January has been a busy month for all.

We welcomed 11 new children and families into the centre, as well as our new Equity and Excellence Practitioner and 4 college students who we will continue to support to  settle over the coming weeks. We  were involved in a very successful authority audit, offered a parent workshop and staff have been busy creating Personal Learning Plans for our January starts ahead of our Settling In meetings next Wednesday. (If you are still to book your time for this, please do so at pick up time today or phone in to choose one).

Now for all the fun experiences that the children have been exploring 🙂

Please click on each of the links below to find out more and look through our photos from each of our different rooms and areas 🙂 (Families within our Voes playroom can find their photos on individual Learning Journals weekly)

Music in the Square

Within the square, we have been learning about music, sound and instruments. We have been using instruments to listen and repeat the sounds, learning the names and sounds of each instrument…

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Architects/ Builders (the mill)

Over the month of January within the mill the children have been exploring the roles of Architects and Builders. To do this we have had discussions on what we think they are, used books, vi…

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Weather & Ice

We have been participating in a wide range of activities based on learning about ice. Firstly we discussed what ice was made of and how water can change. We worked as a team to experiment o…

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Robert Burns/Scotland

This month in The Brig the children have been learning all about Robert Burns, where he lived, Scottish poems, Scottish songs and created their own portrait of Robert Burns. They also got t…

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Have a great weekend everyone 🙂

Join Leoni and Julie T on Monday 26th January at 9am to find out more about how you can support your child with the use of visuals and Makaton.  This workshop will be of a huge benefit to parents of children who perhaps require some support with language and communication, as well as support with daily transitions and routines – however it is not only for the above parents. Visuals and Makaton support all. Both sit within our Improvement Plan this year and the full ECC have been learning Makaton, so why not learn a little too?

Please complete the link below to allow us to set up the room accordingly.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKRqhoaEMY8FHkTJQGETc2XZUOVlBVzNaNEw1NkJVNzdLTk1QWUw2TTdXNy4u

Visuals in the ECC boost comprehension, memory and focus by providing permanent, easily processed information that supports all learners. They help structure routines, facilitate transitions, encourage communication and engage students in deeper learning through tools like mind maps and diagrams. 

Makaton in early years boosts communication, reduces frustration and fosters inclusion by combining signs, symbols and speech, helping all children develop language, attention, memory and social skills, making learning more accessible and building confidence for those with communication challenges and their peers. It provides a visual support system that enhances understanding, vocabulary and cognitive development, leading to better engagement and stronger peer relationships in nursery settings. 

Leoni and Julie T’s Parent Workshop – Communication for all – Fill in form

We hope to see you there 🙂

Please see below for important dates for your diary from January to June 2026.

Dates for your diary Jan – June 2026

A paper copy will also be displayed in the ECC corridor for ease.

A separate calendar is also available for school transition events.

Please note that are dates are subject to change however if dates/times do change due to unforeseen circumstances we will inform parents ASAP via our ECC APP.

As you all know, enrolment for P1 is open this week for any child due to start school in August this year.

With this in mind, we would like to share our transition calendar with you to enable you to make plans for any changes to drops and/or picks. This will also allow you the chance to find out what opportunities your child will have over the coming months and to talk to them about it (click link at bottom of post)

Your child will be issued with a letter by the end of the week indicating what group they will be in.

Our Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing sessions are open to all pre-schoolers regardless of the school they are enrolling for, if you would like them to attend. If you would rather they did not attend these sessions, please make your child’s keyworker or Alana aware.

Please note – Dates for any transition events from other feeder schools will come directly from them.

ECC to P1 Parent Dates for your Diary 25-26

Dates will also be displayed in ECC corridor for ease.

Well …… busy is an understatement! I know I say it every month but the past 3 weeks has been jam packed full of fun. Please see below some SWAYs from December 🙂

Christmas Festivities 2025 Catrine ECC

Here at Catrine, we take this festive season very seriously!

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Sherrie was in The Brig learning all about the story of Christmas

The Story of Christmas

The children have been learning about the story of Christmas. We read the book and listened to the story on the smartboard. We used the dress up resources to explore the different character…

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Abby and her team of “Little Helper’s” were working hard in Santa’s Workshop

Santa’s workshop.

This month we have been very busy working as little elves in Santa’s workshop. We have been building toys, wrapping them up and putting them in Santa’s sleigh, we have been developing our f…

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Whilst in The Square playroom Carrie offered snack each day and once this was tidied away her main focus was on the action songs for our Christmas Carols in the Community. I think you will agree the children all did fantastic – and so did Carrie 🙂

Christmas experiences in the Square room

This month we have worked super hard to learn all our new Christmas songs. We have been learning the actions to the songs, makaton signs and had lots of practice using the props and hats. A…

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Julie and Leoni were exploring Christmas outdoors with the children, both in the community and within our garden areas

Christmas Outdoors

Within outdoors over the month of December with Leoni, Julie, Corrie and Lesleyanne, the children have been getting into the Christmas spirit as they have decorated the garden with tinsel a…

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If your child is in our Voes Room remember to check your child’s Learning Journal for extra photographs on Friday throughout the month. 

Thank you to the 9 parent/carers who completed our 2 Stars and a Wish FORM. We are always looking for your views and ideas on how we can improve our service and really appreciate the time you take to try to help us achieve this 🙂

I have collated the information and transferred it onto 2 posters and linked them below.

For easier reading, I have also displayed them in the ECC corridor.

Feedback 2 stars and a wish Dec 2025

Please see below our calendar for children transitioning to Catrine Primary School in August 2026. Please also note that registration for ALL CHILDREN going to school in August 2026, regardless of which school, is from Monday 12th January – Friday 16th January.

Transition Calendar 2025-26

Event have already taken place as noted in the calendar above and will continue to do so over the coming academic year.

More formal class visits with the teacher begin in March. These dates along with other events will be shared with parent/carers along with the January to June 2026 Dates for your Diary newsletter in the new year 🙂

If you have any further questions regarding transition please do not hesitate to speak to your child’s keyworker or Alana.

We cannot believe we are now at the end of November!

It has been yet again another busy month for the children and staff within the ECC.

Click on each of the links below to find out a little about what has been on over the past month.

Sherrie was out and about in the community lots looking for BEARS 🙂

We’ve been on a bear hunt!

We have been exploring a wide range of different activities based on the story We’re going on a bear hunt. Here are some of the activities we done, we listened to stories in different ways,…

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Plenty of exploring the village this month – Abby has been introducing the children to navigation and directional movement whilst out and about also.

Maps and direction

This month in the outdoor area we have been exploring positional language and direction. We have been using digital technology to explore maps we then used the information we had learned to…

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Julie was reinforcing ways in which we could regulate our emotions in the Square. We have taken resources away from this room to enable it be a calmer, quieter, more nurturing space for children who find the main playroom a little busy or overstimulating at times

How to regulate our emotions

This month in The Square we have been looking at ways on how we can regulate our emotions. To do this we have been participating within a variety of experiences such as: Breathing technique…

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A huge thank you to Cerys and Nighean’s mummy who came into the centre to support Leoni’s learning about the Police. The children thoroughly enjoyed it – as did the staff 🙂

Police

Over the month of November within the Brig room the children have been exploring the police and their job. To do this we:-

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And finally in The Mill Lesleyanne and Corrie were creating wonderful stories through a range of media and developing their creativity using loose parts

Story Creations, Dinosaurs and Loose Parts

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Children within the Voes – you can continue to find out about your room planning on your child’s monthly learning story and weekly photo dumps on Learning Journals 🙂

Have a great weekend, everyone, and we will see you all on Monday for the start of some festive fun 🙂

Reminder – Thursday 4th December from 9.15 – 10am is our Christmas Bookbug session with Alana, followed by optional mince pies and a hot drink if you wish to stay on afterwards.

Please click on the link below to book in and to allow for staff to purchase the correct amount of pies 🙂

Christmas Bookbug – Fill in form

Booking will close on Tuesday 2nd December at 4pm

Please click on the link below –

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKRqhoaEMY8FHkTJQGETc2XZUNDc3MDdWR0ZET1kyMEpVSlQ4TDFLTUYwNS4u