We had great fun last week planting our new garden- we have big plans for it !
We planted lots of vegetables - potatoes, carrots, curly kale and Brussel sprouts. We also planted some lettuce, so that we can enjoy fresh salad for lunch soon- yum!
​

We've also planted a 'sensory garden' with lots of different smells and textures. We love to rub the leaves of the herbs in our fingers and then smell how different they all are!
We also measure the rainfall but hopefully it won'r read this high in the summer!

Happy New Year! 

2016 was a very busy year at Longfield Academy, so we have been working hard to expand our team for 2017!

We would like to introduce our new team members:

Joining the team full time is Emma Graham and Aoife Ryan. Emma will be based in the Senior Toddler, Blue room and Aoife will be based in the Toddler, Green room.

Aisling will be working two full days - Wednesday's and Fridays in the Toddler Green Room and Noelle will now be working three full days a week- Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Our new team members are all highly qualified and experienced and look forward to meeting you all over the next few days!

Well, it's that time of the year when we have to say goodbye to our Preschoolers! For the children, our graduation party marked the end of some fun and fabulous years in the care of our wonderful team. While it was fun to end the year with a party, it was still a bittersweet day for all of our staff, who have enjoyed welcoming these children in daily to play and learn together and have forged some strong bonds over their time here.

​At 9 am sharp, on the 1st of June, 22 excited Preschoolers arrived at Longfield Academy. The sun was shining and it was our big trip to Clerihan Park. We quickly applied suncream, packed up our picnic lunches and it was time to board the bus. Seatbelts clicked…and we were off!! Yeeeah!

​After a few renditions of the wheels on the bus we arrived!
We played lots of games on the astro turf area – ‘duck, duck, goose’, kicking balls into the big goals, races and lots more! 

​After all that action it was time for our picnic under a shady tree!
Once we had cooled down and the energy levels restored it was time to hit the play park! Wow what a park – there was a zip line, a huge slide, swings and a sandpit with a big digger-  everyone had a ball!!

Just before 12pm our lovely bus driver came back to collect us and we arrived back at Longfield Academy to a wonderful reception of mums and dads waving! 

​What a lovely day out!

It's spring time! Daffodils are opening, leaves are starting to grow back on the trees and there are lots of animals being born, so it was very exciting this week when some special visitors came into Longfield Academy!

Our children were delighted to welcome some baby chicks and ducklings!
We watched as the ducklings swam in a warm bath (specially bought for the occasion!) stretching their wings and excitedly splashing around in the water!

Then we got to see the little chicks close up and we heard all about the food they like to eat and how big they are going to grow.

It was a busy morning for our guests and they were happy to hop back into their cosy boxes for a snooze, as our happy children waved them off! 

There has been a lot of love around Longfield Academy this week - here are just some of the highlights.