August Newsletter 2021
August Newsletter
Goodbye Isla!
Isla has been working for Snapdragons for the past couple of years, she recently received her level three qualification in Early Years and has decided to take the next step in her career. Isla is moving to another nursery as Deputy Room Head of Babies. Isla’s last day will be 16th September. We wish Isla all the best in her new role, even if it does mean we have to lose her!
Welcome Keira!
We are so excited to introduce you to Keira, she is a new Level three qualified member of staff who has started on our toddler floor. She will be based in Maple. We can’t wait for you all to get to know her. Please give her a friendly hello and smile when you get to meet her.
Dates for the diary:
Friday 3rd September: UNICEF - Soccer Aid: As a nursery we are trying to raise money for UNICEF. They are holding their annual soccer aid on Saturday 4th September. In honour of this we are arranging a football crazy day! We ask you to dress your children in their football kits and the staff will be arranging some fun activities throughout the day. We will also be holding a bake sale Friday afternoon from 12:30 - 5:45, so take your chance to grab some delicious goodies - any donations of cakes are highly appreciated! We ask that you donate any spare change you may have when you bring your child in on that day, or throughout the week.
Monday 13th September: Roald Dahl day - A day to celebrate the amazing children’s author Roald Dahl. We have decided this is a brilliant chance to get creative and wear fancy dress. We ask you to dress your child up in an outfit from one of Roald Dahl’s famous books. We can’t wait to see all your outfits!
Week commencing 20th September: Throughout the week the children will be carrying out activities to encourage recycling and to decrease the amount of waste we make. On Friday 24th September we will all be dressing up in green. We look forward to seeing a sea of green!
Thursday 30th September: Tayla’s birthday.
Snapdragons Summer Olympics
Preschool trip and picnic at Kingsweston House
Preschool Graduation
We had so much fun celebrating our Class of 2021 last week at our preschool graduation. We just want to take a moment to say a massive thank you to all the families and a special thank you to all the children. We will miss you all so much and we wish you the best on your next adventure!
What have we been up to this month?
Babies: As always, babies have enjoyed being messy, and taking part in lots of sensory activities, which this month have included cooking! Babies have practiced their independence and self-help skills by cutting up ingredients and making banana biscuits. They were delicious! Babies have recently had some new garden furniture delivered. There is a bridge, a tunnel, and a water tray. The babies have all had so much fun exploring these new additions to the garden!
Toddlers: This month Toddlers have been so busy preparing some budding bakers for the world. They have made shortbread, oat biscuits and cornflake explosions. Toddlers have also been looking at music and movement. They have been trying to express themselves through music and make their own music with instruments.
Preschool: Preschool have been up to so much this month! They have all tried their hand at acting out stories with props. My favourite to listen to has been the Three Little Pigs. Preschool have also released their inner Van Gogh with some spectacular self-portraits. As always preschool have been promoting their self-help skills and have been really concentrating on their scissor control.
July Newsletter
Welcome to Grace, Megan, Anais, Regan and Alex
We would like to give a warm welcome to our new Early Years Apprentices. We have Megan and Grace who will both be working in our toddler rooms. Anais who will be based in our baby room full time and Regan will be in our preschool rooms.
We also would like to welcome back Alex, some of you may remember Alex before she went on maternity leave, she will be joining us back two mornings a week. We are so happy that Alex has joined our Snapdragons team again!
Please give the girls a friendly hello when you see them.
Jenna is having a….
BOY!
Congratulations again Jenna!
Dates for the diary:
August:
6th - Jenna’s Birthday.
9th - Snapdragons’ summer Olympics: Please dress your child in their best sports kit and get them ready to compete in the biggest sporting event of the year! The children will compete in a variety of races and competitions throughout the day such as the classic egg and spoon race and who can stand on one leg the longest.
21st - Preschool Graduation (More information will be sent out nearer the time).
22nd - Isla’s Birthday.
30th - Lowenna’s Birthday.
What have we been up to this month?
Babies:
Babies have been concentrating on keeping cool this month! It has been extremely hot, so the staff have been offering lots of water play to keep the babies nice and cool. Babies have also had lots of sensory play on offer like usual, with shaving foam and paint being firm favourites. The babies have continued to look after the rabbits and are still loving spending time with them and getting lots of bunny cuddles.
Toddlers:
This month toddlers have really concentrated on their physical development, both gross and fine motor skills. They have been using the climbing frame and big loose parts to practice their climbing and they have taken part in lots of messy play to improve their fine motor skills. Toddlers have made a robot this month out of cardboard boxes and the toddlers have really taken an interest in butterflies and slugs, they had great fun looking at the slugs in the rain.
Preschool:
They have been super busy this month! Preschool created the most amazing obstacle course in the forest garden and then spent the rest of the month testing it out and making it easier or harder depending on what they wished. Preschool have discussed nocturnal animals this month too after reading the story ‘Owl Babies.’ The children also made owl pictures and oat cakes to go along with this. Preschool also enjoyed a story in the forest garden with warm milk too.
June Newsletter 2021
Welcome back Liv and hello Amelia!
Liv came back from Cribbs nursery earlier this month and has now decided to stay with us. Liv will be based in our Willow room and is our baby deputy room head.
Amelia has started with us too, she is our new preschool apprentice, she will be based in oak and elder, Amelia is doing her level three apprenticeship in Early Years. Please give her a big hello when you meet her.
We have babies on the way…
Big congratulations to two members of staff who are expecting babies! Daria from preschool is now 21 weeks pregnant and is due November 6th. We can’t wait to meet her little boy! Jenna, our nursery manager, is also pregnant. Jenna is 17 weeks and is due 10th December. Jenna does know what gender the baby is but is keeping it a secret for now.
We also have rabbits!
Tayla was so kind to buy us two rabbits as our new nursery pets! We have two rabbits named Nibbles and Munch, the children have absolutely adored getting to know the rabbits and are helping with taking care of them.
What have we been up to this month?
Babies:
This month we have been super busy, we have been to the park, and we have been super excited settling in our new rabbits. The babies have been so excited to meet their new friends and getting to see them every time they go to the garden. The staff have used this as a chance to teach the babies about gentle hands. The babies have made the most of the nice weather recently with lots of water play and messy activities. Puzzles seem to be a new favourite in babies too so the staff have been helping the children to complete simple puzzles.
Toddlers:
This month toddlers have enjoyed tasting different fruits and vegetables. Next month we are going to build on this by doing some cooking. We will be making some fruit kebabs and looking at what vegetables go in different soups. We have enjoyed reading some new stories this month such as “The kind little lion” and “Panda says please,” we used these stories to talk about our emotions and why we need to be kind to our friends. We have been talking a lot about health and self-care and have been washing our babies and taking care of them and talking about our routines at home. We have seen a massive increase in our toddler’s self-help skills.
Toddlers have also been as busy as ever with all their fun messy activities. Elm have really enjoyed exploring different textures. They have been mixing shaving foam with different coloured paints so the children can experiment with colours too.
What a busy month, we can’t wait to see what they get up to next month!
Elder (Younger preschool):
This month, younger preschool have been combining playdough with a range of resources such as: bamboo, pinecones, and acorns. They have also used both fresh and dried herbs. We have enjoyed lots of books including Chapatti Moon, Aliens Love Smelly Jelly, Oliver's Vegetables and more! We would love to know what stories your favourites at home are, please feel free to bring these in and they can be read at circle time. The children have shown an interest in volcanoes this month too, so we looked at eruptions on the iPad, painted some of our own using the colours of lava and even took part in a science experiment where we saw a real-life eruption! Next month we will continue to provide activities and experiences based on the children's interests, we're so excited to see where that will take us!
Oak (Older preschool):
This month pre school have been learning some number songs to help practise counting forwards and backwards. We have been continuing to develop our fine motor skills and have had fun practising our name writing. We have read several stories, including Handa’s surprise, Over the meadow, The Gruffalo and many more. We have been creating more cozy spaces for children to relax and read in and have been enjoying using these new spaces in our play. Next month we are hoping for a bit more sunshine so we can continue developing our forest school area. We would also like to do a bit more cooking so if anyone has any yummy healthy recipes please let us know, we would love to build up a recipe book of some of your favourite recipes!
May Newsletter 2021
Goodbye Becy!
We want to start off by saying a big goodbye to our current Manager Becy who has chosen to relocate. Becy has been with Snapdragon Shirehampton for two years and has been a valued team leader. We will miss Becy ever so much and wish her the best in her new adventure. Becy’s last day is June 3rd.
Hello Jenna
Jenna is going to be the new nursery manager. Jenna has been with Snapdragons since it opened, starting as Toddlers room head, and working her way up. We are excited for Jenna to start this new role and we know she is going to be amazing.
Welcome to Sophie, Jessica, Jade, Molly and Weronika
Sophie has started as our new Head of Early Years Practice and Deputy Manager. She has been in Early Years for the past 6 years and after recently relocating from London she has chosen to start her next journey with us here at Snapdragons Shirehampton.
Jessica is our new Preschool Room Head. Jessica has worked in Early Years for several years and has most recently been teaching in a local school. Jessica is excited to get stuck in and we can’t wait to see all the wonderful things preschool get up to over the next few months.
Jade and Molly are our two new Nursery Apprentices. Jade is based in babies, currently she works in both rooms but will be based in Yew and Molly is based in Elm.
Weronika is a new Nursery Assistant working on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays whilst she studies at university. She will be trialling and helping in all rooms with the intention to be based in one soon.
What’s been going on this month?
Babies:
In babies this month they have carried out lots of sensory activities. They have played with shaving foam, ice, flour, paint, gloop and water. Sensory play is so important for babies, they use their senses to explore different textures and materials. The babies have also done some baking, Yew made raisin biscuits and Willow made cranberry biscuits. Next month babies are going to continue concentrating on sensory development by creating new sensory bottles.
Toddlers:
May has proved to be a busy month for toddlers, they have explored outside, even going on a trip to the local park, they have enjoyed getting messy and developing their independence. Toddlers have really concentrated on following instructions and routines this month. The staff have been using lots of simple and positive language to encourage this. Next month toddlers plan to do lots of big art activities using their bodies to explore different colours and textures.
Preschool:
In preschool we have been learning how to give our friends compliments. We find starting our day like this makes everyone happy. We have enjoyed making lots of junk modelling creations and have practiced name writing in lots of inventive ways such as shaving foam, mud and magic paint. Preschool have also enjoyed exploring their new water wall. Next month preschool will be introducing a book of the week, we will be reading it throughout the week and carrying out activities linked to it.
Toddlers Trip to the Park
A Big Thank You
A big thank you to Terry Richards (Ezra’s daddy) for bringing in lots of new construction equipment for the children to use in the garden. We have a new wishing line in the entrance hall with equipment and resources we feel some of you may be able to help us source, please take a minute to have a look at this.
March Newsletter 2020
Welcome to our new monthly newsletter here at Snapdragons Shirehampton.
At the beginning of each month we would like to share with you what your children have been busy doing the previous month. We will also share important information, news and dates for the diary.
i just want to take this opportunity to say since taking over as manager here in October I have loved getting to know all of the families here at Snapdragons and I could not enjoy managing this nursery more. The children here at Snapdragons are a pleasure to look after and I look forward to watching them all grow in their time with us.
I look forward to sharing more nursery news with you next month.
Becy Allen (Nursery Manager)
Where The Wild Things Are…
The babies went on an exciting trip to the zoo this month. The children caught the train to Bristol zoo and went on safari in their zoo buggies. They saw lots of different animals including lions, flamingos, hippos and penguins. They especially loved watching the seals in the underwater tunnel swim above them. They also found going into the butterfly house fascinating. The babies were exhausted after a long day of animal sightseeing but they enjoyed reading their new book about visiting the zoo before they went home.
Lets Go Pancake Crazy…
All of the children had so much fun celebrating pancake day at the nursery. Zoe our forest school leader invited all of the children, in all age groups, to come down to the forest school area to make pancakes on the fire pit. The children made their own mixture, learnt about safety around the fire pit and of course enjoyed eating their pancakes after.
Sharing the Love…
The children got very creative for valentine’s day this year. Babies did bodypainting with lots of shades of red and pink. The babies loved painting their hands and making prints on the paper. Toddlers made their own valentines vanilla biscuits. They measured their ingredients, mixed it all together, rolled out the dough and used a heart shape cutter to cut the biscuits. Preschool made pictures using different mark making tools with red paint. They then tried to write their names on their creations.
Little Scientist’s…
The preschool children have been pretending to be scientist’s and have conducted their own experiment using water, food colouring and oil. The children mixed oil with lots of bright coloured food colouring and then used pipettes to drop droplets on to the water. The children discovered that the coloured oil would not mix with the water so they made lots of amazing pictures on top of the water. The children asked lots of questions and tried to explain what was happening.
Dates for the Diary…
Concept Photography - Monday 23rd March 2020
Parents Evening - Thursday 14th May 2020
Preschool Graduation - Saturday 1st August 2020
Parent Information…
Concept photography will be with us on Monday 23rd of March. If your child is not due in on this day we have some limited slots available for you to come in to have their photos taken. Please enquire at the front desk.
Please remember that the layby outside the front entrance is for passing traffic only and not a parking space. We appreciate your understanding with this matter.
If your child will receive preschool funding from September 2020 or January 2021 and you would like to increase their sessions please enquire by email as soon as possible as spaces do fill quickly.
February 2019 News
It’s been a busy start to the year here at Snapdragons Shirehampton, read on to find out what we’ve been up to and what we have planned for the coming weeks and months.
News from the nursery:
With some of the cold weather we had earlier in the month our babies took the opportunity to stay inside and enjoyed an afternoon of soft play.
You may have noticed our new recycling area at the bottom of the stairs, toddlers have been helping to sort some of our rubbish ready for it to be recycled. At nursery we all do our bit to help protect the environment.
During these long winter months some of our garden birds struggle to find all the food they need, so pre-school have been lending a helping hand by making bird feeders, complete with a string to hang in a tree.
Dates for your diary:
We’ve got lots of events and celebrations coming up during March and April, but sure to make a note of these key dates….
World Book Day 2019
On Thursday 7th March we will all be dressing up as our favourite characters for world book day, please join us in doing so, there may be a prize for the best dressed character! We’ve had everything from Harry Potter to Elmer the Patchwork Elephant before, so get your thinking caps on.
International Women’s Day 2019
Friday 8th March is International Women’s Day, please join us in celebrating the wonderful women of the world and the wonderful women who work at Snapdragons Shirehampton as well as all of the little women who attend. The staff will be wearing their fanciest hat’s so keep an eye out for these.
Concept Photography
Monday 11th March Concept Photography are due to return to Snapdragons Shirehampton. If your child does not normally attend on a Monday please feel free to book in a slot for them to have their photos taken. Siblings are also welcome to attend. The photographers from Concept take such lovely photos capturing all the different faces and personalities so don’t miss out!
Red Nose Day 2019
Friday 15th March is Red Nose Day and we will be joining in with the fundraising! Please wear as much red as you can, anything from trousers to socks to a hat would be great, we will have a collection pot on the desk and red noses for sale, please donate what you can to this brilliant cause.
Mothering Sunday
Pop in on Friday 29th March to collect your Mother’s Day goodie bag, we know you all deserve a little treat!
Easter Bonnet Parade
We will be having an Easter Parade at 9.45am on Thursday 18th April, please attend with your children for a morning of fun, Easter Bonnets are of course
Clothes bank donations
Over the coming weeks and months we will be collecting spare clothes for a clothes bank. Parents have always responded brilliantly when we have needed spare clothes for the nursery and now we would like pass on the favour. If you have any old spare clothes lying around at home, please bring them in.
Reminders:
Suitable clothing for all weathers, as at this time of year the weather can surprise us. Please can we remind all parents to bring in suitable clothing for their children. Raincoats and waterproofs if necessary, and as always spare clothes in case children get wet. Please also put your child’s name in their clothes, including wellies.
If your child is in nappies, please remember to bring in nappy cream as unfortunately we are not able to provide this. If you had already left a nappy cream here, the practitioners will be able to let you know if it needs replacing.
Drop off and pick up, please remember to wait with your child until the start of their session. If you would like a full handover at the end of the session please allow 10 minutes for this. Unfortunately we cannot give full handovers at 6pm.
Snappies Superstars - Have you noticed a practitioner going above and beyond, have you been impressed by a practitioners amazing story telling skills, does your child come home always talking about the same practitioner, do you love how well the team work together? Seen any of this going on? Why not share this on our Snappies Superstar page HERE and nominate an outstanding practitioner or team.
Your feedback is really important to us. We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes of your time to complete a review for DayNurseries.co.uk, to tell them about your experience with us. Please follow this link to submit your review: https://www.daynurseries.co.uk/submitreview
August 2018 News
At the end of July we welcome Zoe to the team, she is our new room head in pre-school. She has made a big impact already and the children love her.
What a busy and eventful summer we've had here at Snapdragons Shirehampton.
Please take a look below to see what we have been up to, as well as finding useful information for the coming Autumn term.
Nursery News
Class of 2018 - we had a great day celebrating our pre-school leavers graduation, thank you to everyone who attended and best of luck to all the children starting school this September. We will miss you all very much and hope that you all have an amazing time at school. Here are a few photos from the day, the full gallery can be found: HERE
The final pre-school leavers celebration will be the leavers disco on Thursday 23rd August at 6pm. If your child is leaving us or has already left to go to school then you are welcome to join us for an evening of music, magic and dancing. Parents to please attend.
Snapdragons Shirehampton Team News
At the end of July we welcomed Zoe to the team, she is our new room head in pre-school. She brings with her years of brilliant experience and has made a big impact on the room already, the children love her.
Karolina has been promoted to deputy pre-school room head and will be supporting Zoe in her new role.
We also have a new head of toddlers, Victoria. She is a familiar face at Snapdragons Shirehampton and we look forward to seeing her develop into her new role.
I'm sure you will join us in congratulating Karolina and Victoria on their recent promotions.
Dates for Your Diary
Pyjama Party
Tuesday 21st August, wear your jim-jams to nursery and help us raise some money for the cappella foundation. Just bring £1 to join in the fun, there will be a collection tin on the desk.
Cake Sale
Thursday 30th August, our pre-school children will be getting their aprons on and will be running a charity cake sale. There may be some staff contributions too. We look forward to providing some sweet treats and baked goods at pick up times on the 30th.
Baby Stay and Play Sessions
We have some stay and play sessions coming up in our baby room. If you know someone who might be interested in a nursery place then send them our way! It's a chance for prospective parents to get to know the baby room team and explore some of the activities we offer, as well as having a bit of fun.
Friday 7th September 2018 - 9.30am - 11.30am - New families only, if your an existing parent and would like to come please just bring a friend along too.
Friday 19th October - 2pm - 4pm - All welcome, if you know someone who might be interested in a nursery place then send them our way for an afternoon of playing.
Our baby room team will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about starting nursery.
Concept Photography
Concept with will with us on Thursday 11th October, if your child is not due to attend nursery on this day you are welcome to pop along just for the photographs or if you would like to book in for an extra just let any member of the team know. The photos taken around this time of year make great Christmas presents!
Reminders
- Suitable clothing for all weathers, as the summer weather seems to have finally broken please can we remind all parents to bring in suitable clothing for their children. Raincoats and waterproofs if necessary, and as always spare clothes in case children get wet.
- If your child is in nappies, please remember to bring in nappy cream as unfortunately we are not able to provide this. If you had already left a nappy cream here, the practitioners will be able to let you know if it needs replacing.
- Drop off and pick up, please remember to wait with your child until the start of their session. If you would like a full handover at the end of the session please allow 10 minutes for this. Unfortunately we cannot give full handovers at 6pm.
- Snappies Superstars - Have you noticed a practitioner going above and beyond, have you been impressed by a practitioners amazing story telling skills, does your child come home always talking about the same practitioner, do you love how well the team work together? Seen any of this going on? Why not share this on our Snappies Superstar page HERE and nominate an outstanding practitioner or team.
- Your feedback is really important to us. We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes of your time to complete a review for DayNurseries.co.uk, to tell them about your experience with us. Please follow this link to submit your review: https://www.daynurseries.co.uk/submitreview
Theraplay, Speech and Language
Speech and language drop in dates are displayed at the bottom of the stairs in the main hallway, we are just waiting on the new Autumn term session dates but will update our display as soon as we have these.
Sunshine circles will be resuming in September for our pre-school children, these small group sessions, focus on the children's personal, social and emotional skills as well as their communication and language. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please speak to Hannah.