2019 Newsletter Term 2 | Issue 02

This week we have enjoyed exploring magnets! We made our own bottles filled with magnetic objects and pulled them to the top with our magnetic wands. The children wandered around our classroom to find objects that are magnetic and non- magnetic. We then added these to our tray and discovered which ones would “stick”. The children are able to make observations, compare , test and experiment with each object before sorting them into a group. This curiosity and ability to resource and extend their own learning are important skills to develop for life-long learning.

Thank you to all our amazing mums, we hope you all enjoyed spending Mother’s Day with your children. It was lovely to see so many of you at our morning teas over the past week. The children were very excited to show you their school and work with some of their favourite materials.

In the classroom we have been learning about Autumn including; the parts of a leaf, classifying deciduous and evergreen trees, and why leaves change colour. Leaves from the garden have also been used in art and craft activities and we enjoyed painting them different colours. The older children in the classroom are also taking on leadership roles and presenting materials or instructing younger peers how to form letters and numbers. 

– Amanda & Teresa

Leaves!  It’s so beautifully obvious the season has changed in the garden and the children are loving it.  They have notice the different types of leaves, their shapes, colours and their parts.  Using the Leaf Cabinet the children have traced the shapes of leaves and then gone on a hunt of the garden to find ‘real leaves’ to match.  Working together they came up with the idea of creating a ‘Crazy Tree’ with lots of different types of leaves on it.  They shared out the roles of gathering, gluing, cutting and label making to create their masterpiece which is ongoing as they discover new leaves.

– Dawn

The Kindergarten children have been learning all about cities and buildings this week. They have been discovering the workings of a city, landmarks and what makes a city a busy place. We spoke about our city that we live in-Sydney. We then decided to make our own versions of Sydney. 

The children worked in small groups to plan how they were going to make the city. The drew out pictures of buildings and added labels. We also spoke about a map of Sydney and what the key landmarks were. Everyone was excited to create their own mini city and add in the ferries, seagulls, Opera House and other important buildings. They were also excited to make a harbour with different marine animals. 

– Elizabeth

Both the children and adults have had two very busy and productive weeks with Mother’s day morning tea, reports, parent-teacher conference, an open day not to mention the three hours uninterrupted work cycle in the morning and afternoon activities. 

In music class, the children were introduced to the electric keyboard where they learned how to read the notes, singing and playing the instrument. In French, the children have been presented with numbers 1-20, the alphabet, 2D shapes, Easter, weather, colours and salutations. As for sport, we are doing soccer this term at St. Paul’s Catholic College. The first week of the sport was enjoyable and engaging for the children. Year 9 students led the children throughout the game in small groups learning the tricks and skills of soccer. The children then rotate to another group throughout the sport to ensure they cover all areas. 

Thank you all Mothers’ who came for the Mother’s day morning tea and spent a pleasant morning work cycle with their children. It means a lot to the children, and they were pleased and proud of showcasing their work to you. They also used their creativity and spent a reasonable amount of time in creating a beautiful card. We hope that you enjoyed your Mother’s day card from your child and a morning tea from us. 

The open day was a success with many people turned out. We want to say a big thank you to all the parents who were making this open day a successful one. Thank you all parents, for your efforts, time and contribution.

– Samantha & Laura

On the 8^th May, Darcy, Claudia and Sam E. did some gardening for the Farmhouse open day. They planted secret seeds in pots to sell on open day.

On Thursday 9^th of May the class did some cooking for our Mother’s Day morning tea. We made vegan chocolate crackles and lemon poppyseed cookies. 

Some of the cookies were burnt but they still tasted good.

On Friday the 10th of May it was our Mother’s Day morning tea and all the mothers came to our school. We showed our mum’s our work and how to work with some of the materials and we played with them and we all had fun.

On Friday the 10th of May the school went to St Pauls College for sport. The year 9 boys taught us ball skills. We were in small groups and we rotated every 5 to 10 minutes.  It was awesome we learnt a lot of different skills. 

Written by Daisy Ratcliffe and Sam Oktem.

– Claire, Cheryl and Philippa 

Dear Families,

We are continuing to run our Health & Well-being program on Thursday mornings. Athletics session is from 7:30-8:30am with activities including long jump, shot putt, sack races, javelin and relays. We are very much looking forward to joing the school in the upcoming athletics carnival. If you would like to join the fun, book permanently via QK Enrol or casually via the My Family Lounge APP.

This week the children made some slime. They all helped mix it together and loved being able to squish and stretch their own piece of gooey slime.

The children have been talking about the new show Lego Masters and we decided to have our own Lego Building Competition at OSHC. The children were given 15min to complete their Lego creation then took it in turns to explain what they had made to the other children.

If you would like to join the fun, we would love to see your creations.

Next Week Events:

26^th – 1^st – June Food Allergy Awareness Week
27^th May – 3^rd June National Reconcilliation Week
3^rd June – Mabo Day
4^th June – Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan)
5^th June – world Environment Day
8^th June – World Oceans Day

If you would like more information about Primary OSH Care or our centre and how to enrol, please visit our website www.primaryoshcare.com.au

From Amanda, Kim, Jack and all the OSHC staff at Farmhouse Montessori OSHC Centre