Preschool News Term 2 Week 8

Posted on June 20, 2019 by katrinaa

Hello everyone,

It was unfortunate that we didn’t make it to our excursion to the Lane Cove Art Gallery on Tuesday. We’ve rescheduled for next Tuesday; however, the forecast isn’t looking too promising so we’re unsure if this is going to work. We could dress in wet weather gear and take umbrellas though there is so many little people we feel it wouldn’t be conducive in providing a safe journey walking to and from the gallery. Fingers crossed for a fine weather next Tuesday!

I recently contacted Lane Cove Library to see if it was possible for preschool to begin visiting. Our children love stories; they just get enough of them! The people at Lane Cove Library are happy to accommodate us. We plan on visiting the Library on a Wednesday fortnightly from week 10. I’ll need all families that have children enrolled on that day to sign and return a routine excursion permission form. A risk assessment will also be completed and available in the office for review or can be set via email to you should you wish to review it.

We’ve had a couple of children off this week with coughs, cold and fevers. The most effective way for children to recover from illness is rest at home. It also means that they don’t spread germs to others. Whilst we practice good hygiene such as cough and sneeze etiquette which is coughing and sneezing into a tissue or elbow and washing hands frequently, germs can also be spread through the air as children play closely to each other. Thank you to everyone that has been keeping sick children at home.

We’ve continued to offer the children many opportunities throughout the week to engage in group games. Crocodile-crocodile has quickly become a favourite game of many of our little people. There’s been many days when we’ve played this both spontaneously and intentionally with most of the preschool joining in. Turn taking games with the parachute has also been a great way to bring the preschool community together.

Spending time getting ready for the art exhibition has also been something we’ve been busily involved in over the past couple of weeks. Everyone’s completed a couple of art works to display in the exhibition. The children that come to preschool on a Thursday completed a group mural last Thursday with assistance from Chris and the visiting artists. The mural will be placed on the fence panelling next to the cubby house for everyone to enjoy.

As many of you know both Michael and I are on the APDEC committee and with the conference quickly approaching and we’ll have many attendees from Asia we are looking for people who may be able to help with translation throughout the conference. We need people who speak Korean, Mandarin and Japanese. If you think you may be able to help please let me Michael or I know.

If anyone can help, we’re always after A4 paper used on one side. We’d also love to add to our making table with recycled materials such as cork, bottle tops and empty cardboard boxes and paper towel rolls, for hygiene reasons no toilet paper or tissue boxes please.

Thanks to everyone who has done washing for us this week. A huge thank you also to Aria and her family for the donation of a sink for our home corner and some fantastic Lego that the preschool children can’t seem to get enough of.

Lastly the whole school art exhibition will be next Friday 28th June from 3 pm until 6.30 pm. Dinner will be at 5. Please bring a plate of food to share with the community. It’s going to be a gorgeous afternoon, evening event, we hope you can all attend. The children really love sharing what they do at school with their families during events such as this.

Love

Katrina, Michael and Hannah

 

 

 

 

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Jess’ Class Term 2 Week 8

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Jess

Dear Parents,
We had a lovely excursion last Thursday to Gore Hill Cemetery. We began with a short guided stroll through the cemetery where we saw Mary Mackillop’s first resting place, the grave of Dave Gregory (Australia’s first test cricket captain) and the family grave of the extended Hordern family (Hordern & Sons department stores). Following this we had  lots of play at the adjoining playground. We were very lucky with the weather and everyone had a beautiful time. On reflection, all the children agreed it would be fun to spend more time together out of the school grounds. Thank you to May, Jo and Shona for volunteering their time and being such wonderful and engaged contributors.

In English we’ve been looking at the sounds that ee and oo make. The children seem to be picking up these concepts very quickly, but please take any opportunity to point them out when reading with your children at home. In maths we’ve been working with number lines and exploring ways to use them for addition and subtraction. This is a tricky concept for some, but it’s been lots of fun using our whole bodies to jump it out.

We each made a set of paper bag lungs yesterday to explore the idea of breathing which the children really enjoyed. They also had fun feeling their own chests expand and contract as they use their lungs to breath. A few dizzy heads with all the heavy breathing, but all in good fun.

Having expanded our ‘feelings’ vocabulary through term 1, this week I have begun to teach the children some protective behaviours. I talked to the children about early warning signs and how to identify what their body might do or feel if they are scared. We learnt about “No, Go, Tell” as a way to keep safe. I’ll put some literature in regards to this on the table outside the classroom if you are interested.

Your child may be speaking with you about the upcoming art exhibition. It’s really important that they bring any work that they are planning to display back to school very soon. It can be stored safely in the craft room for the moment. We are also looking forward to hanging our bamboo skeleton for the event!

APDEC is getting very close now and we are still looking for volunteers. If you want to be involved in any way or can offer some billeting for our guests, please sign up ASAP. We are in particular need of people who can offer translation skills in Korean, Japanese or Mandarin.

Nits are about again! Please, please check your child’s hair and treat if needed. I’ve included a link that provides information regarding effective treatment options from NSW Health https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/headlice/Pages/treatment.aspx

Have a lovely weekend,

Jess xxx

 

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Rosie’s Class Term 2 Week 8

Posted on June 20, 2019 by rosieh

Dear Parents,

On Monday our class went back in time to the roaring 20s! We had a fantastic day learning about how life was different. It was great to see so many children dressed up, it truly felt like we had gone back in time! We learned about new inventions, music and dances that are now iconic to the era. The children had a go at dancing he Charleston, we listened to jazz music and even had a little party. Thank you to all the families who contributed to our morning tea, it was lovely to have a variety of homemade treats and good old fashion lemonade! In the afternoon the children voted and we spent some time learning about film and cartoons at the time. We watched Steam Boat Willie (who we now know as Mickey Mouse), the children found the slapstick humour hilarious and created their own comic style story.

Thank you to Olga who visited us for story time last Friday. The children were fascinated by the story of David & Goliath, it was lovely for them to hear a story that they had never heard before. We learnt how David then went on to become king and build a city, which still stands today. Olga explained that within the city lies an ancient wall, the Western Wall, where people now visit from all over the world to give messages of love and hope. We even got to see photos of Eitan visiting the Western Wall with his friend.

On Tuesday we spent some time thinking about active listening. We played the broken telephone game which involves a message being whispered down the line. We giggled and shared how tricky it was to listen. This got us thinking about people we know who are superb listeners. We discussed the differences between passive listening and active listening, focusing on how it feels when someone truly listens to understand. Active listening means listening with the whole body, it can build trust and encourages the speaker to be open and honest. It is a tricky skill to master but as a class were committed to being more active in our listening!

On Wednesday we finished up our country case studies with Canada, home of the beaver! Canada is the last country on our list of case studies that the children voted on. It has been lovely to teach them about different countries, cultures and traditions. This week we focused on the animals that live in the leafy national parks of Canada; bears, wolves, eagles, beavers and moose. The children loved getting stuck into different craft activities. We even played a game of pin the tail on the beaver!

This week we have been using our problem solving skills to solve word problems. The children used their knowledge of addition and subtraction to solve the questions about money. We worked in pairs and it was brilliant to see the children supporting one another. We will revisit money next term with a focus on real life skills.

There seems to be a buzz around school at the moment with the twilight art exhibit and the APEDEC conference just around the corner. We are still in need of volunteers to support with the conference and there are a range of different jobs that you could help with. Jobs include: ushers at the events, runners and transport, translators, billeting as well as jobs that could be completed from the comfort of your own home. If you have some hours you could spare or would like to get involved, please check out the website or come and speak to any of the teachers.

Have a lovely weekend!

Rosie

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Sarah’s Class Week 8 Term 2

Posted on June 20, 2019 by sarahm

Are we really almost at the end of another Term?????

Last week, we had a discussion about Empathy! We first began by discussing What are Life Skills? And why do we need them? The children responded:

  • You need to make good stuff so you can have a better life
  • To get skills to be a better person
  • Sometimes you are born with a natural talent but you need skills to develop it
  • They are things you need to create for when you grow up or not for when you grow up but for now too
  • Skills that help you to be a better person and become who you want to be

Then I asked, What is Empathy?

  • It’s where you have a connection to each other
  • I think it means having trust in yourself
  • Taking care of others and not just thinking of yourself
  • Like, if someone is in a situation and you have been in that situation, you can feel for them.
  • Feel sad for others when they cry and sometimes cry when they cry
  • Don’t be jealous, be happy for others when they win something
  • To feel other people and make sure you can help when they’re in a mood.

This discussion came around to perspectives and the work we have been doing on seeing things from another person’s point of view. We also talked about exclusion and what it might feel like to be excluded and left out of a game or not picked to be in a group. We discussed the saying: “walking in someone else’s shoes.” And the children responded to the questions: “showing empathy to others makes me feel…. A time I showed empathy to someone was… Empathy is important because…. Empathy means…….                                Of course the development of this social & emotional skill is not something children just ‘get’. The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes takes emotional intelligence. But I feel blessed to be supporting a group of children who are responsive, thoughtful and already showing ability to read another person and think kindly of others.

As we are visiting The Museum of Sydney next Monday, we continue to read more about the unlikely friendship of Governor Philip and Bennelong. We have discovered how the Aboriginal-British relations (in the early days of the arrival/invasion) were full of promise. There was goodwill and humour with the majority of both groups willing to understand each other. We discovered how Bennelong was captured so Philip could get up close and observe an Aboriginal to better understand them. This provoked discussion and the children agreed this was not the right way to go about ‘getting to know somebody.’

On the topic of our excursion, next Monday, 24th we will go by bus to the city for our tour around the museum. We will leave school at 9:30 am. The tour goes from 10 am – 11:30 am. We will then walk to the Botannical Gardens where the children said they would like to have morning tea and lunch before the bus picks us up again at 2 pm, to return to school. The children will need closed walking shoes, morning tea, lunch and a water bottle. Danielle (assistant) will also be coming.

Also next week is our whole school art exhibition. The exhibition will be open from the end of school at 3 pm. There will be an evening social with a fire pit starting at 6 pm. We are asking people bring food to share. We are needing people to help set up tables, take care of the fire and pack away at the end of the night. If you can help with any of these jobs (and put time towards maintenance) then please let Julianna know.

Personal Project presentations start from next week and will continue till they’re done. I will write the list of days/times the children are presenting on the whiteboard, if you are able to come.

APDEC: Please check out the full program now available online. The committee is needing your help! In the form of: translators, drivers, billets, bakers and lots more. Please see Wendy if you can help to support this event.

I think that’s us for this week. Have a lovely weekend.

Love, Sarah

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Leesa’s Class Term 2 Week 8

Posted on June 20, 2019 by leesaj

Hi Everyone,

Another week down and sickness is definitely around. Thank you to Susan who has been looking after my class since Tuesday as I am unwell. The children have continued exploring two-dimensional shapes using properties and symmetry and working on their Personal Interest Projects and biographies. Personal Project presentations start from next week and will continue into week 10.

Our sound for this week was i_e, igh, i, ie, y as in ice-cream, fly, night, spider and pie. Activities around unjumbling homophones, the meaning of the prefix bi (bisect means to divide into two equal parts) and the spelling rule of dropping the y to add ies (cry to cries).

On Monday we participated in a Cyber Safety session with Yasmin from Ysafe. This session covered protecting passwords and other private information and also reminded the children about talking to adults about things that arise online that give us a ‘no’ feeling.

Due to the weather on Monday afternoon we weren’t able to attend the Lane Cove Library. Instead we looked at the map of Taronga Zoo and placed various animals into the categories of mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians. We then discussed the baby animals currently at the zoo and started thinking about the path we could take to see as much of the zoo as possible after our workshop at the Institute of Science and Learning.

Friday 28th June is our whole school art exhibition. The exhibition will be open from the end of school and there will be an evening social with a fire pit starting at 6 pm. Please bring a plate of food to share. We are also needing people to help set up tables, take care of the fire and pack away.

APDEC will be running in the second week of the July holidays. The full program is now available online. The committee is needing your help with translators, drivers, billets and lots of other jobs. Please see Wendy if you can help to support this event.

Important Information:

*Wednesday 3rd July Taronga Zoo excursion

That’s it for this week.

Leesa x

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Wendy’s Group Week 8 Term 2

Posted on June 20, 2019 by wendyp

As you will probably know by now, our much anticipated excursion, “Campaign”, was cancelled yesterday, this time because the educator was unwell. Last time, it was the weather so we’ve been pretty unlucky! I will ring and reschedule this but I think it’s unlikely we can fit it in this term now.

Also not fitting in this term is the movie night that the group voted for last Class Meeting. Unfortunately, nobody remembered to ask their parents if they could be here to help and so now it is too late to organise it. Yesterday, the group voted to have a movie on the last day of term instead and have popcorn and snacks while we watch “Shrek”! Sounds like a good alternative. Needless to say, all the end of term cleaning up will have to be done first! With the APDEC conference having an entire day here at school on Tuesday July 16th, we want to have everything looking terrific!

Almost all of the PIPs have been proof read and completely finalised now and presentations begin today. We have a list of the order for these and we can guess what time and day they will be on … but not with 100% accuracy. If one presentation goes for a longer or shorter time than expected, it will alter the timing for those following, of course. So if you are hoping to come and watch your child present, please understand the timing is an inexact science! A couple of children still need some help to finish off…. proof reading or editing. They have been offered my time at school but some have elected to do it at home with parents. A couple of other children have enthusiastically begun on their PIPs for Term 3!! How wonderful is that?

In other areas, we have been enjoying listening to some stories written by children in the class read aloud to the group. There are some very talented writers in the class with highly creative imaginations for stories! We are also writing about our islands in geography and yesterday we wrote Artists’ Statements to go with an art work being exhibited next week in the Art Exhibition.

In Maths, we are well into fractions, decimals and percentages and everyone is doing really well with this quite challenging topic. We can convert between fractions and decimals, add and subtract fractions with related but different denominators and we are working on remembering what improper fractions, proper fractions and mixed numbers are!! Very impressive.

We did some singing as a class this week and ran through our repertoire of songs relating to indigenous issues or stories. It is always lovely to pick up a guitar and have some of the class do the same and play along with me while we sing… thank you to Chris, Marley and Aidan this week! Speaking of music, we have also been enjoying some beautiful piano sounds from some talented players and learners in the group. The two class rules about this are that you need to ask to use the keyboard and it has to sound beautiful when you play…. no problems there!

I have been speaking to the group about the APDEC conference and many of them have expressed interest in being part of it. There are several specific times when their participation would be very helpful. The official opening at Naamaroo between 2pm and 3pm on Monday 15th will include a performance hopefully of some songs we already know like Solid Rock, Rainbow Snake and Beds Are Burning. We need children and their voices for this! On the Currambena Day Tuesday 15th, we will need plenty of helpers to take visitors on tours of the school, to help with setting up morning tea and to participate in craft and other activities with our visitors, some of whom are children. Then, on the Thursday night back at Naamaroo, there will be a concert from 7pm onwards and I hope some children will come along and perform that night too! Lots of adult help is also needed during the conference so please volunteer for a job or offer some time.

There has been some very good feedback about the Ysafe cyber safety sessions, both the children’s ones during the day and the parent version on Monday night. Yasmin has sent through a link to her website which will give all parent access to information and suggestions about dealing with online safety. Thank you to Rowena who helped me to organise this.

Thank you also to the maintenance people who swept up again last weekend! It was lovely to see the bricks outside our room so clear on Monday! Tricky time of year for this, especially with the liquid amber so close!

ART EXHIBITION
Next Friday is the biennial CURRAMBENA ART EXHIBITION. Student art will be on display from 3pm and at 5pm we will start a dinner social. Families are asked to bring a plate of food to share. Should be a great night!

Hope you’re all having a great week. Love, Wendy

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Julianna Term 2 Week 8

Posted on June 20, 2019 by juliannam

Hello everyone,

Our exciting Art Exhibition is next week! Please save the date for Friday 28th to see our Hanging Sculptures and to join in another wonderful community social around the campfire.

 The Exhibition will open at 3.00pm dinner at five and hoping to wrap up around 7.00pm.

 Food & Drink. Can everyone please bring a dish to share, enough for your family and 2 extras. We also would love to have some help to set-up tables, to manage the fire and pack away. Please let me know if you are able to take on any of these tasks.

ySafe Social Media & Cyber Safety Experts – Jasmine’s day with the kids and the evening with parents was excellent. For those parents who were unable to attend I sent a link via email earlier this week with the information Jasmine shared with us.

Archival photos. Thank –you to the parents who are coming in each week to scan our photos.

VHS videos- Many thanks to Nicky who got our archival videos converted to digital.

HELP NEEDED –

APDEC Volunteers – please see Wendy’s note with the list of jobs. One of the big ones are the need for translators in Mandarin, Korean and Japanese. Please email Wendy, Michael or Katrina if you are available at any time over the conference week to help with any of the jobs

UP COMING EVENTS!

TERM 2 Whole School Art Exhibition followed by a shared dinner & a camp fire Week 9 Friday 28th June

            APDEC Conference 15th -20th July

TERM 3 Open school Friday 21st Sept

    Currambena 50th Birthday Weekend Celebrations

TERM 4 Whole school Concert at Sydney Norths Leagues Club 14th Nov

    End of year social Wednesday 18th December

Cheers Julianna

“The real value of setting goals is not the recognition or reward, it’s the person we become by finding the discipline, courage and commitment to achieve them.”  Anonymous

 

 

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APDEC UPDATE

Posted on June 20, 2019 by wendyp

Thank you so much to everyone who has offered to help so far with anything to do with the conference.

Today I will put up some posters about different jobs for people to sign up with their offers.

Donations of money are still welcome as we have a few people who would be very grateful for assistance.

In particular, we would be very grateful for translation help. We will have participants speaking Korean, Mandarin, Japanese and Cantonese. If anyone fluent in any of these languages could offer a couple of hours of time on any day of the conference, Monday to Friday, we would be very grateful indeed!

BAKING! Please bake some goodies for morning or afternoon tea for our guests at Currambena on Tuesday 16th!! There will be over 100 people here that day and we need volunteers to bake goodies and bring them in to the school by 9:30 am that day. We also, of course, need volunteers to help set up morning and afternoon tea on that day. Please sign up on the lists which will be out on the easel at the front of the school today.

We also need to find places for people who need billeting so please sign up on that list (which has been emailed to families) if you are able to offer a bed for a night or two.

And, most important of all, please book your places in order to attend the conference itself! The Monday night will be especially interesting and extra tickets are limited.

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Photo of the Week

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Newsletter Editor

2019-06-20 (2)

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Canteen Menu 24 June 2019

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Newsletter Editor

MORNING TEA:
Bacon & Egg Rolls $2
Apple and Berry Crumble with Greek Yoghurt $1

LUNCH:
Penne Pasta Bake (meat or veg option) with Garlic Bread $2.50

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