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REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 1
Dee’s Message
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
For this past term, the children in the
Fledglings group have engaged with
their provocation of “It’s a journey”,
which has taken them to all sorts of
interesting and exciting places. They
have ‘travelled’ to a number of different
countries and have used all sorts of
transport to get there. In the process,
they have spoken, discussed, and used
their artistic skills to capture some of their
experiences. It really has captured their
imaginations and provided numerous
opportunities for learning.
It would seem to me that the “It’s a
journey” approach to our lives is an apt
analogy. We have often seen the “Life’s
a journey. Enjoy the ride” or “Life’s a
journey, not a destination” bumper
stickers. These and similar sayings have
also been used many times, in various
forms, for car advertisements and to sell
products which will supposedly add
value to our lives.
However, in the context of an Early
Learning School such as ours, it has
particular relevance. All too easily,
education can appear as a relentless
progression from one year to the next,
with challenges to be overcome and
tests to be written, in the pursuit of that
final goal of passing the HSC year with
impressive results. Any detours or
obstacles along the way are seen as
problematic, rather than as opportunities
for learning.
Perhaps one of the most refreshing
aspects of teaching in an ELS is that one
has the freedom to explore and to learn,
without the constraints of formality often
associated with later years in education.
It is enlightening to see the joy with which
young children are able to explore their
world without a specific goal in mind.
There is no final ‘right answer’ to be
arrived at, only the process itself to be
enjoyed.
It is in the spontaneity associated with
living in the moment that young children
are most alive – and how we all could
learn from them in that regard.
22 SEPTEMBER 2017
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 2
It should be less about keeping an eye
on the finishing line of the race of life we
all seem to be running, and rather be on
the beauty of the landscape through
which we are passing.
It has been our great pleasure this past
term to have walked part of this journey
alongside you and your child. I am
appreciative of all of the efforts of our
very special teachers, administration and
support staff, and others who have
contributed to another happy term. My
thanks too to all parents, who play such
an integral role in the life of the school
and obviously in the individual lives of the
wonderful children who fill our
classrooms.
Whether your child will be part of our
Holiday Care programme or if you will be
spending time together on holiday
elsewhere, I wish you an enjoyable time
together. And should you be journeying
anywhere, may the journey itself be just
as pleasurable as the destination.
Dee Pitcairn
Principal
Dee’s Message
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 3
The Nest “My world - things I like…” Tatiana Botrel & Shirley Brockwell
It is hard to believe that we have
reached the end of another successful
term. This term’s provocation was
related to all the things that our little
ones expressed enjoyment in regarding
our environment. The “Things I like”
provocation was indeed a great theme
on which to base the children’s learning
journey in our classroom, as the young
children are still exploring the world that
surrounds them. Every week was new
discovery, every day a new world of
wonder!
Children’s interests this term went from
animals to books about bears –
including exploring nature – and
surprisingly finished with the modes of
transport. The children enjoyed reading
the book “Down by the Station” and
also listening to the audio version of the
same. From there, we explored different
modes of transport, such as a car, bus,
truck, fire engine, plane and helicopter.
The children engaged in different
activities related to this subject, but
they mostly enjoyed exploring the
“transport table” where a road and an
airport structure was set up, along with
different forms of transport and
elements to support this learning, such
as traffic lights and different road signs.
This week, in The Mini Art Atelier, the
children explored the colours of the
traffic lights to create a beautiful
artwork. While working on their painting,
the teachers encouraged the children
to identify the colours red, yellow and
green. Some of the children also tried to
repeat the words and name the
colours, excitedly dipping their cotton
buds in the tray with paint. We also
spoke about the shape of the traffic
lights and tried to make circles on the
paper. The movement required a lot of
focus and hand coordination, but, in
the end, the children were just happy
to explore the colours on the paper.
One of the childrens’ favourite games
in the classroom is organising the chairs
in a line, sitting on them and then
waiting for a teacher to sing “Wheels on
the bus”. What started off with only one
child sitting with a teacher became a
whole group experience. The children
enjoyed it so much that once the song
was finished, they all asked for “more”!
It has been a wonderful term watching
the children’s enjoyment and
confidence in The Nest environment.
We are looking forward to the new
learning adventures in Term Four.
Outcome 1: Children have a strong
sense of identity. Children develop their
emerging autonomy, inter-
dependence, resilience and sense of
agency. EYLF, 2009.
Outcome 4: Children are confident and
involved learners. Children resource
their own learning through connecting
with people, place, technologies and
natural and processed materials. EYLF,
2009.
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 4
The Nest Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 5
The Nest Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 6
The Nest Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 7
Throughout our journey we experienced
many modes of transport to help us
travel to our destinations. As it is now our
final week of Term Three, we have
reflected on the countries we have
visited. It is clear to see that some of the
children had their favourites because of
the animals, buildings or modes of
transport. During a group discussion, we
decided to bring all of these countries
together through creating a beautiful
collaborative art piece using prints from
each mode of transport.
We left tracks using boats, trains,
airplanes, elephant footprints and a
bicycle.
This term has seen the children continue
to grow and learn, expressing their love
for knowledge as they show curiosity and
they have also become very
inquisitive. As teachers, it is our role to
support each child through their learning
and we feel this term’s provocation has
allowed us to do this seamlessly.
To keep the memories of the places we
have been, we have created some
Travel Journals and the children will revisit
their journey using the same materials as
they did when we first came to that
place. It is clear that the children have
become inspired, creative, and have
shown great imagination throughout this
journey. They have become immersed in
their world.
What a wonderful term
We have reached the end of our third
term, and what an incredible term it has
been. All the children are so happy to be
a part of our Fledgling group, which we
can clearly see on their happy faces and
through their active participation in their
learning and play. As always, this term
was packed with lots of fun, through the
stimulating and creative activities to
keep the children engaged.
As we get ready to enjoy our Holiday
Care programme, the teachers will be
closely observing the children to see
what new interests they will share. We
cannot wait to begin an action-packed
Term Four where there will be lots of
stimulating, fascinating and engaging
experiences planned and introduced to
the children. As another term and
provocation draws to a close, our
learning will only continue as we
strengthen our understanding of our
world around us.
Thank you to all our children and families
for such a wonderful term.
Fledglings “It’s a journey…” By Hannah McCooey, Olivia Binions and Jane Teh
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 8
Fledglings Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 9
Fledglings Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 10
The Kookaburras
“The Bear is in there!”
The excitement of the Kookaburra
children as they discovered the wall
display of their story “We’re going on a
Bear Hunt” this week was, for the
teachers, an acknowledgment that the
programme for the children this term
engaged them and developed and
consolidated many of their skills.
When you start a provocation, you have
an idea as to where it may go in terms of
learning opportunities. As always, when
you follow the children’s interests, things
can change. “Bringing Stories to Life”
gave us the opportunity to read and
explore many of our favourite stories,
including “The Gingerbread Man” and
“Mr Gumpy’s Outing”. It became clear
that as the term progressed “We’re
Going on a Bear Hunt” was a definite
favourite and provided many learning
opportunities for the children in their own
play, as they would keep revisiting it.
Following this lead, our focus became on
being able to bring this story to life over
an extended period of time. We created
the props (a set design) that gave us the
opportunity to use many different skills
and techniques related to art
experiences.
The GRASS was made by using scissors to
cut green paper to represent the blades
of grass.
Shaving cream and blue paint helped to
represent the ripples of the RIVER.
Sand with brown paint helped to create
the squelchy MUD.
To stumble trip through the FOREST we
collaged natural material.
A SNOWSTORM was created with white
finger painting and cotton balls.
The CAVE is very dark and this was
created with roller brushes and black
paint.
The BEAR - a wet nose, furry ears and
eyes were drawn by the children and
added to the cave.
We even made our own bears using
paper bags, textures and cut-out shapes.
Using these props and the musical
instruments, we were able to bring this
story to a bigger audience. In our final
week of the term, we performed the
story for our friends in the Tree Frogs class,
who gave us a big clap.
The Cockatoos
“Where is the Bear?”
The Cockatoos have been busy working
together to create a map to help our
friends to either find the Bear or to avoid
him whilst we go on our Bear Hunts. One
of our group discussions was talking
about what area we enjoyed playing in
whilst outside. The discussion ended with
us agreeing the we most enjoyed playing
in the Sand Pit, Garden, doing activities
such as Play Dough and drawing on the
Activity table, on the Deck and of course
the Castle. The children suggested that
these areas could be where the bear
may hide or even live!!!! We envisioned
the Deck from a bird’s eye view, inspiring
us to be birds that were flying in the sky,
looking down at our school. This was the
start of our map making where we would
place a symbol to represent our
equipment outside. To help improve our
search of the bear we also made our
very own binoculars, using paper rolls,
paints, glitter, and sequins, so that we
could find him before he found us!!!
Stage 2 “Bringing stories to life…” Daniella Gosty, Karla Cabezas, Tori Gordon, Shauna Corry, Vanessa Copper, Helen Wilson and Min Pattharasiritanarat.
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 11
We have been focusing on a book that is
called ‘Harry and the Dinosaurs Tell The
Time’. The children have been set the
challenge of taking turns to move the
correct hands on the clock to the time
that is being requested, which is mainly
on the hour. This book has been
encouraging the children's recognition of
their numbers and has introduced them
to the concept of time.
The group has been keeping busy taking
part in other activities such as threading
and beading, as they have created
beautiful bracelets and necklaces for
themselves, other peers, their parents
and siblings at home. We have enjoyed
using fun materials to use with our play
dough, such as pipe cleaners, shapes,
straws and sequins to create Monsters,
Houses, pretty fairies and many more. We
have enjoyed using the transport and
road maps, as well as building houses,
cars with large and small blocks, Lego
and the Duplo, which is always our
favourite.
Next week is our Holiday Care
Programme. If you are holidaying at
home or away, we hope that you relax
and enjoy yourself over the next two
weeks and we will see you all in Term
Four!
Stage 2 “The bear is in there…”Daniella Gosty, Karla Cabezas, Tori Gordon, Shauna Corry, Vanessa Copper, Helen Wilson and Min Pattharasiritanarat.
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 12
Fledglings Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 13
Stage 2 Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 14
Stage 2 Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 15
Stage 3 “The large moveable alphabet…” By Christina Mandalidis, Susan Casey, Elizabeth Turner, Jason Corrigan, Polina Rodov and Deanne Jacobs
Over the last few weeks in the
perceptual atelier, the children have
been introduced to a new Montessori
activity called the large moveable
alphabet. Initially the children laid the
sounds out on the mat and were asked
to identify the sounds as they placed
them back in the tray. This was extended
over the course of the next few weeks, as
the children were invited to build simple
three letter phonetic words with the help
of picture/word cards.
“I love spelling. I’m great at this.” Mia
“I found it, Monty. I found the word “red”.
I need to find the letter ‘d’.” James
“’S’ is for sun.” Monty
The children will continue to use the
moveable alphabet throughout the year.
This is part of their developing knowledge
and skills in relation to pre-reading and
pre-writing. They are always very proud of
their achievements and love sharing this
with their teachers and their friends.
The Lorax
The children have thoroughly enjoyed
reading the story of the Lorax by Dr.
Seuss. By combining the craziest
creatures and zaniest pictures with his
unique blend of rhyme, rhythm and
repetition, the children have learned of
the dangers of destroying our forests.
Following this, the children were invited to
create their favourite image from the
Lorax through a layered experience
including painting with fluffy paint,
pasting and drawing. This was an
ongoing experience, layering different
elements over two weeks.
“I’m doing the truffula trees because
everyone needs truffula trees to give
food to the poor Barbaloots or else they
won't stay alive.” Sasha
“The Onceler was naughty, he cut down
all the trees.” Annalisa
Learning opportunities can appear
anywhere; it is just a matter of knowing
where to look for them.
With that, Term Three has come to an
end. How quickly time flies when you are
learning and having fun. To those
children who are joining us in Holiday
Care, we look forward to your company
and to having great fun. To those of you
who will be off for the holidays we wish
you great fun and adventure. We will see
you in Term Four.
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 16
Stage 3 Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 17
Stage 3 Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 18
Stage 4 “Connecting with nature…” By Anita Martin, Nina Bergel, Kristina Rocchi, Jane Pledger,Sandra Carberry and Cassandra Holmes
As we approached the end of Term
Three, the children engaged in a
reflective discussion about their
experiences during our weekly visit to
Cooper Park. From listening to the
discussions, it is evident that every child is
learning, developing, growing and
enjoying every day that we spend in our
outdoor classroom.
Our excursions to Cooper Park are one of
the highlights of the children’s week. It is
an open-ended environment, providing
for exploration and discovery. It is a
learning environment that encourages
children’s engagement, curiosity,
problem solving and appropriate risk
taking. Connecting with nature supports
multiple developmental domains –
intellectual, emotional, social and
physical. It also supports creativity and
problem solving, and provides the
opportunity to learn how to manage risks
and to develop a respect for nature.
It has been wonderful to watch the
children’s confidence grow week after
week. Their determination and
perseverance is amazing.
Annika “Once when I was trying to climb
a big rock, it was steep, and I fell down. I
tried the next time I went and I learned it
now.”
Katie “When I first went to the bush I tried
to climb the small rock and I couldn’t.
Then I tried again. How I learned was I
saw some other kids doing it and I just
copied them.”
Ines “First time I went to the bush I
couldn’t climb like a Koala. Eventually I
learned to do it and that is my favourite
thing.”
Eve “First time I went to the bush I
couldn’t climb the big rock. I slipped off
and kind of hurt my knee. I tried again
and again, and then in two or three days
I did it.”
Harry “I went to the bush and found the
biggest rock and climbed it. I fell down,
tried again, fell down, tried again and
then I eventually got to the very top.”
Arabella “I learned to climb a long tree
and I was like a wombat.”
Diyan “I climb the big rock and not even
fall down. The first time I went to the bush
I couldn’t climb the rock.”
Hugo “I found the biggest rock and
started to climb it. Now I can climb trees
too.”
Avi “I couldn’t climb a tree and now I
have learned to climb a tree.”
When we allow children to make choices
and decisions and we are
active participants in their play, we are
implementing the practices outlined in
the EYLF (DEEWR, 2009, pp. 4–5):
· We are fostering ‘children’s
capacity to understand and
respect the natural environment
and the interdependence
between people, plants, animals
and the land’.
· ‘Responsive learning
relationships are strengthened as
educators and children learn
together and share decisions,
respect and trust.’
For the children and families who will be
away over the school holidays, we wish
you a wonderful time. And for those of
you who are attending our Holiday Care
Programme, we look forward to having
lots of fun!
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 19
Stage 4 Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 20
Stage 4 Photo Gallery
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 21
Music By Justin Goh
Hello everyone!
We’ve come to the end of another term
and it’s amazing to see how much the
children have done over the last 10
weeks!
Stage 1 & 2:
The little ones are now very familiar with
the routines of our class. Once it’s Music
time, they sit in a circle and start patting
to the beat... at the moment it’s still their
own internal beat as matching the beat of the group is still a challenge at this
age. Notice how your child taps a toy on
the ground at home during the holidays!
With the Mexican song, we explore the
development of the vestibular system of
our children this week as we bounced,
jumped, turned and stopped. “The
vestibular system, in most mammals, is
the sensory system that provides the
leading contribution to the sense of
balance and spatial orientation for the
purpose
of coordinating movement with balance.
” (fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Vestibular_system)
This term, we explored things in the sky:
birds, clouds, rain (water from the sky),
the sun and leaves (falling from the sky). I
hope your child has enjoyed these
lessons and we all look forward to more
musical fun after our holidays!
Stage 3:
Our Stage 3 children learned
to control the bordun (D, A bass notes)
much better this week. They played
with a lower volume and more
accurately on the beat. The singing was
also more confident (not shouting). These
children are on the right track to
becoming skilful little musicians!
We revisited our rhyme about the little fish
and big fish. In addition, we learned a
song on the same theme. Justin also
introduced a new musical instrument to
the children... the ocarina. The ocarina is
classified as an aerophone (wind
instrument) in the study of
Ethnomusicology. Many countries,
including South America, China, Korea,
England, all have claims to the origins of
this instrument. For our children, they
were simply thrilled at this amazing
musical instrument which looks like a
seashell or a fruit and yet is able to play
the melody of the song about the little
fish and big fish. I look forward to seeing
and hearing how these little musicians will
grow in the next term!
Stage 4:
Our Stage 4 children listened to
recordings of different modes of
transportation and finally got into a
space shuttle, then a horse, and finally
onto a train. Then, with the xylophones,
they played the familiar song “Train is a
coming”. All the children knew the song
so well now that they were singing
beautifully.
Next we got out some bells and we
pranced around with the song “Bell
horses”. Children took turns to play the
bordun while some played on the bells
and, of course, everyone sang. This little
ensemble was amazing! Finally, we
revisited “Star Light” just so they could
remember the high note and the lower
note. We look forward to watching how
these young musicians blossom in their
musicianship skills in the next term. Enjoy
your holidays!
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 22
Dance and Drama By Laura Hudson
Stage 3 & 4
Objectives:
This week the children used their
imaginations to go through the magical
wardrobe, discovering a fantasy world
behind it. They each took on the role of
being a fantasy character and
developed a whole class improvisation.
Skills learnt this week:
Improvisation and creativity
Taking on the role of a fantasy
character through a group
improvisation
Working together
Portraying facial expressions and
body gestures
Spatial awareness
Activities included:
Using their imagination to go through a
Magical Wardrobe (like Narnia).
We discussed what a wardrobe is and
what you usually find inside it, as well as
what the wardrobe looks like.
Teacher in Role as a Witch from fantasy
world. The children gave the witch
character a name; they then thought of
their own fantasy names too.
The children went on an adventure with
the witch. They travelled on their
broomsticks to the first destination “Rise
rise, really high, just as high as a
butterfly”. The aim was to get something
from each place they visited so they
could go back home (as they couldn’t
go back through the wardrobe). Some of
these items were pearl from the sea;
breath of a dragon; hair of a unicorn,
sugar drop from the fairy and a golden
egg from the giant.
Using their bodies, the children mimed
objects and shapes to put in the
cauldron to create the spell.
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 23
Physical Education By Spencer Clifton
This week drew a close to sport for Term 3.
The children thoroughly enjoyed our
sporting activities making great progress
over the term with all stages surpassing
milestones and progressing in their
physical wellbeing. I look forward to
kicking off again in Term Four.
Stage 2 sports lesson made use of hoops
and bean bags in which incorporated a
variety of colour coordinated games. The
first game involved the children matching
the different bean bags with the
appropriate colour and placing them
inside. Our second activity progressed
with the colour matching however this
time the children needed to perform an
underarm throw. We finished off our
lesson with game of monster ball which is
a twist on the legendary tip game.
For the Stage 3 and Stage 4 sport lessons
the children selected the fun activities,
we learnt over the course of the term. We
started off with a big favourite of sharks
and islands, everyone got a chance to
be a shark sometimes working together in
teams. Our next game was take on the
classic bull rush, we manipulated the
game in different ways to challenge the
children for e.g. only hopping, running
backwards, tippers have to work in
teams. We finished off with some free
play in which the children played their
own mini version games using a variety of
sporting equipment used over the term
e.g. basketballs, soccer balls, hoops.
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 24
Reddam Early Learning
would like to wish a very happy birthday to
Sophie Jarrett, Amelie Goodwin, Evan Ooi, Alexander Ristevski,
Claudia Jarrett, Annalisa Tong, Oscar Qu, Charlotte Walker
& Mrs Pitcairn
who celebrate their special day this week and on the weekend
We hope you had a fabulous day!
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER 25