Great dais Pre School Newsletter April 2014

Dear Parents/Carers,We would like to keep you updated and we think the most effective way would be to write a termly newsletter. As this is a first, any likes or dislikes would be valuable.Firstly, as you will all have noticed, we have two new additions to our Great Dais team. Aileen and Yvonne joined early on in this term and are settled and really enjoying working with such a wonderful group of children.  Aileen is now our Senco coordinator for Daisykins. Jack Wass and Maisy kindly drew Aileen and Yvonne, can you guess who is who?So what have we covered this term…ü  Shapesü  Colours and mixing coloursü  Scissor controlü  Stranger awareness (Red ranger visit)ü  Our friends celebrations

• Chinese New Year
• Hanukkah
• St Patricks Day

ü  Recognising letters in our names and/or recognising our namesü  Letters and soundsü  Sports ReliefWe are also beginning to look at life cycles and the season ‘Spring’ which will also be continued into the next term.A huge congratulations to all the children that participated in Sports Day in aid of Sports Relief both at the sports track and at nursery. In total we managed to raise £250.50 money is still coming in and most importantly the children really enjoyed participating. Thank you to the parents that came down to support and help out, it was greatly appreciated. If you go on http://www.daisykins.co.uk/daisykins-news/sports-relief-2014/ you will find the photos from the day and the parent’s egg and spoon race.What’s coming up next term?

• Easter bonnet parade – Prize for the best hat
• Spring - working on life cycles and growth
• Body awareness
• Animals and their habitats
• Letters and sounds

During the half term, schools should be in contact with you about which school your child(ren) have been accepted into. When you know, please can you inform us so we are ready for when schools contact us, thank you.Reminders:Breakfast finishes at 8.45 so we are cleaned up and ready to start circle time promptly at 9am.Uniform in Great Dais gives children a sense of belonging and the feeling of being the grown up children of the nursery. It is also a good way to prepare your child(ren) for school. T-shirts (£5.50) and jumpers (£7.50) can be purchased from the office.Handover from the a.m session is now on the dance floor. This decision was made so that parents weren't waiting on the stairs as this was a health and safety issue. Please be patient as there are a lot of children going home and this is also when staff take their lunch breaks. Any suggestions are welcomed regarding feedback time.Notes:

• Please could you bring in a baby photo and a current photo of your child(ren) so we can discuss growth and change.
• Wednesday 30^th April – Pets at home are bringing in some animals to discuss growth –
• Please make us aware if your child is worried about handling animals
• Homework sheets are above the parents signing in clipboard. If your child(ren) has or will be doing something special, e.g. going to the zoo or visiting family please can you take a sheet and have your child(ren) draw or make marks about what they have been up to. This allows us to talk about what they do at weekends and encourage them to discuss with friends
• We are in planning for a trip in June to Hatton Country Park and will be in touch about that soon

We hope you and your children have enjoyed this term as much as we have and we look forward to another successful term ahead. Thank You,The Great Dais Team