We recently received this lovely letter from the headteacher at Ide Hill School. Louisa’s warm words mean such a lot to us – it’s always exciting to see our pupils graduate to the lovely village primary school, and we enjoy following their ongoing school careers.
Hi Liz
I am not sure whether the grapevine has reached you yet but I am leaving as Headteacher at Ide Hill School next Thursday. It will be the end of a wonderful era and a very sad day, I suspect. However, I wanted to take the time to thank you for all your support over the years.
It takes someone special to run a preschool and to make it so successful year on year. The children who come to us from Ide Hill Preschool are always so confident in themselves, excited and curious about their learning. This is testament to the hard work of you and your staff, so thank you all for everything that you and for all the ways that you go above and beyond for the children and their families.
I will really miss Ide Hill. I don’t think I can stay away for long because Ide Hill will always have a special place in my heart.
Louisa x
Good luck with your next move Louisa!
Every year we get lovely notes and letters from children and their parents to thank us for the happy times their children have enjoyed with us.
There’s one particularly moving thank-you letter here, which you can download as a PDF and read at your leisure – it’s an amazing true story that serves to illustrate what a great community our pre-school is a part of.
Of course we treasure all the leters and notes we receive, and share them between ourselves. But it seems a shame not to let new and prospective parents share them too – they are so insightful and positive.
So with the kind permission of the authors, the 2021 leavers themselves, here are a few…
- I love school...
- Loving care
- A cup of tea
- You can come to my birthday...
- I will miss you lots
- I soon made friends
Mrs Williams,
My Mummy and Dadds think you are the loveliest smiliest person we know. Over lockdown they made me pack lunches every day and pretended to be you but it wasn’t the same!
You have all made some of the hardest years in our family’s life so much easier. We have felt so supported and so lucky to have you. Thank you for so patiently waiting for us and welcoming us back when we were ready.
I love school and you are just the best thing any of us could have wished for. Thank you for being you!
The next generation of pre-schoolers are so lucky to be joining (and I’m jealous!)
Love and so many thanks
Dylan Jorgensen and his family. x
Thank you to all my special teachers for helping me become a big girl with such loving care. Thank you for supplying me with so much fun waterplay. And Mummy and Mama thank you for keeping me safe, because they expected a call every day! I love you all and miss you already.Love Carley
Thank you for making sure I have such a fun time at pre-school. I’ll miss you, please come to our house for a cup of tea!Love Alice
Hi Liz
Thank you for teaching me. I really love you and if you like, you can come to my birthday. I loved dressing up and playing with my friends at pre-school and you always do nice things with me and protect my things I want to play with – that’s all
love Nina.
I love pre-school and my teachers and my friends. Thank you for making it such fun and for looking after me so well. You’ve made me very happy and I’m sad to leave, I will miss you lots.
Love Lucian.
When I arrived at Term 1 I had a Singapore accent and I wasn’t a fan of the cold British weather. However, I settled in quicker to Ide Hillpre-school than any other places our travels had taken us to. I felt comfortable with the lovely Mrs Marro soon followed by Mrs Tappenden and all the teachers made me feel very welcome. I soon made friends and enjoyed playing outdoors. I have learnt so much during my time at pre-school and always come home with fantastic stories, my favourite things are cars, the songs and forest school.
I am so pleased that the weather has warmed up although I still find it cold! Thank you to all the wonderful teachers at Ide Hill Pre-school for making me feel so welcome during my time there and for preparing mefor ‘big’ school. Lots of Love Ewan.
Here are some more from 2020, from parents…
- You all put so much love and care into your work...
- It's not all about drawing and playing cars...
- Outdoor activities
- Moving to Big School
- Genius
- A collection of bouquets
I’ve been meaning to reply to your end of term email since the start of the holidays and finally have a quick moment before everyone wakes up now!!
Just to say thank you so much for everything you did to make Summer’s time at Ide Hill so wonderful. I know you work so hard, and you all put so much love and care into your work.
I hope you had a lovely break, and that you had time to recharge. I wanted to send you this picture, Catherine, of you with Summer at the end of sports day. I think it exactly shows how much she loved being looked after by you – as she wonks your sunglasses!- and how much absolute fabulousness and joy you have!!!
Good luck with your new bunch of cute recruits. They are very lucky little ones and all that you all do is so appreciated. We have a new neighbour, Liz, and he asked me how the Pre-school was? I told him how wonderful you all are and what a brilliant place it is, so loving.
Much love and best as ever,
ClaireXx
My three-and-a-half year old son is very happy coming to pre-school. He is learning so much and making lots of friends. He especially enjoys all the outdoor activities.
Hi Liz
I do hope you, your colleagues and all the children are enjoying the new term at Ide Hill Pre-School.
I thought I’d send you this note as Flora has now got into the swing of life in the Reception class of her new “big” school, and I’m starting to get a sense of how she’s made the transition from Ide Hill to the wider world. Everything seems to be going well: she skips off merrily clutching Big Bunny without a backwards glance towards her quivering father as her class parades from playground to classroom. She is making friends and interacting well with her teachers and other children. She is starting to recognise a few written words and the penny has dropped that there is this bizzare connection between how a word is spelt and how it might sound – fine until she tried to sound out Phone. (Oh well!) She likes the fact that she’s got her own peg with her own name on it – ‘Like pre-school. I’m not an orange now though.’ But she is surprised that her classroom doesn’t have to be cleared away every afternoon.
But the purpose of this note is not to report on progress but to give me the opportunity to thank you and your colleagues for making that progress so natural for Flora. To talk of seamless transitions is of course a bit far-fetched: the first hints of formal teaching, bits of ‘homework’, and the choice of chips or broccoli at lunch time must have struck Flora as moments of significant change. But what has been key to the ease of the transition is the solid preparation you gave her that allows her to adjust to all these changes with confidence, laughter and excitement. You nurtured in her invaluable strategies of collaboration and endeavour combined with the ability to ask for help when needed. She’s clearly using these every day, and they are, I’m certain, central to her current success at the new school. And I’ve not even mentioned the Early Years curriculum!
Am I being sentimental to wonder if the ‘soft’ skills you helped Flora develop are probably more important to her today than the facts you taught her? I really don’t know. I guess it’s a package, a neatly fitting set of ways of walking the world whilst discovering its mysteries; a profound dish of process and product magically cooked Monday to Friday in a little village hall in West Kent.
There is no need for me to wish your Pre-School well for the future; your skills, sensitivity, professionalism and common sense guarantee its continued excellence. The only thing I do want to add – and this comes from my wife too – is a massive …
THANK YOU
Alastair and Maureen Pearce
Just a quickie while I think of it because I’m not that great at rememberingthese things when it comes to feedback forms…
Writing the childrens’ comments and verbalised thought on their artwork isGENIUS.
I was just clearing the noticeboard in the kitchen and it struck me that thepictures I tuck away for safekeeping are no longer simply sorted byaesthetic preference; now they’re the ones I understand or appreciate mostthrough the extra insight you’ve provided into Tom’s creative thoughtprocess. You’ve made the whole experience so much more meaningful for bothof us.
Thank you for that. Priceless.
Deborah Colston (Mum to Thomas)
“You give 100% everyday – thank you so much. We will remember these days long after you forget us – you have all been such a huge part to the fist chapter of the girls’ lives and for that Henry and I are forever grateful.” Claire and Henry Warde, Child Clemmie
“Thank you so much for taking Henley into your wonderful school. He has had such an amazing time and has learnt so much and that is down to you and your fantastic team. We will never forget you.” Danielle mother to Henley
“Thank you for teaching, supporting, caring and looking after my daughter Lily-Sue. You have given her a fabulous foundation to the start of her future school years.” Michelle and Colby mum and dad to Lily-Sue
Click to read. Click again to close.
