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Pepperberry Day Nursery Newsletter December 2012

A Message from the Manager.... Dear parents/carers, On 16th November we had a ‘Spotty Day’ to raise money for Children In Need. We had an incredible day and everyone made a fantastic effort coming to nursery dressed in something spotty. I would just like to say thank you to everyone who made a donation prior to this event and on the day. I would also like to say a big thank you to Trish our Chef who made a Pudsey Cake which we gave as a raffle prize on the day and the winner was Mia from Baby Peppers. In total we raised £130.00; we are currently awaiting our certificate and will display this in the reception area when we receive it. I would like to say a big thank you to Rohanne Hardman and Cecilia Lavender for donating an assortment of materials to the nursery which we can use for a variety of activities and to Matthew Coups who kindly donated a Christmas reindeer which is displayed in our reception area. Our Ofsted report is now available to view online. There will be a link to this report via our website and also on our facebook page. If you would like to comment on this report please do so as we value all your comments. Recently we e-mailed all parents/carers regarding dates for your Festive Diary; if you have not received this please could you let Kerry or Jenni know. We have some exciting events leading up to Christmas and are looking forward to these. During November there has been some staff changes regarding movement to other Units. It is really important that staff move to other Units from time to time and experience different age groups within their career as this helps to develop staff’s knowledge and understanding of different developmental ages and stages of the children. It is also vital that children become familiar with other members of staff within the setting as from time to time staff are required to cover in other rooms when needed. This will enable your child/children to feel relaxed and at ease as they would have built a relationship with other team members within the nursery setting. I would just like to remind all parents/carers that we close for Christmas on 24th December at 4pm prompt (if you can pick up before this time it would be much appreciated) and re-open on 2nd January 2013 as normal. We have had an unbelievable year and from Tony, Gill and all the Pepperberry Team we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for all your support throughout this year and we look forward to your return in the New Year.

Melanie Beckett

I have worked at Pepperberry since October 2012. I studied in Shrewsbury and gained my NVQ Level 3 in Childcare

and Education in 2008. Since then I have worked in other areas such as with Youth groups, care homes and nursery

settings. At Pepperberry I am based in the 1-2 year unit. I am really enjoying my time here and look forward to

getting to know all the children and their families. I have recently moved to Stockport and I am getting married in

May. I enjoy spending lots of time with my family and friends.

Joanne Dean

I have worked at Pepperberry since October 2012. I have been a BTEC Diploma Level 3 Qualified Early Years

Practitioner for 20 years. During this time I have worked in a variety of Childcare settings. I have two grown up

children, my daughter is at University and my son is studying sciences at Stockport College. Since starting at

Pepperberry everyone has made me feel really welcome and I have made lovely relationships with the children,

parents and staff here. My interests are reading, walking in the country, cycling and socialising.

This month I would like to introduce two more members of our Pepperberry team. Firstly I would like to introduce Joanne Dean who has been at Pepperberry since October 2012 and is very devoted and compassionate about working with children, Joanne works in Baby Peppers the 0-1’s room. I would also like to introduce Melanie Beckett who has also been at Pepperberry since October 2012; Melanie works in Tiny Peppers the 1-2’s room. Melanie has a very caring nature and is passionate about working with children. We are very pleased that both members of staff are part of the Pepperberry team.

What have we been up to in November?

Baby Peppers (0-1 years) Alexandra O’Brien, (Practitioner), Kimberley Jack, (Practitioner), Joanne Dean (Practitioner) We would like to welcome Erin and Grace Clarke into the Baby Peppers Unit.

At the end of October Baby Peppers Unit invited the children and practitioners to dress up for Halloween.

We had Halloween crafts and a Halloween party tea. The Unit was decorated with lots of spooky hanging

decorations and everyone had a thrilling time!

In the month of November Baby Peppers have been following the theme of The Elements; Fire, Water, Air

and Earth.

We have created Firework art designs using glue and glitter in celebration of Bonfire Night, made tracks

and patterns in flour and sand and designed and made colourful collages as we celebrated Diwali.

To commemoration Remembrance Day the children made Poppies using painted hands of red and black

paint.

Baby Peppers have been investigating, exploring and experiencing all media which is textured and messy,

shaving foam, shredded paper, cornflakes, flour, baby lotion and pasta play. We have also been exploring

colour and marking marks using paint, chalk, glue and a variety of materials to create collages with.

Baby Peppers would like to thank all the parents for supporting Children in Need and dressing their

children in spots. We had lots of fun with activities ‘all things spotty’, finger painting, mark making on

Pudsey and blowing bubbles.

Next month’s focus activity is Festivals. We will be making lots of festive decorations, hats, crackers and

creating display boards to celebrate Christmas. Please come and see the lovely art work your children will

have created.

We would like to invite parents, carers and grandparents to share any successes, news and achievements

on the Wall of achievement within the Baby Peppers unit. All the bricks written on will be photocopied

and placed in your child’s Learning Journey.

Baby Peppers would like to wish all the children who celebrated a birthday during the month of November and

December a very Happy Birthday. ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU’ FROM EVERYONE AT PEPPERBERRY DAY NURSERY

Tiny Peppers (1-2years) Kath Lennon (Unit Leader), Kerry Deakin (Practitioner), Emmie Brandreth (Practitioner), Louise Carter (Practitioner), Melanie Beckett (Practitioner), Ashleigh Haselden (Practitioner) Tiny Peppers would like to welcome Harry Little, Harry Brosnihan, Lilia Trickett and Emma Sumner who have now

moved to Tiny Peppers Unit. We hope you will all be happy and have lots of fun!

Tiny Peppers unit have been experiencing, exploring and investigating activities which promote November’s

theme The Elements: Air, Fire, Water and Earth.

In Tiny Peppers Unit the children have been exploring ice blocks with shells, food colouring frozen inside.

Flavoured ice was also offered for investigation as was soil, sand and sawdust for digging, filling, emptying and

handling into different sized buckets and containers, supporting and encouraging children’s understanding of

early mathematical concepts, size, colour, capacity, number and understanding of the world.

Coloured water, bubble play and lots of very messy play opportunities, shaving foam, gloop, baby lotion, rice,

baked beans and cornflakes have been also offered, exploring and investigating media materials and textures.

Tiny Peppers celebrated Diwali, The Festival of Light, by making lanterns, decorating candles, making celebration

cards and making ‘rangoli’ patterns in flour and sand to bring in luck from the goddess of fortune.

To commemorate Remembrance Day Tiny Peppers Unit created a lovely wreath made from children’s handprints.

On Monday 12th

November a trip was arranged and with consent from parents - the children took the wreath to

the Cenotaph on Mill Street Wilmslow.

The wreath was placed on the memorial as a sign of our thanks and in respect of all the services people who gave

their service in all the past/present conflicts.

To celebrate Bonfire Night the children created beautiful art collages and embracing the coldness that this month

brings, we have begun to explore the weather, creating ‘Jack Frost’ leaves using silver glitter and images of fallen

leaves and singing weather songs.

At nursery we promoted ‘All things Spotty’ for Children in Need which was a great success. We would like to

thank you all for supporting the cause, donating so generously and encouraging your children to be involved

dress up and joining in the fun. We painted, had photographs taken for a Pudsey certificate and had raffle for a

Pudsey bear.

December’s focus theme is to be Festivals. We are planning lots of activities and events to celebrate this festive

season and will keep you updated in regard to all the focus activities we promote daily on the white board within

the play unit.

Tiny Peppers would like to wish all the children who celebrated a birthday during the month of November and December

a very Happy Birthday. ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU’ FROM EVERYONE AT PEPPERBERRY DAY NURSERY

Sweet Peppers (2-3 years) Ella Griffiths (Senior Practitioner), Lynda Staples (Practitioner), Rebecca Judge (Practitioner), Keira Sagar (Practitioner) This month we would like to welcome Louie Chapman and Theo Collier who have moved from the Tiny Pepper Room to Sweet Peppers and also Jacob Whyte who is a new starter to Pepperberry.

October and November have been busy months within Sweet Peppers. Throughout the months, we have taken full advantage of the beautiful autumn colours and have spent many hours exploring the outdoor garden areas; collecting leaves and other interesting items. We have then made indoor collages and wall art displays with our findings. Although we have had lots of rain over the past month, we have not let the weather conditions dampen our spirits. We have embraced the wet weather and brought the “rain” indoors for one of our displays. The children loved decorating the oversized rain drops, making them sparkle with lots of glitter.

Over the past few months, we have been working hard with the children in the Sweet Peppers room, to make it a really warm and welcoming place for everyone to enjoy. Our display boards are bright and colourful and are themed around current topics and media events. One of our recent themed activities was for Children In Need day on 16th November. The Sweet Peppers celebrated and raised funds by coming to Nursery in their pyjamas’, wearing spots and yellow clothing. The day’s events were themed around ‘bears’;; the children had fun making Pudsey Bear biscuits, painting Pudsey Bear pictures, singing Bear themed songs and they even went on a ‘Bear Hunt’ in the outside garden area. In addition to this, the children also made a giant Pudsey Bear, using a variety of textures and materials; Pudsey is now up on display in the Sweet Peppers room. Everybody working on Children In Need Day had fun dressing up and had a comfortable day working in their pyjamas’ and slippers! It was great and we raised lots of money for Children in Need.

Also in November, the children made cards to commemorate Remembrance Day. The young children concentrated hard to mix their paints and copied a picture of a Poppy to put on the front of their cards.

In Sweet Peppers, we are now busy making preparations for the Festive Season. The children have been practising Christmas songs each week, which they will sing at our Christmas Carol Concert. In addition to this, we have already started planning our daily activities around Christmas. The children have already decorated plates and used lots of sparkles and glitter to make them shine; the plates have now been put on the wall as part of our Christmas tree wall dressing.

The past few months have seen a few changes in the Sweet Peppers room. We have welcomed a number of new children to the nursery, we have celebrated a number of special birthdays and we will soon be moving some of our older children up to the Chilli Peppers room next door.

Sweet Peppers would like to wish all the children who celebrated a birthday during the month of November and

December a very Happy Birthday. ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU’ FROM EVERYONE AT PEPPERBERRY DAY NURSERY

Chilli Peppers (3-4 years) Sheri Bennett (Unit Leader) With short days, fog and rain November can be such a dull and gloomy month but there’s no gloom here! We’ve had a very busy month with lots of fun activities. We began the month with the excitement of Bonfire Night. It’s easy to forget as an adult just how exciting it is for a young child to be out in the dark, but after Bonfire night I heard from the children in Chilli Peppers all about their excitement of their Bonfire Night celebrations. Their faces lit up with excitement as they told me about the sounds and colours they had seen and heard. We drew and coloured fireworks and made a Bonfire display for the wall. For the sombre occasion of Remembrance Day we talked about the wearing of poppies. Of course, the children had seen many images of poppies, many people wearing them of some questioned what it was about. We explained it as an occasion for remembering people who are, or were; special to us and that the wearing of the Poppy signifies that we are remembering them. We drew and coloured poppies, talked about red and black and also a little about people who are special to us. The Hindu Festival of Diwali, The Festival of Light, began on 13th November. To mark the event the children made a collage of lighted lamps decorated with jewels and their work is now displayed on the wall in our room. On Friday 16th November the day of Children In Need, we had lots of fun colouring, cutting and sticking images of Pudsey, making Pudsey cakes and doing ‘spotty’ activities and had a lot of fun collecting and counting pennies. During the final weeks of November our theme in Pre-school has been ‘elephants.’ This idea was prompted by the children’s enthusiasm for Elmer the Elephant, the subject of Christine’s French session this half term. The children love this character so used the idea to investigate elephants further. We’ve been singing Elephants have wrinkles and Nelly the Elephant too! We are almost in December and as we look forward to frosty mornings, late night shopping, festive menu planning, nativity plays and concerts. I like Christmas because it’s a time to stop, reflect on the change over the years and to spend precious time with good friends and family. From the children’s perspective the excitement and anticipations starts to build from the beginning of December. During the coming weeks we will be making decorations for our room, making and decorating a Christmas tree, making Christmas cards and of Course, singing lots of Christmas songs. We’re looking forward to Three weeks of fun and celebration. Chilli Peppers would like to wish all the children who celebrated a birthday during the month of November and

December a very Happy Birthday. ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU’ FROM EVERYONE AT PEPPERBERRY DAY NURSERY.

Policy of the month

Administration of emergency fever control medication procedures

The setting is prepared to administer a fever reducer in an emergency, to lower a child’s temperature, if specifically requested to do so by the child’s parent/carers.

Prior to administering fever control medication:-

In the event that a child’s temperature is raised, every attempt should be made to quickly reduce the temperature by offering cold drinks, removing any access clothing and applying a cold flannel.

A member of staff should stay with the child at all times, to monitor the child’s condition and if after 15 minutes the temperature has not reduced the manager should be informed. The manager will then contact the parent/carers to ask if we can administer a fever reducer, but in the case of being unable to contact any of the parents the manager will give the Calpol at their discretion provided this has been signed for in the registration forms. .

If we cannot administer the fever reducer the parent/carers will be requested to collect the child or make arrangements for the child to be collected.

Where permission is not granted or contact with the parent/carer is not successful, a child must be taken to hospital by ambulance if their temperature is not lowered using the previous methods mentioned.

When a parent/carer confirms that a fever reducer can be administered this must be recorded on the medication form.

If a child’s temperature does not stabilise within 30 minutes of administering the fever reducer, the parent/carer must be contacted again to request that the child is collected from the setting.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Brought to you by Pepperberry’s Full Time Chef Trish

Cheesecake

Ingredients

150g digestive biscuits (or oaty biscuits) 75g butter For the topping 200g cream cheese and 600ml double cream ( or 250g tub of Mascarpone cheese) 25g caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) Juice of half a lemon (optional) Any fruit such as a mixture of berries, cherries or fudge.

Put the biscuits in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin until they are crumbs. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave, then add in the biscuit crumbs. Mix well then press into the base of a loosed bottomed 17cm cake tin. If you don’t have a loose bottomed cake tin then use any round dish lined with grease proof paper. Use a potato masher for a really compact job. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes. Mix the cheese, sugar, lemon and vanilla together and pour over the top of the biscuit base and chill. Top with fresh fruit.

Important Messages

- Thank you to everyone who came to parent/carer evening. It was lovely to see so

many parents/carers come to this. We are always happy to inform you at any time on

how your child is progressing at Pepperberry Day Nursery.

- Thank you to all parents/carers who have brought in spare clothes.

- At Pepperberry the Health and Safety of the children is paramount, could all

parents/carers please refrain from bringing in plastic bags or bags with draw strings.

- I would like to remind all parents/carers to refrain from bringing food into the rooms

on the nursery premises and if you are entering the room during mealtimes please

could you not help to serve the food as we have children with serious allergy and

dietary requirements. Thank you.

- We do have spare clothes at Pepperberry but please could I ask that you supply a spare

change of clothes for your child and that you label these to avoid clothing getting

mixed up. Thank you.

- Due to the weather getting colder please could I ask you to make sure you provide

your child with warm clothing such as a coat, scarf, gloves and wellington boots.

- Please could all children refrain from bringing toys into the nursery setting unless this

is a comforter for your child/children, this causes conflict with the children in the

rooms and upsets them.

- Pepperberry Day Nursery now has its own facebook page! If you are on facebook

please like our page and we will keep you updated with news and events. Please could

you put some comments and reviews on our facebook page. A link to our Ofsted

Inspection is now available on our facebook page.

- I would like to say a big thank you to those parents/carers who have already made a

comment on our facebook page. All comments are very much appreciated.

www.facebook.com/pepperberrydaynurseries

I would like to thank you all again for all your support throughout our Amazing First Year and WISH YOU ALL A JOYFUL CHRISTMAS AND PROSPERUS NEW YEAR.

October Photo Gallery

Sponge painting the table instead

of paper

Mia was the winner of the Pudsey

cake raffle and here she is enjoying

it and not sharing

I am very much enjoying this

home-made pizza

Making firework pictures for our

display

Group time singing songs in

Tiny Peppers

I wonder who won this race?

Enjoying the fresh air on my car

Party time with our friends

What we have to do is put the

shampoo on first...

I love getting messy

Building a tower fit for a princess

Nothing like reading a

good book

I am creating my own farm

Exploring the layers of a

leek

What do you think of my Pudsey

ears? Im not so sure!

We all dressed up in spots

to raise money for Children

in Need

Kerry and Jenni dressed in spots to raise

lots of money!

All aboard my Sweet Peppers

Train Can you see me?

Painting a Pudsey bear for Children

in Need

Say cheese for Pudsey

Do I look cute dressed as Pudsey?