PINJARRA EARLY YEARS PRE-SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Jul - September  2011

We've had a busy few months…

SPECIAL DAYS- Pyjama Day, Grandparents Day, Topsy Turvy Day, Crazy Shoe Day, What I want to be when I grow up Day. These days were a lot of fun for the children and staff!

We've had many VISITORS

   Nurse Noeline; Dr Scott from Gordon Vet Hospital; Katy's dog, Tasha; Hannah's sister, Erica with her violin; past students, Emily and Natasha along with Natasha's grandmother, Ann, who had knitted a huge amount of doll's clothes and finger puppets for us; Emily's grandfather who stayed for the whole afternoon and kept the children enthralled with stories; Sean's mum, Aine and Emily's mum, Jennifer, who came in and read the children some books; Jaiman's mum, Pradnya, came and talked to the children about x-rays and displayed them on a light box; James brought in his guinea pig and his sister Hannah's rabbit; Sophie Watson brought in some baby chicks; Daniel, Lauren's brother, came and read a book to the children; Teddy's mum and his brother, came and introduced the children to screen printing;

We feel so lucky to have parents who want to be involved. It's really beneficial for everyone concerned.

UPDATE ON STAFF- Cathy has been away since the middle of July, recuperating from an operation on her heel. She has now had the plaster removed and has progressed to a boot. The specialist has said that she needs to have the boot on for another 6 weeks, which means that she won't be back until the middle of October.

Fortunately, we have the very capable Kylie, as a permanent fixture in Sunshine Room, so the change of staff has not impacted as much as it may have. Of course, Cathy has been sorely missed and we can't wait to have her back. Greta, Carly and Helena will continue to share Thursday and Friday. When Carly leaves in a few weeks to have my grandchild (sorry, her baby) - Jacqui Tjiong, who has been replacing Muna in Rainbow Room, will be moving over to Sunshine Room, until Cathy returns.

Muna has been having a wonderful time in Jordan, staying with her family, but we will be very pleased to have her back at the end of September - as she has been missed! Jacqui has been working very well with Mara and Mallika during this time and has established a great rapport with the children and staff. It will be nice to have her around at our centre to fill in when others are away.

A big thank you to all the staff for coping so well with the changes and extra work. We are so lucky at Pinjarra to have such dedicated staff, families and of course, children.

NEW FAMILIES-

A big welcome to Hunter, Benjamin, Jeremy and their families, who have recently joined our centre.

SAUSAGE SIZZLE- As we have tried TWICE to have a Sausage Sizzle and had to cancel due to weather, we thought that we might hold an impromptu affair on a Friday night, when the weather gets warmer. We also have one scheduled for the 12^th of November for current and new parents.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

AUTHOR'S VISIT   - we have organized for a children's author, Aleesah Darlison, to visit our centre. One of the Pinjarra fathers heard Aleesah speak at a festival and was really impressed. She has been booked to come on Tuesday, 20^th of September at 10.30. -A good follow up to the visit that we had from the illustrator, Lisa Stewart.

We will be focusing on literacy this week (week commencing the 19^th of September) and will be asking your child to bring in one of their much loved books to share with the others.

We have purchased many new books this year - many through the highly successful Ashton Scholastic Book Fair. We have also purchased the award winning books from the Children's Book Council, along with some that were short- listed.

RURAL FIRE BRIGADE - To celebrate Jed's birthday, his family have organized for the Rural Fire Brigade from Terrey Hills to come and visit us at Pinjarra.

This visit will take place on Friday, 16^th of September

We have some very excited children!

BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT NIGHT - Due to popular demand, we will be running another Behaviour Management Night on 12th of October. More details to follow…

MOTHER'S NIGHT OUT:

 I am writing this newsletter, having just last night, attended this event. Although the turn out was very small, the quality of the meeting was huge! We have such great parents at Pinjarra and it seems as though you never have time to sit and talk. This night is one for you!

The parents are really friendly and fun and very inclusive.

The food was delicious and the champagne pretty good too!

We will be organizing a FATHER'S NIGHT OUT as well and then a mixed night if you'd like.

FATHERS' NIGHT OUT: Wednesday, 21st of September at 7.00pm, at The Greengate.

2^ndMOTHERS' NIGHT OUT: Wednesday, 19^thof October at 7.00pm, at The Greengate.

SUNSCREEN -

You may have noticed the new sign we have just past the gate, regarding sunscreen. It indicates the times when the children need protection from the sun. At the moment, they do not need protection until about 9.30, so we are very happy to supervise the sunscreen application 20 minutes before it's necessary. Soon, as the protection times become longer, we will ask you to apply it when you come in and indicate this application with a stamp on your child's hand.

ALLERGIES -

We have a child attending Pinjarra who is extremely allergic to kiwi fruit. We ask that no kiwi fruit come into our centre please. This is in addition to the existing 'nut free' policy.

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN OUR ROOMS?

RAINBOWROOM-Mara, Mallika, Muna, Anja and Jacqui

Many new interests have begun:

·       Many children are involved in completing, or attempting to complete challenging puzzles (25 to 50 pieces individual, up to 100 pieces in pairs or small groups.)

·       There has been a lot of advanced construction, using Lego, Mobilo and blocks with many children working together to create these masterpieces. The children are interested in developing the marble track, which they have extended with paper towel cylinders, painted and attached to the back of the block shelf. Lots of teamwork and negotiation skills have been coming into play.

·       We'd really appreciate any pictures relating to architecture that you may have -buildings, bridges, columns etc. We have a few and the children find them really inspirational.

·       The Solar System has been explored, with particular attention to Earth and the location of its many different countries. We have so many children with links to different countries, that it's wonderful to see their pride as they locate a country meaningful to them on the globe.

·       Science Week was a big week and has continued to be a major interest. Such excitement and so many areas were covered: Chemistry- eruptions; Physics - colour change; Biology - plants and body; Geology-rocks, layers of sediment and so much more.

·       Birds have been of major interest. The children have been hand feeding a magpie, trying different ways to create a bird catcher, making scarecrows and reading, drawing and creating stories about birds.

·       Gross motor experiences such as skipping, throwing and catching balls, running races and other exciting games have been used, incorporating many of our "Munch and Move" activities.

SUNSHINE ROOM -Kylie, Kate, Greta, Helena, Carly and Anja

·       There has been lots of acting taking place -"The 3 Little Pigs" "The 3 Billy Goat's Gruff" and "Ugly Fish". The children are beginning to perform these plays by themselves, deciding issues such as who is to play which role diplomatically and with very little input from the staff. They are also dictating stories and illustrating and performing them.

·       Science has played a major part in this second half of the year, with the children being involved in very hands on ways - making volcanoes "erupt", creating circuits, exploring goop and watching colours swirl around in milk when detergent was added. Making butter was pretty exciting too.

·       The children have begun working collaboratively on many different projects. In particular block play and constructing with sand and water. They have developed a great sense of community and are designing and following rules important to their play.

·       Naughts and crosses, snakes and ladders, dominoes and Uno have been popular structured rule based games the children have played together.

·       Games, without the use of toys, have been encouraged. These types of games can be played at school e.g. "Monkey and Crocodile", "Stuck in the Mud", "Crocodile, crocodile. May I cross your golden river?" and "Ship, Shark, Shore" are some favourite games, along with the chanting hand clapping games.

·       The children have been investigating the similarities and differences between different people and cultures and have enjoyed making flags and exploring music from different countries.

Looking forward to further friendly, exciting and stimulating days at Pinjarra.

Kind regards,