Newsletter September 2021
Introduction: 
Welcome back everyone and a big welcome to some of our new children who have started with us in September! We hope you all had a lovely break; we would love to see any photos from the holidays. You can upload photos to your child’s baby’s days account to share with us.
Term dates:
September 6th– 22nd October. Half term week is the week commencing 25th October so if your child is term-time only, enjoy the break!
Core Story:
This month’s core stories are:
- Babies- ‘That’s not my bear’
- Pre-school- ‘People who helped us around the world’
- Forest School- ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’
If you have these stories at home, why not read them to your child this month?
Dates for the diary:
10th– School leavers can apply for a primary school place from today
17th –Jeans for Genes Day, Join the team in wearing jeans, a £1 donation please will be amazing.
21st– Chinese Mid-Autumn festival, Children can come dressed in red and yellow and join in with the fun.
School leavers 2022
Any child born between 1 September 2017 and 31 August 2018 will need to apply for their Primary school place, you can start applying for schools from the 10th September 2021 and have until 15th January 2022. We shall be sending out an email with the link which will direct you to the webpage to apply for a Primary School place. When you have applied for your child’s school place please can you let either someone from the office or from the room know, thank you?
COVID Information: 
From the 16th of August rules on isolating have changed, here are the changes: People who are double jabbed or aged under 18 will no longer be legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case. You must have had the 2nd jab for at least 14 days for this to count though so please make sure you know the dates. If in doubt, please get in touch and we can advise.
Gentle Reminders:
- With the weather changing again please can we ensure children are bringing in coats and wellies for when they go outside.
- Please can we remind you that if your child receives 30-hour funding you will need to reconfirm every 3 months? If not, you could lose the funding.
- We love to have family pictures in the room for the children to see them, if you can print some out or email them to us to print, that would be amazing. The children love finding their photos as this gives them a sense of home when unsettled too.
- We cannot swap your child’s session to another day due to staffing, ratios, and our numbers in the room. Also, we could not manage if everyone does this so as a rule, we do not allow swapping of sessions. Sorry for the inconvenience.
- Please ensure you are providing a well-balanced packed lunch, if you need any ideas then just ask. We also ask if you could ensure all fruit especially grapes are cut in half lengthways as this can be a choking hazard. Thank you
- Please ensure on collection or drop off that you ring the doorbell, do not assume that the person in the office has seen you ring the room. Sometimes we are in meetings or on calls. Please look for eye contact from Kirsty or Diane and if we give you a wave, we know you are here and will alert the room.
- Our policy is that if your child is in need of Calpol before they arrive, they should not attend the setting as this indicates they are not well enough to be here. So if you need to give them Calpol then please keep them home until they are well enough to return.
- If your child is on antibiotics, our policy is that they need to stay off until 24 hours after the first dose. This is in case they have a reaction. Thank you for understanding.
- Can you remember to label your child’s clothes please and whilst we are still seeing some sun we will need suncream in their bag?
Staff changes/news:
- Shannon is the new setting SENCO (special educational needs coordinator). If you would like to discuss anything with her, please let the office know who will arrange it for you.
- Sophie has just updated her first aid training.
Please can we all wish Amy a farewell as she goes off on her maternity leave to rest before her little boy arrives? We will update you when little man is here, with Amy’s permission. We will be still keeping in contact with her throughout. Amy is a massive part of our Bright Stars family and we will all miss her so, so much.
Diane will be starting fully with us from 31st August to cover Amy as she starts her maternity leave on the 3rd of September. Diane is our staff member of the month so here is a little bit about her:
I have worked for the company for 4 years and have been in childcare since I was 17. I love spending time with my family and I’m obsessed with Christmas. I like to explore new cities and places. I live with my partner and have become green-fingered over the years and love to sit in the garden and grow our own vegetables.
I am looking forward to getting to know all the children and families here at Bright Stars. Please say hello if you see me! ?
WELL DONE TO ALL OUR STARS!
Babies- Erin, Lochlan, Jawad & Melanie
Preschool- Hannah, Cody, Nathaniel, Ava & Aizah
Staff – Kimmy, Sophie, Shannon, Tracey & Amy
Forest School with Josh
What have we got planned this month?
- Lots of free play
- Planting and watering the allotment
- Bug hunts and bird watching
- Autumn potions and collage pictures
- Sensory hunts
All our 3- and 4-year-olds will get time in the Forest School at least once a week to explore the wonderful area we have. Josh has lots planned for the Forest School this month which I know the children will love.
Happy Birthday:
Who is celebrating a birthday this month?
If you would a cake, please ask a member of staff for a form so we can add it to our shopping for you.
Bruno with be 3 on the 2nd
Eisa will be 4 on the 11th
Jacob will be 3 on the 13th
Uzair will be 3 on the 19th
Nicholas will be 4 on the 24th
Jawad will be 2 on the 28th
Noah will be on 2 on the 28th
Aminah (staff) is on the 28th
Any questions, please drop us an email or give us a call.
Thank you
Kirsty & Diane
