Welcome to Term 1!
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new families and a “welcome back” to our returning families. It is so lovely to see you all back, safe and well!
We are all excited to be at the start of a new school year, and we have lots of plans to keep on improving for the year ahead. This year, we will be looking to improve our garden provision, continue to develop our Curriculum and assessment, develop our approach to Maths and Literacy, and make sure we include our fab families in all the fun!
We will also be offering more Parent/Carer groups, including working with some wonderful free resources from the Library Project to help promote reading and sharing books with your child. In the meantime, I will be on the gate at the beginning and end of day as much as I can. Please stop and have a chat or ask a question any time!
– Mandy, Acting Headteacher
Governors
As a Maintained Nursery School, we are required to have a board of Governors. They have the important job of being a “Critical friend” to the school. This means they hold us to account and make sure the quality of our provision is the best it can be. The board is made up of people with different backgrounds including parents. We currently have a Parent Governor vacancy at this time, please come and find out more if you are interested in taking on this important role.
IHOPE Food Bank
We have a small food/toiletries bank in the foyer at the main building entrance to the Nursery. We also have bread and milk most weeks. Please feel free to come and take anything you might need.
It works on a first come first served basis and we ask that you take no more than 5 items at a time.
We are open to donations to supplement what we have. We need tins and long-lasting foods.
We also have some Meal bags that we will pass on to families each week. These are limited but we will make sure we pass them on to as many different families as we can over the course of the year. Include your child in the cooking experience, it really helps with encouraging them to try new and healthy foods.
Meet the Admin Team!
Lian and Charmaine are our fabulous admin team. I know that many of you know them already but some of you will be completely new to the school.
Lian and Charmaine are based in the reception office and very happy to help with any queries or concerns you may have. Please come and say hello!
Meet Lucy Hobbs
I am sure many of you know me already but just to re-introduce myself. I am Lucy Hobbs (Family Link Worker) I am based at the front of the Nursery and can help you with any worries or concerns you may have.
I am often on the gate in the morning or at the end of the day or just pop in and see me for a cuppa.
This year, I am hoping to run some parent support workshops, I will let you know dates as soon as I have them. I hope lots of you will be able to attend.
I will also be working with our “lead teacher” Amy, to work with the “Stories at Home” library project.
The beautiful thing about Learning is that no-one can take it away
BB King
Dates for Your Diary
Friday 25th October: End of term
Wednesday 6th November: Inset day
Week beginning 25th November: Parent engagement event
Week beginning 16th December: Christmas week
Friday 20th December: End of term
Monday January 6th: Inset day
Tuesday 7th January: Back to school
Wednesday 2nd April: Inset day
Wednesday 9th July: Inset day
Tuesday 22nd July: End of term
Term 1 Curriculum
This term the focus of our curriculum is “settling”. We recognise that coming to Nursery may be the first time your child has left you for a whole day. We want children to establish positive relationships with staff here, feel safe and secure in their new environment and then be happy to explore, play and communicate.
We will support each child through different areas of the curriculum as they settle with us:
Personal, Social and Emotional development: Develop warm and supportive relationships, settle into their environment and start to make decisions about what they want to play with.
Communication and language: Gain confidence to communicate with new adults, ask for help and tell adults about the things they like.
Physical development: Develop independent skills such as washing hands, managing their lunch boxes. Beginning to use their “shoulder pivot” to mop, brush and dance to help with mark making later on.
Literacy: Explore new books, make marks on paper, listen to new sounds around them e.g. instruments.
Maths: Exploring number songs, noticing groups of objects around us, learning about “1” and “2”.
Understanding of the World: begin to talk about the things they see in their new environment, talk about home and family.
Expressive Art and Design: Join in with familiar songs, join in with song actions, explore using shakers when singing, explore the creative area.
We hope that at the end of this term both yourselves and the children will feel settled and happy at Nursery.
Each term we will focus on a “curricular Goal” that we want the children to achieve. We will help them to learn the skills needed and we will invite you in at certain points so we can share this learning with you.
Donations
So that the children can have a healthy snack during their day with us, we ask families to bring some fruit or breadsticks. We will cut up the fruit so that we can share it with the whole class. Youa re welcome to bring some fruit every day or donate a bag whenever you can. We do provide the children with milk every day. Thank you so much.
We also request consumables charge to cover all the “extra” things we need to ensure your child is well looked after during their time with us. The cost is £3.00 per term for a child who attends 15 hours and £6.00 a term for a child who attends 30 hours. Please pay at the office. Your support is hugely appreciated.