simone’s message - reddam houseand strength. children can move their bodies in many ways. by...

1 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 1

Simone’s Message By Simone Cooke, Principal

Dear Parents,

What a delight it is each day to walk

around our busy school and see all the

wonderful learning taking place.

Our little ones in the Nest are a never

ending source of delight for us all,

particularly at Movement time each

day when they entertain us with their

creative dance moves!

Of course our Fledglings are not to be

outdone and are impressing us all with

their knowledge of colours and their

beautiful butterfly creations.

Our Stage 2 children have been

making sure we are all recycling and

caring for our environment, whilst

Stages 3 & 4 are busy exploring the

human body and taking exciting

journeys to every corner of the globe.

There is never a dull moment at St

Leonards and our fabulous teachers

are ensuring that each and every one

of the children is enjoying the special

magic of Reddam.

Wishing you all a restful weekend.

Warm regards,

Simone

20 MAY 2016


Curriculum decision making contributes

to each child’s learning and

development outcomes in relation to

their identity, connection with

community, wellbeing, confidence as

learners and effectiveness as

communicators (Element 1.1.1).

This week we have been working on two

projects. The first one is “what is this

sound?”. We have been collecting

paper rolls, empty cans and other

resources to make our own instruments.

We started by decorating our instruments

and next week we will work on our music

wall.

Autumn has approached and to

celebrate this beautiful season we

dedicated the documentation wall to

stunning trees made of cork painting. We

loved painting with corks because they

make such fun polka dots and are a

perfect size for little hands. This was a fun

exploration of fall colors and can be

adapted to either a strict focus on order

or it can have a more open ended view.

The goal was to talk about the colours,

the season, leaves and purely to let the

children create. Art is vitally important as

it encourages children to explore and

make sense of their world, investigate,

imagine, create and problem-solve. It

enables children to make choices and

achieve!

Children’s creativity is connected to all

five Learning Outcomes in the Early Years

Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009)

and receives explicit attention in

Outcomes 4 (Children are confident and

involved learners) and 5 (Children are

effective communicators). Outcome 4

highlights creativity as an important

learning disposition that impacts on

learning throughout life.

The Nest By Gabriela Guimaraes


Specialist Classes

Drama, music, dance and visual art

foster creativity and imagination in

toddlers. These activities also help young

children develop their senses through

exploration and discovery. They let

toddlers express how they see the world

and their place in it.

Toddlers can use creative play to

communicate their feelings. They might

not always be able to say why they’re

feeling angry, depressed, happy or

frightened. But in an encouraging

environment, they might be able to use

arts activities and experiences to express

these feelings using paint, colour,

movement, mime, dramatic gestures,

singing or dancing.

Exploring Outdoors

Everyday the children in The Nest have

been offered a little “adventure track” in

the playground during their outdoor play.

The children are loving climbing up and

down, rolling in the tunnel, etc. They are

also loving climbing on the big

equipment frame in the playground so

they can have a turn on the slippery dip.

The children’s confidence is increasing as

they become more independent in

exploring gross motor activities. They are

starting not only to walk but to run as

well!

Friendly Reminders:

Even though the cold weather is

approaching we are still required to

wear hats outside, so please don’t

forget to pack hats.

Please ensure that all of your child’s

belongs are properly labelled.

With the change of weather, please

ensure that the children have

appropriate change of clothes in

their bags, including socks.

The Nest By Gabriela Guimaraes


The Nest Photo Gallery


Children are Confident and Involved

Learners

A sense of security and sound wellbeing

gives children the confidence to

experiment and explore and to try out

new ideas, thus developing their

competence and becoming active and

involved participants in learning.

EYLF Outcome 4

Observing how much the children loved

the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

we started making our own caterpillar

using balloon painting and colourful

sticks. We have also been busy making

butterflies, as the hungry caterpillar

becomes a beautiful rainbow butterfly.

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar“ is a

beautiful book, displaying its vivid and

colourful collage illustrations and is a

deceptively simply, hopeful story. The

children love the diecut pages and

finger-sized holes to interact and explore!

“He built a small house, called a cocoon,

around himself. He stayed inside for more

than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole

in the cocoon, pushed his way out and...

he was a beautiful butterfly!”

Movement, Music and Outdoor Play

Moving the Body

Regular movement helps children to

develop movement control, coordination

and strength. Children can move their

bodies in many ways. By moving their

body, children develop movement

control as they balance, crawl, run, jump

and swing. Children also develop a sense

of where their body is in relation to space,

and improve their balance, coordination

and strength. uesdays we explore

Physical Education with Coach Spencer

Clifton, targeting key areas for the development

of the children's core strength, stability and co

ordination.

Fledglings By Michele Santos


We have been practising dancing every

day and the children love moving their

bodies while listening to their favourite

songs. We have also been encouraging

the children to engage in activities that

promote movement. Jump, hop, run,

crawl, sidestep, slide, walk and balance

are so much fun!

On Tuesdays we explore Physical

Education with Coach Spencer Clifton,

targeting key areas for the development

of the children's core strength, stability

and coordination.

On Thursdays the children are invited to

participate in teacher lead dance and

drama activities with Laura Hudson,

involving props and music, body

movements and balance.

Music

Dancing, musical games and movement

activities develop children’s coordination,

control and body awareness. Musical

experiences also provide opportunities for

children to explore the elements of music

such as beat, rhythm and tempo.

Listening to songs and music helps to

develop children’s listening skills,

language, vocabulary and memory.

Participating in music activities develops

children’s imagination, creativity and

sense of wonder. As they make and

respond to music, they explore ways to

creatively represent their feelings, ideas

and experiences.

On Wednesdays the children have been

exploring music with Justin Sze. The

children have been introduced to new

music instruments, sounds and

movement. They love exploring all the

musical instruments and their favourite

time has been when Justin plays the flute

as they have an enjoyable relaxation

time, lying on the floor.



Outdoor Play

Outdoor play provides a stimulating

context for children’s learning. Playing

outdoors promotes children’s physical

wellbeing, including developing control

and strength for manipulating objects

and equipment, and large movement

skills.

Every day the children are invited to

explore our outdoor area. They enjoy

playing in the sand pit, climbing, running,

exploring the deck and other activities set

up for them.

Books of the week

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar “, by Eric

Carle.

“In the light of the moon a little egg lay

on a leaf. One Sunday morning the warm

sun came up and pop! Out of the egg

came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.

“The Gruffalo” by Julia Donalson and Axel

Scheffler.

“A mouse took a stroll through the deep

dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the

mouse looked good.”

Childhood is a time to be, to seek and

make meaning of the world! I hope you

have an amazing weekend with your

beautiful children.



Fledglings Photo Gallery


Welcome

Firstly, we would like to extend a warm

welcome to our new children and their

families who have recently started in our

class: Hannah, Sienna, Analisse and

Anna. We are truly thrilled to have them

join the Joeys and we would like to wish

each one of them many fun and learning

fulfilled days at Reddam school.

Our Current Project

We are now fully engaged in our recent

project of recycling and sustainability.

Every day we use materials that normally

we would throw away to create

something unique and beautiful. We are

using scraps of paper to create collages,

monsters and animals. We used empty

plastic bottles to make a lava lamp

which was also used as a scientific

experiment that helped children to

examine liquid density. The children

thoroughly enjoyed looking at them and

turning them upside down and slowly

watching how the little pieces moved. It

was actually very therapeutic and had a

most calming effect!!

As part of our provocation we have

regular conversations about how we can

use things in a beautiful or useful way

again. I think there is a lot of value in

children looking at things that we would

normally dispose of and imagine the

many possibilities beyond their current

use.

Children are now becoming more

familiar with the concept of recycling

and how important it is to segregate the

rubbish so that mother earth will be

happy!

Presentations-Making connection from

home.

Each day and every moment, we follow

the directions of the children, always

observing, documenting, listening and

interpreting so we can gain insights into

their thinking. We are always ready to

make changes and support the children

in their discoveries. We constantly search

for these magic moments and listen for

interests that can evolve into something

special, something that is meaningful for

the children.

Stage 2 By Kasia Rymarczyk


One day last week Bella brought in to the

class a drum, she then proudly presented

this precious instrument to the class; she

also happily shared the drum with her

friend giving everyone a turn to make a

sound. This little experience made us

reflect on how we could incorporating

traditional show and tell concepts into

group time. After long discussions we

decided to give it a go!

We will make these short presentations

very appropriate to children’s age and

ability and we will make sure it is

implemented in a relaxed way that

allows for free expression and gaining

confidence.

Children will be asked to stand or sit in

front of the class, shortly introduce

themselves and talk about the item from

home. When they are finished they will

be encouraged to say: “Thank you for

listening”. Every child will get a turn to

present; we will not assign particular days

to the children as we don’t want anyone

to feel that they must search for

something special just because it is their

presentation day, instead please

approach this news for our class concept

spontaneously.

To make presentation successful we

would like to kindly ask parents to

encourage children to choose an item/s

that they would like to take to school

and show to their friends. The possibilities

of items to bring are endless, ranging

from something homemade or a kitchen

gadget to something found in nature or

a favourite book.

Class presentations is an effective and

enjoyable way for young children to

refine their public speaking and oral

communication skills while learning more

about each other. It is the right of all

children to be part of a school

community that respects them as

competent individuals who are viewed

as contributors to the process of learning.

Here at Reddam we trust and respect

the capabilities of children and that is

exactly what makes our job so interesting

and inspiring.

Stage 2 By Kasia Rymarczyk


Stage 2 Photo Gallery


This week was the start of our amazing

journey around the globe. We had so

much fun travelling on our plane to

China.

To learn a little bit more about the culture

and amazing artefacts of China we

made Chinese drums, looked at some

pictures of the miraculous Chinese

Terracotta Warriors and made our own

out of clay and we even attempted to

eat with chopsticks! We looked at the

Chinese number symbols of 1-10 and

used paints and the art of calligraphy to

decorate our drums and learnt how to

say hello in Chinese - 你好 Nǐ hǎo.

Our understandings of our amazing

bodies is also growing as we reinforced

how our muscles and bones work

together. The children are learning the

complex names behind some of our

bones and muscles, and also the

importance that these have in our bodies

to help us move. We used our muscles in

action and talked about our quadriceps,

flexors, gluteus maximus, biceps and

triceps.

Our discussions after morning tea about

what we are learning is an important part

of the day. As the children share their own

understandings with each other they

learn valuable skills for life long learning.

Skills such as communication - listening,

thinking and speaking, turn taking and

also to value others points of view. Each

week we will add snippets of our

conversations....

Our discussion about muscles...

Why do you think we have bones?

Aditi: "So we don't become floppy."

What do our muscles do?

Sanjay: "They make our bodies move."

Aditi: "They make us stronger and bigger."

Stages 3 & 4 By Sue Mayer & Riina Andrews


How can we move if the muscles are not

attached to the bone?

Aditi: "We can't!"

How many muscles are in our body?

Annie: "Infinity!"

Lottie: "100."

Austen: "I don't know."

James: "Only one."

Sanjay: "Infinity!"

Christian: "A thousand."

Sophie: "Maybe a hundred."

What food do we need to eat to keep

our muscles healthy?

James: "A cucumber."

Austen: "Pasta."

Lottie: "Tomatoes."

Annie: "Milk and cheese."

Aditi: "Lots of cheeses and milk."

Sophie: "Meat."

Our discussion before our plane trip to

China...

What will we see in China?

Sophie: "Chinese princesses."

Sanjay: "Grandma and Grandpa live in

China."

Lottie: "People eat Chinese food."

Jeremy: "China Yako"

What is a China Yako, Jeremy?

Jeremy: "Hotel."

Austen: "Powerhouse Museum."

Aditi: "Chinese kids TV."

James: "I see the Chinese Dolphins."



Where to next......Joints

Items from home..... Old hinges

Travel destination.... Japan

Items from home.......if you have travelled

to Japan, any photos or treasures to

show.

Music has also been an inspiration which

has led to the forming of the Kangaroo

Band.

This band consisted of Aditi, Oliver, James

and Zac. This group of children decided

to make their own musical instruments

from cardboard boxes and then perform

on stage. We had a guitarist and 3

drummers, who were all very confident

and involved learners as they discussed

which songs they would like to play and

who would do the singing.

Emily joined in from the crowd playing

along to the tunes of her peers with

enthusiasm.

We can't wait to perform for all of you!

A big welcome to Riina, the children and

Sue are very happy that she has joined

our class.



Stages 3 & 4 Photo Gallery


Stages 1 and 2

The Stage 1 and 2s had another great

week of sport. We started the lesson off

with some warm up sprints, followed by

our core strengthening exercises that

included three new animal movements

namely the duck, donkey and worm.

These movements target key areas for the

development of the children's core

strength, stability and co-ordination.

Our next activity involved relaying running

with colour-coordinated queues. Working

in teams, the children ran between

different colour hoops that were

scattered around the exercise area

placing the correct colour bean bag

inside. Each new round of the relay

involved new rules being placed onto the

game eg: red bean bag had a higher

value.

Stages 4 and Stage 3

The Stage 3 and 4s had another

successful week of sport. We started off

with a warm up that expanded on last

week’s animal movements and included

three new exercises namely the donkey

kick, slithery snake and duckwalk.

For our next activity for the lesson

continued on from last week’s game of

sharks and islands, with the game focus

on spacial awareness, dynamic

movements, speed change, isolated

movement and proprioception.

Physical Education By Spencer Clifton


This week, we welcome our new Music

Teacher, Justin Sze.

In his 15 years of Music teaching

experience, Justin has taught in both

International and public schools. He has a

BA with Dip Ed, majoring in Music (Piano/

Voice/Clarinet). He also continues to

upgrade his musicianship and

pedagogical skills by completing

numerous levels of certification (Early

childhood, Primary and Secondary) in

both Orff and Kodaly pedagogy courses.

After attending the Orff Schulwerk

Summer Course in Salzburg, Austria, he

went on to attained Level 3 Orff

Schulwerk Course in Australia. Justin also

attained Kodaly Level 1 (Secondary

teaching) and Level 3 Early Childhood/

Primary Level 1 Teaching Course in

Brisbane, Australia. After his stint at the

Music Unit, Curriculum Planning Division,

Ministry of Educatiion (MOE) in Singpaore,

Justin decided to share his love of Music

to little children by becoming a

Kindermusik Educator in 2008 and

founded his own company, Kindermusik

with Jedize, in 2012 together with his wife

and fellow Kindermusik Educator, Ellize.

He has conducted training for teachers in

China, Indonesia, Malaysia and

Singapore. Justin also wrote an academic

paper entitled, “Moving toddlers and

parents with Soft Mozart in Asia” which

was published last year in the XIII

International Academic/Practical

Conference Modern Music Education

2014, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the

Herzen Russian State Pedagogical

University and St. Petersburg Rimsky-

Korsakov State Conservatory. A press

release about Justin’s innovative piano

teaching was also published in the New

Paper on 11 Mar 2015, in Singapore.

Currently, Justin is bringing Music (and lots

of laughter) to many children at Reddam

House ELS (Early Learning School),

teaching piano lessons at Reddam House

(Primary) as well as helping out with the

Orff Ensemble.

Music By Justin Sze


The Nest/ Fledglings

The children followed on from last week

and participated in teacher-lead dance

and drama activities involving props and

music, using their body to do create

shapes, objects and animals,

incorporating mime.

Skills learnt this week:

Following direction by watching and

copying the teacher

Listening and responding to the

teacher

Mime

Call and response

Memory recall

Activities include:

Used a serious of picture cards to do

mime

Danced to a couple of songs

relating to the theme

Listened to sounds and then tried to

find the animal/object related to the

sound

Used their body to create shapes,

objects and animals

Stage 2/4 Objectives

The children visited Italy and discovered a

number of interesting facts including

Famous landmarks, paintings and people,

that they recreated using their body. They

also used all five senses as well as acted

out a short scene from Romeo and Juliet .

Skills learnt this week:

Memory Recall (recapped some of the

things we did last week and the key

drama terms they have learnt)

Used their 5 senses

Listened and followed direction

Spatial awareness

Activities include:

Discussed what they know about

Italy

Rode on a gondola

Tongue twisters

Recreated a number of famous

paintings and landmarks using their

body

Discussed the romantic city of

Venice and Verona where

Shakespeare is from.

Reenacted the famous scene from

Romeo and Juliet.

Dance By Laura Hudson

simone’s message - reddam houseand strength. children can move their bodies in many ways. by...

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