Nursery News 20th May 2024

NURSERY NEWS

 20th May 2024 – Edition 335

 

Find out About

A. School Closed Next week- Half term holiday.

B Chicks and Butterflies have hatched!

C.Children’s bags.

D Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

E. What are the children are learning about this week?

 

A. School Closed Next week- Half term holiday.

The school will be closed from Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May for our Half Term holiday

 

B. Chicks and Butterflies have hatched!

During the summer term we learn about things that grow. We introduce the children to the idea of ‘lifecycles’. We have been observing the lifecycle of some caterpillars. We have watched them grow from small caterpillars to big, fat caterpillars. We watched as they spun cocoons around themselves. This morning we have found the butterflies beginning to hatch in our butterfly house.

We have also provided a ‘Living Eggs’ experience for the children. Living Eggs is a company that provides everything we need to enable our pupils to see eggs hatch successfully into chicks.

Our eggs arrived last Monday, and since then we have cared for them in an incubator. They began to hatch last Thursday. After a few hours we moved the newly hatched chicks to their new home, a light clean box with a warming lamp, with a big clear window so that the chicks can look out and our pupils can look in. We have seven chicks. Today, staff will be supporting children to hold the chicks and observe them closely.

The chicks will be with us until Friday. They begin to grow rapidly and their wing feathers start to develop. At this stage they become more difficult for us and the children to handle as they start to flap around. The lady from Living Eggs will return and take the chicks back to the farm.

 

C. Children’s bags.

The Summer Term is our busiest. Could we please ask all adults to help us admit the children as smoothly as possible. We encourage the children to be as independent as possible when they are learning with us. We would like all the children to learn to carry their own bag in to school and put this on their peg on arrival.

How can you help?

When you arrive together at the beginning of the session please prepare your child before you get to the front gate, by encouraging your child to already be holding/wearing their bag. Parents can then add lunchboxes and water bottles to the trolley whilst children can independently walk inside.

We work at a ratio of one adult to every 5 children with our 2 year olds. Many parents are expecting staff to take their child’s bag on arrival. The staff’s priority is to keep the children safe and escort them from the front gate to the front entrance hallway. If we expect the staff to hold everyone’s bags, they will have 4 or 5 each! I want staff to be thinking about children, not being distracted, worrying about children’s bags.

Please think about the appropriate size of the bag. Some parents provide their child with an enormous bag and this in itself means that their child will not be able to independently carry their bag inside. We suggest a child sized bag. Children’s sized backpacks are ideal, because once they are on the children do not have to actively hold anything. Their bag just comes with them!

We do train children over time. The oldest Big Nursery children are very competent with their own belongings. Have high expectations of your child and you may be pleasantly surprised at how competent they actually are!

 

D. Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

Willow Nursery is a Maintained Nursery School, and is managed like other Government Maintained Schools.

As part of our structure we have a governing body, made up of volunteers, that come together to help the Headteacher to manage the school effectively. As part of our governing body we have two Parent Governors. Parent governors play a vital role on governing bodies, holding the unique position of having a parental viewpoint of the school. Through the children, they have a first hand experience of the delivery of the curriculum, and how the school is perceived from the ‘consumers’ point of view. This enables parent governors to bring a different perspective to the strategic management of the school.

More specifically governors:

  • help the school with it’s strategy
  • hold the headteacher to account for the school’s performance
  • makes sure the school budget is properly managed

What commitment to Parent Governors have to make at Willow?

We ask that governors are available to meet for three governors meetings per year, one in each term. We generally meet at 4:00pm, sometimes we meet face to face, sometimes online and currently due to everyone’s commitments, we operate a blended approach with some people meeting us here at school face to face, and others joining us online. Meetings usually last 60-90 minutes.

We ask all governors to visit the school once a year during the daytime to carry out a short governor visit, so they can see how the school is operating, within an area they are interested in.

You do not need any particular experience, we just ask that you are interested in the development of your child’s school.

We have one parent governor, but we are looking for a second one please! Our next meeting is on Monday 17th June at 4:00pm…..

So if you think this is something you might be interested in, have a chat with me, Mrs Davies and we can take it from there.

 

E. What are the children are learning about this week?

The theme this week is chicks.

In Catkins, the children will have a focus on reading. They will have a large reading area where they can sit alone or with staff and explore lots of books. The children will also investigate musical instruments and the sounds they make. Staff will support the children in making some simple instruments and show them how to use them.

In the garden, the children will have access to the water tray. There will be lots of water resources for everyone to use, they will be able to splash, squirt and transport water. There will be aprons for everyone to put on, but children are very likely to get wet! Please remember to pack a change of clothes for your children.

In the Link, the children will be able meet the chicks that have recently hatched in big nursery. They will be supported with looking at and handling the chicks. Staff will talk to the children about being gentle with the chicks so that they stay safe. Children will also have access to sensory activities such as paint and cornflour throughout the week.

In Room 3, the children will share books about chicks, with staff and look at the words and pictures on the pages. They will also spend lots of time working towards writing their names. Children will be supported with holding their pencils effectively and making marks. Staff will show the children how to form the different letters in their name.

In Room 2, the staff will have some of the chicks for the children to look at. The staff will talk to the children about what the chicks look like, including their colour and features. They will encourage the children to think about these factors as they paint images of the chicks. The children will be encouraged to write their names on the paper before they begin to paint.

The chicks have been located in Room 1 since they arrived. Staff will use this area to support the children in handling them and being as gentle as possible. They will explain to the children that we have to take really good care of the chicks because they are living creatures. There will be a set of instructions for the children to read before they handle the chicks. The children will be required to think about the letters and sounds that they have learned, so that they can read the instructions for taking care of the chicks.

Outside, we are hoping that the weather will continue to be fair. The children will work with staff to make kites that they can fly around the garden. They will use different tools such as scissors, string and sellotape to create the desired effect. The staff will explain to the children that their kites will fly better on a windy day, but that they can also make them fly, by running as fast as they can and holding the kites as high as possible.