Welcome to our June Newsletter

Coronation Celebrations

The Pre-School hosted a Coronation Garden party for the children and their families. It was a lovely afternoon with lots of fun activities, refreshments and commemorative medals. The ice-cream van was a huge success once again and we hope you all enjoyed it. It was great to see everyone get together on this memorable occasion. 

Parent Workshops

The teams in Creche’s and Nurseries held an Interactive Workshop for parents and children recently. Our knowledgeable staff were delighted to be able to share their ideas and experience. We showcased opportunities that promote emotional well-being and the learning benefits of Sensory play. Everyone really enjoyed the event and the feedback received has been very positive. 

Our next workshop will be held in the Autumn term for the children and parents in the Pre-School rooms.

myHappymind

We are proud to announce that the Pre-School Centre is officially a myHappymind Bronze Accredited nursery. The Accreditation recognises settings that are embedding the myHappymind curriculum into everyday life and taking real action to improve the mental health and well-being of our community.  

We would like to thank those parents who provided feedback about the program, which supported the application.  

As we were successful with our application, we will receive some fantastic resources to help us embed the myHappymind curriculum next year including a Wheel of Gratitude to help us develop an Attitude of Gratitude.  

Want to learn more about the science of myHappymind and how you can use myHappymind techniques at home? Why not grab a copy of myHappymind's Founder, Laura Earnshaw's best selling book 'My Happy Mind'.

Don't forget to sign up to the free Parent app, you can use the link below to download it.

Dietary/Medical/Allergy Form

There is a new form that is situated on the Parent Area of our website, which is to be completed by parents if their child/ren have either new or changes to existing dietary/medical or allergy information that you need to provide to the Pre-School Centre. This is ensuring that all information held is up to date and relevant.

Staff Changes

We would like to welcome Kayla to the Pre-School team, she will be joining the team in Pre-School 2 in the afternoons indefinitely, and Evie who is also joining us for a short period of time.

We would like to welcome back from maternity leave Hannan & Becky both working in Crèche 1 and also Charlotte working in Nursery 2.

Vickie has started her maternity leave and we hope she manages a
well-earned rest before baby arrives.

Sun Cream

Can we please remind parents to provide sun cream for their child and ensure that sun cream is applied prior to attending each session.

Baby Room

We have had a lovely start to the term, welcoming our new babies and families to the Baby Room. We have been making the most of the beautiful weather by heading out on some walks around campus, the babies got to explore books in the library, see the new ducklings and visit the market.

Recently we took some of our babies to visit Teddies, introducing them to new surroundings and experiences. We found that some of our babies have really grown in confidence since their last visit, which was lovely to see. The babies took the opportunity to explore a variety of natural sensory resources. Hopefully we will be able to visit Teddies again soon. 

Crèche 1

Crèche 1 have recently welcomed back Hannan and Becky after their maternity leave. The children have really enjoyed getting to know them.

Crèche 1 have been spending more time outdoors, going on regular walks in the pram to get some fresh air. We have enjoyed having snacks and tea in the outdoor area, making the most of the warmer weather and socialising al fresco. To extend this, the children also had a teddy bears picnic.

The children have made good use of our grassy slope and have had lots of fun climbing and then sliding down on their bottoms, developing their gross motor skills, and encouraging themselves to stretch their abilities.

The mud kitchen has been refreshed and the children have delighted in getting their hands dirty; scooping, pouring and transferring delicious and imaginative concoctions from the big bucket to pots and pans. This has helped develop their mathematical skills while also tapping into some imaginative play. 

On a recent trip to the water fountains on campus, the children had a wonderful time making a splash. They watched the water rise up and fall down, squealing when the water managed to catch them; a valuable experience that allowed them to explore in a new environment.

Within the Crèche room, the children have been intrigued by the new bridge attachment on our slide, carefully navigating their way over by crawling, shuffling and walking, increasing their physical confidence. 

We introduced varying slopes and balls to a tuff tray and watched the children interact with it in various ways over the course of a few days, watching the cause and effect of placing the balls at the top and them rolling down, introducing new variables such as cars and other objects that didn’t seem to roll as easily and readjusting the slopes, so they went slower or faster.

Crèche 2

The children have been involved in lots of spring-based activities, enjoying the weather, and going on walks. 

We have explored campus, looked for the ducks and visited the fountains. These experiences give the children the opportunity to show curiosity and experience the varied campus environment. 

Following on from the walks and the variety of nature we have seen, we have used paints and flower cutters for the children to create their own flower pictures, this helps develop the children's creative skills through creating simple representations of real objects. 

This could be further extended through walks to the park, promoting conversations about local wildlife and objects that the children can see in the environment.

Please share any images you have with us via the Parentzone app.

Nursery 1

To celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, Nursery 1 took part in a large-scale family painting activity at the garden party, colouring their own Union Jack flag. The children learned that the colours of the flag were red, white and blue. All the children had a go at using pipettes and syringes to paint the flag with coloured water. The children used their observation skills to watch how to correctly use and fill pipettes and syringes. They then used their fine motor skills by doing this themselves. The children enjoyed doing this as it was a new and messy experience. 

One of our main focuses in Nursery 1 recently has been supporting the children’s blossoming independence. We have been encouraging the children to dress themselves and put on their own shoes. The children have risen to the challenge and have developed new skills. Many of the children have also begun potty training. We will continue to encourage the children to communicate their toileting needs, giving praise support as they achieve this milestone goal.

Nursery 2

Nursery 2 have been enjoying the great weather with lots of outdoor play. We found a refreshing breeze and shade in the forest and enjoyed cooling down using the hose pipe to create cool pools and streams on the barefoot walk. This sparked the children's critical thinking skills to ask questions, why is the water running down the pebbles, why does the water help us feel cool etc.

We continue to support the children as they become increasingly independent, it has been rewarding to watch their physical skills develop as they use the Barefoot walk, they can balance, jump and climb with confidence, to further extend this we will use the Trim Trail regularly.

Pre-School 1

Earth Day

In Pre-school 1, we celebrated Earth Day through a range of activities. The children made their own planets, they used natural resources to create trees and made their own Earth Day pledges. When making the pledges the children shared their knowledge of how they can look after the planet as well as gaining new ideas through group discussions. These activities not only developed their creative skills but increased their awareness. 

Following on from this Pre-School 1 helped Eden bear clean up the beach we had made to reinforce sustainability. 

We were then very lucky to have a visit from Sal, one of our parents who is a Senior Lecturer in Ecology, she brought an amazing, bleached Coral reef model. Sal taught the children how by caring for the oceans the Coral could be brought back to life, providing a habitat for the creatures that live in it. The children then painted the Coral reef imagining it was being restored to good health. The children absorbed her messages like sponges, and shared their ideas about eating sustainably, buying second hand toys instead of new. They then went off to do their part for the planet the same morning, taking a trip to do some recycling. 

Look here to see some of the amazing research undertaken by REEFS.

Pre-School 2

We have had a very busy time in Pre-School 2, we have been learning all about growing things and caring for them by planting lots of different seeds including cress, sunflowers, tomatoes, beetroot and parsnips. 

We read three different stories which explained how we needed to plant the seeds and what they would need to help them grow big and strong. Once we had planted the individual seeds, we put them inside our greenhouse. 

We were very interested to see some bees around the greenhouse and enjoyed lots of different activities which helped us to learn more about bees and why they are so important to us. 

We also got a new story about Wilabee the Bumble Bee which we thought was very funny and made us laugh lots! 

We have been taking good care of our seedlings and are looking forward to being able to try some of our produce when it grows.

Pre-School 3

Different Occupations

Pre-School 3 have been talking about different occupations and what people do. We looked at how important different jobs are. 

We have had a visit from the Fire Service and looked at the engine along with all the specialist equipment on it, the children took turns using the powerful hoses to spray water.

We then visited the big construction site at the Engineering department. We wore special clothing called Hi-vis so we could be seen. Safety is very important on building sites, and we stood at a safe distance to look at all the machinery that is needed to create the new building. 

The children thought about what they would like to do when they get older. We had many suggestions such as wanting to be a pilot and fly a plane, drive a bus and work on a farm. 

Finally we had special visit from the Police who came to talk to the children about their job and how important it is, they spoke to the children about the many different roles they could undertake and the children had the opportunity to try on different hats the police wear in different situations.

The children thought it was hilarious when they arrested Sammy for eating all the biscuits…..

Upcoming Events

Children's Art Week

The 29th June will be the start of ‘Children’s Art week’ which runs for three weeks, aiming to encourage children to be inspired and engaged through art.

To mark this, we will be creating a ‘Pre-School pebble snake’ inviting children/parents/carers and staff to get creative and paint a pebble to add to our snake and make him grow!

Here is an example of a pebble snake:

International Mud Day

On 29th June the Pre-School will be celebrating International Mud Day,
by creating mud slides, playing and exploring with mud. Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately.

Pre-School School Leavers Graduation Party

This event will take place on Saturday 5th August at the Sports Centre.
A reminder for parents that if you have not yet responded to the electronic invite, please do so no later than Friday 30th June.

Reminders

Pre-School Website and Newsfeed

We would like to remind parents that you can access regularly updated information from our website and on our Twitter feed.

Main Door Access

Can we please ask ALL parents to ensure that when accessing the Pre-School Centre they use their access cards/fobs. We are experiencing a high volume of disruption due to the doorbell being used so frequently. 

If any parents have either lost their door access card/fob please ensure that you inform the office so that a replacement can be purchased for £5.00.

Any Library cards that have been replaced will need to be activated on our system.

Can we please remind parents that when their child leaves the Centre that your door card/fob is returned to the office on the last day of attendance.

Contact details

Please remember to provide us with any new contact details, you can do this via the Parent zone app or by calling/advising the office.