Little Acorns Pre-school
June 2018
All calls to 07808 916500
Dear Parents
We have just six weeks left until the end of term! During this busy time our focus will include rhymes and rhyming, moving their bodies to music and a range of physical activities which will get the children ready for our sports day. They will be deciding which races they want to include in this event and will be introduced to the starting whistle, which they will hopefully respond to. This is always such great fun! We will continue to observe them for their individual interests and support their learning through their play choices. Please remember to take a look at the planning book and our Facebook page to see what they have been up to.
Dates for your diaries
Tuesday July 10th – Sports Day
Wednesday July 18th - Teddy Bear Picnic
Friday July 20th– End of term
Monday September 3rd– RETURN TO LITTLE ACORNS
Photographs
Please return your payments as soon as possible.
Sports Day – July 10th
Get ready for this! We plan to start at 10.45am over on the back field at Charles Kingsley School. If your child is not in school that day please bring them over to the field for 10.45am. Please use the Charles Kingsley School Entrance by the side of their car park and follow the signs. Please ensure that, if warm weather is expected,sun cream has been applied and that they have a sun hat and a named water bottle. Please send them in shorts/leggings and a loose fitting top with appropriate shoes for running. If you have volunteered to help we will be setting up after registration at 9.15am. Please do not send snacks in on this day as time is limited and we will give everyone a small snack and drink prior to going over. We should be finished by midday and children can leave at this time or come back to school and have their packed lunch.If it is raining this will take place in the hall.
Picnic Wednesday July 18th
You will have received your letter regarding this. If it is raining we will hold it inside the hall.
Government funding for September
If your child is 3 years old before August 31st, you will be entitled to funding from September. All funding forms will be given to you on your return in September with a covering letter explaining what you need to do. If you are currently in receipt of 2 year funding this will continue and you will be required to complete a funding form. For those of you in receipt of 30 hour funding, please ensure that your eligibility code is up to date.
Questionnaire
Please find a questionnaire attached to this newsletter for you to complete and return to us before the end of term. We value your feedback, so please take the time to complete this.
We would like to try and issue our newsletter on our Facebook page to reduce the amount of paper we send out to you. Most of you have joined our closed Facebook group and are enjoying seeing what the children are doing over the week. If you have not yet joined, could we please ask that you consider this. If you do not wish to join, could you please let one of the team know and we will continue to print you a newsletter.
Payments
Please ensure that all fees have been paid by the end of term. September fees will be issued on our return to pre-school. Payments can only be made in either cash or by bank transfer. Our bank details are available on our website.
Library books
Please ensure that library books are returned to the rack by the end of term.
Returning to school after the summer break
Some children do find the return to pre-school a little unsettling after such a long break. Please be prepared for this, but also be reassured that this will quickly pass. Please feel free to use special books to record holiday memories as this can ease their transition back into pre-school.
We will spend the first two weeks settling back into our routines and will be observing the children in their play activities to note their current interests.
Clothing – reminder
Please ensure that all clothing has your child’s name on. Please do not send your child in wearing their best clothes as they get a little stressed if they get dirty. Open toe shoes are not permitted for health and safety reasons and please send your child in wearing shoes that they can attempt to put on and take off themselves. Lace ups are very difficult for them and cause frustration. Please remember to send in a spare set of clothes just in case your child needs them. We will be selling our Little Acorns T-shirts and sweatshirts on our return and would strongly recommend that you consider using them. It does help them to realise that they are part of a group.
Snacks and water bottles
Please remember to write your child’s name on their snack and on their water bottles. We spend an awful lot of time trying to identify these. Please, also remember that water only is permitted in their bottles. Juice is acceptable with lunch. We are continuing to promote healthy eating, so please continue to send fresh fruit in. Could we please remind you that all round fruits must be cut in half to reduce any risk of choking, this includes blueberries. Grapes should be cut lengthways please.
Non-attendance
Please remember to give us a quick call if your child will not be in pre-school or if you are running late.
It is perfectly OK to take your child out of pre-school for a holiday/day out. This, however, changes when they go to school, so make the most of it! Please ensure that you have our telephone number programmed into your mobiles.
Outdoor books
The books that you find outside on the book rack are for your child to borrow or to look at whilst waiting to come into pre-school. Could we please ask that you ensure books are put back properly and with care after they have finished looking at them. We are finding a large number of books being left torn and just stuffed back in the rack and we are having to reorganise these daily.
LearningBook
Please remember to log on and look at your child’s Learning Journey and ensure that you have added your comments to any assessment that your child’s Key Person has written. You can also add your own photos and comments using the parent portal, which are really useful in helping us see what your child can also do outside of pre-school.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support and to wish you all a very happy summer break. Fingers crossed that the sun shines!
Warm regards
The Little Acorns Team.