In this edition
Dear Families 
At St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, we place a huge emphasis on the continuous wellbeing of our children. As we navigate the cold weather, it is vital that we optimise any opportunity children have to use our spaces creatively and to play and learn outside.
We recognise that gross motor skills such as walking, running and climbing not only support the physical development of a child, but their overall health and wellbeing. Whilst some may think these basic skills are quickly surpassed, these skills are actually the building blocks for children’s further physical skill development, including independent self-care such as toileting and getting dressed, and posture as they progress into their school years. We ensure children have access to a range of opportunities across the Centre where we focus on the importance of developing these skills so children can extend their capabilities in all areas of life.
Across a week at ELC, we offer children a range of different specialist lessons where they learn to challenge and refine their physical abilities. They explore throwing and catching small and large objects with greater accuracy, balancing on their toes and on objects to strengthen inner core muscles, dancing and skipping to music to define coordination, and much more. This is all supported by our professionally tailored age-appropriate programs directed specifically for each of our Learning Communities.
The use of Ferguson Park becomes another fantastic opportunity where children’s gross motor skills are encouraged, supported and challenged as we encounter logs, stones, creeks and other natural obstacles.
When we nurture these skills throughout each child’s day at ELC, we are promoting a lifelong health mindset, encouraging physical literacy, developing a love for natural and outdoor environments, boosting children’s confidence and self-esteem, relieving stress and frustration, assisting in school-readiness through improved core strength, and building children’s ability to assess risk in the world around them.
We hope that by highlighting our extended curriculum, our families have a greater understanding around the importance, value and emphasis we place in our physical education each day.
Henrietta Balnaves
ELC Manager
Important Dates
September 19, 20, 26: Parent-Teacher Conversations
Monday October 3: Public Holiday (ELC Closed)
October 4 – 14: Vacation Care
Monday 17 October: Term 4 begins
Parent-Teacher Conversations
ELC Parent-Teacher Conversations will take place on Monday 19, Tuesday 20 and Monday 26 September. There are designated 15-minute time slots for families to meet with your child’s teacher.
We strongly encourage you to book a meeting with your child’s teacher. From these discussions, future goals for your child may be created to ensure they reflect the perspectives of parents and educators.
Bookings can be made via myLink from Monday 22 August:
- Log in to the myLink Parent Portal with your username and password. The username is your ID number followed by @stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
- If you don’t know your password, use the link provided on the login page to reset it.
- Once you have logged in and arrive on the Welcome page, click the ‘Community Portal’ tab in the top menu, then click the ‘Interviews’ tab and select the required cycle. You can log in and change your booking any time up to 5pm Wednesday 14 September.
If you require myLink assistance, please contact the IT Helpdesk via 08 8334 2227 or helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Fathers and Special Friends’ Breakfast
Thank you to everyone who attended our Fathers and Special Friends’ Breakfast yesterday morning. The children cherish any opportunity to show off their treasured ELC spaces, and it’s always so wonderful to share our ELC with our community.
Vacation Care – Bookings Opening Soon
Vacation Care will run from Tuesday 4 to Friday 14 October, with bookings opening next week on Wednesday 7 September. Please note Monday 3 October is a public holiday and the ELC will be closed.
The booking link will be distributed to families next week via email.
2023 ELC Enrolment Requirements
We are currently preparing our 2023 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 an amendment to your days moving forward in 2023, or if you are leaving the Centre at the end of this year.
Sarah Elliott
ELC Enrolments and Finance Officer
Staff Spotlight
Monique began her career as a Psychologist, working with children and families in both the mental health and disability sectors. After having children of her own, she transitioned into teaching and will soon complete a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education to complement her Master of Psychology.
Why are you passionate about working with children?
Supporting children on their learning journey in their formative years is extremely rewarding. It is a privilege to encourage and nurture positive outcomes in children’s wellbeing and learning.
What makes St Peter’s Girls’ ELC special?
The warm and welcoming community, as well as the genuine commitment to offer children an inspiring place of holistic learning that values connection, sustainability and reconciliation.
What does a typical day look like in Learning Community 2?
I’m not sure that a ‘typical day’ exists in an ELC, but there’s always laughter, growth, creativity, movement and collaboration. The rhythm of our day is guided by intentional learning experiences, eating together, times of rest and play, specialist lessons and excursions to the ‘big school’.
What is your favourite memory from the St Peter’s Girls’ ELC?
All three of my children have attended the ELC, beginning with Playgroup. It is therefore a place that holds a lifetime of special memories for me, both as a parent and an educator.
Important Reminders
Please carefully read the following important reminders:
- Please close all doors and safety gates behind you when entering and exiting the ELC. Whilst we appreciate the kind gesture, please refrain from holding open entry/exit doors or gates for other children unless they are accompanied by an adult.
- We ask families to bring your entry key fobs to ELC each day. If you need to order a new fob and/or report a lost one, email selliott@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
- Please ensure children wear appropriate shoes and clothing for our indoor and outdoor activities; this includes no dress ups or long necklaces.
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The School has received reports of concerning driver behaviour on Hallett Road. This includes holding up traffic while waiting for cars to leave in order to park near the ELC, performing risky u-turns and parking in bus zones. As our staff have no jurisdiction over public roads, the School will be asking the police to conduct regular patrols at peak times. We implore all of our community members to support road safety and show courtesy to others.
The welfare of all children in our community is our utmost priority and we appreciate your cooperation.
Henrietta Balnaves
ELC Manager
COVID-19 Information
If your child tests positive to COVID-19, notify us immediately. Please also advise the type of test (RAT/PCR), the date your child’s test was taken and the date symptoms started (if no symptoms, note ‘asymptomatic’).
Please notify us via email or text:
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
If you need to notify us over the phone, please call the Front Office on 8334 2200.
If children are displaying symptoms, it is mandatory that we send them home. SA Health guidelines advise that symptoms include:
- Fever (a temperature of 37.5˚C or higher) or chills
- Cough
- Loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Tiredness (fatigue)
- Runny or blocked nose
- Shortness of breath (difficulty breathing)
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
- Headache
- Muscle or joint pain
- Loss of appetite
Should your child develop any symptoms, even mild ones, they must not attend ELC and should be tested for COVID-19. Those with symptoms who test negative using a RAT must undertake a PCR test to confirm that result. Students who have previously tested positive and have completed isolation in the past 28 days do not need to undertake testing.
Under SA Health protocols, asymptomatic children who are close contacts can attend ELC, provided they undertake 5 Rapid Antigen Tests over 7 days and receive negative results.
Please also note that face masks are strongly recommended indoors for adults, including visitors, except if it impedes the ability to teach or interact with children.
来自黄老师的信息
亲爱的家长朋友们，
在圣彼得女校早教中心，我们非常重视孩子们的身心健康。在这个冬季里，我们让孩子们有机会创造性地使用我们的空间，在户外玩耍和学习，这一点至关重要。
我们认识到，像走路、跑步和攀爬这样的大动作技能不仅有利于孩子的身体发育，而且有利于他们的整体身心健康。虽然有些人可能认为这些基本技能很快就会被超越，但这些技能实际上是孩子进一步身体技能发展的基石，包括独立的自我照顾，如上厕所、穿衣，以及在他们在以后上学所要运用到的动作姿势技能。我们确保孩子们在中心获得一系列的机会，我们专注于发展这些技能的重要性，这样孩子们就可以扩展他们在生活的各个领域的能力。
在ELC一周的时间里，我们为孩子们提供一系列不同的专业课程，让他们学习挑战和完善自己的身体能力。他们探索投掷和捕捉大小物体的能力变得更加准确。通过使用他们的脚趾在物体上保持平衡，来加强内部核心肌肉。随着音乐跳舞和跳跃来协调身体。这一切是由我们的专业定制适合各年龄的项目，专门针对我们每个学习社区的孩子。
同样的是，在弗格森公园里的学习体验成为另一个极好的机会去鼓励、发展以及挑战孩子们的大动作技能。在这里，孩子们在圆木、石头、小溪和其他自然障碍中去指引他们的学习。
通过与专业教育工作者互动合作，利用学校的场地和自然环境，我们培养孩子的身体天赋，促进他们大动作能力，来支持孩子们在此技能的成长和发展。
在ELC的每一天，我们的孩子们都在培养这些技能。我们希望孩子们在他们的人生生涯中养成良好的身心健康心态，同时鼓励锻炼自身的身体素质；培养对自然和户外环境的热爱；提高孩子的信心和自尊，缓解压力和克服挫折的能力。通过提高核心力量来帮助孩子们日后进入小学学习做准备，并建立孩子评估周围世界风险的能力。
我们希望通过强调我们的扩展课程，让我们的家庭更了解体育教育在每一天学习的重要性和它的价值。
Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.
News from Learning Community 1
‘Good nutrition is essential to healthy living and enables children to be active participants in play.’ – Early Years Learning Framework 2009, p. 33.
As we continue to investigate the central idea of ‘Welcoming transformation can support wellbeing’, the friends in Learning Community 1 have been looking at healthy eating habits and good nutrition as one aspect of our unit of inquiry.
Since last term, we have been inspired to explore the ELC Community Garden with the children. We started by looking at the lifecycle of plants and how they grow depending on the season and weather conditions. Then, we started to develop a project called ‘from garden to plate’, where we could share conversations about sustainability and community.
This term, children are fascinated by the way the ELC Community Garden is changing with the new seedlings and vegetables that are growing now: strawberries, broccoli, snow peas, brown onions and carrots. We have been extending children’s interest into cooking with the fresh produce, talking about wellbeing and healthy eating habits.
Jessica Guimaraes and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1
News from Learning Community 2
Discovery of Fungi – The Child as a Researcher
Through our daily investigations in Ferguson Park, the children have made a new discovery. It was with great joy and enthusiasm that they noticed ‘mushrooms’ growing on dead wood, under weeds and on the Kaurna Yarta (land). This is now the root of our inquiry as we unpack our central idea, ‘Welcoming transformation can develop knowledge’.
What are these new discoveries? Are they mushrooms?
These questions began our learning opportunity, to research alongside each other, gaining new knowledge and understandings about fungi and to think like a ‘mycologist’ – someone who studies with fungi.
On discovering these transformations, it has enabled the children to refine their observation skills, to classify the different fungi and use descriptive language. Through these investigations, children have been gaining scientific knowledge, understanding the research cycle of observation, interpreting data, and creating and testing theories.
In our inquiry groups, we have been classifying the different species of fungi. As a reference, we have used an identification chart created by Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges and the Adelaide Fungal Studies Group. The children have been invited to identify, observe and describe the variety of fungi we found in Ferguson Park. These inquiry processes have developed and enabled children to compare and sort by shape and size, refining and inspiring their mathematical thinking.
To further our reference, we contacted Friends of Ferguson Park, inviting them to share their understandings of fungi. This opportunity will give children the experience to interact with experts, to form and ask questions to test their theories, and to create new connections.
We invite you to visit Ferguson Park or your local conservation park with your children who are all now budding mycologists with plenty of knowledge and understandings to share.
Nell Tierney, Kathy McCabe and Laura Reiters
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:
Each parent has an individual username to access our myLink Parent Portal.
Please note that the username is your ID number followed by @stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Your ID number has been provided to you in an email from the School
If you have not accessed myLink before or have forgotten your password, please follow these steps:
- Visit https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
- Sign in with your parent username
- Click on ‘Forgot my password’
- Make sure the ‘email’ address is your parent username, type in the code, then click the blue ‘Next’ button
- Enter your mobile number registered with the School, with the area code (Australia is +61), dropping the 0 at the beginning (e.g. +61 400000000). Then select ‘Text’
- Enter the security code sent to your mobile number
- Enter the password you would like to use and click ‘Finish’
- Return to the login screen at https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au to access myLink
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 our IT Hub 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