Newsletter
January to February, 2024
January
Here’s what we’re getting up to.
Thursday 25th January, Burns Day!
Veggie haggis, neeps and tatties will be making a guest appearance as the hot lunch as we celebrate the Bard.
Tuesday 30th January, Pre-school workshop
9.30 in the small hall. Come along, have a coffee and find out what primary 1 will look like for your wee one. I can tell you about the skills teachers value most, what your childs day will look like, and you’ll have the opportunity to speak to us and other parents at the same stage. This has always proved useful in the past so I hope you can come along if your wee on is leaving us for school in August.
February
Friday 9th February
Nursery will be closed for an in-service day.
Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th February
We’re closed for the mid term break.
Friday 23rd February
We’re having a coffee morning. Come along and join other parents in the small hall at drop off time for a catch up and a cuppa. We’ll make sure you get the chance to talk to your childs key worker and you can also have a look at their Care and Education Folder.
Week commencing Monday 26th Feb
It’s bring a special person to nursery week! Your child can invite an adult – yourself, grandparent, aunt, uncle – to join them at nursery from 9-10.30. We’ve got a lot of extended families here in Clarkston nursery, so this is a nice opportunity for them to get involved and see what your childs nursery day actually looks like. There will be a day allocated to each group as follows:
- Squares will be Tuesday
- Diamonds will be Wednesday
- Triangles will be Friday
- Circles will be Thursday
If you can’t make your allocated group day but would like to attend, get in touch and we’ll see if we can slot you in on another day. I’m also trusting you to really know your child here too. If you think this would just unsettle them, or make them expect they can bring someone everyday, maybe leave it till further down the line. If this event is successful we’re hoping to run it every term.
Peripatetic Teacher
We’ll also have the pleasure of Janet from East Renfrewshire Council’s company every Thursday throughout February. Janet is always a big hit with the children and she’s full of ideas and creativity. We’re looking forward to welcoming her back.
Parent Committee
Unfortunately, we lose all three of our office bearers come August and we need to find a way to replace them. We’re looking for:
- a Chairperson
- a Secretary
- a Treasurer
The Chairperson chairs monthly meetings and helps me with tasks like recruitment.
The Secretary minutes the monthly committee meetings and circulates these to the rest of the committee. They also help with some administrative tasks like getting quotes for the nursery insurance each year.
The treasurer keeps track of the incoming and outgoing payments, organises staff salaries and pays invoices. We have a firm of bookkeepers available to help with salaries etc. Everything is set up on Quickbooks and is in good shape as our treasurer of the last couple of years, Mohammed, is an accountant. You don’t have to be an accountant, but if any of you are, or are simply willing to help, that would be amazing. Maybe you run your own business and are used to dealing with finances etc – this wouldn’t be any bother to you!
Obviously, that’s a very brief overview of tasks and responsibilities. If you think you could help, please let us know and I’ll put you in touch with the person who is currently, or most recently held the post.
Without a parent committee, the nursery is unable to operate as it leaves us outside of the terms of our constitution. For 55 years parents have stepped into these roles to keep our lovely wee nursery going – I’m sure this year will be no exception!
In the past, some people have struggled to help due to childcare issues for our monthly meeting. Could we maybe do something a little different With so many people working from home now, can we find a suitable time and meet for an hour once a month during the day? We’re happy to be flexible. Some companies now give people time off for volunteering – this would fall into that camp. Please talk amongst yourselves and let me hear your ideas for how we take this forward.
Thanks everyone.
Maureen and the staff team x
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