22 Street Lane Nursery - January 2021 Newsletter

Newsletter January

Play • Discovery • Growth

January Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers, We hope you have all had the most magical Christmas and we would like to wish you a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. On behalf of all the staff, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the lovely cards, gifts and kind words that we received before the Christmas holidays, we were all very touched by the generosity of our children and families. We would also like to thank you, our 22 Street Lane family, for your continued support and understanding, during what has been an unpredictable and challenging year for everyone. We have had to implement so many changes to our policies and practices on short notice, which has been difficult in so many ways. You have all played a part in helping us to provide continued care. We would love to see what the children got up to over the festive period and I am sure they would love to share photos of their Christmas adventures when they return to the nursery. Please could we ask you to upload these to Tapestry, along with their current interests. As always, we extend a very warm welcome to our new families joining us throughout January.

January Newsletter STAFF NEWS

Room Changes Taking Effect This January: We would like to welcome Hannah Brocklehurst to our Chicklets Room starting 4 th January 2021. Hannah has been working at the nursery as part of our Bank Staff since October and we cannot wait for her to be a part of our permanent team.

At the same time, Rebecca Owers will be moving from the Chicklets Room to the Cygnets Room. Rebecca has been a valued member of staff, but she has taken the opportunity to gain experience with a different age group of children. Rebecca is looking forward to getting to know all the Cygnets children and families.

We would also like to let you know that Michaela Johnson will be switching over and become a member of our Bank Staff team while she completes her dissertation and degree. Michaela has been a wonderful member of the Cygnets Room, but we look forward to having her in to provide cover for sickness and holidays.

Wishing Hayley The Best For Her Maternity Leave We’d like to offer a big, warm farewell to Hayley Fryer as she began her Maternity Leave on Christmas Eve. We wish her all the best for the arrival of her little baby, and we can’t wait to see the photos of her little one when he arrive. Finger’s crossed that she will get a chance to put her feet up and spoil herself before the big day!

January Newsletter NEWS

Spreading Christmas Cheer With The Elderly The children had a great time creating festive decorations for Grove Park Care Home. The Chicklets, Ducklings, Goslings and Cygnets made sparkly snowmen pictures, baubles, and cards for them to hang on their Christmas trees and doors. The Swans children spent an afternoon making some lovely Christmas cards for the residents of Sabourn Court Care Home too. Sharing is such an important part of what our children do, and we love the fact that they can share their lovely creations with so many special people.

Christmas Around the World December has been a wonderful month filled with festive activities. It’s given the children a great opportunity to learn and experience how Christmas is celebrated in many different countries around the world. The Cygnets and Swans children learned the Spanish Christmas song ‘Feliz Navidad’, which the Swans children even sang in the Nativity performance. The Ducklings, Cygnets and Swans have also been doing some creative baking, such as making potato latkes to celebrate Hanukkah. The children have also learned about Befana, who delivers the presents in Italy, the Nativity scenes which feature prominently in Naples, and of course, the tasty pannetone! The Swans have been learning the difference between how Christmas is celebrated here and in Greece, and even learnt a Christmas song in Greek. They also made special Greek boats which feature prominently in their Christmas celebrations.

January Newsletter NEWS

Spreading Christmas Joy Across The Globe This lovely photo from our 2019 Nativity was selected to be used as part of a virtual Christmas Card, by Sister Anne Griffin to their congregation of sisters. We are extremely proud of our children and thought it would be lovely to share with you all how our children have helped to spread the Christmas message around the world. Sister Griffin sent us the following note detailing how it has helped their cause: “Thank you so much for allowing us to share your beautiful photo in our Christmas card. I was looking for something special and your very children are just lovely. Our congregation of sisters is small - only 125 in nine countries. We work mostly with very poor people in health, special needs education, income generation and human rights. This year has been difficult for us all so I felt, as communications officer, that I should look for something to cheer us all up. That is where your little ones come in, especially as many of our schools and centres remain closed and those that are open are not allowed to celebrate the Nativity story. Our card will go out in two formats; for those in UK and Ireland who are mostly elderly retired sisters, they will receive a traditional card (we’ll send one to the Nursery) and for those in Asia, Africa and the Americas they will receive it as a video. We also send the video to our legal, professional and project funders. I have tried to show that in spite of the COVID-19 virus, we (like you) carry on. Congratulations on having such a lovely Nursery, I enjoyed looking through your website and photos when you celebrate new events and holidays. We’d also like to congratulate you on being a centre of excellence after being open only a few years.” Video Link - https://vimeo.com/489047317/e048b4721e

January Newsletter NEWS

Our Leeds Baby Bank Appeal We would like to thank all the families who have kindly donated to our Leeds Baby Bank collection this year. We managed to collect dozens of bags filled with baby clothes, nappies, toiletries and other supplies that will help support local families this Christmas. The Baby Bank were extremely grateful and wanted to let everyone know how touched they were by your generosity.

Country of the Month - Iceland As the weather turns much colder in January and February, we wanted to learn more about the icy cold country of Iceland. We already know a little about this small island nation, as we celebrated one of their Christmas traditions on Christmas Eve - Jolabokaflod. The children will be learning about the Icelandic flag and all the animals that are found there, such as the Narwhal, Humpback Whales, Seals and the Arctic Fox. Did you know? People in Iceland do not have traditional surnames, instead they take on their father’s name. If the father’s first name was Jacob, the daughter’s name would be Helga Jacobsdottir (dóttir is Icelandic for ‘daughter’) and his son’s name would be Olaf Jacobson.

January Newsletter

Dish of the Month

Minestrone Soup

A hearty meal to warm you up this winter

See our past selections on: 22streetlanenursery.co.uk/dish-of-the-month/ Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 onion, chopped

• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped • 3 large celery, sticks, chopped • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped • 2 tbsp tomato purée • 400g tin chopped tomatoes • 1.2 litres/2 pints vegetable or chicken stock, made from stock cubes • 100g dried spaghetti, broken into short lengths

• ¼ head green cabbage, finely shredded • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, then season with a little salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened. 2. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 3 minutes. 3. Tip in the tomatoes and stock. Cover with a lid and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. 4. Add the pasta and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked. Add the cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add some hot water to reach your preferred consistency. 5. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

January Newsletter Wrapping Up Warm for Christmas Jumper Day!

The children really enjoyed dressing up in their festive jumpers and sparkly outfits - we think the smiles say it all. The children took part in many festive activities too! Some decorated their own Christmas trees using baubles, ribbon, and natural objects while others created their own decorations out of playdough. The Cygnets also wrote their own letters to Santa and enjoyed posting them through our special post box that goes directly to Santa.

January Newsletter The Swans Took The Stage In Our Christmas Nativity! On Tuesday 15 th December, the Swans children performed their special Christmas Nativity at St. Andrew's Church. The children had been so excited about the performance and had been learning and practicing lots of new songs to tell the story of the Nativity to all. We had also been reading the Nativity storybook during these times and the children recognised the different characters and related the pictures to their own parts in the performance. Everyone had a different part in the Nativity and learned when it was their turn to stand up and sing their song. The Swans did an incredible job with their dramatic roles, taking the parts seriously and showcasing their fantastic work, adorable smiles, waves and sweet dance moves! We are so very proud of all the hard work that has gone into our Nativity, and for the children showing such enthusiasm, determination and resilience, especially during these challenging times.

January Newsletter Closing Out The Year With Our Big Christmas Party!

The children have enjoyed a fun-filled festive day at the Nursery. enjoying both a lovely Christmas dinner, as well as having an awesome Christmas Party in the afternoon! Our Head Chef, Chris Milner, put together a lovely spread of traditional food for the children, consisting of roasted turkey with all the trimmings, herbed roasted potatoes, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, onion stuffing balls, mini-homemade pigs in blankets, sprouts, garden peas with an added extra Yorkshire pudding, all topped off with a cranberry gravy. We also had great fun pulling the crackers and enjoying the bangs! Everyone enjoyed a slice of gorgeous homemade cheesecake for dessert too. A huge thank you to Chris and Kim for cooking it for us, what a delicious meal we had, and we loved celebrating with our friends at nursery. What a surprise the children had when Santa came to visit with his helper! Santa has been busy preparing for the big day at his local base to ensure he stayed within Tier 3, but he made extra special care to follow all our COVID guidelines during his visit. In the afternoon everyone put on their best festive frocks and had a boogie to some of their favourite songs with their friends. We had so much fun and can’t wait to celebrate again next year.

January Newsletter

January Newsletter Burns Night Celebrations: Monday 25th January

Burns Night is a celebration of the Scottish Poet Robert Burns. The children will learn about the Scottish traditions surrounding the holiday, such as listening to Scottish music and learning about the bagpipes too. I wonder if anyone will be up for a bit of Scottish dancing? They will also get the chance to learn more about the poems written by Robert Burns, as well as the man himself! Maybe we can even persuade Chris to cook an adaptation of the traditional ‘Haggis’ to taste with ‘neeps’ and ‘tatties’, or have some oatcakes and cheese for a snack? Some Scotch Broth sounds like a good idea too, especially as the weather gets even colder in January. We’re sure the children would also love to have a go at dancing a ‘Cèilidh’ or the ‘Gay Gordons’!

January Newsletter Chicklets Room News The Chicklets have had a very busy December getting into the Christmas spirit.

We have been doing various messy play activities based on different Christmas traditions. The Chicklets have enjoyed exploring the shaving foam snowmen and making marks in the foam. The children have also been exploring the Christmas sensory tray we set up, where they have had the opportunity to explore different items such as baubles, Christmas ribbons and pinecones. The Chicklets also spent some time making a mixture of lovely Christmas calendars and cards for their families, which they took home with them as early gifts. The Chicklets have also been experimenting with the paint and pinecones to make their own Christmas decoration for the Christmas tree. This month, the children have enjoyed taking part in the group music sessions. We introduced Christmas songs to the babies. The babies enjoyed shaking their instruments to the sounds and even showed us some of their awesome dance moves. We would like to wish all our families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing the children return next week and meeting our new Chicklets who will be starting in the New Year.

CHICKLETS ROOM

January Newsletter

Ducklings Room News

The Ducklings have been doing a lot of texture sensory play, where we used oranges, lemon and limes, and explored them in a tuff tray. We even got to try the different fruits and talked about what they tasted like, such as ‘sweet’ and ‘tangy’. The Duckling have been celebrating ‘Christmas Around the World’ this month. One of the celebrations was Hanukkah, which is the Jewish equivalent of Christmas that falls around December time. As Xenia in our room is Jewish, we had the chance to celebrate it with her. The children have made their own potato latkes, which are similar to hash browns, using their fine motor skills to grate the potato and onion. They found the grating noise very interesting. The Ducklings then used their steady hands to pour the flour in and crack the eggs. Once the yummy latkes were made, we enjoyed eating these for our snack. The Ducklings have also loved exploring the Christmas ice tray. We froze different natural resources such as pinecones, holly, and berries for the children to explore. When the children explored the ice, staff members spoke to the children about what the ice felt like and what they could see. We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We’re looking forward to seeing you back in the New Year!

DUCKLINGS ROOM

January Newsletter Goslings Room News

The Goslings have been extremely busy this month preparing for the festivities. Our month has consisted of many different Christmas-themed activities, inviting the children to explore how this time of year is celebrated in different cultures and countries. We started off the month by decorating our Christmas tree, working as a team to hang up the baubles and put on the tinsel. Throughout December, we incorporated ‘Christmas Around the World’ into our activities - we recreated Christmas gnomes from Sweden, we have been learning some Christmas phrases from China, such as ‘Sheng Dan Kuai Le’ meaning ‘Merry Christmas’ and we have loved dancing to the Spanish Christmas song ‘Feliz Navidad’. We also celebrated Hanukkah, giving the children the opportunity to bake potato latkes which were certainly a tasty treat at snack time. Other activities included creating our own interpretations of a Dreidel and exploring our messy play designs of a candelabra. Some of the children were able to count all nine candles. This month we have introduced the big garden to the Goslings, which has certainly made a positive impact on the children. We have observed that they take full advantage of having a large area of space to run around freely - using the hills, bridge, and tunnels to give them the further stimulation they require. We would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing the children return next week.

GOSLINGS ROOM

January Newsletter Cygnets Room News

The Cygnets have had a fun filled month celebrating ‘Christmas Around the World’. We have focused on three countries in particular: Spain, Italy, and England. The children have really enjoyed learning all about each of the countries and their traditions on how Christmas is celebrated. They have been making lots of wonderful Christmas crafts and have been excited each day to see what Eddie the Elf has been up to. The Cygnets have really liked making their own Christmas lunches by looking in food magazines and choosing foods to cut out and stick on plates. There were lots of giggles as the children created some very appetising meals some which included chicken with sweeties and chocolate. The Cygnets have created their very own Christmas tree made up of sticks collected from our garden and tied together using string. We asked each of the children for their home learning activity to create their own bauble to bring in and hang on the tree. And it all looked amazing! The Cygnets have also been creating their own Christmas trees using a range of different materials. The children have used string, tissue paper, paint, buttons and much more. They enjoyed making individual tree pictures to take home, as well as group activities where they have decorated a big tree all together. The Cygnets have a wonderfully Christmas-filled month, and we look forward to planning lots more fun activities for the New Year. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and very Happy New Year.

CYGNETS ROOM

January Newsletter

Swans Room News

The Swans have been very busy throughout December and have enjoyed learning about lots of exciting things. We were practising our Nativity at the beginning of the month to get ready for the big performance on December 15 th ! All of the children did a fantastic job, and we are so very proud of all of them! The children took their roles so seriously and tried so hard to remember all of the lyrics, actions, and movement. There has also been lots of festive activities happening throughout December including: writing letters to Santa and posting them in our special letter box in the Reception straight to the North Pole, designing cards and gifts to deliver to Sabourn Court (the local care home), creating a large-scale Christmas Tree to hang in the Swans Room using a range of textures and colours and exploring Christmas and Winter themed tuff trays too. As always, the children have enjoyed participating in lots of other baking, making some chia seed biscuits, shortbread treats for over the festive period and lots more! The children have really enjoyed continuing to bake lots of yummy treats, which we will continue in the New Year! Finally, as always, we have been participating in lots of other phonics and maths activities, including threading, practising writing names and learning a new Jolly Phonics song for a new sound each week. The Swans have had a fantastic and very busy month and are looking forward to lots more fun when we return in the new year! Thank you again for your continued support. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2021!

SWANS ROOM

January Newsletter

*ATTENTION* Important Information - Please Read

Car Park As you are aware, there are double yellow lines outside the nursery which have been put there for the safety of the children. Please can we ask that parents do not park on them, and also be mindful when parking on Park Lane that you do not park over the driveways of the residents there. Many are Key Workers who need immediate access from their homes when called out. There have been a few vehicles obstructing their driveways recently. Drop Off and Collection Can we kindly remind you that we open at 7.30 am and close at 6.00 pm and any parents who pick up after this time will be charged. We would just like to also remind you that the side gate to the Goslings, Cygnets and Swans areas will be locked between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm and should you drop off or collect outside of these times, it will be necessary to contact reception to arrange for someone to unlock the gate. COVID-19 Guidance Please can we kindly remind parents that children cannot attend nursery if they have a high temperature (37.6 ° C). If a child develops a temperature whilst at nursery, parents will be called to collect them and a Covid test will be required, as supported by our risk assessments. Should a child develop a new, continuous cough parents will be asked to collect them and a Covid test will be required. Please note, should a family member require a Covid test, children should be kept home until the result is obtained. HMRC Additional Funding Code (3- & 4-year-olds - 30 hours) If you are eligible and in receipt of additional 3- & 4-year-old funding, look out for a prompt every three months from HMRC to reconfirm your details so that your eligibility can be re- assessed. If you do not do this, please note that we’re unable to claim it on your behalf. Absence Please note that we are unable to swap days or offer an alternative day if your child is absent from nursery. We are now extremely busy, and it is impossible for us to do this for all children. This is stated in our terms and conditions. Thank you for your co-operation. Labels in Clothing To avoid items being lost, please can you ensure that your child’s uniform is clearly labelled including their coats, hats, scarves and wellies. If your child brings gloves to nursery, we strongly advise for these to be attached and threaded through their coat to avoid any gloves going missing.

January Newsletter Upcoming Events

Monday 4 th January Nursery RE-OPENS for the New Year!

Monday 25 th January Burns Night Celebrations

W/C Monday 8 th February Chinese New Year Celebrations

Tuesday 16 th February Pancake Day!

January Newsletter

2021 Events Calendar *Dates subject to change - Please check the website for the latest calendar

Nursery RE-OPENS for the New Year!

Monday 4th Monday 25th

January

Burns Night Celebrations

W/C Monday 8th Chinese New Year Celebrations Friday 12th Valentine’s Day Celebrations Tuesday 16th Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day!)

February

Monday 1st Thursday 4th

St David’s Day

World Book Day W/C Monday 8th Mothering Sunday Tea Party Wednesday 17th St Patrick’s Day Monday 29th Holi Colour Festival Wednesday 31st

March

Easter Bonnet Parade & Egg Hunt

Good Friday, Nursery CLOSED Easter Monday, Nursery CLOSED

Friday 2nd Monday 5th Tuesday 13th Friday 23rd

April

Vaisakhi Celebrations

St. George’s Day

May Bank Holiday, Nursery CLOSED

Friday 3rd

May

Thursday 13th Monday 31st

Eid Celebrations

Spring Bank Holiday, Nursery CLOSED

January Newsletter

Tuesday 8th

Chicklets, Goslings and Swans Parents Evening

W/C Monday 14th Father’s Day Picnic Tuesday 15th

June

Ducklings and Cygnets Parents Evening Team Training Day, Nursery CLOSED

Thursday 24th

Wednesday 7th Swans Graduation Ceremony W/C Monday 12th Beach Party Week

July

Monday 2nd

Yorkshire Day Carnival Week

August

TBA

Summer Bank Holiday, Nursery CLOSED

Monday 30th

Tuesday 7th

Rosh Hashanah Celebrations

September

TBA

Macmillan Bake Sale

W/C Monday 4th Grandparent’s Tea Party Week Tuesday 26th

October

Team Training Day, Nursery CLOSED

Thursday 28th

Halloween Fancy Dress Day

Thursday 4th Friday 5th Monday 8th Thursday 11th Monday 15th

Diwali Celebrations Bonfire Night Activities

Chicklets, Goslings and Swans Parents Evening

November

Remembrance Sunday

Ducklings and Cygnets Parents Evening Guru Nanak Gurpurab Celebrations

Friday 19th

W/C Monday 29th Hanukkah Celebrations

TBA TBA

Christmas Jumper Day

Swans Christmas Play/Concert 22SLN Christmas Dinner/Party

December

Tuesday 21st Friday 24th

Nursery Closing at 12pm for Christmas

CONTACT US 0333 043 22 22

www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk info@22streetlanenursery.co.uk