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Kidz Magic Edens Crossing May 2020 Newsletter

 Hello families

I hope you are all keeping sane and well during these current challenging times. I would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding in this very difficult and confusing time. I really need to give a huge shout out to my amazing team of Educators who are helping to hold our centre together, coming to work with a smile on their face and helping to make a difference each day. Please do not hesitate to let them know how much you appreciate their commitment and dedication. 

Our current staffing:

Suzie – Nominated Supervisor/Centre Manager/Cook

Chandell – Lead Educator (0-2s)  & Educational Leader

Stacey - Assisting Educator (0-2s)

Amy – Lead Educator (2-3s)

Kahu - Assisting Educator (2-3s) /float

Lee - Early Childhood Teacher (3-5s) 

Kc – Assisting Educator (3-5s)

Harman - Assisting Educator/float

Nikki - Assisting Educator/float

Important Dates:

10th May - Mothers Day

15th May - Ipswich Show Public Holiday – centre closed

26th - National Sorry Day

27th - Reconciliation Week 


COVID-19 Additional Health & Hygiene Practices

Additional Health & Hygiene Practices that we have put into place during the current COVID-19 situation include:

§ On arrival to the Centre all Educators, children and family members must use the hand sanitisers located in the foyer prior to heading into the rooms or outside.

§ Handwashing education will be part of the daily group time routine. Children will be encouraged to sing a song for at least 20 seconds while washing hands.

§ Increasing the number of hand sanitiser stations throughout the Centre in effort to cover most entry, exit, and touchpoints.

§ Enhanced arrangements for workplace hygiene and cleaning protocols

§ Increased frequency of cleaning touchpoints throughout the Centre. E.g. Tables, kiosks, door handles taps etc.

§ Additional health & hygiene training for Educators

§ Any child, parent/guardian or educator with flu-like symptoms will not be allowed back into the Centre until their GP or Queensland Health has given the clearance.

§ Suspension of external extracurricular activities, students/visitors and excursions until further notice

§ Postponing/cancelling upcoming events with included family participation (eg. Easter parade)

§ Monitoring children/families/educators quarantine requirements after overseas/cruise travel

Monthly Quality Focus– Quality Standards

As a part of our continuous improvement, we will be posing some questions to you over the coming weeks and reflecting upon our practice. These questions will be relevant to our service and will only require a yes or no answer via a 'stone in the jar' method. If you wish to provide more detailed answers, this is welcome. Just write it on a sticky note, fold it up and pop into the jar provided.

From the kitchen – We are currently serving a rotating four- weekly menu that alternates a hot meal with sandwiches & wraps for lunch. We are currently reviewing our menu to plan and implement our Winter menu. If  there is recipe or meal item suggestion that you would like to see added to our winter menu please feel welcome to email it through to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For your convenience, the weekly menu is displayed in the foyer with the full four- week rotating menu displayed in each of the rooms.

Connecting with the community

Please feel welcome to donate non-perishable foods, toiletries, or personal items to our Community Pantry basket in the foyer. As the sign says "Give what you can, take what you need" Let's work together for those in the community who need assistance. Thank you to those who have donated to our collection since we opened. It is much appreciated. Any left over items at the end of the month will be donated to Keep The Faith, an organisation that feeds the homeless in Ipswich.

Absent for the day or arriving after 10.00am 

 If your child will be away for the day or will be coming into the centre after 10.00am can you please let us know. This would be greatly appreciated to assist with meal preparations and also with staffing allocations.

Sun safety 

 Just a reminder that sun safety  is still important despite the cooler weather. Remeber to  send your child with a hat each day, and please remember that sleeveless, strappy or strapless tops/tank tops/singlets/ are not sun safe. A short-sleeved tee shirt put on over these items will give better sun protection to your child's delicate skin. For your convenience, we have a Sunscreen and UV Information Station in the foyer so that you can apply/help your child apply sunscreen upon arrival at the centre. This helps to enhance the children's awareness of sun safety and allows them to take some responsibility for their own wellbeing. 

Tips to cope with fussy eating behaviours:

Eight out of ten Australian parents are concerned about their child's eating habits. It's not unusual for a child to love a particular food one day and then refuse it the next. Refusing new food tastes and textures is common in children and it's often a behavioural issue, or can be due to a genuine dislike of a certain food, or it may be because your child has 'filled up' outside of mealtimes. A fussy eater may be trying to assert their independence to see how you will react.

Ensure everyone who feeds your child agrees on how to deal with your child's requests and refusals. For example, you may decide to put a 20 minute time limit on mealtimes to prevent them dragging on, or you may decide that any requests for a different meal will be not be met. Everyone who helps your child at mealtimes needs to stick to the plan so it's constantly reinforced.

Stay calm when dealing with your child's food fussiness. The more fuss that is made in return and the more emotional you get, the more charged meal time will become and your child will realise their behaviour is getting the attention they desire. By remaining calm, you will help to diffuse the situation and your child will realise their behaviour isn't getting them any extra attention.

As soon as your child is old enough, serve them the same meal as the rest of the family. It's best to avoid getting stuck in the habit of taking special requests!

Sometimes life for children is too exciting to spend time eating. Therefore it is important to make meal times a happy time for the family. If it becomes stressful, the child won't enjoy it and neither will you!

Don't give up and keep trying, a child may need to be exposed to a new food up to 10 times before they will eat it.

Introduce new foods when you know your child will be hungry, as there is more chance they will try something new when they are hungry.

Do not offer a replacement food if what you offer is rejected. Unless a child is unwell they will never voluntarily starve themselves. The more fuss that is made, the more likely that this behaviour will become entrenched.

If your child flat-out refuses to eat the meal you have prepared and then claims to be hungry before bed, what should you do? It's really up to the parent and their individual preferences to decide. Some parents will present the same meal later if the child is hungry and see if they eat it then, while others will choose to offer a replacement snack such as a banana and a cup of milk. Whatever you decide, if you are offering another food, make sure it's healthy and nutritious.



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