Kookaburra Birthdays

Esmeralda 11/12/2013

Liam 13/12/2013

Elisha 13/12/2013

Ajooni 20/12/2012

Sophia 27/12/2012

Adel 15/12/2014

Anaya 31/12/2014

Upcoming Events 1. Lollipop Playground End of Year

Party Date: 2nd of December 2016

Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm RSVP: 23rd November 2016

2. Rosella Room End of Year Celebration and Christmas Concert

Date: Tuesday, 6th of December 2016. Time: From 9.30-11.30am

Where: Rosella Room

3. Kookaburra Room End of Year Concert and Christmas Concert

Date: Friday 9th of December 2016.

Time: From 10am to 12pm. Where: Kookaburra Room.

Grow Early Learning Centre

December 2016 Newsletter

Policies Under Review 1. Fees & Priority of Access 2. Code of Conduct 3. Parent & Staff Handbook

Kookaburra’s Learning Story BUGS LIFE This month we have had several community events in which the Kookaburra room has had the opportunity to engage within; such as the Diwali Festival celebrations, Halloween and the bugs life incursion. After the bugs life incursion this automatically sparked a great interest in bugs in the Kookaburras room. As the Educators are responsive to all children's interest they planned a variety of activities that enhanced the children's understanding of insects.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT PREPARTION! This month the Kookaburra's have been working really hard along side their educators as they choose the songs in which they will be performing at the Christmas concert this year. (December 9th at 10:00am) Once they had decided which songs they wanted to sing they then had to learn the words, by practising everyday. During practice the children and educators have been coming up with actions to match the words. Then the fun part: making props, the educators are assisting their children with the prop making. The children and educators are working so hard to put together a spectacular show for their families and friends.

SENSORY PLAY We have been showing respect for our environment as we have been recycling and reusing water bottles to make new sensory calming bottles. The Kookaburras explore cause and effect as they explore and experiment what will happen when different items are placed inside the plastic bottles such as adding glitter , pom poms and sequences . Children enjoy sitting at the tables together and shaking the bottles or tipping them upside and watching all the things sink / float around in the bottles. This is a great activity promoting recycling and cognitive thinking in a relaxing way and can easily be done at home too!

School Readiness News!

Firstly I would like to say WOW! Graduation was such a special event. Grow ELC Staff would like to thank the families for coming along and celebrating their children’s hard work and achievements with us. The children did an outstanding job in their performances. Well Done to the Graduates.

We continue to support the children in transitioning to school through our lunchbox experiences. Our next Lunch Box week will be December 5th - 9th

We ask that you pack an empty lunch box and a drink bottle with your child’s name clearly labelled so the children can practice in preparation for next year. Parent involvement is highly important in the best transition to school.

During our School Readiness program this month, the children have been focusing on writing their first and last names and also working on identifying letters in the alphabet and linking sounds to each letter with the help of their Educators Miss Amy and Miss Shobha. During Mathematics the children have been focusing on numbers 10- 20 through a range of hands on learning activities. At reading and speaking time the children have been engaging in discussion about their thoughts of big school next year.

Educators are responsive to all children's interests and individual capabilities. Educators provide experiences for children that enhance their skills in different developmental areas.

Principle: Partnerships: Learning outcomes are most likely to be achieved when educators work in partnerships with families.

Practices: Continuity of learning and transitions, Partnership with families is an active role in the best transition for the child.

EYLF LO: 1.2 Children develop their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency

At Grow ELC we believe that fire and lockdown drills are extremely important. We practice emergency evacuation drills regularly with children, staff, and volunteers, to ensure we are prepared for an emergency situation. This month all children have been

involved in these drills.

Educators and children practice safe ways to exit the building. They practice leaving in single file and walking quietly so that safety instructions can be heard.

Children learn to recognize the sound of the fire alarm. Educators practice alternate exit routes with children and identify a safe meeting place away from the building and away from the area where the fire truck might be.

Knowing how to safely exit the building makes it become second nature to exit in an orderly fashion and will in the end will save lives if a real emergency happens to arise. Being familiar with all of these procedures will also help children to know what to do

and not feel scared or panicked in a real life emergency situation.

It is our hope that parents and families feel confident in knowing that all educators and children regularly practise and learn about various emergency situations, to ensure that we are all educated and well prepared.

The Sign in and Out sheets located in the foyer are extremely important. In the event of an emergency, these are vital for educators to account for children and contact parents. Therefore, we ask to please ensure that you sign your children in and out correctly

and also we stress the importance of writing an emergency contact number for each day, on the sign in sheet.

We thank you for your assistance and welcome

any suggestions you may have to improve our Emergency Evacuation and Lockdown

procedures.

Rosella Room Learning Story This month the Rosella children have been enjoying a variety of activities which focuses on their Fine motor

muscles in their hands. Fine motor skills are essential in order to complete everyday tasks such as doing up

buttons, using scissors, writing and opening lunch boxes. Although these tasks are not being done by the

Rosella children themselves, activities that enable children to practise using these muscles allow children to

develop these muscles at an earlier age. Children also develop a sense of self-esteem as they are able to

build their confidence as they successfully manipulate objects, such as pencils or blocks, in the way that they

desire.

In the Rosella room we have focused on activities such as puzzle play, crayon drawing, playdough, magnetic

drawing boards, painting, building with blocks and other activities to improve the rosellas fine motor skills.

Miss Bernadette also made sensory bags which contained different objects. Over the course of a week, the

Rosella children used their hands to play with the sensory bags. Inside they found paint, flour, goop and dried

crackly leaves.

Take a look at our photos to observe how much we have enjoyed these activities this month!

Rosella Room Photos

Fire Safety Fact Sheet (www.fire.nsw.gov.au)

NSW Smoke Alarms - Its the law Fact Smoke from a home fire is toxic, only early warning can assist in giving your family vital time to escape a smoke filled room. Also, when asleep you will not smell the smoke from a fire and the smoke will actually put you into a deeper sleep. A smoke alarm can provide the early warning you need and is the critical first step in your home fire safety plan. What are the types of smoke alarms available? There are hard wired (connected to mains power with a battery back up) or battery powered smoke alarm s available. -There are models available for use in kitchens and caravans and for those with special needs such as the hearing impaired. Models incorporating an emergency light are also available. Often incorrectly referred to as “smoke detectors” Fire & Rescue NSW strongly recommend that you install a photoelectric type smoke alarm that is hard wired and interconnected. Photoelectric alarms appear to be superior to ionisation alarms in most circumstances, and there is little appreciable difference in performance during flaming fires. Therefore, photoelectric alarms may provide a faster warning in many circumstances. Whatever type you choose to use we recommend that: •Every house or home unit has a suitable number of working smoke alarms installed. •There should be smoke alarms on every level of your home. •Only Australian Standards AS3786 approved alarms should be used. •Hard wired alarms must be fitted by a qualified electrician. •Smoke alarms must be installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. •All smoke alarms should be tested regularly and at least monthly. •You should replace the battery in each smoke alarm at least once a year. •Alarms should be replaced as recommended because they have a limited lifespan. •To be effective smoke alarms must be cleaned regularly. •Your household should prepare a written escape plan and practise it regularly. Smoke alarm safety tips •Remember that smoke from a fire will make you confused and that you cannot see in smoke. •If you have escaped from a home fire, remember once you get out stay out and dial Triple Zero (000) •Let your children master fire escape planning and practice before holding a fire escape drill. If a family member has hearing or mobility problems ensure that these are taken into account and if necessary that someone is assigned to help them escape.