HomeNewsletter August 2017 | Piptree Sunnybank Hills
From the office
Dear families,
Welcome to the August newsletter edition, the weather is getting warmer and so is our welcoming of our new families. We hope your journey in our service will be a blossoming experience.
I would like to welcome a new baby Elsa, a sister for Elena who was born on 24.7.2017. We can't wait to meet your little bundle of joy.
Parents are advised that the EKKA public holiday is on Wednesday, 16th of August 2017. Our centre will be closed on this day. Hope you will have a beautiful day out with your family and we would appreciate it if you bring some photos back to us.
The face book page is used across our centres to share with families special events and activities. We have some nice feedback and we would like to thank you for taking time for sending positive comments. Our educators are using the centre's camera to take the photos. Please take some time and check the Piptree (Sunnybank Hills) face book page.
In our foyer, you will notice Woolworths Earn and Learn cardboard collection box. The Earn and Learn program allows us to get some resources for our children. If you are shopping in Woolworths, you will be offered a sticker for each $10 you spend. The stickers need to be placed on the sheet and once the sheet is completed, please drop the sheet into a collection box. Let's start collecting!
At last, I would like to inform you that police has visited us lately. They told us they are monitoring driving behaviour, so I would like to ask you all to follow the rules and turn only left when you are exiting our car park. Also, when entering the centre's car-park always turn left to avoid fines.
Keep smiling, Natasa
News from Pips
Hello all!
What an exciting month it has been with a few new faces, we welcome Josh and Ayush to our room. Some of our babies have moved up to the toddler's room, well done to Meera and Martin. It is very sad to see them go but it is great that they are growing up and learning more. Once your baby is 15 months old, they are able to move up, please discuss this with Miss Melissa and Miss Natasa. We would like to say congratulations to Hugo, Isla and Edwin who turned one this month. It is a huge milestone in life and we cannot wait to see you grow up more and learn more.
This month we have been focusing on texture and feeling, we did some hand paintings that turned into caterpillars and butterflies. Painting and texture is so important to babies because it teaches them all the concept of touch, feel, sight, smell and sometimes-even taste. It allows babies to use their imagination and it emotionally sooths the babies mind as they look at the colours mixing. However, most importantly it is a lot of FUN!
We would just like to remind parents too please label all your children's belongings, it can get very busy in the room and some things may get lost, thank you for your understanding.
You would have noticed a few changes in the room; we have added a tee-pee. The tee-pee allows the babies to have a quiet area to go to when they need some time to themselves; self-regulating emotions at such a young age will set them up for a good future.
See you next time!
Lots of love: Miss Melissa, Miss Annie and Pips xoxo
News from Sprouts 1
Time flies, we are already coming towards the end of July. We had an eventful month, with NAIDOC week during the first half, where we did many fun activities relating to Australian aboriginal culture. We did finger painting, made boomerangs and looked at aboriginal art to name a few. We also learned about healthy eating, learning about name of fruits through art activities such as our apple collage. The children all enjoyed these activities very much.
This month, we will be focusing on learning the alphabet and basic everyday vocabulary. Like usual, we will be doing lots of singing and dancing, arts and crafts, and will be having lots of fun. I am sure the children will enjoy it. Don't forget to check our centre's face book page and have a look at activities and photos.
Finally, just a reminder to all parents to remember to bring your child's water bottles, sunscreens and spare clothes for your child (especially those who are beginning their toilet training). The weather is still chilly, so please remember to bring warmer clothes for your child.
Any queries, please feel free to come and see me.
Thank you and till next time!
Miss Nikki
News from Sprouts 2
We warmly welcome our new toddlers: Martin, Ruth, Emmanuel, Meera, Max and Myra. We hope you all have a great time with us.
We have had a busy month in the toddler room! We have been learning about winter and had fun creating lots of artwork.
Our language development is progressing well, as we are continuously learning our numbers, letters, shapes, colors and our names.
Please feel free to contact us about any ideas or concerns you may have and we can work together to promote your child's learning.
Until next time!
Miss Sharon
News from Buds
Hello Buds families, and a big welcome to all the new Buds families, Badi, Julia, Victor, Crystal, WiIliam Y, Kevin M, Adam and Angelia. We hope you have all been having an amazing start to the year. It's crazy to think we're already half way through!
We are still working in our garden every week, even during winter! We lightly watered and replanted the herb and vegetables in our garden. Did you know that one day when we were cleaning our garden and we found many huge sweet potatoes in the ground. We washed them and brought them to our room then played with them in our sand box. We then read about sweet potatoes, and used our potatoes that looked like people to learn about parts of the body.
What a busy time we have had in the Buds room lately! We've been cooking and made cupcakes and fruity pancakes. Yummy!
The buds were a big help, cutting fruits, spreading sauce, putting on the toppings, and stirring the ingredients. What little master chefs they are blossoming into.
If you have any healthy, and most importantly yummy & easy cooking ideas, please pass them on.
A big focus in the Buds room right now is self-help skills. They have been serving themselves at meal times, and the children have been grasping this concept quite well. By encouraging self-help, it allows the children to gain a sense of achievement, increases their fine motor skills and strength. We have even seen the children help the other children when they are struggling to serve themselves. What awesome teamwork!
Lastly, just a sneak peek into a few activities we have been doing in our Buds room:
Exploring numeracy with by counting ice blocks and the number of bean bags
Exploring the alphabet with alphabet songs and alphabet blocks and puzzles
Exploring our indoor obstacle course
Exploring colors, patterns, and shapes with painting, and
Exploring their creativity and imaginations with dress ups to provoke creativity and our imaginations
It has been very special to see the children start to forge partnerships & friendships with other each other. They are not only playing together, but also helping each other with creating things, problem solving, communicating with each other and comforting each other.
From all the Buds Educators:
Miss Lixia, Miss Cindy, Miss Isha and Miss Hayley.News from Blossom 1
Hi,
This month, our weekly activities have been inspired by individual children's interest. We made a car washing shop, car shed and a fuel station from recycled cardboard boxes because children had enormous interest with the material.
Nowadays we are making playdough with the children. Children love to measure, mix and mould. They enhance their mathematical concept and sensory motor skills and develop their play ideas from home corner to the kitchen. This week they made playdough fruits, which we displayed on the table. We are trying to aware children about healthy eating habits.
We engaged in NAIDOC week activities in the month of July. We talked about Indigenous people and the children did some artwork to show our respects.
This month Isabella's mum brought their chicken for our Blossom 1 children. They were all excited to touch and cuddle 'Apple' (name of the chicken). All of them used their gentle hands when stroking and patting the small chicken. This rare opportunity, playing with a pet-helped child develop a caring attitude and nurturing skill.
If you are taking your child's hat home, please wash and bring it back on Monday. Many children's hats are missing. If mistakenly your child has taken a hat not belonging to them, please bring them back as soon as possible.
Until next time
Sanchita and Zeljka
News from Blossom 2
Dear Families,
A B C D E F G. What a lot of learning and fun we had this month! Our time consisted of learning experiences around a different alphabet letter each week. Children helped brainstormed ideas of what they would like to learn about for that particular letter. From learning Irish dancing to reading about the very hungry caterpillar and holding our own puppet show; children have been really enjoying their time exploring the alphabet. One of the highlights of our month are the relays and outdoor activities we have been doing every morning. Children always come into the classroom eager to participate in group games and challenges. Child-initiated activities and independent learning are at the heart of early childhood development. It is also an important part of our kindergarten curriculum and we have been trying to implement a supportive environment for them to explore their own interests in and outside of the classroom. There has been a shift in the learning attitudes in our children. We have noticed their enthusiasm and active participation in all of our activities, which has been lovely to see.
This month, we will continue to go through the alphabet letter and learn about the specific letter with different activities that stem from children's interest. They have been very hands on with cooking and making healthy snacks. One highlight was our yoghurt ice blocks. We would love you to join in on our activities as well!
As it is getting chilly in the morning and the evening, we would just like to send a kind reminder to put a jacket in children's backpack.
Until next time!
Ms Yu-mei (Sophie)
News from Poppies
Greetings from the kindergarten room!
Wow! We are five months away from Christmas. Where has the time gone?
This fast pace of time sees us how the children in the kindergarten room have accelerated in different areas of their play and learning. We welcomed Eva, Iskra, Aldin and Dominic and their families this month into the kindergarten room and we are pleased with how they integrated themselves into the environment.
As always, the children keep us going in an inspiring and motivating manner.
What is happening in the kindergarten room?
Currently the children are demonstrating interest in measurements, which sparked curiosity from books they voted on to read. Counting the majority of votes led to exploring mathematical concepts and language of height/length, little/few, long/short, big/small, etc.
We facilitated them by making a height chart, which is displayed in the room. We purchased a scale to weigh how heavy/light they are. We bought a food scale, which they use to weigh the fruit, and veggies in family play area and using the measuring tape to measure furniture. A big number chart was also introduced and it is great to see how they sit in small groups or by themselves counting to 100. Great stuff.
The children's play has also ventured into our current topic of recycling as they use the bicycles outdoor as their rubbish trucks. They hook the wheelbarrows onto the bikes, fill it with Lego blocks, which resembles their rubbish, and deposit it in a designated place in the playground. We discussed how many and what colour lids their bins have at home and why.We painted our own recycle bins, labelled them, and used our recycling items to categorize and place them in the appropriate bins. They learnt about recycling depots, the recycling process, and how we can contribute to make our world and the environment healthier and safer. Children were encouraged to ask their parents at home to contribute towards our topic and we are happy that some of them contributed towards our programme. This topic is still ongoing.
Our community:
The children had the privilege of having a visit from the librarian from Sunnybank Hills Library as well as two representatives from Australian Dental Care where relevant information were shared and the children participated actively as well. Each child received a handout and little gifts from each establishment.
Prep 2017:
School interviews are currently being conducted. All the best to our pre-schoolers. The children are facing the last few miles of their learning experiences in the kindergarten room. We are very proud to be part of this journey in witnessing their growth holistically.
Till next time
Cheers!
Ms Tertia & Briohny
