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“Play is the highest form
of research”
‐ Albert Einstein
Issue 8
December 2016
There is a paper copy of this
newsle er in a folder in the
preschool foyer.
PARK
DALE
PRE
SCHO
OL N
ewsle
tter
Inside this issue:
President’s column 1
Dolphin and Sea Star Diary 2
Commi ee for 2017 3
Turtle Tales 4
Fundraising 5
Hodges ‐ Sponsorship 6
Dolphin Christmas Concert 7
Sea Star Christmas Concert 8
Term 4 Calendar 9
To submit ar cles, email: [email protected]
It has been a rewarding and successful year and as many of our pre‐schoolers embark on new beginnings ‐ it is also a me for reflec on and fond goodbyes. As a kindergarten and a commi ee of management we have seen many goals come to frui on. It has been an extremely rewarding experience to play a part in seeing Parkdale Preschool con nue to thrive. Among the achievements and challenges we have faced as a commi ee this year we have:
Introduced smaller group sizes in our four‐year‐old sessions to meet new na onal teacher to child ra os;
We improved our learning space addressing some forecasted repairs to our buildings and playground; and
Our efforts were formally recognised in a government assessment and ra ng report which examined all aspects of our service and found us to be ``Exceeding Na onal Quality Standard’’ in every area. This is unmatched by our compe tors in our enrolment radius and places us in an elite group as one of the best early childhood educa on providers in the state, if not the country.
We have been blessed this year with a stable and cohesive team of teachers and educators who work together to ignite a passion for learning in our youngsters. I cannot thank Megan Miller, Natasha Curran‐Wright, Sonia Carroll and Kerry Brockbank enough for their professionalism and dedica on to making sure we provide a posi ve learning experience that nurtures each child. We have also been ably supported by the ever‐efficient Stacey Ferguson in the office. A very special thank you to all those families who pitched in this year at our four successful working bees. With your help we accomplished many of our regular maintenance and grounds keeping tasks as well as some extra things such as repairing and repain ng our outside fence, mending toys and fixing furniture. With the hard work of the trivia night and fundraising teams and the generous support of our parent community, we raised $12,234 last financial year to ensure our preschool con nues to be well‐resourced and is an exci ng learning space for our children. I thank all the 2016 commi ee for their support, energy and insight over the past year. Each member has made a las ng contribu on to the preschool. I am par cularly extremely grateful to the execu ve commi ee who every month came prepared to openly discuss the issues and make the necessary decisions to keep our wonderful preschool in opera on. A special word of thanks to those members who are leaving the commi ee and the kindergarten a er many years of dedicated service. I extend a warm welcome to the incoming members who so generously volunteered their me and exper se to join the commi ee of management in 2017. Most importantly thanks to our parents and children for making Parkdale Preschool such a vibrant place to play and learn – you are the very fabric of our kinder community and what makes it so special. We hope that all our Dolphin and Sea Star families have a smooth and happy transi on to primary school next year. I would like to wish everyone the very best for the fes ve season and a safe and joyful new year. Belinda Winthrop Parkdale Preschool Associa on Inc President 2016 [email protected] (Grace’s mum – Sea Stars)
Issue 8 - December 2016
President’s Report 1
Issue 8 - December 2016
2
Megan Miller - [email protected]
many of the children and families from excitement to nervousness and everything in between! There have been many reports of confident and excited children who were eager to join in with their new teachers and school friends. The school uniform day was a great opportunity for the children to share their feelings and ideas about this next step and they certainly looked very grown up in their big school clothes. Christmas is almost upon us and the children have been busy crea ng some deligh ul decora ons, gi s and cards for their families and decora ng our classroom Christmas tree with an abundance of nsel! We have also been prac cing hard for the Christmas concert as the children use their drama skills to perform in front of others, follow instruc ons, listen for cues, join in singing and ac ons and work collabora vely and cooperate with others. Natasha,
Kerry, Sonia and Megan will all be present for the concerts and farewell par es on the last day and we all look forward to seeing you there to celebrate and say goodbye. We are very proud of all the Dolphin and Sea Star children as they have developed so much confidence and achieved so much over the year. We have had a truly wonderful year with you and your
children and wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday and all the best for the New Year to come! Megan PS… LAST KINDER DAYS AND PARTIES Sea Stars – the last day is Monday 19th December with the usual session star ng at 8.30am. We will then have families join us to help celebrate the end of the kinder year from 12 noon (to finish by 1.30pm). BYO a picnic rug and lunch for your child and whoever is joining them on the day. Dolphins ‐ the last day is Friday 16th December with the usual session star ng at 8.30am. We will then have families join us to help celebrate the end of the kinder year from 12 noon (the session will finish by 1.30pm). BYO a picnic rug and lunch for your child and whoever is joining them on the day.
Dolphin and Sea Star Diary
One of the highlights of this term included a visit from Ma , from the Wiradjuri mob near Wagga Wagga and Phil who is from the Yorta Yorta tribe to tell us more about Aboriginal culture and teach us a few dance moves! We learnt that Aboriginal people were Australia’s first people and have been here for 60,000 years. There are over 500 different groups or tribes and Aboriginal people live in all the different places in Australia. They have lots of different languages, different stories and do different kinds of dancing and pain ngs. Aboriginal people have a long history of telling stories through dance, pain ngs and talking. We joined in with Ma and Phil to play some musical instruments like the claps cks and tell stories of different animals through dance and movement. We moved like kangaroos, emus, snakes and eels. Some of the Dolphins even had their faces painted!
What a wonderful me the parents and children had recently on our beach day excursion. We were fortunate to have mostly mild weather to explore the rock pools, enjoy a picnic lunch and make sand sculptures! Andrew Wegener, as our marine expert, helped everyone to explore the local environment and learn many interes ng facts. By li ing up small rocks and diving his hand into rock pools he helped us discover many creatures and other finds including sea weed, sea grapes, sea stars, sea biscuits and even sea rubbish! We were pleased to see the children picking up rubbish to help keep the beach clean and save anything from dri ing into the bay and into the mouths of unsuspec ng sea life. Upon return to preschool the children were able to reflect on what they had seen and learnt, through discussions, stories and sea life is the theme of our rockpool water play tray. Thank you to all those parents who were able to join us on the day! School transi ons have been full of mixed emo ons for
Committee for 2017
Issue 8 - December 2016
3
POSITION NAME CHILD GROUP
President Kjiana Mya Sea Stars
Vice President Brett Meg Dolphins
Treasurer Niamh Elsie Sea Stars
Secretary/ Public Officer Jackie Lucy Turtles
Vice Secretary Laura Henry Dolphins
Personnel Officer Samantha Xavier & Lucette Dolphins & Turtles
Enrolment Officer - 3YO Lisa Summer Dolphins
Enrolment Officers - 4YO Karen Anika Dolphins
Maintenance Coordinator - Projects Nathan Abby Turtles
Maintenance Coordinator - Working Bee Lisa Elsie Sea Stars
Fundraising Coordinator VACANT
Fundraising Subcommittee Melanie Emma Turtles
Fundraising Subcommittee Belinda Georgie Dolphins
Fundraising Subcommittee Amy Abby Turtles
Fundraising Subcommittee Vanessa Zofia Dolphins
Fundraising Subcommittee Korieza May Dolphins
Trivia Night Subcommittee Lindsay Eleanor Turtles
Trivia Night Subcommittee Rebecca Leo Turtles
Trivia Night Subcommittee Kristie Emilia Turtles
Trivia Night Subcommittee Stacey Jaxon Dolphins
Trivia Night Subcommittee Danielle Casper Turtles
Group Rep – 3 (Turtles) Jeanette Charlotte & Allegra Turtles
Group Rep – 4 (Dolphins) Lisa Olivia Dolphins
Group Rep – 4 (Sea Stars) Candice Zara Sea Stars
A big welcome the Parkdale Preschool Commi ee for 2017.
We need a Fundraising Coordinator!
Can you help?
If so, please contact Megan or
Stacey.
books and sing many Christmas songs. It has been great to see the children eagerly looking forward to this time of the year and all seem very excited about having their families here to celebrate on the last day of term. Even though Christmas is almost here, it still only feels like yesterday that the children started their kinder journey in the Turtle group. It's hard to believe that the year has flown by and the once shy children have grown in confidence and pride. They have each gone on an amazing learning journey where they have learnt many new skills and have gained enthusiasm to try new things. I would like to say a big congratulations and a job well done to each and every child in the group. Your beautiful smiles, contagious laughs, wonderful stories and amazing play has made this such a fun year to teach. Finally I would also like to say a big thank you to all of the parents and families, your help throughout the year on parent duty has been a wonderful support and has made the kinder programme a fantastic one for your children. Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. Natasha.
This term seems to have flown by with many of the group enjoying a wide range of activities. We have done many art and craft activities, experimented with seeds, plants and gardening, completed numerous puzzles, made many mud pies, taken care of lots of dinosaurs, collected and studied many, many bugs, built a number of sand castles and gone on many treasure hunts.
Another great interest, which has grown and developed into more complex play for the Turtle group this term has been construction and building. Exploring activities and materials such as large blocks, road and car construction materials, trains and train tracks and box/collage construction materials has allowed many of the children to learn and practice some amazing skills. Playing with construction materials either alone or in groups enables a child to plan, design and construct with 3D materials. Construction activities encourage children to engage in symbolization and representation, make comparisons, classify, learn about directionality and sequencing experience divergent thinking and logical reasoning. It provides opportunities for learning about mathematical concepts of size, shape, space and weight, along with developing imagination and creativity. With Christmas just around the corner, we have enjoyed our preparations for our Christmas celebration. The children have been excited to make many Christmas crafts, read lots of Christmas
Issue 8 - December 2016
4 Turtle Tales Natasha Curran-Wright - [email protected]
Issue 8 - December 2016
5 Fundraising
Finally the toy catalogue is s ll available for ordering and again proceeds go towards to our fundraising total! Get your orders in ASAP.
Once again, thank you to all our parents for their support during each of our events, it has been a busy year with hot cross buns, chocolate drive, clothes dona ons, cake stall, sausage sizzle, African drumming and the Cocktail evening.
The Fundraising team
Jackie, Vikki, Anita and Claire
What a fantas c year for the fundraising team and the kinder! To date, the team have raised over $8600 for the kinder and it is all thanks to the parents that have supported the events throughout the year (and we s ll have the toy catalogue and Christmas raffle to go!!)
We finished off with a bang at the Mentone Bunnings BBQ sausage sizzle where we raised a whooping $3330‐ this is a record for the kinder. It was a very busy and hot day, so thank you to all those who kindly donated their me on Saturday. Thank you also to our suppliers –
Tasman Meats, Bakers Delight Thri Park and Chef’s Pantry.
The previous weekend saw the social cocktail evening at Oscar’s Hangout sponsored by Hodges Mentone. Our very own President, Belinda Winthrop, won a bo le of champagne for guessing the cocktails correctly along with how they were made. Congratula ons Belinda. As sponsors, Hodges Mentone (Jason Swi ) kindly donated $1000 towards a reverse auc on raffle. This will be drawn on the 19th December at the Sea Stars Christmas Party. The winner will be no fied by phone. Tickets are $10 for one or $40 for five. Please see one of our fundraising team members if you wish to purchase more.
www.chalk.com.au www.parentdirect.com.au
Jackie Jarman—Fundraising Co-ordinator
Issue 8 - December 2016
6 Proudly sponsored by Hodges Mentone
Issue 8 - December 2016
7
Dolphin Christmas Concert
Congratula ons to all the children who starred in this year’s Christmas Concert. Inspired by the book Dear Zoo.
Issue 8 - December 2016
8
Sea Star Christmas Concert
Well done to all the children who performed in the Christmas Concerts.
Important Dates Term 4, 2016 MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
5
Sea Stars and
Dolphins Christmas Concerts
6 7 8
Last Turtles Session and
Party
9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16
Last Dolphins Session
12 noon Party
1:30pm Finish
17 18
19
Last Sea Stars Session
12 noon Party
1:30pm Finish
20
Kinder closed for summer
21 22 23 24 25
Christmas Day
DECEMBER