2019 Newsletter Term 04 | Issue 01

Term four is a busy term for Elouera, perhaps most importantly because the bulk of our transitions will occur in term one next year, so this term we spend a lot of time getting ready for change.

We have spent the year preparing the children and supporting their independence and emotional development, and now is the time we begin to explore those skills as we visit the other classrooms, children and teachers.

Continuity through change is key for a successful transition, visiting other classrooms with the security of familiar educators, allows the child to develop confidence and comfort across all their environments. The transition to the 3-6 classroom is most effective when it occurs over a period of time and continues to position the child as in control, capable and independent. We want them to feel like this is something that is happening with them, not to them.

This next stage of their educational journey is exciting, challenging and will provide so many opportunities and possibilities.

– Corinne, Debbie & Sarah

Welcome back to all our families for Term 4 and a special welcome to Aoife and her family who have joined the Burbangana class this term.

We have been exploring Spring in the classroom learning about the needs of plants and are observing seeds germinating. We have planted some sunflowers and will be monitoring their progress over the course of the term. Over the next few weeks we will be studying the lifecycle of a plant so we can identify which stage our sunflowers are in. 

We will also be observing the lifecycle of a silkworm. With an abundant supply of Mulberry leaves, we purchased some silkworm eggs which we will observe and learn about their lifecycle. The children we already amazed at how small the eggs were and we have learnt that a silkworm will most 4 times before it is ready to spin it’s cocoon.

Preparations are also well underway for our End of Year concert. Put the 12^th of December in your diaries, we would love to see you all there.

– Amanda & Teresa

Welcome back to a very busy and fun term. Already thechildren have taken possession of the large Museum in a box. Inside were some amazing resources on insects. The children brainstormed what they thought an insect was then after much discussion they were asked again what they thought an insect was or more correctly what a creature needed , such as 6 legs, to be called an insect. The children were all given an insect during their art session and asked to draw the insect. Such fabulous drawings. We cant wait to share this box with our Thursday/ Friday class this week. Hands on investigations allow children to develop dispositions for learning such as curiousity and skills such as researching and investigation. Maria Montessori observed that children were by nature interested in the world around them. All we have to do is provide the environment for this interest to flourish.

– Jenny, Jo & Angela

Welcome back everyone!  There has been much excitement as children explored what had grown in the garden during the holidays.  We have an abundance of mulberries so we decided to make an apple and mulberry crumble which went down very well.  We have also grown broccoli and broad beans so they became an addition to a delicious egg fried rice.  The tomatoes smell and taste yum so everyone is just picking them and eating them as they spot a ripe one.

The benefits of cooking with children are many not least of which is an opportunity to talk about healthy eating, where our food comes from and just the shear joy of cooking something delicious to share with your friends.  There are many opportunities to develop fine motor skills, learn practical skills and for many just try something new eg “you know I don’t really like broccoli but our garden broccoli is really good!”  This Thursday is International Pasta Day so we’ll be celebrating with some more cooking maybe using some of our amazing silverbeet!

– Dawn

Welcome to Term 4! In Maths, we have been learning about fractions. The fraction puzzle has been popular, as well as making cards to match. Sandra asked to play snap, we played with our fraction cards. This led onto a discussion about real life objects and how we can divide them equally. Remy said he could chop an apple in half and Toby said we can cut up pizzas. 

Compass and navigation work has been of an interest, which led to making a giant compass with sticks. We played North, South, East and West games in the garden. There were many discussions about our place in Sydney and where the ocean is. The children built a line of sticks to be the ocean. We then built our own house out of sticks and spoke about if we had a garden, driveway or chimney ect. We built our school in the middle of the compass and said this is North Balgowlah. We then said the name of our town we live in and placed our houses either North or South of our school. 

Often, children will ask ‘when is lunchtime?’, ‘what time do we start school?’, ‘what time do we have cricket?’. This led to a discussion about time and how time passes throughout the day. We learnt there are 12 hours in a day and 12 hours in a night, 60 minutes in one hour and 60 seconds in one minute. We practiced telling the time for o’clock and half past. We then made numbers to form a large clock in the garden. Someone would say a time and two children would be then clock hands. 

– Elizabeth

Welcome back to term 4. I hope you had a lovely holiday and you are refreshed. It’s good to see the children are settling in well on their first week back at school. The last term of the year is always a busy term for both the children and the teachers with reports, parent-teacher conferences, concert, parents education night and more.

The children are currently exploring the Minibeast box from the Australian Museum which arrived during the holidays. The minibeast box includes a great variety of ‘treasures’ – real insects and spiders embedded in resin, a large model ant, insect finger puppets, handmade silk butterfly wings, a specially created wooden ladybug puzzle, posters and books. The topic was chosen to complement the children’s fascination with creatures they found in their environment. The children have been working on the life cycle, craft on insects, language approach by naming insects in alphabetical order and projects. You will be surprised how much interest the children have in the subject of insects. 

The children also had their first swimming lesson at Warringah Aquatic Centre, where they were group into levels. They had a great time considering the hot days we had encountered. They all showed their enthusiasm and enjoyed their time in the water.

– Samantha and Laura

On Monday the 14^th of October Maya from Aikya moved to the Yani classroom. WELCOME MAYA! Everyone is helping her get comfortable and she is fitting in very well. Maya says that she is finding Yani very fun and she is liking it lots too. 

On the last week of term Toby’s Grandmother came to talk about her hike to Machu Picchu which took her 4 days to complete and was very hard. She saw a baby deer along the trail and had to sleep in a tent. Some of the Yani students said they would like to do the trek one day.

In term two wo we held an Open Day at our school with different stalls. With the money that we raised we bought a large mat for group, some Lego, some knitting materials and a new monopoly board. We have also recycled old bottles so we could put the wool inside. 

Last week on Thursday we did our first swimming class for sports with the school! We all had lots of fun, it was a bit scary at first being put into our new swimming groups but I’m sure we’ll figure them out next week. We are looking forward to our next sports day!

– By Philomena and Toby

Dear Families,

Please find two surveys related to the provision of Vacation Care. We would kindly appreciate if you could spare a couple minutes to complete the below survey links.

Vacation Care Evaluation:

This survey has been created to obtain feedback from families in relation to the content and provisions related to the implementation of the Vacation Care program. Feedback and suggestions are collated, reflected upon and considered in guiding future planning.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PrimaryOSHCare_VC_Evaluation

Christmas Closure Survey:

This survey has been created to get an insight into when families require care over the Christmas and New Year period. Our opening dates will be determined by the results of this survey, so we ask that you do your best at completing this as accurately as possible.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Xmas_Closure_Survey

Both surveys will be open until 25^th October 2019.

This week the children settled back into the groove of school. The children have enjoyed jumping back into it with various group games on the oval such as survival tag, 44 homes and Rock paper scissor tournaments. As we begin a new term we have also been discussing activities and clubs the children would like to see more of. One new weekly theme we have added to the centre is riddle of the week. Each week a riddle is written on the wall and the children have the whole to add to the guess box what they think it is.

Next Week Events:

21st-27th October – National water week
24th October – United Nations day
24th October – Pink ribbon day
25th October – World Pasta 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, Sarah and all the OSHC staff at Farmhouse Montessori OSHC Centre