Dorothy Stringer Playgroup Winter Term Newsletter
Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome back everyone. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. All the staff would like to say a big 'Thank-you for all your gifts and kind wishes' at the end of last term.
Christmas Cheer
This was a great success and everyone had an enjoyable evening. A big thank you to Rose, Jane and Liz for organising this event and raising the amazing amount of £530.
Well done ladies.
There are still a couple of unclaimed raffle prizes. pink 603, yellow 19, pink 614.
Staff changes
Hayley has left us to take up a full time position at a local Nursery. The children have made a card for her, if you would like to write a message in the card for Hayley, it will be available until Friday 14th Jan.
We have two new staff members starting with us this term, Daisy and Catherine. They both have lots of experience with working with young children and we would like to welcome them to the team.
Haven fun and fitness.
Thank you to everyone that supported this scheme. We now have 73% support and will receive a large box of sports equipment for the children. We do need 100% support to receive a bonus item, so if you have not already shown your support please sign up at www.havenfunfitness.com
Reminders
We do play outside in the garden every day, so please ensure that your child has a coat, hat, and mittens at every session. Lots of layers are best.
No nuts or nut products please. This includes marzipan and pesto. We do have children and a member of staff who are allergic to these products, which can cause quite nasty symptoms for them.
Parent / Carer Helpers.
We always welcome parent helpers. Please let us know when you can stay for a session.
Family Photographs
Thank you to all that have given us a family photo for our display. There are still a few missing; please can you let us have a photo ASAP. If your child has attended a special event or similar, please can we have a photo.
Afternoon sessions
The afternoon sessions now start at 12.30pm if you would like your child to eat their lunch at playgroup. The cost is £1.89 for the extra half an hour or covered by the early years free entitlement from the term after your child is 3 years old. Please bring a healthy packed lunch.
The children do have to sit at the table until 1pm unless they have eaten all their lunch. If you think your child will not be able to sit at the table for 30 minutes, please bring them at 1pm. Please arrive at either 12.30pm or 1pm.
Illness
Please keep your child at home for 48 hours after their last incident of sickness and/or diarrhoea. Whilst swine flu is a threat again, please keep your child at home for 24 hours after they have had a raised temperature. For any other illness, please check with a member of staff as we do work to Brighton and Hove Council guidelines.
Collecting promptly
Now that the afternoon children are invited to join us for lunch at 12.30pm, please could the morning parents / carers collect promptly at 12 o'clock. The staff do have lots of cleaning and preparing to be carried out in 30 minutes.
Website wwwdorothystringerplaygroup.co.uk
Now that our website is up and running, we hope to be able to bring you up to date information via the site. If we do experience bad weather again, please take a look at the website, although we will always do our best to open.
We have got lots of fun activities planned for this half term. The morning children have already enjoyed a Spanish New Year celebration, which was planned by Natasha (Thomas Mum). Thanks Natasha. In the next few weeks we will be looking at winter, space and Chinese New Year. If you have any related resources or ideas, please let us know.
Finally, please remember that we are always happy to talk to you about your child's progress and achievements. Just let their keyperson know if you would like a quick chat or make an appointment for a longer discussion.
Many thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter.
Dorothy Stringer Playgroup Staff and Committee