28th January 2022
Principal’s Message
By Mrs Simone Cooke
Dear Parents, A warm welcome back to all our families to Term One, 2022. Despite living within the ongoing demands of a pandemic, our children have enjoyed a very smooth transition back to Reddam. As we enter the third calendar year of covid disruptions it is more important than ever before that we work together to reduce disruptions to our children’s learning. Research shows that the first seven years of a child’s life is a critical time for their emotional, social, physical and cognitive development and locking children away at home for extended periods of time can lead to significant depression, anxiety and psychological stress. It is important for young children to develop independence, build friendships and social skills, learn to solve problems and work collaboratively with others. Preschool is a very important time in a child’s life as it is the first time that they spend time away from families building their autonomy, confidence and identity. Building self-regulation is also key to growing independence and this is developed through having to share with others, take turns and develop greater empathy and understanding of the needs of others, which is best achieved by interacting with peers.
Having a highly qualified and experienced Early Childhood Teacher is also an essential ingredient in ensuring that young children are given every opportunity to reach their full learning potential. Here at Reddam we are passionate about employing teachers of excellence, who are experts in Early Childhood Education and are trained to implement our Reggio Emilia philosophy and our unique principles which fosters the “whole‟ child. Reddam prides itself on hand picking outstanding educators from all around the world and our teacher selection policy is one of the key aspects of our schools, as we appreciate the vital role a good teacher plays in shaping enquiring minds and building special bonds. We are extremely fortunate to have highly experienced teachers, with the majority of our teachers having been with us for many years and who have a thorough understanding of our Reddam philosophy. We are thrilled that all our teachers are returning again this year and welcome our new Stage 3 core teacher Ms Bianca Lazar who is joining the Reddam Family. We all look forward to an exciting year of 1
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Principal’s Message Continued... learning as each of our children is offered the opportunity to reach their full potential as learners and a sense of normalcy, security and safety within these challenging times. As we officially commence our Term 1 Provocations from next week we request that all our Preschool and School Readiness children wear their school mulitiforms from next Monday 31st January. Please see our enrolment officer Michelle Kellett if you are waiting on any uniform orders and she will be most happy to assist you. Have a lovely weekend!
25th Oc
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Stage 4R
Ms Lauren Doughton
Welcome to 2022! I would like to personally welcome you all to Stage Four for 2022. We trust you all have had a great Christmas and New Years. As we approach Term 1 for the year we have been excited to get to know and build the relationships with the children and their families. It has been nice watching the children create new friendships with one another as well as strengthening their previous ones. Throughout this term we will be focusing the program solely on the children and their families and how they belong to the world and our community. We will be working on the children’s emotional recognition, confidence and resilience. We will also be looking at how we have the potential to impact others emotions. This year I will be striving to help your child become autonomous learners, instilling in them the skills necessary for ultimate success in their future schooling, in particular their journey into Kindergarten. We will be introducing the children to phonics, coding and overall school readiness. In saying that, although we will be focusing on developing your child's academic capabilities, we are fully committed to continuing to provide your children with all of the warmth and care that is fundamental at this early stage in their lives. I can not wait to watch your child learn and grow this year, and please if you have any questions or anything please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Quick reminders:
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Arrive on time: When term starts all lessons will begin at 9am, some specialist classes will start at 8:30am depending on the day.
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Drink bottles: Over the last few weeks we have noticed that some children are not coming to school with a drink bottle. Please ensure that you pack a drink bottle in your child’s bag, especially with all the hot weather we have been having.
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Toys: In Stage 4 we encourage a not toy policy as it distracts the children from activities, learning and social activities. Reddam staff will also not be responsible if they become lost or broken.
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Stage 4R: Summer Vacation Fun
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Stage 4R: Summer Vacation Fun
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Stage 4E
By Ms Sarah Ross
Welcome Stage 4E It has been such a pleasure getting to know the new Stage Four children over the past few weeks. We have seen their confidence build and their morning drop offs improve with each passing day. All the children have been very enthusiastic about joining Stage Four and engaging in the educational program implemented. We have been very busy spending time with your children and getting to know their individual strengths, talents and interests. This has supported us in developing a diverse educational program that caters to your children’s individual needs and interests. In Term One, we will be engaging in a child led exploration of learning and development surrounding the topic of weather. Many of the children have expressed their keen interest in learning about weather. In the first weeks of school the children have spent time playing in the rain in their rain coats and gum boots and asking questions such as; “Where does the wind come from?”, “What is lightning made of?” and “How are clouds made?” This week we began our learning journey with sunny weather. The children created collages of the sun and we discussed the importance of sun safety. This was followed up with a science experiment with UV sensitive beads that change colour when under UV rays from the sun.
First, the children created bracelets with the beads and then took them outside to see how the UV rays affected their bracelets. The children were amazed by all the beautiful colours magically appearing on their bracelets in the sun. To highlight the importance of wearing sunscreen and appropriate clothing we covered some beads with sunscreen and another group of beads were covered with a Reddam t-shirt. The children were very surprised to see that the sunscreen and t-shirt stopped the beads from changing colours under the Sun’s UV rays. Afterwards, we had a discussion about what we learnt, some of the children’s responses included; “We can get sunburnt when the sun comes out” – Flynn “We use sunscreen to keep our skin safe” – Augusten “When the beads change colour we need to wear sunscreen” – Ethan A “Sunscreen protects me” – Ethan M Art: Many of the children have displayed a love for creating, building, and expressing themselves through art in the first weeks of school. To extend on the children’s developing artistic and fine motor skills the children created their own collage of the sun using glue and coloured construction paper. We are so proud of all the Stage Four children’s beautiful creations and for actively engaging in all aspects of our educational program. The Stage Four children are so excited to continue with our learning provocation in the coming weeks as we explore different weather types and their causes. 6
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Stage 4E: Creating Bracelets
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Stage 4E: Weather Artwork
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Stage 4D
By Ms Emily Chacon
Here we are Stage 4! The children have all settled in so nicely and have been eager to explore their new space. Across the first few weeks we have been rekindling old friendships and sparking new ones. It has been wonderful to see the children so confident in initiating themselves in play and experiences. It has been delightful meeting all parents, thank you for your kind words and thoughtful emails. I am very excited for what the year has in store for us. As many of you would know we are beginning our year with our ‘I am’ provocation. Through this we will be exploring various areas of the children’s life and further enhancing their knowledge on the world around them. our topics will be: • • • • • • •
I am ME I am CONNECTED I am STRONG I am HEALTHY I am CREATIVE I am SAFE I am BRAVE
If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to email me; emily.chacon@reddamels.com.au
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Stage 4D: Summer Vacation Fun
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Stage 4D: Outdoor Water Play
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Stage 3/4
By Ms Riina Andrew
Welcome Stage 3/4 Welcome back to school. It has been a great start to the year with all the children excited to be back and exploring their new environment. The children have also been sharing their holiday stories with each other and engaging in making new friends with our current group. Over the last three weeks the children have settled well and have enjoyed a variety of games, writing and stories. We have been practising our name writing and the correct way to hold our pencil. We have had fun painting our homes and gardens and we have also spent some time exploring music and movement. To extend our love of writing and drawing, each child was given an exercise book of their own. This book will stay at school and we will work in this book each day. During literacy and numeracy time, the children will be encouraged to practise letter and number writing in small groups. This way, each child will have individual teacher assistance to help perfect the correct way to hold a pencil. It will also assist with letter and number recognition and sounds and phonics. Next week we will start our Provocation: Clouds and what they mean. This topic was chosen by the children during a brain storming session. A group vote was then calculated and the most popular topic of Clouds and Weather was the clear winner. To explore this topic, the children will be involved in the creation of a cloud, cloud collage, painting and observational drawing and cloud themed words and phrases. Looking forward to a fabulous term 1!
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Stage 3/4: Cloud Collage
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Stage 3/4: Summer Vacation Fun
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Stage 3E
By Ms Bianca Lazar
Welcome Stage 3E Dear families welcome to all our Stage 3 children and a warm welcome to our new families! We hope you have had an enjoyable holiday break and you are as excited as we are to start the new year. All the children have settled back into school and their new Preschool programme with ease, which has been pleasing to see and we are looking forward to another positive term ahead. Over the past 2 weeks the Stage 3 children have been enjoying our vacation care program. Throughout this program the children have been involved in getting to know their new teachers, new friends and transitioning to their new classrooms, exploring our indoor and outdoor environment, and participating in a variety of music and movement activities. What was your favourite part of the day? “Making a love heart for my mum and dad” – Sophie “Playdough” – Sofia. M “When I blow the bubbles” – Faris “Playdough” – Stella “Teddy” – Franco “Doing bubbles” – Gisele “Bubbles” – Claire
We look forward to seeing you all next week, and have a fantastic weekend!
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Stage 3E: Off To A Good Start
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Stage 3E: Off To A Good Start
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Stage 2/3 & 3R
By Ms Gabriela Guimaraes
Welcome to Term One! The last three weeks the children have been exploring their surroundings, investigating the new resources and making friendships. In a very short amount of time we can already see personalities blooming and lots of learning taking place. At Reddam we see our children as individuals who are curious about their world and have the powerful potential to learn from all that surrounds them. Based on the children’s curiosity and their desire to explore the teachers have been setting up activities that foster and encourage the need to investigate.
During term one we will be exploring lots of loose materials and using the environment as the third teacher. Great care is taken to construct an environment that allows for the easy exploration of various interests. Observation and Documentation is a key principle of the Reggio Emilia approach. Throughout the year photos of children at work and play, along with dictations of their experiences, will help us teachers to learn more about what does and does not work for each individual child. We can then adjust the dynamics of the classroom accordingly. During our first group discussion the children were excited to share their news with their peers. We asked them about something they were looking forward to and a very popular answer was “Australia Day”. We heard about BBQ’s and picnics, travel plans and movie dates and based on this interest we set up invitations where the children could explore AUSTRALIA. We started by learning about Australian animals. We read books and looked at pictures. We asked the children which animal they would like to make using play dough and the answer was unanimous, the Echidna. The spiky like creature caught our children’s attention and some very funny creations were made. In another learning station we had the chance to pay our respects to the traditional custodians of the land on which we live in. We explored the Uluru and looked at aboriginal paintings. We also painted with natural paintbrushes and made poppies made out loose materials. It’s amazing to see how quickly the children settled into their new learning environment and I cant wait to see where this provocation will take us next.
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Stage 2/3:
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Stage 2/3: Alien Investigation
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Stage 2R
By Ms Madeleine Grant
Welcome to Stage 2R Welcome back to another year at Reddam! The children of 2R are settling into their new classroom so well. Over the past few weeks we have seen old friendships rekindled and new bonds forming, with the children becoming more comfortable in their new routine and new environment each day. Our first two weeks were all about us teachers getting to know each child, helping them settle in their own way, and discovering their interests and strengths in order through a range of structured and free play. This week we began to incorporate more intentional teaching by planning activities to celebrate Australia Day. We set up sensory stations and dramatic play areas, and read books about the rich cultural history and natural beauty of our country. A favourite activity was making a classic Australian food – fairy bread! The children used their muscles by pressing Australia-shaped cookie cutters into their slice of bread, then lightly spread it with green and gold icing and added multicolour sprinkles. This term our learning programme will be structured around the alphabet, with each week consisting of activities inspired by something starting with each letter. Next week we will begin with A, B and C. A is for Australia, and we will continue our Australia Day provocation by offering extensions to the activities of this past week. B is for Building, something we have noticed many of the children doing during our free play times and that we want to extend on with targeted exercises. C is for Collaboration, where we will be encouraging the children to work together to make a collaborative artwork to be displayed in the classroom. A main goal of the term is that each child will gain a secure understanding of the alphabet, both through recognising each letter orally and visually, as well as identifying the sounds that these letters make. Our first art activity focused on the very first letter that many children will learn – the first letter of their name! For this we used a paint-resist method, where we glued the letter onto a page and let each child paint freely. When they were done we peeled the letter away to reveal its shape surrounded by their artwork. As they painted we talked about their letter by using it in our phonics song, singing for each child “M is for Masha, M-M-Masha” or “A is for Aydin, A-A-Aydin” to reinforce the connection between the written symbol, the letter’s name and the sound that is creates. We are looking forward to an exciting term ahead, and a fun year with your beautiful children!
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Stage 2R: Australia Day Artwork
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Stage 2R: Rekindling Friendships
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Stage 1E
By Ms Justine Heydra & Alessia Angilletta
Welcome Stage 1E “Tell me and I’ll forget; Show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” — Chinese Proverb Firstly, I would like to say a very big welcome to stage 1E, The children have settled in very nicely over the past three weeks and have formed important and close bonds with their educators. They have also enjoyed getting to know their peers and are playing wonderfully alongside one another. Our priority this term is for the children to develop a strong sense of belonging that will continue with them throughout their time at Reddam. When children feel a strong sense of belonging and sense of pride in their families, their peers, and their school communities they become emotionally strong, self-assured, and better able to deal with any challenges and difficulties they encounter. This creates an important foundation for their learning and development and builds emotional resilience. As part of creating our family tree at school we have asked for our parents to email us a family photo. (Thank you to the parents that have already done this) And we look forward to receiving more photo’s to add to our wall. As part of our vacation care this week during our group times, we decided to make playdough with the class. The children took turns to place the different ingredients into a mixing bowl. This taught the children patients and that they had to wait for their turn. They then each had the opportunity to mix the playdough and finally they all had a chance to play with the playdough. They all loved this hands-on activity and enjoyed playing with the playdough afterwards. Furthermore, during this vacation care period, we have been focusing on the children settling in to their new routine and navigating their new indoor and outdoor environment. We have also set up a few different sensory activities and the children have all been drawn to our “Under the Sea” sensory table. This has helped us decide on our provocation for term one, “Animal Habitats” During term one we will be focusing on “Under the Sea”, “The Farm” and lastly, “Mini Beasts”. We look forward to seeing your little one learn and grow. If you have any queries or questions do not hesitate to contact myself or Alessia. House-Keeping: • •
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Please ensure all personal items are labelled so they do not go missing. Please try and drop your little one off at school between 8 and 8:30, so they have so time to settle in and enjoy our sensory activities prior to our morning group time and morning tea.
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Stage 1E: Creating Playdough
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Stage 1E: Summer Outdoor Fun
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Stage 1R
By Ms Amanda Felton
Welcome Stage 1R Throughout the holidays we had so much fun as we slowly welcomed our new families to our Class 1R and spent time getting to know each other, explored our new environment and enjoyed each other's company. This week as recognition of our Australia Day holiday we explored Indigenous Australia and enjoyed painting a didgeridoo and learning about Australian Indigenous art and experimented with our own sand drawings.
This is the most exciting time of the year, as we are about to start our very first class for Term 1. Our intentional teaching for the term is Nursery Rhymes, in response to our children's keen interest in music and rhymes. This week we start with "Three Little Ducks", The children are already enjoying their music classes and love the stories and puppets which never fail to grab their attention Nursery Rhymes are a lovely way to give your little ones a head start in linguistic learning. Children learn and explore patterns in language and slowly start to develop speech patterns and organised thought processes. We set up a range of sensory activities each day that help reinforce learning and understanding as children learn through their different sensory abilities - hearing, seeing, touching and taste. We extend our learning to artwork as our little ones begin to learn to hold a pencils and painbrushes and make marks on paper. Throughout the term our babies will have much fun with painting, drawing and collage as this assists children to build confidence and follow simple instructions from their teachers. Housekeeping: Please label all items that are brought to school as this includes - clothes, hats, shoes, socks, comforters and bottles. If you do find a stray item in your child's bag could you please return this to us so that we can ensure it goes back to it's owner as many of the children have similar belongings Our babies have settled well these past few weeks and we look forward to an exciting year of learning!
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Stage 1R: Creating A Didgeridoo
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Stage 1R: Summer Vacation Fun
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Stage 5
By Ms Brooke Foxe
Welcome Stage 5 During vacation care, the children continued to nurture their existing friendships, playing in the new upstairs playground. We had a big focus on games, with the children playing matching memory games, Uno and other card games with each other and teachers. Games for pre-schoolers teaches them to take turns, understand and follow rules and put their developmental skills of memory recall and numeracy to good use. Marble roll was popular as the children created maizes, as was lego and drawing with a lot of wonderful paintings being created. Over the last week, we have been learning about road safety, the children have taken home a sheet stickers for them and a safety door sticker for the car (instructions are on the sticker). Wishing all of Stage 5 the very best on their new chapter of Kindergarten, we will miss them dearly!
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Stage 5: Road Safety & Summer Fun
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