I hope this month's newsletter finds all our lovely families well. We have had a few new families join us the past month, so welcome to you all.
Dressing for the cooler weather
With the cold days that we are currently experiencing, 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 may not want to wear a jumper or shoes, despite some mornings or afternoons really feeling 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 they encourage the children to have their jumpers and shoes on in the colder parts of the day.
Upcoming events and important dates:
30th July – National Tree Day and International Day of Friendship
2nd August - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day
6th August – Jeans for Genes Day
9th August - International Day for World Indigenous Peoples
11th August – Brisbane EKKA Peoples day – the centre is open
13th Red Nose Day – dress up in red for our dance party
15th August - National Science Week begins
16th August – the centre celebrates Indian Independence Day
23rd August – Book Week/National Numeracy and Literacy Week
25th August – Book Character Dress Up 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 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
- Eye discharge
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.
Current Staffing
Nominated Supervisor/Centre Director – Suzie
2IC/Educational Leader – Chandell
Nursery 0-2s
Lead Educator – Swati
Co-Educator – Pinky
Toddlers 15mths – 2 years
Lead Educator – Rachel
Co-Educator – Harman
Junior Kindy 2-3 years
Lead Educator – Kc
Co-Educators – Ann and Emma
Snr Kindy 3-4 years
Lead Educator – Majanna
Co-educator – Teagan
Preschool/Kindergarten 4-5 years
Early Childhood Teacher – Angela
Co-Educator – Tegan
Inclusion Support- Sara
Kitchen – Leena
Float/relief educator -Leigh-Ann and Mandeep
Casual/relief Educators – Kamini, Mandy and Portia
School based trainees – Shamim and Hayley
Teaching your child to cope
Coping skills can be taught, and with depression rates on the rise among young people, learning them is more important than ever. Stress is part of everyday life and coping is how we deal with stress, but just as there are stresses that are particular to different contexts and stages of development, so is coping contextually, culturally and developmentally determined.
While there is no right or wrong way to cope, since the situation determines the best strategies that are available at the time, there are helpful and unhelpful ways to deal with the stresses of everyday life. Coping with stress is part of everyday life – but some strategies are more helpful than others.In particular, we know that people matter, and that relationships and belonging are important protective factors that can help us cope with adversity. Having warm and secure relationships in childhood is a good predictor of close relationships when you are an adult. This is not just about having good parent–child relationships, but also about having a good relationship with at least one sibling.
Researchers have found that genetics matter, and that temperament in infancy is an important predictor of coping and adjustment in later years.
But a child's resilience is not pre-determined – coping skills can be taught, and there are many factors that support their development. What was once considered to be intuitive learning through life experience can now be explicitly taught as coping skills, to equip young people for their social emotional journey through life.
Advanced language and motor development skills are protective factors for children, so encourage language in young children through activities like conversations and word games. Motor skills can be developed through age-appropriate physical activities including play and sport.
Better reading and problem-solving abilities are also protective factors. We know that reading to young children and encouraging reading related activities like visiting libraries or information gathering are helpful.
Resilient boys tend to come from homes where there is structure and rules, so think about having sensible helpful rules for living together and communicate these along with expectations clearly.
Resilient girls seem to emphasise independence and receive reliable support from caregivers, so consider offering opportunities for decision making and make it clear that support is available if required. Asking the question, "how can I/we help?" is one way of reassuring a child that support is available.
The community also provides protective factors including caring neighbours, mentors and youth leaders, so think about how your family can be involved in community activities like sporting and recreational pursuits that bring people together.
Good parent–child relationships are critical, so being an available good listener is important. Consider how your family enjoys celebrations and having family fun time. Remind each other of the events you have enjoyed together with photographs. Also, including family members in conversations when key decisions need to be made makes everyone feel valued and their opinions respected.
Young children, even pre-schoolers, can start to learn coping skills by talking about situations they encountered and how they coped and other ways they may cope in future.
Ideally, young adolescents will be taught coping skills, to equip them with a broad range of resources before the middle years of high school.
Providing a booster in the latter stage of schooling in preparation for the more challenging and serious final examination period, and also for the successful transition to adulthood, is ideal. This could involve reviewing the helpful coping strategies that have been used to date and whether they are being used to deal with the challenges of the senior years of school. Time management and organisation skills become increasingly important at this age.
The rates of depression among young people are on the rise, most likely because of a range of reasons including greater awareness of depression and the current challenges of contemporary life.
It is difficult to predict what lies ahead from each year to the next. Nevertheless, becoming increasingly aware of your own coping capabilities, both personal and the resources that you can call on, are very reassuring.
Sourced from the book, Promoting Resilience and Wellbeing by Professor Erica Frydenberg. Published by Routledge.