Important Dates Autumn Term 2014 Inset day Monday 1 st September

1. Important Dates • Autumn Term 2014 • Inset day Monday 1stSeptember • Beginning of new term Tuesday 2ndSeptember • Jo Jingles visit Wednesday 17th September • Health Visitor visit Thursday 25th September • Harvest of Happiness Boxes 22nd & 24thOctober • Half term 27th – 31st October • Jo Jingles visit To be confirmed • Photographer To be Confirmed • Christmas Performance Thursday 11thDecember* • Thur 11.00am, Mon 5pmMonday 15thDecember* • Clarion House Visit To be confirmed. • Christmas Party Friday 19th December • Last day of term Friday 19thDecember • Inset day Monday 5thJanuary • Spring Term starts Tuesday 6thJanuary • ***THESE DATES NEED TO BE CONFIRMED BY MAIN SCHOOL – I WILL LET YOU KNOW A.S.A.P*** • Committee : • If you are interested about joining our committee • please speak to either Paula Metcalfe or any of • the team. Autumn 1-2014 c/o Offley Endowed School School Lane Gt Offley Herts SG5 3AT Tel: 01462 768606 offleypreschool@hotmail.co.uk www.offley-preschool.org Page 1 of 2 This is the first newsletter of the new term. The first few weeks will offer many challenges, settling several new children and welcoming back many more. The dynamics will have changed as our younger children become our older ones. We value your thoughts and suggestions so please let us know if you feel we could improve anything. I am always available if you would like to discuss any issues or concerns regarding your child and am usually at Preschool by 8.20am. Regards Paula Metcalfe. Website Please use our website and sign up for our closed group facebook page. We send weekly reminders via facebook and email ,keeping the website updated with photos of our many activities as well as key dates throughout the year. If you have any suggestions as to improve what we display please speak to a member of staff. Weekly walks We plan to take the children out into the community at least once a week, this will happen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. All children will be involved. We will need permission slips and appropriate clothing for your child. (We will go in the cold, light rain and snow, just not in torrential rain). Facebook and email will keep you informed. Harvest full of Happiness As Harvest indicates a turn in Weather, darker nights, colder days. Once again we thought it would be nice to produce a shoe box full of goodies to present to some elderly residents who we feel would like to receive a treat. The children will be decorating the boxes and producing a Harvest card to be placed inside the box. Please think of the elderly near to you, would they like to receive such a box? Please remember not everybody likes what some would call charity. We do not wish to offend anyone. A letter will be sent to them asking if they would like to receive such a box and indicating approximately when it would be delivered. We thought it would be nice to deliver them at the end of term, delivered by the children themselves. So first please think if you know of anyone who might like one and secondly start collecting some goodies to fill them. We thought of nice cakes (homemade cake or biscuits)small jars, coffee, sweets, a fruit basket. Anything really that they may feel is a luxury food item. Supermarkets offer buy one get one free, we should be able to produce these at a reasonable cost. Thank you for your continued support, let us make some of our neighbours smile. September 2014

2. Health Visitor Visit Our Health visitor will be popping in. If you have any questions or would like to meet her please get in touch. Clarion House Visit This has become a tradition and as such we would like to take the children and sing several simple Christmas songs (ones the children will learn for their performance) to the residents. It is a fantastic opportunity for some of the youngest and eldest members of the community to spend an hour together, we sing and then share a drink, biscuit and a chat. You are more then welcome to join us. Additional activities payment We are asking for £5 per half term per child for additional activities that include Jo Jingles (Musical movement). The use of the village hall and celebrations such as Harvest, Divali, Christmas and Chinese New Year. Every child will be included throughout the term. Some activities may require an additional top up (our annual Chinese Feast). Collection of children If for any reason you cannot collect your child, we need to know who is coming in your place, for everyone's protection we will ask for a password. Understanding that many children go to play at friends houses, you may feel it unnecessary that we ask when your child goes home with another Childs parent. Again this is just good practice, making all staff aware. As emergencies happen, last minute changes, we are asking that every child at pre-school has a password, this will resolve safeguarding issues. The WOW board The board is placed in the room for all children to see and together with yourselves we will be adding a Star achievement. These achievements can be very minor, Paula ate all of her dinner, Emma got herself dressed, Adam swam without armbands in his lesson. We hope to get at least one star for each child on the wall quite quickly. When a new one is written the old one will be placed in the learning journey folders. Opening Hours for 2014/2015 Our opening hours are Mon, Fri 8.50-1pm and Tue, Wed, Thur 8.50-3pm. We offer one off additional sessions when required – Payment must be made on the day. . ................... Mobile Phones Just a reminder that in line with our Safeguarding policy, mobile phones are not to be used on the premises. Your child will not be handed over to you until you have hung up your conversation, Please refrain from having your phone out on site. Thank you. IMPORTANT INFORMATION Please notify us as soon as possible to any information changes. To become more environmentally friendly we would like to send as much information out as possible via email. PLEASE MAKE SURE WE HAVE A CORRECT EMAIL ADDRESS. Website www.offley-preschool.org Please take a look when you get a chance. The website is updated frequently. We welcome any comments or suggestions. September 2014 Offley Pre-school Staff: Paula Metcalfe, Sara Page, Elaine Wood and Claire Pin Page 2 of 2

3. Please fill in the form below to be returned and placed in your Childs learning journey: Autumn 2014 Name ....................................................... These are the toys and games I enjoy playing with: I have visited many places recently these include: Something I can do now that I couldn’t do before:

4. Term Dates for 2014/2015 • These dates have been set using the Hertfordshire school suggested dates Autumn Term 2014 Monday 1st September 2014 to Friday 19th December 2014 Half Term Monday 27th October to Friday 31st October 2014 Inset Day Monday 1st September 2014 First day of term Tuesday 2nd September 2014 Spring Term 2015 Monday 5th January 2015 to Thursday 2nd April 2015 Half Term Monday 16th February to Friday 20th February 2015 Inset Day Monday 5th January 2015 First day of term Tuesday 6th January 2015 Summer Term 2015 Monday 20th April 2015 to Wednesday 22nd July 2015 Half Term Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May 2015 First day of term Monday 20th April 2015 Inset Day Wednesday 22nd July 2015 Inset Day Friday 28th November 2014 Inset Day Friday 13th February 2015 Inset Day Friday 19th June 2015