Dear Families

It is hard to believe that we only have 5 weeks left this term. This means that we only have three and a half weeks until the Christmas Show on Wednesday 8th December. As mentioned in last week’s Newsletter, we do not hold normal sessions on this day.  We hold two performances, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  This allows us to accommodate all children and families safely.  You will soon be told which performance your child will be invited to take part in. Please look out for information about that over the next few days.

Your child can wear whatever they choose for the performance – whether that is a Christmas outfit, a superhero cape or even a lobster costume!

Tickets

Tickets cost £3.50 per adult. These will be on sale from the end of this week at drop-off and collection. This includes a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate and a mince pie, together with a visit to Santa’s grotto and a small present for your child.  If you would like younger siblings to visit Santa, you will need to buy an extra ticket and let us know in advance so we know how many presents to purchase.

Please find below details around how the day will run.

Morning Show

Children to arrive at the Pre-school at 9.30am, dressed however they have chosen for the play – we will not be able to dress children up for you due to logistics.

There will be someone at the main entrance to the building (reception entrance) to greet your child.  You should then make your way to the main school building entrance to wait for the start of the performance.  Please be mindful of social distancing, be patient and do not ask to enter the school until invited to do so by a member of the Pre-school Team. We kindly request that you wear a face covering for the entirety of the performance whilst in the school hall.

The performance will start at 10.00am.  Please be mindful that the children may feel nervous/excited, so do your best not to shout or call out to them as this may make them try and come over to you.  Your children’s safety, as always, is our main priority.  If your child finds it too overwhelming, we may need you to take care of them rather than them becoming distressed.

Once the performance is finished, the Team will escort your children back to the Pre-school and carry out a headcount.  It is essential that you do not take your child at this point as we need to ensure accurate safety records.

We should be very grateful if you would kindly help stack the chairs away in the school hall, to help with the transition to lunch preparation for the school staff.  Please form a queue at the entrance to Robin Garden gate.  We will let you in one at a time to collect your child from the reception entrance in Robin Garden (this includes all children – not just those who are normally collected from Robin Garden).  We will then relinquish responsibility for your child to you.  Please form a queue up the ramp to collect your tea/coffee/hot chocolate and mince pie (outside the doors to Robin Room) and exit down the steps.  Please form another queue and you will then be invited to visit Santa’s grotto, where your child will be given a small present.

Whilst we are outside, please remember to try and keep social distancing as much as possible. As we are still in covid times, we should be grateful if you would exit the site reasonably quickly.  The raffle will be drawn promptly on this occasion.  We are hopeful of a return to normality next year and thank you for your understanding with these extra precautions.

Afternoon Show

The afternoon show will follow the same format as above.  Please drop your child at Pre-school at 1.00pm for a 1.30pm start.

Photographs/videos

Whilst we acknowledge that you may wish to take photos/videos of your own child, please avoid taking them of other children.  If they are in your photos, please do not post them on any social media sites.

Attendance at the performances

If, for whatever reason, you do not wish your child to attend, please let us know by the end of Wednesday 17th November.

Weather

We will be holding the after show element, even if it rains, so please come prepared to be outside in all weathers but no umbrellas (for safety reasons). Thank you.

We are really looking forward to seeing you all and enjoying some Christmas cheer.

The Pre-school Team