Sydling Springs Preschool

Newsletter 11 9/7/10

Mike — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:18:56 +0000

Activities this week- woodland hunts and maps. ‘What the ladybird heard’ song ‘On the Farmers Apple Tree’.

On the farmers apple tree,                          on the farmers apple tree
five red apples i can see                             four red apples i can see
some for you and some for me                   some for you and some for me
pick an apple from the tree                         pick an apple from the tree, – repeat verse counting down

Last week of term

Monday 19^th – trip to Abbotsbury Swannery. Please meet at Pre-School 9.30. We will then allocate children to cars. Please bring your child’s car seat, a packed lunch in a named carrier bag. We already have a few parents willing to transport children but if you are able please let us know. We will return for 2.30 collection. If this is not a day your child normally attends but they wish to join us please let us know; they are most welcome.

Tuesday 20^th – Teddy Bear hunt and picnic. There will be lots of lost teddies around the village which we will have to find and collect. Once we have done this we will be able to picnic on the village green (hall if raining). Please bring your Teddy and packed picnic lunch.

Thursday 22^nd- Trip to Bovington Tank Museum. We will be travelling by train to Wool and walking/or taxiing to the Tank Museum. Please meet us at Dorchester south station by 9.20 – the train departs at 9.33. In order to compensate for travelling time this will be an extended day and we will arrive back at Dorchester south station for 15.48. Please bring packed lunch and a small back pack to carry this in.

Friday 23^rd – All children welcome. So far the leavers want a day of presents and running, therefore a treasure hunt and sports will be part of the day. We will be finishing at 1.30 in order to get admin and equipment sorted for the Summer.. There will be a short presentation to celebrate the achievements of all the children who are leaving to go on to school. Parents are welcome to join us for the duration or from 12.45 in order to see their child’s presentation

Development of outside area

We now have a plan of what we can realistically afford and implement and an outline of this will be on display next week, please do add your comments to this.

As advised in previous newsletters we are going to develop the land to the rear of the hall as a permanent space for the children. We are nowat a stage pf scheduling the work and would like to make this a community project. There is some immediate preparatory work to be done: spraying weed killer, mowing, raking as well as cutting back brambles and ivy. This work needs to be done prior to our September return so that we can prepare the ground and assess what we have. If you would be willing to help us we are looking at organising a working party one day in the summer holidays. We anticipate that if we can get work done over the summer period the area will be ready for use in October.

We are about to start purchasing the list of following items, but before we do, we wondered if anyone has any of the following items laying around which we could put to use.

Bag of concrete	Wooden gate/fence posts	Lawn weed and feed
Grass seed	Bark chips	gravel
Cobbles or pebbles	Weed control membrane	Broom poles
Buckets with handles	Plastic mini greenhouse	Exterior varnish
Blackboard paint	Vinyl carpet tread cover	Acrylic mirror
Plastic storage crates	Marine plywood	Wooden decking
Wireless doorbell.

Committee meeting- this Thursday 15^th July. 3 Marrs Cross, Sydling.(home of the Treasurer, Rebecca Maslen)

Newsletter 10

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:52:17 +0000

18th June 2010

Newsletter, Week 9 of Summer Term

German Measles – We have been advised that an infant with connections to Pre-School has a suspected case of German Measles. The family of the child have quarantined themselves to avoid any possible transmission however, where there is one case there are possibilities for more.

The following information comes from NHS DIRECT

Rubella (German measles) is an infectious disease that is caused by a virus. It can cause a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or over, and a distinctive red-pink rash. In most cases, rubella is a mild condition, but it can be serious in pregnant women because it can harm the unborn baby.

The rubella virus is passed on through droplets in the air from the coughs and sneezes of infected people, and it is about as infectious as flu. Anyone can get rubella, but young children are most commonly affected.

If you suspect that you, or your child, has rubella, you should phone your GP surgery, or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 straight away for advice.

Do not visit your GP surgery without calling them first. If you do, you will put any pregnant women who may be there at risk of catching the rubella infection.

Your GP may suspect that you have rubella from your symptoms – for example, if you have the distinctive red-pink rash. However, a similar rash may be caused by another viral infection. A blood test is the only way to confirm a diagnosis.

There is no specific treatment for the rubella infection. The condition is usually mild and will improve without any treatment. Symptoms will usually disappear within 7-10 days.

Phone your GP surgery, or call NHS Direct (0845 46 47) for advice if you think that you, or your child, has rubella.

Do not visit your GP surgery unless you are advised to do so by a healthcare professional, such as your GP. If any unusual symptoms develop, such as a dark red rash, you should also call your GP, or NHS Direct, for advice.

Self-help treatment

If you have rubella, you should:

* stay of work for five days from the start of the rash,
* keep your child off school for five days from the start of their rash (if they have rubella), and
* avoid any contact with pregnant women for at least a week after the start of the rash.

The rash itself does not need any treatment and it will usually disappear within a week. The other symptoms can be treated using the advice below.

Paracetamol or ibuprofen

Paracetemol or ibuprofen can be used to reduce the fever, and treat any aches or pains that you have. Liquid infant paracetamol can be used for young children. Aspirin should not be given to children who are under 16 years of age.

Controlling a temperature

A normal temperature is between 36-36.8C (96.8-98.24F). If your child has a high temperature, try to reduce it by keeping them cool. A cool (but not cold) compress, such as a damp flannel, can be used.

Drink plenty of fluids

You need to drink around 1.2 litres (6-8 glasses) of fluid a day. If you child has a fever, make sure that they drink plenty of fluid because they may be at risk of dehydration (when the body is low in water). If you, or your child, have a cough, a lack of fluid will make it worse.

Cough medicines

Cough medicines will be of little help if you or your child has a cough. Instead, putting a bowl of water in the room will increase the humidity and can help to relieve a cough. Alternatively, if the radiators are on, putting a wet towel on the radiator will release more water into the air.

Ensure that your child drinks plenty of fluids. Giving them warm liquids to drink may help to relax their airway, loosen mucus, and soothe a cough. However, you should avoid giving your child overly sweet drinks, and honey should not be given to babies under 12 months.

Antibiotics are of no use for treating the rubella virus, but they may be prescribed for any secondary bacterial infections that develop. In severe cases, involving more serious complications, hospital treatment may be required.

If you have the rubella virus, your body will make antibodies to fight the infection and get rid of it. Once you have had rubella, you are usually immune to the virus for life, and it is therefore very rare to be affected by the condition more than once

Please support Henry. Henry Brydon older brother of Arthur has recently been the victim of a hit and run driver which has left him in a platset cast from hip to toe. He has been off school since April and there is a possibility of long term bone damage sustained through the accident. Full details of this horrific event are in todays Dorset Evening Echo. His Mum Sophie has kept him busy and persuaded him to enter a story writing competition. Henrys story has been shortlisted for a prize but he needs votes to win. Can you please lift Henrys spirits by voting for his story. In his own words ‘It would be so cool if I won !’

Visit http://www.silentnight.co.uk/bookatbedtime/vote and vote for ‘BLAST OFF’

Auction of Promises – Tomorrow night, Doors and bar open at 7pm, auction starts at 7.30.

If you can’t make it and want to leave a last minute bid email Sam – samanthamercer916@btinternet.com or Catriona Catrionafountain@hotmail.co.uk

Please state the description of the item you want to bid on: last minute adjustments may alter some of the lot numbers.

Activities this week include : Rhyming, doll play, What Ever Next Story, Woodland hunts, sorting and comparing objects as well as number recognition.

Auction of Promises

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:58:20 +0000

Great news, the auction of promises raised in excess of £2500. This was a joint event with the church so preschool can expect to receive over £1250 into our funds.

Many thanks to everyone who donated a promise or had a winning bid, some great items to be had.

Find Us

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:37:28 +0000

We are based in Sydling St Nicholas, which is approximatley 8 miles north of Dorchester.

Our Address is:

Sydling Springs Preschool

The Village Hall,

East Street,

Sydling St. Nicolas.

Dorset.

View Larger Map

The village hall as seen by Google Streetview.

View Larger Map

Useful Info

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:58:08 +0000

Dorset ChildcareLink The Dorset Children’s Information provides free impartial and confidential childcare information.

Dorset County Council Childrens Information Service

Dorset Surestart assist the preschool with support and funding.

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is followed in preschool for learning and development of the children.

Ofsted are responsible for measuring our performance against the Early Years foundation Stage curriculum. You can read our latest inspection report on their site.

List of fact sheets and booklets available from the Dorset Children’s Information Service

Netmums is a local network for mums by mums with a wealth of information and advice on being a mum with young children in your home town

Sydling St Nicholas’s own website.

We have close links with Cerne Abbas and Charminster first schools.

Toddlers

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:12:54 +0000

Tadpoles Toddler Group

Wednesdays 10:00 till 12:00

For babies to pre-school age.

Toys and activities.

Tea, coffee and biscuits.

£1.50 per session 50p for each additional child

Come along to meet other mums, dads, grandparents and carers. Have a cup of coffee and a natter whilst your children play in a safe environment. In the summer there is plenty of space to play outside in the garden with push-along toys.

For more information call Catriona Fountain on 01300 320994
e-mail tadpoles@sydlingpreschool.co.uk

Learning

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:12:07 +0000

Learning

Learning through play

We have a high ratio of staff to children in our group – usually 1:6 with a maximum of 1:8. The maximum number of children in the pre-school is 20.

We recognise that every child is an individual with their own character, abilities, sense of humour and needs. We encourage them to reach their potential through a variety of activities. We provide opportunities for the children to explore, acknowledge and value similarities and differences between themselves and others, encouraging self confidence and attitudes of cooperation.

Play is child’s work

Play starts from the natural thing all children have – curiosity. Our pre-school ‘provides a stimulating range of activities which ensure children are developing in all areas.’(Ofsted 04) . Your child will be able to learn at their own pace how to take turns, to share and to communicate with other children and adults in the group. Our sessions offer a range of activities with specific learning aims which children are able to choose from with everyone coming together for drinks, music and stories.

The activities we offer provide a gentle introduction to letters, numbers, colours and shapes, and help to develop physical, intellectual, emotional and social skills. By learning through play your child will be able to grow and develop, gaining confidence and independence for the school years ahead.

Pretend play – our dressing up clothes and home corner will give your child a wealth of play equipment with which to imagine a world of their own.

Energetic play – Your child will be able to develop physical confidence and coordination playing on our climbing frame and slide, trampoline, tunnel as well as a variety of bikes, trikes and cars.

Floor toys – floor puzzles, garages and cars, construction toys, Playmobil and Lego.

Structured activities include ; books and stories, music, song and rhyme, water and sand play, puzzles and games, play dough, painting and drawing, cooking, junk modelling, matching and sorting.

Children are given an opportunity at every session to join in adult led activity, which may include cutting, sticking, printing and drawing.

Every day we have a show and tell session where the children are encouraged to participate by bringing an object from home and to tell the rest of the group about this. Each half term we have a different theme upon which many of the activities are based and the children can use the show and tell session to bring in objects relating to the theme.

What to Wear

Your child will be encouraged to explore and learn from activities which are sometimes messy, so please ‘dress for mess’ with comfortable easily washed clothes that are not too new. To aid your child’s independence clothes should be as easy as possible for children to manage by themselves.

Please provide your child with appropriate outdoor wear ie. coat and wellingtons, or sun hat and sun cream as we aim to take the children outdoors for energetic play each session.

Key worker

Each child in the group has one special adult to relate to which can make settling into the group much easier. In addition, the key worker is in a position to tailor the group’s curriculum needs to the unique needs of each child. The key-worker maintains links with child’s home setting, working with parents through shared record keeping to ensure that each child’s individual needs are catered for. All staff ‘ build strong relationships with the children and manage their behaviour positively and consistently.’ (Ofsted 04)

Settling in

A happy introduction to the pre-school is most important. To begin with it is a good idea to make several short visits with your child so that you get to know the staff. If they are friends of yours they will be his/her friends too.

The Pre-school leader and key worker will help you to decide when your child is ready to be left. If they can settle gradually and happily into the pre-school your child will gain in confidence and become more able to cope with new situations.

Refreshments

Water is available throughout each session for the child to help themselves. We also have a milk and fruit break every session.

Parents are asked to provide fruit ie. an apple or banana etc. for this break. The fruit is prepared and shared among the whole group.

Policies

All our policies are designed to offer the best possible experiences for the children and families of our pre-school. Our policies are reviewed on a regular basis and comments from parents are always welcomed.

The Committee

The Pre-school is run by a voluntary committee of parents who are elected at the AGM each year. There are 3 officers – Chair person, Treasurer and Secretary. The rest of the committee comprises of parents and general members and includes roles such as events & fundraising, and publicity.

Parental Involvement

We recognise that you the parents/carers are the most important educators of your young children. Research shows that children learn better when their parents/carers are involved and Ofsted recognised that our ‘partnership with parents is very good.’ Our rota system aims to involve all parents/carers on a regular basis by helping at the sessions and/or by performing a task to help with the running of pre-school eg. mending toys or equipment. We have a half termly newsletter, to keep you aware of forthcoming events and topics for the term etc.

We are a community run pre-school and rely on the participation of parents/carers and friends for fundraising to enable us to help keep the fees as low as possible. We ask that you take your turn on the rota, try to attend meetings and help with and support fundraising events.

REMEMBER – THIS IS YOUR PRE-SCHOOL TOO!

Session Details

Opening Times Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9.30 – 2.30 Lunch club 12.00 – 1.00

For children aged 2years 9 months – 5 years old

Fees : £7.95 per session Lunch club : £3.20 per session

Pre-school fees and lunch club will be invoiced half termly and are payable in advance.

If you feel that our pre-school would suit your child and would like to visit, you are welcome to call in during a session or to phone the Pre-School Leader during opening hours 07944 830370

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU !!!

Contact

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:10:00 +0000

Contact Information

Postal address:

Sydling Village Hall,

East Street,

Sydling St Nicholas,

Dorchester,

Dorset

Email address:

General enquiries enquiries@sydlingpreschool.co.uk

Tadpoles Toddlers tadpoles@sydlingpreschool.co.uk

Website enquiries admin@sydlingpreschool.co.uk

Main Contacts:

Chairman – Alice Moore

Treasurer – Rebecca Maslen

Secertary – Andrea Watson

Playleader – Sam Mercer

Tadpoles Toddlers – Catriona Fountain 01300-320994

Our Mobile – 07944 830370

About Us

Mike — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:08:30 +0000

History of our Pre-School

Sydling Springs Pre-School has been running for over 30 years and caters for children from the village and surrounding area. The pre-school runs in the recently refurbished village hall, which is a bright and spacious area enabling us to combine quiet areas such as the book corner with exploratory play areas and a messy art area. We also have a large grassy play area outdoors which is used as often as weather permits. We have links with Cerne Abbas and Charminster schools, the curriculum and stepping stones to early year goals begin here and continue at the schools.

Sydling Springs Pre-School is a member of the ‘Pre-School Learning Alliance’. We are registered with Ofsted and had a very positive inspection in July 2008.

We have a high ratio of staff to children in our group – usually 1:6 with a maximum of 1:8. The maximum number of children in the pre-school is 20.

Preschool Committee

The preschool is run as a charity whose trustees are the committee. The committee act as the managers of the preschool dealing with finances, personnel, and other administration tasks.

The committee is made up of parents of children currently in preschool (this is not a requirement, its just the way things tend to go) and we give our time for free. As most children are only at preschool for a couple of years we are always on the lookout for new faces to get involved.

It is not a big time commitment, but it is a big resposibility and rewarding to know you have done you bit to hand on the preschool to the next generation.

Our Staff

Sam Mercer
Pre-school Leader

Experience working with children
Parent helper at Sydling Springs Pre-school – 1999 – 2003
Childminder 2001 – 2005 – Pre-school assistant : 2004 – present
Pre-school assistant at Charminster Playgroup 2003 – 2004
Pre-school Leader at Sydling Springs Pre-school: 2004 – present

Training / Qualifications
City & Guilds NVQ3 Early Years Childcare & Education Dec 04
CACHE Working with children with SEN unit of level 3 in DPP Aug 05
CACHE Certificate in Childminding Practice Level 3
St Johns First Aid Aug 05
Child Protection 05
Behaviour Management 05
Music course

Future Training
Possibly NVQ Level 4 training – O.U. or college Sept 06

Diane Tucker
Pre-school assistant

Experience working with children
Parent helper at Sydling Springs Pre-school : 1992 – 2000
Pre-school assistant at Sydling Springs Pre-school : 2000 – present

Training
Child Protection Awareness – Jan 2003
Young Children Talking – April 2003
Paediatric Medic 1st Aid – June 2003
Behaviour Management 2005

Other relevant information
Village hall rep : 1994 – 2002 (link person, raising issues on behalf of and reporting back to pre-school)
Fundraising : 1992 – present (very active in fundraising for pre-school)

Lisa Hammett
Pre-school assistant

Experience working with children
Parent helper at Sydling Springs Pre-school 2004 – 2005
Pre-school assistant at Sydling Springs Pre-school: 2004 – present

Training
Child Protection 2004
NVQ2 Pre-school Assistant (near completion)
Introduction to the Foundation Stage 2005
Practical Inclusion 2005

Future Training
Special Educational Needs 2006
Behaviour Management 2006

Other relevant information
Exam Invigilator

Sydling Springs Preschool

Newsletter 11 9/7/10

Newsletter 10

Newsletter, Week 9 of Summer Term

Auction of Promises

Find Us

Useful Info

Toddlers

Tadpoles Toddler Group

Wednesdays 10:00 till 12:00

Learning

Learning

Learning through play

Play is child’s work

What to Wear

Key worker

Settling in

Refreshments

Policies

The Committee

Parental Involvement

Contact

Contact Information

Postal address:

Email address:

Main Contacts:

About Us

History of our Pre-School

Preschool Committee

Our Staff

Sam Mercer Pre-school Leader

Diane Tucker Pre-school assistant

Lisa Hammett Pre-school assistant

Sam Mercer
Pre-school Leader

Diane Tucker
Pre-school assistant

Lisa Hammett
Pre-school assistant