SUMMER TERM 2012
Sunrise Nursery Newsletter
Summer Term 2012
“A teacher must have such qualities as strength of character, righteousness, spirit of social service, unselfishness, personality and leadership. Teachers are the gurus or preceptors of the society and that is why not just any person will do. The ability of the person must be commensurate with the significance and the gravity of the teacher’s post”
P.R Sarkar – Founder of Neo-Humanist Education
Welcome
To the new families joining Sunrise, we would like to extend a very warm welcome and hope that your child is happy, relaxed and stimulated during their time with us. If you have any queries or concerns, please get in touch with your child’s key worker, or drop us an email.
Term Dates
Half Term dates 4th and 5th June.
Nursery will resume on Wednesday 6th June ( not 5th as stated in the previous newsletter). Please remember that children just attending for the government-subsidised 15 hour place, will take the whole week off and return on 11th June.
Last day of term Friday 20th July
Autumn term begins Monday 13th August
Again, children just attending for the government-subsidised 15-hour place will return to nursery on Monday 3rd September.
News
Sports day 6th July
We are hoping to repeat the success of the bring and buy sale of last year so if you have any old toys, clothes, books or shoes, please bring them in to nursery to be sold on the day. We would also welcome your contributions of homemade cakes and savouries to the sale (please no eggs, onions/garlic or mushrooms.)
Parent’s Meeting 25th June
Please make every effort to attend the annual parents’ meeting. We welcome your opinions and concerns as well as ideas for initiatives in the nursery for the future. It is also a good opportunity to meet other parents and strengthen our wonderful Sunrise community.
Children’s supplies
Didi would like to remind parents that many of the children are attending nursery with insufficient supplies of nappies, wipes and clean clothes in their bags. Could you all please check your children’s bags on a weekly basis to ensure that they have plenty of supplies and a full change of clothes in case of accidents.
New Yoga Classes
Chlidren’s yoga will continue this term on Sunday afternoons at 4. A new women-only yoga class will be taking place on Thursdays from 6.30 – 7.30.
Teacher Training Friday 1st June
Nursery will be closed all day for teacher training.
Minibus update
We have so far raised a total of £4000 for the minibus fund! We are also in the process of applying for a grant from the Vegetarian Charity so we are hoping that we shall be able to afford a new minibus very soon.
Homeopathic Clinic
There is a low cost homeopathic clinic at the nursery most Saturdays. The clinic is open to the children and parents of the nursery and those on a low income in the Hackney area. If you would like to make an appointment, please contact Food for All next door to the nursery or call 0208 806 4138.
Sunrise Primary School
Most of you know that Sunrise has a sister nursery and Primary school based in Tottenham. If you would like to visit the Primary school and find out how the Sunrise educational approach continues at this stage, please speak to Didi to arrange a visit.
Themes
Each term, we choose a number of themes on which activities will be focused. We would ask that you support the children’s learning by discussing these and if possible doing further activities along these themes at home. For the next term, the themes are as follows.
April Plants
May Insects
June Fish
July Birds
Staff
Lorie will be helping in the downstairs classroom on Fridays and on an ad hoc basis for extra support.
Articles of interest
A Longitudinal Study of Bed Sharing and Sleep Problems Among Swiss Children in the First 10 Years of Life
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/115/Supplement_1/233.full
* End of childs first year sleep increases,but there is a variation
* We cant assume on how many hours sleep is necessary, if child receives too much or less sleep long term sleep disturbance may arise
* Need to adjust to sleep time of the child and not vice versa
* Bed sharing may assist the child to sleep, rather then the rush of separation. Even up the age of 4.
* Children do ‘outgrow’ behaviours so a short term disturbance may just remain short term
* Allow the child to guide as parents commonly choose their sleeping arrangements on the basis of cultural beliefs and professional advice (which usually is collective not individual)
* Sleep allows the rest of the body to digest food and to rebuild internally so the amount is necessary to each individual
* child at 2-3 years usually don’t tell us they want to sleep it the signs we work with
* the child is usually around people and parents during the day and at night may be left alone to sleep, reaction mostly does take place to resist sleep. When they awake during their sleep they realise “i am alone”. A child can not be rational with this behaviour as they are not conscious of the purpose of this change. Child shouldn’t be alone unless parents are aware of the childs self conscious
*Respect a childs uniqueness. Child has not arrive to experience the parents, teachers or any one else’s experience apart of their own. Child belongs to self only. We shouldn’t force what we personally want for our benefit but for safety and love for the child.
Most importantly this is just a small area of child sleep, this may be a guide but not a solid fact.
I hope its seen with an open mind rather then instructions to parenthood. Thank you
SPRING TERM 2012
Sunrise Newsletter
Welcome back to the new term at Sunrise, we hope that you enjoyed the winter break and are looking forward to an inspiring and fun-filled spring time for the children.
News
New Yoga class!
There will be a children’s yoga class beginning at 4pm this Saturday at the nursery. The target age group is 7-10 years. Sessions will cost £4 each and children will be required to book for a six-week course.
Fund-raising
The Christmas show was a great success and all the children performed beautifully. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped to make it a success. The event raised £95.50 for the mini bus fund. In addition, Rowan’s mum organized a party which raised £71.72 – thank you so much for your generous efforts. The children at Sunrise primary school took part in a carol singing and collection at Westminster and Highbury & Islington tubes so we are now progressing well in our bid to replace the mini bus.
You can check out some of the Christmas show photos here:https://plus.google.com/photos/104528923616366839547/albums/5683358289648172689?authkey=CNaD5NjGnY6FKw&banner=pwa
Vegetarian lunch Fundraiser
Each year at Sunrise we come together with the families from the Primary school as well as former children, their parents and the wider Margi community for a fundraising lunch. The event consists of performances from professionals and the primary children, face painting, dancing and games. There is also the most delicious vegetarian food to enjoy. This year the event will take place on 17th March so please mark it in your diaries now. We will provide further details closer to the time.
Parents’ Meetings
Please be aware that during February, we encourage the parents to meet with their child’s teacher in order to discuss their progress. If you would like to arrange a one-to-one session, please approach your child’s teacher for an appointment.
Primary School visits
If your child is approaching primary school age and you would like to arrange a visit to Sunrise Primary school, please see Didi to arrange an appointment.
Reminders
Could you all please check your child’s bags and ensure that they have sufficient clothes in case of an accident. All children should have clean pants, trousers, tops and socks. For children using nappies, please ensure that they have a good supply of nappies and wipes.
Themes
The Themes for this term will be:
Until 20th January – Air
Until 3rd Feb – Light
Until 17th Feb – Water
Until 2nd March – Earth
Until 16th March – Plants
Until 30th March – Insects
You can enhance your children’s investigation of these topics by discussing them and engaging with creative activities around these subjects at home.
Staff
We have a new member of staff joining us this term. Rita Kaur will be working upstairs with the children on Wednesday Thursday and Friday mornings. Karmeshana will be helping on Thursdays and Fridays and Julia will be working on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday mornings downstairs.
Homeopathic Clinic
Remember that there is a homeopathic clinic held at the nursery most Saturday mornings. The clinic is a reduced cost service available for children and parents. Costs are children £15 first appointment and £10 follow- ups, adults £20 first appointment and £15 follow – ups. To make an appointment, visit Food for All next door to the nursery.
THERE WILL BE TEACHER TRAINING ON ON FRIDAY 10TH FEBRUARY SO THE NURSERY WILL BE CLOSED.
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http://sunrise.org.uk/shop
http://sunrise.org.uk/
AUTUMN TERM 2011
A very warm welcome to all the new children and their families. We hope you enjoy being part of the Sunrise community. Please help us to make your child’s experience of Sunrise as positive as possible by keeping us informed of any issues that arise for them either whilst at nursery or at home. We look forward to developing a relationship with them and helping them grow emotionally spiritually and educationally whilst they are with us and beyond.
A very fond farewell to all the children who will be beginning school this term and leaving Sunrise. We wish you all the very best of luck in your new schools.
News
We have a new bathroom in the downstairs classroom which should be more comfortable and more hygienic for the children.
Anuraga and Didi completed first Aid training and are now fully qualified to provide first aid cover for the children
Sports Day raised £403 which will be used eventually to replace the downstairs classroom windows with double-glazed ones.
The Sunrise website will be being updated in the next few weeks by Cliodhna. Please remember to check it out soon at www.sunrise.org
Thank you
A big thank you to all the parents who came in to nursery over the summer holiday to help in the garden.
Gratitude also to brother Vinayka for his hard work and craftsmanship in completing the lovely new bathroom in the downstairs classroom.
Sunrise would also like to thank all parents who donated time, cakes and bric-a-brac to to the sports day and bring and buy sale. A big thank you to the children for running their races so well.
Themes
Each term, the children’s learning will be based around a particular theme. We will be reading stories, making artwork and playing with these themes in mind. We would ask that you enhance their experience of them by discussing and expanding on these at home.
The themes for this term will be:
September – Ourselves, me and my family, Autumn
October - People around us, Community, Earth, Harvest, Transport
November – Space, celebrations
December - Fire, stars, Winter celebrations
Reminders…
Please make sure that your child has a full change of clothes in their bag at nursery and plenty of nappies and wipes if appropriate.
To ensure your child has maximum chance of settling well for the day and enjoying their time here, please make every effort to ensure that they arrive in good time for circle time at 9.30. This space is used to orientate the children and helps set up a peaceful atmosphere for the day. We have observed that when children miss this, they find it more difficult to settle into their day.
Please make sure the stair gates are closed. This is an important health and safety consideration.
If your child is sick or not going to attend nursery, please let us know by 10am on that morning.
Please keep us informed of any changes in contact detail such as address, phone number or email.
In order to ensure the safety of your children, please make sure the main door is fully closed when entering and leaving the building.
Please do not press the buzzer between one 1pm and 3pm to ensure that the children are able to complete their naps
Please make sure that you sign your child in at the beginning of the day and out again at the end of the day. This is an important health and safety requirement.
If your child has not eaten breakfast please let us know and we will provide them with an early snack.
Please make sure your child is dressed adequately for the weather. Each child should have a warm coat on sight at all times as weather conditions can quickly change.
Requests
Please bring a photo of your child from birth to their current age to include on this terms project ‘ourselves’ Please bring in by next week they will be returned at the end of the month.
Please bring in a pair of bright coloured socks
Waterproof trousers and jackets would be very helpful during the onset of bad weather.
Staff Arrangements
Upstairs classroom Mon to Friday Leah and Didi . Saba will be helping with walk times. Chetna will be helping part time
Downstairs Classroom Monday to Wednesday – Anuraga and Nargiish.Thursday to Friday Gina and Nargiish . Mammuna Patail will be helping with walk times from Monday to Friday
Leah will be taking a course in NVQ level 3 Childcare
Vicky and Caroline will be providing administration on Mondays and Fridays.
Shopping
Please remember when shopping online that Sunrise will receive a small donation from the companies listed below if you access their websites via HYPERLINK “http://www.sunrise.org.uk” www.sunrise.org.uk. The cost to you remains the same.
Amazon John lewis, Halfords, Nature’s Best, Jessops, HMV, dabs.com, CD wow and love film
Low-cost Children’s Homeopathic Clinic
Sunrise Children’s clinic was established in the 1980s with the aim of bringing affordable homeopathic treatment to children and their families in Hackney and the surrounding areas. Homeopathic medicines are safe, non-toxic and holistic. Clinics are held at the nursery every Saturday morning. 10am-1pm. Appointments can be made at ‘Food for All’ next door to the nursery. Cost: £15 first appointment, £10 follow-ups. To make an appointment, call 0208 8064138 or drop in.
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STOKE NEWINGTON NEWSLETTER SUMMER TERM 2011
Welcome
Sunrise would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new parents whose children have recently joined
the nursery. We hope you enjoy becoming part of the Sunrise community. We are looking forward to a fun-
filled and educational summer term.
News
Parents Meeting
There will be a parents meeting this Wednesday 11th May at 5pm. This will be an opportunity to meet other
parents and children and to discuss issues arising within the nursery setting.
Nursery closed for teacher training
The nursery will be closed on 27th May for teacher training and will be open after the half term holiday on
1st June. The topic will be the fundamentals of Neo Humanistic education and how to implement them in
the classroom. Observation, assessment and planning will also be covered.
New Play Apparatus
We would like to take this opportunity to formally give thanks to
Mayadhiisha (Turiiya’s dad)
for his wonderful wooden playground
apparatus. Mayadhiisha used his creativity and his considerable carpentry
skills to create something entirely unique, safe and practical. His creation
includes two wooden huts, a rope bridge which connects both huts and a
sandpit. The children are delighted to be playing in their new environment.
The nursery staff and many parents are also overjoyed with the new backyard
layout.
Didi Away
Didi will be away from 18th to 24th June at a yoga retreat.
Theatre Trip
The children will be attending Little Angel Theatre for a performance of The Magician’s Daughter at the
end of June. They will travel in the mini bus and will return in time for lunch. We will give exact dates
closer to the time.
Vegetarian Lunch
Thank you to all parents who attended our annual vegetarian lunch in April. We raised £969.59 for the
school and nursery. The money was spent on renovating our backyard, improving the play facilities there
for the children.
Birthday of the founder of Neo-Humanist Education
On 17th May the Ananda Marga Community will celebrate the birthday of Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Indian
philosopher and founder of Neo-Humanist Education.
Themes this term
8th – 16th May – The Farm and Pets
16th to 27th May – Earth
30th May to 17th June – Plants
20th June to 1st July – Insects
4th July to 22nd July – Birds
Remember. . .
•Please make sure that your child has a full change of clothes in their bag at nursery and plenty
of nappies and wipes if appropriate.
•To ensure your child has maximum chance of settling well for the day and enjoying their time here, please make every effort to ensure that they arrive in good time for circle time at 9.30. This space is used to orientate the children and helps set up a peaceful atmosphere for the day. We have observed that when children miss this, they find it more difficult to settle into their day.
•Please make sure the stair gates are closed. This is an important health and safety consideration.
•If your child is sick or not going to attend nursery, please let us know by 10am on that morning.
• Please keep us informed of any changes in contact detail such as address, phone number or email.
•In order to ensure the safety of your children, please make sure the main door is fully closed when entering and leaving the building.
Sports Day and Bring-and-Buy Sale Friday 1st July
The annual Sunrise sports day will take place on Friday 1st July at 3pm. Come along to see your child race and take part
in the parent’s races. Please bring vegetarian snacks and drinks to share
We are also encouraging parents to bring along cakes, pies, unwanted clothes, household items, plants, books and toys to
sell at the event to raise money for Sunrise. Please bring items in good condition to donate to the Sunrise Bring and Buy
which can be sold on the day. The money raised will be spent on replacing the windows with double-glazed ones. In the
event of bad weather, we will postpone the date until 8th July.
Staff
We said goodbye to our cook Scarlet Lefo and welcomed a new cook Saba who will be in the kitchen five
days a week. We welcome Elaine Bandele to the upstairs classroom. She will be working on Thursdays and
Fridays.
Upstairs classroom:
Mon to Wednesday Didi and Leah, Thursday and Friday Leah Didi and Elaine. Saba will be helping with walk times on Monday and Wednesday.Tuesday and Thursday Chetna will be helping part time.
Downstairs Classroom:
Monday to Wednesday – Anuraga and Nargiish.Thursday to Friday Gina and Nargiish . Mammuna Patail will be helping with walk times from Monday to Friday.
Elaine and Leah will be taking a course in NVQ level 3 Childcare.Anuraga and Didi will be doing First Aid
training. Nargiish is training in Behaviour Management
Shopping
Please remember when shopping online that Sunrise will receive a small donation from the companies
listed below if you access their websites via www.sunrise.org.uk. The cost to you remains the same.
Amazon, John lewis, Halfords, Nature’s Best, Jessops, HMV, dabs.com, CD wow and love film
Low-cost Children’s Homeopathic Clinic
Sunrise Children’s clinic was established in the 1980s with the aim of bringing affordable homeopathic
treatment to children and their families in Hackney and the surrounding areas. Homeopathic medicines
are safe, non-toxic and holistic. Clinics are held at the nursery every Saturday morning. 10am-1pm.
Appointments can be made at ‘Food for All’ next door to the nursery. Cost: £15 first appointment, £10
follow-ups. To make an appointment, call 0208 8064138 or drop in.
Term Dates
Summer Half Term Closed on Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st May 2011
End of Term Friday 22nd July 2011
Autumn term begins Monday 15th August 2011