From the Director of Early Learning

Dear Families,

The recent Twilight Picnic gave us the opportunity to connect with so many of our families. It certainly highlights what a strong and vibrant community we are. With over half of our first term already gone, we reflect on the relationships we have been able to build in this short time. It is so rewarding to see that the children have formed trusting relationships with educators and that the educators are getting to know the adults in the children’s lives. This is where we can begin to build true partnerships with families for the benefit of everyone, especially the child.

In the last week, the teaching team reflected on the difference between family involvement and family participation. Family participation matters as it focuses on the reciprocal relationships between home and ELC.

Why is this so important?

• Knowing that there is mutual respect with the family strengthens a child’s identity and sense of belonging and enhances their learning
• Knowing children includes knowing the family and the cultural and community contexts of their lives
• Families bring insights that offer a richer picture about their child.

We know that it is so important to build trust between home and ELC. We encourage families to consider their perspective on partnerships between the education facility and home and how we can maximise this practice. We believe that our children are raised by a community and view this as complementary practice.

With our ongoing learning across the centre we are looking to ensure that we are hearing the educator, child and parent voices. The educators will be extending invitations to hear your voice and further build their working partnership with you. This may include your input into goal setting for your child.

Our upcoming Parent Teacher Conversations are a wonderful way to develop these partnerships between home and school. This is when we can truly make a difference to a child’s learning journey as we broaden our understandings about the child. We need to move beyond the simple conversations with the endeavour of expanding our understandings about the child. Educators must understand the values and expectations of each family in order to respond appropriately to the child.

Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning

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Save the Date

• 3 – 5 April : ELC Photos in the mornings
• 3 – 5 April : ELC Parent Teacher Conversations
• 14 April : Easter and School holidays
• 18 – 28 April : Vacation Care Program

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Letter from Miss Qian

亲爱的家长：

转眼已经到第一学期第八周，我们希望在过去八周里，您的孩子在圣彼得女校ELC过得开心快乐并且学有所获！

圣彼得女校ELC非常重视中国家庭和中国文化，也非常希望我们中国家庭能够积极地参与到我们的各项活动中，这不但是我们互相了解的机会，也能促进孩子们更好地融入到我们ELC，增强他们的归属感。在各项社区活动中，我们也将不遗余力地满足中国家庭的需求，目前园长和ELC之友的成员们正在考虑计划一些专属于中国家庭的活动，如果您有什么好的建议，请您联系我们的中文老师Ms Qian或者园长Mrs Kate Mount。我们期待听到您的声音！

以下是她们的邮箱：
Mrs Kate Mount kmount@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Ms Qian qpu@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

最后，祝大家心情愉快，万事如意！

圣彼得女校ELC

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Parent Teacher Conversations

Our ELC Parent Teacher Conversations will take place between Monday April 3 and Wednesday 5 April. We strongly encourage you to take this opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher as it provides us with the opportunity to share your child’s learning journey and significant moments, as well as the documentation we have to support this. From these discussions, Term 2 goals for your child will be created to ensure they reflect both the parent and the educator’s perspectives.

These appointments are designated 15-minute timeslots per family to meet with your child’s teacher. Sign on sheets will be placed in each room for you to book your appointment. Times available for each teacher vary but most of the times are during the afternoons, from lunchtime until 6pm.

Sign on sheets will be available in the rooms from Wednesday 22 March. If you are unable to visit the centre to book your appointment, please email your teacher from this date to be allocated a time.

Stonyfell Room: Miss Laura Reiters lreiters@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Bell Yett Room: Mrs Leanne Williams lwilliams@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or Mrs Nell Tierney ntierney@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Ferguson Room: Ms Mel Angel mangel@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Hallett Room: Mrs Pam Reid preid@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Please note that where relevant Mrs Kirsty Porplycia will also attend these conversations. Kirsty can be contacted at kporplycia@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

Please do not hesitate to contact me on 8334 2245 with any queries.

Yours sincerely,

Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning

尊敬的家长：

ELC一对一家长见面会将于4月3日（星期一）到4月5日（星期三）进行，每个家庭将会有15分钟的时间跟您孩子所在班级的负责教师进行一对一谈话，主要针对您孩子本学期的发展情况以及未来发展目标等进行沟通。每个班的签到处会有时间表，您可以根据自己的时间灵活安排您跟老师的会面时间，每个班的时间略有不同但大部分都集中在午餐时间到下午6点之间。

一对一家长会的意义在于帮助您更好的了解孩子在ELC的发展，也能促进老师更加了解您对ELC及对孩子教育的期待，从而在双方的共同探讨中一起为您的孩子制定第二学期发展目标。

时间表将于3月22日（星期三）开始填写，如果您不能亲自来填写及选择时间，您也可以发送邮件至您孩子的负责教师的邮箱：

Stonyfell Room：Miss Laura Reiters lreiters@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Bell Yett Room: Mrs Leanne Williams lwilliams@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or Mrs Nell Tierney ntierney@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Ferguson Room: Ms Mel Angel mangel@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Hallet Room: Mrs Pam Reid preid@stpetersgiirls.sa.edu.au Hallet班级Mrs Kirsty Poplycia 也会根据需要参与到见面会中，她的邮箱是 kpoplycia@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

如果您有任何疑问，您也可以致电83342245 联系我，我将不遗余力为您解答。

园长
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning

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ELC Photos

We would like to make you aware that ELC photos are fast approaching and shortly we will be sending home an order form and letter outlining the information about how these work in the ELC. ELC photos will be taken on Monday 3 April, Tuesday 4 April and Wednesday 5 April. Children need to be dressed in their ELC uniforms on each of these days as we take a group shot every day.

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Vacation Care

Our upcoming Vacation Care period is fast approaching. As our official term ends on Thursday, April 13 and does not recommence until Monday 1 May, the centre provides a Vacation Care Program for the school holiday period. Complete the booking form below to secure your child’s place. You will note there are half day and full day options available.

For our new families, please also note that your regular bookings during term time do not apply for Vacation Care. You can book as many sessions as you need during this time.

Our Vacation Care Coordinators are Miss Galia Kay and Miss Annabelle Redmond. We will place additional information and forms to support families in the front foyer as you enter from Hallett Road.

Note that the ELC will be closed on all public holidays.

Please address any queries to Miss Kay or Miss Redmond, their emails are available on the booking form.

Vacation Care Booking Form

Bookings close on Friday 7 April.

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Friends of ELC

Friends of ELC would like to thank everyone for attending and supporting our recent Twilight Picnic. It was a huge success, with families enjoying the lush gardens on Chiverton Lawns. This space really encapsulated community – with a beautiful atmosphere of new and old families, extended families, children playing and educators mingling.

The barbecue enabled families to come and have an early dinner and enjoy the opportunity to unwind before the long weekend. We were really pleased with the number of families who attended. The money raised from the raffle and food/wine sales will be going towards some new outdoor benches in the ELC gardens.

The most exciting aspect for all of us was seeing the joy on the faces of the children as they introduced their families to some of the other special people in their lives. Some had been anticipating this event for several weeks.

We look forward to continuing this strong sense of community and opportunities to bring everyone together as the year unfolds.

Friends of ELC

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ELC Twilight Picnic reflection

Sometimes children surprise us with the scope of their memories and how deeply they feel about certain experiences. At the beginning of the year, Mrs Mount was chatting with Kyan and asked him what he was most looking forward to doing at ELC this year. ‘The ELC Picnic’, he replied. The ELC Twilight Picnic is an annual event that makes a time for us all to deepen connections and celebrate what we have built together so far. For many, the relationships began in Playgroup with Mrs Mount before starting as a student in the Stonyfell Room. In 2017, this special occasion coincided with our Inquiry across the Centre into ‘Who we are’. We have focused on experiences that delve into our identity and the groups to which we belong; how we can shape different groups with what we bring to them, as well as how those groups shape us. The Picnic was a wonderful opportunity to bring those groups together. Prior to the evening, we discussed with the children what they were looking forward to:

Indyanna – I’m not coming, will you miss me?
Chace – And miss me?
Josh – Will you miss me on my holiday?
Crystal – I miss you
Eden – I miss Ava, are you coming Mrs Reid?
Eden – Are you bringing your family?
Pam – No, do you think I should?
Eden – Yes, I like them
Pam – But you havn’t met them
Eden – I want to
Crystal – I have, I like them. I met them in the Ferguson Room.

Yes, they should come.

This caused us as a team to reflect on why our families were not coming! It seemed obvious once the question was posed. Because our ELC community is more than just a place of work for us; the time we spend there in dialogue with one another, with the children and the families with whom we live and learn alongside every day means that it is a place where we too belong, not just as employees but as a whole person with significant others that must be part of significant events such as this.

The evening itself was nothing short of perfect. The beautiful setting of Chiverton Lawns coupled with a mild summery evening enabled everyone to relax on picnic rugs and mingle together. The children were excited to find one another, at first a little shyly, then chasing each other happily. They tugged at their parents to come and say hello to their teachers and it was clear they were so proud and excited to have this opportunity for the special people in their lives to meet. This was a timely event to add to our learning and understanding of who we are.

Mel Angel

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News from the Stonyfell Room

Deepening our connection to each other

As educators we are often asking ourselves how we can deepen our connections to our families and children? We are wanting to further enrich our lives at ELC and to foster our connection to each other.

Last week, as a community, we gathered together on the Chiverton Lawns and enjoyed our Twilight Picnic. We see this as a very special time when we are able to gather as a wider ELC community and are able to spend an evening eating, playing and sharing.

The Stonyfell Team have been provoked by this special event and wanted to explore its meaning in a deeper way. We have asked ourselves the following questions:

• How does an event such as the Twilight Picnic impact on our children and families?

• How do our community gatherings extend beyond the event and shape our identity?

• How do these gatherings make us (children, families and educators) feel?

With these questions in mind, the children and educators have been reliving the picnic through role play and photos. The children have delighted in setting up a space on the lawn with our picnic items and have been able to discuss and share their memories from this night. We encouraged the children to take turns and work together in collaboration to create a picnic. We observed the children during this time and many were keen to talk about being with their families. It became clear that they also valued having their teachers and families could together, this was very special for them. We want to keep this conversation going and would love to hear your perspectives about events such as the Twilight Picnic and how they impact your lives. If you would like to share your thoughts, feedback and feelings about this event or others you have attended then I invite you to email me at lreiters@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

We are keen to include our parent voice and greatly value your perspectives, thoughts and feelings. Thank you in advance for your support.

Laura Reiters
Stonyfell Room

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News from the Bell Yett Room

Building A Community

You will often hear us talking about the importance of relationships. There are many different but equally important relationships within the ELC including those between children, children and educators, and educators and families.

We place great value on these relationships. Most recently, our Twilight Picnic, was an opportunity to enhance all of the above relationships and support the building of community. For those of you who were able to attend, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, and we look forward to our next opportunity to come together. We frequently refer to the Bell Yett Room as a community of learners. Through our inquiry we are investigating the idea that belonging to groups can enhance our identity. This has required the educators to be thoughtful about not only how we can create a community but what skills the children need to function as a group.

One of the many ways we are developing our community and the necessary skills is through our Morning Meeting. The singing of our Good Morning Bell Yett Friends song, is a signal to the children that our important time together is beginning. We greet each other and discover which of our special friends are here. We have then been using this time that we are all together to create our Essential Agreement. This has been a major catalyst in the development of numerous social and communication skills that enhance group function.

Our Morning Meeting is also a vital part of our day as it is when we discuss our plans for the day. We offer the children a provocation or invitation to explore. We move into small groups that provide the opportunity for further skill development while we engage in our inquiry learning. Our Morning Meeting not only sets the rhythm of the day but it is a vital part of building our community of learners. If it is possible, we encourage you to arrive at the ELC prior to 9.15am so your children can take part in this important part of our day.

Leanne, Nell and the Bell Yett Team

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News from the Ferguson Room

Why are young children so attracted to building with blocks? This term we have noticed that all of our children, both boys and girls, have devoted a considerable amount of time to constructing things with the large wooden blocks ranging from fire engines, aeroplanes, castles, and houses. There is no doubt that these open-ended wooden shapes invite imagination and creativity; when we ask the children they tell us what they are thinking of:

• A rocket – Jacob
• A tower – Darcy
• A castle – Lila
• A crocodile – Lily
• A fire engine – Harry
• A bridge – Winnie
• A princess – Molly
• A stage – Matilda
• Obstacle course – Hannah
• A rocket ship – Harrison
• A house – Emma

Yet it is not what the children construct but how they are doing it that we as their teachers are interested in observing. Building with blocks has become a metaphor for building relationships and knowledge of each other in the Ferguson Room. As Term 1 has progressed we are noticing a high level of group function and it is experiences such as the block building that have contributed to this. As they work on building the objects of their imagination, children must develop dispositions such as cooperation, persistence, the ability to negotiate, communicate and collaborate. It is interesting too that the large block area is one where very little conflict arises; the combination of purposeful work, being creative and having problems to solve engages children’s minds and bodies, provides a platform for agency, and is often in this area that they are the most content.

As part of our inquiry into who we are, some of our bi-lingual children have been teaching us their home language. They have been assisted by their families who have been a wonderful support to them and us, and we are very grateful. Recently, Jayden Jung’s mum, Heeyoung, sent us a link to a Korean song on Youtube that Jayden is very fond of. It is called Three Little Bears. Jayden and Ava Conn have been teaching us the words and we have been having so much fun with it. You may like to watch this at home and ask your child about the different ways they can say ‘Good Morning’.

Mel Angel
Ferguson Room

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News from the Hallett Room

Last week the Hallett Room were given a provocation. The provocation was abstract and encouraged the children to think differently about their identity and that of others. Miss Caterina and Mrs Reid presented their ‘self-portraits’ in an unconventional manner. The children were confused by this concept of a portrait being presented in the form of a handbag filled with personal possessions. The children discussed how they had drawn their portrait in the Atelier with Miss Caterina and that ‘this wasn’t a self-portrait’. Mrs Reid and Miss Caterina shared the special items that were in their bag and the children were captivated by their ‘stories’.

Recently, the educators have engaged in rich dialogue and discussion about ‘culture’ and ‘cultural identity’. An important aspect for us in the Hallett Room is to help develop the children’s understanding about identity – being more than just what a person looks like and rather who they are as a person. Culture is important for us to learn about and embrace, and as the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework states, it is children’s right to have their cultural identity, language and values respected – whether these values relate to the country in which the child is living or to the country from which the child may originate. It is therefore more about getting to know people, their interests, and their loves – their uniqueness, and this is what we want to inspire in our children.

Over the next couple of weeks, the children will be coming home with their own ‘Self-Portrait Bag’ which will be in the form of a paper bag for you to help your child collect some items that they can share with others, helping to show who they are. These items may include a couple of photographs, something that brings back memories of a favourite holiday, a piece of clothing, artefact or a favourite food. If your child insists on a special toy, we please encourage you to engage your child in a discussion about this item and if they are happy for it to remain at school for a period of time. Many children who have shared their interest in placing a toy in their bag have been encouraged to use technology and to capture a photograph to share.

Through this process, we hope to highlight to the children the depth of identity. Our aim is to help build the foundations for our children to be global citizens, who will show compassion and empathy to all around them.

Pam Reid
Hallett Room

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From the Director of Early Learning

Dear Families,

As we enter the half way point of Term 1 it is timely to reflect on some of the key threads of our accomplishments and focus so far. All of these come under the key area of wellbeing.

As a centre, we are empowering our children to develop their independence throughout their day at the ELC. With the belief that children’s agency enhances wellbeing, we are providing and supporting opportunities for them to have a voice, to express their ideas and thoughts and to ensure we, the adults, are listening to them. In order to develop confidence to share their ideas in a group situation with their peers and educators, they need to develop the relationships and trust to do this.

You may have noticed across the centre that there has been a focus on the identity of an individual within a group. We believe that firstly the child must be clear about who they are in order to function in a group. This is why we love to share family photos, have parents/family members visit the rooms, creating such a strong connection between home and the ELC. We also love to share family traditions and special stories that enhance the child’s identity in their new peer group.

Some children have the ability to create their identity in their own way; they have confidence within the group, and skills in place to share who they are. There are a myriad of reasons for this. Others need us to facilitate the process, to ensure we are giving equal voice in our groups, to vary the size of the group to bring out the voices and to offer experiences of learning where the child can begin to develop confidence and expressions. At all times the educators are watching, waiting and anticipating what might happen. Equipped with the skills to notice and value, they document and share with their team so that moments are not lost, but rather built upon.

This leads to the development of agency in a child. If they are listened to and their opinion has value, then they begin to understand that they can make a difference. After all, we do not want everyone thinking in the same way and going about their learning in a prescribed manner. If we think about a group of adults in a professional sense, trying to find solutions in order to move forward, we need people who have the ability to think outside the square and strategies to promote their ideas. This skill set begins at birth – with problem solving, communicating, risk taking – all of which are life skills that must be built upon in our educational settings.

I do hope that this gives you some background to how we drive our teaching and learning program with such a strong emphasis on wellbeing. Many people associate wellbeing from a physical and emotional perspective, we are trying very hard to ensure we are identifying all of the areas of wellbeing and looking more deeply than just the obvious. I invite parents/family members to communicate with me what you are noticing about your child’s development since the start of this year. We are commencing parent focus groups and are looking for interested parties to join us on our journey of increasing awareness about wellbeing in the young child. We are curious to gain the parent perspective.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at this Friday’s Twilight Picnic.

Kind regards,
Kate Mount

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ELC Twilight Picnic

暮色野餐

3月10日 星期五下午5-7点，来Chiverton Lawns加入我们的野餐吧!

届时，现场会有Friends of ELC工作人员出售烤肠面包和饮料，您也可以自己带上零食，我们一起在Chiverton Lawns聊聊天，一起度过放松的夜幕时光！

 另：现场还有奖券出售哦！

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Letter from Miss Qian

暮光野餐

尊敬的家长，本周五（3月10日）下午5-7点，Friends of ELC （一个由学生家长组成的志愿者小组）为ELC的家庭组织了一场暮光野餐，现场会有Friends of ELC的工作人员出售烤肠面包和饮料，您也可以自己带上零食，饮料及野餐毯子等，和您的孩子一起在Chiverton Lawns一起度过一个愉快而放松的傍晚，现场还有奖券出售哦!

这是一个您和孩子跟ELC社区的其他家庭认识和了解的机会 — 结识更多的朋友，增加您和孩子的归属感，届时, ELC的老师们也会在现场，我们期待您和孩子的加入！

如果您有任何疑问或者需要任何帮助请联系ELC中文老师 Ms Qian (Stonyfell Room)或者发邮件至 qpu@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

时间：3月10日下午5-7点
地点：Chiverton Lawns

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Adelaide Network Reggio Group

St Peter’s Girls’ Early Learners’ Centre staff are actively involved in the Adelaide Network of the Reggio Group. This involves being members of the national group of REAIE , attending professional learning and sharing our practice with interested participants. Every term interested members meet at a site to share their understandings and practice.

Last week we hosted the network gathering and we had an overwhelming number of people attend. There was a range of teachers, principals and lecturers representing sites from multiple sectors. Our centre was complimented highly on its presentation but also on our team, the collaboration and engagement in dialogue across the centre. This provided a wonderful welcome to our visitors and was an excellent opportunity for our team to share their pedagogy.

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A special guest – Boori Monty Pryor

Our city of Adelaide has come alive with the buzz of the Fringe Festival, Writers Week and Clipsal – many exciting events that you may have visited with your children. This week our very own ELC community came alive as we were visited by storyteller, writer and performer, Boori Monty Pryor.

Boori was born in Townsville in 1950. His father is of the Birri-gubba people and his mother is Kunggandji. Boori is a multi-talented performer and an accomplished didgeridoo player, having played with the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra at the Melbourne Wurundjeri Welcome to Michael Jackson, and in Sydney for the Pope. Boori is in great demand as a public speaker and storyteller, and travels extensively throughout Australia and overseas year-round to perform for school students and professional adult groups.

We were thrilled to have Boori spend time with us at our ELC. He was able to instantly create a strong connection with the children through the act of storytelling. Boori is certainly a master of his craft, immersing and engaging his audience in the story, and the educators have all learnt and been inspired by him. We invite you to see evidence of this engagement through the photos displayed in our rooms.

We will be building on this visit by inviting the children to deepen their ideas on identity – our individual identity, our ELC community identity and our identity as Australians – through storytelling. Boori’s visit has challenged us to share our stories through telling, singing, dancing and creating to form meaningful and lasting connections.

Leanne Williams
ELC Educator

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Save the Date

• 10 March : ELC Twilight Picnic from 5pm on the lawns
• 3 – 5 April : ELC Photos in the mornings
• 3 – 5 April : ELC Parent Teacher Conversations
• 14 April : Easter and School holidays
• 18 – 28 April : Vacation Care Program

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News from the Stonyfell Room

Making our learning visible

We often get asked by our families:

“What did my child do today?”
“What did they learn today?”

I know that many of you wish that you could be a fly on the wall just to see what your child gets up to during our days together. We don’t want our days to be a mystery and we invite you to engage with us and your children in conversation. However, we know that often our children are unable to communicate what they did during the day or that they might only be able to tell you part of what they did. We are also very aware that your days can be busy and you don’t always have the time to stop and look in the learning spaces or to engage in a conversation.

The staff at the ELC work very hard to provide multiple ways to communicate what happens in our days to make our learning visible. For us in the Stonyfell Room, our days are very much based around our routine and our routine moments. These moments for us are about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. We value every moment and look deeply for the opportunities to deepen relationships, nurture independence and foster our social skills.

Some of the ways that we give visibility to our day is by:

• Documentation displayed in the learning spaces
• Newsletter
• ePortfolios
• Parent Teacher Conversations
• Daily conversations
• Email correspondence
• Slideshows on the screens around the centre

We are constantly working collaboratively to think about how we can make our days more visible for our families. We invite you to ask us when you collect your child for some information which might become a conversation starter for you when you are at home sharing a quiet moment with your child.

The educators have been working behind the scenes on further improving and developing their own skills in ICT to hopefully provide you with the information and images you are wanting in a user-friendly, technology-driven way. Please feel free to share your suggestions and ideas with us as we are constantly wanting to improve our practice to reflect the child, the parent and the educator’s voices.

Laura Reiters
Stonyfell Room

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News from the Bell Yett Room

Who am I? What is my identity? What is my impact?
Who are we? What is a group? How do I belong in this group?

These are some of the questions we have been exploring in the Bell Yett Room as the children and educators research together.

Through our observations of the children and conversations with families, we know that the children are still very interested in creating and sharing representations of their hand. We have begun to recognise the hand as a symbol, an unspoken invitation that has reached out to the children. It invites them to create a trace of themselves and share this mark as evidence of their identity and their belonging to our group, our community of learners.

Through the provocations that we are offering to the children, we have been interested to see the children’s theories moving between expressing their unique identity and also their identity within the group. This is supporting the children to recognise not only the importance and benefits of being part of a community of learners, but the responsibilities that come with this.

We have introduced the children to the concept of an Essential Agreement which stems from our Primary Years Programme (PYP) curriculum. The PYP states that it . . . ‘prepares students to become active, caring, lifelong learners who demonstrate respect for themselves and others and have the capacity to participate in the world around them.’ The creation of an Essential Agreement supports the children in developing these important attitudes and attributes. In the Bell Yett Room we are introducing our Essential Agreement in terms of very important things that we agree, or promise, to do. These currently include a focus on what we need to do when we come together as a group:

• Keeping our legs crossed or tucked in close so we don’t hurt others
• Keeping our hands on our bodies so we don’t disturb others
• Sitting so everyone can see (usually in a circle or on our flat bottoms)
• Staying with the group
• Listening with your ears and your eyes

We would be interested to know if your children have shared any aspect of our Essential Agreement with you. You might want to talk with your children about some of the ‘Essential Agreements’ you have in your home or communities. We encourage you to share your children’s understandings, questions and theories with us as valuable evidence that supports our Planning for the Possible.

Leanne, Nell and the Bell Yett Team

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News from the Ferguson Room

In the Ferguson Room the children, the educators and the families all have much to learn from one another. In the past few weeks we have been privileged to have rich sharing of language and culture as we continue our research into identity and ‘Who we are’ as a group.

It began with Hannah, who showed courage and leadership in teaching us how to say ‘Good Morning’ in Mandarin, following our inquiry into the traditions of Chinese New Year. Amy shared a Chinese song, and Bea taught us to say ‘Kamusta’ in Filipino. Inspired by our class’s appreciation and excitement of this new knowledge, Bea asked her parents if they could come in and teach us a traditional Filipino song. Bea and her Mummy, Jo Anne, spent two mornings in our classroom. They brought in some red balloons to complement the song, called ‘Ako ay may lobo’ (I have a balloon). Such experiences are not simply a one–way street but a reciprocal act whereby everybody is a learner. When parents and grandparents and other members of the community come into the classroom, they often express how much they also benefit from the experience. Jo Anne shared her thoughts with us in an email, and I would like to share this excerpt with all of you:

One of our goals as parents is that Bea is able to appreciate her own Filipino heritage, and we are happy that there is a connection between our conversations at home with Bea about this and in the ELC. I was also amazed at the enthusiasm of the Ferguson friends in learning different languages.  A strong sense of identity and respect for diversity are really important values, and it was a wonderful opportunity to see this in the children. 

What we have been experiencing in the Ferguson Room also sends a strong message to our children that we are always learning and that we can all learn from each other, not just from the people who are called ‘teacher’. The morning that Bea and Jo Anne shared their song with us, Jayden showed us his Korean ‘writing’ and taught us to say ‘Good Morning’ in Korean. To see the children empowered to confidently share their language with us in this way is very exciting and we look forward to further exploring the cultural diversity in our room that contributes to our group identity.

During her time as Thinker in Residence in Adelaide (2012-2013), Professor Carla Rinaldi of Reggio Children said that:

‘To educate means building together identity and future. …No longer can schools simply be reproducers of knowledge. They are places where children and adults construct knowledge and their understanding of the world together.’

We welcome all of our families to support their child, and share their language and special traditions with us. Please let us know if you would like to participate.

Mel Angel
Ferguson Room

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News from the Hallett Room

The Hallett Room children have shown a keen interest in exploring ‘eyes’. The eyes of themselves and of others. These explorations started in the light room and Atelier a few weeks ago which has been set up with mirrors in several sizes, shapes, colours and grades of reflection.

The children started to share their fascination with ‘eyes’ and began making connections between theirs and those of others. Taking time to observe our image in a mirror is a chance for us to reflect on ourselves, our face, features, colours and textures. It is also a moment of connection with others because the mirrors are a tool that enable us to watch the world from different perspectives and from multiple points of view. The children have been fascinated by their reflection. They observed their faces with interest and curiosity and they have started to share their theories.

Exploring themselves is a very important step for each human being. Children are always searching for meanings about ‘Who am I?’ and about their life. It is a crucial point for the rest of their life. To recognise themselves as an individual, is the child’s first step in expressing themself.

The mirror: the mirror is a useful tool to reflect on ourselves and of others.

• We can observe our physical features, our unique physiognomy, but we can also see the others next to us and recognise them as different and separate human beings. This is an important milestone in children’s cognitive development.
• This also promotes skills such as: observation, concentration, description.

It is important to unpack and give voice to the egocentric phase of the children. This moment in their life is fundamental to express themselves, their ideas, their own feelings and thoughts. Children will feel valued, safe and ready to open themselves to others, to give themselves to the community of learners and to be active in their social environment. They will enrich the group dynamic with their own identity.

The Atelier has been an integral place for the children to share and test theories, extend upon their ideas and explore their hundred languages using various mediums and materials. Ms Caterina, our Art Educator, has engaged in ongoing dialogue with the Hallett educators to work in collaboration to enrich the learning projects that are unfolding. A recent theory that was shared with the Hallett children by Prabir has set into motion an exciting student-led inquiry.

Prabir’s theory: “My eyes work as mirror. I can see my face in my eyes.”

Rachel said: “No… isn’t true!”

We invited the children to try to see themselves in their friend’s eyes.

Rachel then exclaimed: “I can see myself in your eyes!”

At present in the Hallett Room, the eye is working as a connector, it is a vehicle to work together as a group and for us, the educators, a way to discover and understand children’s co-construction of knowledge and groups dynamics.

We are extremely eager to share this project with you, our families, as it unfolds and we encourage you to have a look at the documentation that is displayed around the room.

Caterina Pennestri, Pam Reid, Kirsty Porplycia
Hallett Room

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