In the run up to Christmas, nothing gets you in the mood more than watching a lovely nativity. The children of Winford Village Pre-school amazed a packed Village Hall by braving to the stage in a wonderful array of costumes. Amongst the audience were not only some exceptionally proud parents but also the Rev Paul Stephens and the first two years of Winford School. The children all took their new found fame in their stride and performed a variety of songs retelling the story of baby Jesus’ birth, even managing to take a stroll off the stage and through the audience in the re-telling of their story. All the children performed incredibly well given their young age and there were even a few solo performances including an absolutely lovely rendition of twinkle twinkle little star in which the performer took it upon himself to continue without the support of the rest of his friends! After the nativity the children settled down for some well deserved party food and were even treated to a special visit from Santa Claus who laden with presents had taken time out from his busy schedule to congratulate the children on such a wonderful performance. DVD’s of the nativity are for sale at £5.00 each or 3 for £12.00 and can be purchased by contacting the Pre-school on 01275 472742.

Despite Winford Pre-school not being blessed with a white Christmas scene to greet shoppers to the Pre-school Shopping Evening, the spirit was certainly present within the confines of Winford Village Hall on Friday 18th November.

Upon entering a hall that more closely resembled a Santa’s grotto brimming with goodies, shoppers were treated to the sight of tables laden with all sorts of marvellous gifts and natty little gift ideas to browse through. From books to pictures and nostalgic wooden toys, scrumptious cakes, gorgeous jewellery and a fantastic selection of clothes, the event certainly promised to keep your attention for a good few hours. A complementary glass of mulled wine and a mince pie transformed the mood of the evening bringing everyone ever so slightly closer to the Christmas spirit that most of us love. For those who had already stocked up on all the gifts required to make this Christmas truly memorable there was even the opportunity to indulge in your very own pampering session where beauty treatments were on offer in the Village Hall’s back room. With gift bags crammed with purchases a prize draw rounded off the highly successful evening providing certain lucky attendees to a further treat from the sumptuous gifts on offer.

Many thanks to all who attended or showed support for the evening. Proceeds for the evening will be split evenly between the Pre-school and the Harvey Hext Appeal.

Following an inspection of Winford Village Pre-school in September, Ofsted have again judged that “the quality of the provision is Outstanding”. The Pre-school was given an ‘Outstanding’ grade at its previous inspection in January 2008 and are very proud to have maintained that “exceptionally high quality of service” for the children and their families.

This was particularly satisfying as the Pre-school has only been operating in the current refurbished premises within the recently expanded Winford Primary School since this April.

Staff, parents and children are celebrating the publication of a glowing report (the full report can be seen at www.ofsted.gov/reports). The inspector judged the Pre-school to be outstanding in all 17 categories of the inspection commenting that the children are cared for in “an exceptionally well-resourced environment” and that “excellent attention is given to meet each child’s unique needs”. Children’s progress is rapid and “interesting activities challenged children and moved them on in their learning quickly”.

Leadership and management was also judged to be Outstanding, “the Pre-school works very successfully with other professionals to provide a fully inclusive environment” and there are “exemplary relationships between the Pre-school and its members (families)”.

Wendy Cleghorn, the Pre-school Leader said “we are all over the moon with the Ofsted judgement which reflects the hard work and continued commitment of staff, committee members and parents. I am most pleased by the Inspectors observation that “children enjoy their learning immensely”. This is, after all, how Pre-school years should be!”

The Pre-school would also like to thank Winford Primary School for their continued support.

The Chair of the Pre-school, Claire Burnell added “the committee members of 2010 – 2011 are absolutely thrilled that Winford Pre-School has been awarded an ‘Outstanding’, grade from Ofsted.  This has been achieved by the tireless work of the committee and staff.  Special congratulations must go to the staff who are extremely dedicated and proud to provide a nurturing and safe environment for present and future children.  Well done”.

If anyone would like further information about the Pre-school please contact Wendy Cleghorn on 01275 472742.

As always, the children go back to school and the shops no sooner remove the school uniforms but to replace the gap with their Christmas stock. Despite many people’s protests Christmas is now fast approaching and if you recall from previous years, I am sure that Christmas suddenly sprung up on you leaving you with a mad dash to find unusual gift items for the loved ones in your life. Winford Village Pre-school acknowledge that Christmas can be a challenging time and they are proud to present their annual Christmas Shopping Evening to be held on Friday 18th November 2011 at Winford Village Hall starting at 7pm.

For those who have attended this annual event in previous years you are sure to remember the fantastic selection of stalls offering superb innovative quality gifts to suit every price range. If you are new to attending the evening rest assured it is a hugely popular event and we are convinced you will find bargains galore, from stocking fillers to lavish gifts, you may even be able to find a little treat for yourself! To get you in the Christmas spirit mulled wine and mince pies will also be available throughout the evening.

Tickets are available either in advance for the cost of £1.00 from the numbers at the bottom of this article or on the door for £1.50 and a prize draw will also be held on the evening offering a vast array of sumptuous prizes. Proceeds from this year’s Christmas Shopping Evening and Prize Draw will be split evenly between the Pre-school and The Harvey Hext Appeal.

For those of you who have yet to hear about the Harvey Hext Appeal it is a local registered charity set up by his parents and supported by both Winford Village Pre-school and Winford School.

Lots of you may already know Harvey and his family through the school, but for those of you who don’t, Harvey is a happy, funny, fun loving and very cheeky little 5 year old boy. Harvey who is an ex-Winford Pre-schooler, started school at Winford School last September, alongside his identical twin brother Spencer, but sadly has only been well enough to attend a few times.

In June last year the lives of the Hext family were devastated when Harvey was diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a very aggressive childhood cancer. Since then Harvey has amazed his family and his doctors with the way in which he has coped with the chemotherapy and MIBG therapy he has been given, he has also recovered very well from a 14hr operation to remove the primary tumour in his stomach. Throughout the awful treatment he has had to endure Harvey has remained spirited and inspirational.

Harvey has not responded to the chemotherapy as hoped. At the moment Consultants are still treating Harvey’s cancer as curable, however treatments in the UK for Neuroblastoma are limited and treatments given abroad DO work. Should the need arise for Harvey to be treated in Germany or the USA; the family will be looking at a cost of around £300,000. As a direct result the family created the Harvey Hext Appeal to try and reach this target in order to give Harvey the chance of life he deserves.

Please show your support for your local village Pre-school and for such a worthwhile cause by attending this evening. If you are unable to come along to the night but want to see details of Harvey’s Appeal in full and/or donate directly to his appeal please access his website via www.bmycharity.com/HarveyHextAppeal or through Facebook.

It is with a fond farewell to a few longstanding committee members that Pre-school launch into this new academic year. Winford Village Pre-school and its committee would like to say a huge thank you to Kerry McCabe for her dedication and enthusiasm as Pre-school secretary for the past 2 years. A massive thank you also goes out to Amy Clipson and Zoe Abbott for their imaginative ideas and fundraising, Nicky Davey for all her hard work as Vice Chair assisting Claire Burnell on her mission to update the pre-school and its policies and Amy Canning for all the time spent investigating suitable grants that the pre-school could apply for.

Despite the always anticipated sad farewells, the committee are very pleased to announce that several members of last years committee have kindly agreed to continue their service to the pre-school, and gratitude is therefore extended to Claire Burnell who remains as Chairperson, Dave Pearce as Treasurer, Michelle Vaughan as fundraiser and Catherine Stewart (me!) handling PR.

Finally, a warm welcome also goes to new members elected to the committee and in particular Emma Carpenter who has been appointed as Vice Chair, Catherine Stratford who has taken on the role of Pre-school Secretary, Roxy Munn who has offered to research grants and Claire Lavender-House who will work alongside Michelle Vaughan with this years fundraising.

Any new parents wishing to become more actively involved with the pre-school and/or find out more about the committee and its role do not hesitate to speak with any of the above named committee members or pre-school staff. Alternatively, please feel free to attend any of the committee meetings held at the Prince of Waterloo, Winford (normally once every 6 weeks on a Monday evening). Dates of forthcoming committee meetings can be found by enquiring at the Pre-school or will be documented within the previous meetings minutes.

To become a member of the committee or even just to attend committee meetings does not have be an onerous task and new parents are always welcomed and never pressurised. It is a chance for parents to meet in a casual environment away from the constraints of the classroom and discuss how they would like to see the pre-school run.

Equally if any parents have any fundraising ideas and/or contacts that are willing to provide unusual raffle prizes for the many prize draws held throughout the year, please contact any of the committee members. Please remember the input from you as parents will directly benefit your children throughout their time at pre-school!

St Mary and St Peter’s Church in Winford played host to Winford Village Pre-school’s annual harvest festival on Tuesday 4th October 2011. The Rev. Paul Stevens welcomed the children to the church and the children bravely took to the stage to sing their first song to the congregation whilst Mrs Wendy Cleghorn, pre-school leader produced several beautiful rainbow paintings prepared earlier by the children to accompany their song. A sermon explaining to the children the reason for the harvest festival was then conducted by Rev. Paul during which he asked the children to identify what was contained in his little black bag. Following a few very imaginative suggestions including the thought that it could be a cannon ball, Rev Paul produced a coconut from his bag much to the children’s amusement. The coconut then went on to act as a prop in his story about a mouse who would not share his food. To round the festival off, the children sang and danced to a song about combine harvesters before presenting their harvest gifts to the church. Rev Paul thanked all the children for their generosity and agreed that he would arrange for their gifts to be distributed to various local causes.

Winford Village Pre-school hosted their annual sports day on Wednesday 20th July 2011 in front of their family and friends in Winford School Hall.

In teams, each child competed in various events from basic running races to the more complicated obstacle courses and dressing up races. The day rounded off for the children with one event that is always very popular, the welly throwing event. Parents’ bravery was tested to its limits as each child lined up and throw a welly as hard as they could across the room. After much ducking and diving to avoid flying wellies it was decided that the parents, who had been far to stationary should now enter into the spirit of things and a parents piggy back race ensued much to the merriment of the children.

After a great deal of laughter and potentially many pulled muscles on behalf of the adult contingency, the children then retired to their classroom for ice lollies and drinks. During this quiet moment the Pre-school leaders carried out their Leavers Service for all the children who will be moving on to “big” school in September. Each “leaver” was called up individually to collect their learning diary and receive the gift of a new School P.E. bag filled with little treats.

This day rounded off what has been such a fantastic and action packed year for the pre-schoolers and on behalf of all the parents I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the Pre-school staff for their dedication, commitment and hard work throughout this year to ensure that all the children have had the most fun-filled and educational time possible within the Pre-school.

On Wednesday 20th July 2011, Winford Village Pre-school proudly unveiled their new plaque outside the pre-school to commemorate the kindness and generosity of the community. The plaque also remembers the efforts put in by parents past and present who tirelessly raised vital funds for the pre-school which has enabled them to move into their new building within Winford School’s grounds. A rousing speech was delivered by Dave Pearce, Treasurer for the pre-school before he was assisted by Ava, one of the pre-school children in unveiling the plaque to a round of applause from parents, friends, staff and children. Winford Village Pre-school would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone once again who has supported the pre-school over the years enabling it to grow and offer the children such a wonderful environment to develop.

Winford Village Pre-school children enjoyed a fantastic treat when the end of year pre-school outing took them to Bristol Zoological Gardens in Clifton on the day the zoo celebrated their 175th Birthday.

The children’s adventure began on Monday 11th July 2011 when they set off from pre-school on a large coach. Once at the zoo they were whisked away for a private hands on demonstration of a few of the animals Bristol Zoo has on offer. During the very informative talk the brave were able to hold hissing cockroaches, look at a snake close up and stroke some very bristly stick insects. They also got the chance to touch various animal skins and try to work out some plant smells.

Following this exciting talk the children then had the chance to wander around the zoo where they saw lions with their cubs, bats, monkeys and all the other usual suspects. One particular favourite with all the children appeared to be the butterfly house where a number of the children spent a long time fascinated with the beautiful array butterflies fluttering around their heads secretly hoping one would land on them.

After such a busy morning the children re-grouped on the Zoo’s lawns to enjoy a picnic lunch. During this time a further demonstration took place and the children were introduced to Rio the Macaw who on several occasions took to the sky to perform incredibly low circles of his audience much to the children’s delight. Following the talk the children joined in and sang Happy Birthday to the Zoo whilst a cake was cut and gifts handed out by Bristol Zoo Staff.

Finally with tummies full it was decided that the children had waited long enough to investigate what the adventure playground had on offer and with it being such a hot day most of the children opted to spend their time in water area where a well deserved cooling down was had by all.

Given the glorious weather and perfect setting this end of term trip guarantees to remain in the children’s memories for quite some time.

Breaking from tradition, Winford Village Pre-school will be hosting their first Barn Dance on Friday 17th June 2011 starting at 7:30 pm until 11:30 pm at Winford Village Hall. Along with the slower hoe downs and American Square Dancing there will also be an opportunity for you to strut your stuff to the more energetic beats of a Ceilidh. Rob Zikking will be the caller for the night and he will be on hand throughout the evening to demonstrate and guide you through the dances.

So what are you waiting for, c’mon grab your partner and do si do on down to the evening which promises to be a fun event for all.