Welcome to July's newsletter.
We hope everyone is staying safe and well and enjoying the sunny winter days that we are having.
Upcoming events and important dates:
July
21st – Pajama Day – come dressed in your PJs or onesie.
30th – International Day of Friendship
31st – National Tree Day
August
4th -National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day
5th – Dental Health Week
9th - International Day for World Indigenous Peoples
15th - National Science Week
26th – Book Character Dress Up Day – come dress as your favourite book character.
28th – Daffodil Day
Illness and Exclusion:
We would like to remind parents of our illness and exclusion requirements to help keep our centre infection free.
We ask that children are kept away from care if they have –
Been given paracetamol l or neurofen in the morning (both can mask symptoms but do not get rid of an infection that will spread)
Fever of 38 or above
Consistent cough
A continuous runny nose
Sore throat
Swollen glands
Diarrhoea
Vomiting
Unusually tired & lethargic
Undiagnosed rash
Unusual skin colour
Once the above symptoms have been clear for a minimum of 24 hours, bring your child back to play, learn and investigate.
Please note that any contagious condition/illness may require a medical certificate for your child to return to care to ensure the well-being of all children families and staff.
Staffing
Suzie will be on medical leave from 22nd July to 5th August. During that time our 2IC – Chandell – will be in charge of day to day operations and will respond to any phone messages or emails as soon as she is able. Staffing is as follows during that time:
Nursery 0-2s
Lead Educator – Stacey
Co-Educator – Swati
Toddlers 15mths – 2 years
Lead Educator/2IC/Educational Leader– Chandell
Co-Educator - Leena
Junior Kindy 2-3 years
Lead Educator – Kc
Co-Educators – Kahu and Harman
Snr Kindy/Preschool
Early Childhood Teacher – Tracey
Co-educator – Pinky
Kitchen – Amy
Casual/relief Educator – Jess
Kids Gourmet Foods
KGF are up and running here at Kidz Magic Edens Crossing, providing the children with nutritious meals daily as from 13th July. The menu various from week to week and provides alternative options to cater for dietary requirements and allergies. The menu is displayed in the foyer and in each play room. We welcome any feedback regarding the menus and food provided.
Quality Improvement monthy focus:
Have you seen our Quality Improvement area in the foyer? Here you can see the seven quality areas that we are required to work within under the National Quality Standards, as well as the quality improvement areas we are currently seeking to improve on. We are continuing with our weekly questions which are related to Quality Standard 7.2.1 (Continuous Improvement) and 6.1.1 (Engagement with service). Please check each week for the questions which can be answered with a YES or NO by placing a stone in the appropriate jar. If you wish to provide more detail please write this on a sticky note and pop it into one of the jars. Thank you to those who are contributing to this each week. Your feedback is very important to us. If ever you wish to speak to Suzie about any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact her by phone or email.
Dressing for the cooler weather
With the cooler days here can we ask that Parents ensure that their children have a jumper/jacket and shoes to wear. We know sometimes children do not feel the cold like we do and don't want to wear a jumper or shoes and some mornings or afternoons do really feel cold enough for snow to be falling. Going out and playing in the fresh air, even in the coldest weather, can help build our immunity, we just all need to dress appropriately for it. Staff have been asked to ensure children have their jumpers and shoes on in the colder parts of the day.
Play and children's learning - Play is one of the main ways in which children learn. It helps to build self worth by giving a child a sense of his or her own abilities and to feel good about themselves. Because it's fun, children often become very absorbed in what they are doing. In turn, this helps them develop the ability to concentrate. Play is a way child can express their feelings even before they have the words to say how they feel. Children learn and develop their social and emotional skills though playing on their own, with other children and with adults
In play children are in charge of what they do. Being in control in play helps them to learn to manage their feelings.
When children make or build things in their play, they are building skills and confidence in themselves.
In play children learn about the give and take of relationships with their friends. They learn to lead and follow and to care for others.
Play helps children to think about what they want to do, to plan and to be patient.
Through play children learn how to mend mistakes and to feel better after things go wrong.
Indoor and outdoor play helps to reduce children's stress.
Play is a way child make sense of their world and practise for their future of being parents and workers.
Play is for imagination and creativity. In play you can enjoy magical worlds of joy.
Play is something children can own in a world where most things are organised by adults.
Play is a time when adults and children can have fun together