In this edition
From the Director of Early Learning
Dear Families
We are very excited to share with you an upcoming event that will be run for the first time with our ELC. It is a new concept that we have developed to promote our ELC children, their learning and our community. We are calling this event the ELC Festival. All families will receive invitations and there will be posters up around the Centre advertising it.
ELC Festival
> Friday 6 April
> 4.30pm – 7.30pm
> Chiverton Lawns
> Raffles, stalls and creative experiences
You will see in Caterina’s article following mine in this edition, that we are outlining the concept of the path that is being created as part of an ongoing project. Money raised at the Festival will contribute to the cost of getting an artist, Christine Cholewa, to work alongside the children and Caterina to create the magical essence of Ferguson Park in a pathway. We are so very excited to have this idea happening as it is such powerful, sustained learning across the Centre. We hope to involve our community in the learning alongside us.
Friends of the ELC are supporting the staff to create a wonderfully exciting festival, themed with the concepts brought to the public through an event such as this. Entertainment, community, learning – all combined into one event. Please mark the date in your diary now and tell your special friends and families to come along with you.
Please come chat to one of the staff and find out more about the curation of the pathway!
Save the Date
6 April: ELC Festival 4.30pm
9 – 11 April: ELC Photos 9am
9 – 11 April: ELC Parent Teacher Conversations from 1 – 6pm
Kind regards
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
ELC Festival
The New ELC Path: a Symbol, a Journey, a Public Event
Creating a new architectural feature for our ELC is not just a matter for adults and teachers. The children have been actively involved in the design process since the actual creation of the path. The path will express the children’s connection with Ferguson Park, the landscape of our everyday, the scenario of our inquiries.
We have been lucky to meet Christine Cholewa, a public artist who will make possible and visible the children’s intentions, theories and stories. We proudly share with Christine the same vision of the importance of the natural environment and sustainability. The ELC treasures memories, stories and symbols of learning that Christine will help us to preserve forever.
During each visit, Christine is interacting with the children using several techniques like clay, resin and plaster cast to support the children’s understanding of the path-making. She is listening to all the ideas and possibilities that the children are creating and sharing in small groups. We are exploring with her the dirt path in Ferguson Park, always respecting and being grateful for the Kaurna land. We want to strongly connect our new ELC path with Ferguson Park and its elements.
The path is an opportunity of learning on so many levels and we want to celebrate the beauty of our journey with a public event: the ELC Festival. We are looking forward to sharing with you our path, our journey and our growth.
Caterina Pennestri
ELC Educator
A Letter From Ms Yu
亲爱的家长朋友们，
我们现在离我们下一个非常令人激动的ELC活动越来越近了- ELC的节日！ 活动的邀请函和在ELC的海报让我们大家都知道这个重要的社区活动。活动定于下周五4:30pm-7:30pm。我们欢迎各位家庭及朋友前来参与。活动期间将设有食品摊位及艺术体验区域。加上抽奖活动和其他的娱乐项目，我们相信您和您的孩子和朋友们将会有一个愉快的下午。筹集的资金将用于建设我们中心户外的一条新的小路。敬请关注我们在建设新小路过程中您的孩子的学习及成长。
我们非常感谢来自各个家庭对我们社区的支持及肯定。您的贡献让我们这一年变得如此特别。需要任何帮助，请随时联系我们。
诚挚的祝福，
Ms Yu
myLink Parent Portal
In 2017, St Peter’s Girls’ School launched myLink, the new parent portal, giving you a special window into life at the ELC. There’s a host of great features and vital information including notices, inquiry overviews, investigations that are happening in the room, documents and much more. You can also view your child’s ePortfolio via the portal towards the end of each term.
The parent portal is accessible through the URL below:
https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
How can I access the CANVAS homepage for my child through the portal?
Click the MYLINK HOME tab on the top menu to take you to your child’s profile. When you click on the link for your child’s room on the left-hand side of that page, it will then take you to the homepage.
How often are the homepages updated?
The CANVAS homepage gives you the opportunity to connect with the inquiry learning that is happening at the ELC. This is also a wonderful place for you to access information in the communication tab which often includes invitations and notices. The teachers aim to update the homepages regularly, sharing information about the inquiry investigations that are occurring within the rooms. We encourage you to have a browse through the homepage and click on the buttons to find out more.
You should have already been supplied with a username and password instructions but if you have any difficulties, contact our IT Helpdesk on helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227. If you would like further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or Kirsty Porplycia.
News from the Stonyfell Room
Growing our mindset: a shift from routine towards ritual
“Rituals bring awareness to the seemingly mundane aspect of routines guiding us to be present, mindful and responsible for all of our actions.”
– M Loader and T Christie
At St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, we are innovative; we continually strive to work together to grow and invest time to further build our own professional practices. One area we have been challenged by has been routine. We learn very early in our education the importance of routine in our day. It provides structure and stability. It allows us to predict what comes next, and build a sense of trust and belonging for the children. But routine can become bogged down with structure and, as we move through routines, there is a risk of auto-pilot which can become rushed and mindless. However, with a little thought, effort and love, we can easily begin to shift our mindset and give value to these ordinary moments, transforming them into extraordinary moments.
Rituals celebrate our togetherness, they connect us. They are purposeful, thoughtful and require our full attention. Rituals are beautiful and they require love and care.
In the Stonyfell Room, we have always strived to find the extraordinary in all that we do. We work hard to value every part of the day. We do know, however, that at times our days can become busy and rushed, and these moments can become lost. As a team, we have reflected on how we can begin to slow down, be present and mindful in our actions. We have also reflected on what we can implement with our children to shift our routines into rituals.
One area that we are developing is our morning tea time. The children have become involved in this time by laying out our fabric mats before a centre piece of flowers is added. The children are invited to form small groups around each mat. This time then allows us to sit with the children, to connect and to converse with each other. This assists in building our relationships, deepening our connections and nourishing our bodies.
We are interested to see how this ritual will impact on other parts of our day, as well as our engagement in Ferguson Park. We invite you to ask your children about our meal times here at ELC and we wonder:
How do they feel during this time?
Laura Reiters
News from the Bell Yett Room
We entered this year in the Bell Yett Room inviting the children to think like artists. We curated a palette of materials for the children to create their own Pom Pom flowers. Through mark-making, collage, paint, play dough and clay, we have been able to use our minds, hearts and senses to recreate these flowers the children are connected to.
As well as thinking creatively, we want our children to be compassionate individuals who are empowered with the courage to take risks in their learning. We are able to develop these values through our visits to Ferguson Park. We have been very fortunate to have had two parents volunteer their time this week to enable us to visit Ferguson Park more regularly. Please let us know if you have a spare half an hour in your day where you are able to join us.
Our explorations have begun to follow a certain ritual. We begin sitting on the circle of logs, and recognise and thank the Kaurna people who lived on this land before us. We have been supported by the children in the Hallett Room who have created an acknowledgement that is helping us to think mindfully about our land, its traditional owners and our responsibility towards it.
We have been inviting the children to take risks in their learning by thinking like scientists as they explore the park. We have been sharing the following understanding of scientists with the children:
> Scientists look very carefully
> Scientists document things exactly how they see them
> Scientists often have questions and they search for answers
As the children have begun investigating the park as scientists, they have noticed many familiar materials such as leaves, rocks, bark and sticks. However, they have also noticed something on the trees that is not familiar.
“It is up high.”
“It is golden.”
“It is stuck to the tree.”
The children have begun bravely developing and sharing theories about what this unusual substance might be. They are also developing the confidence to respectfully challenge each other’s theories.
“Maybe it is glue.”
“It’s honey.”
“It isn’t honey. Honey is soft and this is not soft.”
“It is not soft honey. It is honey for bees.”
We are very excited to be working alongside Miss Caterina and Artist in Residence Christine Cholewa to permanently document our stories of the park on a new path we are creating in the ELC grounds. Please visit our CANVAS Page to find out more about our developing theories, emerging stories and process of creating this special path. We look forward to you joining us at our ELC Festival on 6 April where we will celebrate our learning with you.
Leanne Williams and Nell Tierney
News from the Ferguson Room
By now, you must all be aware how much of our daily life in the ELC is influenced by the presence of our beautiful local bushland known as Ferguson Park. We have developed a ritual of visiting the park every morning, and this has been made richer by the inclusion of our parents in our learning community. The children have been “closing their eyes and opening their ears” to identify the sounds of the park, gradually building an understanding of the many voices that are present.
“The trees are talking to the birds.” – Scarlett
“The trees talk by the wind. The birds and the bees talk, too.” – Hugo
“We can hear the secrets of Ferguson Park.” – Elijah
With the assistance of Lesley Zappia, mother of Ella, we have recorded many of these sounds and are in the process of putting together a soundtrack that you will be able to share in and experience at our ELC Festival in April.
Another feature of our Festival is the celebration of a project that we are currently working on with public artist Christine Cholewa. She and Miss Caterina are working with the children to design and create a path that will become part of our ELC garden. It will feature the children’s thinking about Ferguson Park. To begin with, the children need an understanding of the essence of a path – what it is made up of and what its purpose is. We have had many conversations in our morning meetings and in the park about this.
What can you find on the path in Ferguson Park?
“Dirt.” – Elijah
“A real ladybird.” – Elise
“Bark.” – Amalie
“Raindrops.” – Ella Z
“Sand.” – Florence
“An ant!” – Arabella
“A koala.” – Jonathan
“Seeds.” – Eliana
“You need steps on a path.” – Poppy
“I love to run on the path.” – Arshiya
“We need to stay together on the path.” – Olivia C
We have begun our thinking and we will be going deeper in the weeks to come. The children are observing the paths in the park and the School, as well as creating paths using natural materials in the classroom. We look forward to sharing our work with you, so please make a note in your diaries about our Festival on Friday 6 April. It’s going to be very, very special!
Mel Angel
News from the Hallett Room
As a part of our plans this term, our upcoming Festival on Friday 6 April has been at the forefront of our minds and discussions.
One exciting element of the Festival will be the sharing of our pathway which will be created in the ELC garden. Miss Caterina has shared with the children that they are going to be involved in the design and creation of this path. The children have begun exploring the different elements of this process – what is the purpose of a path, who is it for and what do we want in the path? This collaborative brainstorming has already led to many interesting theories and ideas:
“A path is for keeping us safe.”
“A path leads us the way.”
“If your brother or sister gets lost, they can use the path to find the Hallett and Ferguson Rooms.”
“I want people to feel happy when they see our path.”
The children were thrilled to meet Christine Cholewa, our Artist in Residence, who will be working alongside Miss Caterina and the children to create the path. As a group, we have started to think about the symbols, or stories that we want to be represented. The children have naturally been drawn to their connection with Ferguson Park and their experiences of writing in the land.
“I am going to draw my mum and dad.”
“I want to add the palti circle, like Tamaru.”
“I have Tamaru in my picture, far away and then really close. He walked over here.”
As we progress through the term, the children will all be involved in a collaborative art piece which will continue their thinking about the stories and symbols they have of Ferguson Park. It is our intention throughout the preparation process for the Festival to embed the understanding to the children that they are citizens. We want to empower them to know that this is their ELC, their community and they are expected to be involved with the planning of something that is being created on their doorstep. For some children, it is a new concept to know that they have a right to express their opinion and, in some cases, to question an adult or another peer. They have the right to stand up for what they strongly believe in. But with this right comes the responsibility to listen to others’ points of view. An important aspect of being a citizen is to be aware of your community, and different feelings and ideas. For us then, the Festival becomes so much more than celebrating our end result. The skills and attitudes that we are building throughout the process of the planning stage is what counts.
What does it mean to be a citizen? To feel you are valued, listened to, to know you are safe, looked after and a member of the community. To initiate change in your world. To make decisions and be respected for who you are. We believe we are promoting these aspects when we involve the children in the planning of their Festival. How the path, the art works and the Festival itself will look is unknown at this stage…how exciting to know that the children’s voices will be easily seen at the end result on Friday 6 April.
Pam Reid