Newsletter - February 2010

Hello from Alan, Laura, Nancy, Debbie, Jenny, Leanne, Elizabeth and Denise. We are well underway with our new Term and this is what we are getting up to!

Care Commission Inspection - Friday 29th January 2010

We have finally had our Care Commission Inspection. We had a brilliant day with our Care Commission Officer Hilary who was very supportive. Hilary was happy with the outcomes from the improvement plan since the last inspection. We look forward to sharing our report with you all as soon as it arrives. We thank you for your continuing support in sending in the questionnaires and taking the time to give your comments on your experiences of our service to our Care Commission Officer on the day of the inspection, which is very much appreciated by all the staff.

Extra Curriculum experiences

Music with Barnaby continues and he is putting together links to our web page to help you learn songs and keep you all informed. He is very charismatic and the children really enjoy his crazy sounds and creating funky rhythms.

Yoga with Fiona is creating our moments of calm. Lots of animal stretches, holding poses, keeping good posture and breathing. The children join in and out of her sessions and it is a very happy time for all.

We will be having a musical workshop with the Gladigator’s from the Oral Hygiene Team, with limited spaces available. Hope to see you there 25/02 at 10.30am and 1.30pm. Sign up sheet outside each room.

We are working hard to maintain our community links and support our ‘best practice’. For that we will shortly have visits from The Glasgow Academy and Thirstone Day Nursery to observe our staff at work. Do you have any thoughts to develop our links? Let us know.

Rainbows

Rainbow’s individual Parents’ Meeting begin on the 8th February till the 26th February. There is a sheet placed on the room door for you to select a time that would be most suitable to you. If these times are unsuitable please make other arrangements with your child’s key worker.

We will continue with our topic this month on ‘Transport’. We have been focusing on what kinds of Transport we use and how many miles we travel to nursery. Some of the children have still to return the homework sheets and we also ask you to create together a story called ‘An Incredible Journey,’ which will assist our topic. Please remember to include some photos as our children love showing them to their friends for ‘show and tell’. A big thank you to all who have already prepared your child’s Incredible Journey, we really appreciate your support. Please keep sending them in as the children are very proud sharing their Journeys to their friends.

We have been out visiting the Burrell learning about castles and suits of armour.

We are also having extra educational experiences from the Community Action Team (CAT) on Road Safety 08/02. There will be further visits also from past pupils Nico-Bella this time to talk us about primary 1 – Kelvindale 15/02. We will also have a visit from the local Park Ranger for Kelvingrove.

The room also restarted our collection of recycling. Each Tuesday we have a group visit to the Goethe Institute to collect and learn about their recycling. Would you like to start bringing plastics and boxes because we really enjoy junk modelling?

Raindrops

Our Topic currently is about ‘Caring for each other’. We are concentrating on small groups to encourage conversations with others, for example passing around food at snack, caring for others, helping to put on slippers, shoes, coats to go outside. There’s a lot that can be supported at home: with turn taking and working together, with laying the table... For example, ‘Can you help me to sort all of these socks?’ ‘Fold tea towels?’ ‘Set the table’? ‘Pour milk and water?’ Our list goes on.

The room is always busy making important discoveries about water, soap and changing our clothes. We love getting untidy because the whole process is focused on the ‘here and now’ and together we will speak softly and kindly to each other, we will together assist with all the tidying, we need to help with their sense of order!

Recently, having been down to London to receive our Accreditation for our nursery the speaker reminded us that our youngest children actually can’t obey as such every request we ask. They will sometimes do as we ask but they are not emotionally developed, so, we should all be patient, take a deep breath and help them to do their little tasks. Be a firm and gentle example for all our children.

We will also be celebrating Chinese New Year and St Valentine Day on the 14th Feb. This year it’s the Year of the Tiger.

Grant Funding

Sorry for the delay of the Grant Funding payments. Glasgow City Council has now sorted out their computer problems. We are just waiting for the payments which should be available during the next few weeks. If you don’t receive your cheque from us, please let us know.

Parent’s Library

We have a selection of DVD’s which are going around at the moment. It will give you a continued insight to our Montessori Approach within the nursery setting. Please remember to return the DVD when you are finished with it, along with your comments, so we can continue to offer this service to other parents. There are also Montessori Magazines which are placed on the notice board for you to borrow.

Red Bags

Remember to top them up with spares clothes.

Future dates to note:

Wednesday April 20th from 6.30pm – 7.30pm come along to a family social evening. Meet your children’s pals, arrange play dates and talk to staff.

Saturday 22nd of May will be an Open Day for all new parents and children 12.00 – 3.00pm. Please, let everyone know.

Suggestion Box

Your views are very important for us. Please give us any comments on how we can improve in any area or suggest places to visit with the children.

Thank you from Denise and all the Staff

P.S. Look at the lost and found bag and don’t forget to label clothes.