November 2017

Coping with Change We live in an ever changing world, constantly exposed to new information, and, we are told that the pace of change is the most rapid it has ever been. Most of us can manage small changes, especially the changes we initiate ourselves and the changes we can control. However we are often faced with unplanned changes, changes demanded from others and even unwanted changes. Change can be overwhelming for adults so we need to take time to remember how change feels to young children. Children also have little or no control over the changes that happen in their daily life. Children, like most adults enjoy sameness and need time to process and adjust to change. They are still learning about the world, developing social and emotional skills and understanding how to foster relationships with others. On a daily basis children experience many transitions across the day, most of these are guided by the adults in their lives whether they are at home or at childcare. Adults play a vital role in supporting children to develop the coping skills that will aid them to manage changes with less anxiety. Coping skills are the way we think and behave when we are faced with a change or a difficult situation. Children will begin to learn and use different coping skills from the time they are born. We can build on the skills they are already using, as well as assist them to learn new ones. Along with compassion coping is one of the most important qualities adults can teach children. They learn it by watching us. Studies have shown that children as young as two years old copy the coping, stress-management and thinking styles of the adults around them. Some ways to support children to develop coping skills:

Demonstrate and model ways that you cope with situations. For example, you could say, “I am going to take five deep breaths to help myself relax.” Comfort your child. With younger children (and older ones who don’t want to talk about their problem) having an adult nearby engaging with them or providing a cuddle until they relax is helpful. Reassure your child when they are feeling worried or uncertain. For example, you could say, “the thunder is very loud, you can sit with me until it goes.. soon we will have some rain to

help our plants grow”. Listen and talk to your child. Help them to identify their concerns or worries and acknowledge how they are feeling. You might say “I can see that you are feeling sad right now. What might you do right now to help yourself feel better?” Encourage help-seeking by teaching your child when to ask for help. Observe how they respond when they are having difficulty with something and let them know they can ask for your help at home or the help of educators when they are at childcare. All the adults in a child’s life play a vital role in helping children learn how to cope with change, arming

them with valuable life skills.

PARENT NEWSLETTER

Notification of changes Holiday notices As WCCC closes at 1pm on Friday 22nd December families will only be charged a morning fee for this day. No fees will be charged during the following 2 week Centre closure period. If you are planning holidays in December or January outside Centre closure times please remember to let us know as early as possible. To attract a holiday holding fee for holidays we must receive a minimum of 3 weeks operating notice. This is best done by emailing us with an email titled ‘holiday notification’ and providing the exact dates of leave from the Centre. Holidays for December should have already been requested and holidays in early January 2018 must be requested by December 1st. Record updates Please remember to let us know about any changes including immunisation records, emergency contacts, current addresses, contact number and email addresses. We are only able to use the information you provide to us. If , for example, you change your email address and do not let us know you will miss important information about children’s programs, events and other matters.

Diary Dates: Please remember the following important dates: End of year celebration Monday 18th December 6.15-7.30 pm on Gum Oval End of year closure Friday 22nd December 2017 at 1.00pm re-open Monday 8th January 2018 at 8.00am

Board and PAG Matters 2017 Adelaide University Childcare Services Inc (AUCS) meets on the last Monday of the month. AUCS is currently working on strategic planning and managing change. The Parent Advisory Group meetings continue to be the third Friday of the month. Policy Review, Recycle Right , end of year and 2017 Service review have been the focus of recent meetings. We have several PAG mem-bers retiring as their children are moving on to school so seeking new members for 2018.

New Babes Congratulations to

Jessica, Paul, Ethan (R3) and Charlotte (R1) on the birth of Sophia

And to Kirsten, Stuart and Brodie(R3) on the birth of Skye

These recent births take the number of babies born to WCCC families in 2017 to 12

11 girls and 1 boy!

Service Review 2017 Our review for 2017 is based on our key objectives and quality improvement plans. We encourage families who are leaving as well as all continuing WCCC families to complete this survey as it provides invaluable feedback on our service goals and achievements as well as areas for improvement. This is an online survey and allows for some additional constructive feedback. If you have questions about polices or programs that require more detailed explanation and discussion please speak to the Director. This survey can be anonymous, however parents who complete the survey by Monday 18th December will go into our thankyou draw with 3 gifts to be one. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WCCCServiceReview2017

Renovations and upgrade We have several minor works projects happening at WCCC. Lawn rejuvenation is in progress and some work on outside equipment. Staff room renovations have made this area out of bounds on some days. Install of new cabinets Saturday 18th November but it will be a few weeks before countertops and back splash are fitted.

PARENT NEWSLETTER

End of Year Celebration 2016 Our end of year celebration will be outdoors on Monday 18th December 6.15-7.45 at the Gum Oval, Entry 1 of the Waite Campus. This year we have Tony Genovese and a Science show to entertain us. Please note this is an alcohol free event. The Centre will provide sausages (gluten free) and bread for a sausage sizzle and families are asked to bring a salad or fruit platter to share. A registration sheet is on the parent notice board. Please complete your attendance details as soon as possi-ble we can have confirmation of numbers attending and ensure we order sufficient sausages for the night.

Bookings, Transitions and Enrolments 2018 Thank you to all the families who have responded to our request regarding bookings in 2018. Current permanent bookings will continue unless we receive a request for a change. At this stage we can meet the requests of all families who have requested to reduce days or increase days in 2018. However, we are having considerable trouble with families who have requested to change days, especially when these requests do not meet the preferred booking patterns. The middle days of the week, especially Wednesday in R1 and R2 are fully booked and as noted earlier Room has a similar issues with Friday as well. Transitions in 2018 will take place in 2 stages. Group 1 transitions will commence having visits to their new Room from mid December and hopefully transition to their new room in mid Jan. Group 2 will commence their visits when we return in 2018 and hopefully complete their transition by February. These groups will be determined by attendance days, any holiday bookings and friendships. Families of children transition in December 2017 and January 2018 will receive a letter at the end of November providing information on the timing of the transition, the transition process and the child’s primary educator in the new group. As December and January are times when many people have holidays it is important for us to have this information as earlier as possible. Parents should also be aware that educators will also be taking holidays at these times and this may include your child’s new primary educator. If you require a change to your booking in 2018 but have not yet completed a notification of changes request please do so as soon as possible. Through our transition process we aim to support both children and parents to begin to build relationships with the educators in the new room through a range of strategies including: Transition letters will include the name of your child’s primary educator in the new room We will open the outside play areas for periods of the day during December so that Room 1 children can move freely between the Room 1 and Room 2/3 play areas We will continue to have mixed groups in Pilyabilyangga Educators may swap between rooms and/or be rostered in other rooms for periods of time across

the day

Important information about the new child care package From 2 July 2018 the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) will replace the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR) as part of Australia’s new child care package. While these changes do not commence until mid-2018 the Federal Government is asking all families to make themselves aware of the changes by reading the information on their website: https://www.education.gov.au/new-child-care-package-families-2-july-2018

WCCC Green Page

Connecting to Place 2017 Our connecting to place days in November were a great time for learning and sharing, exploring, building friendships, developing relations hips, caring for others, challenging our skills and strengths.

The time that children share in Pilyabilyangga fosters their sense of the beautiful, the new and unknown, their connection to nature and their sense of wonder. For families who were new to WCCC in 2017 we trust this has provided you time to explore and learn about this space. The maintenance of Pilyabilyangga as a beautiful nature space for children is in

the hands of families, educators and children. We had a great working bee in September, however, rain and sunshine have created an abundance of weeds especially on the southern side. If you are able to send 15min-1/2 hr wedding one afternoon please with Kaarin, Eleanor or Dani about what needs doing and when you can help

National Recycling Week… assessing our recycling challenge Stage 2 of our recycle right challenge is to assess if you have made any changes or improvements. The second recycle right survey is now available to assist you with assessing any changes you have We would like you to complete this by Thursday November 30th. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WCCCRecycleRightChallenge Once again we have a lucky draw with some great prizes for those who complete stage 2.

Annual recycle quiz There are five questions in our annual recycling quiz. All answers a re in the Recycle Right news or Centre news that have been emailed in the last months The first 3 parents to email the correct answers will receive a prize childcare.waite@adelaide.edu.au What did WCCC become a collection point for on 13th November? What innovative anaerobic technology has been developed in SA? What is the name of the program that recycles soft plastics? Name the 4 ways that WCCC recycled food waste? What is the best recycling solution?

Turning Plastic into Energy The first systems to use anaerobic digestion technology to turn waste plastics into energy and fertiliser are being developed in South Australia. More than one million tonnes of contaminated plastic deemed unfit for recycling is sent to landfill in Australia each year. POET Systems expects to have its first two machines – each capable of processing 20 tonnes of plastic a week – operating commercially in about 12 months. POET is an acronym for Polymer – Organic – Energy – Treatment. Inventor David Thompson said his plastic to energy technology had so far successfully been applied to polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and expanded polystyrene. The first two POET machines will be built at wastewater treatment plants in regional areas of Victoria. David Thomson says “basically the plastics go into an anaerobic situation in wastewater where the mi-crobes digest the plastic and create energy,” Reference and further information at: http://reneweconomy.com.au/south-australia-machine-turns-waste-plastic-into-energy-15734/

Exploring

Being together, working together

Connecting to Place 2017

Making new friends and building relationships

Challenging our selves Building skills - Proprioception development