Hyde Park newsletter
Spring 2011
Dear All,
Happy New Year! All the staff at Paint Pots hope you had a lovely holiday and wish you all the best for the new year 2011. We are looking forward to what will surely be an exciting new term at Paint Pots!
Group Teachers/Pots:
At Paint Pots all staff work with all children. Each child is also assigned to a group and group teacher. Please feel free to speak to me or your child’s group teacher if you need to discuss anything.
|
Red Pots
|
Blue Pots
|
Green Pots
|
|
Miss Amanda
|
Miss Jess
|
Miss Tara
|
|
Liana
Luca
Mason
Morgan
Oscar S.
Paul
Veer
|
Alexander L.
Aayan
Freddie
Giulia
Matteo
Sandro
Suleyman
Zoya
|
Alex S.
Ali
Denis
Gabriel
Inés
Julia
Lucas
Oscar B.
Leo
|
|
Afternoonies Miss Anja
|
||
|
Anu Danny Holly Ivona
Jemima Miya Mohamed Orlando
|
||
Term theme
Our theme this term is ‘Transport. This is what we have planned so far on a weekly basis:
Week beginning Project
10th Jan Animal-powered transport
17th Jan Bicycles
24th Jan Road transport (motorbikes)
31st Jan Road transport (4-wheeled)
7th Feb Rail transport
14th Feb Water transport
21st Feb - HALF-TERM -
28th Feb Air transport
7th Mar Space transport
14th Mar Transport in sport
21st Mar Transport for fun
28th Mar Easter / Mother’s Day
Dates for your diary
11th Feb Outing to Transport Museum
17th Feb Marie Cure Fundraising Day
21st – 25th Feb Half term
28th Feb Staff inset day (no school)
16th Mar Parents Evening (TBC)
25th Mar Outing to Hyde Park
31st Mar Last day of Spring term
4th – 8th Apr Easter School at Hyde Park
27th Apr First day of Summer term
Outing to London Transport Museum – 11th February
On Friday 11th February we will go on an outing to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. All children are welcome to join and we will meet directly at the museum. Helpers are welcome and we ask that new children be accompanied by their parent/carer for their first outing. I will send out more information and consent forms closer to the date.
Marie Curie Mini Pots of Care Day – 17th February
Every term we aim to have one fundraising day with the children in order to develop a greater understanding of sharing and giving to others. In the Autumn term we received free daffodil planting kits from the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity (www.mariecurie.org.uk), whose emblem is a daffodil. We planted the daffodil bulbs and on the 17th of February we will have a fundraising day for the charity and the children will be able to take home their daffodil pots. We hope that you are happy for your child to participate, and we would be grateful if you could ensure that your child brings a donation to school on the day.
Parents evening – 16th March
This term the parents evening will be an opportunity for you to have one-to-one meetings with your child’s group teacher. The date is pencilled for Wednesday, 16th March (TBC). I will email the date confirmation within the next week.
Parent questionnaire
Please find a questionnaire attached. We would very much appreciate it if you could fill it in and return it to us. The feedback we receive from parents is very helpful and aids in the school’s continual development.
Outing to Hyde Park – 25th March
On Friday 25th March we will go on our walk to Hyde Park in the morning. Afternoon children are invited to join us. We welcome many helpers for this trip (although reinforce we ask the children to walk and not be carried and not to bring scooters).
Parental involvement
In the past we have had parents/carers visit at school to do activities with the children. We would love to have more parents/carers come to school to do an activity. This could be based on art, cooking, science, singing, reading books, drama, celebrating a festival… or anything you think might interest the children. Please don’t be shy, the children love having visitors and learning from them!
Dropping off/collecting children
Please can I remind everyone to be on time when dropping off and picking up your child/ren. When children are late they miss out on activities such as circle time, show & tell and cooking. It is also causes a distraction for the children who are already settled with their activities. Children benefit from having a consistent routine. If children are collected late this can cause unnecessary upset for the child.
Snack and nature table
Please see the attached rota for when to bring in your child’s contribution to the snack table and the nature table. Please note the current allergies:
no nuts, strawberries & kiwis. Thank you!
Parent contact sheet
Next week I will send out an updated parent contact sheet. The information is solely to arrange social arrangements for your children and should be treated as restricted publication. Please let me know if any of your details have changed by Friday.
Music with Miss Joanna
Every Monday Miss Joanna comes to do a music session with the children. She is an opera singer who works at the Paint Pots Creative Classes as well. Miss Joanna will be focusing on the theme ‘orchestra’ this term.
Show and Tell
On Tuesdays we have ‘Show and Tell’, please encourage your child to bring in something that interests them to share with their group. Show and tell objects should be put into the group boxes when your child arrives at school.
The Garden
We go outside EVERYDAY! Please ensure that your children come to nursery dressed in suitable clothing. We encourage the children to be independent, i.e. dressing themselves and changing their shoes. Clothes that they can take on and off themselves are much appreciated. Please could I also ask that all children’s clothes and accessories are clearly labelled with their names.
Harry
Harry, our school bear would love to visit you at home! He comes with an overnight bag with clothes, pyjamas and instructions. There is a list in his bag to check the items when you return him. A few things went missing last term and we would really appreciate if you could ensure that all items are returned to school. Thank you! In his bag is also a folder for any photographs you take with Harry or stories and pictures your child draws. Please ensure you return him the next day so that all children have a chance to take him home.
Bikes, scooters and Pushchairs
The shed at the school entrance is available for you to keep your child’s mode of transport in during the day. (At your own risk!) The padlock key will be opened during drop-off/pick-up times.
Car Parking
Please can I remind you that no parking is allowed on the church forecourt. We can provide you with a card allowing you to park for 10 minutes in a meter space/single yellow line without getting a ticket.
School fees and one term’s notice
We would like to remind parents that term fees were due for payment on the first day of term. One term’s notice is required in writing before your child leaves Paint Pots and this must be given by the first day of the term prior to leaving.
‘What did we do today?’
We will try to inform you of as many things as possible that are happening each day. This will be written up on our daily notice board, when you collect your child. In addition I will email a summary at the end of each week. Please let me know if I do not have your up-to-date email address.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to come and see me. Alternatively you can contact me on 02074022529 or at hydepark@paint-pots.co.uk
Many Thanks,
Anja