Currambena Primary and Preschool

Hello Everyone

The concert was a great success in a beautiful spot with a wonderful atmosphere. Thanks to all the children for ALL those practices, to Chris Rochester, Callum, Julianna and Steve for the microphone system and to all the parents who helped drive children to the morning practice. It was yet another Currambena milestone. You could see how the children learn as you watched the spectrum of performances from preschool up to Wendy’s group. I love how everyone has a part they write for themselves and they all perform according to their own interest and developmental level.

This week we are talking about the menu for the Preschool Afternoon Tea being held next Thursday 26th November from 1.30-2.30pm. Please RSVP on the window above the sign-on sheet so we know how many to cater for. This is an opportunity for the children to thank their families for bringing them to preschool all year. Please support the children in waiting their turn to be served after all our guests have been served.

We have also been following up on the children’s interest in animals this week – Australian and African animals and how to care for the animals of the world. Yesterday we tried to find the answer to Elina’s question – how do mum and dad mice make the baby mice? We have also been reading Leo Lionni books and doing mouse artwork inspired by his book, “Frederick”. We have also painted a mural based on Margaret Preston’s work depicting four land animal environments.

There are beautiful Currambena calendars for sale in the office. These made gorgeous Christmas presents for people last year so hurry and get some for gifts this year. The cost is $18 for one and $30 for two.

We will be having an Orientation Morning for the new families with children coming to preschool next year on Monday 7th December 2009 from 9.30-11.00am. The current preschool children have been decorating invitations to send to the new children and they will be posted today. The children going to Fran’s will visit her classroom at that time as well, so if your child does not attend preschool on a Monday please bring them from 9.30-11.00am on Monday 7th December.

We need the enrolment forms and enrolment fees for all the families with children who will be coming to preschool next year. We have a long waiting list of people anxious to get a place in preschool so we really need this finalised. Thanks!!

Thanks for the people who do our washing, the mystery person who swept round preschool on the weekend so we were greeted with a beautifully clean outside area on Monday morning and to Peter for the paper.

Love from

Sue, Chris and Gabriela.

Hello Everyone

This week has been taken up with concert practices, prop making, water colour painting and practising new found and proudly acquired climbing skills. We have also been discussing what costumes the children would like to wear. Please ask your child what they have decided on or come and ask us. We have a list the children’s decisions in preschool. Some children want to wear dress-ups or ordinary clothes from home, others want to borrow preschool dress-up clothes and there are some who want to make costumes with their parents.

In preschool we want the concert to be a joyful experience for all of us, so we do not make children perform if they are uncomfortable with this. We all practice together daily so that all the children are familiar with the performance, but on the night your child may choose to watch. This is absolutely okay with us.

We are planning a concert rehearsal on the morning of Friday 13th November. We plan to leave preschool at 9.45am and return by about 10.45am. We will need drivers to take the children who are in preschool on a Friday down to Tambourine Bay. Each child needs a rear seat with a seat belt. If you can help come and put your name down on the list outside preschool. 

We need all the other children to attend this rehearsal so that they are familiar with the environment and procedure. Please meet us at Tambourine Bay at 10.00am. Please be aware that there is water at Tambourine Bay and everyone attending with their child or driving other children to the practice needs to be responsible for the children in their care.

The concert is on at Tambourine Bay Friday 13th November at 6.00pm sharp. Julianna has put a map of the location in the newsletter. We need everyone to be there at 5.30pm with their child dressed in their costume, picnic rugs, dinner, chairs for older people and camp lights.  For the concert to be fun for everyone we need everyone to do the following-

• No little children on stage during other  performances.
• Respect the hard work of the kids and do not talk during performances.
• Take home all your rubbish at the end of the evening.
• There will be a visual barrier up behind the stage to show where the water begins at Tambourine Bay is, but this is not a physical barrier. You need to be aware of your children’s whereabouts at all times.
• All parents are responsible for their own children before and after the performance.

There will be a rubbish-free day each Wednesday. This has been organised by Wendy’s kids following their success in reducing our rubbish on the rubbish-free day held last term. So on Wednesdays please send lunch using as few wrappings (cling film, tin foil, ziplockbags, wrappers), disposable containers and commercially prepackaged foods as possible. Please decant things into re-usable containers labelled with your child’s name. Thanks!!

We have gorgeous Currambena Calendars for sale – $30.00 for two or $18.00 for one. See Julianna to buy some as Christmas/end-of-year presents!!

Lastly, thanks for the boxes, Christine. Thanks to everyone who does all our washing week in and week out, we really appreciate it!

Love from

Sue, Chris and Gabriela.

Hello Everyone

Thank you to everyone who cleaned, washed and tidied preschool at the end of last term and to all the people who did maintenance in the holidays. Thanks to Elina and family for looking after the mice, Matthew and family for looking after the chickens and Ann, Sienna’s grandmother, and Chris, for looking after the silkworms who ate and ate and grew and grew….boxes and boxes of very hungry caterpillars!! Some of the silkworms are spinning their cocoons now.

It’s going to be a busy term. Please diarise the following dates-

Monday 27th October –  ”Mr Insektus Insect Show” – 12.10 -1.30 pm. There is a cost of $8.00 per child please. Please pay a.s.a.p. Thanks!

Wednesday 4th November – STEPS Vision Screening – 9.30 am onwards – for all preschoolers aged 4 and over. You can attend with your child if your child does not come to preschool on a Wednesday. There is no cost for this. Please fill in a permission form. They are on the teachers’ desk.

Friday 13th November – Currambena Concert – 6.00 pm sharp at Tambourine Bay.

Thursday 26th November – Preschool Afternoon Tea – 2.00 – 3.00 pm.

Monday 7th December – Orientation Morning for all children going to Fran’s and all new preschool children coming in 2010.

This week we have been practising out concert song, sowing seeds and talking about a new safety drill called ‘lock down’ (a drill required by the Board of Studies to prepare for the unlikely event of a dangerous person entering the school). We have also put up a map of the world and are asking families to put where they are from on the map so we can see where we all originated.

Today Max V.  and his mum, Mariann, are coming to have “Greek Day” with us. Max is going to teach us the Zorba dance and they have made rizogalo (Greek vanilla rice pudding) for us all to try. Thanks, Max and Mariann.

We love it when families borrow the journals to read and write in, but there are quite a few journals missing after the holidays.  Please return them promptly after borrowing them, as we work on them continually. Thanks!

Please maintain twice weekly headlice checks and treat if necessary.

Love from

Sue, Chris and Gabriela.

Hello Everyone

Well, school on Wednesday was pretty exciting with an eerie, grey light, wind and a dust storm.

Peace Day was celebrated on Monday with a talk by Annabelle Osborne, an ex-student of Currambena, who talked about how we can all incorporate peace into our everyday lives. Then we sang “Dona Nobis Pacem” in two parts, made a human peace sign on the basketball court and iced and ate peace biscuits. Thanks to all the people who made biscuits.

Today Susan and Matthew brought in their tadpoles and we looked at them projected onto a screen using the camera and projector. David, from the Aussiekids helped us set it up and we could see how the tadpoles were sprouting legs and one had four legs and was turning into a frog! The tadpoles spent the day in preschool so we could look at them. We also learnt lots about frogs, asked lots of questions and made lots of comments. Thanks, Susan and Matthew! And thanks, David, for the technical help.

Today is also”Soft Toy Day”. There are lots of toys spending the day in preschool.

Next Tuesday we will be having a performance by the Theatre of the Deaf on multi-culturalism from 1.30-2.30 pm. The cost for this is $5.00 per child. Please pay for this a.s.a.p.

Next week is the last week of term. The last day is Friday 2nd October 2009 and school begins again on Tuesday 20th October 2009. Amba is running vacation care on during the holidays and CASP will be open on Monday 19th October 2009, as this is a pupil-free day. Put your name down for either of these on the notice board or in CASP.

We have put a list of jobs out to be done next week for our end of the term preschool clean-up. Come and put your name on a job and get rid of your maintenance hours.

We love people borrowing the journals to read and to contribute to, but please bring them back promptly as we work on them continuously.

Also we will be putting the lost property out next week, so please claim your child’s items as we will be taking the left-overs to Vinnie’s in the holiday.

The mice have a holiday home, but the silkworms still need a place to stay. You need access to a large mulberry tree as the silkworms are numerous, eating voraciously and growing daily!!

Thanks to whoever found a stove top for us to play with in the sandpit area and to Penny, Cailin and family for feeding the silkworms, fixing our door and putting up a new mirror in the dress up area. And a HUGE thank you to Amba who lets the chickens out,  feeds them and the silkworms and locks the chickens up at the end of the day, every weekend.

Next week is our last week with Sisse as she is going to spend a term with Fran and Jo next term. We have loved having you, Sisse. Have fun with the Aussiekids!

HEAD LICE! Please can EVERYONE check and treat their child’s hair this coming week and maintain checks and treatments throughout the holiday so that children do not pass it on next term again. Thanks!!

Love from

Sue, Chris and Gabriela.

Hello Everyone

The excursions to Longueville last week went really well and the children did some really interesting drawings of the city skyline and the harbour Bridge. They are up on the walls in preschool so come in and have a look at them and the accompanying photos. Playing in the park was also fun.

This week we have continued with buildings by discussing homes and doing an experiment. We have also been doing a unit on protective behaviours – talking about things we can do to keep ourselves safe in a variety of situations. We have also had clay out for children to build with.

Yesterday Sisse had a Danish hotdog stand in preschool and children ordered hotdogs with various accompaniments and chocolate milk.

It’s Information Morning next Wednesday so let friends know if they are interested in coming to find out about Currambena.

Please label all possessions especially lunch box plastic containers and lids as they are becoming the new litter!! Also please claim your child’s lost property. Thanks!!

There is a talk on this Monday night, 16th September 2009, on “Your child and high school” from 7.00 – 9.00 pm.  If you are curious about how your child will manage the transition to high school, come and hear from some ex-Currambena pupils and Wendy about this process. It is open to everyone, not just Currambena parents or those with children going into high school in the near future.

It is “The International Day of Peace” on Monday 21st September 2009. We are planning to celebrate peace by all wearing a white t shirt that day. We have been learning a song as well. There are other events being planned so keep a look out in the newsletter. We are combining this with 350 day, which is concerned with creating a visual to send a message to alert world leaders to take action on climate change. Have a look at the website - www.350.org

I have begun offering places to people on the waiting list for 2010 and having interviews with the new families.

Thanks to Michelle, Annabel’s mum, for scrubbing our easels.

Thanks for the art magazine, Charlotte.

Thanks to the community for returning some of our little ponies, Lucy, Scarlett, Rosie and Paisley were happy to see them back again.

Love from

Sue, Chris and Gabriela.