24th November 2009

Dear parents and carers

Parent Forum

Thanks to everyone who came to the Parent Forum meeting on Saturday 14^th. As promised, here is a rundown of some of the main issues that were raised:

• Can we have more sessions around employment and Job Centre Plus?
• More English classes for people who are learning English as an additional language (ESOL classes)
• Could we have a weekday swimming session – hire Cally Pool just for families living in the Kate Greenaway reach?
• Pilates/yoga/aerobics – with crèche
• First Aid course for parents – with crèche
• Can we have more speakers attending groups e.g. Family Information Services, School Admissions, Libraries etc.
• More on Developmental Movement Play
• Can we have a Suggestions Box?

We’ll get back to you on all these issues soon. Julian and Kara

Parking on the estate

We’ve had a couple of incidents recently when residents have been angry or upset because their car has been boxed in by nursery parents dropping off or picking up children.

Please remember that you should not enter the estate in your car. If you need to use your car, then please use the meter bays on Copenhagen Street. Cars parked on the estate without permits may be clamped by Parking Control Services

We rely on the support and help of our local community in many ways – for example, parents of disabled children need special exemptions to be able to bring their cars to the nursery. So please help us maintain good relations – thanks.

17th November

Reminder: we are closed for all children this Friday for training and development and we are having a Development Morning on Monday 30th November.

To help you keep up to date, our newsletter KGE comes out every Tuesday in termtime and you can also read it by logging onto our website, http://www.kategreenaway.ik.org/. Please make a note of the important dates for the year ahead which are reprinted overleaf. If you are unsure about anything, please ask your key person or any other member of staff.

BikeStart

Thanks to all the parents and carers who have signed up for a taster BikeStart session. BikeStart is our scheme to encourage children to ride 2-wheel bikes, and we’re running it thanks for the support of TFL and the London Cycling Campaign. The scheme includes Saturday bike sessions for children aged up to 6, a link with Copenhagen and St Andrew’s Primary Schools, and special sessions at Kate Greenaway every Monday and Thursday afternoon.

We are looking for parent volunteers to help the children with the bikes on Mondays and Thursdays, 1.30-2.30pm. If you would like to help out then please speak to Julian or Michele.

Your child’s learning and development Birth to Five

If you didn’t get a copy of this last week, then please pick one up from the lobby. Other parents have said that it gives helpful advice and ideas.


Reminder: Key dates at Kate Greenaway 2009-2010

Friday 20th November
Whole centre and nursery closed for training and development

Monday 30th November
Development Morning Closure *

Friday 18th December
Last day of winter term

24th December – 1st January inclusive
Nursery closed for all children

Monday 4th January 2010
Whole centre and nursery closed for training and development

Tuesday 5th January 2010
First day of Spring Term

Monday 25th January 2010
Development Morning Closure *

Monday 15 – Friday 19th February inclusive
School half term

Monday 1st March
Development Morning Closure *

Thursday 18th March
Review Day **

Thursday 1st April
Last day of spring term

Monday 19th April
First day of summer term

Monday 10th May
Development Morning Closure *

Monday 17th May
Whole centre and nursery closed for training and development

Thursday 27th May
Review Day **

Monday 31st May – Friday 4th June inclusive
School half term

Monday 21st June
Development Morning Closure *

Friday 23rd July
Last day of summer term

Friday 13th August
Planned last day of extended year summer scheme (to be confirmed)


* On Development Mornings, the nursery is closed all morning and opens at 1pm. ** On Review Days the nursery is closed so that we can meet with every parent and carer to review each child’s development. The nursery stays open for children with extended day/year places.

Monday 9th November, 2009

Remember it’s Review Day - Thursday November 12th

If you have a core day termtime place, then you will have an appointment to meet with your key person to talk about your child’s development and learning. Your child will only come to nursery for a crèche place during your appointment time. This enables staff to meet with all parents and carers.

If you have an extended day/year place, then your child attends as normal and your key person will make an arrangement to meet with you.

At the meeting, you will have a chance to discuss how you think your child is getting on and find out about her or his learning and development in nursery. You and your key person will agree on how to help your child’s next steps of learning. If you have any worries about your child then please do feel confident to talk these through with your key person.

You will also get a free copy of a new publication about children’s development and learning from birth to five years old, which has been developed with the involvement of Kate Greenaway. You can also download this publication here.

Could we be greener?

Yes, we could.

Kate Greenaway is involved in Islington’s Sustainable Schools programme and we are looking at ways to be more environmentally friendly. We have already taken some steps e.g. the emphasis on outdoor play and growing vegetables; our mains water dispenser which reduces use of bottled water; recycling printer cartridges etc. We are currently working to recycle much more of our waste and will be involving the children in this. In the near future we are planning to increase our use of local and seasonal ingredients in the kitchen, to have a fruit and vegetable sale from the nursery once a week, and to set up a Freecycling scheme so parents can pass on children’s toys, clothes and equipment they no longer need. If you have any ideas – please let us know.

19th October 2009

Governor election


The results of our recent Parent Governor elections were very close with Helen and Heleanna winning, so they will both join the governing body. We are really delighted that so many of you voted. Thanks to everyone who took part.

Lucy Lloyd, chair of the governing body



School half term and other closures

Don’t forget that the last day of the school term is this Friday (23rd October). There is a week’s holiday so children return on Monday 2nd November.

This does not affect you if your child has an extended day/year place.

The nursery is closed for all children on Friday November 20th (for staff training and development).

BikeStart

We are extending our popular BikeStart scheme soon.

BikeStart (funded by the London Cycle Campaign) is a scheme to encourage children to learn to ride two-wheel pedal bikes without stabilisers. In order to build up to riding these bikes, we have a number of wooden bikes (without pedals) and wooden trolleys to encourage children’s confidence and develop their balance.

As well as four Saturday sessions, we are going to offer special sessions for children on roll after half term. These sessions will be on Monday afternoons 1pm-2pm, and Thursday afternoons 1.30-2.30pm (with reception children from St Andrew’s Primary School).

We really need some parent volunteers to make this project go well. If you are keen to get children riding bikes, and can come to one or both weekly sessions - then please let Julian or Michele know. The children will need help with helmets and general confidence-building – you can make a real difference.

9th October 2009

Stand out from the crowd: free workshops

Are you interested in returning to work or training for a job? Would you like some advice and support?

We are planning to offer a series of free workshops for personal, employment and career development.

If you would like to know more, there is information in the front lobby, and Simon from the Career Orienteer service will be coming to speak to parents and answers your questions next Friday from 10am. Please come along if you would like to find out more about this new project.

Problems with buggy storage

Earlier this week, the wrong buggy was accidentally taken from the store in front of the nursery by a parent. As many of us have the same buggies etc, it is easy to do this. But it was distressing for the parent concerned and gave rise to the worry that the buggy might have been stolen. So we need to try to minimise the chance of this happening again.

Please note that buggies and any other property are left in the nursery at your own risk. If you would like to lock your buggy to the rail using a bike or other lock, then we are happy for you to do this. Please fold up your buggy before locking it, so that others can do the same if they choose to.

The buggy area is close to reception and is generally watched over. However, if you are leaving a child’s bike you may wish to lock it up. Small scooters that fold up or anything else small can be left in the front office, again at your own risk.

Julian

October 5th

Governing Body

We are holding an election for a parent governor later this week.

The Governing Body is in charge of the overall direction of the Nursery School and Children’s Centre. So it’s important and can make a real difference to the lives of children and their families.
We think that the role of parent governor is really vital – after all parents have real first-hand knowledge of what’s best for their children. All the governors work to help the development of Kate Greenaway, and help us to improve through support and challenge.

So, when you get the letter later this week please don’t forget to have your say and cast your vote. There is one vote for each parent – so if we have two parents registered for a child, then each parent can vote; if you are a lone parent then you will get a single vote.

It’s Children’s Book Week

We are celebrating Children’s Book Week with trips to the local bookshop (Borders) and to the Lewis Carroll Library.

The theme of Children’s Book Week is Words and Pictures.

Books are so important to children’s development and learning – and such fun, too. So we hope lots of parents and carers will join us in the trips out next week. Don’t forget you can borrow books from the nursery collection and also from the library rack next to Marie’s desk. During the week we will be encouraging families to sign up for the local library – which is free and entitles you to borrow books and more.

If you have not had your free BookStart pack – please ask Michele for yours. If your child is over 4 years old then you get the next pack, the Treasure Box, which we can also give you.
So – ask for yours today, don’t miss out!

Children’s illnesses – ‘flu, Chicken Pox, etc

We have a child on roll now who has serious health difficulties, making him very vulnerable to ordinary infections and illnesses.

If you keep your child off nursery because of ‘flu, Chicken Pox or another infection – please could you call and let us know as soon as possible, and then we can let the parent and health team know too.

Julian

September 28th 2009

Dear parents and carers,

It feels like the first month of the new term is flying past. We are enjoying getting to know the new children and settling them in, helping children move from Baby Nest to the Nursery, and settling the other children back.

Don’t forget that you can see the weekly planning for both the teams on their display boards, so you know what experiences are being planned for your child’s group.

If your child is in the Baby Nest then we will ask you regularly about what your child is doing at home, so we can link home and nursery together as well as possible. If this trial in the Baby Nest goes well, then we will extend it to the Nursery too.

If you have any worries or concerns about your child’s development – however small – then do feel free to talk to your key person. We can often help your child with a bit of extra support, and can also involve other professionals like the speech and language therapist or psychologist with your agreement.

Open Day and launch of the Community Kitchen

Our open day on Friday 18th was a really big success – so thank you, everyone who came, brought food and joined in. We had over 100 people sharing the picnic in the garden and the launch of the kitchen went really well.

Later this term, we are going to be launching the next phase of the Community Kitchen. We will be running groups, drop-ins and taster sessions for parents interested in cooking and healthy eating. We are also planning to sell some good directly from the kitchen, and will be looking into running other food events at Kate Greenaway.

The children’s lunches are now going very well, with fresher and better meals and more staff sitting with the children.

If you would like to get involved in the Community Kitchen or you have more ideas – then please let us know, we are always eager to hear from you.