Dates for the Diary

Wednesday 7th June 2023 - Nursery Liturgy, in the classroom at 2.45pm. Please come through the office. 

Friday 16th June 2023 - Nursery 'Stay and Play' - 2.15pm

Please also remember to read the weekly school Newsletter for whole school and local community updates. 

9th June 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been learning abut Pentecost. The children shared their learning during our class Liturgy and they did a fabulous job. Thank-you for coming along and for joining in with us. The children love to see their grown-ups getting involved. The children painted some brilliant pictures of themselves, selecting the colours after looking in a mirror to see what colours they would need. The children painted the Holy Spirit dancing on their head, just like it did on the followers of Jesus.

We have focused on the number rhymes 'Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed' and 'Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree'. The children have been encouraged to do careful counting, recognise numerals and think about what happens when the quantities change. 

The children are being encouraged to think about how they are writing the letters in their name and to write both their first and second names. Please encourage your child to do this at home. Remember, only a upper case/capital letter at the start of the name. 

The weather is getting warmer. We encourage you to put sun cream onto your child before they come into Nursery. Children are not to bring sun cream into school. Your child is encouraged to wear a school cap and they are not to wear sunglasses. Please ensure that your child's clothing is named. We are building up a jumper collection as names are not on the jumpers. We do tell your child to put their Jumper into their bag, when they take it off but we have too many jumpers still being left behind. Your child MUST have a water bottle in school, everyday. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

26th May 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

Can you believe we have reached the May half term? Time is flying by...

This week we have continued our learning about frogs and the life cycle. The children created an edible life-cycle using ten halves of grapes, one half of an apple,  six raisins, four pieces of grated carrot, and two spinach leaves. We had to copy a picture of the life cycle that we had and do some very careful counting. The children did very well and they were able to eat what they created.

We shared the song 'Six Little Speckled Frogs' and the children really had to think about what was happening when the frogs had hopped into the pool. The number of frogs in the pool increased as the number on the log decreased. We matched the numerals to the quantity and many of the children spotted when we had three frogs on a the log and three in a pond. The children were able to match quantities to numerals from 0-6 during the activity. 

This week we had an assembly about dinosaurs. They had the opportunity to meet the dinosaurs that are pictured below. We shared some books about dinosaurs and started to think more carefully about them. 

We focused on Mary for our RE learning this week and the children created some beautiful paintings of 'Mary, the Queen of Heaven' and they also created a beautiful picture of themselves, using flowers. I have added both below for you to see. 

The children went on their first visit to the Gym Trail today and they had lots of fun climbing and exploring. We will be doing this a lot more in their final half term of Nursery.

Have a great half term break and please be reminded that we will have our Class Liturgy on  Wednesday 7th June at 2.45pm I am aware that there is a 'Family Time' on Friday 9th June but Nursery will not be partaking in this. We will have a 'Stay and Play' on Friday 16th June at 2.15pm.

Have a lovely half term break

Miss Whittaker

19th May 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been focusing on the Ascension of Jesus and sharing the story about Jesus taking the disciples up the Mount of Olives, telling them to wait for the Holy Spirit before he goes up to Heaven. We will be continuing this learning next week when we share the story of Pentecost. This will be the theme of our class Liturgy on Wednesday 7th June to which you are invited at 2.45pm. 

We have had two unexpected visitors in our classroom. We welcomed two tadpoles. These were greeted with enthusiasm and we are helping to care for them. The children have already noticed that one of the tadpoles is changing and it's back two legs are starting to grow. This arrival has changed the direction of our learning and we have been reading Frog based non-fiction books and the story the Teeny Weeny Tadpole. The children have been thinking words that begin with a 'f' sound and we have focused on learning about the life-cycle of a frog. 

This week we have also been sharing the book 'Ruby's Worry'. Thinking about what a worry maybe, how we feel when we have a worry and most importantly what we can do when we have a worry. Talking about a worry is the best thing that you can do. It will help the worry to shrink. 

Next week we will continue with our Frog theme and this will tie in nicely with our learning about Dinosaurs.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

12th May 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been focusing our learning around shapes. We have been looking for shapes, talking about shapes when we have been playing and we have been sharing 'The 'Shape Song Swingalong'. The children have been encourages to talk about shapes and what they can see. We looked at photos of Buckingham Palace and talked about the shapes that we could see. We linked this to our learning about the Coronation, we have continued with this.  The children made pastry shapes with Mrs Barber and they added a little jam to make a jam tart. These were yummy.

The children have been introduced to a story that Jesus told 'The Good Shepherd' and we have talked about how Jesus loves us all and that he will never leave us. 

This week we have been talking about using kind words and kind hands when playing. When we say our morning prayer this helps us to remember this. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

5th May 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been learning about the upcoming Coronation of King Charles 3rd. We have been sharing stories, singing songs, painting portraits, making crowns, cutting out bunting  and we had a lovely tea party that the children helped to prepare. The children assisted Mrs Barber in making scones and these were served with jam or jam and cream. The tea went down well (grown-ups it was decaffeinated tea) and the children chose as to whether they wanted cheese or cheese and cucumber sandwiches. We had to write down names for who wanted what sandwich so we knew how many to make. We do lots of problem solving in Nursery and the children help with this.  

During our hall time today we very carefully moved around with 'crowns' balancing on our heads. These were the small plastic PE cones. We had to turn around, march, walk forwards, walk sideways , walk backwards and stand up/sit down without the crown falling off our head.

The children have been learning some new songs and they may share these with you at home. I have included the songs below so you can join in. I have also added our fabulous paintings of King Charles 3rd.

Have a wonderful weekend

Enjoy the Coronation

Miss Whittaker

28th April 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been continuing to think about the Easter story. We have been sharing a story about what happens on Easter morning, when Jesus' friends discover that Jesus is no longer in the tomb. 

The story we have been sharing this week is 'Rosie's Walk' and we have been thinking about the journey that Rosie goes on around the farm. We have focused on the positional language in the story and have reinforced this during our play. We revisited the story 'Beans on Toast' and we sounded out words so that we could share write sentences for some photos that have been put on display.

The children attended the May Day Liturgy today and we will be busy making flowers to decorate our Prayer Table. 

Next week we will be thinking about the Coronation. We will be decorating our classroom, painting portraits of the King, making a crown and preparing food for a tea party. The children have been asked to dress up on Thursday 4th May. We ask that the children dress from one of the decades that King Charles has been alive-1940's -2020's. You have been invited into school to join us from 2.45pm so that we can share some of our learning with you. We hope that you join us in dressing up!

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

21st April 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to the Nursery. It was great to see the children coming back full of energy and ready to learn. We have recapped our class rules, revisited the Colour Monster and we have returned to our classroom routine. The children have all adapted well but they are noticeably tired today!

This week we have been talking about Easter and recalling that Jesus died on the cross, on Good Friday, his body was put in the tomb, by his friends and they put a stone in front of the tomb and Jesus rose again on Easter Sunday. We also shared the Easter Egg that we put on the Prayer table at the start of Lent. The egg reminds us of new life. 

This week we had beans on toast as part of our learning. The book we shared was 'Beans on Toast' and it takes us on a beans  journey from stalk to plate.  We also replanted our beans and moved them outside. Hopefully they will continue to grow. 

We have enjoyed some lovely sunshine this week and we have been busy tidying up our outdoor area. The children did a fabulous job.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

31st March 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

Have a fabulous Easter break and we look forward to seeing the children for their final term in Nursery. 

Ask your child about their Easter Garden and please help them to take care of it. They need to change the colour of the ribbon from purple to gold on Easter morning. We will continue talking about these when we get back to school. 

Enjoy your Easter break

Miss Whittaker

24th March 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been carefully looking after the ducklings which hatched out of their eggs last week. We watched them as they swam in a water tray and we let them have a little run around in our classroom. It was great fun watching them develop. The ducklings grew so quickly and on Thursday morning we said goodbye as they went back to the farm. 

The children have been watching their seeds change and grow and we even gave our grass a trim, very carefully using a pair of scissors.  The beans in the Wonder Windows have changed grown quite quickly, especially the one that was put in the dark. We have now decided to take it out of the dark and we have opened up the top of the Wonder Windows so that it can keep on growing! I have uploaded more photos to the bean investigation, below. Some of the children had to re-pot their bean seed and I'm sure many more will need to do the same next week. 

We have been learning more about Easter and we created a class Easter Garden. We shared a story about Jesus entering Jerusalem, on a donkey and that palm leaves were put down before him. We talked about the Last Supper, the sharing of bread (body) and wine (blood). The children have been told that Jesus died on the cross (we do not go into more detail than this for this age group) and that he rose again on Easter Sunday. We will continue with this learning next week.

Children will not receive Book Bag Bundles on Monday, these all need to be collected in so if you still have one at home please return next week. 

Next Friday we will have an Easter Bonnet Parade. The children were quite excited to see Mrs Barber's hat so it will be interesting to see what ideas they come up with.  

Please return all 'Catholic Children's Society' boxes by next Tuesday. These were sent home at the start of Lent. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

17th March 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

What a super busy week we have had. We have continued with our 'New Life' theme and the children have been very lucky to see a lot of growth and changes, this week.

On Monday we shared the story 'The Odd Egg' before we had a special delivery of 5 eggs. The five eggs were put inside an incubator and we thought really hard about what could be inside. Our story 'The Odd Egg' helped us to think about what creatures hatch out of an egg and we also shared an episode of 'Come Outside-Eggs', this gave us more ideas. 

Mrs Barber and the children made scrambled eggs on toast. What happens when an egg is heated up in a pan? The children thought about the changes that occur. We also did the 'Humpty Dumpty' sat on a wall investigation. Using the bricks we built a wall for Humpty Dumpty and then we rolled him off. How high does a wall need to be before Humpy Dumpty breaks? See the photos below

This week our bean seeds have been growing. Did you know that the one in the dark has grown the most? We had to change the container because the shoot was too tall. I have added a photo update so you can talk about this at home.

Some of the children were wearing green on Friday so we introduced them to Saint Patrick. 

This week we have also been sahring the story 'My Mum' and talking about how special our mummy is. The children each created a lovely picture of flowers by printing with fruit and vegetables and they drew a picture of themselves with their mummy.

Next week we will be continuing to think about 'New Life' and the changes that occur. The children are being encouraged to look after our seeds and ducklings. 

I will continue to add photos/videos. Next week we will put our ducks into water!

To all the mummy's out there, I hope that you have a lovely Mother's Day.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

10th March 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

Last Friday the children planted some grass seeds and this week we have put a bean into soil. We will be taking care of them during Lent, helping them to grow. Lent is a time for growing in love and we are continuing to talk about this everyday. We shared the story Jasper's Beanstalk and we have been considering what will happen to  our bean if we take care of it. Let's just hope that they grow. We have also started a class bean investigation. Take a look at the photo below. Which beans do you think will grow?

The children have spotted some new growth in our outside planters. There are daffodils growing. The children have been encouraged to look at the daffodils carefully and we have been naming the different parts that can be seen. We even have a daffodil growing above the ground so we can see the bulb and some of the roots. On a daffodil we can see one green stem, 6 yellow petals and a yellow crown (or coronet). Some of the children have been creating pictures of daffodils for our nursery. The children are continually encouraged not to pick the flowers from our garden, please continue to reinforce this at home. Let others enjoy the new life that is blooming. 

Nursery will be open during the strike days. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

24th February 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

It has been a very busy start to the half term.

We have been learning about Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day). The children helped to make pancakes and they made masks and we took part in a parade. We did watch a few carnival clips to get a little inspiration.

The children did so well when we went to the Ash Wednesday service and they were happy to see Father Jim. We have introduced the children to Lent and we have talked about growing in love during this time. The children are being encouraged to think about how they can grow in love, caring and kindness to be more like Jesus. In Nursery we will be thinking about using the words please, thank-you and sorry.

We have changed the colour of our Prayer Table, to purple and we are counting down to Easter. We have introduced the children to a story about Jesus going to the Wilderness and we learnt that Jesus went there for 40 days and night, with no food and drink. Jesus was alone and all he could see was the sky, sand and rocks. As part of this learning we have added an Easter Egg and biscuits to our Prayer Table and these will be shared at the end of Lent (hopefully they will last that long!). 

Thank-you so much to our trip volunteers. Your help was greatly appreciated. The children did so well walking to and from the church and Father Jim was happy to see us. The children had the challenge of looking for different objects around the church. Maybe you could ask your child when they next visit church if they can spot the Tabernacle, Baptism Font or Altar. Or maybe they will see a statue of Jesus or Mary. The children were happy to see Father Jim in school the following day, he put ashes on our heads. The children have been taught that the ashes are from burnt palm leaves. 

We have spotted signs of new life growing in our garden. Over the next few weeks we will be learning about signs of new life and taking care of plants and creatures. This week the children have been spoken to about allowing plants and flowers to grow. Please reinforce this at home, especially that flowers are not to be picked. If they are picked we can no longer enjoy watching them grow. 

I have added a Stay and Play to the diary. This will take place next Friday from 2.15pm-3.20pm. This is a good opportunity for you to come and spend some time with your child, in the setting. It is not a time to talk about your child's progress. Siblings are welcome to join us but they will remain your responsibility. Phones/cameras also need to be turned off. If you are unable to join us please let your child know so that they are not waiting for you. 

The children need to dress up on Tuesday, next week, for World Book Day. This needs to be as a word. Please avoid superheroes, princesses, Disney characters etc. Children must still be able to toilet themselves so please avoid tricky dress up.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

10th February 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been very busy in the Nursery. During our RE learning we have been thinking about how we gather together in a church. We talked about some of the different objects that we may see when we go to Mass. For example, the Holy Water stoop at the door, the hymn books that may be handed out by people who welcome us, the pews that we sit on and the aisle that we walk down. When we visit the church we will be looking out for all of these different things. Thank-you to those who have volunteered. Unfortunately, siblings are unable to join us as the priority needs to be the safety of the Nursery children. 

We have been re-reading the story the Colour Monster and sharing books/poems about emotions and feelings, as part of Children's Mental Health Week. We talked about who we like to play to play with, both at home and in school and how we feel when we are with them. The children shared the stories 'Ravi's Roar' and 'Ruby's Worry' and we have spoken about how we need to talk about our feelings. The children were very happy when we had a delivery of our very own bubble lamp and colour monster figurines, for our Calm Corner. When the children come into Nursery they are encouraged to think about how they are feeling and throughout the day we check in with them to see if their feelings have changed/stayed the same. 

I am aware that on the day of the church visit the children in the school have been asked to dress up for a Mardi Gras Carnival. Nursery children will take part in the parade but they MUST wear school uniform on this day. Dressing up always excites the children and on this occasion we need them to be calm as we walk to/from the church.

Have a great half term

Miss Whittaker

3rd February 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been sharing the story 'The Gingerbread man'. The children have been encouraged to join in with the retelling of the story, they have been thinking about what might happen next and they have been singing along with the words. The children were encouraged to predict an ending to the story, 'The Gingerbread man stopped at the river. What happened next?'. We had some very interesting endings, especially after a biscuit experiment. As part of one of our retelling's we added a biscuit to a glass of water. What do you think happened? We discovered that a Gingerbread man wouldn't last long in a river!

The children made and ate Gingerbread men and we even had cinnamon butter toast. These were both a yummy treat.

The children have been thinking about rhyming words. We thought about words that rhyme with 'man'. We focused on the sounds that make up the words and we wrote the words to see what they look like. 

During our snack time we have been doing some careful counting and we have been comparing quantities. For example, did we have more apples or pears today? How do we know? 

Today your child has brought home a letter regarding a visit to the Church. Please complete and return.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

27th January 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been learning about Chinese New Year. We have been busy making, singing, dancing and eating. The children all went to 'Mrs Barber's Chinese Restaurant' to sample noodle stir fry and vegetable spring rolls. They had a choice of Soy sauce and Sweet Chilli dip and there were a few funny faces pulled at sampling these. The children had the option of using chopsticks and they gave it a good go.

We made lanterns to decorate our classroom and some of the children have been busy making dragons. We shared the story 'The Great Race' and we watched some clips from cbeebies 'Lets Celebrate' series. I have included a youtube clip on the 'Home Learning' page, of the story 'The Great Race'. There are different versions and we all liked this one as it included the cat! 

Did you know that it is the year of the Rabbit? We did a little research to find out some facts about rabbits. Did you know that a baby rabbit is called a Kit, a girl rabbit is a Doe and a boy rabbit is a Buck? Did you know that a rabbit's teeth never stop growing or that their ears are long? 

We also looked at photos of the Great Wall of China and we looked at the map to see where China is.

As part of our RE learning we shared a story about the 'Presentation of Jesus at the Temple'. He was six weeks old and Mary and Joseph took him, after yet another long journey, so that they could say thank-you to God. When at the Temple they met Simeon and Anna who were very pleased to meet this special baby, a gift from God. The children were very focussed on Anna and Simeon being very old (even older than Mrs Barber).

This week I contacted Father Jim to arrange a Nursery visit to the Church. We will be going on Tuesday 21st February (Shrove Tuesday) and all children are expected to attend. The children are to be dropped off at the usual time and we will start our long journey at 9am. We will need parent volunteers to help us to get to/from the Church. I will send out a letter next week and on this you will be able to let us know if you can help out. 

I am aware that some of you received the same Book Bag Bundles, this last week. I have lost the list that I usually write allocated numbers onto. It is somewhere in the classroom or it could be that the children have been very efficient with their recycling...meaning a new list will be required.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

20th January 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been sharing the story 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. The children have been encouraged to join in with the retelling of the story and to think about what a troll might look like. We have retold the story using props and they were told an alternative ending. What would happen if the troll didn't get pushed into the river?

The children have been challenged to make bridges so that the goats could get across the river carefully and we have been continuing with our careful counting. 

We have been thinking about words that rhyme with goat and we have also been making a list of words that begin with the sound 't'. 

Thank-you for sharing your wedding and Baptism photos. The children were showing each other these during a carpet session. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

13th January 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been sharing the story 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. We have focused on what is seen and happening in the illustrations and we have been encouraging the children to join in with the story telling. The children have been making porridge, it was just right and was gobbled up. We looked carefully at the instructions when making the porridge. During our story learning we have been thinking about the number three and how there are 3 bears, 3 bowls, 3 chairs and 3 beds. We have been learning  a 'Three Bears Rap' and the song 'When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears' 

The children have been thinking about words that begin with the sound 'b'. We are encouraging the children to listen carefully to the first sound that they hear in a word. 

The children have been starting to think about celebrations that take place in a Church. Mrs Barber shared her wedding photo and they were encouraged to think about what they could see.

We still have some Book Bag Bundles that have not been returned since before the holidays. Please be reminded that Book Bag Bundles are given out on a Monday and should be returned on the Thursday of the same week. Home Wow Books are given out on Friday and should be returned on Tuesday. 

We are currently experiencing a shortage of spare clothes. If your child happens to have any of Nursery's socks, pants or trousers please return them. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

6th January 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back and a Happy New Year to all. 

I hope that the start of the year finds you all well. The children have come back as though they have never been away and they have settled back into our routine. 

Over the last few days, in this short week, we have recapped on our learning about 'The Colour Monster'. Talking about how the monster is feeling in each picture and we have related this to ourselves. The children are asked daily to think about how they are feeling and why they may be feeling that way. It's important that we talk about our feelings/emotions from an early age so that children can express themselves through words. As part of this learning we have also been learning about colour mixing. 

We have been learning about the journey of the Three Wise Men. We talked about how it would have taken them twelve days to reach the baby Jesus. They had a long journey travelling through the desert, over mountains, through valleys and across the sea. We created a story map together and incorporated some colour mixing into this story as well! Have a look at the photos below and talk to your child about them.

The prayer table and Father Jim were changed from purple fabric to white/gold fabric in celebration of Jesus' birth. 

Over the next few weeks our focus will be on learning some traditional tales and we will be doing activities around these. 

Have a lovely weekend

Best wishes

Miss Whittaker

16th December 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank-you for the lovely gifts, they are very much appreciated. 

We look forward to welcoming you all back in 2023.

Take care and best wishes

Miss Whittaker and Mrs Barber

9th December 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank-you for joining us today, the children put on a fantastic show and I am glad that you could share it with us. The children worked so hard to learn the songs and they made great decorations for the classroom, in preparation.  A big thank-you to Father Christmas for coming to see us. 

This week we have been continuing to learn the Christmas story and we have been thinking about the journey that Mary and Joseph made on the donkey. We talked about it being a hard journey. Across stony, sandy ground, over hills and through valleys. It was not easy. Depending on which way they went the journey may have taken at least 4/5 days. There were no cars, no trains, no planes, no helicopters... We looked at a map of the world to see where we live and where Nazareth and Bethlehem are. They are a long way away!

The children imagined that Mary and Joseph arrived at our Nursery door, on a donkey. They were very hungry. We gave them instructions on how to get to the hall. The donkey had to stay outside! We then made the journey ourselves really thinking about how we get to the hall. 

Next week we will have a little party but there is no need for you to bring food. The children will help us to prepare something.

The children will not be bringing home Book Bag Bundles next week. Please can all bags be returned to school, we are missing a few.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

2nd December 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been learning the Christmas story and we have been busy preparing for our show, next Friday. The children have created a picture of baby Jesus in the manger, they have made a star for the Three Wise men to follow and some of the children have started to make the hats for the show.

The children have been helping to get the classroom Christmas ready and we are opening our Advent Calendar.

The weather has turned cold, we do go outside in all weathers so please make sure that your child has a suitable coat. We are also reinforcing that germs are not for sharing. We need to catch our coughs and sneezes. Many children are currently coughing and sneezing, it's the season. 

We hope to see you at the Christmas Fair on Sunday. Please be at the stage for 12.10pm ready to go on at 12.15pm.  

We also look forward to welcoming you into the Nursery, next Friday at 9am. Please ensure that your child is wearing a Christmas Jumper and it would be great if you could do to. I'm estimating that the festivities will be over by 9.45am (10 am at the latest).

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

25th November 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

We were very happy to welcome back Mrs Barber this week. The children and I were very happy to see her. On her first day back she made Potato Latkes with the children and we recapped our learning about Hanukkah.  

On Wednesday we had a visit from the Author Lucy Noguera and she shared with us her book 'Herman Needs a Home'. This lead to discussions about Hermit Crabs and the importance of throwing rubbish in the bin. Lucy talked about how our shoes get too small as our feet grow and then we need new shoes. Lucy recommended a youtube clip, narrated by David Attenborough which shows Hermit Crabs swapping shells. It's quite fascinating and the children liked it. Maybe you could share the clip with your child at home. Just be warned it is a youtube clip so there maybe advertisements. 

Hermit Crabs LINE UP To Swap Shells! | Life Story | BBC Earth Kids - YouTube

This week we have started to get festive. The children have been introduced to some Christmas songs and we have started to share the story of the Nativity. We started with Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary with the very special news that she was going to have a baby, a little boy called Jesus. The children have each created a beautiful.  Angel We have started to create an Advent Wreath and from December 1st we will be decorating the classroom. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

18th November 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week the children have adapted well to the staffing changes. Mrs Barber has been unwell but hopefully she will be back with us next week.

We have been thinking about Birthday celebrations and we helped Mr Troll to celebrate his 4th birthday. Poor Mr Troll, he was feeling very sad as no one had remembered that it was his birthday. We sang Happy Birthday and the children made pictures and cards. They made sure that he was looked after on his birthday. We have shared the stories 'Happy Birthday Maisy', 'Mungo Monkey has a Birthday Party and 'Ants in your Pants'. 

We have been learning about the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. The children have been learning about Menorahs and how there are nine candles altogether, with the middle candle being the helper candle that is used to light the other eight candles. A candle is lit for each day of Hanukkah (eight days altogether). The children made a Menorah using their handprints and paint. Careful counting was encouraged when adding the candle flames. We will be making Potato Latkes when Mrs Barber returns and this will help to further our learning. There is a clip on the cbeebies website, you could watch this with your child and learn a little bit more about Hanukkah https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/my-first-festival-hanukkah

I am going to apologise in advance but starting next week we will be starting to learn Christmas Songs. Christmas does come early in the Nursery but we will be singing on the stage at the Christmas Fair on Sunday 4th December 2022. We need to get practising otherwise you will be listening to Mrs Barber and I! I have been informed that the Nursery are on stage at 12.15pm. Please be at the stage for 12.10pm.

On the 9th November we will be performing for parents/carers (a maximum of two grown-ups per family) in the Nursery classroom at 9am. You are invited to join us for a cuppa and a mince pie after the show. I'm hoping that we will have a special visitor join us. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

11th November 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been looking at Autumnal changes and Poppies. We looked at the autumnal objects collected on your Autumn Walks and the children created a picture of themselves using these objects. You can see these below. We have been learning some Autumn songs, counting leaves and we created Autumn Tree paintings. 

In November, we Remember

We have been learning about whay people wear a Poppy at this time of year. We sent our prayers to God asking him to help people to make good choices by using their words instead of fighting. As part of our learning about Remembrance Day we have been using some clips from cbeebies. Maybe you could share these with your child and talk about what is seen and happening.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/my-first-festivals-remembrance-day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/poppies

The children have created some beautiful Poppy paintings (which you can see below), using potatoes, paint and poppy seeds and they have made a salt dough poppy (these are currently in the oven).

Please remember that your child is to wear blue on Monday for the start of anti-bullying week. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

4th November 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to Nursery. We hope that you had a lovely half term break and that you are ready for the busy half term ahead. This half term we will be sharing the topic 'Celebrations' and we will be thinking about the different 'Festivals of Light' that are celebrated in Autumn and Winter.  This is a very festive time of the year; Christmas comes early in the Nursery!

This week the children have been introduced to the Hindu Festival of Light, Diwali. As part of our learning we have been dancing, singing, making Diwa lamps, creating rangoli patterns and we have started to make firework pictures (using a salad spinner). The children took part in a dance work shop and we have been using some of the moves to help with our story telling. The children have been told the story about Rama, Sita, Hanuman and Ravana. Maybe you could ask your child about it? We have been sharing two more stories 'Chapatti Moon' and 'The Runaway Chapatti' this resulted in Mrs Barber making chapattis with the children. These went down a treat with Raita and Mango Chutney. 

I have added a link to some clips that we have shared from the cbeebies series 'Let's Celebrate'. Maybe you could watch these clips with your child and talk with them about what is seen and happening.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/lets-celebrate-diwali

Just a reminder that Book Bag Bundles are given out on a Monday and we expect them to be returned on the Thursday. Please share the books with your child, encouraging them to handle them carefully and to talk about what is seen and happening throughout the book. I have added a booklet below with some tips on sharing books with your child. 

This week I have not given out your child's Home-Wow book. This week we would like you to go out and about looking for Autumnal objects, ready for some learning next week. Please bring the Autumnal objects in on Tuesday. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

14th October 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been continuing with our Spider theme. We have been sharing the book 'Incy Wincy Spider', we have been looking for spiders around our learning environment and we have even eaten a spider!

The children created a spider using apple, cucumber/carrot sticks and raisins. There was a focus on careful counting before the spider was gobbled up. We talked to the children about how a spider has eight legs, four on each side of their body. Have you ever wondered why a spider doesn't stick to their web? We did a little investigation this week using Sellotape and oil. Touch a piece of Sellotape with your finger, what happens? Add a little oil to your finger and then touch the Sellotape, how is it different? Spiders secrete oil from the ends of their legs to stop them sticking to their own web.

Continuing with the counting theme we have changed the song 'One elephant went out to play...' to 'One dinosaur went out to play...' we also used the numerals to match to the correct quantity of elephants/dinosaurs. The children were encouraged to show the correct number of fingers as the quantities changed.  

The children have been introduced to the book 'Little Miss Muffet' and we have been thinking about words that rhyme. Little Miss Muffet is visited by a number of animals in the story who eat the food that Little Miss Muffet has in a picnic basket. For example, 'Along came a parrot, who crunched up her carrot'

The children have been continuing to share the story of 'Creation' and we have been discussing that our names are special and that God knows all of our names.

We have been talking about creating vertical, straight lines and we have been practicing our up and down movements to music, using the scarves. The children have been encouraged to mark make/cut along straight lines.

Please be reminded that Nursery gates will open at 1.15pm and close at 1.30pm  next Wednesday as we have Parent Consultations, this is inline with the rest of the school.  Please sign up if you have not yet done so.  

Just a reminder that the children should be wearing Royal blue tracksuit bottoms and not not Navy blue when they come to school. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

7th October 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been sharing the story 'Arrrggghhh Spider' by Lydia Monk. This is a great story for this time of the year as it is Spider Season. Have you noticed more spiders than usual? The children are being encouraged to join in with the story telling and we have been talking about what happens as we progress through the pages of the book. The children have been introduced to the number song 'One Elephant went out to Play...' and we have been using props to help us with our counting. The Incy Wincy Spider song has been sung a few times but did you know that there was an Itchy Nitchy Spider or Inky Pinky Spider? There are more rhyming names to learn!

As part of our Religious Education learning we have started to share the story of Creation. God created our wonderful world in just 7 days. We have been learning about the first three. This learning will continue into next week. We have also been continuing to learn each others names and to think about how our name is special to us. 

This week we have had a focus on thinking about how we look after the toys and books in the Nursery. We have noticed that quite a few books are being ripped and that resources are not being looked after. We will continue to reinforce this learning over the coming weeks. Another focus is tidying up. Children are encouraged to tidy away a resource after they have finished playing with it. 

Please be mindful of the changing weather. It is getting cooler and the children do play out in all weathers. It is recommended that your child brings a coat to school.

The children have brought home a letter today with your login details for Class Dojo's, please check if this works (apologies but these login details were not given out, they will be given out on Monday). I have attached a letter below regarding an upcoming Diwali workshop.

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker 

30th September 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to the Nursery! This section of the website will be added to, weekly. I will continue to add to the content of the Nursery pages over the coming weeks. 

The children have settled well into the first week of full time Nursery. They have been busy exploring the environment and getting used to our daily routine. 

This week we have been sharing two books 'Germs are Not for Sharing' and 'Hands are not for Hitting'. We have been reminding children to catch their coughs and sneezes, to throw used tissues into the bin and to wash their hands after going to the toilet or before eating. We will continue to reinforce this over the coming weeks. We have been talking about all of the good things that we can do with our hands and the children had fun exploring hand printing and making new colours. 

As part of our Religious education learning we have been learning each others names, the name of our class (Genesis) and we have been talking about how our own names are special to us.

This week we have also been sharing the story 'The Enormous Turnip' and we have talked about where vegetables come from. The children have made vegetable soup, chopping vegetables carefully and they have printed with vegetables. We have thanked God for a wonderful Harvest and for helping such delicious food to grow. We thank-you for the contributions that you have brought in for Ealing Food Bank, they will make a difference. 

Please be reminded that the school uniform consists of:

Royal blue jogging bottoms

Royal Blue sweater (with school logo)

Yellow t-shirt (with school logo)

Black comfortable shoes with velcro fastenings (not trainers)

These can all be purchased from the school uniform shop, Juniper. 

The weather is changing and we do go outside in all weathers. Please ensure that your child has a navy blue coat. 

Please also remember to check the school Newsletter as well as this page for further information about the wider school community. 

I have added the powerpoint presentation for the recent 'Meet the Teacher Evening' under the 'Settling In' tab.

A parent has very kindly agreed to set up the class WhatsApp group. If you wish to be added to this group please add your number to the list on the back of the Nursery door. 

Have a great weekend

Miss Whittaker

Start primary school in September 2023

Children born between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2019 are due to start the first year of primary school (reception class) in September 2023.

Children currently in year 2 at an infant school are due to transfer to junior school in September 2023.

You must apply directly to the council that you are living in at the time of application, regardless of the borough which the school is in. The deadline for applying for primary school is 15 January 2023. Applications received after this date are late and will not be considered until after national offer day.

The national offer day for on time applicants is 17 April 2023. If you apply online you will receive an email in the evening on 17 April confirming the school that has been offered.

Start primary school in September 2023 | Apply for a primary school place | Ealing Council

Please note that your child's Nursery space does not guarantee a space in the Reception class at Mount Carmel