Newsletter - 1st half Autumn Term 2020
Newsletter - 1st half Autumn Term 2020
Dear Parents,
It's such a pleasure to have all the children back at pre-school and back into their routine! They have all settled back so well, and we've been really impressed with how they've adapted to our new procedures –sanitising their hands, and putting everything in the right place when they arrive! We would also like to offer a very warm welcome to our new starters this term: Callum, Emily, Hattie D., Annie, Jamie, Lewis, Louis and Layla .They've all had their trial sessions now, and are settling in really well!
We are currently in the process of recruiting a new member of staff to our team. Interviews are underway, and we will keep you informed once we have found the right person!
We would like to develop the outside area at pre-school, and make the space our own. We have loads of ideas for making an 'exploration' area, including a 'mud kitchen', using recycled objects such as empty cable reels, logs, wooden palletts etc. Thank to everyone who has donated so far, and a big thank you to Arthur's dad, Sam, who has kindly volunteered to make the mud kitchen. We would also particularly like to make a 'sound wall' using old pots and pans of different sizes and shapes, so if you have any of these items that you no longer need or would like to donate, please let us know – thank you in advance!
As Halloween celebrations will be more limited this year, we thought it might be fun to have 'Halloween Fancy Dress' days on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd of October (week leading up to half-term). Dressing up is completlely optional, and we will also have lots of Halloween activities and crafts to participate in too! We'll send a reminder nearer the time . . .
For parents of children who will be starting primary school in September 2021:
If your child is going to be starting school in September 2021, you might be interested to know that Kings Somborne Primary School will be holding open mornings on Thursday 5th, 12th and 19th November this year. Appointments will be available all morning, when parents will be shown around the outside of the building with social distancing measures in place. If you cannot make any of these dates but would still like to have a look around, please contact the school and they will try to make an alternative appointment for you. You can contact the school office by phoning 01794 388381, or by e-mailing adminoffice@kingssomborne.hants.sch.uk.
We would also like to say a big thank you to all the parents for supporting us by observing the measures we have in place for everyone's safety. We have a new one-way system to help with social-distancing when dropping off and collecting your child, and your help with observing this is much appreciated. We are still limiting the amount of visitors and parents inside pre-school, so please wait outside until a member of staff comes to greet the children who will be seen inside one-by-one. If you need to visit pre-school at a time other than drop off or pick up, please ring the doorbell, and a member of staff will come to the door. On arrival, all children will be helped to use the hand-sanitiser before entering the main room. All children and staff will have their temperature taken at the start of the day. If your child records a temperature of more than 37.9ºC, we will contact you to come and collect your child, and ask you to keep them home from pre-school until a test has been given, and then please keep us informed of the outcome. For any child that displays any symptoms of Covid-19 whilst at pre-school, please see the separate government guidance at the end of this newsletter for further information. Please do not bring your child into pre-school if you have given them Calpol (or similar), as this can mask a high temperature, and potentially spread infection unknowingly. All of these measures are in place in order to keep the children, their families and our staff safe.
To reduce the risk of spreading infection, we are asking you to provide water bottles labelled with your child's name, which we will keep at pre-school, and these will be thoroughly cleaned at the end of each day. We are also asking that we limit personal belongings coming into pre-school, so please help us with this by leaving any toys at home – we have plenty of resources for everyone, and we're cleaning everything thoroughly at the end of each session.
Please also ensure that your child has plenty of spare clothing available, in a clearly labelled bag, as we are unable to use the pre-school spare clothing at the current time – thank you.
With the amount of cleaning required at the end of each session, the staff need to start this as soon as possible after 3pm when the children have left. With this in mind, please ensure that you arrive on time to collect your child. If you can let us know by phone when you know you are going to be late, that would be very helpful. Our collection policy states that there may be a fine of £5 for every five minutes after the end of each session if you are persistently late for collection.
Some general reminders/useful information:
Please could we request that any communication regarding your child's attendance is done via the pre-school phone number or e-mail address only, and not by contacting individual staff on their personal numbers or social media. This will enable us to share information appropriately and in the best interests of your child. Our phone number is 07530 893773 or you can e-mail us at manager@thesombornespreschool.co.uk. Your help with this would be much appreciated, thank you.
Uniform – we have most sizes in stock if you would like your child to have any of our range of tops. A lot of parents find having uniform helpful, as it saves other clothes from getting messy! It also gives the children a sense of belonging as well as preparing them for primary school. If you would like to purchase anything, just speak to a member of staff and we'll check the stock for you. T-shirts are £6, crew-neck sweatshirts £12, and the hoodies are £13. If possible, please make payments in cash, in an envelope marked 'uniform' and including your child's name – many thanks.
Snack time – please ensure that your child arrives with a snack for mid-morning, in a named container or bag. This should consist of some fruit or vegetables of your choice, and can be topped up with dry crackers or breadsticks if you would like to, but no sweet biscuits please. At the moment, we also need the fruit/veg to be chopped at home to avoid contamination. We will of course all be washing hands thoroughly first, and will help the children if needed! Children can have their own water bottles with their snack, but we will also offer milk in a disposal cup if they would prefer this.
Lunchboxes – please provide at least one portion of fruit or veg in each lunchbox. You are welcome to supply a fruit juice drink for your child if you wish, but all children will be offered water where no drink is supplied. We are happy for children to have crisps or small cakes/chocolate biscuits with their lunch, but we will always encourage them to eat any healthier foods first before eating 'treat' items. Please do not include fizzy drinks or sweets in lunchboxes, as these will be sent home – thank you. If your child has any particular dietary requirements, or if you have any concerns, please feel free to speak to us about this.
Please make a note of the 'dates for your diary' below,
Best wishes,
Becky, Katie and Kelly.
Dates for your diary:
Halloween Dress-up days:
Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd October 2020
Half-term:
Monday 26th October 2020 – Friday 30th October 2020
Christmas Holiday:
Monday 21st December 2020 – Friday 1st January 2021