Bright Stars NEWSLETTER
Staff changes /News
Amy will be finding out if she is having a blue or pink one this month – we are all so excited for her!
As you are not going 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 Kimmy who is our Babies room leader
Shannon has completed all her work for her level 3 childcare qualification so is now just awaiting her certificate. She has worked really hard to gain this qualification so do congratulate her when you see her! We are all so proud of her!
COVID Government guidance 
For the safety of all our children, staff and parents, we are still encouraging drop off and pickups at the entrance as usual and the use of face masks too. Thank you for adhering to this.
If you forget your face mask, not to worry – we have lots of disposable ones you can take so please help yourself.
Parents Consultations
You should have all received an email to book your parents consultation with your key person. Please email or speak to a member of staff about booking this in. We work on a first come first serve basis but have a slot for all of you. These will be done over the phone so please make sure you get a slot as soon as possible!
Term dates:
For term-time only children, your last day for the summer will be Tuesday 20th July and everyone else, it will be 31st August.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 
Who is celebrating their birthday this month?
Danielius will be 4 on the 2nd
Kaizer will be 4 on the 6th
Pola will be 2 on the 9th
Aizah will be 4 on the 14th
Melanie will be 2 on the 14th
If you would like to bring in any treats for the other children, we just ask that you bring it in 72 hours before the date so we can quarantine it before handing them out.
Also, we are happy to order a birthday cake for you – please ask for an order form.
Well done to our stars!
Every week, we award a child in baby room, pre-school, and forest school a star of the week. A member of staff also gets one! These are all our stars of the week for May (a massive well done everyone!)
Baby room: Filip, Noah & Evie
Pre-school: Rayhan, Jacob, Musa, Georgina, Isaac, Millie & Joshua
Forest: Elliot L, Jenson, Slavij & M. Harris
Staff: Tracey, Emma, Safia, Josh & Kimmy
School readiness
For children going to school this year;
We want to congratulate you all on your placements and we will be working with your children on being school ready. We would like to share some ideas of how you can prepare your child for school:
- Phonics games and flash cards to help support your child with recognizing letters in their name.
- Practicing getting themselves dressed e.g. putting on their shoes and coats and taking them off.
- Turn taking activities and games.
- Practice sitting on the floor cross-legged (they will need to do this in assembly or for registration.)
- Encouraging your child to each with a knife and fork and help you to pour their own drinks into their cups. You can also encourage them to clear away their own plates when they have finished their meal.
On Saturday the 21st of June, there is a School readiness event at the cathedral square. All school leavers can get themselves a free backpack and tips for school so go on down and let us know how you get on!
Getting to know us 
Hi I’m Kimmy
And I have been working at Bright Stars since July 2009 and I started as an apprentice in the Butterfly room. I was offered a full time role after that finished where I did my level 3 qualification in childcare and qualified in
I have worked in all 3 rooms and loved every bit of it. I am now a Team Leader in the Baby Room and would not change a thing – I love my job. I have a little girl who is 5 and I love spending time with her and my partner who I have been with for 13 years! My name is Kim, but the children all call me Kimmy and so do the staff now!
Gentle reminders
Please take note….
We would love to know about different food’s from different cultures, so if there is a native food that you eat, please can you send us a link to a recipe of it so we can print it off for our home corner area please? Or if you have any kind of recipe that connects to your culture, even a family one – we’d love to hear about it! Please email us at [email protected]
Thank you so much for your lovely reviews to day nurseries – we have loved reading them. They really means the world to us so if anyone else has the time, please help yourself to a free post review card at the entrance. Thank you from all of us here – it means more than you’ll ever know!
For our school leavers, we are starting up our lending library again and you all have a book bag to take home – please speak to us about this and get choosing your book.
We love to display your family photos in the room so the children can see them. Please can you email us a photo and we can print it for you to display in the room. The children love finding their photos and this gives them a sense of home when they are unsettled too.
Please ensure on pick up and collection that you ring the doorbell, do not assume the person in the office has seen you or is ringing down to the room to let them know they are here. Sometimes we are in meetings and cannot alert the room. Please look for eye contact from Kirsty or Amy and if we give you a wave, then take that as a sign that we know you are here, and we are ringing the room. If we do not answer/look at you, please ring the bell. This will speed up the process too.
Our policy states that if your child needs Calpol before they arrive, they should not be in the setting as this indicates they are not well enough to be here. So, if you need to give your child Calpol, please keep them at home until they are well enough to return.
Now the weather is warming up please apply sun cream to your child before you bring them in and bring a bottle and sun hat in to keep here too (clearly labelled). Also, please refrain from putting your child in open-toe sandals so the children can stay as safe as possible. If you would like your child to participate in Forest School however, they will need trainers so just pop a pair in their bag if you don’t want them on all day.
Dates for your diary
Remember to pop these into your diary so not to forget!
Wed 9th June: PJ day! Come dressed in your pjs and donate to crackerjacks!
Sat 12th June: The Queen’s official birthday.
Sun 20th June: Father’s Day
Mon 21st June: Photographer coming at 9Am.
Wed 14th July: School leavers parents eve with Sophie, Emma and Shannon
Tue 20th July: Last day of term for all term-time only childern.
Wed 21st July: Sophie’s parents consultations.
Thur 22nd July : Shannon’s parents consultations.
Friday 23rd July: Emma’s parents consultations.
Mon 26th July: Kimmy’s parents consultations
Tues 27th July: Safia’s parents consultations
Wed 28th July: Beth’s parents consultations.
Forest school with Josh 
What has Josh got planned in June?
- Lots of free play
- Reading their core story – Welcome to Alien School
- Allotment planting, growing and maintaining
- Making summer potions
- Bird spotting using binoculars
- Making summer wands
Looking at shapes and colours in the forest.
Balanced and healthy packed lunches
For those who bring a packed lunch in;
We have been researching balanced and healthy lunch box guidance for you;
- A portion of starchy carbohydrates, e.g. bread, wrap, flatbread, crackers, bagel, pitta, pasta, potato, rice, couscous, etc.
- A portion of fruit & a portion of salad or vegetables(bite-sized & pre-prepared!). e.g. tomato in a sandwich, orange segments or a fruit salad.
- A portion of protein/iron rich food eg. beans, pulses, eggs, fish, meat or meat-free alternatives.
- A portion of dairy food such as plain yoghurt, cheese or milk.
Top Tips:
- For younger children use novelty shaped cutters on fruit & veg. Such as melon, cucumber or courgetti.
- We are a NO NUT setting so please do not bring in anything with nuts in it.
- Avoid single use cling film & plastic sandwich bags where possible for environmental reasons. Instead use reusable containers.
- Make sure your child can access food & get into little containers easily. Also food should be cut & prepared appropriately without needing much assistance
- Chat to your children about what you’re going to put in their lunchbox. Let them flag the foods they like & don’t like so they have options to give them some independence & control.
- Vary the food offered each day. It’s more exciting for your little ones & helps support a varied diet. Including different coloured fruit & vegetables each day is a good prompt.
- Write a rough plan at the start of each week so as to have an idea of what their packed lunch will comprise of each day, with the aim of minimizing food waste & utilizing leftovers.
- Has your child tried the food before at home first so the food is familiar to them?
- You could always sneak a love note into their lunchbox! They will love finding this surprise & enjoy sharing the ‘thought of the day’ with their friends!
Food bank and personal care
Don’t be afraid to ask, we want to help and support all our families!
Just inside the main entrance door we have a food bank and a personal care bank. We have this on offer for anyone in need so please do let a member of staff who will be more than happy to support you discretely. Alternatively, send us an email and we can pop some items in your child’s bag for you.
We are also accepting donations for these banks too. If you would like to donate, please speak to Kirsty or a member of staff.
Food bank:
Cereal, soup, pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes/ pasta sauce, lentils, beans and pulses, tinned meat, tinned vegetables, tea/coffee, tinned fruit etc…
Personal care bank:
Nappies, wipes, face wipes, toothpaste, sudo cream, body wash, shampoo…etc
School leavers graduation
For all our little pickle’s who go to school this year…
Kirsty, Sophie and the pre-school team are planning a graduation party with lots of dancing, food, signing and games which all the children will be invited too. They may even receive a little present from us too! ? So exciting. We are planning it over the next few weeks so will be in touch with the date and times as soon as we know. Keep an eye on your emails!
All your lovely graduation T-shirts have been ordered and will be here by the end of the month. We would love it if they could wear their T-Shirts to the party!
Don’t forget the very last day for our term-time only children will be 20th July, all year round children – your last day will be 31st August. We will miss you all so much.
