Wilkins Room

Quick, it’s an emergency! The Wilkins children have been very busy in our hospital role play area this week. We have had sore knees, broken bones, sick mouths and all sorts of other medical emergencies to attend to. The children have been taking it in turns to be doctors, nurses and patients and have used a range of different medical tools to diagnose and help heal our sick patients.

 Ned’s got a sore knee, I’m going to give him a needle – Oscar

I’m holding a bandaid for him – Oliver

I’m doing the bandage – Lucy

All better – Will

Still sick - Ned

I’m sick in my mouth – Ollie

Sore knee – Abi

It’s a skeleton – Zöe (looking at x-rays)

We have also been playing with our toy frogs trying to get them to jump in and out of the pond, exploring writing and drawing using our name cards, looking at texture and sound using the bubble wrap, using pictures of buildings as inspiration for our own block building, working together to build train tracks, problem solving with puzzles and experimenting with different actions and poses that we can do with our bodies.

Best wishes,
Nicole, Kelly, Karla and Jess

Langley Room

We've been up to all sorts in the Langley Room this week. With a focus on our 'Body and Mind' unit, we have been using our bodies in many different ways with the outdoor equipment. We have been investigating the different ways our bodies can move and have also been identifying our body parts through songs and games each day.

 A few of the children have taken a keen interest in doing some writing at the Writing Centre. We have been exploring the different letters of the alphabet and many other symbols used across the world.

Thanks and have a lovely weekend,

 

Stacey, Emily, Kerry and Nickarla

Chapple Room

Chapple room have had a great week with the new mechanics garage.

 Geordie: What’s wrong? It might be broken or the tyre flat or no power.

Matthew: There is little spanners inside

Charlie: It’s stuck, I’ve got it out luckily. Maybe the steering wheel is broken

Geordie : I’m on the computer

Charlie : I’m checking the steering- That’s the problem, it’s coming out.

Erik joins in and uses spanners on tyres.

Charlie: Your car is all fixed

 If your car has a problem Charlie M is your man. But don’t think it is for free, Henry and Kai will make sure you get a bill!

We have also being working on our Wellbeing and how our actions affect all. The block tower game has been great for waiting our turn and thinking about the impact on others.

 Jacob: “You can’t put that piece on because it will fall down and we won’t win. That’s not fair on everyone.

 

Chapple Team

Edgerley Room

 

Dear Parents and Friends,

We have had an exciting week in the Edgerley Room. The children have made face biscuits with Mrs McKenzie using dried fruit, vegetables and rice crackers. Then on Wednesday we visited the Year 2T class for shared reading. This will be an experience we will enjoy weekly, with the big boys visiting us or we will see them up in their classroom. The children have been loving deconstructing some old electrical goods, using real screwdrivers, pliers and scissors. We have also started giving the children new “Learner Profile” badges for special things we have observed throughout the day such as being caring, taking risks, thinking hard. These will be detailed more in our Portfolios each term. Today we had an amazing discussion about skeletons.

Here are some of our comments…

Jack: Your skeleton is all your bones together. If you didn’t have bones you would all fall down!
Zac: Skeletons help us move around… you couldn’t move if you didn’t have one!
Oliver H: Skeletons help make us strong.
Harry P: Animals have bones too.
Max: When you fall off the swing there would be blood but inside you might break your bone and it might even poke out!
Hudson: Bones are hard.
Jack: An x-ray is a picture of your bones. My sister had to have an x-ray ‘cos she broke her arm

We are looking forward to having Gabby’s dad Dr Chisholm talk to us about his work as a surgeon. Our body investigations are getting deeper and we are learning so much from each other too.

Kind Regards,

Pip, Emma and Coney

 

 

Cooper Room

Dear Cooper Room Parents,

What a week! At the beginning we were finding ways to keep ourselves cool and by Friday ways to stay dry! Our investigations have been based around “What is LOVE?” Such a big question for the children to think about. We made very special Valentine’s Day gifts – wrapping our families in love and talked about all the things we LOVE.

“You know you can love animals,” Knox

“My baby brother Owen,” Ryan

“My Mumma,” Tommy

We also began to make some bones to create a skeleton, learnt about stick and leaf insects, painted skeletons and listened to the story of the Chinese calendar.

 

Kind regards

Susan, Jain and Rosalie

Mead Room

Dear Mead Room families and friends,

We have continued investigating one of our units of inquiry – We make choices that affect our own health and well-being. This week our Morning Meetings offered an opportunity to explore the key concept of Responsibility.  We were able to have discussions regarding this concept, in relation to not only our own wellbeing but the wellbeing of others as well.

We began by considering the advantages of a Mead Room “Essential Agreement”, these discussions took place over the course of Week 2 and Week 3.  In effect we came to realise that collaboratively we can support eachother to take care of and feel good about ourselves and our community.

 Harry – You put your hand up when you want to say something at morning meeting

Angus – When one person is talking at morning meeting everyone else is listening

Finny —We take turns

Clementine—When the packing up music comes on we pack up with our hands

Sage—We put things away

 

Sterling illustrated this beautifully by being responsible for his own bedding after rest time, packing away his sheet and blanket! 

 

From Melissa and Sarah

Child Care Benefit

If you wish to claim the Government 50% Rebate you must register with Centrelink for Child Care Benefit and then provide the centre with 2 reference numbers - one for the parent who registers and one for the child. The rebate can be paid either directly to you or to the centre .

Immunisation Records

Could ALL families please provide us with  a copy of their child's current immunisation record. In the event of an outbreak of a communicable disease unimmunised children may need to be excluded from the centre. Children for whom no record has been provided will be considered unimmunised.

Wilkins Room

 

This week we have continued our investigations into our unit of inquiry, body and mind. We have been using mirrors to examine our facial features and then creating self-portraits. We can identify and draw many of our features.

  Me Regan. My nose. There’s my nose. Face. Cheek. I draw one cheek. Wow, there’s a face here – Regan

Ben. Draw Ben – Benjamin

Abi, it’s Abi – Abi

Look, tongue. Cheeks, yep – Mateo

 

We have then framed and painted and portraits to add to our body and mind gallery - make sure you come and check it out!

Could each family please send in a family photo for our future discussions and investigations. If it's easier to email it, please send to jcatt@staff.pac.edu.au and we will print it out for you.We also began our centre art piece with Mrs McCauley this week - don't forget to hunt around home for any orange bits and pieces to add to our collection to help decorate our rainbow.

Best wishes,

Nicole, Kelly, Karla and Jess

Langley Room

​Welcome to the end of week 3 in the Langley Room - and what a busy week it has been. We are very appreciative of​ the relief from the heat! 

 We have had more new friends join us and we have been getting to know each other through many fun songs and dances together.

Along with practicing our routines each day and our self-help skills, we have been lucky enough to have some people visit our room. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have our Chinese lessons with Lao Shi and many of the children have been getting involved in her fun lessons.

We also had a surprise visit from a special grandparent and Deputy Headmaster Neil Andary, who read 'Who Sank the Boat?' to the children before afternoon tea. 

 Have a lovely weekend,

 

Stacey, Emily, Kerry and Nickarla

Mattingley Room

We have had a busy week in the Mattingley room exploring our PYP topic 'Body and Mind' by having many individual and small group discussions about our bodies, the different parts and what they do. Our focus this week has been on faces and the different features that make up our faces. The children have been using play dough to make faces, discussing the features they have added to their play dough face and why. This has been lots of fun! Many of the children have also  begun drawing their own portraits by looking in a mirror and drawing what they see. Once we have finished these beautiful portraits they will be on display for you to share with your child.

 Just a quick reminder that we have our next Library lesson Monday morning at 10.55am. If you could possibly arrive at the centre with enough time for your child to settle into the classroom before we need to move up to the Prep school we would really appreciate it. This will just allow your children to settle and enjoy our Library lesson.

Thank you,

Kimberley and Coral

Chapple Room

Love has been in the air in the Chapple Room as the children had great fun talking about what makes them happy and who they love. We hope you enjoy their lovely Valentine’s Day cards.

 

Next week sees a slightly different theme as we set up our car mechanic workshop. If anyone has anything they think would look great in our garage and they would like to bring in, it would be greatly appreciated. Tyres, old bit of car etc. all welcome.

Edgerley Room

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Edgerley we have been recording what we know about our bodies on the inside and outside. It is fascinating to see the children’s rich knowledge already and share their ideas. We have measured some body outlines with arbitrary units and we are collating information collected from the children’s show and tell about themselves and their physical descriptions such as eye graphs, height charts, hair colour and skin tones. Our sea cave is looking magnificent with fairy lights and swimming mermaids. We have had fun making beautiful hearts to give to our families for Valentine’s Day.

Here are some of the children’s body comments:
Ammar: Bones keep your body hard and they are all over your body.
James: You have blood inside. (James and Sabian painted the whole body red because of the blood inside)
Zac: If you get a sore, the blood will be coming out of your skin.
Harrison: Blood helps you walk.
Zac: Your intestines are like a tube. It’s made of plastic and moves when you wriggle your hip. They control your body to move.
Gabby: Mummies have milk in their bodies for the babies.
Ammar: The milk comes out of her boobies.
Sabian: Mummies have two boobies and one belly button.
Jensen: Your hair grows from inside your head.
Sabian: Muscles. They help you move your arms up and down.
Harrison: The food goes to all of your body.
Gabby: It goes through your neck.
Oliver H: It goes through your throat.
Zac: In your body you have springs. That helps bring your food down and back.
Gabby: You have a tummy.
Harry Mc: You have pointy teeth to chew your food.
Zac: Your brain tells you how to make a good choice or a bad choice.
Ammar: When you eat food it goes down or up. If someone hits you on your back it comes back up.
Gabby: Wee can come out of your willy.

There are so many theories and ideas we have so far…. Imagine what else we will discover this term!!

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Pip, Emma and Coney

New undercover area

The new undercover area has now been named "The Workshop" . This is both due to the nature of the play area and a reference to the fact that the new part of the ELC was previously the school's Property Maintenance Workshop !
The classes are taking turns at using this area after afternoon tea and to help parents locate their children at the end of the day we are putting a sign on the foyer door letting you know which area they are in . After 5 pm all children will be in the Town Square.

ELC Staff

Cooper Room

Dear Cooper Room Families

 

What a wonderful start to the year we have had in the “new” Cooper Room. The children have loved exploring their new learning space and getting to know Miss White. We have been talking about our amazing bodies and recording the facts the children already know.

“your ears are for listening and hearing,” Oliver and Angus

“You wear shoes so ants don’t come into your toes,” Toby

“If you want to move, the bones move you,” Luca

The Cooper hospital has had many patients visiting throughout the week, looking at x-rays, taking temperatures and administering lots of medicine. If you have a problem the medical staff at the Cooper hospital could probably  help you too! Please call in or make an appointment with our friendly team.

We have also explored other ways to use our bodies through PE in the gym, dancing, singing and cutting out some tricky jigsaw puzzles of our faces and even making Chinese characters with our bodies. They really are amazing!

Kind regards
Susan, Jain and Rosalie