2005

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 2003    

Review - September 2007

Events at the end of term were exciting - the picnic at The Glebe was amazing.  We were so lucky with the weather considering what it did the next day. We thought “At last, summer has come”.  Vix and Liz decided to make up for Marie not being there and went down the water chute. The fort proved very popular. It is also surprising how many children can hide in one hammock. The day was wonderfully captured by Fiona’s camera and if you didn’t get a chance to see the photos at the end of term they are on display in the Reception classroom. Many thanks to Mrs Holdsworth for the loan of her beautiful house and garden and to Fiona, Jennifer and Jamie for making us so welcome.

Thank you to the committee for arranging the Teddy Bears picnic at the end of last term on such a horrible day, I know that some parents faced extreme challenges to pick their children up from Playgroup, but despite the weather it is a really special occasion for us all. I was sorry to have missed it this year. The end of term is always a very busy time and I would personally like to thank everyone for helping pack away for the last time in the Methodist Church Hall. Thank you to everyone for all our cards, presents and gifts for the new Playgroup.

A big thank you to all that have helped over the summer holidays with the move to the new Playgroup building – Helen’s Place. Last week saw committee members, parents and staff all working together to make sure that everything was ready for the start of term.

The staff would like to thank everybody that has been involved in this project – right from the early days of the plans being drawn. Special thanks go to Mike Mychajluk for putting together the lottery funding application. Without this there wouldn’t have been a Helen’s Place. Another really big thank you goes to Ruth who has been such a fantastic project manager. Ruth has faced a lot of highs and lows over the last two years and we all appreciate her commitment to this project. Lastly, we mustn’t forget Allworks who have done a fantastic job of having the building ready at the start of term.

Carol and Marie were the first to experience the early start and eagerly awaited the first breakfast club client. Unfortunately the child failed to show but Carol and Marie had a lovely breakfast. The first Playgroup session went so smoothly and I have already been quoted as saying it didn’t feel like work. The children have very quickly adapted to their new environment and routines. They love the new cycles and we have now developed an undercover bus stop, with bus drivers stopping to pick up passengers, as long as they have a ticket! The returning children now seem to have grown up so much over the holidays. We are also welcoming several new children over the next few weeks.

Our topic for this half term is “Me”. Over the next few weeks we are concentrating on settling the children into the new building, with the different learning areas and the new routines. We are encouraging independent use of the craft area but with a focus on painting and drawing pictures of themselves and their families. We will look at what occupations parents have and we will be inviting parents to come in and talk to the children about the jobs they do. Props are always useful when talking to the children.

We will then be looking at favourite fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Liz.