22 Street Lane Nursery - February 2018 Newsletter

February Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our February Newsletter and as always, a big warm welcome to all our children, parents and families who have recently joined us. January saw the children exploring our month’s topic, ‘Icelandic Winter Wonderland’, making our own snowflakes was definitely one of the children’s favourite activities, closely followed by our website play dough! Last month also saw the introduction of two new classes at 22 Street Lane Nursery; Woodworking and Cookery Classes, both classes provide a unique learning experience for the children, you can read more about our classes later in our newsletter. Looking ahead we have a very busy month to look forward to, February will see our winter wonderland transform into a Chinese celebration and the children will also be creating some wonderful valentine surprises!

February Newsletter

Country of the Month; China

This month we will be celebrating ‘China’ to tie in with Chinese New Year. We have lots of fun activities in store for Chinese New Year, the children will be exploring rice and noodle messy play, dragon dancing and learning how to use chopsticks! David will be cooking a Chinese banquet for the children where they can experience different Chinese foods. This gives

them the opportunity to see if they can put their new skill of using chopsticks into practice. As always we welcome any resources such as photographs, clothing and traditional items.

Thank you to those who took the time to vote for January’s Employee of the Month, once again we had lots of support and want to thank the winners for their continued hard work, we thank you for your vote; please do keep helping us vote . Staff News; January Employee of the Month goes to…….

Congratulations to this months winners;

KIM HINCHCLIFFE

PAIGE YATES

ARIANA BARILLARI

We value your opinion and need your help to recognise the amazing work that our staff undertake each day. If you would like to nominate a member of staff for Employee of the Month, please click on the link below and help cast next month’s winner; www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk/employee-of-the-month-vote/

February Newsletter

Staff News;

Everyone at 22 wishes Bec Boxall the very best of luck !!.

Bec Boxall - Assistant Deputy Manager & Strategy Implementation Manager Bec left the business at the end of January as her maternity kicked in, she is expecting a baby girl in February. We wanted to thank her for her amazing contribution and wish her the very best of luck; we can’t wait to meet her little one! Bec will be returning to work at the end of November 2018 in the same role.

Welcoming Naimah Begum to Goslings Room;

We would like to welcome Naimah Begum who has joined our Goslings team as a Nursery Apprentice. “I am a happy person with a positive approach to my role. It has always been a passion of mine to work with children. I wish to develop my skills at 22 Street Lane Nursery, studying towards my Level 3 qualification”

To read more about our Goslings room, please visit;

www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk/goslings-room-staff/

Our Rooms;

To learn more about our rooms, please visit; www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk/our-team/

CYGNETS 2-3 years

SWANS 3-4 years

CHICKLETS 1-12 months

DUCKLINGS 12-24 months

GOSLINGS 18-29 months

February Newsletter

Chicklets;

The Chicklets have had a very busy January! They have enjoyed exploring the winter wonderland messy play which consisted of cloud dough and rice. They have also been fascinated with the bubbles and enjoyed watching them float and popping them. The babies have enjoyed listening to various nursery rhymes including Down in the Jungle and Old Macdonald had a Farm. They have been shaking their instruments to the nursery rhymes and copying the actions. The Chicklets have also enjoyed accessing the various heuristic baskets. They have liked banging the metal pans together and feeling the texture of the different natural materials such as pine cones. Some of our Chicklets also enjoyed going on a winter walk to Roundhay Park to see the swans! We will be doing these more over the course of the next few weeks.

A big welcome to our new Chicklets Alexander, Imogen and Zachary!

CHICKLETS

February Newsletter

Ducklings;

The Ducklings have enjoyed exploring a variety of malleable materials throughout January such as squashing and squishing winter coloured play dough which made for lots of sticky hands!

By engaging with malleable materials, the children have had the opportunity to build up their fine motor skills. Another fun activity was blue water play! The children had fun splashing in the bubbles and looking at the water themed animals and making their sounds! This large scale sensory activity enables the children to use their whole bodies to explore a new sensation, this promotes their gross motor skills as well as stimulating curiosity and becoming a social activity! Amongst all the activities we have noticed that the climbing frame and tipi areas are still the most popular with the ducklings as they continue to develop their social interactions, physical Development and personal interests in these areas. A warm welcome to Elissia who has joined our Ducklings.

CHICKLETS

February Newsletter

Goslings;

The Goslings have had lots of fun exploring the snow both indoors and outdoors. The children used their senses to explore the snow and filled and emptied different sized containers to support their schematic play and early math’s skills. The Goslings have had a big interest in Dinosaurs over the last few weeks and have been mark making using dinosaur feet! The children have also been experimented with lights, shining bright fairy lights through coloured blocks and watching the effects!

See some of the wonderful activities below; the children had a fantastic week!

CHICKLETS

February Newsletter

Cygnets;

As you aware, our Cygnets room was re vamped over the Christmas holidays and we have bought many new learning resources for the children to explore. The new cosy den has most definitely been a big hit with the children who have loved exploring books and playing with their friends. The Cygnets have also been enjoying flower arranging, I think that we may have some future florists in the making! The children were introduced to scissors and encouraged to cut the flowers and create a picture to support their find motor skills and Expressive Art and Design. We have some new Cygnet friends which have joined us over the last few weeks, a big welcome to Noah and Sophia!

We hope you like the new room as it continues to adapt under Ariana’s leadership; see below;

CHICKLETS

February Newsletter

Introducing; Cookery Classes The Swans children are thoroughly enjoying their cookery classes with Zoe. The children have made lots of healthy snacks such as fruit and kebabs and super healthy banana muffins! Our cooking classes support our healthy eating ethos and help children to support their own health and well – being. Our cooking classes help the children develop their skills in all areas of learning, particularly in math’s and science. Our classes will continue alternate Mondays and Wednesdays. Welcome to Evan, Joe, Ella and Maxi who have joined our Swans room. For more information please visit our dedicated Woodworking classes page on our website.

Click here to view: http://www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk/cookery-classes/

Swans Cookery Class

February Newsletter

Introducing; Woodworking Classes 22 Street Lane Nursery are pleased to announce that we will be offering Woodworking classes to our Pre-school, Swans children. Our Woodworking sessions provide a unique learning experience for children; they encompass creative thinking, problem-solving, maths and science skills as well as developing eye-hand coordination and language. Woodworking provides an excellent play environment for children to engage in problem solving; an important skills for children to develop from an early age for their future! We look forward to sharing our first class with you! For more information please visit our website. Click here to view: http://www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk/woodworking-classes/

Woodworking Classes

Recipe of the Month February Newsletter

Super Squash Lasagne;

• 1 large butternut squash • 1 level tsp ground coriander • 4 cloves of garlic • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar • 800g plum tomatoes • 200g baby spinach • A handful of fresh sage leaves, plus a few more for the top • 60g Parmesan cheese • 250g dried whole-wheat lasagne sheets

• 400g fat-free cottage cheese • 100ml semi-skimmed milk • Potatoes, wedged • Green beans

Method; 1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and rub 2 large roasting trays with a little olive oil. 2. Carefully halve and deseed the squash, leaving the skin on, then slice into ½-inch half-moon shapes. 3. Lay in a single layer across the trays. Sprinkle over the ground coriander, and a pinch of black pepper, then roast for 50 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden. 4. Peel the garlic and deseed the chili, then finely slice both and place in a large pan on a medium-high heat with about 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook for 3 minutes, or until golden, then add the balsamic and tinned tomatoes, breaking them up as you go, and 1 tin’s worth of water. Simmer on a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until slightly thickened, or until slightly thickened, then season to perfection. 5. To layer up, spread a third of the tomato sauce across the base of a 25cm x 30cm baking dish. 6. Cover with a layer of raw spinach leaves and a few sage leaves, a layer of roasted squash, a fine grating of Parmesan and a layer of lasagne sheets. 7. Repeat the layers twice more, finishing with lasagne sheets. 8. Loosen the cottage cheese with the milk, mashing the curds a little, then lightly season and spoon over the top. Finley grate over the remaining Parmesan. 9. Bake at the bottom of your oven for 45 minutes, or until golden and bubbling, then serve.

Enjoy, we hope you like it, the lasagne goes down a treat with our little ones!.

February Newsletter

*ATTENTION* Important Information - Please read Lunchtimes;

Please can we politely ask parents to avoid calling rooms at lunchtimes. As you can appreciate, the staff are very busy supporting children with their meals and sleep times as well as having their own lunches. Thank you for your support. High Temperatures; Please can we remind parents that children cannot attend nursery if they have a high temperature (over 38 degrees). If a child develops a temperature, then the parents will be called to collect the child which is supported by our policies and procedures. We can administer non- prescribed Calpol for a temperature however we must have written permission. Nappy Cream Important; Please note that all Nappy cream (prescribed or non prescribed) must be signed in to your child’s Key Person who will sign this in on a ‘Nappy Cream Administration form’. Practitioners will record each time cream is applied and parents must sign at the end of the day. Car Park;

Please can we kindly ask parents to park in the designated car park and not in the front of the nursery front door. Thank you.

February Newsletter

*ATTENTION* Important Information - Please read Lunchtimes;

Can we kindly ask parents not to call the rooms during lunch time (11.30am – 1.30pm) unless it is urgent. It is an extremely busy time with staff supporting children with their meals and sleep times. Staff also have their lunch breaks. 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 cooperation. Parents Suggestions; We continue to welcome all feedback from parents, if you would like to make a suggestion then please post this in our ‘Parents Suggestion Box’ which is based on reception. Alternatively, you can speak to a member of staff. Drop Off and Collection; Can we kindly remind you that we open at 7.30 a.m. and cannot accept children into the nursery before this time. We close at 6.00 p.m. and any parents that pick up after this time will be charged. Thank you for your cooperation.

February Newsletter

*HOUSEKEEPING* Important Information - Please read Parking;

Please can we politely ask you NOT to park outside the nursery on the double yellow lines or outside the nursery front door. This is to ensure the safety of the children. Glass Door; For safety of the building, please can you ensure that when you are entering and leaving the building that you close the glass door behind you. Thank you. Lost Property; We have lots of items of ‘lost Property’ which will be displaying in our parent’s room over the next couple of weeks. Please can parents take the time to visit the parents room and see if anything belongs to your child. Anything which isn’t collected but Friday 22nd will be given to charity or used as nursery spare clothing. 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 you’re child brings gloves to nursery we strongly advise for these to be attached and threaded through their coat to avoid any gloves going missing.

February Newsletter

Upcoming Events;

February

Tuesday 13 th February- Shrove Tuesday The children will be making their own pancakes and choosing their favourite toppings- yum!

Wednesday 14 th February: Valentine’s Day Celebrations The children will be making something very special for someone that they love and discussing who they love and why.

Friday 16 th February: Chinese New Year We have lots of fun activities in store for Chinese New Year, the children will be exploring rice and noodle messy play, dragon dancing and learning how to use chopsticks! David will be cooking a Chinese banquet for the children where they can experience different Chinese foods.

Saturday 17 th February: Staff Safeguarding Day The 22SLN will be attending our annual ‘Safeguarding’ training day.

CONTACT: 03330 43 22 22 info@22streetlanenursery.co.uk 22 Street Lane, Roundhay, Leeds, LS8 2ET

ONLINE: www.22streetlanenursery.co.uk