Head of School's message
Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed the lovely sunny half-term break and had the opportunity to spend some quality time together as families.
This half term is always an exciting one as many of our older children begin their transition journey to primary school. We know this is a significant milestone for both children and parents/carers, and we will continue to support them as they prepare for this next step. Over this week and next, teachers from primary schools are visiting Health Lane Nursery, so they can get to know the children transition to them.
At the same time, we will soon become busy carrying out home visits and settling visits for the new children who will be joining us in September. Before we know it, September will be here and our youngest children will become our oldest children, taking on their important roles as role models within the nursery.
Thank you to all the parents and carers who attended consultation meetings this week. We appreciate how busy family life can be and know many of you juggled work and other commitments to meet with us. These conversations are invaluable in helping us work together to support your child's learning and development.
We are also delighted to welcome Natalie back next week following her absence. We know many of the children and families will be pleased to see her return.
As always, thank you for your continued support. We look forward to another busy and enjoyable half term together.
Dates coming up:
Monday 8th June Nursery will have a visit from Ark Farm - If your child usually attends the morning session only or does not normally attend on a Monday, you are more than welcome to bring your child in/back to the Nursery at 2:45pm as long as they are accompanied by yourself throughout (this is due to staffing ratios). There will be no parking available on site.
Friday 19th June & Monday 22nd June (Nursery Closed) - Inset & Occasional Days.
Monday 20th July - Leavers' picnic 11:30-1:00pm, all welcome (more information to follow)
Thursday 23rd July - 1pm finish for the Summer Holidays.
Friday 24th July to Tuesday 1st September (Nursery Closed) - Summer Holidays.
Reminders:
Please remember to return all borrowed books from our recent library visit to them before the due date.
Now that the weather is getting warmer - it is imperative that every child has sun lotion applied before their session. They must also have a sun hat (labelled with their name) with them every day - even if the day starts a little cloudy.
Join our nursery's social media pages to stay connected.
Book & Rhyme of the week
The next Structured Stories Book is "Lost and Found" by Oliver Jeffers.
Next week the story will move into the imitation phase of Structured Stories, where children will focus on the story structure identifying the beginning, middle and end. This will involve activities such as retelling the story with actions, creating story maps and performing the text aloud. This phase is to provide a solid foundation through understanding and practising the language patterns and structure of the text.
Our key vocabulary of the text is "South Pole", "Harbour", "Horn", "Delighted", "Realised" and "Search".
Please see below link to story;
The Rhyme of the week for next week is 'Zoom, zoom, zoom'.
This rhyme has a Maths focus on numbers.
Language of the week
We are lucky to have a rich and diverse community with lots of different languages. Do you speak Urdu or Akan/Twi? Are you available next week on a Wednesday or Thursday? If your answer is YES, then we'd be delighted to have you reading a story in your home language to the children! They love a Secret Storyteller! We are flexible with the timing so please speak to us if you can come in another day/time.
Please look out for our next week's languages in the newsletter, it might be your home language next!
Learning at home
To help your child become more independent and school ready, encourage them to practise putting their shoes and socks on and taking them off each day. Allowing children time to have a go by themselves helps to build confidence, resilience and important self-help skills.
You could:
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Practise putting socks on after bath time.
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Encourage your child to take off and put on their own shoes before going outside.
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Talk through each step together, offering praise for their efforts.
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Celebrate perseverance, even when they find it tricky.
Healthy me, Healthy world
Our Healthy Me, Healthy World focus this half term is Healthy Eating.
Through our weekly planned adult-led sessions, children will explore where food comes from, why different foods help our bodies grow and stay healthy, and the importance of making balanced choices.
Throughout the year, each week we introduce a fruit or vegetable of the week, encouraging children to taste, discuss and learn about a variety of healthy foods. Children will also enjoy baking activities at nursery, helping to develop their independence and understanding of healthy ingredients.
Our shared snack times provide valuable opportunities to try new foods, practise social skills and develop positive attitudes towards eating.
We would also like to thank families for supporting healthy eating through nutritious packed lunches, helping us to promote healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
Success story of the week
This week, our creative explorers enjoyed a wonderful learning experience in the meadow, where they used clay to create imaginative faces on the trees.
The children carefully pressed clay onto the tree trunks and then collected a variety of natural resources, including leaves, grasses, sticks, flowers and seeds, to add features and details to their creations.
This open-ended activity encouraged the children to use their imagination, make independent choices and express their own ideas.
They explored different textures, shapes and materials, discussing their discoveries with friends and adapting their designs as they worked.
All absences must be reported to the school either by leaving an absence message or emailing admin@heathlane.herts.sch.uk.
We politely ask that if you plan to take your child out during school time, you notify the Nursery office. For appointments, we ask where possible that these are not during the school day. If this is not avoidable, please kindly share the relevant information for this appointment in order for us to be able to authorise this.
Regular attendance at Nursery is very important, as it helps children build the foundational knowledge and skills they will need as they move through school. Establishing good attendance habits now supports a smoother transition into primary school and helps ensure children develop positive routines that will benefit them throughout their educational journey. Thank you for your continued support in helping your child attend regularly and on time.
