Newsletter - 1st Half Term Summer 2016
Dear Parents,
We hope you all enjoyed your Easter break – welcome back for the 1st half of the Summer term at The Sombornes Pre-School! We would like to offer a very warm welcome to Albany, Ewan, Katie, George Johnson, Olivia and Holly Dinsdale who have all recently joined us.
We will be holding our parent/key person meetings this week and next week, so if you haven't booked an appointment yet, please choose a slot from the schedule by the signing in book, or speak to Becky if you have any queries. Also, if you have any outstanding updated information forms or return slips regarding the Finkley Down Farm visit, please could you return them to us as soon as possible – thank you!
A big thank you to all of you who were kind enough to take the time to complete our feedback form before the Easter break. 48% of the forms sent out were completed, and from these we have compiled the results on the attached document. We really value your opinions and suggestions, and hope we can improve the service we provide by implementing them, so thanks again. Will we be sending out another questionnaire at the end of the summer term.
We have our Sainsbury's 'Active Kids' collection box out in the entrance hall again this year. Last year's donations enabled us to buy some resources for our mathematics area, as well as some outdoor sports equipment. Please support us by collecting as many vouchers as you can, as the more we collect, the more equipment we obtain for the children – thank you!
Kings Somborne residents have recently received a 'Neighbourhood Development Plan Survey' through their doors, and section F relates to pre-school. It gives us a chance to have a say about the facilities currently on offer, and how we could improve them for the future. Please support us by looking at this section and completing either the online or paper survey – your assistance could help provide a better future for our pre-school.
Our topic this term will be planting, 'how things grow' and minibeasts, including planting seeds in the eco-garden at school as well as in tubs at pre-school, and some craft activities. After half-term we will also be looking at pets, so if you have any spare pet equipment such as feeding equipment, bedding, carriers, cages etc that we might be able to borrow for use in the role-play area to set up a 'vets', please let us know – we will be very grateful! Io tie in with our topic, Mrs Hughes has very kindly donated some baby caterpillars for us to look after! The children will be able to watch them over the next few weeks, during which time they will change into chrysalide form before turning into Painted Lady butterflies! We hope this will give the children an insight into growth and change, and give them the opportunity to learn more about the natural world around them.
Please bear in mind that we will be doing lots of planting, water/sand play this term, so please make sure your child does not wear their best clothes to pre-school, and that they have some spare labelled clothing in their bag in case they get wet. If the weather is sunny, please provide labelled sun hats, which can be left at pre-school in our hat box if you have a spare. If you require any pre-school uniform, please let us know. We usually have both the t-shirts (£6), and sweatshirts (£11) in stock, so just ask. Most children enjoy wearing the uniform as it promotes a feeling of belonging and also prepares them for wearing a uniform when they move on to 'big school'.
A reminder that we ask all children to bring in an item of fruit or vegetable for each morning session they attend, and all donations will be prepared by us and shared amongst all the children at snack time, so that they get a good selection of healthy food to try. We will also provide breadsticks/crackers where necessary, and will always offer both water and milk to drink. If you have any special requirements or queries, just ask. Please place your snack items in the bowl provided on the signing in table when you arrive.
Just another reminder that we would really appreciate your support in discouraging your child from bringing their own toys to play with at pre-school, as this can cause upset if the toy becomes lost, or if other children want to play with them too. We are always happy for children to bring items of interest to 'Show and Tell' at circle time if they would like to, and these should be handed to a member of staff at the beginning of the session for safe-keeping.
Best Wishes,
Becky, Katie, Diane and Ali.
Dates for your diary:
Half-term break: Saturday 28th May – Sunday 5th June 2016
Finkley Down Farm end of term trip – Thursday 14th July 2016
Summer holiday: Thursday 21st July – Sunday 4th September 2016
Inset Days:
Tuesday 19th July
Wednesday 20th July
(Summer Term ends for pre-school on Friday 15th July)