Principal’s Message
By Mrs Kath Boyd
“I am different but not less.” (Temple Grandin) The world is an amazing place, full of diverse environments, experiences and, of course, people. While it's natural for children to notice differences in others, such as languages, cultural backgrounds and physical appearances, Reddam Educators endeavour to foster an appreciation of and respect for these differences within each child. At the ELS, we promote diversity and acceptance in children from an early age, by: • Incorporating our five Core Values into our educational programs – Kind Words, Warm Hearts, Gentle Hands, Good Manners and Respect. • Modelling behaviours and attitudes we want children to develop - including empathy, respect, acceptance, understanding, and collaboration. • Demonstrating how we respect differences (by reading a range of books and singing a variety of songs) and develop positive relationships with people who are different. • Acknowledging that every family is unique and we all have a place where we belong. We work alongside our families to incorporate their heritage and culture to further embrace our diverse school community. • Intervening in the case of prejudicial comments and explaining that name-calling of any kind is not acceptable. “There are biases in the world, we have the obligation to stop stereotypes and prejudices through thoughtful and meaningful interactions with the children and their families.” (Grace – 3R Core Teacher) •
Teaching children to think critically, especially when it comes to prejudice and stereotyping.
• Encouraging children to interact and become friends with people with diverse and multicultural backgrounds, and various abilities. •
Celebrating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Last weekend I attended my youngest son’s Passing Out Parade. Luka has been an enthusiastic member of the St Aloysius’ College Cadet Corp since Year 7, and a powerful quote from Lieutenant General David Morrison (retired Chief of Army & 2016 Australian of the Year) appeared on the front of the parade program: “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.” We all have the power to take personal responsibility for the way we treat others. More importantly, we all have the power to stand up to inappropriate behaviour when we witness it being inflicted on another person. The staff and I reflected on this phrase, and agree that we are passionate about maintaining high standards to create an environment where people feel included in our ELS. With inclusivity comes individual confidence and a sense of belonging. “Our school welcomes and embraces all children from diverse backgrounds and cultures, with differing learning styles and with additional needs.” (Reddam ELS Lindfield Philosophy).
Pictured above: 2R children were thrilled to explore a Melodica in a Music session with Andy.
Principal’s Message Continued...
By Mrs Kath Boyd
Every Monday morning, a new Weekly Program is displayed in each classroom and we welcome your contribution to this document. This comprehensive overview of the planned experiences, activities, routines and events has been thoughtfully developed by each teaching team. Included in these programs are intentional teaching sessions specifically focused on developing Emotional Intelligence and Social Skills through storybooks, role-play and songs. When educating the children about understanding differences in people, our Educators refer to our Early Years Learning Framework, Outcome 2: Children respond to diversity with respect, practice inclusive ways of achieving coexistence and react in positive ways to similarities and differences among people. We reflect on each child’s individual development and how to plan for their needs, and seek assistance when necessary, in order to cater for children with additional needs. The program, the provocation and reflections are used to scaffold children’s learning and purpose-build a variety of learning experiences. Our Educators are open to learn from and work with additional needs services, for example – speech therapists, occupational therapists, paediatric psychologists and Inclusion Support officers. Appropriate recommendations and beneficial strategies are then implemented into planning the program. We strongly value the involvement of families, and meet with parents and support professionals to discuss ways to implement specific needs into the learning program. We also acknowledge that additional needs may be hidden. “Invisible disabilities (or hidden disabilities) are defined as disabilities that are not immediately apparent. Many people find it hard to understand that disability can exist even if it is not clearly evident in a visible way. People can wrongly assume that to be "disabled", people must have some visible difference, i.e. they use a wheelchair, carry a white cane, use an assistance dog, walk with a distinctive gait or limp, or display some other obvious sign of disability.” (Marni Walkerden, 2020) The list of hidden challenges is endless but includes psychosocial disabilities such as depression and anxiety disorders as well as conditions like Epilepsy, MS, Autism, ADD/ADHD, intellectual and learning disabilities, and other associated conditions. A reminder that access to the school’s designated Accessible (Disabled) Car Parking Space should be kept clear at all time. Reddam ELS Lindfield has a number of families that require the use of this car space. Last Call: Care Pack Project Thank you SO much to those generous families who have delivered a Care Pack to the office - we have over 25 packs so far. I will be taking the Care Packs to the depot on Monday (30th May) afternoon, so if you have one ready, please bring it in before Monday 2pm.
Stay warm and safe over the weekend.
Pictured below: Nathan and Burhanuddin (4R) investigating human body organs.
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Stage 1R
By Heather Gaskell
“A book is a gift you can open again and again.” (Garrison Keillor) Following on with our focus this term on literacy and books, this week we selected a range of Indigenous books by Ros Moriatry to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into our curriculum. The children have also continued this exploration of Indigenous perspectives in their art experience by interacting with natural materials to create a group artwork. They were provided with a piece of bark from a gumtree as their canvas and used red, yellow and black paint representing the colours of the Aboriginal flag. This painting experience was aimed at encouraging a connection to and respect for the land, which forms the foundation of Aboriginal spirituality. Along with the connection to the land it was a fun social time for the children to combine and share the experience of creating a joint artwork. Additionally there was the sensory experience of engaging with natural materials, exploring different textures to discover how it affects their completed artwork. Each book we read provided us with a focus for our sensory tables, such as the book Ten Scared Fish. For this the table was set up in theme with the book displayed, there were Australian water animals and a water hole, providing additional materials to help form a deeper connection to the book and Australian habitats. We then invited the children to explore the sensory bags, filled with oil, blue water and colourful fish. The children explored and manipulated the bags endeavouring to find the fish inside. Using the oil and water provides opportunities for exploration of mixing and watching how the liquids interact with one another. Another book was Kangaroo Hop which inspired a sensory experience of finding the hidden kangaroos in their habitat. The children were introduced to a tray containing sand and other natural elements, they were given brushes to sweep and discover the hidden Kangaroos. This experience also encouraged fine-motor skills development, as they used the materials, practicing their grip strength. This book is full of wonderful Australian animals and we also used this book to facilitate some drama. As we acted out all the animals it contained, we had shuffling echidnas, crawling crabs and hopping Kangaroos bouncing around everywhere. All these books have given us the opportunity to engage in a vast variety of sensory textures and experiences with ‘Splosh for the Billabong’ being another experience. Our sensory experience for this book included water, water animals, fishing nets and buckets. The children were able to fish around in the container catching the different animals and place them in the buckets. Water play is a wonderful way to engage children in sensory play, they get to feel the water and observe how it changes the way materials behave. Some items float on top, some items sink to the bottom. Wishing all our families a wonderful weekend! Heather, Doris, May and Sophie
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Stage 1R: Exploring Indigenous Perspectives (P1)
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Stage 1R: Exploring Indigenous Perspectives (P2)
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Stage 1E
By May Sumahit
“It's very simple why children are crazy about dinosaurs dinosaurs are nature's Special Effects.” (Robert T. Bakker) This week we continued our exploration into Imagination. Imagination aids in the holistic development of a child, improving their sense of identity and helping them make sense of their world by practising skills and interactions they observe in the real world. It can help everything from decision-making skills to behaviour and social skills. According to scientists, there is this childhood obsession called ‘intense interest’. Studies have shown that the most common intense interest is vehicles -- planes, trains, and cars -the next most popular, by a wide margin, is dinosaurs. As popular as it is, 1E children were brought into the world of dinosaurs for this week’s topic. They were encouraged to bring their own favourite dinosaur toys to school, wear their most loved dinosaur outfits, share their best-loved books and create their own dinosaur world for fun learning. Much to their delight, 1E children were stimulated with dinosaur small world play. We invited the children to play with the dinosaurs. We had an inviting sensory play space for the children to enjoy, including natural materials from the environment (leaves, sticks, little logs and stones). The children loved this dinosaur habitat. We also had a variety of dinosaur toys for the children to engage with. 1E children were invited to express knowledge and ideas through creative experiences. They were encouraged to do a ‘Dinosaur Footprint Artwork’ and ‘Dinosaur Painting’ using the miniature dinosaurs on display. This promoted the concepts of colour, size and shape, and also gave the children the chance to appreciate the varying features of dinosaurs (such as their long necks, tails and spikes). Using the dinosaurs as a tool for painting allowed the children to learn about the texture, colour and size of their favourite dinosaurs. In our group times, we learnt about various dinosaurs and sang some wonderful songs such as I am a dinosaur. We also read books including The dinosaur who wouldn’t go to school and Rumble rumble dinosaur. In our beautiful learning environment, we supported our children to feel safe, secure and developed a strong sense of identity. We look forward to promoting this throughout this term as we continue to explore our imaginations through the World of Julia Donaldson next week. Thank you for spending your time reading our newsletter! Wishing you a safe weekend ahead! Fatima, May and Melissa (& Miss Charity . . . all the way from The Philippines)
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Stage 1E: Travelling back in time
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Stage 1E: Dinosaur Footprint Art
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Stage 2R
By Sara Haddadi
"When little people are scared of something in nature, it’s our job to hold their hand and show them its beauty and purpose." (Penny Whitehouse) This week we investigated the fascinating world of Reptiles and encouraged the children to research these animals so they can better appreciate all creatures, even ones that may seem scary. We discussed that reptiles are found all over the world mostly in hot and humid conditions. Snakes and lizards live in many different kinds of places and can live on land, in trees, in underground tunnels, or in water. Most turtles live in water but spend some time on land. On the other hand, tortoises live only on land. Alligators and crocodiles spend most of their time in the water, but they can make short trips on land. We are huge lovers of small-world play and believe it offers so much to children for enriching their language, imaginative play, and storytelling skills. They enjoyed the turtles, snakes, crocodile swamp, goannas, and frog small worlds in different settings. They definitely learn and absorb so much information by being able to touch and manipulate figurines while playing. They all played and responded differently to these sensory experiences and the teachers had many opportunities to scaffold children’s learning and enable them to try new ideas and lead them to greater understanding. These experiences allowed 2R to be active learners and underpinned all cognitive developments of them. One of the creative artworks involved children using the potato masher to create turtles. Art enables our little artists to explore and make sense of their world, investigate, imagine, create, problem-solve, make choices and achieve. This week, 2R Teachers observed that children were supporting each other in different ways of playing with resources and materials. This can be linked to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory, he believed that children themselves are powerful teachers and that learning occurs in social settings and contexts. Instead of teachers being the sole facilitator of learning, he saw children as ‘peer mentors’ assisting each other to learn and develop skills. Children are just so curious to learn more about the world around them and reptiles were one of their biggest interests. Hopefully, we inspired them enough to learn and love these creatures. An interest in reptiles can lead to interests in other aspects of science. A love of nature and animals can lead to compassion for all living creatures and our planet itself. We as adults have the responsibility to guide children’s learning, engage their minds, and work collaboratively with them on a daily basis so we will have some amazing scientists in the future taking care of our Earth. Have a fabulous weekend. Sara, Vivian, Lizzie, Chloe, Connie, May and Jaycel
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Stage 2R: Investigating Habitats of Reptiles
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Stage 2R: Turtle Art
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Stage 2E
By Mia Doan ‘If you eat today, thank a farmer.’ (Anonymous)
This week we paid our gratitude and appreciation toward the farmers who raise living organisms for food or raw materials from crops to market for consumption. Exploring various types of farm, farmer’s roles, farm animals, cooking and shopping reflected on a range of interests and wonders from 2E children. Gradually, our children started to appreciate the fresh fruits and meals provided to them daily. They started tasting different fruits, acknowledging the hard work of the farmer, and enjoying every meal with minimal waste. During our learning journey, we experienced life on the farm and explored the roles of farmers and the products obtained from a farm. The children were invited to multiple sensory experiences where they harvested Brussel sprout and mushroom crops, fed chickens, cows, horses, pigs and gave them a bath and brushed their hair/fur. Small world farming filled with a variety of raw materials and natural resources opens a window of opportunities for children to explore their ideas, negotiate with peers about farm roles and create a dramatic play scene. Excitingly, we milked the cow and sheared the sheep. These were the most enjoyable hands-on experiences that replicated the process of producing dairy products and clothing. The favourite book of the week was Bedtime on the Farm by Corinne Mellor. This story is about Farmer Jack who tried to round up his animals and put them to bed! The children enjoyed watching the trail of animals, large and small, get ever longer as they followed Jack home. They also recognised different kinds of farm animals and counted them to make sure they were safely home. We also sang out loud our favourite nursery rhythms Old MacDonald had a Farm and Cows in the Kitchen. These fun and enjoyable activities helped our friends to recognise the habitats of farm animals. Joshua connected his prior knowledge and informed, “Elephants do not live on a farm. They live in the jungle”. Art of the week was inspired from a range of types of fruits and veggies such as corn, capsicum, okra, celery and broccoli. These natural paint tools offered a unique mark-making opportunity that yielded extraordinary results on the page. It was interesting to see our little friends use different objects to create uniquely different marks on their piece of art. During the process of creating artwork, we had a short conversation about their favourite fruits and vegetables and how these green products keep us healthy and promote body growth. 2E little farmers engaged in a scientific sensory experience, they were invited to explore different seeds of fruits and veggies such as guava, pear, tomato, and papaya. In this activity, they explore seeds in various ways, from comparing the size and quantity of seeds in different foods to identifying the colour and texture of the seeds. Some of the children liked examining the papaya seeds. Felicity showed a high level of concentration when she tried to collect guava seeds. What a fabulous week of learning through play, little farmers! Next week, we will turn into scuba divers and dive deep in the ocean. Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Mia, Xanthe, Tracey, Shandie and Yannie
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Stage 2E: Experiencing Life on the Farm
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Stage 2E: Fresh Products Art
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Stage 3R
By Grace Nolan
This week on our sensory table we included blue and yellow playdough and the children used trial and error to mix the materials. As we sat with the children, we asked them what they thought might happen - will the play dough stay separate? What colour might it turn into? The children had to use their fine motor skills to mix, squeeze and pull the playdough to ensure that it changed into green. On our tabletops we included salt writing with magnetic letters. This experience provides the children the opportunity to practise holding a brush to write letters to making-marks in the sand, alternatively, they also used their fingertips as well. Both ways allow the children to manipulate the sand to create meaningful writing. Coding through patterns was also made available as we provided coloured counters and a ABAB or ABCABC pattern card for the children to complete. This one was a little more tricky, however, we observed friends helping each other, demonstrating some beautiful peer modelling. The children were also invited to explore an obstacle course set-up by our Prac Student, Ashleigh. The children were shown how to climb down the spider web, balance on the wobbly beams and jump over the next ones. They demonstrated a range of abilities, with each and everyone of them persisting with the challenge. The children called out words of encouragement to those who were more wary of the spider web and modelled the next part of the obstacle course to the friends who recently joined. The children demonstrated teamwork as they shared in each other's achievements as well as working on their gross motor skills as they climbed, balanced and jumped. Extending on this, another obstacle course was created to challenge the children, this time they were asked to hold hands with a friend while walking across a balance beam. The children were encouraged to speak to each other as they walked, reminding their friends to “slow down” or “speed up”, working on their teamwork skills and verbal communication. As a class we discussed what technology might look like and what its function. The teachers asked “What technology do you use at home?” The children answered: - Angus: "Buttons." - Harvey H: "I have a new washing machine." - Harry: "I use buttons to watch fast cars." - Aiden: "Watch tv race car." - Sebastian: "I made a barbecue at home." - Avery: "Mummy and Daddy wash my clothes in the machine."
- Chloe: "A scooter and bike." - Myra: "A bike." - Sarah: "A scooter." - Edmund: "A whistle and a badge." - Luka: "A bike." - Amelia: "Scooter."
During differentiated learning groups, the children were able to use the iPad to scan different QR Codes that were placed around the school. Each QR Code held unique pictures that related to the school such as the sand pit, our fish, a fire extinguisher, palm trees & climbing frames, to name a few. The children were able to view the picture and run to find it around the school. Once there, they were able to scan the next QR Code to find the next thing. This was a small example of how technology can be integrated into an early childhood setting as we use meaningful images for the children to engage them purposefully when using the iPad. Next week we will be engaging with Engineering processes and creative thinking. Grace, Carina, Chloe, Margaret, Shandie and Ashleigh
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Stage 3R: Sensory Experiences & Exploring the Technology
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Stage 3R: Creative Art Experience
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Stage 3E
By Georgia Galvin
“It is not the strongest animal who will survive, but those who can best manage change.” (Charles Darwin on the amazing Salamander) This term, Stage 3E will be focusing on the world around them with our term provocation of Connecting to Our World. This week, the children extended upon their learning of different animal types by focusing on Amphibians. Last week, as we explored reptiles, many children commented on how they believed frogs were similar to other reptiles. In order to extend upon the links between animal types, the 3E Teachers focused on frogs, newts, salamanders, toads and more. Amphibians are interesting creatures who spend some of their lives under water and the other time of their lives on land. A major difference between reptiles and amphibians is their skin - reptiles have dry and scaly skin, whereas amphibians have moist and slimy skin. Amphibians breathe through their moist skin. Our table experiences throughout this week invited the children to explore Amphibians through sensory, STEM and creative activities. Firstly, the children were transported to a pond, which is home to tadpoles and frogs. Our figurines included both tadpoles and frogs, and the children were also encouraged to observe a picture which showed the life cycle of a frog, which was located in front of the sensory pond. In order to foster the children’s counting skills and one-to-one correspondence, the children also counted frogspawn (frogs eggs) which were placed on top of a lily pad. For our creative experience, the children were given choices in regards to which creative experience they would like to engage with. Firstly, the children used their developing fine motor skills to use pencils (with the appropriate grips) to draw their own interpretation of a frog after observing lots of photographs. Our second creative experience invited the children to get very imaginative with Mr. Kai. Using a variety of coloured shapes, and lots of photographs for inspiration; the children created their very own froggies jumping on a lily pad using their collaging skills. During our Meetings throughout the week, we engaged in many discussions which focused on amphibians. We discussed the characteristics of this animal type as well as any recognisable animals which are amphibians (such as frogs, toads, and salamanders). We also played a matching game, where the children were invited to match several photographs of amphibians to the ones on our provocation board. Each day, we revisited the characteristics of amphibians as well as how they compare to reptiles and dinosaurs. Next week, we will be looking at other small creatures of our Earth - Minibeasts! Minibeasts include insects, bugs, spiders and any creepy crawly you can imagine. Have a great weekend! Georgia, Nat, Connie, Kai and Intisar
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Stage 3E: Investigating the World of Amphibians
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Stage 3E: Creative Art Experience
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Stage 4R
By Veronika Roth
‘Why did the skeleton go to the party alone? He had no body to go with him.’ (Anonymous Dad Joke) The skeletal system is the body's framework of bones that gives us our shape, helps us move and protects our internal organs. We engaged in learning the names of the main bones and our helper Skully, the skeleton, helped us to do it. From top to bottom, the bones we identified were: the skull, mandible, spine, clavicle, sternum, ribs, humerus, radius, ulna, carpus, metacarpus, phalanges, pelvic girdle, femur, patella, fibula, tibia, tarsus and metatarsus. We have learnt that babies are actually born with more bones (about 300 of them) and some of these fuse together to form the 206 bones that adults have.
In the afternoons, the children engaged in activities strengthening their bodies. which have included the following: supine flexion, prone extension, planks, tables, ball press, ball curls, wheelbarrow walking, etc. On our journey to investigate the skeletal system further, we have looked at what makes up a bone by learning of the layers of bone. It is fascinating to imagine what our internal body parts look like, the bone's harder outer layer is called the periosteum, inside it is the soft bone marrow, blood vessels, nerves and cancellous (spongy bone). A hands-on experiment using general household materials visually supported this learning. We used cotton wool (red to represent blood vessels and blue to represent nerves) wrapped in soft cancellous (spongy bone, hiding in the periosteum (hard bone). The children were so taken by this activity and have asked to do their own individual experiments, which they are invited to do independently. Continuing the learning of the human body's systems from the muscular and skeletal systems, we will be moving to the digestive system next week. We have noticed that the children enjoy taking control of their learning and engaging in experiences, therefore we will be experimenting with the digestive system through a scientific exploration of the food’s journey we eat in our body. Kind regards, Veronika, Rebecca and Rowel
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Stage 4R: Sensory and Physical Experiences
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Stage 4R: Creative Art Experiences
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Stage 4E
By Lauren Hall “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” (Albert Einstein)
This week the children demonstrated their imaginations as they role-played with dinosaurs and learnt about our prehistoric planet. Many of the children have expressed their fascination with dinosaurs so far this year, and this was the perfect time to incorporate this interest with our Earth provocation. Our inquiry began with a history lesson, starting around 540 million years ago when the first organisms and fish inhabited our planet. These creatures evolved into large-jawed fish, amphibians, reptiles, even giant insects. As we studied the diagrams of these creatures, the children made suggestions about what they may have eventually become including sharks, crabs, turtles, frogs, crocodiles and the lizards that exist today. We then learnt that the dinosaurs arrived on our Earth approximately 225 million years ago in the Triassic Period. We tried to imagine what the planet looked like without buildings, cars and even humans. Next came the Jurassic Period, and finally the Cretaceous Period, before the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago. The children were surprised that not all of the dinosaurs lived together at the same time, but during these three different periods. The Tyrannosaurus Rex for example was one of the youngest dinosaurs to emerge during the late Cretaceous period and ‘only’ lived for 4 million years. We then discussed the Ice Age when the woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers roamed the planet. Eventually more mammals arrived before cave people started to evolve 2.5 million years ago. Both our story books and fact books had a wealth of information in them. Flip Flap Dinosaurs by Axel Scheffler explained the unique features that each dinosaur had, including horns, plates, claws, spikes, and sharp teeth to defend themselves. As we learnt each of the dinosaurs’ names, we also categorised them into various groups such as herbivores and carnivores, and ones that looked the same in size, shape and had similar features. Throughout the week the children engaged with a variety of dinosaur-themed experiences. Our small world area was transformed into Jurassic Park, using plants, rocks and loose parts. The children’s imagination was wonderful to observe as they role-played with such enthusiasm. They also enjoyed creating fizzy volcanic eruptions with vinegar and bicarbonate soda, and dissolving frozen dinosaur eggs to reveal hatchlings inside. In our atelier, the children were invited to construct their own dinosaur designs of their choice, and practised their cutting and scissor manipulation skills. What an immensely rich week of learning we had together. Our provocation will take us to the oceans next week as we learn about the sea animals that inhabit each ocean zone. Lauren, Priya, Kai and Connie
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Stage 4E: Investigating Dinosaurs
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Stage 4E: Creative Dinosaur Art
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Playball
By Coach Lauren Guttman
To warm up our bodies today, I taught the children how to play the ‘The Shark and Stingray’ game. The sharks and the stingrays needed to cross over the ocean without “boofing” into each other. I challenged the children to go faster and faster- crazy! Then, the children all found their own hoop and listened to my instructions on what to do: jump into the hoop, jump out of the hoop, jump over the hoop, walk around the hoop, etc. We all had a turn to spin the hoop, wait for the hoop to fall onto the ground and jump in. This week I brought a parachute and we got to play many games with it like keep the ball up and popcorn! Next, I placed some hurdles on the court and we did some throwing OVER the hurdles in front of us. Then, we did some ROLLING UNDER the hurdles. I held up a hoop and, drawing on our skills from last week in basketball, we threw our balls THROUGH the hoop. Finally, I set up an obstacle course for the children with hurdles, beanbags, tunnels and hoops and we tried to cross the circuit from one piece of equipment to another, always remembering to cheer for our friends. That’s how good sports behave! Well done to everyone on showcasing excellent balancing skills and resilience to try again. Thanks for such an awesome lesson, champs. See you next week for some more fun!
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Drama
By Xanthe Wills
This week in drama we continued on our time machine journey. This week our time travel machine travelled back to visit Ancient Egypt. After shaking the parachute and naming the colours, we used memory recall to recreate our time machines from last week. We spun around in circles, put our hands in the air and on our knees, and pressed lots of our time machine’s buttons to travel to Ancient Egypt. When we arrived, we noticed that one of the pyramids was unfinished. We decided to help! The children showed me their strong muscles, and, using their miming skills, picked up the heavy blocks. I asked the children to show me on their faces how heavy the blocks were, and I asked “What are some sounds we make when something is heavy?” We noticed, after finishing the pyramid, that there was a nearby pyramid with an open door. We discussed what might be inside the pyramid. We decided on mummies, treasure, and booby traps. We went into the pyramid to have a look. We had to jump and crawl through the entrance, balance on one leg across the star shapes, tip toe in a line and high 5 the handprints. When we got to the end, where the mummies might be, we had to be very quiet! I told the children that the walls were covered in something called hieroglyphics, and showed them a chart. I was impressed at Stage 2 recognising the alphabet. We discussed the symbols next to the alphabet and how these symbols represented the Egyptian alphabet. We found a coded message on the wall and used the hieroglyph chart to work out the message. The message read “Look Out!” Oh no! The mummies had woken up and were chasing us out of the pyramid. Luckily we made it out in time. We hopped back into our time machines and travelled back to present day to be rewarded by a stamp. I wonder where our time machine will take us next week! Stage 1 had a look at the interesting hieroglyph chart and we tried to turn into some of the animals featured on the card: lion, owl, and snake. Stage 1 enjoyed a visit from the tickly cockatoo who loved to tickle our friends and give lots of cuddles.
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Mandarin
By Chloe Lin
We started Mandarin this week, as always, by singing the hello song ‘Hello/ Ni Hao’. I introduced the children to some animals (dog, cow, pig and cat), we repeated the names in Mandarin, and then made their associated noise. We giggled as we imitated each animal while singing the hello song. To continue on with our colour activity from last week, I showed the children some colour cards and a card with a pair of pants. We revised the names of colours and learnt the word for “pants” or “leggings”. The children were then challenged to identify who had which combination. Who had blue pants? Or black ones? The children loved finding who had each combination! Stage 2 and 3 then played with their much loved finger puppets. The children were asked to choose either red or blue tongs and exercise their fine motor skills to pinch and lift a puppet. After choosing their favourite and placing it on their pointer finger, I asked the children to use the puppet to ring a bell 3 times and count to 3 in Mandarin with me. We practised greeting our friend’s puppets. I was delighted to see the children give their finger puppets their own unique personalities and characteristics. Then, Stage 2 and 3 played a fun memory game. I gave actions an associated number of dings on the bell. For example, one ding of the bell meant putting your finger puppet in the air, and 2 meant hiding the finger puppet away etc. I tested the children to see if they could remember the actions without my help! When I dinged the bell 4 times, it meant for the children to pack away their puppets. In Stage 3 and 4 this week we played a new game. I showed the children some cards with various objects on them like pillow, chair, ball and rainbow. I gave each child the picture card and asked them to repeat the name in mandarin. Then, I asked them, in Mandarin, to find that object in the classroom. The children happily found the items around the room and proudly showed them to me. Well done everyone for an excellent class. See you next week!
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Music
By Andy Freeborn
This week we discovered many new sounds and learnt how to make music out of anything! Stage 1R were very fascinated and intrigued by the new instruments I brought in this week. The excited children found a gigantic box packed to the top with shakers, tambourines, xylophones, bells, triangles, mallets, pots, pans, rattles and more! I encouraged the children to each take an instrument. Some students were completely un-phased by some of the instruments, and others decided to hold on to a particular instrument the whole time. While they enthusiastically trialled new instruments we sang nursery rhymes and I encouraged the children to play along while we sang. Stage 1E were so beautifully patient and, while we sat in the gorgeous sunshine, we explored new instruments in turns. Beaming smiles of fascination spread across their faces when coming across sounds that they hadn’t heard before. The xylophone was a particular favourite in this class! “What’s this?” I asked, holding a large cooking pan up in front of Stages 2, 3 and 4, “Is it a musical instrument?”. The children answered a variety of ways: “no”, “can you make music out of it?” and “are you sure?”. In each Stage there were a handful of students who knew how to make sound from it: “DRUM! LIKE A DRUM!”. We then each took turns playing the pan by holding it upside down, and I encouraged the children to play it with two hands to create a pitter-patter-like rhythm. When introducing the pan to stages 3 & 4, I introduced the idea that we could make music out of anything and, using both hands, we played the floor, our laps, our chests, faces, shoes, you name it, like a drum - sorry parents! If you notice a lot of drumming around your houses, you know who to blame! The pan was followed by a xylophone, where I challenged each class to guess how to make a sound out of it. “Do I blow into it?” “Do I play it like a guitar?” Then, as I pulled a mallet out of my pocket, I was instructed by each class that I needed to play the instrument with the mallet to create the sound. Everyone got a turn. It has been consistently rewarding as each class takes new interest in our tactile learning and association with music. The melodica, which has become a popular occurrence in class, appeared again this week. With every class I always “forget” how to play the instrument and ask the kids to instruct me on how I need to create the sound. This week, everyone was rather quick at telling me how to put the melodica together and how to make a sound with it. I usually take some time, pretending (while making some of the children giggle) that I don’t know how to play it, and this week Alfie, Stage 4, hilariously got slightly frustrated towards my incompetence! It is very rewarding to see that the children have become familiar with the instrument and are showing an avid interest in wanting to play it each week, and explore music further.
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Happy Birthday! A very happy birthday to our children who are celebrating their special day this week. We wish you all the best!
23/05 - Hayden (1E)
23/05 - Lachlan (2E)
24/05 - Seth (3E)
24/05 - Giselle (4R)
27/05 - Joshua (3E)
29/05 - Thomas (2E)
31