Xmas cards

Well its a Christmas miracle!
The cards have just this minute arrived - I realise it far too late for most of you but if you'd still like them I have them for you . If you dont well give you a refund in the New Year. Once again , Im so sorry that these didnt get here sooner - totally outwith my control!

Marion

Xmas Hamper Draw

The draw for the hamper was postponed due to the cancellation of our Christmas concert last Friday. Emma G from the sunflowers has just drawn the winning ticket - congratulations Amelie Holt!!!!!!! Please pick up your lovely prize from my office.

Also a very big thank you to Robin Caldwell who sent some lovely men with a snowplough to sort out the carpark - very much appreciated by all of us - thank you Robin!

The Christmas party yesterday afternoon was a great success- everyone looked suitably festive in their party gear(staff included!) , games and balloons, music and food ..........and Santa came too!!!! He brought a small gift for all the Craigton children , so even if you didn't make it to the party , there is a little something waiting for you when you return .

And on that note : we will be closing at 6pm tomorrow and reopen 8am Wednesday 5th Jan.

All of us at Craigton wish you and your families a Christmas full of wonder and joy . Enjoy the break.....we shall! See you in 2011.

Marion

Breaking news

Good morning everyone,

Huge congratulations to Alison(buttercups) and her parter Leigh , who became engaged this weekend.
I'm sure that you'll all join us in wishing them a lifetime of happiness together :-)

Marion

SNOW

Good morning ,

Due to the weather , we will have to cancel the Sunflowers concert this afternoon.
Buses are not running and many schools are closed so we have reduced staffing today -  if you are able to keep the children at home today , please do . If you can make it in , we'd appreciate them being picked up as early as possible so I can let staff go home .
Stay warm!!!!!!

Marion

Xmas cards

Good morning everyone ,

To all of you who have ordered Xmas cards that STILL haven't arrived , I can only apologise . I have been chasing this up for the past 2 weeks and the suppliers assure me that they have been sent , However they have not arrived . I have today asked for a refund . If you have ordered cards , please contact me ASAP and I'll get your money back to you .
The T-towels are not yet here either but we are expecting them very soon - again my apologies for the delay.

We encourage reusing and recycling throughout the nursery , so if your child wishes to send cards to other children, please just give one for the whole department - these will be displayed for all the children and staff to see. These will then be recycled after the festive season.

Sunflowers concert is at 2:30pm this Friday(including the draw for Xmas hamper). This is always a very well attended event and we have limited seating , so be prepared to stand! The children have been busy baking xmas goodies for this all week - so you're in for a real treat!
The Xmas party is on Tuesday 21st Dec 2-4pm . All sunflowers and buttercups are invited , while the babies will have their own more restrained celebration for those children normally attending on a Tuesday pm . We are expecting the arrival of a very special visitor too!

And finally - more snow is forecast for tonight and tomorrow - please avoid the carpark when this arrives- unless you have a snow plough you'll probably get stuck! Please be aware that if  staff have problems getting here , or going home , we may need to close early.

Thank you,

Marion

CONGRATULATIONS

I am once again delighted to let you know that another member of staff has achieved a qualification. Jillian in bluebells has today completed all the work for SVQ II . Well done Jillian , we're all really proud of you - get cracking on level III now!

AND.........don't forget to buy your raffle tickets for the Xmas hamper draw- you're running out of time. Draw takes place after the sunflowers concert on Friday 2:30pm .

Marion

Car park

Good morning everyone ,

A very quick note regarding the carpark . Although the snow is gradually going , the carpark is still quite bad . If you are at all concerned , please park in the street until the carpark is clear.

Thank you

Winter News

Hello everyone,

Hope that you're all managing to stay warm during this very wintry weather!
As we head towards the festive season , don't forget to get your raffle tickets for the Christmas Hamper . The sunflowers are busy making some festive goodies for this but donations are still warmly welcomed. The tickets are £1.00 for 5 and the draw will take place after the sunflowers Christmas concert on Friday 17th December. All proceeds  will go to our staff development fund.

Those of you eagerly awaiting the arrival of Christmas cards and T-towels - I can only apologise for the delay. They are on their way but the severe weather has had an impact on mail deliveries at what is already a very busy time of year . I will let you know as soon as they arrive.

Finally , we have been overwhelmed by your generous response to the Giving Tree Appeal . I appreciate that this is a busy and expensive time of year for everyone , yet so many gifts were handed in - my office looked like Santa's workshop- an astonishing amount of presents. As the children who will benefit from your kindness are unable to thank you themselves , I would like to do so on their behalf- you have all given a little Christmas joy to a  child who may otherwise have nothing - thank you so much .

A reminder that we will close at 6pm on Thursday 23rd December and re-open  8am Wednesday 5th January 2011.

More next week!
Marion

CONGRATULATIONS

I am delighted to announce that we have another member of staff who has just completed  a qualification :-) Kelly(0-2yrs) has achieved SVQ III Children's Care , Learning and Development, and is now  a fully qualified Early Years practitioner . Well done Kelly - we're all very proud of you!!!!!

Winter Wonderland!

Hello  everyone ,

Yes indeed winter is upon us once again . Just a quick reminder that during the worst of the winter weather many of our staff have trouble getting to and from work(just like you). Please leave in plenty of time so that the staff can get home safely. School closures and public transport  problems affect us badly and if we do not have sufficient staff , we are unable to operate- please bear in mind that we may have to close early, or in extreme circumstances not open at all .

Thanks ,

Marion

CONGRATULATIONS

I am delighted to let you know that Alison(buttercups) has completed all her work for SVQ III Children's Care, Learning and Development and is now a fully qualified Early Years Practitioner . Any of you who have undertaken qualifications whilst working will appreciate the amount of hard work , discipline and dedication this requires . Well done Alison - we're all so proud of you :-)

Marion

Charity Event

Hello everyone,

Katy Holt , mum of one of our sunflowers, is involved in organising a charity event to be held at Kippie Lodge on Saturday 27th November 10am to 1pm . This is to raise funds for Cherish Uganda . There will be a silent auction , a raffle with some super prizes and various stalls offering a variety of  goodies that will make excellent Christmas gifts.And...wait for it.... Santa's grotto!!!!!! So take the children along - you'll also be offered a coffee and delicious homebakes included in the entrance fee of only £2.00(children free). Tickets are available on the day at the door or contact 07540222667. Enjoy!

And while we're on the subject - I am appealing for donations for our Christmas Hamper . This will be raffled after the Sunflowers Concert on Friday 17th December. Tickets on sale soon - anything you can donate will be gratefully received. The proceeds from this will go towards our Staff Development Fund.

And finally - its Parents Evening tonight 6pm to 7:30pm - hope to see you there!

Marion

Congratulations!!!!!

To Suzanne and Doug on the safe arrival of their daughter Esme. 7lbs 4oz.
All well if a little shellshocked :)

Christmas Appeal

Hello everyone ,

I realise that its far too early to be thinking about this , but as every year we are supporting The Giving Tree Christmas Appeal . This distributes presents to children in the local area who would otherwise miss out on a visit from Santa . Please pick up a gift tag and full info in your child's department . Please take the time to donate a gift for a child less fortunate than your own- I promise you'll feel good :)

Also , the report from our recent CC inspection has just been published - this will shortly be on display in all departments or you can view it at www.carecommission.com . Graded inspections have been with us for 3 years now , and each year we have been awarded grades 5 and 6!

We are still awaiting the arrival of Suzanne's baby - but probably not as much as she is!!! I'll let you know the moment I hear anything.

Please feel free to leave your comments on- I like to hear what you think of the blog and if there's anything you'd like added to them

IMPORTANT INFO

Hello everyone ,

Just a very quick post today. Along with other schools and nurseries across the city and shire , the winter tummy bug has arrived early this year . This is highly infectious and affects all the children, families , staff and visitors to the setting(some of whom may be pregnant or elderly) . Please do not bring your child to nursery if they show symptoms . If we call and ask you to take them home , please do so ASAP. The child cannot return to nursery until they have been clear of all symptoms for 48 hrs . Please help us to keep the nursery as free of illness as we can .

Thanks ,

Marion

Hello everyone,

Thanks to all of you who have registered to follow our Blogspot- spread the word please!

We had a very exciting Halloween at Craigton Lodge. Witches and wizards , an amazing array of superheroes , skeletons , pumpkins , cats and other spooky creatures - well done to you all for the lovely costumes...and to the staff who made a great effort this year!

Today of course is Bonfire night and the children have been creating some beautiful firework pictures which you can admire all over the nursery. The older children have also been learning how to be safe with fireworks...so I hope that you're all going to an organised display where you can oooh and ahhh at the sights and sounds safely- I hope the rain stays off for all the bonfires that are planned over the next few day.

The older children have also been learning about road safety. We have some new storybooks with road safety themes- some of these have been sent home. We hope that you find them useful and share them with your children - they are certainly enjoying the stories and discussions at nursery!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:

Parents Evening - Thursday 18th November 6pm to 7:30pm

Preschool Xmas Concert- Friday 17th December 2:30pm- more info at later date

Xmas Party - Tuesday 21st December 2-4pm - more info at later date

We will close at 6pm on Thursday 23rd December and re-open 8am Wednesday 5th Jan 2011

More next week - hope you all have a great weekend - don't forget to tell about it in the children's journals!

At last

Hello everyone , yes I have finally managed to get the hang of this blog thing and now hope to update it on a every week .

You'll all be aware that its Halloween soon(how could you fail to notice all those pumpkins and costumes in every single shop you go into!) and all the Craigton children have been involved in Halloween activities - I hope you've all seen and admired the spooky decorations in the nursery. Children are welcome to come along in their costumes , but please remember to bring a change of clothing for outdoors- we don't want to ruin those beautiful fairy wings or spiderman outfits!

*****Important news: Parents Evening will be on Thursday 18th November 6pm to 7:30pm.

This is an informal evening , with wine and nibbles on offer , where you can look at your child's folio , try out some of the activities, chat with he staff and other parents. Please let the staff in your department know if you'll be coming along - look forward to seeing you all!

All the children now have journals to take home- this gives us a great link between home and nursery - please make sure you take these home with you at the weekend and let us know what your child has been doing at home - these are shared with all the children and they all really enjoy sharing their home experiences with us all - you don't need to take them every weekend or write a novel - just a few words and a picture is all we need!

And finally........don't forget the clocks go back this weekend- winter is coming!

More next week , Marion

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