World Book Day - 1st March. Please help Book Aid International raise funds to send books to sub-Saharan Africa to promote learning by coming to school dressed as a sea going character (as our theme for the week is On the Sea) and making a suggested £1 donation. For ideas we would suggest taking a look at The Lighthouse Keeper series.

Parents Day on will be on Thursday 15th March between 9.30am and 5.00pm and again between 6pm and 8pm. We would encourage all our parents to come and see their child’s profile.

Open Morning will be on Thursday 22nd March 9.30am to 12.00pm; all parents/carers and grandparents, who might be interested in looking around our setting, are welcome.

Many thanks to all the parents and friends who made a donation towards raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust by buying reindeer food before Christmas; we raised £117.85.

Parents/carers may have noticed the wonderful new motif on our overalls ..... a fab Lighthouse! This will enable us to readily identify our 'own' which we may have lent to the children.

We still have LOTS of missing spare Lighthouse overalls so could we please ask parents/carers to check at home and return any which your child may have borrowed.

Your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Drop Off and Pick Up Reminders

Please may I remind you of the following timings!

8.30 to 9.00 Larks (by prior arrangement) – this should preferably be well before the normal drop off time to avoid confusion, by 8.50 please.

9.00 to 12.15 Morning Session Morning children to arrive between 9.00 and 9.15

NB: Staff need time for preparation before the sessions begin and therefore we really appreciate your help with these timings. Equally we do appreciate timeliness in order that we can start the session promptly with register for all! We do recognise that there are always “Late” days but….

12.15 Morning children to be collected

Late collection fee will be charged if more than 5 minutes late.

12.15 to 1.30 Lunch time session – for full day children and by prior arrangement

Late collection fee will be charged if more than 5 minutes late.

1.30 to 4.30 Afternoon Session Afternoon children to arrive at 1.30

Late collection fee will be charged if more than 5 minutes late.

4.30 to 5.30 Owls (by prior arrangement) children to be collected from 4.30.

Late collection fee will be charged if more than 5 minutes late.

Thank you for your help with this. It is in your child’s best interest.

PLEASE do remember that you have to give written notice if you are planning to leave The Lighthouse. A term’s written notice is required or a forfeit of a term’s fees are due. We cannot assume that because your child is of school age that they will no longer require a place. The Law still remains stating that children do not have to go to ‘school’ until the term after they are five. Also Oxfordshire County Council policy is that a school must keep a place for your child once offered until the Summer term of the reception year. Every child is different. Everyone’s situation is different. Every school is different. So remember what we offer.

PLEASE LABEL YOUR CHILD'S LUNCHBOX (and where possible the food containers too).

I would like to reinforce the lunchtime model we have here. I would also encourage you to think about the contents of the lunch boxes in terms of quantity, suitability, and environmentally.
I know that the children love to stay for lunch so our model is obviously not too onerous!

At lunchtime we…….. start by washing our hands, find our names/lunch boxes at the table and sit down, sing a special song to say thank you, talk quietly to the other children on our table, eat our sandwiches or savoury foods first, are encouraged to eat all that our parents give us, then our fruit and yoghurts, we keep our cake and chocolate treats to the end, we put our rubbish back into our boxes – into a container or bag please It is fun to have lunch with our friends.

Contents of Lunchboxes These are some suggestions to ensure that lunchtimes are fun, and fair to all children. • The lunch should be prepared and stored in a separate container • We suggest: A selection of protein, carbohydrate e.g. Cheese or ham sandwiches, Prepared vegetables and fruit in little pots eg carrot sticks, mange tout peas, slices of pepper, berries, Clementine’s, small yoghurts, etc. • Contents should be healthy • Include food that your child likes to eat! • Something savory like a sandwich • Enough to fill, but not so much to overwhelm – Does your child eat 4 sandwiches with crusts on and a whole bag of crisps at home?? • NO NUTS, please (e.g. Peanut Butter Sandwiches) • We will provide a drink of water if children do not have one. Also if you provided drinks, please make sure they are either water or fruit juice. • We do ask the children to eat their savory food first, and that they eat all food provided.

Thank you for your support.

Sally

Please ensure your child has spare clothes in their bag. Even big people get wet or have accidents sometimes.

Please could we remind parents to keep the windowsills clear. Thank you.

Children are all encouraged to bring in a water bottle each day. There is a tray in each classroom for named bottles. We do provide a snack table with fruit and milk/water each session, however children do enjoy having their own water bottle. We really like to encourage this as water is very good for everyone.