NEWSLETTER Term 1 - 2014
THE TEACHERS
Welcome to Term 1 newsletter for 2014! In This Issue:
Eliza
Jessica
Reminders 2 Presidents Report 3 Social and Fundraising Report 4 4 Year Old Teachers’ Report 6 3 Year Old Teachers’ Report 10 Seals & Sea Stars Photos 12 Dolphin, Lobster & Penguin Photos 20 The Turtles Photos 26
REMINDER
Rebecca
Jessie
Kerri
Kellie
Kristy
2015 THREE YEAR OLD AND FOUR YEAR OLD KINDER ENROLMENT REGISTRATION CLOSING SOON Just a reminder to those parents registering their child for three year old or four year old kindergarten in 2015, registrations close FRIDAY 25TH APRIL, 2014. Applications received after this date will be considered as “Late” and will be processed after all “On Time” registrations have been processed. Registrations for both three and four year old kindergarten are now managed centrally by Council for all kindergartens operating in Council owned and maintained community buildings. Registrations can be completed online http://www. mornpen.vic.gov.au/Services_For_You/Children_Families/ Kindergarten_Preschool OR in person through the shire. Parents please be aware that children who are attending the Balcombe Preschool three year kinder old program this year, 2014, are not guaranteed a place in the 2015 Balcombe Preschool four year old kinder program. Please see the shire website for an explanation of the selection criteria. For further information on Kindergarten Central Registration please contact EJ Hassan or Chriss Thomson at Balcombe Preschool or Louise Wilkins at the shire on 1300 850 600 or via email at kindergarten@mornpen.vic.gov.au
WORKING BEE DATES FOR THIS YEAR: Sunday 30th March: 9am - 12pm Sunday 1st June: 9am - 12pm
Natalie 2
Sunday 17th August: 9am - 12pm Sunday 12th October: 9am - 12pm
FROM THE PRESIDENT Hi Everyone, Welcome to the first Term news letter for Balcombe Preschool for 2014 and to our new preschool students and returning ones and especially those families, parents and carers new to Balcombe Preschool. The children who started school this year have all settled well which is a reflection of the excellent preparation for school provided by our preschool program and dedicated staff For those I haven’t met, my name is Chris Britt and I am the current President. I am Father to Eva (Seals) please make your self known as I would love to get to meet all families. As you will have already realised during this first term, you have joined a fantastic community of parents & staff who are committed to creating a positive educational experience for our children. It is the dedicated caring staff and the great community culture that makes Balcombe Preschool such an amazing place for our children. This year we welcome back Kristy Bell who spent last year on maternity. Great to have you back Kristy and we look forward to new elements being added to our program based on your experience. We also welcome Rebecca Clapp as the new Three year old teacher. Rebecca has a wealth of experience and is fully qualified in Early Childhood and we are confident that with Rebecca’s experience and approach Our three year olds will benefit greatly. We are looking forward to a productive 2014 with our Staff. Look out for fundraising events which have started but heaps more to come.
I would like to thank all the parents who volunteered to be part of the 2014 Committee. This community, association run would not survive without your help - thank you. Also, thank you to all those parents who have volunteered their time in other ways to support the preschool during this first term with a great turn out to the family Friday night get together raising money for our new defibrillator. The children love to see their parents and family being involved in the preschool. Whether it be helping out on your rostered day, getting your hands dirty at the working bee we have had two so far and it’s been very successful. Not only do you see the smiles on the children’s faces but also the enjoyment the parents receive from ‘returning’ to preschool and having the opportunity to ‘play’ as only children know how to. So, if you have not already, come and volunteer a couple of hours a term and become involved in your child’s preschool years - my daughter Hannah and son Samuel still talk about the days their Dad and Mum came to help at preschool and they were the leaders! The fantastic committee & I would like to thank all for your involvement thus far & look forward to working with you all Happy holidays and happy Easter. “EVERY DAY IS AN OPPORTUNITY...together we will make a difference”
Christopher Britt President on behalf of the committee
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SOCIAL & FUNDRAISING REPORT What a fantastic start to the year with over 200 people attending the Family Welcome BBQ and Fundraiser on March 14th! The kids had an absolute ball making badges, getting their face painted by a fairy, guessing the lollies, choosing temporary tattoos, getting stuck into a snag or two and some delicious character themed cupcakes. But no one will forget the enormous jumping castle that kept them entertained for hours. All this activity allowed the parents to relax, chat and get to know each other, building on friendships from last year and hopefully creating some new ones. We set out to raise enough money to purchase a defibrillator for the Pre-School and easily achieved our target thanks to the support and generosity of the families present on the night. The Easter Raffle saw some yummy, luxurious and fun items being donated, which made up some beautiful hampers for six lucky families to enjoy over the holidays. Term 2 looks set to be a success also with Mothers Day celebrations, a ladies night out (June 13th) and all the Pre-School children creating self portraits to go on some memorable tea towels. Happy Easter, enjoy the holidays and thank you again for your support and generosity. Kind Regards The Fundraising and Social Team
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4 YEAR OLD 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 2014! It has been wonderful to see some familiar faces of past families return as well as getting to know new ones! I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome some new staff to our 2013 team;Rebecca Clapp is our new teacher for the Turtle group (3 year olds), Kristy Bell returns after 18 months of maternity leave and works with all of the 4 year old groups, Kellie Stone from Yooralla is the additional assistant for the Seal & Sea Star group and Kellie Le Cerf returns as an assistant on Wednesday mornings and Friday afternoons. This newsletter comes out at the end of each term and celebrates the wonderful learning, achievements and community that we have here at our pre-school. A huge thank-you to Tim Curtis (Father of Sarah in the Turtle Group), who is continuing for a second year in his role as website co-ordinator! I would to say a huge thank-you to our wonderful Social/ Fundraising Committee who organised the fantastic “Welcome BBQ” on Friday 14th March. This is my 16th year here at Balcombe Preschool and I have to say that it was the best one I have been to! It was well organised, there was so much for the children to do, perfect weather and the most dollars ever raised at this function which has enabled us to purchase a defibrillator which has been on our wish list for several years. Well done and thank-you to all the families who came along and supported this event! Whilst thanking people, we also have a very enthusiastic Maintenance Committee this year who have been super-efficient in getting jobs done around the preschool. We have an amazing, massive playground, but it is high maintenance in terms being compliant to safety regulations. The team has been onto dealing with these issues with the help of families who attended our working bee on Sunday 30th March. Fantastic thank-you! 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. Both teachers meet together each Friday to plan and evaluate the program and to pool ideas and resources. 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
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muse effective routines to help make predicted transitions smoothly
For children to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect
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show interest in other children and being part of a group
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engage in and contribute to shared play experiences
TERM 1 2014 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?” and “The Gruffalo”. We also sang songs listed as favourites including many nursery rhymes and it was also interesting to note parents musical tastes flow on to their children e.g. Jack Johnson,
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4 YEAR OLD TEACHERS REPORT:
News from the Seals, Sea Stars, Penguins, Lobsters & Dolphins 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 Sally” and Bob and Mike 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”! The final 2 weeks of Term 1 has revolved around our first preschool excursion to the Enchanted Maze Garden for a teddy bears picnic. The children have been busy making teddy bear hats and biscuits and practicing some bear songs to sing on this special day. As well as being lots of fun for the children, this event also serves as a great “Get to know you” for our families! On the last day of term, the children will get to take their portfolios home for the holiday break and I’m sure they will 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.
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TERM 1 2014 Term 2 commences on Tuesday 22nd April (Monday 21st April is EASTER MONDAY). Special events planned for Term 2 include;•
Wednesday 23rd April - Professional Photographer visiting Penguin, Dolphin & Lobster groups
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Thursday 24th April - Professional Photographer visiting Seal & Sea Star Groups
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Friday 25th April - ANZAC DAY HOLIDAY - NO PRESCHOOL
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Thursday 8th May - Mother’s Day Coffee Afternoon for Seal & Sea Star groups
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Tuesday 13th May - Mother’s Day Coffee morning for Penguin & Lobster group
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Wednesday 14th May - Mother’s Day Coffee morning for Dolphin group
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Wednesday 21st May - Penguin, Dolphin & Lobster groups “Fire Safe Kids Program” at Mt Martha Fire Station
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Thursday 22nd May - Seal & Sea Star groups “Fire Safe Kids Program” at Mt Martha Fire Station
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Tuesday 27th May - Bunnings visiting to do planting with the Seal & Sea Star groups
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Wednesday 28th May - Bunnings visiting to do planting with the Penguin, Dolphin & Lobster groups
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Monday 2nd June - Kate from Peninsula Vet Care visiting Dolphin & Penguin groups
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Tuesday 3rd June - Kate from Peninsula Vet Care visiting Seal & Sea Star groups
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Wednesday 4th June - Responsible Pet Program visiting Dolphin, Penguin & Lobster groups
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Thursday 5th June – Responsible Pet Program visiting Seal & Sea Star groups
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Monday 9th June - QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY NO PRESCHOOL
Wishing all of our families a safe and happy holiday break! Eliza, Jessica, Kerri, Jessie, Nat, Kristy, Kellie & Kellie ☺
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3 YEAR OLD TEACHER’S REPORT: News from the Turtles
What a wonderful start to the year, the children all have settled so well into their new kinder environment. They have been eager to ask questions about what they could to and are starting to form friendships with others in the group. The parents have done really well too as for many this is their first time leaving their child behind- always a big change and a realisation that your child has grown up that little bit more. Kerri and I have had a wonderful time getting to know the children and their different personalities, as a group they love to create. Not only with art tools, but in the sandpit, where the pipes, trucks and buckets have been used countless times to create and develop pools, towns and parks (for the animals) Water has been a huge fetcher within these designs and it has been interesting to see the creative ways the children can transport water- who knew spades and pipes (with help from others and walking very slowly) could be so useful, great problem solving! The children have been busy these past months, exploring colour - through colour matching activities and experimenting on how we can create art using different tools and techniques. From finger painting and prints to using stamps and brushes the children have all been eager to explore and have a turn. It was wonderful to hear the conversation especially with the finger paint, as the children mixed 2 colours together- we encouraged them to make a guess with what might happen and then to discover that they created a new colour was wonderful to hear. The children have also been enjoying using stones, packing foam, pom poms with tongs and eyedroppers to extend their fine motor control. These have always been popular with the children, so much so we often had a line of children waiting for their turn. They have all enjoyed varies activities relating to water and the sea, with lots of role and imaginative play occurring. One session was particularly great to see them working together to ‘free’ the ice trapped sea animals- with lots of talk about what the ice was doing and suggestions on new ways to free the animals. At group times we have been looking into how we can move our bodies, how we are same/different and have just started to talk about feelings. The children have all really shown a love for music and are even starting to request their favourite songs. Many of the songs let the children choose a way to move (bend/ twist/turn around a part of your body) and it has been great to see the wide ways and suggestions the children come up with- especially our more quieter children. We have also been doing some musical instruments together- focusing again on our bodies, but also fast/slaw and their listening skills. We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday and look forward to hearing all about it when we come back next term Ms Rebecca & Kerr
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SEALS & SEA STARS PHOTOS
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DOLPHINS, LOBSTERS & PENGUINS PHOTOS
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TURTLES PHOTOS
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