HomeFEBRUARY 2022 NEWS | FOOTPRINTS SUNNYBANK
Upcoming dates to remember:
Thursday March 17th - Wear Green for St. Patrick's Day
Monday 21st March - World storytelling day (Make up for 20th) and Wear Orange for Harmony Day
Wednesday March 23rd - Show 10am 'I love my world - Part 1: Recycling' by Showtime Stars - Please keep an eye on EDUCA for more information to come
Hi Everyone,
First and foremost, I hope that everyone has kept safe and were not too affected by the flooding we are currently experiencing?
Thank you to the families who worked with us and communicated with us in terms of their child/ren coming or being away, this really helps with the organisation of classes and cooking of the food.
As always, if your child is going to be absent please send an email to
The centre indoor renovations are pretty much complete - its just a few touch ups that need to be done. How fantastic are the rooms looking, I want to congratulate our educators for the wonderful job that they are doing in creating such warm and inviting environments for your children to learn in. Some days I feel like moving my office into the classrooms because they are just so inviting 💖
Singing your children in and out:
Of late we are having children NOT being signed in when you are dropping your children off.
Please note not only is this a legal requirement on your part to do so, but it is also a safety requirement. In the event of an emergency this is an additional tool which assists us to ensure all children are accounted for in the event of an evacuation.
Please help us to keep your children safe - please sign your children in each and every day.
Thank you for your co-operation and understanding with this.
For sale:
As you know with the renovations came new furniture for the classrooms. We are now selling the old tables, chairs and beds if anyone is interested.
A price list is available in the Kitchen hall/wall for you to see,
Please see Miss Tracy in the mornings to organise your order and payment - cash only payments.
Centre's Reconciliation Action Plan progress report:
Miss Donna and Miss Felicity have been working hard this last month building on our centre's 'Reconciliation Action Plan'.
For those parents and families who are unsure on what this is; it is a documented plan that puts in place a formal statement of commitment to reconciliation. How we as a service will show understanding, support values and exhibit our respect to the histories, cultures and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Both educators have been attending online and face-to-face seminars to gain the correct knowledge and way of teaching to ensure we are supporting our local community the correct way.
Last year as a team we created our centre Acknowledgement of Country which the classes do each morning at Group time - complete with Auslan signs and actions. See your child's educators for the signs and actions we do to go with the acknowledgement.
Keep an eye out over the coming months as new additions are made to the R.A.P and within our centre of Footprints.
Children and packing away, some tips from our Educational Leader:
This past month our Educators have been focusing on welcoming children to their new rooms and their new routines, we have also been helping teach the children to help pack away as this teaches children respect and responsibility for their belongings & maintains simple organisation systems from an early age.
Helping teach children with this skill is important part of their development and long-life skills- they learn to value their belongings and how to be part of a team. This is also something that can be done at home. Below are some strategies that can help you with teaching your child/ren some pack up skills. We hope you find these handy.
Strategies on helping children with this can be:
- Being a good role model…. give a 5min warning before packing away, then you can have a pack away song or chant when its time to pack away. Talk and encourage your child/ren in a positive manner, talking to them about your home routine, expectations - to make them aware of what you would like them to help with. (With babies you can sing them a song as you pack away as this their learning starts from an early age. (Also, by helping children pack away is also role modelling in a positive encouraging way for the children too).
- Encourage children in a positive way rather than enforcing…. another way of encouragement you could make it a competition who could pack away the fastest, stamps, stickers or you could say e.g., who wants to go outside to go for exercise, or for parents you could say park? Or who could pack away the fastest gets to choose the next snack, what to game to play next, which park you go to etc. After children have finished packing away on their own, we could also say things like "Great job thank you" or "What's going to work ? Team work".
- Clean up after an activity…. E.g., Explain to the children if they want to have another activity out, they can pack away what they have out, to put away first in its proper place, properly, then they take out the other activity they would like to play with next.
- Always remember at the end to give positive feedback on a good effort that they have done.
A riddle for you all:
To close this months newsletter, lets have some fun with a riddle.
Riddle -
'The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I ?'
Place your guess in the comments section and see if you are correct. Answer will be revealed on the centre Facebook page on Monday 7th March.
Till next month, please stay safe.
With a smile 😊
Glenda
