Newsletter 
Staff changes/news
Our lovely Tamina will be going on maternity leave, her last day being the 18th December. We will miss her so much and we know you will be a wonderful mummy!
Safia will be looking after Tamina’s key children and working 4 days in the baby room from January whilst Tamina enjoys her maternity leave. Safia has worked in the baby room for over 3 years and knows the children really well.
As you are not always getting to see all staff members due to the pandemic, we will be getting to know 1 member of staff in each monthly newsletter. This month’s member of staff is Sophie.
I’M SOPHIE! I’m the team leader in preschool. I’ve been working at Bright Stars since 2009! So, in total a whopping 11 YEARS, yes I know a very long time! I’ve recently returned from maternity leave after having a beautiful baby boy who I’ve been very lucky to have a year and a half off with. I’m very happy to be back and with my little boy in tow too! I have a level 3 in childcare and various other qualifications.
I’m very bubbly and love helping children develop and learn. I like to work closely with parents and carers. I like to spend time with my husband and son and spend time with our extended family and friends.
Family photo’s
Please can we ask that you email us a family picture. We have a family board in each of our home bases and it’s nice for the children to talk about you You can email them to [email protected]
Absence
Please inform the office by 9am (or 2pm if you do afternoon sessions) if your child is not going to be in that day on 01733 343278.
Fees
Please check the deadline date for your fees to be paid as you could risk a late fee. We accept bank transfers, or you can bring cash to the setting.
All about me’ questionnaires
Have you returned yours’s yet? If not, please do so at your earliest convenience. If you need another copy, please speak to the office.
Parents Evening
Your child’s key person has telephone slots available for parents’ evenings this month. Please call or email us to book a 10 minute slot. [email protected]
We will remind you of your slot on the day but please make a note. This will be a chance for you to talk to your child’s key person about their progress and you will receive a copy of their progress trackers prior to this.
Dates for your diary
Various dates: Parents evening with your child’s key person via telephone
Friday 11th December – National Christmas jumper day. Please wear a Christmas jumper and donate £2 to save the children
Wednesday 16th December – Christmas party day. Don’t worry if your child isn’t in this day, we will be doing Christmas activities all week.
Friday 18th December – Christmas pyjama day! Get involved everyone and show us your Christmassy pyjamas!
It’s getting colder……
It’s that time of year when the weather drops and as we have to ventilate the rooms, please ensure your child is appropriately dressed i.e. long-sleeved tops and jumpers.
Please can you also ensure they always have spare clothes in their bag in case they get wet/accidents.
School placement
Is your child due to go to school in September 2021? Make sure you apply online by January 15th. Please email me and let me know if you have done this. If you are having difficulty, please speak to Kirsty.
Donations
Do you have any of the following that you could donate to us? (We would be so grateful)
- Any Christmas decorations
- 3 or 4 year old spare clothes
- All in one wet suits
Packed Lunches
Please can we remind all parents/carers to bring in a balanced lunch box with healthy options. Please also ensure you slice grapes lengthways to prevent any choking hazards, We have a child with a severe life threatening allergy to nuts. Bright Stars is a NUT FREE nursery so please don’t send anything in with nuts as we will be unable to let your child have it.
Core Story
Every month the children explore a new core story. The story is chosen by the children and incorporates activities they are exploring within the room.
Baby room – That’s not my snowman
Pre-school – Santa comes to Peterborough
Forest School – The Jolly Christmas Postman
If you have any of these books at home – why not read them too? The children will probably know them off by heart soon! ?
Forest school with Josh
Josh has so much planned this month:
- Winter potions
- Christmas decorations
- Letters to Santa and maybe even meeting him!
- Decorating the Christmas tree
- Making a post box for all your Christmas cards
- Hanukah activities to bring home
Well done to our forest school stars of the week for November – Sundari, Mantra, James and Cayson.
Christmas
A few of you have asked me about Christmas presents for the staff, this is fine but we must quarantine them first for 72 hours ?
Feel free to bring in Christmas cards but again we will quarantine them for 72 hours before distributing. We will bring the post box out this week and it will be out the front for you to post them in. If you would like a Christmas card list, please ask a member of staff. Ho! Ho! Ho!
If your child attends term time only, we break up on Friday 18th December and come back on Monday 4th January.
If your child attends all year round, we close at 1pm on Christmas eve and reopen on Monday 4th January.
Have you noticed?
We have been doing “Moving Mondays”, “Wacky Wednesdays” and “Forest Fridays” – which we put a bit about on our Facebook page.
Like our Facebook page to see our lovely photos – just search for Bright Stars Day Nursery.
Key person
Do you know who your child’s key person is? They are the person who knows your child best and does activities with them. Not sure? Drop us a message on Babysdays or ask the office
30 hour funding code
If you are in receipt of 30-hour funding, remember that every 3 months you have to reconfirm your code or it will expire and we will not be able to claim it. You should get an email reminder.
Soft furnishings
We cannot have soft furnishings in the setting due to COVID so unfortunately you will not be able to leave your child’s pushchair in the building. At your own risk, out the front in the gated shelter area is fine. Also, please can we discourage soft toys too. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Labelling clothes
Please make sure everything is clearly labelled with your child’s name – including hats!
Baby’s days
We love to see what you have been doing at home so please feel free to upload any photos of fun things you are doing at weekends and in the Christmas break. This could include lovely walks, Christmas baking, decorating the tree, looking at Christmas lights… etc. We cannot wait to see your photos!
Baby room
We have been enjoying playing in the garden but as it is getting colder and wetter, we encourage any of our non-walkers to have feet coverings to keep their toes warm. This could be an all in one suit or soft shoes.
Review us!
On our door there is a QR code for daynurseries.co.uk, if you scan it while you wait and do us a small review – we would really appreciate it! Or just search for us and drop us a review. THANK YOU!
New COVID restrictions
Peterborough are now in Tier 2 and out of lockdown Wednesday, So what does this mean?
The main different is people cannot meet with anyone they do not live with indoors unless they are part of a support bubble and the rule of 6 applies for socializing outside.
Please remember these rules and stick to them to ensure the safety of all the children and staff art bright stars.
Thank you for all being so patient with us during this pandemic. Please continue to wear masks whilst dropping and collecting your child to protect yourself and everyone around you. The response to this has been amazing so thank you!
“THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE DURING THE PANDEMIC. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT!”
