dee’s message - reddamhouse.com.au · my particular thanks tina ... reddam early learning school...

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 1

Dee’s Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to the ELS for what

promises to be another creative,

exploratory and enjoyable term. For

those who were fortunate enough to

have some time off and to enjoy the

milder autumn weather, I hope that it

was relaxing and pleasant; then again,

many of our children would argue that

they had an even better time being able

to enjoy the Holiday Care programme

here in the ELS. My particular thanks Tina

Mandalidis and to all those involved in

the Holiday Care programme, who

made each day so special for the

children who attended. I am sure that

many happy memories were made, as is

evident in the report below.

Regardless of what you and your family

spent the last few weeks doing, I hope

that it was a good time for all and that

the anticipation of a new term made the

return this week all the happier. Certainly,

the teachers and I are excited for all that

lies ahead and we look forward to

sharing some meaningful times with you

and your child.

It is probably many years since you last

read these magical words from Alice’s

Adventures in Wonderland, but they

might just rekindle some memories of

long ago: ‘Curiouser and curiouser!’

cried Alice (she was so much surprised,

that for the moment she quite forgot how

to speak good English); ‘now I'm opening

out like the largest telescope that ever

was! Good-bye, feet!’ (for when she

looked down at her feet, they seemed to

be almost out of sight, they were getting

so far off). ‘Oh, my poor little feet, I

wonder who will put on your shoes and

stockings for you now, dears? I'm

sure I shan't be able! I shall be a great

deal too far off to trouble myself about

you: you must manage the best way you

can; --but I must be kind to them,’

thought Alice, ‘or perhaps they won't

walk the way I want to go! Let me see: I'll

give them a new pair of boots every

Christmas.’

There is much to be gained from

remembering how things appear when

you are a child, such as the extremes

4 MAY 2018


described in Alice’s Wonderland

experience. Reality is a constantly shifting

entity and our imaginations blur the lines

between what is and what might be. For

young children, where each day brings

the possibility of a new discovery, an

expanding vocabulary, and deepening

relationships, the opportunities to use

creative thinking are endless.

In an article published last week,

entitled Curiosity is the key to early

childhood success in math and reading,

one of the researchers defines curiosity

as “the joy of discovery, and the

motivation to seek answers to the

unknown.” The vast longitudinal study, on

which the article is based, assessed

children at the ages of nine months and

two years, and then again as they

entered pre-school and kindergarten. It

found a strong correlation between

curiosity and those children who

performed at a high level in Mathematics

and in reading.

This is our hope here in the ELS – that, to

adapt Alice’s words slightly, our children

would become more and more curious.

Through the open-ended provocations

which our teachers have had fun

preparing, we trust that they might be

inspired to explore and discover, and in

so-doing that they would find the term

ahead a fulfilling one. And we can’t wait

to join them on this exciting journey

through the wonderfully curious world in

which we live.

Dee Pitcairn

Principal

Dee’s Message


Holiday Care “Lets move…” By Christina Mandalidis,

This Holiday Care focused on getting

the children active and moving. It was

inspired by the recent Commonwealth

Games, which had just concluded as

the Holiday Care programme began.

During the first week, the children

strengthened and challenged their

muscles as they had two full days on an

obstacle course jumping castle. The

children yelled with excitement as they

jumped, bounced, climbed, slid and

ran through the obstacle course with

enthusiasm and perseverance. The

children also had two dress up days this

week. Firstly, everyone got to dress up in

his or her favourite sporting team’s

colours or jerseys. We saw jerseys from

Brazil and England, to Sydney FC and

the Canberra Raiders. On the Friday,

the children got the opportunity to rest

their muscles from all their jumping and

come to school dressed in their most

comfortable pyjamas.

Week Two kicked off with the amazing

Malcolm from Kanga Squads. The

children had a half an hour sporting

lesson, which catered for their specific

age group. Malcolm tested the

children’s agility, hand-eye

coordination and strength. The whole

Early Learning School came together to

watch an informative performance by

the Blue Whale Theatre called Staying

Healthy with Sailor Sam. The children

sang and danced to help Sailor Sam

get ready for her healthy adventure.

They discussed ‘always foods’ and

‘sometimes foods’, the importance of

brushing your teeth, and exercising.

The children also learned about Anzac

Day. They read stories to help

understand the importance of the day

and we made delicious Anzac biscuits

to commemorate the brave men and

women who fought for our freedom.

Thank you all for a fabulous Holiday

Care!


Nest Photo Gallery


Fledglings Photo Gallery


Stage 2 Photo Gallery


Reddam Early Learning

would like to wish a very happy birthday to

Anders Oakes, Josephine Johnson, Lottie Abay, Rhea Sotiras,

Dominic Melhuish, Alice Friedlander, Oisin Nohra Hoft, Maxwell Shine,

Zali Gowland, Savannah Foster, Isabella Nanos Karabetsos &

Harry Britten-Stanwix

who celebrate their special day over the school holidays

and this week

We hope you had a fabulous day!

dee’s message - reddamhouse.com.au · my particular thanks tina ... reddam early learning school...

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