In this edition
Dear Families
I’d firstly like to say thank you to the many families who attended our Twilight Family Picnic on Friday evening, it was such a joy to be able to share that moment together as a community. Secondly, I’d like to thank The Friends of the ELC who did an outstanding job organising the food and beverages for our biggest community event. It is always special to see the children outside of their normal ELC day, interacting with their friends, families and the ELC staff. These events are pivotal in growing our strong community and we look forward to other events in the near future.
You may have heard from your children that we have had many visits from Kaurna elder Tamaru. For the past few weeks, he has been coming into the Centre once a week and is working across each room. One of our initial focus areas are visits to Ferguson Park and we are grateful our lovely weather has enabled these visits to occur. Tamaru teaches us the names of the plants and explains the cultural links and significance of each of our native species. This is very important as we build on our ecological awareness. Additionally, Tamaru has been sitting in on our Ban Ban Balyas and teaching us some more Kaurna language to deepen our rituals and cultural awareness.
At St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, we are continually looking to improve our systems, and one of our newest initiatives is with Vacation Care bookings. We are utilising TryBooking to take Vacation Care bookings online for you to secure the days you require care during the school holidays (6 – 16 April). Term 2 commences on Monday 19 April and your standard ELC bookings resume from that date. Please ensure you make your Vacation Care booking in the time allocated so you do not miss out. If families have any questions, we encourage you to seek assistance from your child’s educators.
Looking forward to the remaining two weeks of term with our wonderful community.
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Important Dates
Thursday 1 April: End of Term Morning Tea, 8.30am
April 2 – 5: Easter (ELC closed)
April 6 – 16: Vacation Care
Monday 19 April: Term 2 Commences
Monday 26 April: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Vacation Care Bookings Open
In order to streamline bookings and make the process easier for our families, the ELC Vacation Care booking system is now online through TryBooking. Bookings close on Monday 29 March and can be accessed via https://www.trybooking.com/BOTFK
A booking instruction sheet has gone home with families. If you haven’t received it, you can download a copy here.
Henrietta Balnaves and Danniella Capaldo
Extended Hours Care Team
The Significance of Healthy Social Skills
An important aspect of children belonging, being and becoming at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC involves them learning how their behaviour and actions affect themselves and others. This is better known to us adults as social skills.
We want children to build a solid foundation in self-reliance and so develop their self-confidence. Also, to learn skills to manage their own behaviour, make decisions and relate positively and effectively towards others.
We do this by developing and engaging in meaningful daily rituals. We foster positive relationships through creating spaces and a balance of experiences where children can explore comfortably their own social skills. We want to pull children together. We want to entice children to create a supportive community of learners.
We organise small groups throughout the day based on the children’s interests and daily rhythms as opposed to rigour and timetabling. By being flexible, we are adjusting to the children’s needs such as offering a continual inside and outside play program. Here, children can learn and practice these social skills in a safe and respected environment.
All these rituals support a strong social school program at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC. We encourage a range of communication strategies in these small group gatherings to equip all children to organise their own feelings. We know through research that being in control of one’s own feelings means we are on the path to great success.
One of the researchers all educators are following at the ELC is Dr Louise Porter who is a child psychologist. She has written a number of books for educators and for parents about how to guide young children’s behaviour. To quote Dr Porter, ‘When children act out, it is not to teach them the facts of how they should be acting but teach them how to manage their emotions.’
In the ELC, we take a collaborative approach to teaching these skills. All educators observe together, record together and we all plan together for the future of your child. This creates a strong teaching network within the learning environment.
Take a look at our video above to see how we are building these positive social skills in our Learning Communities.
Kathy McCabe
Learning Community 2
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.
Join Us for Morning Tea!
You are invited to a morning tea to celebrate Easter and the end of Term 1 on Thursday 1 April from 8.30am in the ELC Garden.
A light morning tea of hot cross buns, tea and coffee will be provided.
We look forward to seeing you at this fantastic community event.
来自黄老师的信息
亲爱的家长朋友们，
在上周五晚上，我们一同渡过了一个十分愉快暮光野餐会。感谢众多出席的家庭。也感谢我们ELC的家委会精心准备食物和饮料方面。在ELC平日的学习生活之外，能看到孩子们与他们的朋友和老师们互动总是很特别的。这些活动是形成我们紧密社区的关键，我们期待着在不久的将来，会有更多其他活动。
你们可能听说过，我们请来了土著老师Tamaru。他每周都到会来到ELC，和每个班级的小朋友一起工作学习。在过去的几周里，我们最重要的学习方面是参观 Ferguson公园。伴随着美好的天气，我们有机会走进公园。Tamaru教我们各种植物的名字，并向我们介绍每个本土物种的文化联系和意义。这对于我们建立生态意识非常重要。此外，Tamaru和孩子们老师们围坐一圈 （土著的Banbanbalyas仪式），来教我们土著语言，加深我们的仪式和文化意识。
我们一直在寻求机会来改进我们的管理系统。我们最新举措是假期日托班的网上预订。今年我们将利用Trybooking为您的孩子进行假期日托的预订。您可以按照提供的链接，来确定从复活节之后（从4月6日到4月16日）您需要预定的时间。第二学期将于4月19日星期一开始，恢复到正常的学期预定时间。每个家庭都会收到一份纸质和电子邮件的说明关于如何在网上进行预订。请点击这个链接https://www.trybooking.com/BOTFK。请确保您的预订时间安排，以免错过您的预订位置。如果家长们有任何疑问，可以向我们的老师们咨询。
在这里提前祝大家渡过一个美好的一周。
Emma Huang works in Learning Community 2 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.
Building Community Within Learning Community 1
A key focus at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC is building a sense of community, and the development of relationships and social skills, particularly with our youngest friends in Learning Community 1. As early childhood educators, we know that when children feel safe and secure in their environment with a strong sense of belonging to a community, they will learn best.
The solid relationship between educators and children builds a firm foundation of trust with each child and family, enabling our educators to set personalised and differentiated goals and work at the pace of each child. Watch our video above to learn more.
Sustainability in the ELC
Democracy in the Garden
As we think about what next to plant in our ELC Community Garden, the children have decided upon a democratic approach to make this decision. This started with a group of children who were unable to choose which vegetables they wanted to grow next, as each child had their own idea about what they wanted to plant. We realised we had a problem as there are not enough garden beds to accommodate everyone’s preferences.
“There’s not enough room for all of them.” – Mingzu
“We need to vote to make it fair!” – Ebi
“Everyone can!” – Nina
“Voting is how much people put on there and whatever gets the most votes wins.” – Emerson
Over the past two weeks, the children right across the Centre were able to vote for which vegetables they were wanting to grow next in the garden, with the most votes being for broccoli, eggplant, radishes and carrots!
“I voted for eggplant because I like it!” – Amelie
“I voted for broccoli. It’s crunchy and it makes you healthy. If you eat it every day, you will be strong!” – Chen Feng
The children are looking forward to planting and caring for their new seedlings which will arrive later this week.
If you have any tips or tricks on growing these vegetables, we would love you to share them with us!
Henrietta Balnaves
Staff Spotlight
A fresh face to our ELC team in 2021, Courtenay is currently finishing a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education at Swinburne University. She brings with her almost a decade of early childhood experience and a passion for our tight-knit ELC community.
What is your teaching background?
I have worked in early childhood education for nine years, starting in a small child care centre at Woodville before moving to Prince Alfred College in 2016. I have recently started at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC this year, so if I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet, pop into Learning Community 1 and I’d love to introduce myself.
What is your favourite part of working in the St Peter’s Girls’ ELC?
There are many things that I love about working at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, I don’t know how to choose one or two. The ELC strives to build a strong community spirit. Coming from a small country town, I dearly loved our close community and believe it played a major role in who I am today. This is what I love about the ELC, everyone is made to feel as part of one big family. I find it outstanding how much the children and staff are involved in the life of the centre and know about the history and stories of Ferguson Park. It’s beautiful to witness how authentically Kaurna culture is embedded in our everyday practices.
Why are you passionate about working with children?
I have always been passionate about making a difference in people’s lives, and I believe you can never have a greater impression on a person than when they are in their early childhood years. Working alongside children brings so many heartwarming rewards. It is a chance to see children flourish and overcome challenges, all the while exploring the world around them.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Family and friends mean the world to me and I cherish every moment I get with them. When I can, I get back to my home town in Swan Reach where we have a small farm filled with horses and motorbikes. My husband plays football for Mt Barker Football Club and I’m excited for the season to begin again.
Save The Date – Family Yum Cha Lunch
Save the date for our upcoming Friends of the ELC event, a family yum cha lunch on Sunday 6 June from 10.30am – 12.15pm. Details will be released early next term and places will be limited, so be sure to book in early.
The Friends of the ELC
Starting Reception at Saints Girls
Are you considering Reception or Mid-Year Reception for your daughter at Saints Girls? If so, we warmly invite you to our Reception Twilight Tour on Wednesday 28 April at 5pm.
Meet our Reception teachers, view our Junior School facilities and hear about the opportunities on offer for your daughter’s future education at St Peter’s Girls’ School.
Click here to book your place on the tour.
News from Learning Community 1
Fostering a love of reading is pivotal to the development of early literacy skills for young children. From a young age, children are developing their literacy skills as they learn about sounds, words and language.
One of our Learning Community rituals is our daily literacy group. Children are invited in small groups to share a story and explore ways to interpret and retell the story using different languages. This term, we have been focusing on the story, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen. We have examined different aspects of texts, shared the story verbally, represented the story using drawing, explored rhythm and repetition through song and movement, and used drama to act out the story.
Through this shared story time, children are developing their key literacy skills and a love for reading. They are developing their phonetic awareness, expanding their vocabulary, using their imagination and creativity, creating connections between written and spoken language, and exploring the structure of texts. These literacy understandings form the foundation for future reading and writing skill development.
This shared small group ritual also provides rich opportunities for the development of social skills. Children are creating connections with others and building their sense of belonging to a group, engaging their listening, sharing and turn-taking skills, considering the ideas of others, and working towards a common goal.
Annabelle Redmond and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1
News from Learning Community 2
One of the fundamental skills children need to develop is a sense of belonging to groups and communities, and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active participation.
Within our Learning Community, we have been curating our indoor and outdoor environments to support this by engaging children in experiences to:
- Cooperate with others and negotiate roles and relationships in play episodes and group experiences
- Express an opinion in matters that affect them
- Contribute to fair decision-making
- Understand and explore what is right and wrong and why
This has led us to begin discussions in developing an essential agreement to use in our Learning Community. Essential agreements are not a set of rules and directions; instead, they are made in collaboration by teachers and children to establish an agreement of how the class will function effectively. Agreements are negotiated. Together, we will work out ‘What helps us learn and keeps us safe?’, and ‘How can we work best together as a group?’.
‘Do not run inside, it is not safe.’ – Edith
‘Listen to each other.’ – Olivia W
‘Do not push’. – Alessandro
‘Put your hand up.’ – Marissa
Once this is completed and agreed upon, everyone will be invited to sign it and acknowledge what was agreed upon. The agreement will then be a very important reference for the children as they become a valued member of the Learning Community. It becomes the compass that we work from to ensure that children have the skills and knowledge to participate in meaningful ways.
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