Newsletter for Week Beginning 11th February 2019
Dear parents, children and carers 11th February 2019
This newsletter is kindly sponsored by KEITH REYNOLDS BRICKWORK
The newsletter is also on our website, on our Facebook page or by email on request
We have had a fun packed couple of weeks learning about traditions and customs related to Chinese New Year. We even had a try at making a Nian Gao - Chinese new year cake one day and red and gold fruit salad. We had egg noodles, rice noodles, prawn crackers and crispy seaweed feast! As always, the children enthusiastically embraced the dragon dance, moving and playing along to the marching parade music. We had fun making dragons, lanterns, lucky paper cuts, role playing in our Chinese restaurant. At the end of the week, when it was really windy, we even made and flew kites. Do look on our website over half term for photos.
This is our last week before half term. As it is Valentine’s day on Thursday, we will talk about our families and loved ones this week and make some special gifts for you. We are going to work with air drying clay and also will be baking shortbread hearts.
After half term we are looking forward to our duck eggs arriving on 5th March and watching ducklings hatch out! If possible, could we please ask that families make a small donation - suggested £5 - to help towards the cost which is £250 plus VAT. It is expensive but we had chick eggs hatch the year before last and it was so fantastic for the children that we know it is well worth the money. We will also be planting our own vegetables for harvesting later in summer and looking at the effects of spring on plants and animals.
Sugary snacks: We are heeding government advice re children and their sugar intake and will be serving savoury snacks in the morning. ‘Change4life’ has very useful advice about making swaps to cut down on your child’s sugar intake which may be worth checking out;
DID YOU KNOW For example, 1 pot of chocolate mousse can have 5 TEASPOONS of sugar in it! Children this age are recommended 6 teaspoons at the most per day. So along with a biscuit and natural fruit sugar and a drink, this adds up to a lot of extra sugar. Children’s cereals and yoghurts also have a lot of ‘hidden’ sugar.
Help us get to £1000! Using easyfundraising.co.uk £797 raised over the last 3 years. Can we get to £1,000 by the end of this year? Please join now and help us reach this milestone. We can raise funds easily if all the people who shop online, register on easyfundraising.co.uk and select ‘Hummingbirds – Garstang’ as their chosen cause. I shop Sainsburys online and earn us 50p every time!
100 club membership Donate from £2 a month per number to go in the monthly draw and get the chance to win half our monthly takings every month! The other half helps towards our rent to the parish. Forms on easel or ask Deborah Edwards or Janet for help. COMGRATULATIONS to our winners for December and January, Mrs Jen Earp and Mrs Fiona Brooks.
30 HOURS FUNDING If your child is 3 before end of March AND you to want to claim for 30 hours funding to start next term, 1st April you must do so the term before you want to start using it i.e. NOW - before 31st March. Parents already receiving 30 hour funding please check if are you in the ’grace period’? You can lose funding if you do not respond to reminders to update your funding.
EASTER FUN DAY – Saturday afternoon 6th April, we close the day before for the Easter break. Easter isn’t actually until 22nd April so we won’t interfere with your Easter plans. There’ll be an Easter bonnet/hat parade with prizes, cakes, refreshments, Easter egg raffle, egg hunt, tombolas, hook a duck, lucky dips, face painting and tattoos, and a rabbit, lambs and ducklings to see!! Please help if you can. Look out for a meeting which will be held one morning after drop off. Please put this date in your diary. Friends and family welcome to come along too.
Children’s Festival Whit Monday Bank holiday 27th May: a letter is being given out about this. We need to know now if you intend your child to take part. You must be able to help if your child is to be on the float.
AND DON’T FORGET!!....
We close for a week this Friday 15th February at 3pm and reopen Monday 25th at 9am for 5 weeks until closing for Easter on 5th April.
Best wishes,
Janet, Shirley, Carole, Bridget, Gemma and Rebecca
