Penny Bridge Nursery
Newsletter January 2015
Happy New Year and
Welcome back. We hope you
had an enjoyable break. Well
done to all the children who
took part in our special play;
you were fantastic!
This term we are talking
about different themes each
week, following the
children’s interests. We have
started with cars and other
vehicles and will follow this
for about two weeks, adding
the children’s ideas as they
develop. We’ve already had
children say they would like
to learn about horses, pirates
and elephants. We also use
the changing seasons,
weather and seasonal
celebrations to inform our
themes. We use these topics
as starting points to engage
the children in a wide range
of language, mathematical,
creative and imaginative
activities. We encourage
them to become explorers in
their own world and to
introduce them to new skills
and ideas to expand their
knowledge and
understanding.
Colour days Our colour days
this half term are Black and
White day on Thursday 15th
January and Blue Day Friday
6th February. Children are
welcome to wear or bring
`
something to tie in with the
colour theme and we will
have a number of related
activities on offer.
Phonics Lots of parents have
asked questions about
phonics in Nursery. We base
our phonics teaching on
Letters and Sounds, a
nationally developed
programme to build
children’s confidence with
phonics. In Nursery we focus
on phase one, which tunes
children’s listening skills and
their ability to talk about and
make sounds. This includes
all the sounds that children
encounter (not just letter
sounds). For example, we go
on listening walks and talk
about the different sounds
we can hear, picking out
sounds one by one. We also
do lots of singing, which
helps children learn about
rhythm, rhyme, alliteration,
volume and quality of sound.
We do lots of songs and
stories which encourage the
children to make animal
sounds and other silly noises
that help children develop
their mouth and tongue
muscles to enable them to
form clear letter sounds. As
children progress we
introduce the idea of letter
sounds, firstly listening for
sounds, then as children
become ready matching
written letters to sounds,
including the sounds in their
names. If you would like to
know more please speak to
Abigail or Annabel.
Learning Journals You are
welcome to take your child’s
learning journal home at any
time if you wish to, but
please make sure you let a
member of staff know and
return it as quickly as
possible as they are in
constant use. If you want to
look through the Learning
Journal with your child but
do not wish to take it home
you are welcome to do so in
Nursery when you drop off or
collect.
Final reminder If your child
was born before 31st August
2011 you need to apply for
their school place before 15th
January. You do this by
logging on the Children’s
Services website. Please see
the poster on the Nursery
Door.
There is lots you can do at
home to help your child
prepare for school. Daily
activities and routines that
build independence and
confidence are really useful.
Where possible, encourage
your children to eat
independently, put their own
coat and shoes on, use the
toilet and wash their hands
by themselves. Playing games
that involve taking turns,
listening to others and
talking their own ideas
through are also great for
establishing children’s social
skills.
Sessions Many sessions are
now full. If you wish to add
extra sessions for your child
we may be able to
accommodate them in an
afternoon but these are also
filling up fast. If you are going
on holiday or know your child
will not be in nursery on a
particular day please let us
know so that we can offer
their place for the day to
someone who needs one off
or emergency care. (This will
not affect your child’s regular
place).
Thank you for your patience
and co-operation with the
parking situation. The
`
voluntary one way system
makes a real difference to
both school and local traffic,
so if you are unsure about
how this operates please ask
a member of staff. Please
ensure that you keep all
drives and gateways clear
including the gates in front of
the school which must be
kept clear for emergency
access at all times.
Packed Lunches following
new advice from the Food
Standards Agency please do
not put any nuts or nut
products in your child’s
packed lunch box.
Illness We all know young
children get lots of coughs
and colds. If you feel your
child is well enough to cope
with their Nursery Session
they are welcome to attend;
please note, however, that
we cannot give a child Calpol
or other non-prescription
medicines, so children who
require this should be kept at
home. If your child needs to
finish a course of antibiotics
or other prescribed
medication please speak to a
member of staff. You will
need to fill in a medication
form providing staff with
clear and specific instructions
for any medication to be
given in Nursery. If your child
has had sickness or diarrhoea
they must be kept at home
for 48 hours following their
last episode to avoid
spreading this. For other
contagious illnesses the
Department of Health
provides Nursery with
information about how long
children should stay at home.
Please ask if you need advice.
Half term is Monday 16th Feb
to Friday 20th. If you require
holiday places please book as
soon as possible. Brothers
and sisters aged between 2
and 11 who attend other
schools or nurseries are
welcome in holiday club too.
Invoices Invoices are usually
sent at the beginning of the
month to cover the previous
month. When the invoices
are ready a text is sent to all
parents. If you have any
queries about your invoice
please speak to Caroline. If
you need to speak to
someone in confidence
please feel free to do so. If it
is more convenient please
phone or email.
Penny Bridge Nursery Limited,
Tel: 01229 861777
www.pennybridgenursery.org.uk
[email protected]
.uk Company Number: 7740766