Parent Newsletter, July 2023
End of Year Picnic
On Tuesday 18th July we will be hosting a picnic for all the parents and children. This is an opportunity for everybody to get together for an end of year celebration. There is a list of picnic food items in the entrance lobby that parents can allocate themselves to bring. Please feel free to sign up to multiple foods! The picnic will be 11:30am to 13:00pm. We look forward to seeing you there.
Monthly Mingle
This month’s ‘Monthly Mingle’ was fantastic – consisting of nibbles, drinks and a quiz. We will continue to host these evenings in the Autumn term, so please keep your eyes peeled as we would love to have more of you there. All dates and timings will be posted online well in advance and will also be published in the setting. Please note timings may be subject to change so that childcare can be arranged for the parents that wish to join. However, we will update parents as necessary well in advance.
Storytime
We have group/story time at 11.00am/11.15am every morning. We use this is an opportunity for the children’s voices to be heard and for us to recap what we have learnt that morning. We then read a story relating to what we have learnt.
In the past we have had a mum come in and read a lovely story to the children in French. They learnt some news words and were thoroughly engaged. If any parents would like to come in a read a story or sing some songs, we would love to have you and the children would be very grateful to have somebody new reading them a story.
Drinking Water and Snack
Just a reminder that we have a drinking water policy. This means that whilst children are in our care, we only provide water or milk for them to drink here and therefore do not allow juice/squash. If we find juice/squash in the children’s drinking bottles, we will replace it with water. We are proud to say the drinking stations set up within the main room and in the outside area now have the children using them by themselves with very little encouragement. Not only does it encourage drinking water, but also implements a new form of independence for the children.
We are also a NUT FREE setting, so please read the packaging before putting it in your child’s lunchbox.
Thank you all for helping us to promote healthy eating at snack time. We have noticed a massive difference in the snacks on the snack trolley. In continuing to promote healthy eating, we ask that any fruit, vegetables or crackers are placed on the snack trolley in the morning. We use snack time as great time to have conversations about how to keep our bodies healthy this will aid us in those conversations.
Things for Preschool
There are some things we are on the lookout for (please see list below). If you happen to be getting rid of anything or are having a clear out, we will happily take them from you.
- Large stones
- Lamps
- Pots and pans
- Wooden spoons
- Shells
- Metal trinkets
- Slippers
- Saree
- Fairy lights
- Wedding hats or hair pieces
- Photo frames
- Cushions
Weather
Now that the weather has become sunny, we do advise suncream to be applied in the morning. Please note we will reapply suncream after lunch if we deem necessary. This will be done with the child’s suncream (if provided) or our own. If the weather is particularly hot, we will avoid being outside or use the path as this is the shadiest part of the setting. We also ask that you provide a sunhat for your child (please ensure this is labelled) but we have a few spares available if one goes missing or is forgotten.
Clothing and Footwear
With this change in weather, the children are spending large amounts of time playing outside in the water tray or in the mud kitchen. We therefore ask that you provide some spare clothes and wellies in case they need a full change. Unfortunately, we don’t have the means to provide every child with spare clothing.
Please ensure that your child’s belongings are named including clothes, bags, coats, shoes, drink bottles, snacks, and lunch boxes. We have noticed that some items of clothing have come in unnamed and haven’t been taken home. If you would like us to write your child’s name in an item of clothing, we can do so with a sharpie pen. Please let us know during drop off.
Close the Gates
It is ESSENTIAL that all the gates are closed when entering and leaving preschool, including the gate leading into the school playground, so that the safety of those children still-on-site can be upheld.
Invoicing
Just a reminder. A new email address was set up earlier this year for invoicing purposes, to make invoicing and queries easier. Please remember to check your spam folder if you have any issues viewing invoices. The address to look out for is wasps.invoicing@gmail.com.
Important Dates for your Calendar
Term 6: Finishing on Friday 21st July
Summer Holiday Club: Monday 31st July to Friday 18th August
Autumn Term - Term 1: Wednesday 6th September to Friday 20th October
We thank you for all your continued support.
From the Pre-school Team