Newsletter - 1st Half Autumn Term

Welcome back for the new term – we hope you all had a lovely summer break! We would like to offer a very warm welcome to Hugo, Jasmine, Martha, Jayden and their families, who have just joined us.

After a gentle first week back, we will now start our new topic of 'Summer Holidays'. We hope this will give the children the opportunity to share their holiday experiences with us – we have already heard lots about what they have been up to over the summer! We will incorporate the holiday theme into some adult-led activities, role-play and art and craft areas, and also 'show and tell'. There is no pressure for children to participate in show and tell if they are not comfortable with the idea, but for those who would like to, please encourage your child to bring in an item that relates to their summer holiday. For example, this could be something they have brought back from a holiday away, something they've found such as shells from the beach, photos or leaflets showing places they've visited etc. Please place any items for show and tell in the box provided in the entrance hall at the beginning of the session – this helps to keep them safe, and stops them from getting lost amongst the other toys! We will try our best to make time for show and tell at each session – any questions, please ask! 

Just a reminder that our new start time in the morning is 9:00 – we are all getting used to the new session times, extended hours and the 30 hours funding that is now available for those that qualify. Please bear with us while we get used to this too, and please come and speak to us if you have any queries or concerns. 

As autumn term progresses, please could you ensure that children have appropriate labelled clothing at pre-school, such as raincoats, wellies, hats etc., as we will try to get outside as much as possible. Our visits to the primary school will continue to take place on Wednesday mornings, where we will have story time in the library. We also still have our small eco-garden plot at school, so if any keen gardeners among you have any ideas for what we could do at this time of year, they would be greatly appreciated! In the past, we have had parent volunteers involved with our eco-garden who have offered to meet us there on a Wednesday morning to help out – if you would like to be involved with this, please let Becky know. 

Later this term, Becky will be taking some time off to look after her son who is scheduled to have an operation on 21st September. She will be away for at least a week, so if you have any concerns or problems during this time, please speak to Katie. 

Some general reminders: 

Snack time – please provide your child with a fruit or vegetable portion (this can include dried fruit), which can be placed in the bowl provided in the entrance hall before the session starts. We will prepare everything provided, and the children will then be able to choose what they would like to eat for their snack, giving them an opportunity to try new things with their friends! They will be offered a choice of milk or water with their snack. If your child attends any afternoon sessions, we will provide a biscuit and a drink before home time. Please speak to us if you have any concerns or if your child has any special dietary requirements. 

Lunchboxes – we promote a healthy diet at preschool, so please try to provide at least one portion of either fruit or vegetables in your child's lunch, and they will be encouraged to eat this before moving onto items such as crisps or biscuits. If you could cut up fruit or veg that would be very helpful, particularly grapes which are a potential choking hazard. Please do not supply sweets or fizzy drinks in lunchboxes as they will be returned home. We are happy for you to supply a squash or fruit juice drink for your child to have with their lunch, but we will always make sure that water is supplied at lunchtime for any children without a drink. 

In line with other settings, we are a nut-free pre-school, so please check labels if you are unsure whether anything contains nuts. 

Uniform – this is optional, but if you are considering this, pre-school uniform (including the new hoodies), is available to order via our website - please take a look! 

Best wishes, 

Becky, Katie, Diane and Siobhan. 

Dates for your diary: 

Half-term: Monday 27th October - Friday 27th October 2017