January 2012
Websites/SchPriThornwood/UserFiles/file/January%20News.pdf
December 2011
We cannot believe that we are already writing the December newsletter - this term has just flown by! This is such a busy time of year in the nursery - please take time to read the newsletter carefully - there is a lot of information and a number of important dates contained within it.
Planning
We have just completed our space topic and we feel that this was a fantastic theme for the children and that they very much enjoyed it. We have been amazed at how much they have learned and staff certainly had to work hard to ensure our knowledge kept up with that of the children! We would love you to come and share the children's learning with them and invite you to come and look at their profiles on the following days:
Mon 5th Dec - Blue group
Tue 6th Dec - Yellow group
Wed 7th Dec - Green group
Thur 8th Dec - Purple group
Fri 9th Dec - Red group
We would appreciate it if you could return slightly early on these days - 11.20 for morning children and 3.30 for afternoon children. Not all of the work will be in the folders yet - some of it is displayed around the nursery but you will have an opportunity to look at this at the time.
Please remember that if work commitments mean you cannot make it at these times we can always arrange a different time for you to come and look through your child's profile of work - speak to your child's key worker to arrange this.
Christmas
Our Christmas nativity will be on Thursday 15th December at 10.30 in the morning and 2.30 in the afternoon. All parents and carers are very welcome to join us in the school gym hall for this occasion. We understand that parents and carers will wish to photograph this event - if you have any problem with your child appearing in these photographs please inform a member of staff as soon as possible.
Our Christmas parties will be on Tuesday 20th December. We are hoping to have a very special visitor!! Please could you provide a gift for your child to receive from Santa - a maximum of ten pounds should be spent on the gift. Please ensure that the gift is handed to a member of the nursery staff by Friday 16th December at the latest. The gift should be wrapped and clearly marked with your child's name.
Parent support groups
We have a number of names for both our gardening and our evaluation groups - it is not too late to join up. Please give your name to a member of the staff team. The first meeting of the evaluation group will take place on Friday 9th December at 11.00 in the morning and 2.30 in the afternoon. Coffee and cakes will be provided - please come along even if you have not given us your name - we would appreciate all help. The minute we are given the all clear from health and safety for the garden we will announce the dates for the gardening group - we are going to need a lot of helpers....
Evaluation
Many thanks to parents who took time to complete our evaluation questions. We were delighted by the positive feedback we received. The only concerns raised by parents was the was the continued lack of outdoor play which again we can only apologise for. We are very frustrated by this - we have recently bought a lot of new resources for the outdoor area and we are very keen to put them to good use! We will keep you posted about the developments and hopefully very soon you will come to collect your child and we will be outside!!
Please remember that we always appreciate your feedback - a comment box is positioned in the hall. Feedback from parents is very useful in helping us improve the service we are providing.
Art Work
Can you please ensure that you check the art trays each day - we are finding lots of pictures are not being collected and are being binned at the end of the week.
Cloakroom
Again we must ask that you supervise your children very closely in the cloakroom area - there are still a number of accidents occurring while children run around.
Students
We are very sorry to be losing Nicola - our NC student from Clydebank College - at Christmas. Nicola has been fantastic with the children and we really valued her as part of our team - we will miss her and wish her luck in her new placement.
Kilts for Kids
Many thanks for your support on this day - we made a total of £105. Thank you too to our musician in the morning session - it was lovely to see the children's appreciation of live music.
Dates for your Diary
The Christmas holidays will begin on Thursday 22nd December. The nursery will close at 2.30. Please ensure you collect your nursery children before you collect older children from school.
Nursery will re-open at 8.45 on Monday 9th January 2012!!
Finally - all the staff at Thornwood Nursery wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! xx
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November 2011
Open Night
Many thanks to all the parents and carers who attended the open night - this was well attended and was a great success. There will be another open night later in the session
Consultation Times
Thank you to all the parents who took time to look through their child's folder of work. The children really enjoy opportunities to show what they have been learning in nursery. The plan is slightly different - it is much shorter and is centered around the topic "a right wee blether". At the end of the fortnight, each child will have produced a book, which we would invite you to look at with your child when you drop them off, or if you would like to return slightly earlier, when you collect them. We will put the day for this on the white board when the books are compiled.
Well Done Wall
Our well-done wall is growing but we would love more achievements to celebrate from outside the nursery - swimming certificates, photographs of hill walks, bike riding, dance shows - anything you and your child are proud of.
Halloween
The Halloween party this year will be on Tuesday 1st November for both morning and afternoon sessions. Fancy dress is optional.
Outdoor Works
Once again - but hopefully for the last time - we must apologise for the lack of outdoor play. We are assured our playground is very nearly completed and we have loads of ideas to improve the outdoor learning of the nursery. We should soon be out in all weathers.......
Collecting times
Please ensure that your child is collected and off the premises by 11.45 and 4.00. We do not want to appear unfriendly but we have a lot of work to do to ensure that the nursery is set up for the following session and staff have meetings at lunch time to plan for each day. If you would like to speak to a member of staff or have ant concerns, we will always make time to speak to you, but it is often easier to do this at the start of the session or for you to return slightly earlier. Can you also ensure that once you have collected your child from nursery they are closely supervised and encouraged not to run around the cloakroom - there have been a number of incidents lately where children have been hurt.
Glasgow Life
We have been lucky enough to be offered a number of free coaching gym sessions from Glasgow Life - please read the attached letters and return the photograph permission form if you are happy for your child to be photographed during these sessions.
Dates for your Diary
The Christmas holiday has been lengthened and is now as follows:
The nursery and school will close on Thursday 22nd December at 2.30pm
(If you have children at the school please collect your nursery child first)
Nursery will re-open on Monday 9th January
Christmas Nativity - Thursday 15th December
Christmas Party - Tuesday 20th December
Zoo Lab
On Wednesday 2nd November the nursery are having a visit from Zoo-lab centred around Halloween. They will bring along a number of animals which your child will be invited to handle. Please ensure that you have seen the letter attached.
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October 2011
Open Night
The first Open Night this year will be on Wednesday 12th October from 4.30-6.30. You are very warmly invited to attend with your child. At the open night you will be able to experience many of the activities your child enjoys during his/her day here. It is a good chance to meet other parents and staff informally. Refreshments will be available and we would love to see as many of you as possible.
Consultation Times
At the end of each planning block we would like to invite you to come and look at your child's folder of special work. Your child should be able to tell you all about their learning! This planning block, your child's key worker will be available at the following times: Morning children please return at 11.00, Afternoon children please return at 3.15.
Monday 10th October - blue group
Tuesday 11th October - yellow group
Wednesday 12th October - green group
Thursday 13th October - purple group
Friday 14th October - red group
Please remember that if work commitments mean you cannot make it at these times we can always arrange a different time for you to come and look through your child's profile of work - speak to your child's key worker to arrange this.
Well Done Wall
Please let us know if your child has done anything special at home so we can include them on our "well done wall".
Toy-fund
Many thanks for your continuing contributions to our toy fund. Although voluntary, the toy fund is crucial to the service we can provide and allows us to replace and update resources, buy snacks, baking ingredients and so much more. Our outdoor play area looks like it should be finished soon and we hope to buy lots of new resources to support our outdoor learning.
Nursery Trips
We have arranged a number of trips for the children in the nursery. We are very limited in the number of children we can take out on each trip so not all children will be able to go each time but during the course of the year all children should be able to go on a nursery trip.
If your child is going on one of the trips coming up, please remember to be prompt - the bus will not wait for late comers
Dates for your Diary
The October Holiday Week this year will be from Monday 17th - Friday 21st inclusive - the nursery will reopen on Monday 24th October.
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September 2011
Welcome back to all of you and a very big welcome to our new starts. So far, all the children (and staff!) seem very settled and happy to be back - it is lovely to see how much the children have grown up over the summer!
Playground work
Thank you for your ongoing support in this. Hopefully it will not be much longer and we are assured our playground will be returned to normal and outdoor play will resume. Please ensure your child is always suitably dressed for outdoor play. We plan to offer the children the opportunity to play outdoors in all weathers - we will provide waterproof clothing but your child will need warm things for underneath and suitable footwear. If for any reason you do not wish your child to play outdoors on a particular day please speak to a member of staff.
Absence procedures
Please could you let the nursery know, either by telephone or by speaking to a member of staff, if your child is going to be absent for any reason.
Policies
Copies of our policies are kept displayed in a clearly marked box in our entrance hall. Our Child Protection policy is on the wall in the cloakroom. If you have any questions at all about any of our policies please speak to a member of staff.
The latest document outlining charges for parents is displayed beside the white board outside the classrooms - if you have any questions about this please speak to a member of staff.
End of session collection times
Please try to ensure your child is collected on time at the end of each session. Staff have to attend meetings at lunch time/end of afternoon, complete paperwork and prepare for the next session. Some children can also be quite distressed being last to be picked up.
Morning children must be collected and off the premises by 11.45
Afternoon children must be collected and off the premises by 4.00
Thank you for your support in this
Dates for your diary
Thursday 22nd Sept - In-service Day (nursery closed to children)
Friday 23rd Sept - Holiday
Monday 26th Sept - Holiday
October Week Holiday - Monday 17th - Friday 21st (inclusive)
Nursery Open Night - Wednesday October 12th 4.30 - 6.30
This is a chance for you to experience the work of the nursery with your child - further details will be given nearer the time.
Nursery rhymes
We will be distributing a nursery rhyme each Monday for the children to practice with you at home!
Finally can we say that we hope that the time your child spends with us at Thornwood will be a very happy one - not just for them but for you too. If you have any concerns, however small they may seem, please speak to either the child's key worker or the nursery class teacher, and we will try our best to resolve them. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, our complaints policy is outlined in the handbook, and also displayed in the policy box in the hall.
Additional Notes
Dear Parent/Carer
Glasgow City Council has asked that we update our information about children attending nursery. If your child attends another nursery or if you have other children attending another nursery within Glasgow, please could you let a member of staff know.
Yours sincerely,
Jane Lawson.
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August 2011.
Building Work!!
August 2011
Dear Parent/Carer
Welcome back to our returning children and a very warm welcome to our new children. We hope you had a lovely holiday.
There is currently a great deal of building work going on in the school and nursery. Every effort has been made to minimise the disruption to the service we provide and to ensure your child's safety, and we ask you for your support in this.
Please ensure that your child is supervised very closely at all times in the nursery playground. Keep to the path outlined and ensure that your child stays away from all barriers. We would ask that you pass this information to all the adults who are dropping off and collecting your child.
A member of staff will now have to come and open the nursery door every time the buzzer goes - although you will not hear the buzzer outside we do hear it inside. This is obviously disruptive for the children. For the duration of the work, the door will be opened and manned by a member of staff at the following times
8.45 - 9.15 for dropping off 11.30 - 11.45 for collecting children
1.00 - 1.15 for dropping off From 3 o'clock for collecting
if you need to collect your child out with these times please do not hesitate to use the buzzer but if at all possible we would ask that you try to come within the specified times.
Outdoor play in the nursery playground may also not be possible for the duration of the works - we can only apologise for this and hope that work is short lived!!!
Yours sincerely
Lynn Ballantyne - Head Teacher
Jane Lawson - Nursery Class Teacher
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