Author Archives: cgyles

Easter

Dear Parents,
Just a note for your diaries.
Friday 7th April you are all invited to join us for our Easter bunny trail. Session begins at 9am for children who usually attend Friday am  session.  Parents are invited to come back at 10 am to join in with Easter activities if you are free.
Children and their parents who do not usually come into Pre-School on a Friday are welcome to join us at 10 am for 2 hrs of Easter fun.
Regards
Karen Davies

Spring

Dear Parents,
I just wanted to share the fantastic learning that the children are experiencing. They are all aware that Spring has sprung as they have watched the daffodils and tulips bloom in the garden. The potatoes have been planted and we are awaiting the shoots to sprout.
As they beaver away we can hear children using the new vocabulary, naming parts of the flowers,  naming spring flowers and knowing what a plant needs to enable it to grow! Learnt through action songs!
Gross motor activities are so important to develop co-ordination and balance which will in turn enable fine motor skills to develop. This half term the cars and bikes have been really popular. As the children are getting more confident . we are concentrating on control and spatial awareness. I wonder if your child will get their driving licence for negotiating the cone obstacle course!
If you are involving your child in planting vegetables please enrich their vocabulary by talking through what you are doing and why. Encourage them to think about the equipment you might need.
If you are out on bikes or scooters set your child a challenge—-can they negotiate through a line of stones/sticks.
We would love to hear through tapestry how you are extending your child’s learning. It is added to your child’s learning journey which at the end of their time at Pre-School is placed on a CD and is yours to keep forever.
Happy Mother’s Day weekend.
Karen

November newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,    

We are very pleased to welcome everyone to a new half-term! We have had a great start to the academic year and have enjoyed welcoming back many children as well as getting to know all of the new children. The new Committee members are settling into their roles and looking forward to getting to know everyone over the course of the year.

This half term is set to be our busiest and most fun-filled yet, and with the winter festivities being imminent we are getting in the Christmas spirit early with our Christmas Fayre which will be in a few weeks’ time. Please see details below as well as some information about another upcoming event.

As you will be aware, we are a charity and as such we aim to raise funds throughout the year by running various events. Offering to help at the fundraisers in any way at all is wholly appreciated and a great way to get involved in your children’s pre-school – remember all money raised goes towards adding to the range of activities and supplies for the children. Even just attending to support these events and take part or spreading the word through the village is a fantastic way to help. 

🎄CHRISTMAS FAYRE – Saturday 26th November 10.00-12.00

Plans are full steam ahead for our Christmas Fayre! Santa will be coming to see us and children will be able to visit his grotto. We have festive craft activities planned for the children, as well as lots of games for them to have a go at and a bouncy castle! There is plenty for the grown-ups too – if you are looking for some unique gifts for Christmas then you will also enjoy browsing our stalls and there will also be a café so you can sit down and soak up the Christmas atmosphere.

To make this event a real success it needs lots of help from parents.  There will be a paper plate sent home nearer the time for people to fill with cakes, biscuits or cupcakes for the café, so please look out for that.  We also need help to set up the grotto/hall the day before, man craft activity stalls and the café. A Parent Rota will be sent out soon with jobs that need to be done and time slots for people to volunteer their time.  If you can give any amount of time at all it would be so appreciated. This is one of the biggest events of the year and we would love for it to be wonderful for all the children.

What we also need is for as many people to support us as possible by attending the Fayre and by spreading the word!  Don’t forget to display the poster that was sent home for your child to decorate, somewhere where lots of people will see it!

🎁Raffle Prizes

We are working on contacting local businesses to ask for their kind donations/vouchers so if anyone has any contacts who they think may like to support our pre-school please do let us know. We also need smaller prizes such as food items/gifts/toys so if you have anything you would be happy to donate we would be really thankful. Please note we can’t include alcohol in our prizes. A box will be placed out at Jack & Jill’s this week for people to add any donations to our next raffle at the Christmas Fayre.

THANK YOU!

Thank you so much for all of you who purchased some treats from Chocoholics,  £45 was raised which we will offset against the cost of children’s Christmas party entertainer. Also a big thank you to Mrs Nellie White for purchasing the chocolates which Father  Christmas will give to the children at their party.

🌛PYJAMA PARTY – Wednesday 25th January 2017

Something to look forward to after all the fun of Christmas and New Year is over, is our lovely cosy, early evening get together for the kiddies and parents to enjoy together. There will be stories, craft activities and night-time themed snacks to enjoy, as well as some other surprises. Come in your best pyjamas! 

 We look forward to the year ahead, and as always, thank you for your continued support.

 Kind regards,

Naomi Goulding, Committee Secretary

Diary dates

Dear Parents,
We have had a great start to possibly the busiest half term in the calendar!
The children have settled back into their routine and are proving to be very independent with dressing and undressing themselves for outdoor play. You could help them further by making sure that wellington boots and plimsolls are clearly labelled with their names for adults and with a sticker , or some clear marker for the child. This mark and naming is essential to ensure that the child brings their clothing home. We have had some children taking a fancy to another child’s bag and this causes upset when we cannot find a name clearly across the front of the bag.
Outdoor play is offered in all weathers and even on  these bright days the grass is wet at first. So, if you have waterproof clothing and wellington boots it may be worth them wearing this instead of a coat and shoes so you have less to put on pegs and in bags.  We have invested in some waterproof clothing and they can be bought for £21 coat and trousers. We have some sets if you forget your own.
We have parent’s evening booked for Wednesday 16th November from 6-8pm. This is an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s keyperson, and discuss  their progress and next steps in learning. An appointment sheet will be in the hall from next week.
Our Xmas fayre is 26th November. Please help by offering to man a stall or coming along to support. Father Xmas needs his elves to help wrap presents so let me know if you are happy to do this either at Pre-School or at home.  The children will be practising some songs to sing as a group to Father Xmas on the day so I am hoping there will be as many of you there as possible.
Monday 5th December we have been invited to watch the Foundation Stage children at Bransgore Primary rehearse their Xmas Play.  More information will follow.
Tuesday 13th December will be our Pre-School Xmas Party and parents are welcome to help. If you are unable to help you may want to be available to come back early to be with your child for Father Xmas’s visit.
Friday 16th December will be our last day of term and the children will present the Nativity to parents in the morning so you may want to book time off work to come and watch. More details to follow.
If you have any questions please ask.
Many thanks,
Karen Davies
Supervisor

October newsletter

Enjoy your half term break

Dear Parents,

Just to end the half term of topic about Growth and Healthy Eating off we had a visit from Tesco, Farm to Fork Scheme again today to help us encourage the children to eat a rainbow of fruit and vegetables every day.
On their fruit skewer they had red watermelon & raspberry, orange satsuma& apricot, yellow pineapple & banana, green kiwi, blue berries.
We were so proud of the children having such a positive attitude to trying a small piece, if only to put their tongue on the fruits. Maybe chatting to your children about how many different coloured fruits or vegetables they have eaten will tempt them to try a variety of foods. Perhaps a colour chart on the wall and adding a sticker to a colour when they try or eat  a piece of fruit or vegetable will help. We’d love to see the results!
For those of you whose children really enjoyed the growth of the caterpillars you may like to look up
 www.insectlore.co.uk
They have a variety of different creatures your child can love and nurture.
 
We will continue with our Sporty Saplings sessions after half term, these
 have encourage physical exercise which not only adds to our Health & Well 
Being but is so important to develop gross motor skills which in turn will
 strengthen the muscles needed for writing. Many of the children are excited
 to tell us that they can now ride 2 wheeled bikes!!!
 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support in making this
 half term such an exciting one, by giving us such positive feedback through 
comments and pictures on tapestry.
We look forward to the children’s return on Monday 6th June after the FUN RUN on
 Sunday 5th June—-let’s hope the sun will shine.
 
Happy, Healthy Half Term Break from all the Jack & Jill Team.
Regards
Karen Davies

Supervisor

Dates for May

Summer newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to the Summer term!

The Jack & Jill Committee are currently busy planning a range of fun-filled events for the children (and grown-ups!) this term. We hope you can join us; our events are a great chance for the children to play and have fun outside of preschool hours, and it is also a good way to meet other parents and put faces to names so please do come along.

As you will be aware, we are a charity and as such our events are also aimed at raising funds for the preschool. All money raised from these events goes towards adding to the range of activities and supplies for the children. If you can offer help for any of our fundraisers, then please do let us know – it would be very much appreciated and is a great way to get involved in your children’s pre-school. Even just attending to support these events and take part or spreading the word through the village is a fantastic way to help.

These newsletters are intended to keep you informed of upcoming events and to let you know the success of past fundraisers – please see a summary below of what’s on this term.

Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers

We only have a short time left to collect as many of these vouchers as we can (Monday 3rd May is the last day). Please can you bring in any you have collected so far so that we can start counting. We are able to swap the vouchers for cooking and active equipment from their catalogue to provide the children with new experiences. Our see-saw, trampoline and the kitchen utensils came from this scheme, so collecting them does make a difference.

Bransgore Rotary May Fair – Monday 2nd May

Get down to the Village Green from 1pm for plenty of May Day fun, games, food and entertainment. There will be, amongst other things, pig racing, a climbing wall, a magic show, a beer tent, and live music! Please see the Spring edition of the Bransgore Parish Newsletter for more details about this fantastic event. We will be representing Jack & Jill with our own stall and will be running some fun games for the kids as well as selling sweet treats. Please let us know if you can help by putting your name down on the rota displayed in the entrance hall at preschool.

Bags2School – Collection Friday 20th May

Have a clear out and donate any unwanted clothes and other items to raise money for the preschool! Bags2School accept Men’s, Ladies and Children’s clothing, Paired shoes (tied together or elastic band around), Handbags, Hats, Bags, Scarves and ties, Jewellery, Lingerie, Belts and Soft toys.

The bags will be supplied to you next week so you will have plenty of time to fill them. Bags can be dropped off from Monday 16th May to 9am on Friday 20th May latest.

Hallet Photography – Thursday 26th May

Hallet Photography will be visiting Jack & Jill’s to take individual and 2016 leavers group photographs. The individual photo’s will be taken during the morning session (starting 11.30), with a group photo of all the children attending Pre-school being taken too. The 2016 leavers group photo’s will be taken during the afternoon session (starting 1.15). Any children not in on that day are welcome to come in to have their photo taken.

Fun Run – Sunday June 5th

The Rotary Club will be holding a 10k & 5k Fun Run for adults starting at 10.30, and alongside this we will be co-ordinating a fun run for children on the village green. Children can be sponsored for laps and have lots of fun collecting stickers – look out for more details closer to the time. Half of the money raised from the children’s fun run will go to the Christchurch Macmillan unit in memory of Susie Sinfield who helped us run the event so well last year.

Party for the Queen – Saturday June 11th

We are planning a very special royal celebration for the Queen’s 90th birthday and would love for all the children from Jack & Jill’s to be there! The event will take place from 12.00 – 3.00 at the Village Hall/Green. There will be a bouncy castle, old fashioned sports games as well as stalls to enjoy and a prince/princess fancy dress competition. Tickets will be £1 adult and 50p child. Please spread the word through the village and look out for more details!

For this event, we would be extremely grateful if Jack & Jill parents could save a glass jar and fill it with children’s things (chocolate, stickers, party bag toys etc) so that we can have a Tombola at the event and raise some extra pennies for the preschool!

Father’s Day – Sunday 19th June

We will be carrying on our tradition of producing our “My Daddy” books, a collection of drawings and thoughts from the children about their Daddies. These will be ready to purchase in time for Father’s Day so look out for more details closer to the time.

And one further date to note…

Our next Jack & Jill Committee Meeting is being held on Monday 23rd May at 8pm at The Carpenters Arms. If you would like to get involved in helping at some of our Summer Term events then please feel free to attend. Those parents who have children staying on for the 2016-2017 academic year and would be interested in joining the Committee please do let us know, new members are always welcome and we would really value any extra help!

We will keep you updated with more dates for your diary as the term progresses.

We look forward to the term ahead, and as always, thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Sarah Blick

Committee Secretary

Jack & the Beanstalk

Dear Parents
Some of the children are watching our potatoes growing in the garden and have been interested in planting runner beans while retelling the story of Jack & the Beanstalk.
If your child has brought a plastic cup home with a wet paper towel and a bean seed in it please put it in a sunny spot in the house and encourage your child to look at it every day.  The paper towel will change colour when dry so you will know when to water it!
Very few children are using the words root, stem, leaves, flower, petals when they talk about plants so we are trying to increase their vocabulary and take an interest in the world around them.
So to help them as the seed germinates point out the roots, stem / stalk , leaves and flowers.
You might want to make a book with your child to record what has happened to the seed. This might be drawing of the seed now and then at different stages. Some of you might let your children take a photo now and then at different stages and stick into a book.
If you do please bring them in to show.
It has been wonderful to see pictures of your child with their daffodils they planted in the Autumn and took home—–THANK YOU this support makes everything we do so worthwhile.
Have fun!!
Karen Davies
Supervisor