Hello

As I sit and contemplate writing this

newsletter it is hard to believe that we

are half way through November already

and the end of our Pre-School year is

fast approaching.

October was a busy month with the

highlight being our Open Day on

Saturday, 24 October. The Pre-School

shone, opening up the ‘Children’s House’

to special invited guests, past and

present families to celebrate the

Pre-School’s 35th Birthday.

November through to the end of the

Pre-School year is quite a full calendar,

the children continue to prepare for

the Christmas Concert on Tuesday,

1 December followed by two singing

engagements, the ‘Friday Club ’

Apex Retirement Village on Friday,

4 December and Linton House on

Monday, 14 December.

The children and educators look

forward to all these events, having the

opportunity and privilege again, to spend

time with members of our community.

School Orientations are almost

complete; the children who have

attended school orientations are full of

excitement as they share their big

adventure with educators and peers.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5

DATES TO REMEMBER

Term 4

Christmas Concert

Tuesday, 1 Dec

5.30 for 6pm start

Friday Club

Friday, 4 Dec

Linton House

Monday, 14 Dec

Last Day Term 4

16 Dec

2016

Frist Day of Term 1

Thursday, 28 Jan

Please

Remember

Children are to wear

a broad brimmed

hat—please send

one to school with

your child.

NO HAT NO PLAY

From the Director’s Desk The educators at Yass Montessori Pre-

School have worked consciously to

complete individual ‘Transition to School

Statements’ for children who will be

starting school in 2016. Families who

have received a ‘Transition Statement’

need to pass these onto the respective

schools for their information.

I will be hosting an afternoon tea with

local school teachers next week as a

follow up to the schools receiving the,

‘Transition to School Statement’ The

primary aim of the meeting will be to

develop strong working relationships

with our local schools, working towards a

positive transition process for every

child from Pre-School to School.

Cheers

Wendy

Hop on board the dinosaur train!

Committee Corner – Opening Hours and Fees, 2016 and Christmas Party

The Committee met again on 11 November 2016 and discussed the results of the recent

Parent survey about extended opening hours for 2016. The Committee noted there was

wide support for extending opening hours to 8.30 am to 4 pm from Term 1, 2016. Many

thanks to everyone who responded. It is important to get feedback from families so we

can tailor the operations of the Pre-school as much as possible.

As we have indicated in previous correspondence, changes in government funding mean

we are constantly looking at how we can remain a preferred option for parents and carers

looking for a pre-school education for their children.

With this in mind and acknowledging the survey results, the Committee decided to

proceed with extending hours of operation of the Pre-School.

Commencing in Term 1 2016, Yass Montessori Pre-school will operate from 8.30

am to 4 pm sharp, during NSW school terms.

Of course with an increase in hours, comes an increase in operational costs for the

Pre-School. In an effort to keep costs to families as low as possible while balancing the

need to cover costs for the extended hours, the Committee considered the Fees

Schedule for 2016.

As a result, the Committee determined the daily standard fee to attend the

Pre-School will become $36.00 a day.

The proposed changes to the fees will be displayed in the fee

policy document, in the Montessori foyer for the next two weeks. If you have any queries

about the changes please do not hesitate to contact the Committee at

committee@yassmontessori.com.au

A copy of the new fee schedule is attached to this newsletter.

The Committee were pleased that the Open Day and 35th Birthday celebrations on

24 October were a great success and were enjoyed by everyone. The Committee thanks

staff for their enormous efforts in preparing for the day, and in particular, Wendy for her

Ah-MAZING birthday cake that tasted just as good as it looked. The Committee were

proud to welcome the Mayor of Yass, Rowena Abbey, as well as long serving Parton of

the Pre-school Kate Walker; The Hon Pru Goward MP, Member for Goulburn and one of

the founding parents, Sian Chadwick. It is great to keep the wider community involved in

our community Pre-School!

The Committee is now busy planning the Christmas Party for Tuesday, 1 December at

Berinba Public School. Please start arriving from 5.30 pm for 6 pm sharp start.

There will be a sausage sizzle and fruit drinks provided for families to enjoy after the

children have performed their Christmas concert that we all love! You will receive further

information about the Christmas Party. Looking forward to seeing you there to celebrate

another happy and busy year at Yass Montessori Pre-School!

Next meeting will be:

Wednesday, 9 December 2015, 7:30pm at the Pre-School

Meetings wrap up no later than 9:30pm!

Co

mm

ittee Corn

er:

General

Meeting Dates:

10 Feb

9 Mar (AGM)

13 Apr

11 May

Everybody is

welcome

Page: 2

Page: 3

In the Children’s House: The children have been involved in preparations for the Christmas Concert, learning new

songs and making props to assist with their presentation, while going about their usual

Montessori work cycle.

Christmas Gifts

The children would like to thank everyone who sent in items to assist with the creation

of their Christmas Gifts for their families. There are enough resources to begin making

gifts.

Whole School Excursion

On Tuesday, 10 November the children travelled by bus to the ‘Reptile Zoo’ at Gold

Creek Canberra.

The educators would like to thank all the parents who kindly volunteered their time to

assist with the excursion, it was a very enjoyable day.

The children were presented information about local and not so local reptiles in a

humorous and informative manner by our presenter. He had the children enthralled

with his antics when showing each reptile.

After the presentation the children were able to move through the Zoo and get to know

the reptiles a little better. We had lunch together in the outdoor area before we

boarded the bus to return to the Pre-School. A great day!

Upcycled Piano

A few weeks ago at ‘Yass Revolve’ a piano was found that

needed a new home and a little TLC. It was promptly

purchased and kindly picked up and delivered to the

Pre-School by Wes Aide and Pereri .

The piano is now in place in the undercover area of the

Pre-School. The keys still have taped on letters, so

educators were able to adapt some of the Montessori

Bells music for the children to follow on the keyboard of

the piano.

It has been a joy to listen to the children experiment with

the piano and the educators play tunes on the piano for

the children.

Our piano is a little worn and well loved, but we adore it all the same.

Programming

The educators are completing the last programming cycle for the year, and

Individual Child Portfolios are being completed. These will be presented in the children’s

gift bags on the night of the Christmas Concert.

The Montessori weekly program will continue until the end of the year.

Practical Life

The children have returned to these activities over the past few weeks.

Sewing Basket- develops fine motor skills and cognitive skills. Children

designing what they want to sew.

Torch assembly, placing in the batteries – develops knowledge about

technology and how objects work.

Eye dropper – fine motor skills, control of movement placing the drops

into individual suction cups.

Window Washing – fine motor and gross motor development

Food Preparation

Some of the great things the children have been preparing so far this term:

Shelling peas and beans from our garden dipping into balsamic vinegar

Flatbread wraps, spread with vegemite and rolled

Traffic light snacks celery sticks cut into lengths, spread with ricotta, place

a piece of Red, Green and Yellow Capsicum placed on top to create the

Traffic Light.

Coconut Date Balls: Educators to assist with processing step. (Great

Christmas snack that the children can assist to make only two ingredi-

ents!)

3 cups of desiccated coconut

2 cups pitted dates

Place 2 cups of coconut and 2 cups of pitted dates into food processor.

Process on high speed for 3 – 4 minutes, pausing to scrape down sides as

needed.

Remove from processor and roll teaspoon-sized balls. Roll in remaining 1

cup of coconut.

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“The child seeks

for independence

by means of

work; an

independence of

body and mind.”

Dr Maria

Montessori

Page: 5

Housekeeping: Fees

All fees for 2015 are due and payable on or before 27 November 2015. Please see

Kathy if you have any queries regarding your outstanding fees.

Christmas Party

All families please note there is an RSVP sheet in the foyer for this event. Families

please indicate how many people you may have attending the Christmas Party, this

will assist with catering. Thank you

In the Garden The garden has been very productive the last month, the children harvested sugar

snap peas, kale, spinach and broad beans.

The spring crops are coming to an end so it is time to replant for summer. The

children have assisted to plant tomatoes, beetroot, cabbage and potatoes.

Families may have noted the double and single poppies flowering in the garden.

Educators have received some requests for seeds.

Currently the seed pods are being cut as the flowers finish. When the seed pods have

dried out these will be placed in the foyer with a donations cup if you would like

some poppy seeds.

New tyres have been added to the yard providing the children with spaces to extend

their imaginative play.

“The child

should live in an

environment of

beauty.”

Dr Maria

Montessori

Today was a perfect day for water

in the sandpit!

Page: 6

Holiday Watering Roster for the Garden

If you would be able to assist with watering the Pre-School garden over the summer

school holidays please let either Wendy or Kathy know so a watering roster can be

completed.

Sustainability Celebrating Recycling Week 16—20 November:

Paper making

The children have been making recycled paper using newspaper and shredded

documents. The children have asked many questions about the process of making

paper, suggesting what they thought paper was made out of. The children will be

using the paper they have made to make gift tags for Christmas.

Rubbish audits

The children guided by an educator have conducted rubbish audits of the three

recycling bins that are located in the classroom. This exercise has assisted to affirm to

the children the benefits of recycling and which bin our discarded items should go in.

Did you know?

O Recycling a tonne of paper can save half a hectare of trees

O One million plastic bags are consumed every minute around the world

O One recycled aluminium can saves enough energy to run your TV for three hours

Our Community New Planter Boxes

The Pre-School has received this week two planter boxes from the Yass Men’s Shed.

The planter boxes are made from recycled timber and perspex, to allow the children to

view the growth of plants and the development of root systems.

The planter boxes are in place, one at the entrance to the Pre-School and the

other in the classroom.

“We must help

the child to act for

himself, will for

himself, think for

himself; this is the

art of those who

aspire to serve

the spirit.”

Dr Maria

Montessori

Page: 7

Face Painter: Magical Realms Children’s Entertainment

As promised these are the details of the Face Painter who was in attendance at the

Pre-School Open Day.

Nessa the Fairy

Phone: 0488 032 479

Those who were lucky enough to have their face painted would agree she did a

wonderful job. You can also find business cards and flyers for Nessa the Fairy on the

foyer bench.

Feeling Fishy Field Day on the Yass River

Hosted by ‘Rivers of Carbon – Yass River Linkages’ and the Yass Area Network of

Landcare Groups

You can register for your FREE tickets at www.riversofcarbon.org.au

See Flyer on Notice Board.

Date: 29 November 2015

Time: 9.30am—1.30pm

Location: ‘Casamarah’ 1512 Yass River Road