Balcombe Preschool Newsletter Term 3 - 2013 by Magneto Design

NEWSLETTER Term 4 - 2013

THE WORKING BEE DATES FOR THIS YEAR ARE: Sunday 13th October: 9am - 12pm Sunday 24th November: 9am - 12pm

Welcome to Term 3 newsletter for 2013! In This Issue: The 2013 Committee Important Dates 4 Year Old Teachers’ Report Seals & Sea Stars Photos Dolphin, Lobster & Penguin Photos The Turtles Teacher’s Report & Photos

THE TEACHERS

THE 2013 COMMITTEE Eliza

Jessica

Jessie

Kerri

Kellie

Lee

Natalie

Position Name

President/Public Officer 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

Chris Britt Kate Robinson Renee Skipsey Sally Fisher Sam Howard Tim 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

2 3 4 6 12 18

IMPORTANT DATES IN TERM 4 Tuesday 8th October Term 1 begins (Monday 7th is a staff planning day)

Tuesday 22nd October Balcombe Estuary excursion for Seals and Sea Stars

Wednesday 23rd October Kids Day In The Park @ Mornington Park (corner of Schnapper Point Drive and the Esplanade, Mornington) (*Please note: no Pre-School sessions are running on this day for children in the Dolphin, Lobster and Penguin groups)

Monday 28th October

Dad’s Night for Dolphins, Lobsters and Penguins to be confirmed ☺ Wednesday 13th November Balcombe Grammar Year 8 Tabloid Sports Afternoon

Wednesday 18th December Final sessions and Party Day – Dolphins, Lobsters and Penguins

Thursday 19th December Final sessions and Party Day – Seals and Sea Stars

Dad’s Night - Seals & Sea Stars

4 YEAR OLD TEACHERS REPORT:

News from the Seals, Sea Stars, Penguins, Lobsters & Dolphins What an action packed term we’ve just had! We returned to Term 3 to see that wonderful Kerri and her Dad had put up our new chicken coup over the holidays! Not long after that, our 4 sad and sorry bedraggled chickens arrived after being rescued from a battery farm. We shall never buy caged eggs again after seeing first-hand what it does to the hens. To see how quickly they improved over the term has been fantastic - they now look so much healthier and are producing us 2 eggs a day (which we have used in cooking experiences)! The children have loved going up to see the chickens each day, feeding them our left over food scraps and checking for eggs – some of which have still been warm – exciting stuff! We are hoping to let them roam free in the playground during the sessions next term, however the success of this venture will depend on the children being responsible with them and whether we can catch them to lock away at the end of each day!

experiences with the group, developing their self-confidence and communication skills, but it has also helped us plan our program from these interests. As many children went to the snow, we learnt all about winter and the associated changes to the weather and our lifestyles. Going to the movies was also a popular holiday event, which led us to having a special “Movie Day” where the children watched several short Pixar animations and enjoyed popcorn and ice-cream! Several children visited the Melbourne Museum which provided us with the opportunity to learn all about dinosaurs! So as you can see, we greatly value your contributions in helping us plan a relevant and stimulating program for the children!

This term also revolved several incursions and excursions. On Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd August, we were invited to Balcombe Grammar to watch their choir and orchestra perform. This was a wonderful opportunity in connecting our 2 communities and providing a fabulous experience for both the performers and the audience! Obviously Balcombe Grammar Another exciting project which came to fruition this term was our new veggie patch. Thank-you to Wayne Binder (Kip’s Dad is very convenient for us ;- just a short walk up the hill! We – Sea Stars) for building this for us. The children have enjoyed have also reciprocated by having some of their secondary students work with us. We are hoping to have the Grade 4 planting, raking , watering and watching the growth of the students from Mount Martha Primary School visit us in Term 4 veggies and herbs – hopefully we’ll be able to sample some produce in Term 4! Added to the introduction of our worm farm to put on a “Talent Show”! Over the past 3 years, connecting with our local community has been a real priority as part of our in Term 2, we feel that we have achieved some really positive pre-school’s “Quality Improvement Plan” and subsequently we goals in our program this year in educating the children about feel that this area is now a real strength in the program that we looking after their environment, sustainability etc.! deliver. Thank-you so much to all of our families who have supported Other events this term have included “Science Week” us this year with their contributions to the children’s portfolio’s with visits from 2 science teachers; - Michelle’s Mum Kitty each school holiday break! Not only has this provided a (Penguins) and Eliza’s husband Bill who were kind enough to wonderful opportunity for the children to share their holiday

give up their time to provide some fun science experiments to do with the children. “Book Week” followed with a visit from Cathy Scollo - an author/illustrator and our special “Dress up as a book character” day! Book week then led onto an interest in “Fantasy” whilst at the same time, the children were kept busy making special gifts for Father’s Day! Thank-you to all the Dads (and possibly Mums?!) who completed “Dad’s homework” during this time. It was great to learn a little more about our pre-school Dads especially the ones we don’t get to see! The last 2 weeks of term have revolved around a planned visit from Andrew Wegener - the Australian wildlife expert! The children have been learning all about the native flora and fauna of our country and to a lesser degree, a little about Australian culture. Andrew will consolidate what we have been learning by bringing a variety of live and stuffed animals in the last week of term. Also in the last week, we will be having a special “Footy Day” as many of the children and staff are passionate about this part of Australian culture! It has been amazing to watch the children’s self-confidence grow this term as they run off into the playground at drop off time and speak in front of their peers at group mat times. The “share bag” and taking on the role of “teacher” to do our fruit chart at snack time has also facilitated this confidence. Attempting a new skill has also been a feature of this term with our “Monkey bar challenge” and learning how to skip with a skipping rope. What a wonderful achievement and life skill to persevere at something and not give up until you are able to do it! We love our job! The term ahead will no doubt fly with several school orientation days scheduled to help promote a smooth transition from preschool into prep. Eliza and Jessica will be shortly filling out the extensive transition statements and distributing the family section for you to fill out - hopefully completing an accurate picture of your child’s interests, areas of strength and areas they may need assistance with. The first week back is “World Space Week” which is always a very popular interest and we will incorporate it into our program by making a space station for dramatic play and a variety of space art activities! You may like to incorporate an outing to the planetarium at Science Works in the school holidays as a preview to our space interest! Other special events planned for Term 4 include an excursion to Balcombe Estuary along the boardwalk for the Seals and Sea Stars and a “Sports Day” run by Balcombe Grammar students for the Penguins, Lobsters and Dolphins. We have also organised a special night for our Dad’s (or V.I.P if Dad is unavailable) once daylight savings commences in October!

Have a safe and enjoyable break and we look forward to seeing you in Term 4 for “the run home”! Eliza, Jessica, Kerri, Jessie, Lee, Nat and Kellie :)

SEALS & SEA STARS PHOTOS

DOLPHINS, LOBSTERS & PENGUINS PHOTOS

3 YEAR OLD TEACHER’S REPORT: News from the Turtles

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to say a very big welcome to our new families that have joined us this term. Your children have settled into our Turtle Group with ease and we couldn’t imagine the group now, without them. Lots of friendships are taking form (which can be a challenge with a week between meetings) and Kerri and I love hearing their elaborate imaginations run wild. Secondly, I would like to say a big congratulation to The Donnelly family on the safe arrival of their baby girl Isla. Imogen’s Mum brought Isla into a session so we could all meet her. That then opened up discussions on our own family dynamics. We hope all of our Dads enjoyed their Father’s Day gifts and got spoilt on the day from their children! The new chickens were rescued from a Battery Hen Farm that was shut down by the RSPCA. That is why the chickens are missing feathers. We are planning on letting them roam free during the day as of next term. They are much happier chickens now that they are part of the Balcombe Pre-school family. The veggie patch has taken off with our strawberries appearing the first week of spring. We have also planted capsicums, tomatoes and lettuce .The children have enjoyed watering and taking care of the veggie growing process. The Trivia Night was a great success with a few of our Turtle families attending! Congratulations to Phil and Ally for winning the highest bid on the group canvas. We hope it looks lovely in your home. We have been working on ‘friendships’ and ‘Families’ this term. Next term we will have the farm come to visit and will be looking at different animals and their habitats. We will also be concentrating more on kinder routines and mat time. This is to help with the transition to four year old kinder. I would like to also remind parents to have the 3-4 year old check-up at their local Maternal Health Nurse. They should hopefully test your child’s eyesight and hearing at this checkup. This is also to help with four year old kinder readiness. Some of the highlights of this term have been the Balcombe Preschool Restaurant, Learning about dinosaurs in the sandpit, having the science table with x-rays, insects and lava lamps, Duplo on the large blue mat, cupcake making with the play dough. The list can go on… Lastly, please remember your child needs to bring their hat to every kinder session! Regulations state your child has to play in the sandpit unless they are wearing a wide brimmed sun hat.

Have a safe and relaxing holiday Jessie and Kerri

TURTLES PHOTOS