In this edition
Dear Families
It is hard to believe we are over halfway through the term already! With a very settled community, we can delve into our learning opportunities both indoors and outdoors. In this last week, one of my highlights was visiting the ELC Community Garden with our Playgroup friends, accompanied by some Learning Community 1 friends. During this time I witnessed some incredible learning as our older children took the lead showing Playgroup children and families how they harvest many of the carrots and some cucumbers from the garden.
I paused and reflected on the importance of the outdoors as a vibrant learning space where mixed-age groups can come together for shared educational experiences, both intentional and spontaneously. It is during these moments that we discover who our experts are, what understandings the children have of the processes required to care for the garden and the patience to wait until the vegetables are ready for harvesting.
As a teaching team, we have been reflecting on the year so far, with one of our key goals being to have our learning community model functioning at a high level. We have some immediate evidence of this in both communities. I have been so amazed that our youngest children have been utilising their entire space, confidently going between rooms and working with a range of educators.
Our teachers are grouping children intentionally, providing opportunities for the older children in each learning community to be the leaders in those moments. Through these experiences, we have watched and discovered how much potential they have to contribute to the history of our rituals. The children confidently discuss their role in the welcoming of our newer friends and predict the pathway forward for us as a community.
These examples show we are already achieving our goal of enriching and deepening our Learning Community Model, and we are constantly looking for additional ways to integrate it within our wider ELC community. The strength of our unique model is that our children have gained the confidence to go beyond their rooms more freely. Our new staff have entered the centre knowing the objectives of our model and have embraced this, and watching the growth of both the children and the educators together has been wonderful.
Our intention to maximise all learning opportunities within the ELC can be met if we continue on this positive pathway, with intentional mixed-age groupings and maximising the use of all spaces within our beautiful centre. We look forward to sharing more with you as the year progresses.
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Important Dates
Monday 8 March: Public Holiday – ELC Closed
Friday 12 March: ELC Twilight Family Picnic, 5pm
Thursday 1 April: End of Term Morning Tea, 8.30am
April 2 – 5: Easter (ELC closed)
April 6 – 16: Vacation Care
Expanding Children’s Creativity with SOL
During this term, the Symphony of Languages (SOL) Team have been collaborating with children across the ELC to express themselves with different artistic techniques including dance, clay making and painting, and technology. Day by day the children have increased their familiarity with these new materials, creating endless new possibilities to express themselves.
Technology plays a crucial role in our modern society, and our SOL Team have been promoting the creative use of computers, projectors, cameras and lights. The children have been exploring creating shapes with digital led cables and then attempting to recreate those shapes with their bodies.
We have enjoyed our collaborative research with the children, and find special joys in watching their expressive languages develop throughout the term. Watch our video above to see some of the children’s wonderful work.
The SOL Team
ELC Enrolment Requirements
Thank you to those families who have let us know your requirement for days of enrolment moving forward. We are currently preparing our 2021 mid-year intake offers and need to ensure our current families have their allocated days in place.
Please notify me via selliott@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au if you require additional days moving forward in 2021.
Sarah Elliott
ELC Enrolments and Finance Officer
Drop-off and Collection Procedures
Whilst we are enjoying having family members entering the Centre again, we must remind all adults to scan the QR code upon entry.
Please also be reminded that the 1.5 metre rule applies at all times, and we request that families be very aware of other adults already in the rooms they are about to enter.
Keeping Track of Belongings
We ask each family to ensure all items that come with their child into the ELC are clearly named. Already, we have many duplicate water bottles and lunch boxes.
We thank families in advance for supporting us to keep track of each child’s belongings.
ELC Twilight Family Picnic
This event is fast approaching and we cannot wait to share a beautiful Autumn evening on our lovely grounds at St Peter’s Girls. The Friends of ELC have been busy planning for this event and will be hosting a sausage sizzle and bar.
For space and catering purposes, families will need to register their attendance and can pre-order food and drinks via: www.trybooking.com/BOWQM
Families are welcome to bring a picnic basket or purchase food at the event. A sausage sizzle and cupcakes will be sold on the night as well as beer, wine and bubbles.
The Twilight Family Picnic is an ELC community event and a wonderful opportunity to meet new families and chat to the ELC educators.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Friends of the ELC, Kate Mount and the ELC Team
来自黄老师的信息
亲爱的家长朋友，
时光如梭，转眼已经学期过半。在一个十分稳定的社区环境下，在室内外，孩子们也进入了进一步学习。在过去的一周，一大亮点是，每周二的“婴幼儿活动小组”，在学习第一社区的孩子们的陪同下，一起参观了我们的社区花园，一同见证了我们的学习成果，大一点的孩子们带头向“小小朋友们”和他们的家庭展示我们菜园里的蔬菜，并共同收获了许多胡萝卜和黄瓜。“户外活动”对于一个充满活力的学习空间至关重要，在这里，不同年龄的孩子们可以一起分享有意或者自发的学习瞬间。孩子们化身为专家，展示了对蔬菜的生长过程的理解，如何照顾菜园，以及何时可以采摘收获我们的蔬菜。
作为一个教学团队，我们一直在反思如何把学习社区模式发挥在一个更高水平上。我们在这两个社区都有一些直接的印证实践。令我们惊讶的是，我们最小的孩子们利用了整个空间，自信地在房间之间走动，并与我们的教师团队一起工作学习。我们的老师将孩子分组，使我们的孩子们在各自的学习社区里更有效有方向的进行学习。通过这些讨论，我们发现他们对我们“仪式感的形成”和“小组有效学习”有巨大贡献。孩子们和老师们一同探讨，如何欢迎新朋友们，自己所扮演的角色以及未来的学习道路。
这些例子给了我们极大的希望，我们分析原因并相信，通过一些员工的混合，孩子们获得了信心，可以更自由地走出自己的房间。我们的新员工已经了解并欣然接受了这种模式。我们将继续通过这种积极的交叉分组方式，并最大限度地利用我们美丽的ELC内的所有空间，来实现丰富和深化ELC社区学习模式最大化的目标。我们期待着随着学期的进展与您分享更多。
Emma Huang works in Learning Community 2 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.
Vacation Care Bookings Opening Soon
In order to streamline bookings and make the process easier for our families, the ELC Vacation Care booking system will now be online through TryBooking. Bookings will be open on Monday 15 March, and they will close on Monday 29 March.
A booking instruction sheet will go home with families next week, and instructions will also be included in the next ELC News.
Henrietta Balnaves and Danniella Capaldo
Extended Hours Care Team
Welcome to our Newest Staff Member
This week we welcomed Valentina Fernandas to Learning Community 1. Valentina joins the Stonyfell team and will be the friendly face that welcomes families for early drop offs. Partnering with Danni Capaldo, Valentina brings a wealth of experience and has a warm, caring nature that already has enabled her to form beautiful relationships with our children and educators. We are delighted to have Val on the team!
Sustainability in the ELC
As the seasons are beginning to change, so is the course of our ELC Community Garden. We are making the most of what is left of our summer produce with the children from Learning Community 1 harvesting the last of our carrots!
With these funny shaped carrots, the children brainstormed many ideas about what we should do with them:
“We can make carrot cake!”
“Lets make lots and share.”
“Carrot cake is for the friends.”
“I never made the carrot cake before.”
With the help of Miss Redmond and Miss Balnaves, a group of children from Learning Community 1 engaged in a cooking experience to create enough carrot cake to share with the entire ELC community!
By engaging in these large group harvesting and cooking experiences, the children are developing their social skills, turn-taking and fine motor skills, as well as strengthening their understanding of our environment. The ELC Community Garden is a place where children can experience the joy of sharing, creating, connecting to place and contributing to the community – further enhancing their sense of belonging.
Henrietta Balnaves
Staff Spotlight
Kathy McCabe has joined our ELC for Term 1 this year while Kirsty Porplycia is on long service leave. She brings a wealth of knowledge about early childhood education, and we’re thrilled to have her in our community.
What is your teaching background?
I hold a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education from the University of South Australia and have been teaching for almost 15 years. My teaching background includes working within a number of independent schools and across different areas of schooling including Reception and Year 1 classrooms. I have also taught within Early Learning Centres for a number of years both in a 2 year old room and in a Kindy room. I have held leadership positions as Lead Play Based Reception teacher.
What is your favourite part of working in the St Peter’s Girls’ ELC?
My favourite part of working at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC is the joy I see in all the children as they play freely throughout the day. Right from the moment they walk in the door the children are welcomed so warmly that the ELC must feel just like home. This really helps the children settle easily into their daily rituals. It is great to be part of such a welcoming community.
What does a typical day look like in your Learning Community?
During any typical day in Learning Community 2 we focus on building rich relationships with children and their families. We will provide children with a wonderful connection to the Kaurna culture and Australian Native plants and wildlife where we will often visit Ferguson Park. We emphasise strengthening social skills and leadership qualities during small group gatherings. Children will be provided with a range of stunning spaces and unique learning experiences that flow on throughout the day.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I enjoy spending time with my family and my two young sons who all keep me very busy. I am passionate about outdoor exploration, playing sport and going on the occasional mini holiday.
News from Learning Community 1
Parents, grandparents, educators and other significant adults in a young child’s life inherently role model social skills in a range of different contexts, every day. We do this with the desire that it will help them to establish positive relationships and interactions with those around them.
For many young children, the ELC environment – and Learning Community 1 in particular – is one of the first encounters they will have with a dynamic social environment. It is an environment full of completely new interactions, expectations and challenges. With a holistic approach that considers the wellbeing of the “whole child”, our educators support our youngest children to develop the social skills necessary to coexist harmoniously in this setting. This helps to lay the foundation for positive relationships throughout their educational journey.
Our educators are mindful of what social skills are developmentally appropriate for each of the children in Learning Community 1. For our youngest learners, we support them in developing an awareness for those around them in a new social setting and help build their capacity to join and participate in a group setting. We intentionally utilise small group experiences to focus on greeting and acknowledging one another and joining in an experience together. As children grow a little older, we build on these group-based skills and focus on developing sharing and turn-taking, listening and responding.
For our oldest children who have been in Learning Community 1 for over a year, strong emphasis is placed on supporting the ability to cooperate and negotiate and to problem solve in their interactions with their peers. Educators promote opportunities for older children to lead group times and transitions, enabling them to take action and assist their younger peers to participate in a social group effectively.
Opportunities to develop social skills are present in every part of the day at ELC; in rituals, play, group times and storytimes. The importance placed on social skills for our youngest children is helping to support positive relationships and a joyful experience at ELC.
Annabelle Redmond and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1
News from Learning Community 2
Social skills are important because they are the foundation for having positive relationships with others, and will enable our children to connect with other people on various levels in their future. Once we know what are the appropriate social skills in various social settings, we can grow in our relationships and connect positively and comfortably with others.
In Learning Community 2 we emphasise upskilling our children in the areas of cooperation, good communication, problem-solving and empathy. We do this daily through small group games, role plays, group discussions and mini-stories. Children in Learning Community 2 are guided in their learning of emotional intelligence in a supportive and nurturing environment.
Our focus is firstly on building a community that is aware of each other and know each other by name. From here we can begin to learn new ways of meeting friends and gaining new skills to keep friendships. A large focus of this term has been questioning ‘what is a friend?’ and ‘how do we make friends?’ The children have used this provocation to discover that we need to be kind, caring and happy to one another to make a friend. The challenge then is to discover what is a friendship, and how do we maintain the relationship? Through this lens of friendship, we began to curate new spaces for children to meet and play.
We set up spaces like a home corner, drawing tables, reading nooks and classic board games like Connect Four to encourage small group gatherings. We have curated spaces outside for children such as the Mud Kitchen, or opportunities to create their own ball games as a community and meet new friends with different interests.
Learning social skills in early childhood are the building blocks for a positive, well-rounded future. We look forward to nurturing these skills in our children throughout the year and are excited to see the deep and meaningful connections they make with each other.
Nell Tierney, Laura Reiters and Kathy McCabe
Learning Community 2
Find Out What Happens Throughout
the Day at ELC
The ELC Learning Community Home Page is a dynamic online sharing space that invites you to participate in the communities’ learning as it happens. We use this tool to communicate important information with families and provide a window into the children’s life at the ELC, as educators share documentation of teaching, specialist lessons and spontaneous moments.
Accessing myLink for the first time:
- Visit https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
- To set your password, click the link located below the sign in section
- Your user name was emailed to you upon your child’s commencement (see Helpdesk contact details below if you cannot source your user name)
- Enter your unique user name, click ‘Next’
- Enter the security code sent to your mobile
- Enter the password you would like to use and press submit
- Return to the login screen at https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au to access myLink
- Several instructional videos are available via the Welcome page if you click on the ‘HELP’ menu tab
Accessing the Learning Community Home Page through myLink:
- Access myLink as per the above instructions
- Click on the ‘MYLINK HOME’ tab
- Click on your child’s name tab
- Under ‘Class Contacts’, click on the ELC room name (you may need to enter your user name and password again)
If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact the IT Helpdesk via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.
ELC’s Online Etiquette Policy:
Please note that the ELC Learning Community Home Page and ELC News contain images and videos of other children. We therefore ask that you do not copy or share images or videos, especially on social media, if they contain other children.
Absences in the ELC
Student Absences
Please notify the School via one of the following methods for late arrivals/early departures and absences, ensuring a reason for the absence is included.
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Phone: 8334 2200 or phone the relevant room as per the contact list below.
Please include the relevant room teacher when sending via email.
ELC Room Contacts:
Bell Yett – 8155 5777
Ferguson – 8155 5776
Hallett – 8155 5775
Stonyfell – 8155 5778
ELC Immunisation Policy
Under the Government’s No Jab No Play policy, families must meet immunisation requirements to attend the ELC and receive the Child Care Subsidy. Families are required to provide all approved immunisation records to the ELC. Further information is available by clicking here.
Children who are suffering from illnesses such as those listed below must be excluded from ELC in line with our Exclusion Policy:
- Influenza
- Chicken Pox
- Conjunctivitis
- Diarrhoea
- Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
- High Temperature
- Infectious Hepatitis
- Measles
- Meningitis
- Mumps
- Rubella (German Measles)
- Scabies
- Scarlet Fever
- School Sores (Impetigo)
- Upper Respiratory Tract Infection
- Vomiting
- Whooping Cough