Reddam Early Learning School Newsletter Vol 22 Issue 38

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER

classes in the ELS wrapping up what has been a happy and fun filled year. There have been fond farewells and times of reflection, as the teachers and children considered how much has been packed into the year.

The Stage 4 children have much to look forward to, as they head to Kindergarten next year, and we have every confidence that the solid foundations which have been laid in the ELS will see them flourish. The tiniest in the ELS, those in The Nest, seem to have shot up during the year, and they too are ready to move on to the next exciting phase of their learning experience. And so it is for all those in the ELS, each of whom can look forward with anticipation to the next exciting adventures.

The children achieved very special milestones over the past year. They developed their interests, enhanced their skills in a variety of activities, made new

Their insatiable curiosity led them to new discoveries and towards ever expanding horizons of what is out in there in the world.

The open ended provocations, which are at the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach, provided many opportunities for learning and creativity. As one article reminds us, provocations “have multiple entry and exit points, meaning that children can engage with the resources within a provocation several times and produce a range of outcomes.” They certainly made the most of these this year, and each had their imaginations fired up and ready to go exploring.

I am grateful to the teachers too for their creativity and imagination this year, as it they who have prepared wonderful opportunities for learning and exploration for the children.

In addition, they have walked alongside the children through their journeys of discovery, while encouraging, praising and nurturing them along the way. Their very real concern for the children has been heart warming to see and I am most appreciative of all their efforts.

Thanks must also go to the ‘backroom staff’ the admin, cleaning and other support staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that the ELS has run smoothly. Their cheerful smiles and dedication have added hugely to the success of the year, and to the happy experiences of all the children, and for this we should all be grateful.

Our school is indeed fortunate to have an enthusiastic and active group of parents, who take a keen interest in the activities in which their children are involved. It has been wonderful to see you at so many events at the school and I know that the teachers have appreciated the support you have shown them, all for the benefit of the children.

Finally, I am grateful to reflect on a year in which the children have been at the heart of the school. Their delighted faces, exuberant voices and excitement about learning has made the year a rich one indeed. I hope that they will remember this year with fondness and that they will continue to build on all that they have learned, in the years to come.

As we enter a special time on the religious and cultural calendars of many of those in our school, I wish all our families peace, rest and much happiness over the coming weeks. It has been our pleasure to share this year with you and we trust that you will enjoy the upcoming holidays with family and friends. We look forward to welcoming you back towards the end of January, for what should be another fantastic year in the life of the ELS.

Dee Pitcairn Principal

The Nest (1R)

We can hardly believe it is the end of our year in the Nest! The year has absolutely flown by, and we have been amazed at how far the children have grown. For our last few days of term, the sun was shining, and the warm weather invited us outdoors to spend as much time as possible in the fresh air. The children are noticeably more confident and comfortable out in our school playground, displaying the various ways they have developed during their time in the Nest. Their confidence was beaming as they undertook experiences which they initially found challenging, including walking across the bridge unaided and climbing from one level to another. We have watched the children go from learning to push ride along toys, to then working out how to stand on a tricycle and push it along with one leg. It has been amazing to see how far they have all come in such a short space of time. In preparing the children for their transition next year, every day we have been taking a visit to the main ELS building to play in the spaces that they will be sharing with the older children next year. The children were especially excited by the large sandpit. They made their way over as soon as they entered the gates. There were so many new resources and types of sand pit equipment for the children to explore. After a while they ventured further afield to the climbing equipment, where some of the children assessed the risk and requested help to complete the course. From an early age, they begin to assess the risks of their play, and this encourages problem solving skills and recognising the need to seek assistance when required. Sticks have been implemented into our programme over the previous few weeks and continued to be incorporated into their imaginative and exploratory play. Olivia located a stick and began to tap it on the box to create sounds. Teacher Fiona began to sing the song, ‘I’m a drummer in the band’ and found a stick to play alongside her. After a few moments, Olivia made the decision to go and watch the buses by the wall. Theodore and Franklin then joined teacher Fiona and struck the sticks against the cardboard. Next, Theodore found an area of soil and used the stick as a digging implement, whereas Leo began using it to draw in the soil. It was Teacher Rama’s last class of the year, and the children had an enormous amount of fun as they sat on the parachute and giggled when it was being lifted up and down around them. When the bubbles appeared, they attempted to catch them with the nets they had been given. As they partook in this experience, they were developing their hand and eye co ordination. Furthermore, as they moved around the space with their peers, they were developing spatial awareness. At the end of the lesson, each child was given a certificate and a sticker for their attendance throughout the terms.

Throughout the year we have sung our greeting song, “Tik Tok”, every morning to connect and welcome one another. Teacher Fiona introduced a new song this week, ‘Hello everyone’, which involves her welcoming every child individually and expressing the happiness that they have attended school. When they hear their name sung, they are encouraged to respond either verbally, using hand gestures or both. Florence waved elegantly like the Queen, Harlow had a gigantic smile and waved as well as saying “Hello” and Franklin had a beaming grin and confidently responded “Hello.” When Joshua heard his name, he erupted with laughter saying, “Hello”, Theodore responded with “Hellooooo.” Next, Fiona sang Olivia’s name, and she waited a moment before acknowledging with, “Hiya.” Then Leo waved and said “Hello.” During this time the children are developing a sense of belonging to the community and made to feel welcome at school. Furthermore, it encourages communicating with peers and supporting their emotional development in larger group settings.

All the educators in the Nest would like to say a big thank you to the parents for their ongoing support this year. We have loved every minute with the children and wish them all the best for their continuing education next year. Have a wonderful summer holiday break, Christmas and New Year.

With love from the Nest!

Kiri, Fiona, Min and Helena

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA

Fledglings (1E)

By Tatiana Botrel and Jane Teh,

How incredible to reach the end of another school year and observe the many milestones the children achieved. The Fledglings embarked on many different projects that expressed and displayed the children’s interests throughout the year.

Validating the children’s voices and emotions are the teachers’ number one priority when planning the experiences intentional teaching and self selective play.

Throughout the year, the Fledglings spent time engaging with nature, learning about transport, bears and dinosaurs. Then we finished the year exploring the magical fantasy world with mystical creatures, for example, unicorns, fairies, witches and mermaids. But most of all, in between these projects, the children developed basic skills relevant to their age, for example, physical skills, emotions and language. This last one was most evident this year in our group, as the children became confident to express themselves verbally.

Let’s remember a few of the highlights in our classroom, as you look through the photos displayed in this last newsletter in 2022.

We wish all families a fun holidays season with your little ones and we can’t wait to see you back in our school in 2023.

Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity. Children develop their emerging autonomy, inter dependence, resilience and sense of agency. EYLF, 2009.

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation. EYLF, 2009.

Fledglings (1E)

By Tatiana Botrel and Jane Teh,

Stage 2

By Daniella Gosty, Sarah Noone, Romy Kaiser and Viviane Zieatter

The year that was…. This year has marked many milestones throughout our journey of Stage 2. Our provocation work in both classes has seen a progression of skills develop.

The Treefrogs looked at the world of “All things Great and Small”, which included the natural world, and then they moved onto the “Five Senses” and “My Body” provocations, with the children focusing on their growing bodies and the way we respond to the world through our senses. In Term 4, the provocation titled “Exploration” gave the children the opportunity to engage in experiences that allowed them to work through investigations of cause and effect.

The Kookaburra class also looked at “My Body” as we explored the world of movement including yoga. “The places you go” allowed the children to share their love of transport related experiences by sharing their outings and holidays with the class. “Under construction” in Term 3 followed the children’s interest in building and construction experiences leading us into the world of shapes. Finally, we ended with “Investigating our world through STEM”, which allowed the children the opportunity to be scientists, as they explored colour mixing and growing plants.

With many highlights through the year, we have reflected on our many successes, major and minor. Our social and emotional skills and self regulation have shown the most progression this year, as the children have learnt through positive drop offs, sharing of toys and showing respect to people and their surroundings supporting themselves to develop and grow to be wonderful young children. Socially, the children have begun to create friendships with their peers and are beginning to show an understanding of what it means to be a friend.

Some highlights throughout our programs and

provocations have included our Book Week, where parents joined us both on screen and in person to share the children’s favourite books with their peers, along with our Mothers’ Day and Father’s Day artworks and gifts for all the important people in the children’s lives. We have also worked on creating an inclusive environment, where the Indigenous culture is imbedded into our programs, and part of our daily experiences.

When reflecting with the children, many have mentioned different set ups that have made our classroom a place where children became confident and successful learners as we explored the learning outcomes from the Early Years Learning Framework children have a strong sense of identity, children are connected with and contribute to their world, children have a strong sense of wellbeing, children are confident and involved learners, children are effective communicators.

As the year draws to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your wonderful children with us. We are passionate about children and education, and you have allowed us to share with this with not just your child but also you as a family. We wish you all the best in your continued educational journey.

REDDAM

By Daniella Gosty, Sarah Noone, Romy Kaiser and Viviane Zieatter

By Susan Casey, Hannah Corrigan, Emily Hunt and Echo Jia

This term, our provocation delved into the world of storytelling. Children love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills, encourages creative thinking and prepares them to understand the written word.

We have been working on our own stories in the classroom this year. The children used their imagination to create stories. It was wonderful to hear sounds of giggles and encouragement from each other as they each brought their stories to life.

Charlie Cook's ‘Favourite Book’ was reintroduced to the children after we read it during Book Week last term and the children loved it. This story takes the children on an adventure through all the different types of books and reading materials. The first line of the story is “Once upon a time”, which we felt encapsulates the world of storytelling, and is why we chose this for our provocation this term. We decided to create our own story and become the Author.

Hannah placed a bear in the middle of our group time and began with the words: Once upon a time... There was a bear in the classroom...

Hunter: “He messed up the whole classroom.”

Sergio: “Then he cleaned it up so fast.”

Thomas: “He rode a horse.”

Avalon: “The teddy met a silly old lady.”

Emily: “He wrote a letter for a dragon.”

Phoebe: “He picked sticks.”

Marley “Then he had a swim in the ocean.”

Esther: “He fought his family.”

Coen: “He went on the road.”

Matilda: “He went to the beach.”

The children asked to do it again, The following day we did it again, but this time, Hannah placed a dinosaur in the middle of the circle.

Hunter: “He broke the whole classroom because he is so big.”

Arthur: “Dinosaur.”

Thomas: “He broke the other classrooms too.”

Avalon: “He met another dinosaur.”

Mia: “He was stomping.”

Phoebe: “He packed away the toys.”

Marley: “The dinosaurs played hide and seek together and broke the toys.”

Esther: “He ate the leaves from the plants.”

Cheng: “Played cars.”

Matilda: “He squashed the toys.”

Gabriel: “They both ate everything and crushed the classrooms.”

Stage 3

By Susan Casey, Hannah Corrigan, Emily Hunt and Echo Jia

We spoke about how the author uses their imagination to create a story and then puts this into words in a book. The next step in creating a book is to illustrate the books with drawings and pictures. The children became authors, as they wrote their name on the front of their book and drew the cover with what their book is about.

Matilda: “Anna and Elsa” “Princess and Christoph freeze Anna.”

Marley: “A Farm” “A horse and a pig.”

Phoebe: “A unicorn and a bunny.”

Gabriel: “A crocodile and a shark and a tree trunk” “The crocodile and the shark fight over food. The shark has a very long tail.”

Sergio: “A dinosaur hunting for food” “A dragon came and blew fire formats mouth to the dinosaur.”

Coen: “Caterpillar” “Eating the fruit, the caterpillar ate candy and felt angry again.”

Avalon: “Cinderella.” “She has braids and high heels” “She went shopping to get some fairy floss.”

Emily: “A unicorn has a sore leg” “The unicorn was in Australia, and she had to go to the vet.”

Hunter: “A dinosaur, dragon and superheroes” “Iron Man used laser beams and the dragon blew fire.”

Esther: “Fairies and Unicorns” “The fairy and unicorn find a flower. They take it home and make a wish with it.”

Thomas: “A dinosaur hunting sea creatures.” “Hunters collected the sea creatures. There was a captain called Jacob. The whale shark had black eyes.”

This is just a small sample of what the children told me. I’m sure they will enjoy telling their stories to you at home when they take their books home in the next week.

Finally, as we approach the end of the year, our reflection journals display the learning journey of your child at school throughout the year. They include pictures, drawings, quotes, and provocations. These journals are also kept available to the children throughout the year as they are encouraged to look back on their work. Through reflection, children build skills such as questioning, memory, investigating, explaining, and consideration. Reflection also helps children learn from their experiences.

We wish you and your family a relaxing break over the holidays.

By

Susan Casey, Hannah Corrigan, Emily Hunt and Echo Jia

Stage 4

By Jane Pledger, Sandra Carberry, Nina Bergel,Yuliya Ginis and Christina Mandalidis

A Year in Review

When reflecting on the school year, we reminisce on an array of activities and moments that the Stage Four children experienced as well as all the interesting and thought provoking knowledge that they gained throughout the year.

Some of the most memorable moments of the year that the children were involved in include art and craft experiences; listening to and telling stories; drama activities; music, singing and musical movement; yoga and meditation; sport and physical education; planting seeds and watching them grow; learning about Indigenous culture; learning about sustainability; science; cooking; learning about people and places around the world; participating in various school events and cultural celebrations; but most importantly, making friends.

The intention for this year was to reflect with the children each day using questions that respect their ideas and provoke learning.

Here are some of our children's voices during reflective times, when the question ‘What has been your best memory from Stage Four?’ was posed.

Aiya: “My best memory from stage four has been playing with friends and learning about planting things. I like all the teachers who work here.”

Alexander: “My best memory from stage four has been playing together and doing snap blocks; and we have to care about teachers and we don’t talk when teachers are talking.”

Eva: “My best memory from stage four has been playing, drawing, painting, gardening and Aboriginal showing. I love all the teachers in Reddam.”

Finley: “My best memory from stage four has been playing with girls and boys; going to Ms. Pitcairn; reading Jack and the Beanstalk; doing yoga and playing with dragons and dinosaurs. I like teachers letting me play.”

Monty: “My best memory from stage four has been playing with magnets; playing with the train tracks; learning things; reading; playing puppet show; playing with snap clips and playing dinosaurs.”

Oscar He: “My best memory from stage four has been playing dinosaurs, drawing, gardening and looking after my trees. I love the best playing with Maze and snap clips and magnets. I really like my teacher Yuliya, because I like her classroom.”

Owen: “My best memory from stage four has been playing with trains, going upstairs, playing Hide and Seek, playing Mobilo and Police.”

Presley: “My best memory from stage four has been learning and playing with my friends; and also when we were doing The Wizard of OZ performance.”

Scarlett: “My best memory from stage four has been playing with all my friends and all the toys at school.”

Vasia: “My best memory from stage four has been playing with friends, making airplanes and dancing. I like my teacher Yuliya and I also like Geetha.”

Yanni: “My best memory from stage four has been playing maze with my friends, playing in the big playground, learning about nature and recycling, being kind to people at school, helping people and listening to people.”

Emily: “My best memory from stage four has been playing in the ice cream shop, doing yoga. I liked when the teacher read us books. I liked doing volcano science, playing with everyone and dancing ballet with Aiya and Scarlett.”

Oscar T: “I liked playing with my friends in the big playground.”

To extend our reflection on this year’s experiences, the children were invited to look at their Reflective Journals as mementoes of the beautiful year that has passed, as well as to watch ‘My Movies’, a memorable photo slide show.

During the children's graduation celebration in Adelaide Hall, our children stood proudly in their graduation gowns and hats, as they received their certificates from Ms Pitcairn, and they showcased all the great work that they have been working on through a performance of singing songs.

This week, we said farewell to our children who will be going on to start Kindergarten. We would like to wish them all the very best in their new life adventures.

"Congratulations! Today is your day. You are off to great places! You are off and away. Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest!" Dr Seuss.

We would like to thank all the families for supporting our programs endlessly throughout the year. We are so grateful for that! It has been a pleasure to teach

Drama

This week in Drama was all about celebrations.

Each group started off with a number of colourful and fun looking aeroplanes. Each group split into two and the children took turns to fly the planes. Once they had all stopped I told the children where we had flown too. We flew to England, where it was very cold. We wrapped up warmly and saw snow falling, so we built a snowman and had a snow fight. We even had a game of charades. The children loved this. In Stages 3 and 4 we also created a postcard of England at Christmas.

Next we discussed the Hebrew celebration of Hanukkah. Some children who celebrate Hanukkah were keen to tell their peers what the celebration means. Next, the children held hands, shaking them 8 times to signify the 8 days of light and in between they raised their arms to show the light burning from the candles. Using the aeroplanes, we flew back to Australia and celebrated Christmas the Ozzy way, on the beach with a BBQ, and we created a picture postcard, followed by "Jingle bells in a rusty holden ute"!

Miss Smelly Cheese made another appearance to wish the children well, a happy holiday and a wonderful celebration however they celebrate.

Thanks everyone for a wonderful year of Drama. Happy New Year and I will see you all again in 2023.

What a year we have had! It’s always so bitter sweet as we say goodbye to our Stage 4s, but I’m so proud of what they’ve achieved this year.

For our final week in Stage 3 and Stage 4 we celebrated the end of the year with a dance party, games and a talent show. I brought in various dress up alternatives for the kids to wear and explore their imaginations with.

When we had our costumes we did some warm up scales and sang “The Good Morning Song” for the last time this year. With the microphone, Stage 3 took turns to sing “Do Re Mi”, while the audience danced along; and Stage 4 put on a talent show for their friends. With microphone in hand and on our stage, we encouraged each other to perform for their class standing up and showcasing either a song; jokes; or Tatum wowed us with his air guitar.

Arwen’s joke of the week: What did the Policeman say to the 3 headed ghost? Hello, hello, hello.

We played the much loved ‘Musical Spots’ to ‘Monster Mash’ which was Henry’s favourite Stage 4 memory. Then, to end the lesson, we played ‘Musical Statues’, with the children selecting their favourite song to dance to; the majority favourite was “The Gummi Bear Song”.

In Stage 2 and The Fledglings we opened the lesson with movement in “Wake Up Body”, before singing our last scales and few sing a longs. We sang and danced through our “ABCs”; “The Sunflower Song” and “Do Re Mi”.

We pretended to be frogs and hop around the room for “Gahloomph”, before using our various instruments for some free play. We had the Piano Play Mat; my keyboard; our instruments of the world and I even shared with them the microphone which they loved to explore.

To end the lesson, we also got out some of our

dress ups and played “Musical Statues”.

Down in The Nest our little ones made their way to the mat ready for the lesson. We began with “Wake Up Body”, as we found our arms, legs, nose and mouth. With our maracas in hand we sang through our songs “A Rum Sum Sum”; “ABCs”; “Wheels on the Bus” and “Bingo”. With our maracas, we got everyone up and moving for “Ants Go Marching”. To end our lesson, we used our Play Mat, keyboard and instruments of the world for some free play.

I wish all of our amazing staff and families a safe and happy holiday.

In our final week of ELS Stage 4 PE, we put into action all of the skills learnt over the last 8 weeks. The pupils revised our warm up activities by playing a game of ‘Follow the Leader’. The class went one by one, taking turns to be followed, as we acted out one of our various warm up fundamental movements.

Our second game of the lesson was an old classic, ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’. This was an opportunity for the class to have some fun whilst preparing for our final activity.

The last activity was the Giant Parachute. We played various games using the parachute including: Cat and Mouse Wheels on the Bus Popcorn Carnage

This was a fun and enjoyable lesson despite the rising morning summer heat. The listening skills during the lessons were all exceptional.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the staff, pupils and parents of the Early Learning School for welcoming me this term and making me feel comfortable right from the outset with your kindness and positive attitudes.

I wish all those who are heading off to Kindergarten next year the very best of luck!

Have a well deserved break. I look forward to a bigger and better 2023!

REDDAM

Reddam Early Learning

would like to wish a very happy birthday to James Mariolle and Alyssa Ling who celebrate their special day this week We hope you have a fabulous day!