In this edition
From the Director of Early Learning
Dear Families,
Grandparents and special friends form a significant part of our community. Often these are the people we see regularly during the week as they are dual carers with the parents juggling the work schedule and assisting with ELC drop offs and pick ups.
Our celebration was extremely special – providing a time for us all to come together and share an afternoon tea. Magical moments were shared with the children, pride of having special visitors in the Centre and a sense of excitement recognising that this event was in fact something very unique.
Our photograph booth was very popular and we look forward to sharing these photos with you in coming weeks. In addition, we had special experiences in the classrooms and outdoors to encourage the children to share their learning with the visitors.
I would like to especially thank the Friends of the ELC for assisting us to host this event, giving us beautiful treats to eat and providing us with a special book stall selling some of our favourite titles. These books will become a significant part of our ELC library and will be read by many.
We thank you all for embracing our ELC community and being active partners in your children’s lives.
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Vacation Care
It is that time again when we need to organise your child’s Vacation Care.
From 2 October until 13 October, the ELC teachers are on holidays. This is the time when we operate Vacation Care. Families need to book in to this using the form attached and ensure that they return this form to the ELC as soon as possible. You will see that both full-day and half-day options are available.
Normal term time bookings do not apply during this period.
Please download your form HERE
If you have any inquiries, please email our Vacation Care Coordinators, Miss Galia Kay for Hallett and Ferguson Rooms: gkay@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au, and Miss Annabelle Redmond for Stonyfell and Bell Yett Rooms: aredmond@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Parent-Teacher Conversations
Have you booked your Parent-Teacher Conversations with your teachers? They are being held next Monday 18 September to Wednesday 20 September. Please register for an appointment via the sign on sheet in each room. We ask that families arrive well in time for their appointment because, as you can imagine, we run a very tight schedule.
A Letter from Ms Qian
尊敬的家长：
时光飞逝，我们已经步入本学期的第八周！随着春天的来临，我们elc充分利用起了学校后面的Ferguson Park，每日的公园踏春已经成为孩子们学习的一部分，我们还在立春日进行了全园的公园野餐以及公园绘春（Painting）的活动，小朋友们通过聆听，观看，以及触摸等多感官的方式接触大自然！
随着学期渐渐接近尾声，我们每两学期举行一次的一对一家长会（Parents Teacher Conversation）也将在第九周进行，每位小朋友的家长将和班级的负责老师进行15分钟的家长会，主要针对您孩子在幼儿园的发展学习情况进行沟通，并为接下来的学习制定目标。每个班签到台上有时间预约登记表，如果您还没有选择时间，请您在接送孩子的时候留意签到台，确保挑选适合自己的时间。
最后，非常感谢今天出席祖父母和特别朋友的下午茶活动的家长们，谢谢你们对elc社区活动的支持和参与，这对孩子们的学习成长也有很重要的意义！
祝大家春天快乐！
Ms Qian
News from the Stonyfell Room
Our emerging voice
From the beginning of the term, the Stonyfell educators have had a clear intention in mind for using Ferguson Park. We have wanted the children to develop a relevant and meaningful relationship to the park and to the natural world. We made a commitment to using the park daily and have maintained this by taking small groups out into this space. We have continued to ask the children the same question:
What do you notice?
As the weeks progressed, we found we weren’t always getting a verbal answer from the children but their body language and explorations told us so much. We noticed their delight in using an array of their senses to explore the park and, for many of them, this involved touch.
As we move in to the later part of the term, we have begun to notice a change; when we now ask the children this question, many are now confidently sharing with us what they notice:
“Look over there (pointing), come see, wattles.” – Aubrey
“Rocks and sticks.” – Lucy N
“Grass.” – Audrey
“Oh birdies, look up there, birdies.” – Thomas
“Rocks.” – Lucy J
We are seeing and hearing the evidence of the relationship that the children have now formed. Recently, a small group of children were about to leave the park and head back into the ELC; at the gate Christopher (2 years) said:
“Bye bye flowers, bye trees.”
This simple statement highlights to us this relationship – the park for Christopher and his peers is more than just a space, it is a place, something to be respected and deserving of a farewell.
Laura Reiters
News from the Bell Yett Room
“Listening means being open to differences, recognising the value of another’s point of view and interpretation. Thus, listening becomes not only a pedagogical strategy but also a way of thinking and looking at others.” – Carla Rinaldi
As Early Childhood educators, we create a welcoming and inclusive environment where all families are encouraged to participate in and contribute to experiences that enhance children’s learning and development. We value every opportunity to establish respectful relationships and listen to families as their children develop into capable and confident learners.
The annual ELC Father’s Day Breakfast is always a highly anticipated occasion on our calendar. The children eagerly created their gifts for dad and were excited to share them at the breakfast or on Father’s Day. This week we have shared photographs and the video created by Caroline from the Communications Office with the children. Re-visiting this through our digital technologies invited the children to express their thoughts and feelings to the group.
“My daddy had fruit and croissants for breakfast. His car smells clean.” – Amelie
“I love my daddy.” – Hannah
“Daddy! That’s my daddy.” – Arabella
“My daddy. He got a pen.” – Nina-Lucia
“We had watermelon.” – Sophia
“Daddy likes croissants and I do too.” – Harper
“Daddy had a coffee and I had croissants. I love daddy.” – Imogen
Thank you as well to all our families who were able to attend Grandparents and Special Friends’ Day.
Please also ensure you have secured a timeslot for our Parent-Teacher Conversations which are being held next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Nell Tierney, Leanne Williams and the Bell Yett Team
News from the Ferguson Room
At the beginning of this term, I wrote about the literacy skills children develop during their time in the Ferguson Room. Numeracy is also a significant part of our planning and is embedded in our learning in a number of ways. Children enjoy counting and there are many opportunities to invite them into this process. In a game of Hide and Seek, we love to take turns hiding and counting before calling, “Coming, ready or not!” This is authentic learning, where children can easily understand that numbers have a purpose.
During our map making experiences in Ferguson Park, the children have been measuring the distance between the ELC gate and the bunting, and then on to their ‘special place’ that they have included on their map. The unit for measuring we have used is a footstep. We learned there are approximately 37 steps from the ELC gate to the bunting! Again, this is an opportunity for authentic and enjoyable learning of numbers and measurement.
In addition to these everyday experiences, we are also being very intentional in the way we are teaching the children about Patterning. This is a complex concept that requires children to have a number of mathematical skills already, such as being able to sort and classify. We have exposed children to many examples of patterning and actively engaged them in seeking new examples that they themselves can find in the environment. They have used digital technology to record their discoveries and then chosen a favourite pattern to draw. During this process, the children are having to be very focused on the features of that pattern. As we have had the good fortune to receive a large donation of cardboard shoe templates, we have invited the children to design their own patterned shoe, and they have been so creative.
We have also been fortunate to have a donation of colourful clay beads from Edwina’s mum, Meg, and a wonderful session with her as she showed us how to create patterned necklaces and bracelets using these beads. The children were fascinated by their texture and colour, and were excited to have the opportunity to create patterns with them. Please have a look at the works and documentation in our room which demonstrate the children’s learning and engagement with Pattern.
Mel Angel
News from the Hallett Room
“Worms can talk with their bodies.”
The inquiry into sharing our planet has seen our investigation into worms, millipedes and caterpillars deepen as we begin to challenge our theories and engage in research to seek more information. These living creatures are creating the means for children to develop their understanding about their impact on the world. Through careful observation, the children are noticing more about these creatures and, with the use of particular technology, they are provided with a different perspective of these creatures (have you heard about the close-up footage of the worm, the millipede or of the caterpillars?).
When exploring together, we are hearing a recurrent theme:
“Stop, don’t touch it.”
“It doesn’t like to be touched.”
“It knows where it wants to go.”
“It is telling us with its body that it doesn’t want to be on your hand.”
The children are beginning to form a greater understanding of and perhaps connection to their world. However, we do have a challenge!
When we stop to explore something, we have the desire to know more and want to touch, feel, poke and even squash it. Children, with their natural curiosities, are the most uncomplicated scientists. Where then, do we draw the line? If a child is investigating a worm and they decide to squash its tail to see what happens – is this ok? What is our role, both educators and parents, in teaching our children to respect their land, their world, but also be free to explore it? How can we develop empathy, alongside exploration? Does it exist in the scientific world?
Currently in the Hallett Room, we are challenged by this very question.
Pam Reid