Books etc

Hello everyone ,

We have received the latest in the Ziggy Road Safety series of books . These are now in your children's files - these are for children in their ante pre-school and pre-school years and are issued by the Scottish Executive  . We also have big book versions of these at nursery which are used to reinforce the message with the children . For more information and activities please visit
http://www.gosafewithziggy.com/

The children were very interested in watching our gardener , Tony, making a path through the garden this week . This is part of our outdoor improvements and will help to make a natural flow through the garden , marking and linking the activity zones in the garden . We are hoping that the weather will improve soon (or at least warm up a littel!)so that we can start getting the growing areas ready for planting.  
The buttercups are really enjoying their new steps/seating area - they are now able to climb and lookout the window and are doing so at every opportunity! Our very busy handyman , Fred , has also fixed new catches on the gates - please make sure you close and chain these every time . Fred will be doing several more jobs for us over the next few weeks - we'll keep you up to date with any improvements .
The sunflowers welcomed some special guests today too - we have some tiny caterpillars which we will monitor as they grow bigger and then change into chrysalis  and then finally butterflies when we will release them- the children love this every year- please be prepared for lots of questions on how and why this transformation happens!

We have been having some technical issues with the website which are being worked on just now . You should all be receiving this blog post twice - once through the new ParentWeb which goes out immediately , and once from the old blog which has a delay and will be received the following morning . I have registered all the email addresses I have on the new blog - please follow the instruction on the information/FAQ sheets to logon and reset your password to access the ParentWeb. If you are NOT getting notifications from the new blog , or are having trouble logging into this , please let me know and we'll look into it . I will continue to post on both blogs until we are sure that everyone is able to use the new one.

We've had a good response for the Spring Fair on Saturday 25th April so far . If you haven't already done so , please return your money or the ticket in the envelope provided as soon as you can. We'd also appreciate any donations for the raffle too .

A reminder  that we have a 24 hr exclusion policy for children with high temperatures. This  has been very effective in reducing illness/infection in the nursery over the winter months and we ask that this be adhered to - ot will help to keep everyone at the nursery healthy - thank you  .

And finally.......I know its hard to believe that its Easter as we watch the snow today but  , don't forget that we will be closed  Easter Monday 6th April- that's next week- we know you love coming here(as do we) but please don't come that day as you wont get in!  

Staffing news

Good morning to you all ,

Natalie(snowdrops) will be starting her maternity leave next week to await the arrival of her baby in early May . I'm sure you'll all join is in wishing her a relaxing time before the baby comes , and a wonderful time when it does! Natalie will be back next year , along with her baby, but we're quite sure we'll see them both before then !

Alison  will be taking over Natalie's management duties and will join the other deputies , Suzanne and Charlotte in the Craigton management team- glad to have you with us Ali and congratulations on your new role!

Holly will be joining the schoolhouse from next week also - she has spent most of her time since joining us earlier this year with the sunflowers , and is looking forward to working with the younger children .

The sunflowers will soon be welcoming a new member of staff - Maria Knap . Maria has recently  moved from London where she was nannying whist studying for a degree in Early Childhood Studies - she completed this last year . We are looking forward  to welcoming her after Easter .

A warm  Craigotn welcome back to Jo from Gardening4KIds who has returned today after an absence of several months . Jo has been concentrating on gaining a Forest School Practitioner qualification , and we cant wait to benefit from all her hard work :-)  great to have you back Jo and thanks for bringing the sunshine with you !

In other news , the sunflowers book sale raised £22.46 for BookAid
http://www.bookaid.org/  Thank you all for your donations to this , and well done to the sunflowers who created the book display , talked the adults into buying books , handled the cash and gave change - they had a great time operating their bookstall as well as having the opportunity to develop new skills.

Dont forget to return your money or tickets for the Spring Fair - Saturday 25th April 12-2pm  .

A reminder that the nursery will be closed on Easter Monday 6th April and finally don't forget that the clocks go FORWARD 1 hour this weekend - its officially summertime!

Spring Fair and more

Hello everyone ,

We have today distributed tickets to all Craigton familes for the Spring Fair . This will be on Saturday 25th April 12-2pm . This is our main fund-raising event of the year and lots of fun! We all really enjoy this day as its the only time that all the children , parents and staff get together . There's lots to keep the children entertained and we'll even treat you to a bbq lunch!
So please all come along and join  in the fun . Tickets have been put in your child's file today . These will admit your immediate family(parents and children) for only £5.00 . If you wish to come along , please return your money in the envelope provided , or the ticket if you cant make it . If you'd like extra tickets for anyone else , pleas let us know - everyone is welcome .

We are also appealing for donations for the raffle which will be held on the day....and last but not least the return of the Culter famous homebake stall means that any homebaking offerings will be greatly appreciated - the children make lots of items for this but mums and dads(and perhaps grandma's) contributions are always very welcome - but please leave this til  Friday 24th or bring along on the day .

All proceeds from this event go to the Staff Development  Fund which was set up to ensure that staff can undertake qualifications to meet registration requirements when they are unable to access other funding . An SVQ Level III currently costs around  £3K , so this fund is vital for some staff . In joining us on the day , you will be helping the entire nursery - so please come along .We promise you'll have  a great time!

You may have noticed that we are experiencing some technical difficulties with the website and new Parentweb(which includes the new blog) please bear with us while we address these , and until then , the old blog will still going so you shouldn't miss anything !

And finally a reminder that the nursery will be closed on Easter Monday 6th April .

New Blog

Hello everyone ,

welcome to the new Craigton blog . This will be how you recieve blog posts from now on . Those of you who returned preferred email addresses – thank you . For the others I have used the email address I have on file – these may have changed so if you wish these sent to an alternative email , please let me know asap .

You will have been emailed a password – please log on to your account and change  this to one that you will remember . You have all been issued with guidance on using the new Parentweb area along with FAQ’s – please refer to these if you have any issues . One important point to note – please do not share your log in details with anyone else . This is a private area for parents  and staff only – please help us to keep it secure – thank you .

Id like to take  this opportunity to thank Carl for all his practical advice and very hard work on this project – its very much appreciated !

Thank you for your book donations on World Book Week – the sunflowers have now set up a book shop in their room and will be very happy to sell you these . They are giving advice on which books to purchase , operating the cash transactions and working on their customer service skills! So please come along to see whats on offer . All the books donated so far are children’s books ,but please bring along adult ones too if you’re having  a clearout! Baby books are 30p , all others 50p . All proceeds will go to BookAid which provided books to children in Africa. Please se this link for further information

http://worldbookday.com/ideas/charities-friends/bookaid/

Please don’t forget that it is Mothers Day this Sunday -the children have all been very busy creating some special goodies to celebrate this so please check your child’s file this week.

And finally a reminder that we will be closed on Easter Monday 6th April

World Book Day

Hello everyone ,

Its World Book Day next week - Thursday 5th March , and to celebrate we are inviting the children to bring in their favourite story to share with us at nursery next week (please make sure the books are named so they can be returned to the right person!)

We're also organising a second hand book sale . So please bring along any books in good condition that you no longer want , or come and browse next week to buy some for your home . The sunflowers will be operating the stall all next week , so please clear out your old books and buy some more! All proceeds will go to Book Aid , a charity that supplies text books to children in Africa .

http://www.bookaid.org/

http://worldbookday.com/

You will also find a scholastics book catalogue in your child's file - you can use your World Book Day token towards this - please have any orders back to us by Friday 6th March.

If you come across anything else while clearing our your old books , don't forget we have a charity(British Heart Foundation) wheelie bin at the entrance to the Sunflowers building where you can donate old toys , clothes etc  .

We have just started creating accounts for the new Parent area on the website , which will include this blog . If you haven't yet done so , please return  your email address slip to us asap so we can get everyone registered - thank you .

Don't forget that our Spring Fair will be on Saturday 25th April 12-2pm - more information on this will follow nearer the time , but please keep this date free!

Health Notice

We have had one child affected with a  tummy bug today in the Sunflowers building . Please note that the exclusion time for this is 48 hours from the last symptoms . Please collect your child as soon as possible if we call you as this is highly contagious.

We have also had one reported case of headlice - there is no exclusion time for this , but please check your child's head regularly and treat if required . For more information please see the following link

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/head-lice-and-nits

Health Notice

We have had several reported cases of a tummy bug in the schoolhouse . A reminder  that this is highly contagious so please collect your child as soon as possible if we call you , keep them at  home if they have any symptoms , and for 48 hours after the last symptoms. This is the exclusion time recommended by NHS to all  schools and nurseries .
Please also be extra vigilant with your hygiene , especially handwashing . Thank you