All posts by Candi Pearson

ELC NEWS – Week 10, Term 2 2023

June 28, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

As we move towards the end of the semester, it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the rich learning that has happened across the ELC. The first term involved our Learning Communities working hard to create a sense of belonging and strong relationships with each child so that they felt a connection to their educators, peers and the learning spaces. Children were introduced to daily rituals that deepened connection, strengthened learning and developed community. The Kaurna culture continued to be a thread throughout these rituals with children introduced to Kaurna culture, language and symbols.

Term 2 has seen our Learning Communities explore the function of spaces and places as well as organisational aspects of the ELC. This fit beautifully with the developments that were happening with our new Atelier space. Learning Community 1 children shared their theories of what they thought the Atelier was going to be as they watched this space evolve into the magical environment that it has become. They also explored what a Piazza space is and why our Piazza at the ELC is significant. There were many opportunities to visit the ELC Community Garden with children exploring the parts and life cycle of plants. The children also had the opportunity to experience how food gets from the garden to our plates as they engaged in a range of cooking experiences.

Learning Community 2 took a deep dive into our food program. Their journey took them on an expedition to find out who provides the food at our Centre. This inquiry provided the children with a voice as they were exposed to and identified their favourite fruits and vegetables. Children were also supported to express themselves creatively and learned about several artists who use food as inspiration.

It has been wonderful to watch the Pathway children grow, mature and develop the capabilities necessary for school. We are proud of our Pathway friends and wish them all the best for the next stage of their learning journey as they transition into Mid-Year Reception.

Liz Schembri
Director of ELC

Our Pathway to School

Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away’
Dr Seuss

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate our first six months operating our Pathway to School in the ELC. Both Mrs Porplycia and Mrs McCabe are thrilled with the rich learning and friendships that have been explored during this time and feel so incredibly proud of the journey. While we celebrate our success, we also farewell a large group of children from the Pathway class who are transitioning to school. Many of these children have been a part of the St Peter’s Girls’ ELC community since they were in Learning Community 1, while other class members have only recently joined us. Either way, each child has played an important role within our community, and one that we will treasure. Over the last few weeks, the children and teachers have been reminiscing about the special times that they have had throughout their time at the ELC and the special friendships that they have made along the way. We wish them all the very best in the next chapter of their educational journey.

HAT CEREMONY – ELC to St Peter’s Girls’ School

A very special tradition for our girls transitioning to Reception at St Peter’s Girls’ School is the Hat Ceremony. This tradition was founded many years ago now and is one that is looked forward to by many. Our Pathway to School children are formally welcomed into the St Peter’s Girls’ School Community at a School assembly and are presented with a special gift from our Head of Junior School and Senior Prefects. When communicating with parents and families of children involved in this special tradition in the past, they have shared about the wonderful sense of community and belonging that this opportunity gives the children when entering a new environment.

On Monday, the children transitioning to Mid-Year Reception at St Peter’s Girls’ School attended a special assembly, which is another component in their transition journey to school. Head of Junior School Suzanne Haddy presented the children with their new school bag and hat to celebrate their transition to school. We were thrilled to share this special moment with them and as you can see by the photographs, the children were beaming with pride. We wish all girls a wonderful start to school next term and look forward to hearing more about their continued journey at St Peter’s Girls.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe

Important Dates

3–24 July: Vacation Care – book now!
Tuesday 25 July: Term 3 Commences
Friday August 4: Coffee Van
Wednesday August 9: Meet the Teacher Information Evening

Boori Monty Pryor Visits the ELC

It was wonderful to recently welcome back a familiar friend to St Peter’s Girls’ ELC. Boori Monty Pryor presented his usual high-energy performance including lots of music, singing, movement, dancing and storytelling. The children and staff were active participants throughout Boori’s visit. The performance combined humorous tales from his life experiences, Dreamtime stories and instructive anecdotes. The children had a marvellous time; the laughter and smiles were a clear indication of this wonderful experience.

As always, it is such a pleasure to have Boori at the ELC and it was lovely to reminisce about Boori’s previous visits. He shared some wonderful stories of the interactions he has had with our ELC children and it was clear that these connections were special to him. We look forward to welcoming Boori back in the future.

Vacation Care – Bookings Available

Vacation Care will run from Monday 3 – Monday 24 July.

Families must book the days they would like their child to attend Vacation Care. To access our online booking form, click here

Alternatively, you can contact Wolita Harding via ELCVacationCare@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

Vacation Care runs similar to a normal day within the ELC, led by Valentina Fernandes in Learning Community 1 and Alexandra Portus in Learning Community 2. Our days are filled with a range of creative, inquiry-based and hands-on experiences, using our indoor and outdoor spaces as well as our ELC Community Garden and the School lawns. Children will frequently participate in music, dance, picnics on the lawns, gross motor skills and cooking experiences.

Similar to typical ELC days, children will need to bring their own packed lunch, hat, water bottle and a change of clothes. Due to allergies, we ask that you do not pack nuts. A healthy morning and afternoon tea and late snack will continue to be provided to children.

If you need to make changes to your booking, please email ELCVacationCare@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Please note: due to staffing requirements, cancellations made after the booking period ends will incur the full day’s fee.

News from Learning Community 1

As we approach the end of term 2, we have the opportunity to pause and reflect on the growth and learning that has occurred this term. Through the lens of ‘function’ we have explored the central idea ‘People can collaborate and learn together in our community’. Through assessing children’s prior knowledge and understandings and observing their interactions with curated learning opportunities at the start of the term, we focussed on three main lines of inquiry:

The function of plants
The function of waste management
The function of spaces

Through frequent visits to the ELC Community Garden and involvement in the planting and harvesting process, the children have developed early understandings of the ‘garden to plate’ process. This process involves understanding how a plant grows and what it needs to thrive. This term educators and children have adopted a scientific lens and have explored the function and system of plants and the important role they play in our everyday lives. We have explored mathematical concepts of position, exploring over and under and above and below. Children have been offered opportunities to represent their understandings and document their observations using a range of creative languages.

Sustainability is one of our core values at the ELC and one of the key principles of the Early Years Learning Framework. Each day we strive to embed sustainable practices into our rituals, supporting the children to develop their ecological awareness. Over the course of this term, we have explored our waste management systems at the ELC, researching why we have different coloured bins and what waste can go in each bin. The children have put their learning into action as they have actively sorted waste at mealtimes, supporting each other and using key research tools to determine where their waste can go.

As we investigated the function of spaces in the ELC, the children developed learning dispositions including curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. Invitations were presented to build on the children’s thinking skills and processes as they expressed wonder and interest in the purpose of spaces within the ELC including the new Atelier, the Piazza, and the classrooms within Learning Community 2.

We are excited to share the children’s documented learning and engagement in this term’s unit through their individual Portfolios which we will be sending home in the coming weeks.

Nell Tierney, Annabelle Redmond and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

Reflection of our Inquiry Journey

This term’s inquiry unit has been such a joy and celebration of collaboration and community. We began with a mystery to solve, and to further enhance and enrich this learning, we have provided the children with a wide range of experiences that have nurtured their relationship with food and eating.

We have been developing the children’s research skills and how we can find out the answer to a question. We have seen the power of group learning and how when we work together to solve a problem, the opportunity to have many viewpoints and ideas has only enhanced the outcome.

Across the community, the children have been engaging in a range of experiences that have been intentionally planned to drive our learning forward. These have included:

Exploring the role of aesthetics and beauty during our mealtimes
Trying and tasting a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables
Regular cooking opportunities
Engaging in a wide range of creative experiences inspired by famous artists including Andy Worhol and Michelangelo Caravaggio

Your child’s portfolios are now brimming with examples of their involvement in this unit of learning as well as documentation in the rooms and on our myLink page.

We have observed such a huge amount of growth in the children over the past 10 weeks and this learning and focus will continue into the school holidays.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

Save the Date – Meet the Teacher Information Evening

We invite you to attend our our Meet the Teacher Information Evening on Wednesday 9 August, 6.30pm in the ELC (enter via Hallett Road).

This is a unique opportunity to see the learning environment and hear from the teaching team about how we plan and implement our units of inquiry and gain a better understanding of the teaching and learning within our ELC context.

We recommend parents/guardians only attend this event, as it is information based.

ELC Community Coffee Van

The ELC Coffee Van is here once again on Friday 4 August from 7.30am (Hallett Road entrance).

This is a wonderful opportunity to engage with the ELC community and enjoy a hot drink on us at morning drop off. We hope to see you there!

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱的家长朋友们，

到了临近学期末的时间，这是一个非常好的回顾并思考ELC过去两学期丰富的学习内容的机会。上学年的第一个学期，两个学习社区致力于与帮助每个孩子建立归属感和发展积极信任的关系，帮助他们建立起与老师们、同学们和各个学习场所的联系。孩子们通过了解并熟悉日常日程，加深了归属感、加强了学习能力和社区意识的发展。Kaurna原住民文化仍然是贯穿这些仪式的一条主线，孩子们学习并了解了Kaurna原住民的文化、语言和符号的含义。

第二学期我们的学习社区探索了 ELC 的各个空间和场所的功能以及作用。这也与我们崭新的工作室空间（Atelier）的发展完美的契合起来。一号社区的孩子们分享了他们对工作室空间未来的想法，他们观察了这个空间是如何演变成现在这样一个神奇的房间。他们还讨论了什么是中心广场(Piazza)以及为什么中心广场是ELC不可或缺的一部分。孩子们有很多机会一起参观Hallet花园，探索植物的组成部分和生命周期。孩子们在参与一系列烹饪体验时，完整的体验了食物是如何从花园到我们的盘子的过程。

二号社区深入研究了我们的食品方案。孩子们想要知道是谁提供了ELC的食物，他们进行了一次探索的旅程。这次调查的过程为孩子们提供了一个分享的机会，他们接触了多种多样的蔬菜水果并分享了他们最喜欢的种类。孩子们发展了如何以更有创造性的方式来表达自己，与此同时也接触到许多以食物为灵感的艺术家。

非常高兴看到学前衔接(Pathway) 班级的孩子们一路的成长、成熟并持续发展上学所需的各项能力。我们为我们的学前衔接班的小朋友感到自豪，并衷心祝愿他们在过渡到学前班的下一阶段学习之旅一切顺利。

Liz Schembri

园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:30am – 4:30pm.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) Update

We wish to inform you that the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) will be increasing from July 10. This means that most families using early childhood education and care will receive an increase to their CCS. In addition, families who were previously not eligible for CCS may now be eligible.

If you currently receive CCS and would like to know more about these changes, please refer to the following fact sheet Fact sheet – Do you already get Child Care Subsidy? – Department of Education, Australian Government

If you do not currently receive CCS and would like to know if you are eligible, please refer to the following fact sheet Fact sheet – Are you eligible for help with child care fees? – Department of Education, Australian Government

For any queries with regards to these changes, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Elliott our ELC Enrolments and Finance Officer via selliott@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Please Help Keep our Centre Infection Free

To minimise the spread of illness please keep your child at home if they have:

received Panadol or Nurofen in the morning
a fever of 38 or above. Children can return to the Centre 24 hours after their last elevated temperature
swollen glands
a continuous runny nose
a sore throat
a consistent cough without a doctor’s clearance
been unusually tired or lethargic
been vomiting or have diarrhoea. Children should be kept home until the these symptoms have been absent for at least 24 hours.
an undiagnosed rash

We look forward to your child returning once their symptoms are cleared so they can be happy and engaged in learning.

Remember to cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow and wash hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

If your child tests positive to COVID-19, please notify the School. Please also notify the School each day of absence, or provide the expected period of absence.

You can notify us via one of the following methods. Please include the name of the ELC Room. If emailing, feel free to ‘CC’ the teacher/s of the room as well.

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

myLink is our School’s parent portal, where families have access to a range of resources including the ELC Home Page. Our ELC Home Page is a dynamic online sharing space that invites you to participate in our learning. We use this tool to house important information for families and provide a window into your child’s life at the ELC, with educators sharing documentation of teaching, specialist lessons and spontaneous moments.

This page can also be accessed through your smartphone, via the Canvas App.

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

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

If your child will not be attending ELC due to illness or otherwise, please notify the School via one of the following methods and include the name of the ELC Room.

If emailing, feel free to ‘CC’ the teacher/s of the room as well. Please also provide a reason for the absence as the School requires this for government reporting purposes.

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

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

As part of our approach to prioritising health and safety, we implement effective hygiene practices and work to prevent and effectively deal with any infectious disease in line with the Education and Care Services National Regulations and the advice of health experts. If your child has one of the following, chickenpox, measles, rubella, meningococcal or tuberculosis or any other vaccine preventable diseases we ask that you inform the Centre as soon as possible.

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ELC NEWS – Week 8, Term 2 2023

June 14, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

It is an exciting time for us at the ELC as we wait for the final approvals to use our new Atelier. I am sure that many of you have seen this incredible space and the rich provocations that have already been created by our Atelierista, Caterina Pennestri.

When I reflect on my time in Reggio Emilia, connecting with best practice in the early years space, I am reminded of how fortunate we are to have Caterina at St Peter’s Girls. Towards the end of this term Caterina will be presenting at the Reggio Emilia Australia Conference in Melbourne on ‘the Atelierista and the Atelier as a conceptual space’.

Caterina brings the lens of the Arts to everything that we do at the ELC. Her role is multifaceted, involving carefully curating learning spaces and learning opportunities across the Centre, working with children to extend their learning and providing the resources and materials required. She works with children in the Atelier on a range of projects nurturing their creativity and supporting them to express themselves in many different ways, giving value to ‘The Hundred Languages’. Caterina also attends planning sessions sharing her unique expertise to enrich learning and add depth to our inquiries.

If you haven’t seen the new Atelier space yet, please do come and have a look, I am sure that you will be suitably impressed.

Liz Schembri
Director of ELC

Important Dates

Monday 26 June: ELC Hat Ceremony
3–24 July: Vacation Care
Tuesday 25 July: Term 3 Commences

Food and Mealtime Exploration

This term the children have been exploring a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables with the purpose of building on their knowledge of foods, further developing their palates and their confidence to try and taste new foods. We are developing a strong foundation and understanding of fresh foods, with a focus on fruits and vegetables, to give the children a voice on our ELC system of mealtime and assist them in making informed food choices.

Native Animals Visit Playgroup

This week at Playgroup, we had a Nature Educational Officer Jenna visit us. She brought along a large range of native animals for the children to study and touch. It was an exciting morning with lots of activity and hands-on learning.

Staff Spotlight – Monique Gannon

Monique is a St Peter’s Girls’ School Old Scholar (Patteson, 2003), with three young children who have all attended the ELC. With a background in psychology, Monique completed her Master of Psychology and worked in both mental health and disability settings with children, adults and families. She later completed a Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Education, drawn to the positive and creative nature of the early learning environment.

Monique is passionate about children’s wellbeing, with expertise in strategies to help children build strong, healthy minds. Evidence suggests that mindfulness practices – including meditation and deep breathing exercises – are powerful tools to protect and enhance children’s physical, mental and emotional health. Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity and without judgement. Through playful, mindfulness experiences in Learning Community 2, Monique supports children to develop their emotional literacy, regulation skills, attention, and resilience.

TRY THIS AT HOME…
If your home is anything like mine, mornings are chaos, our days at work and school are busy, and often followed by sports practice. Once dinner and bath time have wrapped up, bedtime is the perfect opportunity to slow the pace right down. Adding a short mindfulness session into your nightly routine can help foster a sense of calm and connection with your child and promote better quality sleep. Invite your child to take three slow, deep breaths as they settle into their bed. Help them put their whole body to sleep, from the bottom of their toes to the top of their head. Gently touch your child’s foot as you say goodnight, followed by their ankles, knees, hips, stomach, chest, shoulders, arms, neck and face. This simple and tangible technique encourages your child to progressively release any tension in their body and slowly ‘switch off’, both physically and mentally. The ‘Smiling Mind’ app has an excellent range of meditations for children, adolescents, and adults, including several for sleep.

Monique Gannon
Co-Educator, Learning Community 2

Portfolios in Term 3

Portfolios are rich documentation of your child’s learning journey and include work samples, photos, your child’s voice and reflections of learning. They provide evidence of the depth and variety of learning that is happening across the ELC. As we are currently going through the assessment and rating cycle with the Education Standards Board, this documentation will form part of the evidence set viewed by the assessment and rating team when they visit in coming weeks. We will therefore send portfolios home at the conclusion of the assessment and rating period, which is likely to be at the beginning of Term 3 for all children other than our Pathway to School friends who will receive their Portfolios at the end of term 2. The Education Standards Board are the regulatory authority and as such, abide by stringent privacy practices. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Vacation Care – Bookings Closing Soon

We are excited to introduce our new ELC Vacation Care booking system. To streamline the booking process and align with the School Vacation Care service, families can book their children into Vacation Care via our online booking form on the School website.

Vacation Care will run from Monday 3 – Monday 24 July, and bookings are now open. Bookings close on Friday 23 June at 5pm.

Families must book the days they would like their child to attend Vacation Care. To access our online booking form, click here

Can you lend a Helping Hand in the ELC?

If you have an afternoon or morning spare, we would love volunteers to join us as we explore Ferguson Conservation Park. We try to visit Ferguson Park as often as possible to provide the children with rich learning experiences; however, this is deemed an excursion and requires higher ratios of adults to children.

Volunteering at the ELC is a fantastic opportunity to connect with the ELC community, and our treasured walks in Ferguson Park allow the children to deepen their relationship with their natural environment.

To be an ELC volunteer, we require a copy of a Working With Children Check (which can be processed free of charge through the School). If you would like to get involved, or have any other queries, please email via wharding@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

We look forward to seeing you at the ELC!

Community Safety Announcement

Transportation presents heightened risks to children’s safety, in particular while embarking or disembarking from a vehicle. The health and safety of our community is our highest priority and therefore we ask all parents to be vigilant when picking up and dropping off your children. When parking we ask that you are mindful that children and families are present in this vicinity and therefore move in and out of parking spaces with caution.

Please supervise children closely when getting into and out of the car. Families are asked to use the pedestrian crossing to cross Hallett Road safely and model appropriate road safety behaviour to children. Please do not leave siblings or other children in the car when dropping off or collecting your ELC child.

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱家长朋友们，

对于我们圣彼得女校ELC来说，这是一个激动人心的时刻，因为我们正在等待最终审批来使用我们的新工作室。我相信你们中的许多人已经看到了这个令人难以置信的空间和我们的教育设计专家Caterina Pennestri已经创造的丰富的教学创意。

当我回想起我在Reggio Emilia的时光，与早年最佳的实践联系在一起时，我想我们有Caterina Pennestri在圣彼得女校是多么幸运。在本学期末，Caterina将在墨尔本举行的Reggio Emilia澳大利亚会议上发表题为“教育设计专家（atelelierista）和教育工作室（概念空间）”的演讲。

Caterina把艺术的镜头带入了我们在ELC所做的一切。她的工作内容是多方面的，包括精心策划整个中心的学习空间和学习机会，与孩子们一起丰富他们的学习，并提供所需的资源和材料。她在工作室里与孩子们一起开展一系列项目，培养他们的创造力，并支持他们以多种不同的方式表达自己，为“百种语言”提供价值。Caterina还参加策划会议，分享她独特的专业知识，以丰富学习并加深我们的探究。

如果你还没有看到新的工作室空间，请来看看，我相信你会留下深刻的印象。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

As Learning Community 1 reflected on this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, ‘Be a Voice for Generations’, we considered how we can share this journey with our youngest citizens and empower them to take action. At the ELC, we don’t focus on reconciliation for one week of the year; our journey has seen us embed Kaurna language, stories, and symbols in to our everyday, creating natural connections to our learning and inquiries. Through this we aim to develop children’s awareness and understanding and a community that values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their histories, culture, and their future. Through valuing and embedding this rich culture and history, children are empowered to share this knowledge and passion in their everyday lives and into the future.

Every morning in Learning Community 1 we share our Acknowledgement of Country in our Banbanbalyas, one of our most valued rituals. Last week we all joined together each morning to have collaborative Banbanbalyas in the Piazza. The children treasured this time as we shared dance, stories, and culture. We looked closely at the Aboriginal flag, discussing the colours, what they represent and why. The children were curious as they had seen the flag before, realising it flies in our ELC garden everyday along with the Australian flag and Torres Strait Island flag. We also shared our version of the Reconciliation Story, unpacking what our country looked like when the first people arrived and how the land was beautiful, sustainable, serene and was their ‘mother’ as it provided them with everything they needed. Shelter created from the trees, water from the water ways to drink and wash with and clothing from the animals.

We also welcomed an Aboriginal artist, Mya Damon, to share in our Reconciliation Week celebrations and teachings. She was curious to see our journey so far, our rituals, Acknowledgment of Country, our knowledge and use of Kaurna language and symbols and how this is embedded into our everyday practice. Mya shared where she comes from using the map of Australia that shows the different regions of Aboriginal communities so the children could see it in relation to Kaurna Country. She shared her artwork, stories and symbols used in her work and how they differ from ours. Mya engaged the children in small group workshop experiences where they used symbols and marks to create their own pieces of artwork on leaves and paper.

Our inquiries during Reconciliation Week further consolidated our knowledge and understanding of Kaurna people’s strong connection to the land and supported us to develop ways that we can keep the stories and narratives alive. These experiences are supporting the children to develop a global perspective of the land to which they belong.

Nell Tierney, Annabelle Redmond and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

Inspired by the Reggio Emilia principle of using the ‘environment as a third teacher’ our ELC Community Garden is used to host a variety of learning experiences. Not only is the garden a special place to connect with nature and to observe growth through a scientific lens, but it is also used to foster meaningful connections with numerical concepts within our inquiry into the function of food. Every week, the Community Garden provides children with exciting opportunities to collect, track and compare data about the growth of the flowers, fruits and vegetables.

When investigating the garden beds, children participate with enthusiasm as they record data related to the amount and size of the vegetables and plants. A particular highlight has been discovering the recent growth of tiny broccoli heads and counting the amount of snow peas.

To share the information collected from the data, children have worked closely with educators to create visual displays and graphs, which are located in the entrance to the Hallett and Ferguson rooms. The children also proudly report their findings to everyone across the learning community, contributing to the excitement that surrounds our Community Garden!

Whilst collecting data in the Community Garden is a joyful experience, it also provides children with crucial opportunities to develop their numerical language and the ability to count objects using 1:1 correspondence.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

Being a part of an ELC to Year 12 School gives us the opportunity to access the amazing facilities and spaces on the campus. The children in the Pathway Room regularly visit different areas of the wider community to enhance and enrich our inquiries and build their understanding of school. Together we explore the spaces, places and the people and make connections on each visit.

The girls transitioning to St Peter’s Girls’ School Mid-Year Reception have started to engage in their formal transition visits. As we have accessed this classroom multiple times as a part of our Pathway to School curriculum, the girls displayed confidence when entering and began work quickly on learning tasks with their new teacher. The teachers have begun their reporting processes and it has been heart-warming as we reflect and report on the children’s progress over the past six months. We look forward to the last few weeks of term and we will savour every moment together as a class, because this group has a special meaning as they are our very first Pathway to School friends.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

Please Help Keep our Centre Infection Free

To minimise the spread of illness please keep your child at home if they have:

received Panadol or Nurofen in the morning
a fever of 38 or above. Children can return to the Centre 24 hours after their last elevated temperature
swollen glands
a continuous runny nose
a sore throat
a consistent cough without a doctor’s clearance
been unusually tired or lethargic
been vomiting or have diarrhoea. Children should be kept home until the these symptoms have been absent for at least 24 hours.
an undiagnosed rash

We look forward to your child returning once their symptoms are cleared so they can be happy and engaged in learning.

Remember to cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow and wash hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

Accessing myLink for the first time:

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 6, Term 2 2023

June 1, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

Welcome to Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation Australia states that ‘National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.’ The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023 is ‘Be a Voice for Generations’, encouraging all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in our everyday lives.

At St Peter’s Girls, we recognise the importance of reconciliation on a daily basis. This is evident in the ELC through each room’s morning Banbanbalya (meeting) time, our Acknowledgement of Country, the connections we make and the work that we do with Kaurna Elders and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in our community, our Language of Welcome which is a key part of our ELC philosophy, our connection to Ferguson Conservation Park and the development and implementation of our Reconciliation Plan. I have been extremely fortunate to join a School that places high value on the process of reconciliation and where the desire for reconciliation is deeply embedded in ELC practice. I have learned so much about Kaurna culture since commencing at St Peter’s Girls and look forward to continuing this journey through our knowledgeable staff, our practices, and looking for authentic opportunities for our children, staff and families to engage with Aboriginal Elders and our wider First Nations community.

Assessment and Rating

We have been notified by the Educational Standards Board that we have commenced the assessment and rating cycle for our ELC. Services are assessed and rated against the National Quality Standards with our last assessment and rating taking place in 2013. The aim of this process is to promote continuous improvement in the provision of quality education and care.

The Assessment and Rating is based on 7 quality areas:

Educational program and practice
Children’s health and safety
Physical environment
Staffing arrangements
Relationships with children
Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
Leadership and service management

Our Quality Area Goals for 2023 are:

Educational Program and Practice
Goal: To utilise our newly re-imagined tool of assessment as a vehicle to communicate our teaching and learning strategies.

Children’s Health and Safety
Goal: To embed the Quality Improvement Plan and National Quality Standards deeper into our everyday practices and processes, making our work more visible, with a wider shared understanding for both new and existing staff, with support through our new leadership structure.

Physical Environment
Goals: To give value to our new physical environments of the Atelier, the Pathway Room and the Stonyfell veranda, ensuring we use these essential and integral components of our environment to their full potential.

Staffing Arrangements
Goal: To extend on the evaluation of our induction processes, widening this to involve not only new staff but anyone who enters the Centre, drawing upon our Language of Welcome and ensuring there is alignment across the ELC and other sections of the School.

Relationships with Children
Goal: To use our Emotional Regulation Toolkit from our 2022 research to strengthen our relationships and connection with children, ensuring a consistent understanding of emotional regulation strategies across the ELC.

Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities
Goal: To continue to re-imagine our methods of communication for families, critically reflecting on their effectiveness as we aim to strengthen the communication processes within our community. These include MyLink, ELC Newsletter and children’s learning portfolios.

Governance and Leadership
Goals: To facilitate a positive commitment to continuous improvement. To welcome and embrace the ELC’s new model of leadership for 2023, living our values and facilitating support for the new model.

Liz Schembri
Director of ELC

Important Dates

Monday 5 June: Reception Transition Visits commence
Monday 12 June: Public Holiday (ELC Closed)
Wednesday 14 June: New Family Welcome Evening
Monday 26 June: ELC Hat Ceremony
3–24 July: Vacation Care

Reconciliation Week in the ELC

As part of our Reconciliation Week celebrations we welcomed Mya Damon, a Ballardong-Nyoongar artist, to our Centre. Mya attended our staff morning briefing to talk about her experience as a First Nation’s Person and what reconciliation means to her. Mya spent time with the children, sharing her artwork and its symbolism and held mini workshops where children explored symbolism and mark making. This will culminate in a shared artwork in Term 3.

In Week 8 we will be welcoming Boorie Monty Pryor into our Centre. Boori is an award-winning author, musician, storyteller, and now filmmaker. During Boori’s presentation he combines humorous tales from his life experiences and Dreamtime stories whilst embedding music, dance and the language of his family and his home. By combining traditional elements of performance with his contemporary stories, Boori helps children better understand both the past and present culture of First Nations People.

Mya Damon’s Artist Statement
My name is Mya, I am a Ballardong-Nyoongar artist from Western Australia, born on Barngarla Country – Tumby Bay. I live in South Adelaide and I am currently in my third year of Archaeology at Flinders University, which has become a passion of mine along with art. I have been practicing art for over 10 years now. I enjoy it because I am able to connect with my culture and express myself in different ways. Over the years I have also been able to learn about my culture and understand the significance of dot painting.

I have also experimented with a range of different mediums and techniques, including digital art, painting, drawing, print making and sculpting. Through my art, I’ve been able to design Guernsey’s for various sporting clubs, artworks and hold workshops for many events.

Building Upgrades at Our Centre

We are very excited to announce the upgrade of our ELC facilities for Learning Community 2. This will include extending our current learning spaces, the addition of a new kitchen, toilets and Piazza space. These changes reflect our belief that the environment should be vibrant and flexible, support children’s explorations, creativity and learning, and be responsive to their developmental needs as well as the individual requirements of each child.

As a result of the changes planned for Learning Community 2, and looking ahead to our vision for this space, we will be making some changes to room locations for Semester 2. This will allow us to ensure that we are maximising opportunities for collaboration, allowing for children’s sleep and rest needs by providing a quiet comfortable environment and support the creation of a flexible and stimulating environment that enhances children’s learning.

For Semester 2 the following changes will occur –

Pathway and Ferguson will be swapping learning spaces. Pathway will now be in the room adjacent to the Piazza.

For Semester 2 the following teachers will be leading each learning space

Bell Yett – Jess Catt
Stonyfell – Annabelle Redmond and Nell Tierney
Ferguson – Chloe Skoss
Hallett – Laura Reiters
Pathway – Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe

New Vacation Care Booking System

Vacation Care will run from Monday 3 – Monday 24 July, and bookings are now open.

Families must book the days they would like their child to attend Vacation Care. To access our online booking form, click here

Can you lend a Helping Hand in the ELC?

If you have an afternoon or morning spare, we would love volunteers to join us as we explore Ferguson Conservation Park. We try to get out to Ferguson Park as much as possible to provide the children with rich learning experiences; however, this is deemed an excursion and requires higher ratios of adults to children.

We look forward to seeing you at the ELC!

Community Safety Announcement

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱家长朋友们，

欢迎来到“和解周”。澳大利亚和解协会表示，全国和解周是所有澳大利亚居民了解我们共同的历史、文化和成就，并探索我们每个人如何为实现澳大利亚的和解做出贡献的一周。2023年全国和解周的主题是“为时代发声”，鼓励所有澳大利亚人在日常生活中为和解发声。

在圣彼得女校ELC和解周是我们日历上的一个重要事件。我们认识到和解在我们日常生活中的重要性。在ELC，这一点在每个教室早班会(Banbanbalya)的时间、我们对原住民和这片土地的认可、我们与社区中的原住民长老、原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民建立的联系和我们所做的工作、我们的欢迎语言(这是我们ELC理念的关键部分)、我们与Ferguson公园的联系以及我们和解计划的制定和实施中都得到了体现。我非常幸运地来到了一个高度重视和解意义的学。在这里，对和解的渴望深深植根于ELC实践。自从在圣彼得女校的开始学习以来，我学到了很多关于原住民文化的知识，我期待着通过我们对和解学习有着丰富经验的教师们让我们的实践继续这一旅程。并为我们的孩子，教师和家庭寻找真正的机会，与土著长老和更广泛的“第一民族”社区建立更好的联结。

评估及评等：

我们ELC已收到教育标准委员会的通知，进入了对ELC的评估和评级阶段。根据国家质量标准对我们ELC的服务进行评估和评级，上一次评估和评级是在2013年。这个过程的目的是促进持续提高并提供优质教育和看护。

评核及评级基于7个质素范畴:

教育计划和实践
儿童的健康和安全
教学环境
人员安排
与孩子的关系
与家庭和社区的合作伙伴关系
领导和服务管理

我们2023年的质素范畴目标是:

教育计划与实践

目标:利用我们新设计的评估工具作为沟通我们教学和学习策略的工具。

儿童健康与安全

目标:将质量改进计划和国家质量标准更深地嵌入到我们的日常实践和流程中，使我们的工作更可见，使新老员工更广泛地理解我们的工作，并得到我们新的领导结构的支持。

教学环境

目标:为我们的新工作室、学前班教室和Stonyfell联结公园的活动区域的新教学环境提供价值，确保我们充分利用我们这些必要和不可分割环境的潜在可能。

人员安排

目标:扩展我们入职过程的评估，将其扩大到不仅包括新员工，还包括任何进入中心的人，利用我们的欢迎语言，确保在ELC和学校其他部门之间保持一致。

与孩子的关系

目标:从2022年的研究中使用我们的“情绪调节方法”来加强我们与孩子的关系。确保对整个ELC的对孩子情绪调节策略有一致的理解。

与家庭和社区的合作伙伴关系

目标:继续重新设想我们的家庭沟通方法，在我们旨在加强社区沟通过程的同时，批判性地反思其有效性。其中包括MyLink、ELC 每两周的简讯和儿童学习文档。

管治及领导

目标:促进对持续改进的积极承诺。欢迎和接受ELC在2023年的新领导模式，实践我们的价值观，并为新模式提供支持。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

The ELC Community Garden is a treasured space for the children at our ELC. Through frequent visits and involvement in the planting and harvesting process, the children in Learning Community 1 have developed early understandings of the ‘garden to plate’ process. The recent change in season saw big change in the garden. Guided by Mrs Fern, small groups of children have planted the seeds of winter vegetables and have eagerly observed the tiny sprouts, stems and leaves that have just begun growing. We have wondered though… is anything happening beneath the soil?

We have taken our question back to the classroom where we have begun investigating how a plant grows. We have examined how a plant grows both upwards and downwards. We have viewed time lapse videos of different plants growing from seed and have used a microscope to closely examine the intricate root system that grows below the soil. Looking closely at samples of roots on the light table, children have begun to share their observations. The roots have been described as:

Octopus legs
Noodles
String
Squiggly lines
Scribbles

The children have expressed their knowledge through creative drawings, movement and dance. Each day we have explored our inquiry further through storytelling and the use of non-fiction reference books. The children have enjoyed reading:

Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

If you would like to see and hear more about our plant growing inquiry, please remember to visit our online learning page on the Parent Canvas App. This page is updated multiple times a week and provides great insight into the learning that is taking place.

Nell Tierney, Annabelle Redmond and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

The Children across our learning community have been working together to rethink our mealtimes. Much of our day revolves around food and eating, often this time can be hurried and lack the time and effort to make it enjoyable. Meals are not just something we need; they can be a pleasurable experience and create a sense of community that comes from eating together. The children have been working with their educators to discuss ideas and share their experiences from home. They have considered how they feel when we eat together, when morning tea is served on plates rather than in containers, when we play music or place flowers on tables.

The educators have been starting conversations and asking questions to encourage the children’s thoughts and ideas. Many of the educators choose to eat their lunch with the children sparking conversation around who packs their lunch, what they enjoy eating, and whether we have the same foods as each other. We are curious about each other’s likes and dislikes and delight in sharing the things we like to eat the most!

This may seem like a given in any early learning setting however the art of conversation, the ability to sit and eat together is something that can become lost in our busy lives. By placing importance on this time, and building the children’s capacity to converse, we have seen joy in being together and relationships strengthen and grow.

When we asked the children why they think it’s important to have a nice space to sit and eat lunch, one reply stood out from the rest of them. “If we have a nice space to eat lunch and have nice things on the table, then we will also have a nice lunch together!”

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

Inquiry based learning gives children the opportunity to ask questions, build theories and be the constructors of their own knowledge. It stimulates questions and investigation and develops a positive attitude towards lifelong learning. Over the past few weeks in the Pathway room we have engaged in rich inquiry to investigate who makes their morning and afternoon tea. The children have actively shared their prior knowledge and understandings, posed questions, shared their ideas for investigation and engaged in active research.

Working alongside the children, exposing them to different research methods has been exciting. The children have enriched their literacy capabilities as we have engaged in letter and email writing, gathered evidence, and shared our findings with the wider community. Engaging in inquiry projects that have direct impact on the children’s lives provokes engagement and curiosity.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

Please Help Keep our Centre Infection Free

To minimise the spread of illness please keep your child at home if they have:

received Panadol or Nurofen in the morning
a fever of 38 or above. Children can return to the Centre 24 hours after their last elevated temperature
swollen glands
a continuous runny nose
a sore throat
a consistent cough without a doctor’s clearance
been unusually tired or lethargic
been vomiting or have diarrhoea. Children should be kept home until the these symptoms have been absent for at least 24 hours.
an undiagnosed rash

We look forward to your child returning once their symptoms are cleared so they can be happy and engaged in learning.

Remember to cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow and wash hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

Accessing myLink for the first time:

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 4, Term 2 2023

May 18, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

Our Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon tea was a wonderful way to celebrate important people in the children’s lives. There was an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement as the children and staff prepared to share this special experience. Creating a sense of welcome and building community is foundational for us at St Peter’s Girls ELC and it was wonderful to see this in action.

The Hallett Garden provides children with the opportunity to plant, nurture and harvest their own vegetables and plants. Drawing on their experiences in the Hallett Garden, children potted their own herbs for their special visitors at our afternoon tea. Our young learners also shared their portfolios with their family. Each child has their own portfolio that documents their individual learning journey through photos, works of art and text. It was wonderful to see the children talking about and sharing their learning with their loved ones.

We’d like to say a big thank you to Michelle Kouloukas and Karol Stolarski for their generous donation of flowers that we were able to share with our mothers and special friends. It was a lovely afternoon, filled with smiling faces and many special moments together.

Liz Schembri
Director of ELC

Important Dates

Monday 29 May: ELC Reconciliation Week Celebration
Monday 12 June: Public Holiday (ELC Closed)
Wednesday 14 June: New Family Welcome Evening
Monday 26 June: ELC Hat Ceremony
3–24 July: Vacation Care

Our Visit to Reggio Emilia

The Reggio Emilia Study tour was an incredible opportunity. We are now looking forward to sharing this experience within our ELC community. Next week we have a whole staff meeting to explore what we have learned and how we can use this to build on and improve our programs and provide the very best learning environment for our children and families. This will continue to be a great source of inspiration as we plan for the future and continue our journey as leaders in the early learning space.

Our New ELC Manager

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Wolita Harding into the position of ELC Manager. Wolita has a background in both management and administration, moving to Australia from South Africa in 2011. When she arrived in Australia Wolita completed her qualification in Early Childhood Education. Prior to commencing with St Peter’s Girls’ ELC she worked at Annesley College. Wolita has a strong understanding of our Centre and has developed close relationships with both children and families since she started working with us in 2019.

Wolita is passionate about working alongside children and loves the joy and excitement that they experience when they make new discoveries or achieve something new. She loves supporting children to express their thoughts, ideas and theories about the world around them and recognises the importance of creative expression. She is passionate about the ‘Rights of the Child’ and ensuring that all children are equally supported to reach their full potential. Wolita will be based in the Front Foyer so you will be able to see her when you arrive at the Centre and she will be able to assist with any questions that you have regarding to our day-to-day operations. We are thrilled that Wolita will be taking on this new role and look forward to working with her in this capacity.

Please Help Keep our Centre Infection Free

To minimise the spread of illness please keep your child at home if they have:

received Panadol or Nurofen in the morning
a fever of 38 or above. Children can return to the Centre 24 hours after their last elevated temperature
swollen glands
a continuous runny nose
a sore throat
a consistent cough without a doctor’s clearance
been unusually tired or lethargic
been vomiting or have diarrhoea. Children should be kept home until the these symptoms have been absent for at least 24 hours.
an undiagnosed rash

We look forward to your child returning once their symptoms are cleared so they can be happy and engaged in learning.

Remember to cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow and wash hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱家长朋友们，

我们同母亲以及珍贵的家人朋友的“下午茶”是一个很好的庆祝方式，对那些在孩子成长生活中重要的人表达由衷的感谢。当孩子们和教师们准备分享这一特殊的经历时，气氛中充满了期待和兴奋。创造一种欢迎感和建立社区意识是我们圣彼得女校ELC的重要基础。看到这一切付诸实践是十分美好的。

Hallett社区花园为孩子们提供了种植、培育和收获蔬菜植物的机会。孩子们分享社区花园的经验。在我们的下午茶时刻，他们自己为特别访客种植了草本植物。我们的学生们也与家人朋友们分享了他们的学习文档。每个孩子都有自己的文档，通过照片、艺术作品和文字记录他们的个人学习之旅。看到孩子们谈论和分享他们的学习真是太棒了。

我们十分感谢Michelle Kouloukas和Karol Stolarski慷慨捐赠的鲜花，让我们能够与我们的母亲和特别的家人朋友分享。那是一个美好的下午，充满了欢声笑语，还有许多一起渡过的特别时刻。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

Sustainability is one of our core values at the ELC and one of the key principles of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).

“Sustainable practices are created with children and children are supported to take an active role in caring for the environment and to think about ways they can contribute to a sustainable future” – EYLF

Each day we strive to embed sustainable practices into our rituals, supporting the children to develop their ecological awareness. This term’s unit of inquiry, People can collaborate and learn together in our community, has provided us with an opportunity to explore the concept of function; the idea that everything has a purpose, a role, or a way of behaving that can be investigated. As we gathered evidence of children’s exisiting understandings, we observed how the children used the rubbish bin systems in the classrooms lead by the question ‘what do children already know about our bin systems and waste management?’ Children shared their wealth of knowledge as well as their questions and wonderings. These questions have formed the basis of this line of inquiry:

– why do we have different coloured bins?
– what waste goes in each bin?
– where does the waste go once it leaves the ELC?
– how can we reduce, reuse and recycle our waste?

Educators have been working alongside children, using research tools and strategies to answer these questions and develop our knowledge. Waste management posters have been used as a reference to what goes in each of the bins, we have explored a range of fiction texts to further extend our understandings and we have investigated different ways to reduce and reuse waste both at the ELC, and at home, through interactive games and songs.

This week we also welcomed industry expert Charlie Sykes from Australian Green Clean. She spoke to the children about bin systems, how they can reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and how effective waste management helps us to look after the environment.

Connections with home are key to the development of children’s understandings. We are sure the children would love to share their developing knowledge with you and explore the ways in which you can reduce, reuse and recycle at home.

Nell Tierney, Annabelle Redmond and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

Our inquiry this term has taken an exciting turn, capturing the interest of children and staff in Learning Community 2. Guided by our central idea of ‘people can collaborate and learn together in a community,’ we have been investigating the function and systems behind our mealtimes.

New rituals have been created across the learning community to promote healthier relationships with a variety of foods and for children to develop a deeper understanding of where their food originates from. These new rituals reflect the ways children are served their food at home. Instead of passing food in plastic containers around circles during afternoon and morning tea, our food is now served on ceramic platters, which the children share amongst themselves while seated at tables or in a picnic style setting. This revised system surrounding mealtimes is more intimate and fosters meaningful conversations surrounding food amongst children and educators.

Each day a new fruit or vegetable is introduced, giving children opportunities to taste something they haven’t tried before. These new fruits and vegetables not only provide children with daily excitement and anticipation, but are also used in still life drawing and scientific provocations.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

As a part of our inquiry this term, we are looking at mealtimes and how we can involve the children to give them a voice in decision making. As a class we have been reflecting on our mealtimes. We have thought about where we sit, how we sit at the table, what’s on the table and who we sit with. One friend shared how they eat their dinner at home with their family members. This conversation sparked rich discussion and we began to draw detailed representations of our mealtimes at home. We shared our mealtime rituals and many elements from our home lives started to spark discussion. Many friends shared that they use a placemat at home at dinner time.

We have enhanced our mealtimes already in the Pathway Room by creating our own individual placemats to identify our personal eating space. The educators have been placing the placemats out on the tables and the children have been invited to sit where their placemat is positioned. This is promoting the children to sit with a wider range of peers and socialise with children they might not choose to on a regular basis. This experience supports our continued inquiry from last term, strengthening our group function and connections with each other.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

Accessing myLink for the first time:

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 2, Term 2 2023

May 4, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

We are thrilled to welcome you back to what is shaping up to be a busy and exciting term in the ELC. It was wonderful to hear about our Vacation Care program and children’s engagement in the many learning opportunities it provided. I would like to thank Sera Boccaccio, Alexandra Portus and Valentina Fenandes for the work they put into organising our Vacation care program and ensuring it ran smoothly.

Over the holidays I was fortunate to visit Reggio Emilia in Italy along with Jess Catt, Elina Qian and Emma Huang. This was a wonderful experience that reinforced the incredible work that is happening across our Learning Communities. It was a great opportunity to engage in rich dialogue about early childhood education with teachers and educators from across the world.

Key themes included the rights of the child and collegiality amongst staff. Every child has the right to rich early learning that establishes strong relationships, is responsive to their needs, builds on their current knowledge and understandings, supports them to express themselves, nurtures their creativity and sparks curiosity, wonder and joy. In everything that we do, we need to come back to ‘the image of the child’ as capable, competent and full of unlimited potential. This should be the driver for how we establish our learning environments, plan for learning, engage with children and foster community.

Collegiality was another important theme. This highlights the shared responsibility we all have for providing a rich learning environment, where children feel happy, safe and connected. It was such a pleasure to return to St Peter’s Girls’ ELC and see the Rights of the Child and collegiality so evident in our Centre’s day-to-day practices and operations.

We are on a cycle of continuous improvement and as such, we are looking forward to sharing our experiences and learning from Reggio Emilia with our staff to explore how we can build on our offerings to children and families.

Liz Schembri
Director of ELC

Important Dates

Friday 12 May: Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea
Tuesday 16 May: Learning Community 1 Photo Day
Wednesday 17 May: Playgroup Photo Day
Thursday 18 May: Learning Community 2 Photo Day
Monday 29 May: ELC Reconciliation Week Celebration
Monday 12 June: Public Holiday (ELC Closed)
Wednesday 14 June: New Family Welcome Evening
Monday 26 June: ELC Hat Ceremony
3–24 July: Vacation Care

Our Central Idea in Term 2

Each term across the Centre we have a Unit of Inquiry that we focus on. These units are based on specific conceptual understandings or big ideas known as the ‘Central Idea’. This term our Central Idea is ‘People can collaborate and learn together in our community’.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for children to build on their sense of identity as they recognise themselves as part of a wider community. Watch our video for further information.

We would love to hear from you if you have an area of expertise that could support us on this exciting journey of discovery.

Celebrate our Learning

In celebration of a wonderful beginning to the year and a full term of learning, we invite families and treasured friends to join us in Week 3 to view your child’s Portfolio.

Each child’s Portfolio will be available to look at together during drop-off and pick-up times across the week.

Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea

Next Friday 12 May at 2pm, we are hosting our annual Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea in the ELC.

We will be celebrating Mother’s Day and the inspirational women in the children’s lives including mothers, grandmothers and aunties. We look forward to seeing you there!

Pre-service Teachers at the ELC

This term we welcome two pre-service teachers to our ELC. They are joining us for their professional experience placement from 1 May to 1 June.

Darcey Farmer will be working with children in the Hallett Room and Layne Beveridge will be joining us in the Pathway Room.

Both Darcey and Layne are in their third year at Uni SA studying a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education. They are looking forward to working with the children and developing positive relationships.

Photo Days in Term 2

We are looking forward to our upcoming photo days this term. The structure for how photos will be taken has changed for 2023. To maintain consistency for children and families, and to ensure minimal disruption to the Learning Communities, there will be an allocated photo day for each Learning Community.

Tuesday 16 May – Learning Community 1 (Bell Yett and Stonyfell)
Wednesday 17 May – Playgroup
Thursday 18 May – Learning Community 2 (Ferguson, Hallett and Pathway)

Please note that photos will only be taken of children in each Learning Community on the allocated day above.

If your child does not attend ELC on the allocated day and you would like them to have their photo taken, you are welcome to bring them into the Centre on the day. Group photos will commence at 9.30am, followed by individual photos (with children who have been brought in specially photographed first).

Please ensure that your child is wearing their ELC uniform with neatly styled hair on the day.

If you require further information, please email Fiona McGregor via fmcgregor@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

Our ELC photos are incredibly special mementos which require a considerable amount of organisation, so we appreciate your support and timely arrival on these days.

News from Vacation Care

During Vacation Care the children in Learning Community 2 immersed themselves in the world of palaeontology. Over the two-week period, our young paleontologists worked together to explore the functions of a Museum, Dig Site and Library. They enjoyed making fossils out of salt dough, collecting data at our dig site, building their research skills in our library and curating their very own exhibition in our Hallett Museum. This exploration provided us with the opportunity to share knowledge as a community whilst developing our relationships.

In Learning Community 1 the Hallett Garden engaged children’s interest and curiosity. It is wonderful to hear how the children have been watering, weeding and nurturing the garden beds and observing the growth of the plants. Children expressed their learning in may ways including through mark making, role play and discussing their observations. Ferguson Park continues to delight the children as they learn about nature and their environment.

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱的家长朋友们，

我们非常高兴地欢迎你回到这个即将到来的忙碌而激动人心的学期。我们听到假期日托班孩子们的学习，以及孩子们有各种机会积极的参与其中，真是太好了。在此，我想要感谢Sera Boccaccio，Alexandra Portus 和 Valentina Fenande这些教师为组织我们的假期日托班所做的工作，并确保它顺利进行。

在假期里，我很幸运地和Jess Catt, Elina Qian和Emma Huang一起去了意大利的Reggio Emilia。这是一次美妙的经历，加强了我们学习社区正在进行的令人难以置信的工作。这是一个与来自世界各地的教师和教育工作者就幼儿教育进行丰富对话的好机会。

主要主题包括儿童权利和教育工作者共同合作。每个孩子都有权获得丰富的早期学习，这种学习可以建立牢固的关系，满足他们的需求，以他们现有的知识和理解为基础，支持他们表达自己，培养他们的创造力，激发他们的好奇心、求知欲和快乐学习。在我们所做的每一件事中，我们都需要以“孩子的形象”为中心，即有能力和充满无限潜力的形象。这应该成为我们如何建立学习环境、制定学习计划、与儿童互动和培育社区的驱动力。

在共同合作这一重要的主题中，强调了我们所有人都有责任提供一个丰富的学习环境，让孩子们感到快乐、安全和相互联系。我很高兴回到圣彼得女校早教中心，看到孩子们的合作精神在我们早教中心的日常实践和运作中是如此的明显。

我们正处于不断改进的周期中，因此，我们期待着与我们的教师们分享我们的经验，并向Reggio Emilia教育理念学习，探索如何为儿童和家庭提供更好服务。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

Welcome to Term 2! We are delighted to be with our young friends once again. This term we welcome Miss Redmond back into our Learning Community after the birth of her son Remy. Annabelle will be working in the Stonyfell Room with Mrs Tierney as the teacher on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. As a teaching team we are working collaboratively across Bell Yett and Stonyfell Rooms leading intentional learning groups with children from both rooms. We value all learning opportunities as a chance to gain a deeper understanding of the unique gifts of each child in our community.

Our central idea for the term is ‘People can collaborate and learn together in our community’. Our chosen concept to explore is function. We will be working alongside the children to discover, research and build their knowledge and understanding that everything has a purpose, a role and a function in our community. We will challenge and expand the children’s thinking, exploring dispositions for learning including curiosity, problem solving and creativity as we unpack the value in being a global citizen and what it means for future generations.

Some of the questions we will pose to the children include:

Why do we have bins? Why are they different colours?
What is your role in the classroom? The role of the teacher?
Why do you come to school?
Why do we eat? Why do we drink?
Where does it come from?
Why do we acknowledge Reconciliation Week?

This week we will begin our regular visits to Ferguson Park. We will share and explore the Reconciliation story with the children, valuing the importance of our history is vital as we move towards walking side by side in harmony. As we gather in a Palti Circle we will consider Tamaru’s teachings about ways our interconnection with plants, trees and animals can promote sustainable living.

We look forward to the many opportunities this term will present for deep learning.

Nell Tierney, Annabelle Redmond and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

Welcome to Term 2 in Learning Community 2! We have begun the term by celebrating the wonderful learning that occurred during Vacation Care, led by Alexandra Portus. The children were introduced to the concept of ‘function’, where they explored the functions of spaces and jobs associated with Paleontology. They created a beautiful exhibition in the ‘Hallett Museum’ using recycled boxes as display cases that housed our handmade fossils and research labels. The children were excited about their exhibition so they decided to create invitations and invite the children in LC1 to our opening. This work is still in the Hallett Room and we invite you to pop in and take a look.

The concept of function will be our focus this term as we observe the children and offer initial provocations for learning. The educators use the start of term to introduce ideas and test experiences to see where the gaze of the child lays. We also bring a range of observations from last term, as well as areas we need to continue to develop with the children. As you enter your children’s rooms, we encourage you to look around and see what you notice, what provocations have been offered to the children and consider where you think our inquiry learning will lead.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

Last week a friend in the Pathway Room exclaimed, “In six days I am turning 5. Then I will be going to school. I am going to miss you then.” This is an exciting time for many of our Pathway friends as they enter their last weeks as an ELC student. This term brings a time of reflection on the past and wondering about the future. The teachers in the Pathway Room will support each child in the next step of their educational journey as they prepare for starting school. We will embrace formal transition visits to school and share in the excitement alongside the children. Over the term we will delve more deeply into our inquiry further developing the children’s curiosity and interest in engaging in a shared learning investigation.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

Sun Safety in the ELC

We have a Sun Safe Policy to ensure that each child minimises any health risks due to sun exposure. We ask that you support this policy by:

Providing your child with a named wide brimmed hat.
Applying sunscreen before your child comes to the Centre
Dressing your child in the ELC uniform to ensure that their skin is appropriately covered when outdoors.

Children not wearing a hat will be required to play in an area protected from the sun. If your child has any sensitivities to the SP50+ broad spectrum and water-resistant sunscreen provided by the Centre, we ask that you supply an alternative for us to use throughout the day.

Appropriate footwear is also required and we ask that children wear sneakers or sandals that have a backing to them. For visits into Ferguson Park, long pants and closed-toed shoes are required.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

Accessing myLink for the first time:

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 10, Term 1 2023

April 5, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

What a wonderful Term 1 we have had at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, full of rich learning opportunities. The unit of inquiry across the Centre has focused on the central idea that ‘Stories and rituals support a shared understanding of our community.’ This has prioritised creating a sense of belonging as children have been immersed in daily rituals and storytelling, laying the foundations for who we are as a community. The connection we have with the Kaurna people’s history and culture has been explored and enriched through the morning Banbanbalya, visits to Ferguson Conservation Park and engaging with the curated spaces that support our understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, cultures and perspectives.

In Learning Community 2, children have identified ways in which they are similar and different. They have explored self-portraiture using a variety of mediums and been encouraged to be attentive to the details they have observed. This has led to children creatively producing representations of themselves. I have been inspired by the journey that the Pathway children have been on as they created a class portrait, moving from the ‘Me’ to ‘We’. It has been wonderful to watch this group of young learners building a strong sense of community as they prepare for their transition to school in Term 3.

This unit of inquiry has led to many other investigations that have been beautifully captured through the children’s portfolios and on our digital platform myLink. If you have not yet accessed the learning that is happening in your child’s Learning Community through myLink, please let us know so that we can help you with this.

We have had a number of opportunities to come together as a community this term through our Meet the Teacher Information Evening, Twilight Picnic, Parent-Teacher Conversations, Friends of the ELC meetings and our ELC Coffee Morning. We are looking forward to many more opportunities to connect with you throughout Term 2 as we work in partnership to offer your child the very best learning environment.

I would like to take this opportunity to say farewell to Henrietta Balnaves. Henrietta has been an extremely valued member of St Peter’s Girls’ ELC as a co-educator, ELC Manager in 2022, and this term as a teacher, and she will be missed. We wish Henrietta all the best for her overseas travel and work. We also thank Sera Boccaccio for the contribution she has made in the role of ELC Manager. We deeply appreciate Sera’s dedication and commitment to children, families and staff. Sera will be working in Learning Community 2 next term.

We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday break.

Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning

Important Dates

7 – 10 April: Easter (ELC closed)
11 – 24 April: Vacation Care
Tuesday 25 April: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Wednesday 26 April: Term 2 commences
Friday 12 May: Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea
Tuesday 16 May: Learning Community 1 Photo Day
Wednesday 17 May: Playgroup Photo Day
Thursday 18 May: Learning Community 2 Photo Day

A Message from Henrietta Balnaves

Dearest St Peter’s Girls’ ELC community

It is with a full heart that I say farewell to you all this week before I begin my new adventure overseas. These past seven years at the Centre have been such an amazing experience full of learning, teaching, exploring, sharing, experiencing, growing and reflecting alongside each child. To find a workplace that continually brings you so much joy is a blessing, and this is thanks to the wonderful and welcoming ELC community we continue to foster.

I extend my gratitude and appreciation to each of you for sharing warmth, kindness, care and friendship, especially throughout last year in my role as ELC Manager. I will always cherish St Peter’s Girls’ ELC as a place of joy, wonder, creativity and belonging.

I consider myself lucky to have been supported and surrounded by such an outstanding team of educators and leaders, full of inspiration and continually pushing this Centre to progressive new levels. I am in awe of the dedication and passion that continues to fill each classroom, each meeting and each plan for the future. I am so grateful to have shared in our Reconciliation journey, and solidified my respect for First Nations people, histories and perspectives. I look forward to hearing the wonderful lengths this Centre will continue to achieve in the years to come, led by Director of Early Learning Liz Schembri.

I know everyone is excited to welcome back Annabelle Redmond next term from her parental leave as she takes over from me as part-time teacher in the Stonyfell Room. I wish you all the best for the remainder of the school year, and I look forward to visiting when I return.

Kindest regards

Henrietta Balnaves (Miss B)

Photo Days in Term 2

We are looking forward to the upcoming photo days in Term 2. The structure for how photos will be taken has changed for 2023. To maintain consistency for children and families, and to ensure minimal disruption to the Learning Communities, there will be an allocated photo day for each Learning Community.

Learning Community 1 (Bell Yett and Stonyfell) – Tuesday 16 May
Playgroup – Wednesday 17 May
Learning Community 2 (Ferguson, Hallett and Pathway) – Thursday 18 May

Please note that photos will only be taken of children in each Learning Community on the allocated day above.

If your child does not attend ELC on the allocated day and you would like them to have their photo taken, you are welcome to bring them into the Centre on the day. Group photos will commence at 9.30am followed by individual photos (with children who have been brought in specially photographed first).

Please ensure that your child is wearing their ELC uniform with neatly styled hair on the day.

If you require further information, please email Fiona McGregor via fmcgregor@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

As you can imagine, these photos require a large amount of organisation, and we appreciate your support and cooperation.

Celebrate Our Learning

In celebration of a wonderful term of learning, we invite families and treasured friends to join us in Week 3 next term to share the children’s Portfolios.

Each child’s Portfolio will be available to look at together during drop-off and pick-up times across the week.

Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea

On Friday 12 May at 2pm, we will hold our annual Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea in the ELC.

We will be celebrating Mother’s Day and the inspirational women in the children’s lives including mothers, grandmothers and aunties. Please save the date!

Vacation Care – Bookings Closed

Vacation Care will run from Tuesday 11 to Monday 24 April, and bookings are now closed.

Children attending Vacation Care will need to bring their own packed lunch, hat, water bottle and a change of clothes each day. Due to allergies, we ask that you do not pack nuts. A healthy morning and afternoon tea and late snack will be provided to children.

If you need to make changes to your booking, please email ELCVacationCare@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

Please note: due to staffing requirements, any cancellations will incur the full day’s fee.

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱的家长朋友们，

我们在圣彼得女校ELC 渡过了一个多么美好的学期，充满了丰富的学习机会。本学期整个早教中心的探究内容侧重于“故事和仪式促进我们对社区的共同理解”的中心思想。这主要基于对为整个中心营造一种“归属感”的考虑，因为孩子们已经沉浸在日常仪式中，并与丰富的故事联系在一起，这些故事为我们作为一个社区奠定了基础。我们每天都在探索和丰富我们与 Kaurna 原驻人民历史和文化的联系，包括早晨在教室里的集合仪式（Banbanbalya）、参观 Ferguson 公园以及参与精心策划的空间，这些空间支持我们了解土著和托雷斯海峡岛民的历史、文化和观念。

在学习2社区中，孩子们辨识了他们彼此之间相似以及不同的地方。他们通过使用各种媒介来探索自画像以及他们观察到的细节。这促进了孩子们运用创造力去表达自己的形象。我从“通往小学之路”学前班中孩子们所经历的学习之旅中得到了启发，他们创作了一幅全班画像，从“我”到“我们”。很高兴看到这群年轻学生在为第 3 学期的入学过渡做准备时建立了强烈的社区意识。

在这个学习单元中引发了许多其他探究成果，这些成果通过孩子们的学习文档和我们的数字平台 MyLink 得到了很好的展示。如果您尚未通过 MyLink 访问您孩子的学习社区中正在发生的学习，请告诉我们，以便我们可以帮助您。

通过这个学期与老师的信息交流之夜、暮光野餐晚会、家长与教师的一对一家长会、ELC 之友会议和我们的 ELC 咖啡早晨，我们有很多机会作为一个社区聚集在一起。在我们与您合作为您的孩子提供最好的学习环境的过程中，我们期待在第二学期有更多机会与您联系。

我想借此机会向 Henrietta Balnaves 老师告别。 Henrietta 一直是圣彼得女校 ELC 社区极其重要的成员，在 2022 年之前是ELC的教师并担任过ELC 经理一职，并在本学期担任主课老师，我们会想念她。我们祝愿 Henrietta 在海外旅行和工作中一切顺利。我们还要感谢 Sera Boccaccio 在担任 ELC 经理期间所做的工作。我们感谢 Sera 对孩子、家庭和员工的奉献和承诺。 Sera 将在第 2 学期在学习二社区工作。

我们祝您和您的家人渡过一个美好的复活节假期。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

As we finish up a fantastic first term in Learning Community 1, we value this opportunity to reflect on children’s growth and successes, along with the rich learning that has occurred within our rooms.

We started Week 1 with our intentions to develop a cohesive Learning Community, developing and using shared rituals and stories to support connection and learning. Through our special ELC Banbanbalya morning ritual, we watched children’s sense of belonging and confidence bloom. We explored various stories that make up the fabric of our ELC history, such as Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan, When We Go Walkabout by Rhoda Lalara and a version of The Rainbow Serpent told by Kaurna elder Tamaru. Through this sharing of stories, we observed children develop a strong connection to our community, whilst using storytelling as a means of communication.

Relationships are crucial to a sense of belonging (EYLF, 2009). Our aim for this term was to support children to develop and build upon their sense of belonging to Learning Community 1. We celebrated little moments every day, documenting the connections the children are forming with their peers and educators. We also value the relationship children have with materials, which was documented and supported with the help of our Atelierista Caterina Pennestri. We look forward to celebrating your child’s progress through their learning Portfolio, which will be available to share in Week 3 of Term 2.

We farewell Henrietta Balnaves as she heads overseas and wish her all the best. We are looking forward to welcoming back Annabelle Redmond who is excited to return from parental leave as Stonyfell Room teacher on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays alongside Nell Tierney.

Nell Tierney, Henrietta Balnaves and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

The beginning of the year offered us the concepts of change and possibility. We welcomed Chloe Skoss to our team as the teacher in the Ferguson Room, and our Learning Community grew from two rooms to three as we embarked on the first term of the Pathway Room. Working alongside children yields many amazing moments. We have experienced vibrant learning opportunities and ways to build relationships with each other and deepen our sense of belonging to the ELC community.

As our inquiries progressed, we planned and implemented learning experiences to build the children’s interest, spark ideas and nurture creativity. Our rooms have begun to fill with documentation showing our thinking and learning, and our myLink pages are regularly updated. The teachers have been gathering and documenting children’s involvement in our investigations. Our Parent-Teacher Conversations gave us an opportunity to share the work and photos in your children’s Portfolios, and allowed us to reflect, discuss and set goals for each child with their family.

We hope you have enjoyed this term as much as we have and we can’t wait to extend this learning in Term 2.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

At the end of each term, the educators come together to reflect, interpret and plan to move forward. Our Parent-Teacher Conversations have given us the opportunity to assess and set goals for each child and discuss their personal growth and areas for continued exploration. As part of these conversations, we have had the opportunity to reflect on our educator intention, which is to support the children to move from the ‘ME’ to the ‘WE’, where they are able to recognise themselves as a member of a group and the valuable contributions they make to our class.

We have supported the children to become more independent, more aware of others’ needs and feelings, and to be a proud member of the Pathway Room. We look forward to consolidating this learning as we continue together in Term 2.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

Sun Safety in the ELC

We have a Sun Safe Policy to ensure that each child minimises any health risks due to sun exposure. We ask that you support this policy by:

Providing your child with a named wide brimmed hat.
Applying sunscreen before your child comes to the Centre
Dressing your child in the ELC uniform to ensure that their skin is appropriately covered when outdoors.

Appropriate footwear is also required and we ask that children wear sneakers or sandals that have a backing to them. For visits into Ferguson Park, long pants and closed-toed shoes are required.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 8, Term 1 2023

March 22, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

You may have noticed exciting developments happening across the Centre. Our new Atelier space is under construction, the Stonyfell Room veranda is being updated and we are adding a reception desk in the foyer. These changes and additions have been carefully considered in line with our St Peter’s Girls’ ELC philosophy and the needs of our children and families.

We are very fortunate to have our Atelierista, Caterina Pennestri, at the Centre. Caterina works with staff and children to ensure engagement with creative materials and experiences. She plans alongside staff to support pedagogy and practice, and develops curated creative spaces within the learning environments. Our new Atelier will strengthen our commitment to children’s creative expression through the ‘Hundred Languages’. I look forward to seeing the wonderfully rich learning opportunities this space will offer the children. Their passions, creativity, theories and ideas will be nurtured as they are supported to discover, create and explore their understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Improvements to the Stonyfell Room veranda include a roof to offer shade and make this space more versatile and available to children. From the veranda, there is a wonderful view of our neighbouring Ferguson Conservation Park. These updates will maximise children’s engagement with this space and provide further connection to their natural environment.

It is exciting to see all these developments at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, and I cannot wait to witness the children utilising these spaces and engaging in rich, authentic and meaningful learning experiences.

Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning

Important Dates

28, 29 March & 3 April: Parent-Teacher Conversations
7 – 10 April: Easter (ELC closed)
11 – 24 April: Vacation Care
Tuesday 25 April: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Wednesday 26 April: Term 2 commences
Friday 12 May: Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea

Life and Learning in Ferguson Park

Where we are located at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, we are in the unique position to learn in and learn about nature every day. Ferguson Park is central to our lives at the ELC. When the children and educators venture into the nature reserve, it is apparent that bodies, hearts and minds are engaged.

We have worked in collaboration with Kaurna elders to create rituals that are spiritual and meaningful as we strive to be inclusive of each other and to acknowledge, celebrate and embrace Aboriginal culture and languages. The children begin their excursion sitting together on the logs in a Palti Circle, sharing our Acknowledgment of Country in Kaurna and in English. We also share histories and stories in our Banbanbalya (meeting) and learn how our first nations people lived and how the land was their mother as it provided them with everything they needed.

We have many projects that have evolved from our learning and the embedding of Kaurna culture and language. These include:

Gathering in the Palti Circle speaking and singing in Kaurna language
Climbing the logs and carrying sticks
Exploring the Wodli (traditional shelter)
Feeling the hnum hnum (sap) on the trees and learning about its rich history
Looking for evidence of animals and photographing bird and insect life
Searching for kulu (koalas), learning that they sleep in the male trees and eat in the female trees
Identifying and labelling the native plant species and fungi
Understanding why native trees and bushes are grown and what food or medicine they provide

Our senses and thoughts are absorbed in what is around us. What we experience both individually and as a group has an impact on us emotionally, as we develop a love for the land so that we look after it for future generations.

Visiting and revisiting the same place means that the children notice all of the little things that may ordinarily go unnoticed in the busyness of our lives, such as:

A tiny ant running along a log
The edges of a gum leaf that has been nibbled by a creature long since gone
A honey glass that was so plentiful a few weeks ago has now all but disappeared
An abandoned spider web
The rainbow lorikeets that keep returning to the same hollow in a flurry of feathers and chatter

This noticing of all of the tiny signs of life helps create empathy and a longing to protect. The value of caring for everything on the land is central to the way we co-construct our community. This is the most significant work we are doing together with the children in Ferguson Park.

Our ELC Twilight Family Picnic

It was lovely to spend time with our ELC children and families at our Twilight Family Picnic. Gathering as a community builds connections and adds to the rich tapestry of who we are. Creating a warm and welcoming environment where children and families feel a sense of belonging is central to everything we do. Connection and belonging are vital to establish a flourishing community and we look forward to continuing nurturing this throughout 2023 and beyond.

Thank you to our Friends of the ELC (FOELC) for the work they put into preparing for this event. It was wonderful to hear from Angelica Mesisca about the FOELC and what they do. If you are interested in joining this group and connecting with other families, please contact Angelica via 0434 832 127.

Parent-Teacher Conversations – Bookings Close Today

ELC Parent-Teacher Conversations will take place on 28 and 29 March and 3 April, and bookings close today at 5pm.

Last minute bookings or changes can be made via myLink:

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 until 5pm today.

If you require myLink assistance, please contact the IT Hub via 08 8334 2227 or helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

Vacation Care – Bookings Close Tomorrow

Vacation Care will run from Tuesday 11 to Monday 24 April, and bookings close tomorrow at 5pm.

Families must book the days they would like their child to attend Vacation Care. To access our online booking form, click here

Similar to a typical ELC day, children will need to bring their own packed lunch, hat, water bottle and a change of clothes each day. Due to allergies, we ask that you do not pack nuts. A healthy morning and afternoon tea and late snack will continue to be provided to children.

Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea

On Friday 12 May at 2pm, we will hold our annual Mothers and Treasured Friends’ Afternoon Tea in the ELC. We will be celebrating Mother’s Day and the inspirational women in the children’s lives including mothers, grandmothers and aunties. Please save the date!

End-of-Term Coffee Van

The coffee van is returning to the ELC. We invite parents and caregivers to stop by and enjoy a complimentary coffee and hot cross bun to celebrate a successful first term:

Thursday 6 April
From 7.30am
ELC Hallett Road Entrance

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱的家长朋友，

你可能已经注意到ELC的各处都进行着令人期待的改建。我们的新艺术空间正在建设中，Stonyfell教室外部与公园连接的露台正在更新，并且我们在门厅里增加了一个接待台。这些变化和新增区域是经过深思熟虑的，符合我们的圣彼得女校ELC的理念以及我们孩子和家庭的需求。

在我们ELC，我们十分幸运能与我们的艺术教育专家Caterina Pennestri一起工作。Caterina与孩子们和教师们一起工作，鼓励他们参与到创意材料的运用和体验。她同教师们一起支持教学实践的设计，并在学习环境中开发有目的的创意空间体验。我们的新工作室将通过“百种语言”加强我们对儿童创造性表达的承诺。我期待看到这个空间将为孩子们提供丰富的学习机会。他们的激情、创造力、理论和想法将得到培养，因为他们被支持去发现、创造和探索他们对自己和周围世界的理解。

Stonyfell教室与公园连接的露台的改建始于去年年底，其中包括一个提供遮阳的屋顶，使这个空间更多功能，更适合孩子们使用。从阳台上还可以看到邻近的Ferguson公园的美景。这些更新将最大程度地提高孩子们对这个空间的参与度，并提供与自然环境的联系。

看到圣彼得女校ELC的这些更新是令人十分激动的，我迫不及待地想看到孩子们利用这些空间，参与丰富、真实和有意义的学习体验。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

As part of our focus on sustainability at the ELC, we have been engaging the children in our ‘garden to plate’ inquiry, developing their awareness of where food comes from and their understanding of sustainable practices.

This term’s inquiry has strengthened children’s connections to spaces within the ELC, including the Community Garden and growing spaces in the Learning Community 1 outdoor area. They have been involved in harvesting the tomatoes from last year’s crop, clearing the garden beds and pots, and preparing the soil for new planting.

The gathered produce has been examined closely, with children documenting their observations using markers and watercolour paints. The fresh tomatoes have been used for a range of delicious recipes including tomato focaccia, bruschetta and gazpacho. The children have observed how foods can be transformed through chopping, blending, mashing and mixing. They have explored mathematical concepts as they measure and weigh ingredients and consider shape and size. Following a recipe has developed their understanding of the written word and how it can be used to communicate. Children have also been encouraged to taste ingredients and food they may not have tried before.

Now that the garden beds have been cleared, we are planning what our next crops will be. The children have been making suggestions of produce and have been involved in a democratic voting process. We are examining the science of growing and discussing how the plants will need daily care, water and sunshine to thrive and grow. We are excited to commence the next ‘garden to plate’ cycle and can’t wait to share our journey with you.

Nell Tierney, Henrietta Balnaves and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

Although the teachers in Learning Community 2 meticulously plan and curate intentional daily learning activities, we often find ourselves delivering the most relevant learning experiences through spontaneous teachable moments. Early childhood teachers know there is a specific art to ‘letting go’ of the plan we created the day before and acknowledging that sometimes there are moments throughout the day that can be seized upon to deliver organic learning experiences. These teachable moments don’t occur every day, but when they do, children enjoy such special and authentic opportunities to develop their knowledge.

An example occurred last week when a spontaneous conversation about children’s different coloured ‘plush bunnies’ was overheard, sparking a 35-minute conversation and mini lesson that supported children to further explore the concept of ‘uniqueness’ and multiculturalism. This conversation also encouraged children to think about their ideas through a critical lens to understand ‘why’ we are each unique.

Learning Community 2 friends Ariella, Willow, Qing, Emma R and Clara were overheard discussing the differences between their plush bunnies before our morning Banbanbalya, when they suddenly and excitedly came to the conclusion that even though their plush bunnies are different sizes and colours, they are all still bunnies! After further discussion, the children then came to the realisation that people are also the same. This realisation inspired us to lie down in a circle and reach our hands out into the middle, to closely observe our different skin colours and question why some people have different coloured skin. We discussed how our skin colours actually relate to where our family is from. The children then further developed their understanding of multiculturalism by listening to the storybook I’m Australian Too to understand how many of us have come to Australia from different countries, yet we are all Australian now.

Although this organic experience unfolded spontaneously, it tied in beautifully with our current IB inquiry into ‘Who We Are’. As we have celebrated Harmony Day, we have also been exploring our diversity in the ELC through a range of artistic languages to support the children to understand this year’s theme of living in harmony together.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

This week in the Pathway Room, the educators shared with the children their portfolio documentation. We realised that it represented ourselves as an individual, but questioned where was the evidence of our friends in each other’s portfolios. We are keen for the children to see themselves as an individual within a group and recognise that they are a valued member of our classroom. We have been engaging the children in various experiences where we are collaborating, sharing ideas, challenging perspectives, problem-solving and learning positive social interactions.

We reflected on our self-portraits in our portfolio and wondered how we could include our friends. Henry commented, ‘We could do a group picture.’ We discussed together the difference between a self-portrait and portrait. We decided to take Henry’s advice and capture some class portraits. Organising our portraits for photographing was such a fun and enjoyable experience as it encouraged the children to work together to ensure they were all visible in the photo. Then, we printed the photographs and encouraged the children to draw their representation of the class portrait. Our inquiry is moving us from the ME to the WE.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

Sun Safety in the ELC

We have a Sun Safe Policy to ensure that each child minimises any health risks due to sun exposure. We ask that you support this policy by:

Providing your child with a named wide brimmed hat.
Applying sunscreen before your child comes to the Centre
Dressing your child in the ELC uniform to ensure that their skin is appropriately covered when outdoors.

Appropriate footwear is also required and we ask that children wear sneakers or sandals that have a backing to them. For visits into Ferguson Park, long pants and closed-toed shoes are required.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

Accessing myLink for the first time:

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 6, Term 1 2023

March 9, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

It is hard to believe that we are already in the second half of Term 1. In the past couple of weeks, it has been exciting to watch the learning across the Centre and how this has evolved as a result of children’s interests, questions, curiosities and developmental needs. I am privileged to be working with a dedicated and committed team of professionals who are very intentional in the way they plan for and personalise learning.

At St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, the child is central to everything we do. Whether we are planning our daily rituals or learning intentions, we are focused on what is in the best interests of the children in our learning environment. Planning for learning is a personalised approach and the result of observing children’s interactions with their environment, their peers and their educators. Staff come together to discuss and interpret their observations and determine the next steps to support children’s holistic growth and development.

At St Peter’s Girls, we embed the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) in our planning, and we have a long history of connection with the Reggio Emilia Approach. In both the IB PYP and Reggio Emilia Approach, collaboration is central to everything we do. Valuing diversity of ideas and perspectives allows us to engage in constructive discussions, think more deeply about the work we do and be creative in the way we approach teaching and learning.

The collaborative planning process is driven by identifying needs in the learning environment, and this feeds directly into our planning documentation, which we call ‘Planning for the Possible’. Within this, teachers clearly articulate how they will set up the learning space, what opportunities they will provide, what provocations they will use, what learning points are being encouraged and the types of questions they will ask when engaging with children. The next time you are in your child’s learning environment, we invite you to take a close look at some of the vibrant educational opportunities provided.

Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning

Important Dates

Monday 13 March: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Friday 17 March: ELC Twilight Family Picnic, 5pm
28, 29 March & 3 April: Parent-Teacher Conversations
7 – 10 April: Easter (ELC closed)
11 – 24 April: Vacation Care
Tuesday 25 April: Public Holiday (ELC closed)

New Art Space in Our ELC

Creativity is one of our core values at St Peter’ Girls and a fundamental skill in approaching life with curiosity, courage and love for discovery. We believe that creativity is not only a gift but a quality of thinking that we can nourish daily.

We are designing a captivating new Atelier (Art Studio) where the children can explore thought-provoking materials and art techniques.

Supported by our ELC Atelierista (Art Educator) Caterina Pennestri, the children across the Centre are exposed to various artistic and expressive languages including painting, sculpture, dance, music, technology and multisensory experiences. The Atelierista carefully curates experiences in the Atelier to support our students in expressing their theories and documenting their creative thinking. Caterina is working alongside the teachers to ensure children’s interests, intentional learning and creativity are balanced.

The Atelier is also a space where we make visible the learning processes of the children through pedagogical documentation. The Atelier supports the communication between teachers, educators, Learning Communities, children and families. Open-ended learning experiences and a living environment become opportunities to support the image of children equipped with many expressive languages.

Inspired by the Reggio Emilia educational project, our Atelier will be a space where children can express themselves through their Hundred Languages which is a metaphor for the extraordinary potential of children’s creative processes involved in the construction of knowledge. The children have a hundred ways of thinking, expressing their theories and understanding the world around them. Encouraging many languages is pivotal in enriching children’s learning experiences.

Parent-Teacher Conversations – Book Now

ELC Parent-Teacher Conversations will take place on 28 and 29 March and 3 April, and bookings are now open.

This is an opportunity for parents to meet your child’s teacher and discuss their learning. 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:

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 until 5pm Thursday 23 March.

If you require myLink assistance, please contact the IT Hub via 08 8334 2227 or helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

Vacation Care – Book Now

Vacation Care will run from Tuesday 11 to Monday 24 April.

Families must book the days they would like their child to attend Vacation Care. To access our online booking form, click here

Due to limited spaces during Vacation Care, we kindly ask for you to book early.

Bookings will close Friday 24 March at 5pm. If you need to make changes to your booking, please email ELCVacationCare@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au. Please note: due to staffing requirements, cancellations made after the booking period ends will incur the full day’s fee.

ELC Twilight Family Picnic – Next Week!

The Twilight Family Picnic is an ELC community event that provides a wonderful opportunity to meet other families and chat with the ELC educators.

Friday 17 March
5 – 7pm
Chiverton Lawns

Bring a picnic basket and rug for this family-friendly gathering. BYO drinks – no glassware please.

A sausage sizzle will be available and families are encouraged to pre-order sausages as there will be limited availability for purchasing on the night. To pre-order, click here

We look forward to seeing you there!

New Catering in the ELC

We have partnered with Complete Hospitality and Catering Services (CHCS) to provide a fresh new approach to morning and afternoon tea at the ELC. CHCS has been in the food and catering industry for more than 40 years, believing food should be fresh, tasty, nutritious, accessible to all and adapted to the seasons.

The new menus will provide delicious food for the children that is age appropriate and nutritious. We love to see children eating and enjoying their food, and CHCS will continually evolve the offerings to keep food exciting and tasty as the seasons change.

End-of-Term Coffee Van

The coffee van is returning to the ELC. We invite parents and caregivers to stop by and enjoy a complimentary coffee and hot cross bun to celebrate a successful first term:

Thursday 6 April
From 7.30am
ELC Hallett Road Entrance

来自ELC园长：

Emma Huang

亲爱的家长朋友们，

很难相信我们已经进入了第一学期的下半学期。在过去的几周里，我们很兴奋地看到整个早教中心孩子们的学习，以及这是如何随着孩子们的兴趣、疑问、好奇心和发展需求而得到了进一步的发展。我很荣幸能与一支敬业的专业团队一起工作，他们在设计和孩子们个性化学习方面非常用心。

在圣彼得女校ELC，孩子是我们教学的中心。无论我们是安排我们的日常仪式还是学习方向，我们都专注于在我们的学习环境中什么是孩子们的最大兴趣。学习的计划和安排是一种个性化的方法，是观察儿童与环境、同龄人和教育者互动的结果。教师们聚在一起讨论和分析他们的观察结果，并确定下一步计划，以支持孩子们的全面成长和发展。

在圣彼得女校，我们将国际文凭小学计划(IB PYP)嵌入到我们的规划和学习项目中。我们与雷焦艾米利亚（Reggio Emilia）教育方法有着悠久的联接。在IB PYP和Reggio Emilia方法中，合作是我们教学的核心。重视思想和观点的多样性使我们能够参与建设性的讨论，更深入地思考我们所做的工作，并在我们对教学和学习的方式上有所创新。

协作计划过程是通过识别学习环境中的需求来驱动的，这直接反馈到我们孩子的学习文档中，我们称之为“可能性的教学计划”。在这个过程中，教师清楚地阐明他们将如何布置学习空间，他们将提供什么机会，他们用什么方法来带动和鼓励孩子的学习，以及他们在与孩子接触时将问什么类型的问题。下次您来到孩子的学习环境中，我们有机会邀请您来近一步的看一看孩子们充满活力的学习氛围。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

Storytelling is a joyful experience shared with children from birth and one we value very highly at the ELC. Through story reading and storytelling, children begin to develop fundamental literacy skills including listening and comprehension, using their imagination, increasing vocabulary, enhancing their critical thinking skills, making connections between spoken and written text, and extending their verbal and non-verbal communication skills. We offer many opportunities to share stories through different languages such as loose parts, collage, exploration of light, natural materials, watercolour painting, mark making and drama-based movement to express understandings.

This term, we have introduced picture books including When We Go Walkabout, Wombat Stew and This is Our House. These stories have opened invitations for children to connect to dreamtime stories and culture, play and explore rhyme, rhythm and song while learning the animals native to Australia, and to experience exclusion in play, how that makes them feel and strategies that may assist them in conflict. All of these stories have been purposely chosen to teach children to transfer and adapt what they have learned and to use the processes of play, reflection and investigation to make sense of their world.

We have been going ‘walkabout’ in our garden, exploring our spaces in the ELC that are full of history, all with a memorable story attached. Isabelle was curious when she asked, ‘Why are the rocks coloured?’ This was a wonderful opportunity for us to delve deeply into the history of the Hallett Garden and the story of the Rainbow Serpent. The children have been hooked by the magic and wonder of this Aboriginal Dreaming story. It describes how the Rainbow Serpent came from beneath the ground and created huge ridges, mountains, gorges, waterways and rainbow reflection from the sunlight.

We invite you to come into our classrooms and visit our Learning Community 1 Home Page to engage in your child’s learning and to support them in sharing their knowledge and understandings.

Nell Tierney, Henrietta Balnaves and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

Children learn about themselves and construct their own identity within the context of their families and communities. This includes their relationships with people, places and things, and the actions and responses of others. Identity is not fixed. It is shaped by experiences. When children have positive experiences, they develop an understanding of themselves as significant and respected and feel a sense of belonging. Relationships are the foundations for the construction of identity – ‘Who I am’, ‘How I belong’ and ‘What is my influence?’

This term, our inquiry has been exploring Who We Are. The children have been engaging in a range of experiences to examine and share who they are, and what makes them unique. Many of these activities have had a creative focus including drawing, painting and making. The children have been working on various representations of themselves, some of which are on display in your child’s room and in their individual Portfolio. We will continue to build upon the children’s skills and knowledge of self-portraiture as every experience that is offered has been intentionally curated to do this.

Over the past week, we have introduced the topic of skin and skin colour. This has led to many discussions around why we have skin, the role it plays and why it comes in many beautiful and unique shades. This provocation has allowed us to explore the concept of inclusion, uniqueness and respect. The children have been using a range of art materials to match to their skin tone. They have played with colour mixing and many have been working at creating their own paint shade to reflect who they are. We have explored the map of the world and the importance of geographical location relating to skin colour.

This work is vital for our young children to be exposed too. We want to be in a world that is accepting and celebrates who we are, no matter how we look or what colour our skin is. When working with the children, we don’t draw on what makes us different; we use the word ‘unique’ and look at what makes us the same.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

Our Pathway to School Home Page is an online sharing space that allows families to participate in their child’s learning. At St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, our aim is to share the process of learning, rather than just the end product. We post ongoing documentation of intentional teaching, group times and special or spontaneous moments.

The Pathway friends were delighted at seeing a video of themselves on our Home Page singing, ‘I Can Sing a Rainbow’ using Auslan. One friend shared this video and the learning online with his extended family members at dinner one night, and we were thrilled to hear many children also went home and encouraged their family to log in and watch.

The teachers have been regularly updating the page with educational concepts and experiences and we hope that some of these can be recreated at home to support continuous learning.

If you are having difficulty accessing our Home Page via myLink, please don’t hesitate to contact the Pathway to School teachers for assistance.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

Sun Safety in the ELC

We have a Sun Safe Policy to ensure that each child minimises any health risks due to sun exposure. We ask that you support this policy by:

Providing your child with a named wide brimmed hat.
Applying sunscreen before your child comes to the Centre
Dressing your child in the ELC uniform to ensure that their skin is appropriately covered when outdoors.

Appropriate footwear is also required and we ask that children wear sneakers or sandals that have a backing to them. For visits into Ferguson Park, long pants and closed-toed shoes are required.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Find Out What Happens Throughout the Day at ELC

Accessing myLink for the first time:

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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your parent username and password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right-hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 4, Term 1 2023

February 23, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

The past couple of weeks have been a wonderful opportunity to build connections with you. We have held the ELC – 12 parent Drinks on the Lawns, our ELC Meet the Teacher Information Night, commenced our Playgroup and are looking forward to our Friends of the ELC catch up.

At St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, we don’t just welcome a child, we welcome a family. The partnerships that we create with you allow us to really understand your child, support their sense of belonging and nurture them as a learner. ‘The Language of Welcome’ is a statement that is a central part of our philosophy and clearly articulates the value we place on building an inclusive, connected and flourishing community: ‘Our community deeply values mutually respectful relationships between the children, educators and families, and this shared mission underpins all aspects of our daily life.’

In each Learning Community, there has been an emphasis on building relationships with children and a strong sense of belonging. Rituals and routines have been planned with intention and careful consideration of the children in the setting. The intention behind rituals is to allow children to participate, interact with others and appreciate their connectedness. Rituals allow for predictability and familiarity and foster learning development and wellbeing. I have been very fortunate to spend time with different groups during their morning Banbanbalya. It has been lovely to watch the children come together as a community, participate in the Acknowledgment of Country, engage with Kaurna language and explore what the day ahead will look like. The children are active participants during this time as both their independence and capacity to collaborate are nurtured.

It has been fantastic to observe our Pathway to School children as they begin to explore what starting school will look like and what they are looking forward to. Kirsty Porplycia and the educators in the Pathway Room are working with the children to provide a seamless transition into Reception, supporting them to feel comfortable and confident as they move towards this next stage of their learning journey. Please enjoy watching the video below as it outlines key aspects of our Pathway to School.

As we move further into 2023, we look forward to strengthening our partnerships with you to support your child on their learning journey through our daily interactions and planned events. On Friday 17 March, we will hold our ELC Twilight Family Picnic. Later in the term, we have our Parent-Teacher Conversations which will be an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teacher and discuss their growth and development as we work with you to nurture your child to reach their full potential.

Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning

Important Dates

Friday 3 March: Friends of the ELC Meeting, 9am at Ballaboosta, Burnside
Monday 13 March: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Friday 17 March: ELC Twilight Family Picnic, 5pm
28, 29 March & 3 April: Parent-Teacher Conversations
7 – 10 April: Easter (ELC closed)
11 – 24 April: Vacation Care
Tuesday 25 April: Public Holiday (ELC closed)

Parent-Teacher Conversations

ELC Parent-Teacher Conversations will take place on 28 and 29 March and 3 April, and bookings will open on Wednesday 8 March.

This is an opportunity for parents to meet your child’s teacher and discuss their learning. 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:

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 until 5pm 23 March.

If you require myLink assistance, please contact the IT Hub via 08 8334 2227 or helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.

ELC Twilight Family Picnic

The Twilight Family Picnic is an ELC community event and a wonderful opportunity to meet other families and chat with the ELC Educators.

Friday 17 March
5 – 7pm
Chiverton Lawns

Bring a picnic basket and rug for this family-friendly event. A sausage sizzle will be available on the night. BYO drinks – no glassware please.

Families are encouraged to pre-order their sausages for the picnic as there will be limited availability for purchasing on the night. To book, click here

Friends of the ELC Meeting

Are you a parent/family member looking to be a part of our Friends of the ELC (FOELC), connecting with other families and helping to organise our ELC community events? Building strong relationships together supports the development of a flourishing community for children and families.

Join us for our next meeting at 9am on Friday 3 March at Ballaboosta, 540 Glynburn Road, Burnside

If you would like more information about our Friends of the ELC group, please contact our FOELC Community Representative Angelica Mesisca via 0434 832 127.

New Hats in the ELC

This year, we have launched our new custom-designed ELC uniform, giving our ELC children a smart, cohesive look and simplifying the routine of getting dressed in the morning.

We are excited to introduce a change to our ELC hats. To align with our sustainability focus and support the transition into school, we will be using the School bucket hat. You can purchase these hats from the School Shop. We look forward to implementing this change and transitioning to the new hats throughout 2023. The hat is smart and provides protection for high UV periods.

来自我们的园长，

Emma Huang

亲爱的家长朋友们，

在过去的几周里很高兴能有机会和大家建立了联系。我们在草坪上举办了从ELC 到12年级家长酒会、我们的ELC与老师见面信息交流之夜、开始了我们的每周的“幼儿互动小组”。我们十分期待和我们的ELC之友的相聚。

在圣彼得女校ELC，我们不仅仅欢迎的是每一个孩子，我们更欢迎每一个家庭。我们与您建立的伙伴关系使我们能够真正了解您的孩子，支持他们的归属感，并将他们培养他们为学习者。“欢迎的语言”是我们核心理念，清楚地表达了我们建立包容、联系和繁荣社区的价值:“我们的社区非常重视儿童、教育工作者和家庭之间相互尊重的关系，这一共同的使命支撑着我们日常生活的方方面面。”

在每个学习社区，都强调与孩子们建立关系和强烈的归属感。仪式和每日日程都是经过精心安排的，并仔细考虑了孩子们的情况。仪式背后的意图是让孩子们参与进来，与他人互动，并重视他们之间的联系。在仪式下，孩子们可以对日程有可预测性和熟悉性，促进学习发展和身心健康。我很幸运能在每日孩子们的早会上和不同的小组在一起。看着每个学习社区的孩子们聚集在一起，参与“承认原住民国家仪式”，学习原住民语言，探索每一天会是什么样子，真是太友爱了。在这段时间里，孩子们都是积极的参与者，因为他们的独立性和协作能力都得到了培养。

观察我们的“通往学校学前班”的孩子们，他们开始探索开始上学的样子，他们期待着什么，这是非常美好的。Kirsty Porplycia和这个班的教师们在与孩子们一起工作，为他们提供无缝过渡到小学预备班的机会，让他们感到更加自信更加安心的走向下一阶段的学习旅程。请观看下面的视频，因为它概述了我们的“入学之路学前班”的主要方面。

随着我们更加深入2023年，我们期待着加强与您的合作伙伴关系，通过我们的日常互动和各类活动来支持您的孩子的学习之旅。3月17日星期五，我们将举行“ELC暮光野餐会”。本学期晚些时候，我们将举行家长会，这将是您与孩子的老师见面并讨论他们成长和发展的机会，我们将与您一起培养孩子以充分发挥他们的潜力。

Liz Schembri
园长

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

In Learning Community 1, the children have been eagerly and enthusiastically engaging in our ELC rituals.

Rituals and routines share some similarities. For example, they are predictable, familiar experiences that can make up our day, and are necessary for children as they support their sense of trust and belonging, allowing them to feel confident. These range from applying sunscreen, to finding our hats, nappy changes and toileting, sharing morning and afternoon tea, and of course, our group times.

The difference between a ritual and a routine is the act of being mindful. Here at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, we value all moments throughout our day as rituals, ensuring that no matter what the activity or task is, that we offer children a sense of invitation, creativity, care, awareness and thoughtfulness, giving our full attention and making the everyday extraordinary.

‘Rituals bring awareness to the seemingly mundane aspects of routines, guiding us to be present, mindful and responsible for all our actions.’ (Rituals, 2017, Toni Christie & Memory Loader)

Our morning Banbanbalya is a beautiful ritual we share together each day here at ELC. The word Banbanbalya comes from Kaurna language and translates to a ‘meeting’ of people. Each morning, the children use our clapping sticks (a Kaurna cultural tradition) to encourage everyone to come together and sit in our Palti Circle.

We begin each Banbanbalya with sharing our Acknowledgement of Country together, discussing and singing how we are on Kaurna land, promising to look after it. Children then say good morning to one another and document who is sitting around our circle using symbols, loose parts, graphic language and counting. This is followed by songs to find out the day of the week and the weather, before engaging in our morning inquiry such as a story.

With our Central Idea this term being ‘Rituals and stories can support a shared understanding of our community’, we have been amazed by our community of learners who are engaging in our Banbanbalya and fully immersing themselves as active participants in our rituals.

Nell Tierney, Henrietta Balnaves and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

At this early point in the term, our children have experienced almost a month of change and new challenges. As capable and confident learners, the children have embraced this, however challenging or unpredictable it may have been, and have grown from these new experiences. Across Learning Community 2, we have noticed children become increasingly settled in their learning environments as they develop new and strengthen existing connections with their peers and educators.

Within St Peter’s Girls’ ELC, a great importance is placed on creating rituals and embedding them into our daily routines. Through rituals, children can experience agency and a sense of connection to their Learning Community by participating in daily gatherings and learning provocations together. The process of having rituals at certain parts of the day also creates consistency and allows children to develop an understanding of time and sequence.

To support our new children’s transition to Learning Community 2 and reinforce returning children’s understandings, we are revisiting existing and establishing new ‘Rituals of Our Community’. We considered the rituals already practised in Learning Community 1 which many children are familiar with, and daily rituals that new children shared with us from their own lives. This led us to carefully and intentionally begin to co-construct our daily rituals for Term 1 together.

A focus has been placed on developing the following rituals during our Banbanbalya (group times):

Exploring the clapping sticks story and why we use the clapping sticks to gather the children
Establishing the lighting of candles during Banbanbalya
Using Kaurna language and symbols
Learning our Acknowledgement of Country
Using Kaurna language to express feelings
Counting children around a Palti Circle
Observing ink colours dissolving in a transparent vase with water and oil to represent how feelings can sometimes mix together

Participation in these rituals provides children with a calm and quiet moment of reflection each morning and enables them to feel like a valued member within their Learning Community. We look forward to developing and sharing more of our rituals with families as the term progresses.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

When we are born, our family gives us a special gift: our name. Our name is an important part of our identity and can carry strong personal, cultural and historical connections. It gives us a solid sense of who we are, the communities in which we belong and our place in the world.

When a child starts preschool, their name becomes very important to them and their identity. They begin to see their name in many different places including on their locker, lunch box, drink bottle and the sign on sheets.

At our ELC, we engage the children in games and play experiences using their names which has many cognitive benefits. These include helping children feel important, building community through recognising the names of others, building the concept of print and beginning the process of reading.

The Pathway to School friends are exploring identifying and recording their names with growing confidence, focusing on correct letter formation, and using capital and lower case letters.

We have had fun finding the beginning letter of our names on the THRASS (Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills) chart, and playing with the sounds we can hear.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

myLink Parent Portal

Vacation Care Bookings

Vacation Care will run from Tuesday 11 to Monday 24 April, with bookings opening on Monday 6 March.

The booking link will be distributed to families next week via email.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

Sun Safety in the ELC

We have a Sun Safe Policy to ensure that each child minimises any health risks due to sun exposure. We ask that you support this policy by:

Providing your child with a named wide brimmed hat.
Applying sunscreen before your child comes to the Centre
Dressing your child in the ELC uniform to ensure that their skin is appropriately covered when outdoors.

Appropriate footwear is also required and we ask that children wear sneakers or sandals that have a backing to them. For visits into Ferguson Park, long pants and closed-toed shoes are required.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

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
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.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

Return to listing

ELC News – Week 2, Term 1 2023

February 6, 2023NewsCandi Pearson

Dear Families

It is my honour as Director of St Peter’s Girls’ Early Learners’ Centre to extend a warm welcome to our new and returning families. It’s been wonderful to see children entering their new learning spaces excited and eager to investigate, explore and connect with those around them. In my new role, I have had the opportunity to experience first-hand the atmosphere of warmth and inclusion that is present through interactions with staff and the careful planning that has gone into creating the learning environments.

We are looking forward to working in partnership with you to support your child’s learning, development and wellbeing. Providing consistency for children and families through rituals that support active participation in learning is a focus for the start of the school year. Educators have been working hard to establish strong relationships with each child and to create a sense of belonging here as this is foundational for learning to occur.

We are delighted to have introduced our new Pathway to School for children 6 months before they start Reception. Pathway to School supports children to experience a seamless transition into the next phase of their learning journey. Fundamental capabilities such as social, emotional and self-management skills are further developed, supporting growth in independence, organisation and resilience. Literacy, numeracy and STEM opportunities are amplified through investigations and intentional play-based learning, igniting problem-solving, creativity, curiosity, collaboration and engagement.

At St Peter’s Girls’ Early Learners’ Centre, there is a strong emphasis on ensuring that children have knowledge of and respect for our shared Australian history. The history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is respectfully reflected through community involvement and culturally sensitive practices. During my initial tour of the indoor and outdoor spaces and observations of practice in the Centre, this has been clearly visible. It was wonderful to listen to the journey that the Centre has been on, and to hear the children using and exploring Kaurna language as they engage with each other and their environment.

Sustainability is another core element of our Centre. Children have the opportunity to engage in real-life contexts that allow them to explore concepts of sustainability and responsibility, and to be active and purposeful in their actions. A highlight for me has been visiting the ELC Community Garden with the children; how wonderful to witness the children’s joy as they observe the tomatoes growing and starting to change colour.

It is a privilege to be a part of your child’s learning journey. I am thrilled to be working in partnership with you and our amazing staff, and I look forward to nurturing our thriving community.

Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning

Important Dates

Friday 10 February: ELC – 12 Drinks on the Lawns, 6.30pm
Monday 13 February: ELC Meet the Teacher Information Evening, 6.30pm
Monday 13 March: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Friday 17 March: ELC Twilight Family Picnic, 5pm
7 – 10 April: Easter (ELC closed)
11 – 24 April: Vacation Care
Tuesday 25 April: Public Holiday (ELC closed)

Excursion Permission Forms

Throughout the year, we access both the School grounds and Ferguson Conservation Park for various extended learning opportunities.

In order for your child to join these enriching experiences, your child’s teacher requires your written consent for the remainder of the year. You can complete the electronic forms via myLink:

Visit myLink
Select the ‘Community Portal’ tab
Select the ‘Excursions’ tab
Here, you will find the consent forms

If you would like your child to participate in these excursions, we ask that you complete the electronic forms by Wednesday 22 February 2023.

If you haven’t accessed myLink before, please read the instructions in the article below.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me via email if you have any queries: eschembri@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning

Access Our myLink Parent Portal & ELC Home Page

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 ELC 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)

Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:

Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
Click the ‘Find School’ button
Look up: stpetersgirls
Log in using your School email address & password
Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right hand side
Here, you can navigate the page through the app

Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.

If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.

Meet the Teacher Information evening

Come along to our Meet the Teacher Information Evening to learn about daily life within our Learning Communities.

Monday 13 February, 6.30pm in the ELC (enter via Hallett Road)

Meet our Director of Early Learning Liz Schembri and the staff in your child’s learning environment. ELC Teachers will outline their teaching and learning plan for the year ahead and share with parents how they can support their child’s growth and development.

Playgroup is Back in 2023!

It was wonderful meeting our new Playgroup families and welcoming our returning ones back to St Peter’s Girls’ Playgroup!

Playgroup is on Wednesdays during term time, starting from 9.30am with free play and concluding around 11am with songs, stories and dancing. It is for children aged 6 months to 2 years accompanied by their parents or carers

Please remember to bring sunscreen and a hat for outside play, a drink and snacks for your child (no nuts or nut products please).

While we have some pram parking at the ELC entrance, car parking on Hallett Road is limited, so you may need to find a shady spot in the surrounding streets.

If you have any questions with regards to playgroup, please email Kathy McCabe via kmccabe@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au

Drinks on the Lawns – Tomorrow Night

Our parents across ELC to Year 12 are cordially invited to join us in celebrating the new school year by coming together as a community for an evening of socialising.

Friday 10 February
6.30 – 9pm
Chiverton Lawns

A great opportunity to connect with other parents and staff, including our new Principal Cherylyn Skewes.

Friends of the ELC

Are you a parent/family member looking to be a part of our Friends of the ELC, connecting with other families and helping to organise our ELC community events? Building strong relationships together supports the development of a flourishing community for children and families.

The Friends of the ELC (FOELC) will hold casual get-togethers on a regular basis. If you’re interested in joining, there will be no ‘lock-in contracts’ – just an opportunity to further engage with one another and the ELC. We welcome all help and participation from our community however it fits into your busy schedules.

If you are interested in coming along to our Friends of the ELC meetings, please contact our FOELC Community Representative Angelica Mesisca via 0434 832 127.

Sustainability in the ELC

At our ELC, we are proud to uphold our focus on sustainability. We are working together to build awareness of our environmental responsibilities so that we can contribute to a sustainable future. Some of the initiatives that you can observe in our Centre include:

Harnessing neighbouring Ferguson Conservation Park as an intentional teaching space to explore and develop relationships with our environment and living things.
Our garden-to-table program that encourages sensory exploration, an awareness of and respect for the environment, and the promotion of healthy eating and nutrition.
Educating children to care for living things (stick insects, frogs, fish, etc.).
Incorporating recycling as part of our everyday practices and exploring what the different types of bins we have in the Centre are used for.
Using our organic bins (green) for food waste.
Using recyclable containers during morning tea and afternoon tea.

As we continue to develop our sustainability initiatives, we welcome any ideas or suggestions from families to support us on our journey.

欢迎来到2023学年的ELC

Emma Huang

亲爱的家长朋友们，

作为圣彼得女校早教中心的园长，我很荣幸向我们的新家庭和回归家庭表示热烈欢迎。我们很高兴的看到孩子们兴奋地进入新的学习空间，渴望了解、探索并与周围的人建立联系。在我的新职位上，我有机会通过与员工的互动以及为创造学习环境而进行的精心规划，亲身体验到了ELC的温暖和包容的氛围。

我们期待着与您合作，为您孩子的学习、发展和身心健康提供支持。通过建立日常学习习惯，为孩子和家庭建立统一持续的学习环境来支持积极的学习参与，是新学年开始的一个重点。教育工作者一直在努力与每个孩子建立牢固的关系，并在这里创造一种归属感，因为这是学习的基础。

我们很高兴向大家介绍我们的“通往学校之路”的学前班，这个班是为我们要踏入学校前六个月的孩子所设置的班级。这个班级可以帮助孩子们无缝过渡到下一阶段的学习旅程。基本能力，如社交、情感和自我管理技能得到进一步发展，支持独立性、组织能力和适应力。通过我们对孩子的日常观察和有方向性设定的“学习基于玩乐”的学习项目，孩子们的读写能力、计算能力和关于STEM方面的能力将大大提高。同样激发了他们解决问题、创造力、好奇心、互相协作和参与度。

在圣彼得女校早期学习中心，我们非常强调确保孩子们了解和尊重我们共同的澳大利亚历史。原住民居民和托雷斯海峡岛民的历史和文化通过社区参与和文化情感的实践得到尊重。在我最初参观该中心的室内和室外空间以及观察实践时，这一点已经清晰可见。听着中心的历程，听着孩子们使用和探索原住民语言，与他人和周围环境互动，真是太棒了。

可持续发展是我们中心的另一个核心要素。孩子们有机会参与到现实生活中，让他们探索可持续性的概念和他们的责任，并积极有目标性的体现到他们的行动中去。另外一个亮点是和孩子们一起参观ELC社区花园。当孩子们观察西红柿长大，开始变色，而我看到了他们的喜悦，这是多么美妙的事。

能参与您孩子的学习旅程是一种荣幸。我很高兴能与你和我们出色的员工合作。我期待着与大家一同建立我们蓬勃发展的社区。

园长
Liz Schembri

Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.

News from Learning Community 1

We extend a warm welcome to all of our Learning Community 1 children and their families, both those starting their ELC journey with us and those continuing from last year.

As we embark on a new school year together, the teaching team take time to reflect on what is important for our youngest citizens of St Peter’s Girls’ Early Learners’ Centre. The cultivation of relationships and a feeling of connectedness are pivotal to a child’s sense of belonging and wellbeing. These underpin their ability to develop understandings, enhance knowledge and learn new skills.

With this in mind, our Central Idea for Term 1 is:

‘Rituals and stories can support a shared understanding of our community.’

Within the context of Learning Community 1, we will deeply explore this Central Idea, guided by the following lines of inquiry:

Developing a cohesive Learning Community
Engaging in shared rituals such as our Morning Meeting ‘Banbanbalyas’
Exploration of storytelling as a form of communication, connection and learning

We are looking forward to a wonderful term ahead with you and your children.

Nell Tierney, Henrietta Balnaves and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1

News from Learning Community 2

Welcome to Term 1, 2023! As always, the beginning of the year has brought about plenty of change in both staff and spaces at the ELC. Change can be a challenge, and we as adults can find change difficult and unsettling. Some of us avoid it as much as we can; however, like most things in life, it is inevitable. How we manage change can significantly impact how our children manage change. We often want to smooth their pathway, take out the bumps and make it as easy as possible. We need to ask ourselves:

What do they learn from this approach? What happens when we are not there to do this for them?

As your child develops and grows, we want them to build on their strategies and ability to work through these times; to feel confident that change can be a positive experience and that we can learn something from facing times of challenge.

Over the past few weeks, we have been embracing change in our Learning Community. We have welcomed our new Ferguson teacher Miss Chloe Skoss, and our new learning space, the Pathway Room. We have many new families and children and have taken the time to build our relationships and connections with them. This can look different in each room as the needs of our children differ. We have been excited to begin our inquiry focus and look forward to sharing this developing learning with you all via our ELC News, myLink page and room documentation.

Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2

News from Our Pathway Room

As a part of Learning Community 2 we have created a flexible learning space to provide targeted support for children during the six months prior to their commencement at school. Last week, we welcomed the first group of children into the Pathway Room as these children will be eligible to start school from mid-2023.

Together, we have begun to discuss the importance of rituals, responsibilities and transitions. As a collective, we discussed the concept of the term ‘pathway’ and wondered why this was used to name our room. After deep conversation and investigation, we realised that our room name symbolises our next step in our educational journey, our Pathway to School.

As a class, we have started to share what we hope to learn and our goals during our time in the Pathway Room. As these children are the very first Pathway Friends, we are eager to build rituals and traditions that will live on past these six months which will become deeply cemented into our Pathway Room practices.

Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room

New ELC Uniforms Available Now

Our new ELC uniforms are available to purchase in the School Shop.

This beautiful new range is designed for the needs of our youngest community members, giving our ELC children a smart, cohesive look, and simplifying the routine of getting dressed in the morning.

We look forward to seeing the children proudly wear their new ELC attire.

Important Allergy Information

Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.

We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.

We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:

Nuts
Dairy
Sesame
Fish and shellfish
Egg
Banana

Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.

If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.

Sun Safety in the ELC

We have a Sun Safe Policy to ensure that each child minimises any health risks due to sun exposure. We ask that you support this policy by:

Providing your child with a named wide brimmed hat.
Applying sunscreen before your child comes to the Centre
Dressing your child in the ELC uniform to ensure that their skin is appropriately covered when outdoors.

Appropriate footwear is also required and we ask that children wear sneakers or sandals that have a backing to them. For visits into Ferguson Park, long pants and closed-toed shoes are required.

Emergency Evacuation Drill

In order to ensure the safety of our St Peter’s Girls’ ELC community and to meet regulations, emergency and evacuation procedures are rehearsed on a regular basis. We will be having an emergency evacuation drill on Wednesday 15 March. As part of this procedure, we will take children onto the main campus.

Staff will ensure that children are feeling safe and secure throughout this process. Where developmentally appropriate, educators will talk to your children about the sound of the alarm, what this means, what we need to do and why.

The evacuation drill is followed by a review to ensure that our practices would be effective and efficient in an emergency situation, and that the children’s safety and wellbeing are of the highest priority.

COVID-19 Information

Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:

It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 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

For more SA Health information, click here

Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.

Absences in the ELC

Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200

ELC Room Contacts

- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250

ELC Immunisation Policy

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

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