, informed citizens who are ready to be citizens of Wales and the world.
Healthy, confident individuals who are ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society. We will ensure this with the support of the 5 Developmental Pathways which will allow authentic and purposeful learning for all children

Our Christian Value
Our value this half term is Forgiveness.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'
Matthew 18:21-22
Please discuss our termly value with your child at home and encourage them to share how they have been ‘living out’ the value in their daily life.
Communication Pathway
As part of the 'Communication' pathway, our learners will be encouraged to speak clearly and with confidence. We will share stories together daily and ignite a love of books and characters. There will be lots of singing and rhyming, clapping songs and action rhymes for the children to discover and enjoy. Along with this, we will be using Read Write Inc to introduce the children to early sound play. Each week, they will learn a new single letter sound and enjoy a range of play based activities associated with it. Each letter sound has a formation rhyme that accompanies it that the children love to learn, with a bit of help from Fred the Frog!

Exploration Pathway
As part of the 'Exploration' pathway, our learners will be joining in with number rhymes and songs and reciting the number names in order. We will be playing games that help them to realise that anything can be counted, not just objects, e.g. claps, steps. There will be lots of opportunities for pupils to recognise and use the names for 2D shapes (circle, square and triangle) within play activities and they will use and build with 2D and 3D shapes within their play.
Cymraeg

Children will have opportunities to speak Welsh daily in school. We encourage the children to ask and answer questions using our 'Helpwr Heddiw'. We will begin by learning colours in Welsh, saying who we are and greeting our friends & teachers
Our Learning Tools
As part of the children's physical development, we use a Dough Disco session. Dough Disco helps to strengthen fine motor muscles to enable them to develop their pencil grip. This, in turn will help them to develop their writing skills. We all have lots of fun squashing, squeezing, pinching and rolling as each of our fingers goes to the Dough Disco!

Ways you can support your child in Nursery
- Encourage independence with self care - using the toilet, washing and drying their hands and wiping their nose.
- Teaching them how to put their coat on - this will really help in the Winter months!
- Enjoy stories together and inspire a love of books. Talk about the pictures and let them turn the pages as you go.
- Model and encourage the use of 'please' and 'thank you' throughout the day.
- Play games as a family, especially ones that will encourage turn-taking.
- Point out shapes, colours and numbers that you see when you are out about.
- Help them to recognise their name.
- Sing lots of songs!
Internet Safety
Pupils are taught ways to stay safe online in class and Digital Leaders have carried out whole school assemblies about internet safety. Sound advice on internet safety can be found on https://www.internetmatters.org/

Jigsaw
In St Mellons, we use 'Jigsaw' to support our pupils' Personal, Social & Emotional development. It is a whole-school approach that embodies a positive philosophy and creative teaching and learning activities to nurture children’s development as compassionate and well-rounded human beings. Jigsaw is a comprehensive and completely original PSE programme for the whole primary school from ages 3-11.

Picture News
Every week as part of our worship, pupils get a snapshot of the news via Picture News - real stories adapted for children. We talk about what we think is happening and how it makes us feel. Below is an example of a topic we might talk about and the feelings we might start exploring.


Learning Links
Here are some useful websites that provide fun, educational activities that can support your child's learning.
Topmarks BBC Teach Cosmic Kids Yoga
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St Mellons Church in Wales Primary School