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Reddam House Early Learning School Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 11 Friday the 3rd of May 2013

IN THIS ISSUE : Virginia’s Message Dates for your Diary Uniform Shop Notice News From the Rooms Edible Magic Dancearama Mighty Mites

Volume 1 Issue 11 Friday the 3rd of May 2013

The Staff Journey I am sure you will all agree that the ELS team is a remarkable group of people; they are passionate, funny and committed to our educational journey with your children. During this year we will be planning for some changes in the team as three of our staff begin their parenting journey. Jane Pledger, Stage 3 will be taking maternity leave at the end of Term 2 Vacation Care. Kristina Rocchi who has supported Jane for the last two years will be taking over the After Care and Va-cation Care crown when Queen Jane steps down (unlike Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Jane‟s abdication is tempo-rary). Candidate interviews for Jane‟s position in Stage 3 are underway. Emma Vanos and Siobhan Brantes of the Nest will be taking maternity leave towards the end of the year. The team is bursting with happiness and joy as we wish our cherished colleagues a wonderful journey. Giving Back Continues Over the next few weeks we will be collecting dried and tinned food for dogs and cats (cared for by the RSPCA). There are collection baskets in the Nest, Stage 2b and in the ELS upstairs hallway. You will receive an email from the stages advising of the next visit from the RSPCA. Eva from the RSPCA will be coming on Thursday 23rd May to talk to the Thursday/Friday children. She will be coming at 9.30 am and will hold sessions for 2b, 2a, stage 3and Stage 4.

Please help us to develop the children‟s awareness of giving back; make a difference by donating food and becoming a voice for abandoned animals. Perhaps you know of someone who can provide a home for Lois Jones the cat (see photograph opposite). Have a wonderful weekend with your children and four-legged friends.

Virginia Aghan Head of Early Learning

„Lois Jones (ID: #2406)‟ is looking for a family to love and cherish, call 9839 6161 (please quote my

ID number).

Located at the Blacktown Animal Holding Facility.


Monday 10th June School closed – Queens Birthday Friday 21st June Term 2 ends Monday 24th June Vacation Care commences Friday 12th July Vacation Care ends Monday 15th July School Closed - All staff Seminar Tuesday 16th July Term 3 Students K-12/ELS Commences

Page 1 Virginia’s Message

Page 2 Dates for your Diary/

Uniform Shop Notice

Page 3 Stage 1

Page 4 Stage 1: Photo Gallery

Page 5 Stage 2a

Page 6 Stage 2b

Page 7 Stage 3

Page 8 Stage 4

Page 9 Stage 4: Photo Gallery

Page 10 Dancearama

Page 11 Mighty Mites

Page 12 Edible Magic

Page 13 Edible Magic and Library Gallery

Contents

Uniform Shop Notice The Reddam House Uniform shop has all winter items in stock including brand new winter duffle coats, fleece jackets, ladies pants and long sleeve polo shirts. The shop is open during the following hours for your convenience: Monday: 8am to 4pm Tuesday: 8am to 4pm Wednesday: 8am to 4pm Thursday: 10am to 6pm Friday to Sunday: Closed You are encouraged to make use of our email ordering system, especially if you are unable to visit the shop during opening hours. Simply email your order to [email protected] or sms 0403 579 027. Lucy will then contact you to obtain payment and your order can be delivered to your child‟s campus for collection from Reception.

Dates for your Diary

mailto:[email protected]


Every day the children wait patiently for the instruments to come out. We love dancing, singing and exploring with different resources. Moving to music is a natural tendency for all of us, creative movement is a way for children to express themselves through creativity, acting and body language. Children from 18 months through to 3 years old like short songs. Their memories are not fully developed, so they can only remember a few words at a time. Motion also is interesting to them, and actions put to words help them remember their order. Repeating songs encourages the use of words and memorization. Listen when they begin to sing spontaneously. Repeat the songs or nursery rhymes over and over again. Encourage your child to reproduce their rhythms by clapping or tapping a metal pie pan with a wooden spoon. Toddlers' attention spans aren't as long as ours so when they are ready to play another game, turn your attention to some-thing new as well.

Song of the Week: Head, shoulders, knees and toes Knees and toes Head, shoulders, knees and toes Knees and toes And eyes and ears And mouth and nose Head, shoulders, knees and toes Knees and toes

We continue to work on our tree project. The children have been collecting the leaves that have been falling from our oak tree. We spoke about the different colours we could see in the leaves and listened to the sound the leaves made when we scrunched them in our hands. Please have a look at our beautiful Autumn tree . Stage 1 Team, Petra Wright, Siobhan Brantes, Emma Vanos and Monika Ranjitkar

Stage 1: Music and Movement


Stage 1: Gallery


Keeping Our Bodies Healthy This week we have had a big focus on keeping the germs away. We know that germs are the things that make us sick and we don‟t like being sick. The things we can do to stop ourselves getting sick are washing our hands with soap and learning how to sneeze and cough so that our friends don‟t get our germs. Our new song has helped us to practice keeping the germs away. “This is the way we wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands. This is the way we wash our hands to keep the germs away. This is the way we have a sneeze/cough (in our elbow)... to keep the germs away. This is the way we blow our nose (with a tissue)… to keep the germs away.” As the seasonal changes occur, it is important that we all work together to keep our room and children healthy. You can help us by practicing and following the same hygiene routines that we follow at school. We always wash our hands with soap before we eat and when we go to the toilet, or if we sneeze, blow our noses or are coughing. We hope that we will have a healthy winter season by all being vigilant with hygiene practices. Building Site I am thinking that we may need some earmuffs in our room as the children have been very busy using the hammer and the screwdriver in their building endeavours. We have started to talk about safety and the need to wear “hard hats” to protect our heads when we are in the construction site. We have been looking at the different tools you can use and the types of materials that can be used for building. Miss Stanford has been reading us stories about building and big machines. RSPCA Visit Our Wednesday group enjoyed the talk we had with Eva who represented the RSPCA and spoke to us about dog safety. They loved the toy dog Max that Eva brought with her to show them how a dog acts when they are happy or angry or frightened. The children were shown how to ask a dog owner “Can I please pat your dog?” and then letting the dog smell their hand before patting them on the chest. We also learnt how to turn ourselves into a “rock” if a dog came over that we did not know and was not with their owner. This was so successful that we are now having another visit on Thursday 23rd May. Clothing Please ensure that the children have an appropriate seasonal change of clothes. The mornings are cooler but it is still warm during the day so layers are often the best option. Please remember that sometimes things get spilt or we miss the toilet and a change may be needed. Ice Packs We have noticed that many children are coming in with delicious and healthy lunches that include yoghurts, cheese and meats but they do not all have icepacks they need to keep cold. Please ensure that you provide an icepack as it keeps your child‟s food as fresh as it would be if it came straight from the fridge. Stage 2a Team, Daniella Gosty, Polina Rodov and Christina Mandalidis

Stage 2a: Staying Healthy


Stage 2b: Our Morning Routine

Morning Meeting Circle In the mornings, around 8:50 am, it is time to pack away the activities in the classroom and sit down next to the teachers for our “Morning Meeting Circle”. At this time we sing the Tick Tock song to say “hello” to all of our friends and teachers. We then get our „counting fingers‟ ready to check how many children we have in our group. Lastly, we go through our routine, explaining to the children what we are going to do during the day by using photographs. This assists the children in visualizing the experiences on offer. We finish the “Morning Meeting Circle” with a song or book before we get ready for Morning Tea. Working with Learning Stations During our routine, we work at stations for 30 minutes a day. The children are invited to engage with the different materials provided at each table. One teacher joins the activities so we can observe each child and support their efforts. The benefits of working with stations include:

Children learn how to wait for their turn to join an experience as there is a limited number of children per station.

They are encouraged to make their own decisions and be independent. Experiences include Arts and Crafts, threading, reading books, block building, puzzles or something related to the project we are working on at that moment. Friendly Reminders Please make sure your child‟s belongings are clearly labelled. Our “Lost Property” basket is full and we would appreciate if families could check the basket in the morning and evening, and retrieve their child‟s belongings. Stage 2b Team, Tatiana Botrel, Christina Mandalidis and Karla Cabezas


After our visit from the RSPCA, Stage 3 revisited our interest in pets and caring for living things. In the Discovery room we currently have an axolotl called “Oxxy” and a giant gold fish called “Big Goldy”. Having animals at school and at home teaches the children what is involved when it comes to caring for another life and also that having a pet is not a decision to be taken lightly. Many people rush into buying an animal not realising what is involved in the process. The children are learning that all animals have feelings and needs. Introducing a pet early on in a child‟s life will open their eyes to the responsibilities that come with a living, breathing thing. “Children explore relationships with other living and non-living things and observe, notice and respond to change.” “Children become socially responsible and re-spect their environment.” EYLF 2009 Our axolotl is a carnivore so his favourite food is blood worms, it‟s always an exciting time when it‟s time to feed him. Riley: “We need to give the Oxxy water so he can swim and breath underwater.” Dominique: “Fish need food.” Ben: “The black box is the filter, it makes bubbles, he likes bubbles.” Parker: “Oxxy only has one pinch of food because if we put in more in he will get fat and sick.” Brooke: We can‟t put marbles in the tank because he will eat them and die.” Elvy: “The fish get dirty, they need cleaning, there are germs in his tank.”

The Stage 3 Team, Anita Martin, Jane Pledger and Melanie Elderton

Stage 3: Responsibility and Respecting our Pets


Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."

Emily Bronte

These coming weeks ahead in the art studio our inspirations will be are coming directly from nature. Autumn always evokes my creative spirit in a very sensory way. I adore the colours and hues of the changing leaves, I giggle when my feet crush and crunch the leaves on the ground as I step excitedly to-wards the atelier for a brand new term. The air is crisp and the sky is still bright blue yet it seems bolder and wiser than the fun loving summer sky. I yearn to share the love I have for autumn with our Stage 4 children and open their minds to the possibilities of creating their own artworks inspired by nature. The children will begin by focusing on 4 major elements which are used in a variety of art styles (be it pencil drawing, painting, collage or sculpture). The art sessions will aim to make children question what they think they know about creativity and to open their wonderful minds to their inner artistic potential. These are the four main elements of art: Line

Is a mark with greater length than width. Lines can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal, straight or curved, thick or thin.

Shape Is a closed line. Shapes can be geometric, like squares and circles; or organic, like free formed shapes or natural shapes. Shapes are flat and can express length and width. Forms

Are three-dimensional shapes, expressing length, width and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes and trian-gles are forms.

Texture

Is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth, soft or hard. Tex-tures do not always feel the way they look; for example, a drawing of a porcupine may look prickly, but if you touch the drawing, the paper is still smooth.

I will also draw upon one of my favourite contemporary artists, Andy Goldsworthy, who is an ephemeral sculptor. All of his work is made from 100% natural materials (sticks, stones, tree bark, leaves) which inevitably degrade over time until there‟s nothing left (something which he is perfectly fine with). Perhaps it‟s symbolism for how nothing lasts forever. I find that there‟s something about his work that demands attention. A man who has enough patience to mould a bunch of sticks into a perfect stand-alone circle, then is able to stand back and watch as the wind and the passers-by destroy it, deserves some respect. I have set up many opportunities in the atelier for our children to create their own non-permanent artscapes using natural materials. These creative experiences are just for themselves and the creative process. There is always an end product but it doesn‟t last forever because the materials are reused by other children to create their own landscapes. I have discovered that children accept that concept easily (sometimes a child might ask me to take a photograph of their creation so I can put it in his or her portfolio). I have other recycled materials on hand too. At the back of the atelier are two very special mystery boxes. These are filled up with transparent and opaque recycled materials which are collected by our children. I would like to thank all those parents who lovingly collect and clean containers to fill up bags and bags of recycled items for our children to reuse and create wonderful sculptures. I truly wish you could be a fly on a wall and watch how industrious your children are while they bind, tape

and glue and create incredible art works.

Stage 4 Team, Debbie Zerbst, Kelly Nance, Cheryl Freeman and Deanne Jacobs

Stage 4: Art In Nature


Stage 4: Gallery


Stage 2 The Journey:

Discussed what you take in your suitcase when you go on holiday, looked at what Laura had

packed in her suitcase (a rolling pin, tie and a Spiderman outfit) and questioned why she packed these items.

The children then began by telling me what modes of transport they could travel on to go on

holiday.

Each child was given a ticket that was stamped and they then had to find their seat (a coloured

scarf they had chosen).

Once on the bus, danced to a song called „Get on the Bus‟ by the Doodlebops, doing actions to

go with the song.

Interacted with Mr. Frog (a puppet) asking him how he likes to travel, he likes to jump but also

likes the train.

The children were then given a cone and used them as the wheels to the bus, dancing to a song

whilst Laura played her magical train whistle.

Stage 3

Kings and Queens:

We began by finding a magical carpet that was hidden in the room and went on a magical

journey.

The children in turn told me what they could see: castles, princesses dolphins jumping out of the

water, and much more.

Discussed the medieval times when kings and queens made rules and the people of the land had

to obey.

Some of the children acted out a poem by Lisa Kin on stage:

The King of France, went to the ballroom dance;

But when he bent over he ripped his pants.

The queen laughed with all her might, to see such a funny, silly sight!

After that, we used the drama technique „thought tracking‟ to gage what the characters were

thinking and the children asked the „King‟ and „Queen‟ questions relating to the poem and they

had to respond in character or had to be a servant and do what the king or queen asked them.

Experimented with how they might have talked.

Played a concentration and listening game called „Yes your Majesty‟.

For more information about Dancearama,

contact Laura: 0431136177/[email protected]


Dear Parents, This week in Mighty Mites

The Stage 2‟s:

Developed their ball catching skills through a game of Pyramid Ball Bounces (triangular balls with

irregular bounces)

Began learning the names of the muscles of the lower body, specifically the calf muscle

Spoke about an activity that Mighty Mite loves, skipping. We all had a turn practicing jumping over

a skipping rope! The Stage 3‟s:

Challenged their time to react and their agility through a game of Pyramid Ball Bounces

(triangular balls with uneven bounces)

Spoke about two of the activities Mighty Mite loves, swimming and snorkelling

Started building their own Skely Mite Skeleton! The first bones were joined and we learnt about

where the spine and ribs are

This week in Mighty Mites we were encouraged to challenge our listening skills and our time to react through a game of Body Parts. During Body Parts we exercised and danced while the music was playing but as soon as our coach called out a part of our bodies we needed to place that body part on the ground as quick as we possibly could! As you can imagine lots of fun was had by all!

For more information visit www.mightymites.com.au or call us on (02) 9460 1100

http://www.mightymites.com.au/


There was a time when one generation would hand down to the next, the subtle skills and flavours needed to create a much loved family recipe. I know that this still exists in some homes, but truth be told, the 'hand-me down' is not as common as it once was. During our weekly sessions in the kitchen, the children have discovered a myriad of gross motor skills, cognitive thinking and new and familiar tastes. However, I believe one of the real 'wins' is the fact that we are exploring all of this together. Each week they can take away tried and tested recipes and make them their own. Sure we can grab ideas from a cooking show or book, but nothing compares to the one-on-one experience of being guided through a maze of ingredients. In short, reach out and ask. Alternatively, reach out and share. Our children will come to realize that cooking (even if it's only once a week!) has great emotional value, as well as being very tasty! Happy Cooking!

NONNA’S BAKED ARANCINI (RICE BALLS) Preparation Time: Cooking Time: Risotto 30 minutes preparation and 20 minutes baking Servings: 12 large balls or 24 mini balls Skill Level: Easy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of plain flour

3 free-range eggs

1 ½ cups of matzo meal

A handful fresh sage, finely chopped

Risotto recipe for 4 (refer to package instructions)

Olive oil spray

Salt and pepper to taste METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place the flour in a shal-

low medium bowl. Lightly whisk the eggs in another bowl. Spread the stuffing mix over a plate.

Use wet hands to shape a handful (about 1/2 cup) of the cooked risotto into a ball. Repeat with

the remaining risotto to make 12 balls.

Roll 1 risotto ball in the flour and shake off excess. Dip in egg, roll in sage matzo meal mix, press-

ing to coat. Pinch the top slightly to make a pear shape. Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with the remaining risotto balls, flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

Spray the arancini with olive oil spray. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

ENJOY! Corby Sue

Edible Magic


Library: Gallery

Edible Magic: Gallery

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