A word from our Director Hi everyone and welcome to our mid-year newsletter!

I hope your year is going well. It’s been a busy five months since the start of the year and we trust

that the monthly updates are keeping you abreast of all the events, activities and news from the

Centre! The monthly updates are a new initiative that we’ve started this year to ensure that parents

are kept up to date at all times. We hope it’s working for you! I will be sending out a Parent Survey

in June to get parents’ feedback on this and a variety of other matters. It’s not a long survey and I

ask that you please take the time to complete it and return it to the Centre. We are a great Centre

and your feedback will make us even better. If you have any concerns, please also add these to the

survey. Remember…we can’t address it and fix it unless we’re aware of it!

I’d like to thank all the families for their support with school items

donated for the Philippines – you were all very generous. It is on its

way and we are hoping they receive our package before August. The

ship is very slow!

The weather is getting cooler so please make sure your child has extra

warm clothes in their bag. Could parents also please ensure that they

name all sheet-bags. If we have new staff in the room it can be very time

consuming if sheets are unnamed. This would be also be helpful for hats.

With the cold weather comes illness. Parents please, if your child has vomiting, diarrhoea , or fever

you must keep them at home. Exclusion is 24 hours after the last symptom. If your child has

conjunctivitis or suspected conjunctivitis please take them to the Doctor. Children will be excluded

for 24 hours or until the discharge from the eyes has stopped. Please don't put the early staff in the

awkward position of sending you home. If you are in doubt whether your child can attend daycare,

please ring. If your child is sick enough to need Panadol, please keep them home (this excludes

teething). We use ‘Staying Healthy’ as our reference guide and there is a copy at the front desk if

you are unsure. If your child has a cough or a runny nose, there is no exclusion for this , as long as

the child feels well. Having a cold or a green nose can be a way of life for some children in daycare!

Our routine has changed a little in the afternoon. After our late afternoon tea at 5pm, we will now all

be doing quiet activities on the mat. As the young children join the main group at 5pm, this will keep

the little ones safe. It will also give the children some wind-down time before going home. We are

asking parents to please encourage their children in this matter to ensure a smooth transition.

Warmest regards to you and your family,

Colleen

Newsletter 2015 - Mid-Year Edition Inside this issue

Kingfishers Room 2 Possums Room 4 Wombats Room 5 Koalas Room 6 Kate’s Kitchen 7 Office Update 8 Important Dates

June 15 - Pie Drive (delivery in July) 16 - Dance Along Show 26 - Red Nose Day

July 8 - Dress Up Day 9 - Camping Day 10 - NAIDOC Show 17 - Pajama Day

August 3 - Kingfishers’ Farm Trip

September 1 - Masonic Care Visit and Concert 4 - Father's Day Concert 9 - Photo Day

October 22 - Grandparents’ Day

(Kingfishers only) 30 - Day for Daniel

November 25 - Kingfishers’ Graduation

Photos

December 4 - Kingfishers’ Graduation 10 - Masonic Care Xmas Concert 11 - Sandgate Childcare Xmas

Concert! 24 - Our last day for the year! 2016 Centre opens Wed, 13 January

Extra Activities Tuesdays - Ginger Sport Soccer ($10 per session)

THE KINGFISHER ROOM

“...Young learners who construct their own opportunities to learn, make learning connections from one

place to another, recognise the learning journey that they are on, and explore their understanding in a

range of increasing complex ways” (Carr & Lee, 2012 p. 12).

This term has been so busy and full of events and happenings. Thank you to all the Mothers and

Grandmas who attended our Mother’s Day concert and Morning tea. Also thank you to all the helpers of

Masonic Care concert excursion. It was a long walk but we had lots of fun and we’re very proud of our

Kingfisher’s children who brought so much happiness to the senior citizen residents!

Snapshots of Our Curriculum for Term 2:

Communicating (Numeracy and Writing): In the classroom we have been practicing letter identifica-

tion through games and activities that make learning fun. Using printed name tags, tracing our name using

the white board marker and having the children sign their name in the signing sheets. Thank you to all the

parents who spend time and encourage their children to sign in every time they arrive in the morning. Your

support is really appreciated.

We also identify all the letters that we find in our shared reading book time. This week we started revising

our first letter of the alphabet letter “Aa” and brainstorming...for instance - give me a word that starts with

the letter “Aa”. Next week we are going to focus on the letter “Bb”. We will use letters to find a word family

(groups of words that have a common feature or pattern - like the same combinations of letters in them and a

similar sound. For example, at, cat, hat, and fat are a family of words with the "at") and see if the children

can find these letters in some stories at home as well.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS TO OUR KINGFISHER’S FAMILIES…

The weather is getting colder so please don’t forget a blanket, proper footwear and warm clothes. Our room has a limited supply of hats, sheets and clothing.

We are still waiting for family photos that we can add to our family tree.

FEEDBACK FROM FAMILIES:

Any feedback from the families is appreciated and will be used to improve and enhance the program. Please forward your feedback to us anytime.

Yours in learning, love & laughter,

Nora, Dianne and Angela

xx

Wellbeing:

Fine motor/hand- eye coordination focusing using the scissors and threading.

The majority of the children were able to manipulate the scissors really well.

Gross motor

experiences are

incorporated into our

daily classroom routine,

with activities such as

galloping, hopping,

crawling, etc. Research

suggests that allocating

time and space for

exercise will provide

children (and teachers!)

with lifelong tools to

regulate stress in life.

Connectedness – Diversity awareness:

Last week Miss Angela shared some of her amazing culture from Papua New

Guinea...she taught us all how to make a ‘fishing garas’, a crown made of

feathers and she showed us a traditional grass skirt and necklace. We are

going to continue to explore and talk about similarities and differences

throughout the year. We also welcomed Miss Angela into our room as she will

be working in the Kingfisher room every Friday.

THE POSSUM ROOM

Hi Possum Parents!

It’s May already, but what an amazing start to the year! Firstly I would like to thank all of the

children and their families for making myself, Tan and Jess feel welcome.

This month the Possums are showing an interest in the human body. We

have been learning about our Skeleton and the names of our bones. We

have been looking x-rays on the light box and dancing to the Skeleton Dance!

We have also been talking about healthy food and we have decided to start

growing our own vegetables in the

Centre garden!

A few of us have been on exciting holidays to different

places around the world—thank you for sharing your pho-

tos with us! Children love sharing stories/photos and talk-

ing about things that are special to them.. This enables us

to have some fantastic conversations at group time.

‘Story From Home’ papers are in the foyer – s0 please feel free to take one.

Any feedback or suggestions are always welcome. If you have any concerns or question about

your child’s learning, please feel free to speak to myself, Tan or Jess.

House Keeping

Please remember to label your child’s clothing and shoes;

Please remember to check the green laundry bucket in the foyer for any soiled clothing;

Food boxes - we love collage construction and we are happy to re-use any boxes that you

would normally put into your recycle bin - PLEASE BRING THEM IN!

Thank you!

Belinda, Tan & Jess

Dear Parents and Guardians

A really big hello and welcome to our Wombat families.

This month we are going to say a sad goodbye to Sa-

hir who is moving to another area. Sahir, we will miss

you and wish you luck on your new adventure! We

would like to welcome our new children to our room,

Diya and Hensley, who start at the end of this month.

We hope you settle in well!

This month we have been focusing on “The Hungry

Caterpillar”. While this is occurring, we have been

reading, making caterpillars, butterfly painting and

decorating flowers with the children, all of which give

us the opportunity to become familiar with their

comfort cues and ensure that they are learn-

ing and developing at their own pace.

THOSE DREADED REMINDERS:

Please remember to apply the sunscreen to your child when you arrive in the Centre.

An extra blanket in their sheets for sleep.

Please name all your child’s belongings.

6 - 7 nappies each day

Our Wombat families are encouraged to bring an

‘All About Me’ sheet to be displayed in our room.

This helps continue building links between home

and the Centre and allows children to create a

sense of identity. You can add photos or write in on

the sheet attached. When completed please return

to the Wombat Room. Thanks to all our parents

who have already done this. We appreciate your

support and involvement.

Until next time, be safe,

Rose & Diane

THE WOMBAT ROOM

Good Bye

Sahir!

All of our Koalas have had a great start to the year. They have all settled in very well and have become the best of friends!

We have loved exploring all our different skills, from Self-help skills to our physical skills. We have a few Koalas who are now walking a few who aren't far from it! The Koalas’ favorite skill as always is Self-help and Sensory as they LOVE feeding themselves….all the time!!

We are sad though, that at the end of this month we will be saying goodbye to our friend Hensley as she moves up the to the Wombat room! She is very excited!

As each month passes by, the Koalas are learning about all the different events and cultures that are celebrated, such as Mother’s Day, Easter, St Patrick's Day, etc. Next month in June we will be learning about World Oceans Day and Red Nose Day!

Friendly Reminder:

Now that the weather is starting to get cooler, can you please provide warmer sheets and spare set of warmer clothes for your children including socks.

Thank you to all families for such a great start to the year!

Love from The Koala Room

Miss Kristy and Miss Jessica!

THE KOALA ROOM

MISS KATE’S KITCHEN

Greetings from the Kitchen! Over the last couple

of months the children

have been enjoying a

few different things for

afternoon tea - these

have included some

dips like guacamole

(avocado), Baba ghanoush (eggplant) and roast

capsicum with crackers and veggie sticks, which

they seem to really like. We have also enjoyed

some pumpkin scones and good old 'saos' with

cheese and tomato!

Please don’t forget to bring a piece of fruit or

vegetable every day and please ensure that it is

undamaged and whole (i.e. not cut up). Also,

please remember that there are to be no plastic

bags left in the fruit and veggie basket.

If you intend to bring anything from home (e.g.

birthday cake) please let us know and we will

also need a list of ingredients for our Food Safety

Program requirements.

A big thank you to everyone who supported our

combined Mothers' Day, 'Australia's Biggest

Morning Tea' and Jenny's farewell celebrations.

It was a fantastic morning that enjoyed by all who

attended and we raised nearly $100 for the

Cancer Council.

I hope all your children enjoy the meals that I

prepare as much as I enjoy making them. It is

my aim to provide a nutritionally balanced menu

at all times. If you have any questions or a child

that has a specific dietary requirement, please do

not hesitate to knock on my door as I am only too

happy to help!

Miss Kate's World Famous Baba

Ghanoush Recipe!

Ingredients

2 large (500g each) eggplants 3 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tablespoons tahini 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika 2 tablespoons olive oil Olive oil cooking spray Olive oil, sweet paprika, Lebanese bread and olives, to serve

Steps

Spray a char-grill (or bbq) with oil. Heat over

medium-high heat. Use a skewer to pierce the

skin of the eggplants about 5 times with.

Cook, turning regularly, for 10 minutes or until

charred and soft. Allow to cool.

Trim ends from eggplants. Remove and

discard skin. Roughly chop and place in a

colander over a bowl to drain for 10 minutes.

Use a food processer to blend the eggplant,

garlic, tahini, lemon juice, yoghurt, oil and

paprika until smooth. Season to taste with salt

and pepper.

Spoon into a bowl. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle

with paprika. Serve with flat bread or

crackers. And enjoy!

Bon Appétit!

Kate x

AND THE FINAL WORD FROM THE OFFICE...

Hi everyone!

For those of you who haven’t met me yet, I’m Nikki and I’ve just taken over the Centre Administrator

role from Jenny who is, as I type, sunning herself on a Greek island, enjoying her well-deserved

retirement! I’m pleased to report however, that Jenny has agreed to come back for any leave-cover

that we need, so you can look forward to seeing her smiling face again in August while I’m off on a

family holiday!

My key function in the office is to look after all the Parents’ Accounts and provide you with any

support you may require. If you have any questions about how your fees are calculated (including

the rather convoluted Child Care Rebate & Benefit!) , I will do my best to explain it all to you. Please

do check your 5-week statements when they are emailed out as occasionally figures can be out.

It is very important that your Account is kept up to date - if you are having any trouble in this area,

please come in and speak to Colleen or myself.

The other extremely important thing is the Sign In/Out Sheets. These are a legal requirement so

please ensure you are up to date (please refer to the summary sheet).

Notifying us of absences

If your child is sick or if you have booked holidays, please let us know as soon as possible as it will be

a huge help for other parents needing a place for their child for that day.

New-look Sign-In Folders

Due to the Sign In/ Out folders causing some difficulties for parents trying to find the right pages

while juggling children, we will start from next week with a clipboard system. The Sign In/Out

sheets which have outstanding signatures will be located in a new red folder.

Take care and I look forward to chatting to you soon!

Cheers,

Nikki