Christmas 2012

Blog update Friday 7^th December

Christmas Concert:

We are all very much looking forward to our Christmas concerts next week. The children have enjoyed practising the songs and rehearsing ready to perform in front of their parents.

We are asking parents to dress their children up (or bring something in to be changed into) in anything related to the festive period, whether you choose to just focus on the colours of Christmas, it’s completely up to you!

If you are unsure which day your child is participating in the concert, please ask a member of staff. The concert will start at 2.30 on each afternoon, and you’ll be invited to stay for mince pies and mulled wine once the concert has finished.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Christmas Menu:

Monday 17^th:
Lunch: Christmas Dinner – Roast Turkey, roast potatoes and vegetables
Pudding: Ice cream and red berry sauce

Tuesday 18^th:

Lunch: Vegetable curry and rice

Dinner: Fromage frais

Wednesday 19^th:

Lunch: Festive lattice, potatoes and vegetables

Pudding: Rice pudding

Thursday 20^th:

Lunch: Spaghetti Bolognese
Pudding: bananas and custard

Friday 21^st:

Lunch: Fish cakes, potatoes and peas
Pudding: Butterscotch tart

Christmas activities update:

On Thursday the 13^th December, we had originally booked Magic Marty, but we have now decided to book a different entertainer instead. The Purple Teapot Puppet Company will be visiting us;

‘The Purple Teapot Puppet Company specialises in providing customised shows for children between the ages 2 to 8 and incorporates songs, music, magic and of course, puppets.’

Pre-school Painting:

As some of you may have noticed, pre-school’s ‘Oak Room’ has now been decorated with a fresh coat of paint. We have chosen a neutral blend of colours with regards to the paint, and are working on new displays and visual stimulation to provide an element of vibrancy. We are hoping to also have our ‘Willow Room’ decorated at the beginning of next year.

Cold Weather:

As we have been experiencing some colder weather spells recently, could we please remind parents/carers to make sure that their children bring labelled hats, scarves and gloves etc with them as we still like to provide the children with the option of accessing our outdoor learning environments as part of our free-flow provision.

Staff news

Some of you may know Taylor who has worked for us here at Clover Court to cover staff holidays for a while. Taylor has decided to become a more permanent member of staff within Clover Court and will now be taking over Jo key group within Nursery. Taylor will be introducing herself over the next few weeks please don’t be shy come and say hello.

You may remember Karon who worked in the baby suite; she went on maternity leave last year sadly she will not be returning to Clover Court so we hope you join us in wishing her all the best for the future.

Christmas Events

We have some wonderful events for the children to participate in December and you should have received a Christmas schedule if you have not yet received one please speak to a member of staff to obtain one.

Christmas Opening times

Christmas Eve: Closing at 1600

Closed 25^th December until the 1^st January 2013

We will re-open on the 2^nd January at 0700 am

Ofsted

We recently had our Ofsted inspection which was based on the new statutory framework which was implemented Sep 2012. We are proud to inform you the overall inspection was Good based on the following findings:

. Good relationships exist with parents and their effective ways of seeking their views about their children’s care and the sharing of ideas and activities to promote children’s learning

Children’s creativity is fully enhanced throughout the nursery as the staff provides good opportunities for them to explore different media both indoors and outdoors.

There is strong leadership and management team who provide a clear vision for the future development of the setting. Staffs are well supported and monitored to ensure that good standards are maintained.

Staff has a secure knowledge and understanding of the early Years Foundation Stage and help children to make good progress in their learning. All staff recognises the importance of working with children’s interests and developing individualised planning.

If you would like a copy of the report please ask a member of staff.

                                      Louise and the Clover Court Team

Clover Court Blog Update – Friday 2^nd November 2012:

Announcements:

We are all very pleased to announce that Amandeep gave birth to a gorgeous, healthy, baby girl on Saturday 27^th October, weighing 5lbs. Amandeep and her partner are yet to decide on a name for her.

Head lice:

We have identified a few cases of head lice within the setting. If you notice that your child has head lice, please follow the advice stated below:

·         Hair should be combed through thoroughly when wet using a specifically designed head lice comb.

·         Use medicated lotions (only if you have spotted a live louse within your child’s hair).

To minimise the risk of your child developing an infestation:

·         Hair should be combed through thoroughly on a weekly basis using a head lice comb.

·         Long hair should be tied back.

Children in Need:

On Friday 16^th November, Clover Court will be supporting Children in Need by holding a ‘Spotty Day’. We will all be dressing up in spotty clothing and participating in associated activities. Please look out for our Children in Need posters for more details.

Christmas Celebrations:

We are currently compiling our Christmas Celebration schedule which includes:

·         Clover Court Christmas Concert – Monday 10^th, Tuesday 11^th and Wednesday 12^th – letters will be issued to confirm which date your child will be participating in the concert. Parents/carers will be encouraged to come along and support their child/children in the concert.

·         Magic Marty – Friday 14^th (time to be confirmed).

·         Santa’s Grotto – Tuesday 18^th

Please look out for our two week Christmas schedule for further details.

Parents Evening:

We have planned our next Parent’s Evening for Tuesday 29^th January.

This evening will provide you with an opportunity to get together with your child’s Key Person; share their Learning Journal, discuss progress and have an input into their ‘next steps’ for learning and development for the Spring Term.

 

Kelly - Deputy Manager and the Clover Court Team

Staff update

Staff news

As from the 5^th November, Jo T from the nursery room will be joining the preschool team. This will be a wonderful transition for all the children transferring from nursery to preschool to see a familiar face. Jo worked with the preschool age group a few years ago and is looking forward to implementing some new ideas.

Some more exciting news… Sam K of the nursery room is expecting her first baby in April 2013, here at Clover Court pregnancy seems to come in 2’s so watch this space…

You may remember Stacey F from preschool; she went on maternity leave last year; sadly she will not be returning to Clover Court so we hope you join us in wishing her all the best for the future.

Lost Property

Missing Items:

Dark red cardigan with frilly bits on sleeves and trim – back to school range

Purple gap leggings - 18 to 24 months

If you find these items please return to a member of staff

 

Louise and the Clover Court Team

Food for Thought..... ???

Child’s Play

Oh, what a busy morning

 

I’ve been playing with the dough and with a little help upon a card, I learned to sew.

 I helped my friend “Nurse Sarah” to perform an operation,

Then fixed the track together for my train and built a station. I popped inside the Wendy house to make a cup of tea, and i stood by the cooker making lunch for twenty- three!

I completed three whole jigsaws

I played a new board game. I had a turn on all the bikes, the slide and the climbing frame.

I handed around the biscuits at milk and biscuit time, then listened to the story and sang a nursery rhyme.

But now the mornings over and the mummies are all waiting,

I hope my mummy doesn’t say –

“I wish you had done a painting” 

Blog update w/c 1^st October:

Jeans for Genes Day – Friday 5^th October:

On Friday 5^th October Clover Court Nursery and Pre-school will be celebrating Jeans for Genes day. Please dress your child in jeans/denim clothing if you would like them to participate in the event. We will be collecting donations for the Jeans for Genes charity; £1 per child. All practitioners will be joining in by wearing jeans and Jeans for Genes day t-shirts and will be donating £2 each.

Planned activities include:

·         Making a denim dolly

·         Making a denim collage

If you have any old/spare jeans/denim material, please could you bring them in as we require it for our planned activities.

Halloween Celebrations – Wednesday 31^st October:

On Wednesday 31^st October Clover Court Nursery and Pre-school will be celebrating Halloween. We will all be dressing up in fancy dress Halloween themed costumes.

Planned activities include:

·         Face Painting

·         Making and decorating Halloween themed biscuits

·         Fancy dress competition

·         Designing decorations

·         Pumpkin carving

If you would like to book your child in for any extra sessions please speak to Louise or Kelly.

Louise and the team at Clover Court

Blog update - w/c 10^th September:

Baby Babbles:

Baby room has been involved in settling all of the new children and encouraging the older children and active babies to go out into the garden. The children have been interested in climbing a lot recently so we have been using the physical room so they can climb, crawl and start to walk.

Nursery News:

Recently the children have been interested in mini-beasts. We planned and took the children on a nature walk. We found some bugs and natural objects like sticks and leaves. We took lots of photos on the way. We have also had a pirate themed day which the children thoroughly enjoyed. We made a pirate ship, flags and a treasure chest. The staff and children all dressed up too!

Pre-school Press:

This week we have been preparing for our Pirate themed-day which was held on Wednesday 12^th September. We have been making treasure chests to keep our golden coins in and we have been role-playing pirates using the ship which we made using recycling materials. We have also been making parrots and treasure maps. We had a competition in the garden to see who could find the most gold coins and the winners were group number 2! Well done to all the children who took part.

Recipe for Watercress pesto pasta sauce:

We have decided to provide a favourite recipe with each blog update from now on. The meal below is usually served at tea time.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of watercress, chopped

1 or 2 large onions, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

300mls sunflower or olive oil

Store the pesto in the fridge, covered for 2-3 days.

Instructions:

·         Place the onions and garlic in 3 tablespoons of sunflower or olive oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

·         Add the chopped watercress and the rest of the oil.

·         Liquidise with a hand blender until smooth.

 

Reminders and notices:

We would like to say a big thank you to the parents who attended our Open Evening on Thursday 6^th September. We hope you found this evening informative in terms of how we support your child’s learning and development. May we please remind you to return the Feedback Forms.

Autumn/Winter 2012 Calendar of events:

September 26^th – Yom Kippur (Jewish Festival)

October 31^st – Halloween celebrations

November 5^th – Guy Fawkes celebrations

November 13^th – Divali

December – Christmas celebrations

Further details to come.

Louise and the Clover Court Team

Clover Court

 

Thank you

Congratulations to the preschool team for holding their first transition meeting for parents with children starting in September. They all worked very hard to put together a fantastic meeting which was enjoyed by all.

A Quote from a parent who attended

‘Thank you so much for taking the time to stay on tonight to talk to us about making the transition to preschool. It was evident that you had all put in a great deal of effort and it was very much appreciated.  It was really informative and useful to know what …… will be experiencing and how we as parents can support him in making this change. Huge congratulations to you all on a brilliant first transition meeting’

 Photographer coming to Clover Court

We have organized a photographer to come to Clover Court please read below…. If you would not like your child to have their photo taken please let a member of staff know.

Sarah White Photography

My name is Sarah and I run my own business specialising in nursery & family portraiture. I shall be at your nursery on 9 & 10 October to take pictures of your children.

Approximately a week after the shoot you will receive a proof card with a thumbnail photo of your child and your own unique password. (Please note all proof cards are printed on my home printer for speed and security, all images ordered however are produced externally by a professional lab.)

The proof card gives you my website address and advises you how you will be able to access your album of images using your unique password. Please allow pop-ups as it can hinder you viewing the website properly. If you wish to place an order, you can choose from prints, print packages, canvases, acrylics and CDs etc. All orders will be despatched to your home address unless you stipulate otherwise.

Your album will be up until after Christmas, after which time the albums will be removed and kept securely for 12 months after which time all images will be destroyed.

Any queries, please do contact me on info@swhitephotography.com.  Thanks!

 Pirate Day

The children have expressed an interest in pirates within nursery and preschool. To develop this we have decided to hold a Pirate Day on the 12^th September and ask children to come in fancy dress. The children will be creating a treasure chest to hold our gold, making pirate ships and pretending to sail our ships and find our treasure.

Front door

Please ensure when leaving the nursery you have closed the front door behind you. This is for the safety of all the children.  

Paper required

We are requiring all sorts of paper here at Clover Court.......... if your company is throwing paper out remember us, we can use anything

A4 paper

A3 paper

Wall paper

Any other sized paper too

Louise and the Clover Court Team

Clover Court Blog

Thank you

We would like to say a huge thank you to those who came and attended our Mini Olympics, the children all enjoyed taking part and we witnessed huge competition between the parents who also had their own games to play. 

Staff news

As you are all aware, Jo H was due to go on maternity leave in September. Due to a few little complications she has taken her maternity leave with immediate effect.

We have also seen Anna T and Vicky F leave in the recent weeks due to family commitments and we hope you join us in wishing them happiness for the future.

Reminders

Transition meeting – 21^st August

If your child is due to join preschool on the 3^rd September, please let us know if you are attending the preschool transition meeting being held on the 21^st August at 1815pm. This meeting will enable you to come and look around the environment, meet the practitioners and you will have an opportunity to listen to how your child’s learning and development will be extended.

Parents Evening – 6^th September

We are holding a Parents Evening on the 6^th September, this will give you the opportunity to meet with your child’s key person and discuss their development. There will be a list of times available for you to come and talk to your child’s key person. You will find the list situated on the parents notice board within your child’s room.

We do ask that children do not attend this event

Lost Property

We have had some feedback with regards to our blog and one of the ideas that has been given as feedback was to have a lost property section. Please could I advise everyone to ensure you name as much property as possible to ensure if anything is taken by mistake, it will be returned to the correct child.  

Missing Items:

Blue shorts from Next age 4 years

Blue jeans from Early Days age 2 – 3 years.

Louise and the Clover Court Team

Reminders

HI All,

We hope you are enjoying our blog updates. Please feel free to leave any comments or feedback.

Reminders:

Drop off/collection:

To ensure the safety and welfare of the children, it is imperative that we adhere to our ratios throughout the day. Over the last few weeks we have been experiencing a high volume of children being dropped off and collected from the nursery earlier or later than booked. Please may we ask you to help us conform to Ofsted regulations and only drop off and pick up during the times you have pre booked. If you require an earlier or later session please speak to Louise ( manager) or Kelly ( Deputy Manager) who will be happy to help you with this.

May we also take this opportuntiy to remind you that the nursery does close at six o' clock every day, we can open until seven but please make sure that you have booked in advance if you require this service. To enable us to carry out an imformative handover, please arrive at the nursery with enough time for this before we close.

Sport's Day; Mini Olmpics:

We are holding a Sport's Day: Mini Olympics on Friday 3rd August. Parents are invited to come along and watch their children take part in the events. If you would like to attend, please let a member of staff know and we will add your name/names to the list
an 0800 unitil 1300 session on the Friday then they will take part in Sport's Day at 0930 - 1030. If your child is doing a afternoon session (1300 until 1800) or a full day, then they will participate at 1330 - 1430. For more information please speak to Kelly(deputy Manager) or Lucy (Team Leader)

Garden party :

On Wednesday 1st August nursery and pre school will be holding a Garden Party day (weather permitting) in celebration of the nicer weather we have been having recently. Activities planned include:

• Outdorr games - rounders,cricket,tennis - Physical
• Outdoor decorations - flags,bunting - creativity
• Role play barbecue
• Picnic Buffet - Tea time
• Music _ Clover Court Choir, explore musical instruments
• The children will have access to the paddling pool.

The children are invited to wear fancy dress clothing,party dresses etc.

                                 Louise and the Clover Court Team

Nursery News

The children have begun to enjoy a variety of activities with the fast approaching Olympics.... We are going to make a few changes to our menu to allow the children to enjoy new tastes and experiences.

Olympic Menu

30^th July 2012 – Maltese favourite macaroni dish

 Pudding: Traditional Maltese Trifle

31^st July – Jamaican Jerky Chicken

Pudding: Mango Surprise

1^st August – Pakistan Biryani

Pudding: Rice Kheer

2^nd August – Austrian Goulash

Pudding:  Strudel

3^rd August: American Hotdogs and Fries

Pudding: Mississippi Mud Pie

9^th August - We would like to invite the children to join the staff in dressing up as their favourite Sporting Event.

 Staff News – Lorraine has flown off to sunny Cyprus to get married to her partner Jay, please join us in wishing them much happiness for the future. They are getting married on the 23^rd July at 1500; we will share some photos with you upon their return.

Mobile Phones – Safeguarding the children is a high priority at Clover Court; we therefore respectfully request that you refrain from using mobile phones whilst on the premises.

Free Entitlement – I would like to remind parents that the Free Entitlement for the Autumn Term will run from the 10^th September to 21^st December 2012.

If your child is eligible you should have received some paperwork to complete. Please can I remind you to return this paperwork as soon as possible to Louise or Kelly.

Nursery News:

Pre-school:

·         Olympic Activities:

o   Creating Olympic torches using sugar paper and tissue paper.

o   Soft play gymnastics; practising our roly polys, bunny hops etc.

o   Olympic obstacle course; we set up an Olympic obstacle course consisting of stepping stone tyres, a tunnel and scooter skills, encouraging us to practise our balancing, crawling and coordination abilities.

·         Role-play schools – supporting the transition period for children moving up to ‘big’ school.

·         Environmental Exploration:

o   Bug hunting

o   Observing plant growth

Nursery:

·         Olympic Activities – creating Olympic torches using sugar paper and tissue paper.

·         Role-play caring for babies – bathing, feeding and dressing.

·         Sandpit – digging and finding objects – treasure hunt.

·         Colour recognition - through painting activities.

·         Counting 1-5 - using building bricks.

·         Group activities – singing nursery rhymes.

Babies:

·         Sandpit – sensory play and container play.

·         Tatty Bumpkins – baby yoga.

·         Messy play – full body painting.

·         Physical play – encouraging movement, standing and investigation.

Louise and all the team at Clover Court

Up coming Events

Clover Court Events

Ramadan – Friday 20^th July:

The children will be encouraged to engage in stimulating activities associated with the festival and the Muslim religion of Islam.

Activities will include:

·        The five pillars of Islam – encourage the children to use the wooden blocks to construct the pillars – practitioners to discuss the meaning of the individual pillars.

·        Mark making - associated words on themed paper.

·        The Islamic flag – the children will be encouraged to observe the shape of the moon and the star and create their own flags.

·        Geometric pattern – looking at shapes, colours and patterns.

·        Display – all evidence from the activities will be used to create a display.

Sports Day – Mini Olympics – Friday 3^rd August:

We will be holding a Sports Day for our over twos and pre-schoolers in celebration of the Olympics. If you would like to come along and join in the fun please speak to a member of staff.

Activities will include:

·        Sack Race

·        Egg and Spoon Race

·        Hurdles

·        Obstacle Course

·        Balancing the bean bag on the head

·        Running Race

·        Tunnel Race

If you would like to book your child in on this day then please speak to Louise (Manager), Kelly (Deputy Manager) or Lucy (Team Leader). For more details please speak to Kelly or Lucy.

Louise and all the team at Clover Court