NEWSLETTER Term 1 - 2013
The Teachers
Welcome to our first newsletter for 2013! In This Issue:
Eliza
The 2013 Committee 4yo Teachers’ Report 3yo Teachers’ Report The Turtles Photos Dolphin, Lobster & Penguin Photos Seals & Sea Stars Photos
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Jessica
The 2013 Committee Position
Jessie
Kerri
Kellie
Lee
Natalie 2
Name
President/Public Officer Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Enrolment Officer (4yr old) Enrolment Officer(3yr old) Website Manager IT Officer Maintenance Officer(Gardens) Maintenance Officer(Playground) Maintenance Officer(Indoor) National Quality Framework Staff Liaison Officer Party Officer Fundraising/Social General Committee
Luke Woods Chris Britt Kate Robinson Renee Skipsey Sally Fisher Sam Howard Tm Curtis Merran Wood Victoria Smith Jo Mackay Melinda Binder
Administration Officer Office Hours: Thursdays 10:30-3:15
Glenys Hodgson
Claire Dyer Merran Wood Marie Williams Renee Skipsey Kirsten Beshara Rachel Drysdale Kerryn Heffer Suzanne Fahey Liz Andrews Sasha Balchin Liz Andrews Jill Ford Pamela Moore Karen Lewis Geoff Lawyer Decima Chadd Melanie Robinson Melinda Binder Wayne Binding Amanda Curtis Marie Williams Suzanne Fahey Julie Kendall Prue Richards
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4 yo Teachers’ Report:
News from the Seals, Sea Stars, Penguins, Lobsters & Dolphins On behalf of all the staff I would once again like to welcome all of our families to Balcombe Pre-School 2013! It has certainly been a short but eventful Term 1! This newsletter comes out at the end of each term and celebrates the wonderful learning, achievements and community that we have here at our preschool. A huge thank-you to Tim Curtis (Father of Olivia in the Sea Star Group), who has put his hand up to be our new website co-ordinator this year! This is the 3rd year that Balcombe Pre-School is running a 15 hour of pre-school a week as part of the Governments "Universal Access" initiative. We are very proud of the improvements we have made over the past 2 years of piloting this enterprise, to now produce a timetable that is equitable for 75 children through offering one full day, one morning session and one afternoon session for all 5 groups. Balcombe Pre-School is also unique as we are the only pre-school in Victoria accommodating 75 4 year olds in the 15 hour program! This explains the complex structure of 5 groups of 15 children with 2 groups (30 children attending each session). The Seals and Sea Stars always attend together, whilst the Penguin, Dolphin and Lobster Groups rotate, coming together for 2 sessions with each. Our groups always have the same teacher, but the 2 assistants which work each session also rotate on different days. Confusing huh?! Both teachers meet together weekly to plan and evaluate the program and to pool ideas and resources. We are also very proud of our new extension which was built over the 2012/2013 Christmas holidays, increasing our locker room area both inside and out, creating a new meeting room and re-locating the office to provide a bigger and better work environment for our 8 staff! Now we are just adding the final touches with the "beautification" of the front area and the transformation of the old office into a new store room! Hopefully these final projects will be achieved over the next month. A huge thank-you to all those involved in making these projects happen! Whilst thanking people, well done to our wonderful Social/ Fundraising Committee who organised a fantastic Easter BBQ on Friday 22nd March! In terms of the pre-school curriculum, our program during Term 1 revolves largely around the children settling in and becoming familiar with the pre-school staff and environment - particularly as it is such a short term! We use the Victorian Early Years Curriculum as the basis for our program planning. This curriculum identifies five Early Years Learning and Development Outcomes for all children;- Identity, Community, Wellbeing, Learning and Communication as displayed in the teacher's daily program in the locker room. The Victorian Early Years Curriculum booklet is also available in the locker room for any parents interested in further reading! Term 1 sees us largely focus on Outcome 1 - "Children have a strong sense of identity";For the children to begin to feel safe, secure and supported • Build secure attachments with one and then more familiar educators • Use effective routines to help make predicted transitions smoothly For children to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect • Show interest in other children and being part of a group • Engage in and contribute to shared play experiences
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Staff have spent a lot of time explaining the "rules" to the children in order to ensure that our pre-school is a safe and happy place for all. Understanding limits, expectations and routines has also been of great importance. We have tried to remember the more practical things such as putting lids back on textas, wiping our paint or paste brush, finishing puzzles or asking for help if the puzzle is too tricky and returning books to the library shelf when finished! Term 1 has also seen us spend time developing the children's fine motor skills (Outcome 3 - "Wellbeing"), such as beginning to use sticky tape dispensers, staplers, hole punches, scissors and threading needles which will be important in promoting the children's confidence to participate in a lot of our craft activities throughout the year. In Term 2 we will be encouraging the children to be more independent with what they can make now that they are more self-assured in using these kinder "tools"! Our fantastic playground also provides the perfect environment for the children to develop their gross motor skills (Outcome 3 - "Wellbeing") with the provision and planning of outdoor equipment and games. In terms of the children's interests, we thank our kinder families for taking the time to fill out the "Transition into Pre-School" questionnaire and "Mind Maps". These documents were vital for our planning as we got to know the children this term. We read stories that were listed as favourites such as "Where's the Green Sheep?", "The Gruffalo" and "There's a Hippopotamus on our roof eating cake" We also sang songs listed as favourites including many nursery rhymes, but Eliza drew the line in singing "Gangnam Style"! One of the Early Years Learning and Development Outcomes areas we spend a lot of time developing throughout the year is Outcome 2 - "Community". We focus on what makes the Mt Martha area in which we live and it's community unique. For this reason, in Term 1 we spent time learning about the beach, marine life and being safe in this environment. Special visitors were organised to reinforce these concepts such as "Seaweed Sammy", "Seaweed Sally" and Bob from the Volunteer Marine Rescue Mornington. The use of songs, discussions, picture books, craft activities and other experiences further extended this knowledge (Outcome 4 - "Learning"), however the children probably had the most fun out of our "Pirate Day" last week! The final week of Term 1 has seen us participate in some Easter activities with Good Friday falling on the last day of term. The children will get to take their portfolios home for the holiday break and I'm sure they would love to show these to the whole family. It would be fantastic if you could make the time to add your own page at the back of the folder with any stories/photos/drawings of how you spent the school holiday break! This will help us with mat time discussions and form the basis of our planning for Term 2! We would appreciate it if portfolios could be returned in the first week back please. Term 2 commences on Tuesday 16th April (Monday 15th April is a staff planning day). In week 2 we will venture out for our first excursion to the Enchanted Maze for a "Teddy Bear's Picnic"! We hope many of you can join us for this fun filled experience as it also serves as a great "Get to know you"! Wishing all of our families a safe and Happy Easter break!
Eliza, Jessica, Kerri, Jessie, Nat, Kellie & Lee :)
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3 yo Teacher’s Report: News from the Turtles
Kerri and I are overjoyed to have another beautiful three year old group this year. I would like to take this opportunity to say welcome again to all the new families that have joined us this year and also to the families who have had siblings at the kinder in the past. I am so proud of how well the Turtle group have settled into the kinder routine. It is completely natural for children to feel apprehensive about coming into a new environment. Our brave three year olds have come in and are now able to separate from their parents without fear or tears. (Term 2 may see some setbacks but we shall see) ☺ Congratulations to Lyle and Patricia Weir who got married this term! We hope you had a lovely day. We had three birthdays this term. Thank you to the parents who respected the new kinder rules about not bringing in chocolate and lollies as birthday treats. Some kinder highlights from Term 1 would be……. • Painting our feet to make “Bunny Ears”. This was a great sensory and creative experience for the children. We hope you enjoyed looking at their Easter art work. • Meeting Kerri’s Gruffalo and reading the story written by Julia Donaldson. Reading to children is a great way to introduce literacy into their lives at an early stage. • Preforming songs in front of our kinder friends. The children sat in a large circle then were asked if anyone would like to sing a song? The first child got up and sang ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and then we had multiply hands going up to have a turn! We will often do activities such as this one. The reason for this is to build confidence and for the children to start feeling that they are part of a group. Ask your child if they had a go and get them to sing the same song to you. • Playing the Memory Game on a Wet Weather Day. This is when we get 8-10 different objects, put them on the mat so all the children can see them. I then ask the children to name each object. Red square, orange circle, a shell etc. The children then have to close their eyes and I remove one of the objects. They then have to try and guess what I have taken away. This is a fun way to introduce mathematics and problem solving. • Learning the Kinder rules and routine. We will often ask the children (rather than telling them) what do we do next?? I usually get most hands up telling me what comes next in the routine. We have had a parent helper almost every session, so thank you for you participation and help. We hope you had fun! Have a wonderful and safe holiday. See you back at kinder on the 20th of April.
Jessie and Kerri
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TURTLES Photos
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Seals & Sea Stars Photos
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DolphinS, Lobsters & PenguinS Photos
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