• £10 Hare and Hounds Voucher, Arreton

• A Champagne High tea for two at the Enchanted Manor, Niton

• £10 Chocolate Apothecary – Ryde sea front

• £10 Wine Therapy tasting voucher – Cowes

• £10 Entertainer Toy Shop Voucher

• One Wooden Heart sculpted from Ryde Pier, dating back to 1813, made by Gordon Manning.

Disco Tickets are £2 per child (under 2 years free). Raffle tickets are £1 per strip. Both available from the Pre-School office now.

We are looking for cakes to sell at the event, all donations gladly received!

As part of our recent Space Topic, we turned our Home Corner into the Springhill Space Station. The children enjoyed dressing up as Space people and using the area for space themed role play. During the week they made rockets and learnt about different planets using a special scientific model. They even wrote a space themed story which is included below for you to enjoy!

Before we go to space we need…

“Space helmets, space shoes, gloves and a space suit.”

(Oli, Hari, Poppy and James)

We pack a lunch: “apple, sandwich, cucumber, orange and black space juice that tastes like oranges.”

“We climb in our spaceship and blast off, the fire goes up and the rocket goes up.” (Hari)

“1, 2, 3, 4, BLAST OFF!” (Poppy)

“We’re going to the moon.” (Hari)

“It takes 50 hours.” (Oli)

“We put our helmets on and get out of the rocket.”

“We investigate and look for aliens.” (Oli and Hari)

“Aliens go wibble wobble!” (Hari)

“We get back in spaceship” (Poppy)

“We parachute down, it’s in the pointy bit.” (Oli)

“Get out of the rocket, take space clothes off and go home for tea.”

 By Oli, Hari, Poppy and James

We are pleased to inform you that we are holding our first Valentines’ Disco on Wednesday 8th February. The event will take place in Holy Cross school hall from 4.30pm – 6pm. Please note: all children will need to be accompanied and supervised at all times by an adult.

The disco is for children who attend the Pre-School; however we appreciate that many of you have younger and older children, you may need to bring along with you. With this in mind, we ask you to be mindful that the majority of the children attending the disco are small, so for safety reasons we have to ask that older children are kept from running around to prevent younger ones being knocked over. The whole family is welcome to attend.

Tickets for all children attending are £2 per child to include a drink. Children under 2yrs are free.

Refreshments

Tea, coffee and squash will be available to purchase as well as hot dogs and cakes. We will also be selling bags of Valentine sweets.

Raffle

We are attempting to secure a couple of ‘romantic prizes’ to raffle off at the disco. If you can help or know of anyone who could donate a prize, please let us know.

Help needed!

If you can spare some time to help before, during or after the Valentines’ event, please let us know.

Backdrop to learning

Over the next week or so the children will be looking at winter and Outer Space. If you have any items at home relating to these topics, we welcome you to share them with us. Information on the backdrop to learning is on view in the cloakroom.

Chickenpox

We have had a case of Chicken Pox in the Pre-School, so this may well escalate and do the rounds. If your child is ill and unable to attend Pre-School please call and let us know that they will not be attending.

Extra sessions

The Pre-School is now completely full 3 days of the week, with a very long waiting list in operation. People wanting extra sessions will be notified if a place matching their requirements becomes available. It does appear that we will be unable to accommodate the majority of people until September or unless other children change or decide to drop sessions. If you want to discuss extra sessions or changes, please deal directly with Emma in person or over the phone.

Staffing

Angela will now be working Tuesday morning instead of Thursday mornings and Julie Ann will be swapping from Tuesday mornings to Thursdays all day.

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year

Emma, Kelly, Jo, Maarit, Louise, Tracey, Angela and Julie Ann

The Christmas Fundraiser was a great success and we raised a fantastic £362.79! Many, many thanks to all who attended, helped out (during and before the event), and contributed cakes and raffle prizes.

We still have plenty of handmade Christmas cards (featuring the art work of Springhill children). The packs of 4 cards are now reduced to 50p per pack. Please pop in to the office today or tomorrow if you’d like some.

Special thanks to all who contributed raffle prizes:

JR Zone pass

Space Island pass

Robin Hill family pass

Raggy Tags silk unisex baby comforter

Entertainer Toy Shop £15 gift voucher

Island Autocare  (free MOT)

Colemans Carpets (child’s rug)

Ryde Superbowl

Godshill Chocolate Shop (large chocolate lolly)

Yan Woo (meal for 2)

Wight Strollers (2 tickets to the pantomime)

The Lifeboat (meal for 2)

2 Christmas concert tickets

Owl and Monkey Haven family pass

Waitrose x2 £10 vouchers

If you have any ideas for future fundraising activities, please let us know.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of the staff at

Springhill Preschool

AGM

We would like to say a big Thank You to Emma Barsdell (Phoebe’s mum) and Emma Bennett (Lily’s mum) for coming along to the AGM, we are pleased to announce that they have joined the Committee. We would also like to thank Mr Eccles (Head Teacher) and Nigel Blair (Chair of Governors) for attending. There have now been a few changes to the Committee Sarah Murray (Chairperson), Lucy Howard (Secretary) and

Eoin O Callaghan (Treasurer) have resigned from their positions, however we are pleased to inform you they will be staying on as committee members. We were disappointed that only 2 parents out of 46 attended the AGM, however many of you have said you would still like to be involved in supporting the Pre-School, so the time has come for us to ask for that help at our Christmas Fundraiser. We need people to help with the setting up and running of stalls. If you are able to help, please come and talk with us.

Chocolate Hamper

As in previous years we would like to ask each family to donate a chocolate item to make up a chocolate hamper for the raffle. Each family that donates a chocolate item will be allocated a raffle ticket that will be entered into the main raffle. Please hand your chocolate donation into the office and we will enter your ticket into the draw.

Raffle Prizes

Please let us know if you are able to donate a raffle prize or know a company who might be able to help. Here’s a list of the prizes donated so far:

Meal for 2 at The Lifeboat

Passes for Space Island

Passes for JR’S Zone

MOT courtesy of Island Auto Care

2 x £10 Waitrose vouchers

Raggy Tag silk Baby Comforter

£15. 00 Entertainer Toy Shop Voucher

Family Pass to Robin Hill

Bersfords Barbers Hair Cut Voucher

Cashell Living Glassware Glass

Tin of Quality Street

Perfume Box Sets

Candle Box sets

Chocolate Hamper

Spare Clothes

Our spare clothes supply is running low, can you please return any clothes that may have been sent home with your child. If you have any clothes that your child has outgrown that you can donate we would be very grateful.

Christmas Party

Two party food lists have gone up on display on the office door, please take a look and write your name alongside your choice of contribution. Please note there are two lists, one for each party, so check you have the right list.

Christmas Dinner

If your child would like a Christmas Dinner on Tuesday 13^th December please let us know ASAP, so we can place the order with the school kitchen. The cost of this meal is £1.90

Emergency Contact Numbers

Please can you complete the form sent home with this newsletter (spares available from pre-school) so we can ensure we have up to date emergency contact numbers. We must be able to contact a parent or named adult who is able to come and collect your child in the event of illness or an emergency. Please inform us straight away if you change your phone number, so our records are up to date.

Many Thanks from us all at Springhill

We are busily organising our Christmas Fundraising event at Holy Cross Primary on 9th December (5-7pm). We already have some brilliant raffle prizes but would love some more. If you know someone who can offer a prize, please let us know as soon as possible.

Here are some of the things we have so far:

JR Zone pass

Space Island pass

Robin Hill family pass

Raggy Tags silk unisex baby comforter

Voucher from the Entertainer Toy Shop

Island Autocare  – free MOT

We are also looking for donations of chocolates for a hamper that we’re putting together as another raffle prize. And… last but not least, we are looking for some volunteers for the Christmas Fundraiser – please let us know if you have any spare time before or during the event.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks from us all at Springhill

Welcome to the November newsletter at Springhill. Last night was the Pre-School’s AGM. Many thanks to the parents who were able to attend and to those who have signed up as new Committee Members. We are still looking for a new Secretary so please let us know if you can help, or you know someone suitable. This a great opportunity to volunteer and support your child’s setting.

Children in Need

Today is Children in Need and we are all in our pyjamas! Lots going on the in playroom today; cake making, face painting, crafts. Thank you for all your donations and cakes for the sale this afternoon (outside the Pre-School just after 3pm). Hopefully we will be able to raise lots of money for such a worthwhile cause.

Development Day

Pre-School is closed on Monday 21st November for a Development Day, in line with Holy Cross Primary.

Student

We have a new student starting with us; she will be in placement on Monday’s and Tuesdays, until Christmas. Her name is Chrissie and she is a Level 2 student on the Health and Social Care Course at the college.

Nativity

We have discussed at length the idea of holding a Nativity and are sorry to say we have decided against it. We have 51 children on our register ranging from 2 yrs – 4yrs. Due to the volume of children and the fact we now take them from the age of 2 we do not feel we could pull off a performance without a lot of disruption, staffing and safety issues.  We feel many of the younger children would find the experience overwhelming, so hope you can understand our decision.  The school leavers will put on a show at their leavers ceremony next July.

Christmas

We are planning a Christmas Gathering in the school hall on Friday 9^th December. We are trying to secure a brass band to play Christmas carols, and will be running an art and craft stall. As this is a fundraiser we will be selling entrance tickets to include a hot drink and mince pie. There will also be a cake stall, tea and coffee and a raffle taking place. We are provisionally looking to hold the event from 5- 7pm but this may change to an earlier time. I will confirm the time in the next few days, so please, please keep this date free.

Raffle Prizes

Our Christmas raffle is renowned for having great prizes; however we do have to rely on the generosity of others to help make it a success. Please if you or friends or family work for a company or know someone that may be able to donate a prize please let us know as soon as possible. So far we have a 4 person Pass for Robin Hill, a £15.00 voucher for The Entertainer Toy Shop, and a Cars or Hello Kitty Rug. We are waiting to hear back from companies, but would really appreciate your help too. We need all prizes by 8^th December please.

Questionnaires

Thank you for completing and returning your questionnaires, we will be collating the information and will feed back to you soon. If you are yet to return your form, don’t worry; return it as soon as you can.

Boogie Mites

The Boogie Mites session went really well with a number of parents attending. If you were unable to come but would like to sign up for a future session, please see Kelly.

Water Bottles

Please can I ask you to send water only in their bottles for throughout the day. We have a Healthy Eating Policy as guided by OFSTED and we are expected to follow our policy. All children are welcome to bring in a juice drink to have at lunchtime and are provided with milk and water at morning and afternoon snack time. All schools also have a water only policy. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Home Accident Form

If your child has an accident at home and suffers an injury can we please ask you to inform a member of staff and we will ask you to complete a home accident form. This is really important especially in the event of a head injury, so we are aware that the child may need to be monitored.

Angela

We would like to wish Angela a fantastic Wedding Day; she is getting married on Saturday at Newport Methodist Church in Quay Street at 2pm. So if you are out in Newport shopping do come and take a peek at her going into church.  We wish her and Dan a very happy future together.

Many Thanks

Emma, Kelly and the Team

Dear Parents

We would like to extend a warm welcome to the following children and their families, Freya Prescott, Alfie Bacon, Anthony Fuoss, Oscar Turtle, Freddy Benjamin. We look forward to getting to know you all over the coming weeks.

Setting up of a text message service

After half term, we are planning to start using texts to notify parents of useful/important information. This will hopefully save on paper and ensure that important information is passed on. If you do not wish to receive texts from Pre-School then please advise Jo or Maarit in the office.

Student

We have a new NVQ 2 childcare student working with us in the Pre-School. His name is James and he will be in placement with us every Thursday and Friday until Christmas. He has proved a big hit with the children and we hope he enjoys his time with us.

Uniform

This is available to purchase from the office, if we do not have your child’s size we can order it in. You can purchase jumpers, polo shirts, t shirts and book bags. We also have a selection of second hand uniform available for a donation.

Drinks

Please can we ask you to send a drink in for your child to have with their lunch in addition to their bottle of water. The water bottles are kept on the table in the playroom, so your child can help themselves. We are happy for your child to have juice drinks at lunchtime but ask that their other bottle contains water, not juice. They are also offered milk and water at morning and afternoon snack times.

Illness

A handful of children have been poorly with a sickness bug and there are the usual coughs and colds doing the rounds. Please can we remind you that if your child has vomiting or diarrhoea they are not allowed to return to Pre-School for 48 hours from their last bout, this is to try and contain the spread of infection and to give your child a chance to recuperate fully at home.

If your child is unwell with a temperature and has needed Calpol at home we would ask that you do not send your child in to Pre-School until they are feeling better. A noisy Pre-School is not the nicest place to be when you are feeling unwell and unfortunately we cannot provide the 1-1 care that a poorly child requires.

If your child is unwell we ask that you please call and notify us that they will not be attending Pre-School.

Fees
Can I remind you that fees are to be paid promptly. Invoices will be sent out to you each month. School dinner fees are also to be paid daily or weekly, dinner fees will not be included on your invoice as they are dealt with separately to the fees.  If you think you may have a problem with payment at any time, please do speak with Maarit at your earliest convenience.

Please note that 2 weeks notice is required, as stated in the registration form if you intend on taking your child out of the Pre-School.

Boat Cover

Unfortunately the cover to the boat in the back garden was stolen over the school holidays. This was specially made by a local company for this boat and paid for from fundraising money. Without the cover the boat fills up with rain water and leaves and will start to rot. We are looking at ways to fundraise so we can replace it. If you have any ideas or would like to get involved in our fundraising team, please speak to Lou or Emma.

Parent Partnerships

We always welcome parents into the Pre-School, if you would like to get involved by coming in and doing some cooking, art and craft, or even to read a story you would be most welcome. If you are interested or have any suggestions please tell us.

School Entry Forms

If your child is due to start school in September 2012 you should have received your Childs entry form for school. The closing date for the form to be returned to County Hall and Holy Cross, is Friday 28^th October by 4.30pm. Early indications show that Holy Cross is going to have an extremely high number of applications. Their reception class can take 30 children and is a single class entry.

Drop off and Collection

If you arrive early at Pre-School we are unable to accept your child into session until their allocated time due to staff/child ratios. We would also ask that you are prompt
in collection at the end of the day. The Pre-School session finishes at 3pm. If you are going to be late in collecting then we ask that you contact us to let us know. If you are more than 15 minutes late you may be charged for an extra session.

End of Day Safety

At the end of each day the children will be sat in the book corner when you come to collect. As each parent enters the room Kelly or Emma will call your child to meet you
and will mark them as being collected on the register. We do not want any children escaping through the crowd unnoticed and most of the children are now  happy to sit until called. Don’t forget to check your child’s box for items to go home.

Dates to remember

Mufti Day

Pre-School
Closed Monday 7^th November (Development Day)

AGM Thursday 17^th
November (time to be arranged) All welcome

Pre-School
Closed Monday 21^st November (Development Day)

]]> http://www.springhillpreschool.org.uk/news/october-18th-newsletter/feed/ 0 http://www.springhillpreschool.org.uk/news/backdrop-to-learning/ http://www.springhillpreschool.org.uk/news/backdrop-to-learning/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:48:47 +0000 Springhill Pre-School http://www.springhillpreschool.org.uk/news/backdrop-to-learning/  

Backdrop To Learning

Our back drop to learning is Owls and Monkeys and Going To School. We have a trip to the Owl and Monkey Haven planned for those children leaving to go to school In September.