2024 Newsletter Term 03 | Issue 03 – Farmhouse Montessori School

Dear Farmhouse Montessori Families,

Open Morning / Opening Ceremony at our New Campus

We are excited to invite you to the opening ceremony of our new Farmhouse Montessori Primary School campus at North Head Sanctuary, Manly, this term. This is a significant milestone for our school and we invite all our families to join us for the grand opening and activities. Parking is available via Blue Fish Road. We look forward to sharing this proud moment with you. All are welcome and please RSVP.

8:45 am Arrival
9:00 am Opening Ceremony
9:30 am School Tours and Activities

Parent-Teacher Conferences at the Preschool

A reminder that the Preschool-Parent Teacher conferences are scheduled before the end of this term. Conferences are an excellent way to connect with your child’s teacher. We know that sometimes it can be tricky to schedule times that work for everyone to meet in person; online meeting options are available for families who can’t attend in person.

Celebrating our Teachers

As a school, we will celebrate World Teachers’ Day on Friday, October 25th, and earlier throughout the week for our part-time staff. This will be an opportunity to write notes of appreciation for our teachers’ work. Teachers have a transformative and lasting impact on the lives of young children, and World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated since 1994 (typically on October 5th during our holidays). Please watch your email as we share details on how we will be celebrating our teachers.

Join the Marketing Committee

We are looking for parent volunteers to join our marketing committee. Volunteering may interest parents with a background in marketing, graphic design, UX design, social media, search engine optimisation, and communication. If you are interested in learning more, please email pa@farmhousemontessori.nsw.edu.au

Kind regards,

Alia James | Principal

Dear Families,

It has been wonderful to see your participation as a community in the last few weeks celebrating Book Week, Father’s Day and welcoming you all in the foyer for drop-offs and pick-ups. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the parents participate in these events, whether it was sharing favourite stories during Book Week or joining us for the special Father’s Day breakfast in the garden. The joy and excitement on the children’s faces as they experienced these moments were heart-warming.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for attending the recent Parent Information session. Looking ahead we have the upcoming Parent-Teacher conferences which will be another valuable opportunity to collaborate and discuss your child’s progress in greater detail. Please book in a time to meet with the teachers if you have not already.

As we plan for future parent-school interactions, we’d love to hear your ideas! Please feel free to share your suggestions by emailing us or dropping a note at the front desk. We look forward to creating more opportunities for meaningful parent interactions.

Kind regards,

Harshitha Ravikumar | Deputy Principal

This term Elouera has been collecting recycled materials to use for a collaborative art project. Using recycled materials for art sparks creativity and imagination as children transform everyday objects into new creations. It enhances fine motor skills through activities like cutting and gluing, while teaching environmental awareness by showing the benefits of recycling. This hands-on approach also boosts language development as children describe their projects, promotes social skills through collaborative work, and introduces basic cognitive and mathematical concepts like sorting and patterns. Overall, it provides a fun and meaningful way for young learners to explore, create, and understand their world.

— Corinne, Anniebelle, Nina, Sarah.

It’s been a busy fortnight in the Burbangana room, celebrating both Father’s Day and Book Week. Thank you to all the fathers and grandfathers who joined us for morning tea and to those parents who also shared a special book with the class.

Over the last fortnight, the children have been engaged in a range of hands-on activities to support the development of their fine motor and sensory-based skills. Many have enjoyed the sewing, drawing and stamping work. We are now getting ready for Spring with planting of microgreens which we will incorporate into morning tea once harvested. We will also begin some concept work for a whole class canvas for the upcoming Trivia Night in November.

We are looking forward to meeting with you for our Parent/Teacher conference in Week 9 (25-27 September). Please remember to sign up via the digital conference form that was distributed last week.

Kindly yours,

– Vanessa, Teresa and Katherine.

When I look back through photos to choose for the newsletter I so often see so many beautiful interactions between the children. Yes, being an educator at Farmhouse is about following the child’s interests, guiding their learning, presenting the beautiful materials but it’s also about helping children to build relationships, inspiring them to explore and nurturing their curiosity to feel excited about their work. We want them to be happy, have fun and show kindness towards each other. There were so many photos to choose from, believe me!

—Dawn.

Art Gallery of NSW

On Monday the 26th of August the children visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales. After a discussion of some of the art works on show from the Archibald Prize exhibition the children created their own portraits. After lunch in the Botanic Gardens the highlight was visiting the Young Archie exhibit. The children were impressed that many of the entrants were the same age as them.

Botany

Now that it’s Spring we’ve sprouted some seeds and moved into our study of botany. Last week we took a closer look at flowers which included a flower dissection and a piece of writing from the first person perspective. Here are some comments from the lesson.

What? Flowers have male and female parts?
What’s this dust?
That sticky stigma is really sticky!
It’s so beautiful!

We talked about the functions of the different parts of the flower and how the flower helps the plant reproduce itself.

Father’s Day

It was great to see all the father’s come into the classroom on Friday morning. First step was “finding their face” on their Father’s Day card, then the children took on the role of tour guides showing their visitors around the classroom and the school. The children also shared their work portfolios and some of their current works. A big thank you to Laura for helping the children with their Father’s Day cards.

Literature

We are nearing the end of our reading of The Trumpet of the Swan. The Cob has repaid his debts and Louis is living happily with Serena. Here are two questions I posed to the children over the last couple of weeks.

How would you like to go on a play date with Sam Beaver?

The children agreed that he’d be a very good playdate friend because Sam loves animals, is friendly, and is always ready for an adventure.

Does the Cob (father swan) have any resemblance to your Dad?

After much giggling and talk of how their Dads don’t have feathers, a beak, and wings the children began talking about the similarities with great seriousness. Just like the Cob, the children were certain that their Dad’s would go to great lengths to help them if they were in a fix.

Sewing and Class Art Work

Ella is continuing to help the children with an introductory sewing project which involves each child making their own felt name-tag. As well as this Ella has been brainstorming with the children in preparation for a whole class art project. The central theme has is: What would you like to be when you grow up? We’ve had answers from physicist to writer to martial artist. Stay tuned for updates.

Until next time,

Toby, Chris and the Aikya Children

Over the past two weeks, the Yani children have been deeply engaged in a wide variety of activities. Year 6 students have been particularly focused on understanding the properties of seeds. They have been exploring the different parts of a seed and learning about its crucial role in the life cycle of a plant. As part of this study, they planted their own seeds and are now carefully observing and nurturing them, eagerly anticipating their growth into healthy plants. They have loved the process and we hope they take this knowledge and love for nature outside the classroom walls too.

In addition to their classroom studies, the children have had the opportunity to bring items for show and tell, a time-honored tradition that fosters confidence and sharing among peers. This week, Tylor proudly presented his well-deserved trophy for coming first in his motorbike racing competition. His peers were really engaged and asked meaningful questions, showing admiration and excitement for Tylor. Show and Tell serves as a reminder of the diverse talents and interests within our Yani community, and we love to be part of it.

The highlight of the fortnight was undoubtedly the excursion to the Art Gallery of NSW. The children had an enriching experience visiting the Archibald and Young Archibalds exhibitions. With the guidance of our guide, they engaged in thoughtful discussions about the various artworks, displaying amazing observational skills and in-depth reflections. The excursion was capped off with a hands-on workshop where the students expressed their creativity by making wonderfully abstract portraits, each unique and incredibly imaginative.

—Laura, Thomas, Ella & Amy Louise.

Sep	13th	Primary Parent Education
Sep	23rd -27th	Preschool Parent Teacher Conferences
Sep	27th	Last Day of Term

Oct	14th	First Day of Term 4
Oct	14th-16th	Yani-Primary Class to Milson Point Camp
Oct	24th	Preschool Tour – 4.15pm
Oct	29th	Grandparents Day – Preschool Campus
Oct	29th	Grandparents Day – Primary Campus
Nov	1st	Grandparents Day – Preschool Campus
Nov	9th	Farmhouse Trivia Night – Wakehurst Golf Club 7pm

Farmhouse News

2024 Newsletter Term 03 | Issue 03

Upcoming events & Important Dates

Principal’s Message

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

ELOUERA | Stage 1 Infant Community

BURBANGANA | Stage 1

COOINDA | Stage 1

AMAROO | OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

AIKYA | Stage 2

YANI | Stage 3

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