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Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year and welcome to the Spring term!

New Starters this half term

Welcome to our new children this half term

  • Chayse
  • Chloe
  • Noah
  • Theo
  • Ava M
  • Harlow
  • Sienna

A few reminders

Please please please name your children’s belongings! We have 24 children each session and remembering who’s coat/water bottle/lunchbox/bag etc belongs to is very time consuming for staff and often results in children going home with the wrong items!

Illness

Please keep your child at home if they are unwell. I understand that they may ask to come in but this will only delay them getting better and will spread germs to other children and staff. If your child needs paracetamol/ibuprofen to get through the day they are generally not well enough to attend nursery.

If your child has sickness and/or diarrhea then they cannot return to nursery until 48 hours after their last episode.

If your child has had any medication (ie Calpol. Nurofen, inhaler, antibiotics) before coming in to nursery please let a member of staff know-this is important in case your child is taken ill during nursery time and we need to seek medical help as they will ask for this information.

Drop-off and collection

Our session times are

  • 8.50am to 11.50am
  • 11.50am to 2.50pm
  • 8.50am to 2.50pm

Please do not let your children climb on the equipment outside at the beginning and end of the day.  Children remain the responsibility of their parent/carer until nursery opens and after collection.

We like to have the door closed by 9am in the morning and 12pm for afternoon sessions so we can start our day. Please drop off promptly when possible.

We encourage our children to be more independent from this term so please say goodbye to your child at the door if possible. A member of staff will be on hand to help with hanging coats and bags.

At afternoon pick up time we will be asking you to come into nursery to collect your child. Your child will have been asked to stay on their chair until their grown up comes to them so please don’t wave them to you from the door! This helps us to make sure each child is collected and leaves the nursery building safely. Due to limited space please leave pushchairs outside. If you wish to talk to a member of about your child please kindly wait until the other children have gone home.

If someone else is collecting your child please let a member of staff know beforehand. If we have not met this person before we will require a password.

Snacks and Lunches

We are now providing morning snack for your children. You will have received an envelope for you to return with your cash donation toward the cost of this. This can be loose change or more!

Please note that we cannot have nuts in nursery-so please no peanut butter, Nutella or such like foods.

Hot meals-Please follow this link if you wish to register for and book and pay for your child’s meals: Each meal costs £2.35 and must be booked and paid for in advance.

westsussex.mealselector.co.uk

Put in “Leechpool School” as the school name and the class as “Caterpillars”.    

Contact details

Please make sure we have an up to date email address for you so you receive our weekly activities emails and reminders. You can email [email protected] with your child’s name to be added to the list.

Big run

Caterpillar nursery children will be joining in with Leechpool school half termly Big Run again this term. The Big Run is on a Friday morning and encourages awareness of good health. The Big Run takes place in the school grounds and is a walk/run around the wellbeing walk. Staff will take the Friday morning children on their Big Run at 9.15am on the following dates.

  • Friday 1st February
  • Friday 8th March 
  • Friday 3rd May
  • Friday 14th June

Celebrations and festivals

To support our children in learning about the wider world we would like to talk to them about celebrations and festivals which you celebrate at home or in your community. If there are celebrations or family traditions both religious or non-religious which you would like us to talk about and celebrate with your child please talk a member of nursery staff.

WOW Moments

Please continue to send in your childrens WOW moments notes. These are for you to write your childs achievements on and to share at nursery. These achievements can be anything which made you go WOW! Such as toileting, sleeping, jumping into the pool for the first time, eating new foods, crossing the road carefully, getting dressed all by themselves……!

Starting school

If your child was born between 1stSeptember 2014 and 31stAugust 2015 please apply for a school place for September 2019. Apply online at www.westsussex.gov.uk/admissions Deadline for applications is 15th January 2019.

September 2019

For our children who will be returning to us in September now is the time to let us know what sessions you would like-even if they are to stay the same-Please email Liz at [email protected] asap and no later than Friday 5thApril. The children on our waiting list will be contacted after this date. If you know of any families who would like to go on our September 2019 waiting list please ask them to get in touch!

See Saw

You will shortly be receiving a letter inviting you to view your child’s online journal. This will be via the see saw app and only you can see your child’s progress. You can add up to 6 family members to your account.

Parents meetings

We will be holding parents meetings on Tuesday 12th and Thursday 14thMarch between 3.15pm and 4.30pm. You will need to make an appointment with your child’s key person for a 10 minute slot. Details to follow after half term.

Website

Our website is developing and is now live! www.caterpillarnursery.co.uk

AGM

Our committee will be holding our AGM on Monday 11thFebruary at 7.15pm at school. All parents are invited.

Staff news

I am excited to tell you that Miss Kayleigh Hill is expecting her second child later this year. Kayleigh will be working with us until May half term before going on maternity leave.

We will be recruiting a qualified staff member to join our team in the coming few weeks.

Our dedicated staff team are

  • Miss Kate Summerhayes (Manager)
  • Mrs Maria Gwynn (Key person) (Deputy job share)
  • Mrs Hannah Broadbridge (Key person) (Deputy job share)
  • Mrs Bev John (Key person)
  • Miss Kayleigh Hill (Key person)
  • Mrs Jakki Maybank (Key person)
  • Mrs Lucia Urden (Nursery assistant)
  • Mrs Trina Matheson (Nursery assistant)
  • Mrs Ali Corpez (Nursery assistant)
  • Mrs Liz Groves (Administration)

Kind Regards,

Kate Summerhayes