Dear Families,

We would like to welcome Josie Chapman to our centre as our Artist in Resident. Josie visits on a weekly basis working with the Yellow and Orange room children. She provides a range of art experiences for the children giving them lots of freedom to express themselves while using lots of different mediums. The children have enjoyed making a mural which is displayed in the Orange room. They also have been experimenting with lots of natural materials and loose parts showing ability to explore and create their induvial artistic ideas. The children are enjoying their art experiences with Josie and we are very lucky to have her as part of our team.

Due to the high winds our maintenance man Matt has had to clear some fallen trees/ branches at our Bush Camp location. Once the area is cleared and safe we will continue our visits back there. We have been lucky to be able to utilise Tolosa Park and the Glenorchy LINC in place of Bush Camp.

Over the last few weeks we have recently had staff changes and educators have moved rooms. We have also welcomed new educators to our centre. We will be emailing out a letter later this week with their photo and a little of information about them. In late September we will be having a change within the centre. We are opening another pre-kinder room at a different location. This will open up the possibility for quite a few room changes throughout the centre. Please be assured that once everything is finalised we will be able to notify you all about the change and assist with any questions or requests.

In this newsletter we have attached information from Dominic College. On the 7th of November they will be holding a Kindergarten information night. We work closely with the school and assist families with transitioning their children from care to school. If you have any questions please feel free to see the educators in Yellow or Orange or myself.

Kind regards Una

We all have a right to a sustainable future.

August 2016

*Director - Una Lalagavesi

*Assistant Director - Trudy Peterson *Administrative Assistant—Debbie Browning

Please remember to pack a spare set of clothes for your

child. As we enjoy to get outside as much as we can

sometimes we get a little wet or muddy.

Gumboots are also a great idea as we can still explore and jump in puddles and stay dry.

We would like to thank everyone who has purchased an Entertainment Book. We will announce in the next few weeks our fundraising tally. The monies raised will go towards our Bush Camp shelter. There are still a few books outstanding so please see Deb asap regarding your book. Please have a look through our lost property as this has started to grow. We have some in the front foyer as well as in your child's rooms. Trudy has been away for two months due to surgeries and she is now back and settling in. Debbie and Trudy

We are in need of spare trousers. If you have any that you are able to donate we are looking

for some from size 1—6.

We also welcome any resources or materials that we can use as arts and crafts or in our

loose parts play.

Loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple

ways.

They are materials with no specific set of directions that can be used alone or combined

with other materials.

There are many reasons why play spaces should include a multitude of loose parts, including:

Loose parts can be used anyway children choose.

Loose parts can be adapted and manipulated in many ways.

Loose parts encourage creativity and imagination.

Loose parts develop more skill and competence than most modern plastic toys

Loose parts can be used in many different ways

Loose parts can be used in combination with other materials to support imagination

Loose parts encourage open ended learning.

Children choose loose parts over fancy toys.

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We will be using more balance beams and climbing materials in

the room to support the children’s gross motor

development as our babies are now pulling them selves up and

getting mobile.

We have also had a few staff changes and thank you all for

your support during this change.

Love Kara, Wendy and Sophie

Recently in the White Room we farewelled a few friends into the Blue Room as we welcomed new children into our room. We have focussed on relationship building with both the child and family.

We have been challenging our fine motor development and sensory exploration through playing with

goop and painting.

We have been getting out our wet weather gear and braving

the great outdoors. The children really enjoy a quick run

and explore outside in all weather conditions. We have our

own wet weather pants which keep our clothes dry.

Our favourite new nursery rhyme is sleeping bunnies. We

sing it each day.

The children have also been busy with arts and crafts. We have been using a variety of colours and painting in many

We have been busy with our winter wonderland theme. We have been engaging in a variety of art experiences and using a

variety of art mediums.

We have also been exploring colours and using our light table

to experiment with them. At group times we have been using flash cards, songs and books to

learn the variety of colours.

Red Junior

Blue

White

Outside play has been fun and we enjoy jumping in the

muddy puddles.

The children enjoy our walks up to the large Dominic top

oval where we play ball games and visit the chickens.

Love Lisa, Dan T, Mickayla and Alex

different ways.

We have welcomed Karen and Chad into our room and the children have been forming

new relationships with them. The children get excited to

see Bianca O next door and we often pop over for a play.

Love Sarah, Chad and Karen

August 2016 Page 3

In the Red Senior Room we have been creative with our

stories. We have been exploring the felt board and pieces and also our puppets. The children

enjoy listening to their educators share stories but have also been using them

themselves to re-tell a story.

Our big board books have been popular too.

We have been continuing with our mini Bush Camp walks and enjoy exploring the natural

What lovely weather we have had this season. The Yellow room children

have enjoyed a vast range of experiences that have encouraged investigation into the weather and

insects throughout the yard. We have explored winter and used a range of

resources to create our own image of winter.

Whilst exploring Bush Camp we have been looking at spiders and what

their homes may look like, and how they survive in the garden.

.

We have also enjoyed spending time with Josie and explored

different ways in which we could make paint. We explored different

spices and natural materials.

We have a variety of examples of our different art works that we have been doing over the past

month on display throughout the room so please have a look.

Love Olivia, Maddie, Anna, Amanda and Kyana

Josie has been working on a weekly basis creating some wonderful art. We started the art based on a book and have been on a journey since. The creation is a work in progress and the children enjoy adding as the weeks go on. Please come in and have a look at our display board.

We have also been exploring the change in weather and our environment. We have been making a model of Mount Wellington out of paper mache. We also worked together as a team and created Olaf.

Red Senior

Yellow

Orange

During NAIDOC week we talked about the Aboriginal culture and their art. The children painted popsicle sticks using sticks and cotton buds. We then collated our work and framed them.

Love Sharmalee, Vicki, Rachel M and Sherrette

bush land at the top Dominic oval. The chickens get very excited to see us.

We welcomed Bianca O to our room and the children have been

helping her to settle in.

Love Bianca E, Emily, Annette, Dan K, Bianca

O and Rina

Before School Care LDC

Over the last two months the children have shown an interest in cooking and creating. We have made some dishes from frozen yoghurt and created fruit smoothies for breakfast.

We have been engaging in science experiences and have had fun with balloons. We also enjoy

group games and UNO is still our favourite alongside BINGO.

Please take the time to have a look at our display on

our local community. We had been talking about

geography then researched the map

of the world and Australia. We then

focussed on our local area and places that we enjoy going to.

After School Care—Dominic

Our last few programs have been developed to encourage and support the children's

independence and for them to interact with each other in a respectful manner. This goal

has been positively recognised by the children and all are responding really well to it. We see it demonstrated through the children’s play and specific group activities that have been set up by the educators. The children enjoy

our group games of secret path, mission impossible and outdoor sports.

During our really cold and wet afternoon/ nights we have explored hama beads, pom pom making, puffy paint creations and many more

fun engaging experiences.

After School Care LDC

Our interest in local excursions and the outdoors has continued. We extended this

interest to show respect for the environment through organising a clean up day. The children educated each other as they passed on their knowledge and understanding to one another. The explained how it is serious and damages

the environment. They wanted to help protect their wildlife by eliminating as much rubbish as

they could. We have also been thoroughly enjoying art and

craft and have been utilising recycled materials for our masterpieces. We enjoy

engaging in positive group experiences including sport, science and cooking. Before School Care – Dominic

Over the past term at BSC we have been exploring, engaging, participating and learning through a range of different experiences such

as card games, arts and crafts, building and creating new and exciting designs with kinnex,

lego and the building blocks.

In the hall and when the weather is nice outside; we enjoy group games of a morning such as soccer, basketball, football, running games and games we create up. These sports

have allowed students to embrace their physical side and show their self-

determination and self confidence. It has also allowed students to show their compassion,

team work, leadership and ability to cooperate with their peers.

Page 5

There are a number of books and handouts on various topics available in the foyer for parents and families to borrow on

request.

Some of these topics include health issues, nutrition, safety, behaviour guidance, toilet training, dental hygiene and activities

to do with your children.

Please have a look through the folders and if your would like a copy of anything one of our staff will help you. If you are unsure of what information would help you then please feel free to talk

to a staff member and they will guide you to gaining the appropriate information.

We are on the web!

Visit us at

www.discoveryelc.com.au

Find us on

Resources Available to Parents and Families

WHS– Emergency procedures

Planning to manage incidents and emergencies can assist our service to

protect adults and children, to maintain children’s wellbeing and a safe environment

and to meet requirements of relevant workplace health and safety legislation. If

for any reason, it is deemed that the children within our service are in danger and

should evacuate or lock down, the procedures in our Emergency Procedures

Policy will form the services contingency. We ensure that staff and students are aware of

these procedures and we practise on a regular basis.

Lock down-

On rare occasions it may be necessary to seal off the service so that it is not able to be entered

from the outside. This is a lock down and occurs

when circumstances dictate that the safety

of people is better ensured inside the

building. In the event of this happening you will

see this sign on the front door. Evacuation-

Evacuation out of the service may be for any reason including but not limited to gas leak, fire, snake, unwelcome visitor, intruder or earthquake. All rooms evacuate from the

building and proceed in the safest route to the lower carpark behind the centre. A sign

will be placed on the front door to notify visitors that we are currently in an

evacuation.

PD TRAINING/ INFORMATIONNIGHT

Recently we held a training/ information evening for Educators and Families . It was a very well informed night with two guest speakers.

Jenny Branch from RACT/ Kids Safe.

Jenny give us lots of safety instruction for children travelling in car seats as well as older children with booster seats. She explained the laws on child restraints and that RACT welcomes parents to call in to their premises to get their children’s car seats checked for correct installation.

Jenny also talked about the danger of button sized batteries and the damage to internal organs if swallowed by children.

Recently our bus drivers attended a workshop held by RACT and Kidsafe on “kids in cars”. They also went through the bus and inspected our car seats.

Amanda Tubuna Nutrition

Amanda gave us lots of information on what we should be looking for in the ingredients listed on food labels. We talked about hidden fat, salt and sugar content. She also talked about children saying they do not like certain foods and do not want to taste it. She explained we need to offer the same food at least 8 times or try to disguise it in other food before children will begin to accept the flavour. She explained the importance of understanding their taste buds and their memory bank. She also discussed about cooking from scratch and introducing herbs and spices to expand children’s knowledge and taste.

We have had a lovely time down at the Glenorchy LINC. We are lucky to have access to the resources that the

Library provide. We are able to join in with Rock & Rhyme and the Story time that they run. This supports the

children to form respectful and responsive relationships and they build skills in being and becoming active

contributors to their community and world. The children enjoy exploring the library and borrowing

books that they would like to share with their peers back at the centre. We can also borrow books to support our

current interests and use them to research and extend our knowledge.

Out and about in our community

Over the last few months we have also been able to visit the Museum and our art work which was at Long

Gallery in the Art from Trash exhibition. The Art from Trash encourages the children and educators to think sustainable and use their creative minds together to

create an art piece from recycled materials.

During May five Dominic College students attend the Discovery Early Learning Centre for work experience.

Here are some thoughts from the students:

Olivia

My week at the Discovery centre was rewarding, I was able to play and help out where I could contribute. I appreciated having the opportunity to help the children develop and grow. Even with the short time I was there I hope I had a small impact on their lives.

Hailee

Completing my work experience at the early learning centre was great. I was able to learn much about the children and learned you had to commit 100% to each and every one of the children. Spending time in the different rooms with a range of age groups really showed me how much one year can change the child’s attitude and behaviour. Overall I really enjoyed spending time with the children and learning more about them and what it is going to take to pursue child care as a career.

Kayla

My first day at the Discovery Centre I received a happy welcome. It was easy for me to get to know everyone because everyone was always open to talk. The children were wonderful to work and play with, they were cute and excited to meet new people. I had such fun painting, drawing, running and playing with all of the children in each room. The teachers in each room helped me with any questions and were very welcoming. I had a fantastic time at the Discovery Early Learning Centre. I would love to go back.

Term Dates for 2017

Term 1: *Thursday 2 February - Thursday 13 April

Term 2: Monday 1 May - Friday 7 July

Term 3: Monday 24 July - Friday 29 September Term 4: Monday 16 October - Friday 15 December

* Term 1 begins for Prep – Year 10 students. Kinder Bears commence on Monday 6 Febru-

ary and Kinder Mice on Wednesday 8 February.

Other dates families may note:

Easter break: Friday 14 April – Tuesday 18 April, included in holidays.

Friday 9 June - Student Free Day due to Staff Professional Learning Day

Monday 24 July - Goal Setting Day for students Year 3 to Year 10

K-2 Student Free Day Friday 27 October - additional holiday for students and teachers

2017 Kindergarten Transition Events

Kindergarten 2017 Parent Information Evening: Monday 7 November 2016 commenc-

ing 7.00pm

The Kindergarten Parent Information Evening gives parents of Kindergarten students the

chance to meet Kindergarten staff and learn more about what to expect for the start of their

child's education.

Kindergarten 2017 Orientation Days: Tuesdays 8, 15, 22 and 29 November 2016

In November, children enrolled as Kindergarten students for the following year will get the

chance to be a Kinder student for the day once a week over a four week period.