We would like to introduce our new member of staff for the coming session. A very experienced Nursery Nurse, Ms. Dawn Paterson will be joining us for the afternoon sessions. We would like to welcome Ms. Paterson to Hecklegirth Nursery and feel sure that she will be a very valuable addition to our team.
Curriculum for Excellence Factfile
A factfile has been published by the Scottish Government, following requests from various quarters, including parents, employers and the community learning and development sector. This provides a handy summary of the key features of Curriculum for Excellence and the main language and terms used to describe these.
The document includes the four capacities; the seven principles of curriculum design; the eight curriculum areas; the experiences and outcomes; levels; entitlements, assessment and many other aspects of the Scottish 3-18 curriculum.
To refer to this, please click on “Curriculum for Excellence Factfile” on the right, under “Useful Links”. We hope that this helps to answer some questions you may have, regarding Curriculum for Excellence.
What have you enjoyed in Nursery?
As many of our children prepared to leave us for Primary 1, we talked about what they had enjoyed most in Nursery. Here is a sample of their thoughts below.
Olivia: I liked playing the piggy game on the computer ‘cause it was funny.
Mason: the red bike outside was good – it’s like a motorbike.
Cerys: the house corner – the castle was the best ever.
Dylan: I liked playing doggies.
Poppy: running and playing with everyone outside.
Becky: the Three Bears Cottage.
Jack: lots of painting for the Mummies.
Liam: the Chinese restaurant was good with all the food.
Aidan: the computer game with clowns.
Finlay: playing on the bikes and going in the pink castle.
Ruby: I liked having snack and puzzles. I liked the castle and the Three Bears Cottage. I just liked all of it.
Corey: I liked drawing and cooking in the house.
Aedan: playing scooters.
Maisie: drawing pictures with Ruby was the best.
Ola: playing with Zuzanna.
Jack: going on the big slide.
Singing, smiles and certificates
Singing, smiles and certificates filled our graduation day at Hecklegirth Nursery. The children were so excited to perform for their family and friends and they certainly did us all proud. Happiness seemed to beam from almost every face as they showed what wonderful little stars they are. A slightly nervous practice for some at our school assembly the day previously seemed to build their confidence and both the morning and afternoon children “saved the best for last” to impress their families. The singing and dancing was fantastic! Miss Wilson was also very impressed with the grown-up and confident manner in which each individual child walked onto the stage to shake hands and receive their certificate.
All the staff were touched when we were presented with surprise gifts which were most generous, particularly after the recent secret fundraising event. We would like to thank all the children and their parents for making this year a most enjoyable one. The children have been an absolute delight and their parents so supportive of us. We could not have asked for more.
Click on the photos above for a closer look.
Fun Activity Day
Our Fun Activity Day started with a huge surprise when we were presented with a very generous cheque, as well as a beautiful bench and weather vane for the Nursery garden. We would like to extend huge thanks to everyone who organised, contributed to or took part in the secret sponsored walk to raise this amazing amount of money for our Nursery. We feel quite overwhelmed by this generosity and are considering carefully how to spend your donation wisely.
Despite a mixture of sunshine and showers, the children continued happily round the fun activities and seemed pleased to show off their skills to family and friends. They worked well together in teams and showed good support for each other. Primary 6 did a great job of encouraging and praising the children and Callum, Active Schools Co-ordinator, helped us enormously by managing everyone’s movement round the field.
None of this would have been possible without the enthusiastic participation of the Nursery children who, as always, made us very proud of their excellent behaviour on an exciting day. Well done boys and girls!
Visit to the Romans
Today we all had great fun visiting Primary 4 who showed us their work on the Romans. The life size figures of Roman soldiers were particularly impressive and we really enjoyed trying out the computer games that Primary 4 had designed. We saw mosaics and amphitheatre models and heard stories about life as a Roman soldier, amongst other things.
Primary 4 were so enthusiastic at sharing their learning with Nursery children, making sure that they explained things to them in a way that they would understand. Thank you very much to Miss Cameron and everyone in Primary 4 for making us feel so welcome. We always love our visits to your classroom.
What can we do in the playground?
We had fun this week playing in the school playground. Lots of us liked the big snakes and ladders game on the ground and were shouting out the numbers as we jumped on them. Gabi noticed that they were “very huge numbers” and Sarah said, “It’s a good job we like huge numbers ’cause they can be tricky”.
A few tried out the benches when they got a bit tired and some simply enjoyed running in the huge space. A small group of children even stood by the fence and watched the tents being erected for the pipe band championships. All in all, everyone agreed that the big playground is a great place to be.
P6 buddies give a helping hand
P6 were kind and helpful buddies this week when they helped us make cards for our families. Eileen, our Family Learning Co-ordinator, arranged for P6 to help children who are moving to P1 make lovely cards for their families. P6 were fantastic buddies, explaining what the task was and just giving the right amount of guidance and support to those who found it a little tricky cutting out stars to decorate their cards. We hope parents are happy with the finished product as a fond memento of their child’s move to Primary 1. The sentiments of the little poem seem to sum up how they are all feeling about the next stage in their lives.
I know I’ll have lots of fun,
Lots of things to make and do,
Reading, writing, counting too.
P1 here I come!
I know I’ll have lots of fun.
Learning Circus Skills
Although we have been having great fun with our own circus area in Nursery, the morning children had a real life experience of the circus this week when we were invited to visit the big top which was in the field next to us. Several of the circus acts welcomed us and kindly took lots of time and patience to teach us a few basic skills. Peppa Pig even made an appearance and joined in a dance with everyone as they waited their turn to try out the juggling clubs and hoops. The acrobat’s trampoline was also a great attraction as the children all tried to bounce as high as the circus girl. It was a fantastic experience for the children to meet real circus performers and we thank them for spending so much time with us. The children are continuing to practise their skills in Hecklegirth Circus.
Fun Activity Day
Unfortunately we have had to postpone tomorrow’s Fun Activity Day as the muddy and dangerous condition of the grass makes it unsafe for the children. We now hope to hold this event next Thursday, 30th June. Fingers crossed that the weather will be kind for us.
