It has been great to see all the children starting the term. Some with smiles and others with tears, while some are happy to meet old friends. We are excited to meet you all and are looking forward to a happy and productive year together. We have an open door policy.If at any time you may have any questions, concerns or requests; contact me either by e-mail or during drop off and pick up time.
Tips to Settling into the Nursery
We understand how difficult it is to drop off your pre-schooler into a nursery school knowing that they might be crying and holding on to you, not wanting you to leave. Here are a few tips that will help you and your child to overcome the separation.
The simplest step is to give them a big hug and kiss, and say good bye. Do not linger and do not delay it, say goodbye and out the door you head. Also trust your child’s teacher, we have our system and experience to help children settle. Follow her direction and talk to her about your feelings but not in front of your child. Make an appointment to discuss the matter privately. Never be late to pick up your child so that he/she continues to trust you are coming back as promised. Be prepared for regression, especially after a long holiday or illness. Children settle into nursery school differently; some will be fine within a week, others will need a lot longer. Some can be reluctant to attend as they realise it is going to be a regular occurrence. In the last page, we will be sharing with you some moments of your child’s first days at the nursery during their settling in period. We will also review some of our policies and procedures in case you missed our presentation to parents at the orientation meeting
Newsletters
Please view the notice board when you enter or exit the nursery as weekly newsletters and information will be continuously posted on the board. In addition you will be able to be kept updated with what is happening in the nursery by viewing the weekly newsletter on the school’s website: www.jafferyacademy.org
Learning Journey
The teachers will be recording your child’s learning journey over the year in the class progress book and record sheets, which will be shared with you during the year. As children do a lot of learning at home, teachers would love to hear from you when you see your child doing something that makes you proud. We would appreciate your valuable contribution towards your child’s Learning Journey at the Nursery.
The ‘WOW’ page in your child’s planner gives you a chance to share with us things that your child achieves at home. If you see them doing something that makes you think WOW, then write it down. A copy of the WOW PAGE is on the last page in the planner. Also regularly sign the reading log book which is introduced this year to monitor the children’s reading progress. A copy of the synopsis for all the ages have been sent home for your reference to your children’s learning journey at school.
Recycling
Please help in bringing recycling materials such as cereal boxes, kitchen rolls, egg cartons, yogurt containers as children enjoy using their imagination and creativity to paint and decorate them. We have placed two(2) recycling boxes outside the discovery room. Please encourage your child to put the recycling materials in the respective boxes. They can sort the materials and place them in the correct box. Please wash and wipe plastic materials such as yoghurt cups, milk containers etc.
Wellness
To minimise the spread of illness and to reduce sickness related absenteeism in the nursery, we have a strict infection control policy in place. Kindly fill in the health and safety form.
As per the policy we would request parents not to send their children to school if they have the following:
- Fever- temperature of 37.5 and above
- A skin rash
- Vomiting and diarrhoea
- A persistent cough
- Thick heavy nasal discharge
- Red watery and painful eyes
Please Note:
Children must be free of symptoms of sickness for 24 hours (including fever) before returning to school. Please do not send your child to school after giving them fever reducing medication in the morning.Inform the school if your child has been or is being treated for a medical condition. If your child will be absent for medical reason, kindly contact your child’s class teacher or me.
Nursery Timings
Normal timings for the nursery is 7:45a.m. until 12:00pm for all the children except playgroups which is 8:00a.m. until 11:30a.m. Please make sure that your child is in school by 8:00a.m. Note that the doors will be closed after that for security purposes. Doors will re-open at 11:30 a.m. for the playgroups; older children should be collected at 12:00p.m.
Attendance
Consistent attendance is very important for proper progress throughout the nursery school year. It contributes to a sense of well-being in the children and they settle into routine quickly when they attend nursery school on a regular basis. Habitual attendance also helps the children develop friendships within their environment. If your child is going to be absent, please call me on 0722-755-780/0724-257-104/0772-387-155 and leave a message. If you anticipate a period of extended absence, please notify me by sending me an e-mail to skalyan@jafferyacademy.org or nurseryschool@jafferyacademy.org and fill in the leave form.
Parents’ Contact Details
Kindly fill in the contact page in the planner. If your contact details change anytime during this year, please inform me so that we may updateour parents’ contact list. If you have not provided me with an emergency number, please do so at the earliest. The emergency contact person is called only in the event of not being able to get through to both parents. If you wish to make any changes in pick-up arrangement for your child, please e-mail me or call me before 12:30p.m. if possible. Please update the ‘Authorisation for pick-up’ form if you wish to authorise another person to pick your child up from nursery on a more daily basis.
General Reminders
- Please remember to label everything your child brings into the nursery school in order to make it easier to locate their belongings.
- Please send in an apron and small hand towel with a loop and send in two passport sized photographs to be stuck on the hooks in class for identification purposes of the hand towels.
Communication
The nursery team has developed a broadcast message platform to all parents. Kindly avail your correct mobile numbers in the planner. Sign and acknowledge the planners on a weekly basis to improve and streamline communication between the nursery and parents.