Duchal Nursery
Christmas Newsletter
December 2024
Staff News
Farewell
Sadly we will be saying goodbye to Mrs Sinclair at the end of this term as she moves her career in another direction, after working in Early Years education for 15 years.
Sue has been an invaluable member of our team and will be greatly missed. She brought with her enthusiasm, wonderful artistic talent and a fabulous sense of humour.
We wish her the very best in her new role and thank her for her dedication to our team and to giving each child the best start in life.
Welcome
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Kirsty Campbell as our new Deputy Head of Duchal Nursery.
Mrs Campbell has been a part of the Duchal team already this term so will be known to all the children and parents. She brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge, having worked in the primary sector for 20 years. With her passion for science and exploring the outdoors we can’t wait for her bring her skills to daily Duchal life.
Welcome to the Duchal family.
End of Term Reminder
A reminder that the Nursery will close at 3pm on Friday 20th December. We will re-open on Monday 6th January 2025!
Wishing all our Duchal families a very Merry Christmas and happy and healthy 2025.
Festive News
Christmas Craft Day
A huge thank you to our Parent Committee for heralding the beginning of Christmas at Duchal with a wonderfully festive craft morning. The children love having parents and grandparents join them in the Nursery which made it such a special occasion for them. Many thanks for your kind donations to the Inverclyde Foodbank, they really will help.
Nativity
What a wonderful display the children put on this week at our Nativity, they loved performing before a packed audience, and it was difficult to contain the excitement with the BIG day getting ever closer!! See a few photos of our stars below…..
Christmas Wonderland
Duchal will be transformed into a winter wonderland on Monday 16th December with the amazing Jo James from Musicland bringing Christmas to life with music and entertainment.
We will be full on with Christmas, all topped off with a Christmas movie - Christmas jumpers and Santa hats optional.
AUTUMN TERM RE-CAP
FOOTBALL WITH MORTON IN THE COMMUNITY
More than just ball skills…..
Our sessions with Morton in the Community have again gone down a storm with the children. As well as teaching football skills we work on hand eye co- ordination, balance and control, all while encouraging and maintaining a healthy active lifestyle
GARDENING CLUB
Green Fingered Learning
Thank you to those parents and grandparents who have joined us and shared their gardening knowledge with both our staff and children. Your expertise and enthusiasm have been wonderful, and we’re thrilled to see how the children have loved getting their hands dirty and discovering the magic of gardening, we can’t wait to see the fruits of our labor in the Spring
FOREST FRIDAYS
Friday Fun in the Forest - The Power of Nature-Based Learning
We’ve continued with our weekly expeditions into the woods—a tradition that’s quickly becoming a cherished part of our curriculum. These outdoor adventures provide the children with the freedom to learn in a natural environment, where their imaginations can roam. Whether it’s identifying a particularly large leaf, tracking the movements of a curious insect, or simply feeling the texture of bark, every moment in the woods gives them the opportunity to learn and discover.
FIRE FIGHTING
Firefighter Scott
There was great excitement amongst the children with the arrival of a real life Firefighter. Reuben’s uncle very kindly came in to give the children an insight into the life of a firefighter and even arrived in his FIRE truck
CELEBRATIONS
National festivals and traditions…….
It’s been a busy term as we marked Halloween, Guy Fawkes, Divali, St Andrew’s Day and of course Christmas. Learning about how different cultures have different festivals and celebrations raises awareness of diversity across the globe. It has been a fantastic way of introducing new foods, learn new dances and get creative.
Thank You to everyone who kindly donated to our various collections this term:
At Duchal it is important for us to support good causes whether it be local charities or national ones. The children love getting involved whether it be a sponsored welly walk or a fancy dress day. It is wonderful that Duchal can give the children an opportunity to do their bit for charity while learning some great life skills.
We had a fabulous day supporting Children in Need, with lots of Pudsey’s around the Nursery. Many thanks to the parents for their support for this amazing charity as well as our Rag Bag Collection and the Inverclyde Food Bank donations.
Concentration
Engineers of the Future
Garden learning
Duchal Tower
Star Baker
Cleaning up
Christmas Craft Morning
Green Fingers
Fire Truck
Wraparound Care and Nursery Hours
EARLY BIRD DROP OFFS
The Nursery is open every morning from 8am for early bird drop offs , this is charged at £6.50 per hour. Please book this in advance, any ad hoc early drop offs will be charged at £8.00.
WRAPAROUND AFTERNOON HOURS
NURSERY HOURS
All afternoon wraparound care MUST be booked in advance, we will only be able to take ad hoc bookings if we have adequate staff on duty.
The demand for wraparound hours has been low so far this academic year, and going forward into 2025 we only have a few children booked in. We will therefore only keep the nursery open for the hours that are booked in advance. Please check the School App for Parents for details.
Dates for 2025
Dates for 2025
Welcome to the new term - we look forward to hearing all your exciting news from the holidays. We are delighted to welcome Mrs Kirsty Campbell as our new Deputy Head and Matilda Ainsley who will be joining us for her Red Teddy year now she turning three!
6th January 2025
6th January 2025
Applications for funded places from August 2025 open. All details will be on our Registration page of the website.
17th January 2025
Deadline of all funded places applications - all forms MUST be submitted by the time. All details will be on our Registration page of the website.
22nd January 2025
Duchal AGM - Kilmacolm Community Centre 7pm
As a parent’s co-operative and a charity, we are obliged to hold an AGM each year. Please join us to get an insight into the running of your nursery.
