Alexandra Nursery School & Children's Centre :: "Celebrating our differences"

Newsletter :: October 2009

Welcome

WELCOME BACK…..

..to children returning to school for their second year

Welcome ….

..to new children starting in the under three’s centre and the school centre

…….children who have moved from the under three’s centre to the school building over the summer have all settled well thanks to the transition visits

Holiday

Children who came for holiday club over the summer had a great time. They made a scarecrow for a competition at Mrs Kenny's gardening club show and guess what …. They won SECOND prize!!! You can see the scarecrow and the prize certificate in school.

School will be closed at half term

October 26th -30th

We have holiday places for children aged 3-7 in the school building – please ask for a booking form if you would like your child to come- these are paid places- you can pay each time you bring your child.

Development Plans

We have a development plan for the year where we highlight the priorities that we need to work on. We had a training day for all staff in September and reviewed last year’s plan and what we had achieved. We then talked about what we would like to achieve this year. Here are some of the things we will be working on

• assessment and recording – we have developed new assessment systems and will fully implement them this year

•The outdoor area in both buildings

•Making our learning environments more literate- using words and letters

•Having a better understanding of the principles and commitments of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum- this is the curriculum given to us by the government which we have to follow

•Better transitions between children in groups and between buildings

letting staff and parents know more about the governors

Lice Checks

Please check your child's head for head lice every week – we have fine combs which you can have -please ask in the office

Meet the Governors

Meet the governors

This school and under three’s centre is managed by a board of governors – you can see their pictures on the parents’ notice board. Each month we will highlight a governor and tell you a bit more about them

Mrs. Lynn Stokes has been a Governor for approximately 6 years.

Her role is as a community governor representing the wider community and she is also the Chair of Governors chairing the full meetings and the committee meeting which are each held once a term. Mrs. Stokes believes her role is to ensure that the school is run and managed to a high standard and to be a support to the Head Teacher. Her day job is Senior Coordinator for Special Needs Under Five's Forum which supports pre-school children with special needs.

Lynn

Learning Files

New children in both buildings will have their assessment files started during

October. We assess the following areas:

•Vocabulary – we check each child’s vocabulary as this is an important part of developing language and communication skills.

•Social skills

•We assess children’s well being and self esteem

•We look at how they make relationships with other children and adults

•We look at how they use the resources and areas

Parent's Week

You can come and discuss your child’s progress during parent consultation weeks these are:-

week beginning 16th November and week beginning 23rd November

You will be given a letter to make an appointment to see your child's key person. If you can’t come on the days above then please make an appointment for a time that suits you

Under Three's

Under three’s

Developing fine motor skills

Threading foam wotsits, pumpkin seeds

Leaves and petals

Cutting-play dough leaves paper

Construction and small world- farm animals mosque bricks train set dinosaurs

Sensory – smelling tubs steaming flannels

Treasure baskets- soft hard smooth rough natural objects – leaves twigs wood textured balls

Tasting fruit and vegetables

Over Three's

Over three’s

Outdoor classroom – looking at leaves bird watching and drawing

Painting-printing with leaves, bricks , sponges

Gluing- dried flowers fabric autumn canvas- leaves cones twigs

Role play – wood work bench pirate ship, fairy clothes superman Spiderman and action man, grandmothers house, garages /mechanics workshop

Small world – fire station fire engines dolls house as a pet place natural materials connected to autumn- pebbles conkers cones leaves twigs

Science and investigation – mini beasts shiny things, planting bulbs, smelly bags dissolving

Baking – pizza biscuits making snacks – fruit kebabs cakes sandwiches

Themes this month – firemen pirates autumn