In the Classroom

Langley
This week in Langley, we have begun to bring the outdoors inside! We have been looking at different shells with mirrors. We have been very interested in how they all look and feel different. We have also held them up to our ears to see if we can hear the ocean! We have also been on a nature walk to have a look at trees and their structure. We collected a range of different items from trees - some bark and leaves, some branches and pine cones and some figs. We will continue to look at these next week as we build our family tree. We would appreciate it if all families could bring in a new family photograph to add to our tree.
Kind regards
Jess, Adele, Kerry and Chloe

Mead
Dear Mead Room Parents and Children,
What a fantastic first two days! The children have settled in to their new environment like true 3 year old grown ups. We have had a lot of fun getting to know each other, dressing up, painting, making play dough and beautiful bead necklaces.
We are looking forward to a wonderful term.
Best wishes,
Emma, Susan and Penny

Cooper
Welcome back to Cooper Room and happy new year! The children have enjoyed catching up with their friends and meeting the new members of our group, Roshan, Christian and Noah. We have been very lucky to have Miss Eleanor helping in our room while we wait for Miss Susan Sandow to start with us on Monday, 8th February. We have begun to look at different works of art and have focused on Rousseau's Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!) creating a jungle play scene on the light box. The children have explored the possible story lines from the painting with some wild play with the animal figures in their jungle.
Kind regards,
Ali

Edgerley
We had a wonderful two days back at Kindergarten this week. It was clear that the students missed the regular company of their classmates but had all had such wonderful holidays and adventures that they wanted to share. We briefly began to look into the world of art as a beginning to our new PYP unit. After a story about the paintings of Claude Monet, Henry N felt inspired to recreate one of Monet’s pictures of water gardens at the light table with glass stones.
We look forward to learning about other artists and the stories they tell us through their art next week. We are also awaiting the return of our brave Eric and hope that he is feeling better.
Kind regards
Mel and Rosalie

Preparatory School and Early Learning Centre Information Evening

Dear Parents,
please join us on Tuesday the 2nd of February at 6.30 pm for the Preparatory School and Early Learning Centre Information Evening. This event will begin in the Preparatory School Gym with our Principal, Mr Neil Andary, parents will then be asked to join their child's teachers in their classrooms for a brief information session and an opportunity for questions. The evening will end in the Preparatory School Courtyard Cafe for tea and coffee.
The evening is a wonderful opportunity for parents to meet the members of the Prep School and ELC teaching staff and is particularly relevant for parents who are new to us. It is suggested that if you have children in more than one year level and have to make a choice over which classroom to attend, that you attend the classroom of your oldest child.
This evening is not a curriculum information evening. We will hold an evening specific to curriculum later in the term. Please note that teachers in the Edgerley room will be specifically discussing the literacy program of the final semester of four year old Kindergarten. It is recommended that Edgerley parents avail themselves of this opportunity.
Kind regards
Mel Bishop
Curriculum Coordinator ELC

Student Portfolios

Dear Parents,
As the Kindergarten term has begun we would ask all parents to return children’s portfolios as soon as possible. This important document is a record of children’s educational journeys and proud moments and we love having them in class so children can reflect on their own accomplishments and progress.
Thank you
Kindergarten Teaching Staff

Term Begins !

Dear Parents,
It was wonderful to have all our teachers and children return today ready for another great year in the ELC!
We have a couple of new staff that you will get to know over the next few weeks. Miss Juliana Giorgio has joined us as the assistant in the Chapple Room and Miss Susan Sandow will be assisting in the Cooper Room from 8.2.10.This semester Mrs Rosalie Nacca will be assisting Mrs Bishop on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Edgerley and Chapple rooms will continue to combine on Fridays when Mrs Bishop is released for programming time.

A few reminders with the start of the new year;
Please make sure you send your child's hat each day (clearly named) and check that it is their hat when you collect them as the children tend to put their hats down then sometimes pick up the wrong hat.
Drink bottles need names where children(and staff) can easily see them. The Langley children tend to recognise the colour or style of their bottle but will gradually learn to recognise their name as well.
Please do not send food for your child (or leave any in their bags) as we have to be very careful with children who have allergies and could react to even the smallest amounts of some products.
Our policy for uniform is that the children can wear their own pants or skirts but please keep them to neutral colours ( navy , beige ,khaki, denim or black are all fine) Thongs , gum boots and crocs are not suitable footwear as they are not safe for running and climbing. Sandals are best for summer as the children can take them on and off themselves with minimal help.

Now that the teaching staff are back our main program runs from 8.30am until 3pm so it would be wonderful if your child could be here for this time (at least) so that they do not miss any of the days events !


Thankyou all for your help in anticipation !

ELC Staff

Langley Room

Dear Parents,
Sadly Sarah Betteridge has decided to move on and has accepted a full time position at Margaret Ives Childcare Centre. We wish her well with her future and thank her for her time and dedication while she was here. Kerri Smith ,who has already done casual work with us , will take Sarah's place from next Thursday. Kerri has worked extensively with the age group as well as at our school OSHC,

regards
Jeanine

Langley Room

This week in Langley, we continue to settle back into classroom life. To help children to develop their sense of self, we have placed small mirrors at the drawing table and allowed children to look at their reflection and then draw with textas. We have also been developing children’s sense of belonging to a wider group by providing small group and whole group experiences such as playing with the train set, building (and demolishing!) towers with blocks and through our morning meeting and story time. We were also lucky enough to have Ethan’s mum, Bernadette, bring his baby sister Erin in for a bath. The children were very engaged in this experience as they watched intently and later in the day had the opportunity to bathe our Langley baby dolls.

Kind regards,

Jess, Adele, Sarah and Chloe

Summer Holiday Program

Happy New Year and welcome back!
For the last two weeks the 3’s and 4’s have been getting involved in Summer time activities. These included Beach and Sandcastle Play, Water Play, Sand Paintings, Beach and Sea Puzzles, Summer Stories, Animal Songs and made a seascape mural including a giant ship, seaweed, rocks and Fish. We also had our faces painted as pirates and sea creatures, made some big box boats and went fishing.
We even changed our grassed area into our own water park for our Wet and Wild day with a waterslide, wading pools, a sprinkler and water balloons! It was so much fun getting wet in the warm weather!

Centre Closure

Dear Parents,

As the school has decided to close on Monday 25th January the ELC will not be open either. You will not be charged for this day. If there are any families who cannot make alternate arrangements please see me and we will organise a minimum number of staff to be here if there are sufficient families who need this ,


regards
Jeanine

Langley Room

Welcome back for 2010 to all our Langley families. This week we have been settling into our classroom routines and exploring exciting new play spaces. We have welcomed some new children into the class and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. There is also a lot of interesting construction happening in the Langley yard as the builders work on our new playground. So much is happening and it's only our first week back !

kind regards

Jess, Adele ,Sarah and Chloe