Edgerley Children

Dear Parents ,
It is now only a few more more weeks until your children leave us and move on to school. Your children are booked in and are welcome to stay until school starts on July 20th. If your child will be finishing prior to that , could you please let Julie or myself know what their last day of attendance will be,

Thankyou
Jeanine

In the Classrooms

Langley
Yet another busy week of investigation and excitement in the Langley room. On Monday we had a very special visitor to our classroom; Malcolm the lamb. We had a wonderful time feeding him and showing him what we do in the Langley room. To follow up on the children’s interest in Malcolm, we have made our own handprint sheep to put on our farm. We also made our own bread using a bread machine and our own butter out of cream. We had to shake it and shake it all day until it turned into butter. It was worth it though, it was delicious! We have also made orange juice and have enjoyed investigating the colours of autumn by collecting leaves in the garden and sorting them. Finally we had the dentist come and talk to us about how to look after our teeth and we had to show her what our teeth looked like. Phew, we might need a big rest over the weekend ready for another big week next week!
Kind regards,
Jess, Adele, Kerry and Jennifer

Mead
The Mead Room has been a hive of activity this week. On our excursion to Foodland on Monday the children saw the delivery dock, storeroom and big freezer.
“This place is so big we need to go in the lifter” said Oliver
We also visited the butchery and grocery sections. The highlight for many was the Bakery.
We followed up our excursion by making our own bread and butter. Unlike the Little Red Hen we all helped measure, pour and mix the flour, yeast and water to make our bread and we all shook the cream until it turned into butter! Then we all happily spread the butter and ate our bread ourselves.
“It smells soooo ready” said Theodore
“I can smell the yummy bread, I can see it is yummy” said Jesse as he watched the steam rise.
Best wishes,
Emma, Susan and Emma

Cooper
We all enjoyed our trip to Foodland Norwood on Monday when we went to have a look at what happens behind the scenes at a supermarket. Everyone wore their special hats as we were taken on a tour of the bakery, truck loading bay, freezer, butcher and fruit and veg sections. The boys watched closely and listened carefully as we were told about where the food comes from, how it is stored and how it is prepared for sale. The bakery smelled delicious and we saw the bread rolls rising and baking. We also saw other yummy treats, "Donuts" said Lachlan T. "Chocolate... I like chocolate." In the butchers section we saw meat hanging and watched as the butcher used his special saw to cut up lamb for roasts, "That big lamb was very dead" Aadi told us. This excursion added a new dimension to our inquiry about farms and food production and provoked lots of chatter and play amongst the Cooper boys. A big thank you to Mr Con Tellis, the manager at Foodland who was a very accommodating tour leader for our ELC group and to the many parents who accompanied us.
Kind regards,
Ali, Susan and Sue

Chapple
As part of the sensory program we are currently running from the Art Room, we have been experimenting with finger paint this week. It was a new experience for many children, but it was great fun! Children were asked what it felt like, what happened when they mixed colours and were then able to take a print.
'It feels mushy, yucky!' -Luke
'It's like mud because it's all slippery.' -Olin
'It feels like mashed potato.' -Sebastian
'It's making purple. It's making a beetroot purple.' -Luke
'Our purple won't be like their purple cause they had blue and we have yellow.' –Hamish
Thanks
Chapple Room Team

Edgerley
Dear Parents,
This week in Edgerley we have been inspired by the colours of the season. We have enjoyed collecting beautiful brightly coloured autumn leaves at every opportunity and have been sorting them into the different colour groups we observed. We have found red, dark red, orange, pink, yellow, brown, chocolate brown and black! We wrote labels for our groups and have begun to sew them together to hang above our painting easel. Next week we are going to begin to talk about why we think all the leaves are changing colour and falling.
Kind Regards
Mel and Rosalie

Imagine the Night Sky

Edgerley, Chapple, Mead and Cooper students took the public bus to the city today to visit the exhibition “Imagine the Night Sky”. Cooper and Mead students went on a bus adventure in the city but took a wonderful walk through the streets observing lots of different things, finally meeting Chapple and Edgerley at the Festival Theatre. We discovered that when we blew into the microphone we could make the animals in the animation move. At the other end of the exhibition we used our shadows to make music and move puppets on the screen. We listened to the traditional tales about light and observed the beautiful cloth panels.
Thankyou to the parents who joined us
Kind Regards
ELC Staff

Fairytale Visitors

Thankyou to the Junior Primary students for visiting us today and parading in their Fairytale costumes for our Langley students. We enjoyed identifying all the Gingerbread Mans, Peter Pans, Three Bears and even a Goldilocks!!

Mead Room P&F Event

Dear Mead Room Parents,
Please join us at the following event:
Saturday 5th June at 9.15am
Wacky Warehouse,
162 Gorge Rd, Newton
Please get there early to avoid disappointment as they turn people away when they are full.
Weblink with directions http://www.wackywarehouse.com.au/
Hope to see you there
Karen & Annette

Box for Return Slips

Dear Parents,
We have placed a box at reception for return slips for excursions etc… that parents would like to return when Mrs Porter is not at her desk. Please do not place any money in this box. Thankyou to the parent who suggested this simple improvement to our processes.
Thankyou
ELC Staff

Thankyou

Dear Parents,
thankyou so much for the donations of baskets, pots and pans etc… we have received in the last few weeks. Please keep them coming, they are much appreciated and coming to a loving home!! We value all the donations we have received but particularly need to thank Paul and Brendt Parisi for the beautiful puzzles they have donated and for solving our mirror dilemma in one fell swoop with their generous mirror donation, for those of you looking for glass or mirror products we can certainly recommend Paul and Brendt and their wonderful team. We would also like to thank Rachel Hope for her very generous contribution to our non-fiction library. We would also like to thank Nadia Maione for the huge collection of beautiful wallpapers and fabrics she has donated to our art program, they have sparked great creativity.
Thankyou again
Our staff appreciate your ongoing support of our program and are grateful that we have such a proactive and involved parent body.
Kind Regards
Mel Bishop

Super Scrubbers

Dear Parents,
We enjoyed a visit from our Dentist, Jan, this week. She showed us an enormous pair of teeth and a huge toothbrush to help us learn how to brush our teeth correctly. She visited us in our classrooms to check our teeth and was thrilled with what she saw when she lifted our top lip!!... Lots of shiny white choppers!

CAFS Visits Next Week

Dear Parents of Edgerley Students,
Jill, our local CAFS nurse, will be visiting Edgerley next week. We have organised this for your convenience only and if you have already scheduled a visit with your regular nurse your child does not need to see Jill. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity please see Mrs Porter to book a time slot with Jill on either the 1st or 2nd. You will need to attend the visit with your child and if possible bring your blue CAFS book. Please collect a form to complete and sign when you see Mrs Porter to make your appointment.
Thankyou
Mel Bishop

Tickets for our Footy Gathering!!

Tickets for adults are now available at the front desk with Mrs Porter at a cost of $10 each. Children are free to SANFL matches.

What: Mr Weatherald’s 299th Game
When: 13th June 2010
Time: Game starts at 2.10pm
Where: House Brothers Oval, Unley (We will gather in front of the Tennis Club, across the oval from the main grandstand)
Bring: a footy, a snack (or money), enthusiasm, energy
RSVP: Please let Mrs Porter know if you intend to join us even if you do not require tickets at jporter@pac.edu.au

Our Next Collection for Shoeboxes of Love

Dear Parents,
We are beginning a new collection for shoeboxes of love next week. In June we are looking at Something to Wear. We are still looking for donations of material and helpers to sew bags up. They are super easy!
Thankyou for your assistance
Susan Lock

Ideas

Hats
Winter beanie
T shirts
Long sleeve t-shirts
Underpants
Socks
Thongs
Croc type shoes
Sandals
Headbands
Scrunchies
Sunglasses

Staffing

Mr Kerber will be on Annual Leave next week and Miss Ciara Guilfoyle will be relieving for him.


Jeanine

In the Classrooms

Langley
Wow, what a busy week we have had in the Langley Room! We have continued our investigation into fruit trees by buying three citrus trees at Bunning’s. Ty, our gardener came and helped the Wednesday children plant them and we look forward to all of the children helping us water and care for them and watch them grow. We also juiced apples and got to taste the delicious fresh apple juice. We have enjoyed riding on our hobby horse outside; there have been many trips to the farm and to the shops. We have watched some videos of farmers shearing sheep to try and determine whether they just pull the wool off the sheep or not. “It’s just like getting a haircut!” cried out Henry excitedly. We have had some visits with Malcolm the lamb this week and are looking forward to having him in the Langley room on Monday.
Kind regards,
Jess, Adele, Kerry and Jennifer

Mead
Dear Mead Room Parents,
This week in the Mead Room we have really enjoyed exploring the outside farm environment. We have a large papier mache sheep and cow from the Prep school on loan, so the children have milked the cow and used the milk in their 'sandpit cooking'.
Dress ups have been a major feature in the farm - we have had frogs, chicks and bears running around our garden and popping out of unexpected places. We have seen a lot of dramatic play taking place.
In the classroom we have painted apple trees and practiced counting by numbering apples as we put them on our apple trees. We have made anzac biscuits and started making our own grass seed heads. It will be exciting to watch their hair grow over the next few weeks. We may give hair dressing a go once their hair grows longer!
Best wishes,
Emma and Susan

Cooper
Malcolm the lamb visited Cooper Room this week and was welcomed by some very excited little boys! We built a corral in the room and talked with the boys about how to be gentle and quiet around Malcolm as he is only one week old. The boys were very keen to look after the lamb well and were so gentle and quiet that they even read Malcolm bed time stories, sang him to sleep and showed him their Learning Portfolios! Malcolm is a very hungry lamb and at the moment he only drinks milk, so the boys all had a turn at giving him his bottle. We took him outside for a play and soon he was running around like one of the boys. What a wonderful time we had with Malcolm and the fantastic Cooper Room shepherds!
Regards
Ali and Susan

Chapple
We have had a great week in Chapple Room! It has been frantically busy, but full of fun and excitement. We loved making our own bread and butter on Tuesday. Mr Tutt was very pleased when we took him his own plate of buttered bread for afternoon tea. Malcolm, the lamb, was also a huge success. We are looking forward to our excursion on Monday with great gusto!
Thanks
Chapple Room Team

Edgerley
Dear Parents,
We have enjoyed all things football this week (as well as our special visit from Malcolm the sheep…thankyou Mrs Blake!). We have been investigating playing as members of teams in the playground using footballs. We played football and soccer on the back oval with Mr Bubner’s Year Ten PE class. As part of this interest in belonging to teams children have been illustrating footballers using AFL and SANFL logos. From this we decided to create our own football oval in the classroom and spent a great deal of the week working out what shape ground we play football on and what other things an oval would need.
“A footy field is a oval shape” said Ethan
“Ooh, ooh oval, it has the same sounds as ooh ooh October!” exclaimed Hector
“An oval is the shape of a rectangle” said Henry N
“No, it’s a big circle” said Cameron
“Ovals are long and then a curve and straight and then a curve,. Like this, straight, curve, straight, curve” explained Hector
“And there is a little circle right in the middle of the oval” added Henry G
“You have to put on the number 50” said Hector
“We need a fence so the ball can’t go onto the road” suggested Cameron
“We need the bit where we put when the people get their goals” added Jake
“And a place where people sit!” exclaimed Tristen
Come into our classroom to see our wonderful oval…next we get to add the players!
Kind Regards
Mel and Rosalie

Wine and Conversation

Thankyou to all the parents that joined us to investigate famous South Australian food products through clay, drawings, poems, riddles and…song! We had a great night with enjoyable company and hope you enjoyed it too
Kind Regards
The Teaching Staff

Parking

Dear Parents,
It is with growing concern that we have been watching adult behaviour in our ELC car park. We are indeed the luckiest parkers in the Princes community as no other group of parents have a car park full of spaces reserved especially for them. Due to the young age of our students and what we know about their impulsive natures at this age, coupled with their inability to gauge the speed of moving vehicles we felt it appropriate to dedicate spaces to the families of these children. We understand that this blog post is really only directed at a small number of people and apologise to those who use safe practices in our car park, but we cannot sugar coat our road safety message when we observe adults keeping themselves safe on the path whilst children are allowed to run on ahead into the car park. Whilst we have not had a major incident to date the aim of this post is to help insure we do not have any in the future.
To keep our car park as safe as it should be we need to engage your help, both behind the wheel and on foot.

When you are driving please:
*Enter our cark park at a slow speed
*Pause as you turn from our entry road
*Move slowly as you leave the carpark and cross the footpath
When you are walking please:
*Insist that your child walks with you on the path
*Do not allow them to run ahead through the car park
Ask your child to stand with you by the car when you are loading or unloading bags or other siblings
*Strictly ensure that your child is with you as you cross the footpath that is the entry to the car park. This is particularly important when you are walking with a young child to collect older siblings from Prep after school care or when walking with older siblings back to our centre from Prep after school care.

We thank you in advance for continued vigilance in our car park and would ask for you to please make one final observance. The disability park that is clearly marked with a wheelchair sign is strictly for the use of our community members who have a recognised disability sticker displayed in the windscreen of their vehicle only.
Thankyou
ELC staff

Malcolm the Lamb

We had a very special visitor in our centre this week. To support our growing understating of farms and food production, Malcolm the 6 day old lamb has spent a week in our centre. He has spent a day each in Edgerley, Chapple and Cooper and will spend a day each with Mead and Langley next week. The children have cared for him lovingly. Edgerley children were very strict with visitors to their room, ensuring everyone used the quietest of quiet voices.
“We won’t eat him, ‘cause he just got borned” said William
The Chapple children enjoyed sharing the garden with him and could hardly control their enthusiasm as Malcolm wandered into the garden beds where the children were not allowed to go! They waited excitedly on the garden edges for him to wander back onto the path so they could pat him.
The Cooper children sang to Malcolm to help him go to sleep and showed him their portfolios. On the playground Dougal and Jack busied themselves with some cardboard clippers, practicing their shearing on a moving target!
A special thanks must go to Mrs Ali Blake and her husband and mother who’s sheep shuffling and endless bottles of baby milk have made Malcolm’s visit possible.

A Change to our Foodland Excursion

Dear Parents,
After we finalised our plans and sent home a newsletter regarding our trip to Norwood Foodland the Norwood Council have erected fences at Coke Park to commence major works. As such we are not able to visit Coke Park on the day of our excursion. Instead we plan to stop at Norwood Oval Memorial Gardens out the front of Coopers Stadium. Children will enjoy a snack and circle games. We apologise for the late change of details.
Kind Regards
Mel Bishop

A Full On Footy Gathering!!

Inviting all families to help our sports master, Mr Tim Weatherald, celebrate his 299th South Australian Football League Game. Mr Weatherald is well loved by our Early Learning Centre students who visit him twice a week to have fun, get active and challenge themselves in the gym. Apart from keeping us active and attractive during sports lessons Tim also plays league football (for Sturt for many years, and more recently at the Norwood Football Club) He is coming up on a significant milestone and we thought we might celebrate PAC style at Unley Oval. All family members are invited but this is a particularly good opportunity for Dads to get out with their sons and meet other Dads as they kick the footy round on the oval at quarter time. We will have a special place to gather so our boys have got space to run around. We will prepare some special banners at school and so all you need to bring is a football, snack and a hearty roar! Adult tickets are available through Julie Porter as of next Tuesday. We hope to see you there.

What: Mr Weatherald’s 299th Game
When: 13th June 2010
Time: Game starts at 2.10pm
Where: House Brothers Oval, Unley (We will gather in front of the Tennis Club, across the oval from the main grandstand)
Bring: a footy, a snack (or money), enthusiasm, energy
RSVP: Please let Mrs Porter know if you intend to join us even if you do not require tickets at jporter@pac.edu.au

Langley Out and About

Thank you to the wonderful parents and grandparents who assisted the Langley children on their very first excursion. The Monday children were very excited to be able to venture outside the school to continue our investigation into fruit trees. The children were exceptionally well behaved as we walked down to Bunning’s, located the plants and pots and loaded them into the wheelbarrows to come back to school. We also had some free time to look at all the other wonderful bits and pieces that Bunnings sell. On return to school the children talked excitedly about what they had just done;
“We went to the hammer shop, to Bunnings” said Jack O
“We find da plants” said Joshua S
“Putting in the wheelbarrow” said Chester
On Wednesday our gardener Ty came to help the children plant our fruit trees. The children watched intently as he planted them in the big pots and then participated eagerly in helping to water them. We look forward to tasting the fruits of our labour in the future!

Imagine the Night Sky

Dear Parents,
As you are aware, next term our unit will be based around light and called “Shadowland”. We have, this week, been informed of an interactive exhibition for children called Imagine the Night Sky at the Adelaide Festival Centre Art space. Whilst the timing is not entirely convenient we feel that it is a wonderful provocation for next term’s unit and an opportunity that we would like to offer the children. We have scheduled an excursion to this exhibition for next Friday and will require lots of adult assistance. We will travel by public bus (half the fun!) down North Terrace and walk from the corner of North Terrace and King William Street down King William to the Festival Centre, allowing our children to encounter the city. Permission slips will be placed in children’s pigeon holes on Monday, please return them as soon as possible and contact Mrs Dry if you would like to accompany us on this trip. Unfortunately due to the nature of our travel arrangements, younger siblings will not be able to join us. For children who do not attend on a Friday the exhibition is free and available to be viewed on Tuesday to Saturday between 10am and 3pm.
We apologise for the short notice.

What: Imagine the Night Sky
When: Friday 28th May
Time: 10.00am
RSVP: as soon as possible

Kind regards
Mel Bishop

It’s Getting Chilly!!

What crazy weather we have had! Our classrooms have been a pile of jumpers, coats, skivvies and gloves as the children begin to thaw late in the morning and peel off the layers! The cooler weather is definitely on the way and white or maroon skivvies are definitely becoming the order of the day. Please keep in mind our uniform policy as you shop for warm winter woollies, and remember that navy, cream and maroon pants and tracksuits are acceptable as school uniform. White and maroon undergarments and singlets are preferred (as I’m sure you already know, with 3 and 4 year olds, undergarments often become outergarments!) We have already had a few jumpers disappear for a few weeks and thankfully some were named. Some were not named and unfortunately when clothes are not clearly named there is little we can do to assist in locating missing items.
Regards
ELC Staff

Class Photos

Please return your orders for these photos by Friday 28th May . We will be sending the bulk order through at the end of this date,

Thankyou

Excursion to Foodland Norwood

Dear Chapple, Edgerley, Cooper and Mead Parents,
On Monday 24th May the children from Chapple, Edgerley, Cooper and Mead rooms will be visiting Foodland Norwood. We will be going to look around the supermarket for our unit of inquiry, ‘From Farm Gate to Kitchen Plate’. We will have the opportunity to see what happens behind the scenes and to make some purchases for cooking activities at ELC. We will also be having a picnic morning tea and play in the Coke Street park. We will walk from the ELC down to the Parade Central shops, have a tour of Foodland and cross the Parade to the park for morning tea. We will then walk back to ELC. We will leave at 9.30am and anticipate that we will be back at the centre at 11.30am.
We require parent helpers to walk there and back with us and as we will be walking beside the road, we ask that parent helpers do not bring other siblings on the trip. Please let us know if you are able to join us by speaking directly with Mrs Dry and adding your name to our parent helper list.
Please complete the permission slip in your child's pigeon hole and pass it directly to Mrs Julie Porter.
Thankyou
Ali Blake

Can You Help Us?

Dear Parents,
We are on the look out for some additional supplies for our environments. We understand that our requests are large but would be most appreciative if you could support us by keeping a lookout for the following items in your shed etc… If you have any of them at home that you no longer use and you would like to donate we would be most grateful.

*Cane baskets of all shapes and sizes or old picnic baskets.
*Old pots, pans, cake tins and large spoons and spatulas for our indoor sandpit
*Plain ceramic tiles for children to display their clay creations on
*Old lamps to use, out of children’s reach, for our dark and light unit next term
*Old 1940’s bathroom mirrors with bevelled edges
*And finally we are also looking for old round tables. Wooden dining tables that seat four would be perfect. We are looking for ones with wooden legs that people would be willing to donate as we would like to cut them down to use in our classrooms

Thanking you in anticipation
ELC Staff on the scrounge!

In the Classrooms

Langley
This week, we have continued our investigation into farm life and farm produce. We have been discussing what products come from different animals on the farm. Mrs Blake brought in a fleece for us to have a look at leading to a discussion about what it was and where it came from.
“Sheep” said Apollon
“It’s just a little sheep” said Lucy
“I think its wool” said Henry
“Feather” said Oliver W
After we agreed it was wool from a sheep, the children were interested in how you get the wool off the sheep.
“They turn it into new wool” said Jack O
“They pull it off” said Erin
Perhaps some further clarification is needed! We will investigate this further by looking at sheep shearing and a range of products made from wool.
Kind regards,
Jess, Adele, Kerry and Jennifer

Cooper
As we continue our inquiry into farms and food production the Cooper boys have been sharing their ideas and learning in art, construction and dramatic play. They have loved dressing up in the farm corner outside and this has given us a real insight into their learning: Lachlan F. dressed up in the chicken hat and shouted to the other children, "Who's going to eat me?" before running away from the farmers!! Many of the boys have created pictures with black ink and wash and described things that happen on a farm. Hugo made this picture and very excitedly described his work, "A cow, a dog, a rooster and, and, and I'm going to draw a goose. And I'm drawing a big giant pig. Umm, what else can I draw? What else is on a farm? Umm, PONIES! And a... TRACTOR!" It is fantastic to see the boys so engaged and motivated by our farm topic and we are very much enjoying joining in their learning journey.
Kind regards,
Ali, Susan and Sue

Chapple
Thank you to all the special helpers who took part in Make and Bake Day! It was a lovely morning and the classroom is now filled with beautiful farm animals. The children are really beginning to understand the concept of food coming from animals and this was a fun way to help develop this further. If you would like to submit a recipe for our class recipe book, please do so by Wednesday of next week. I will be sending them off to the printer next Thursday. We will continue to develop the concept of 'From Farm Gate to Kitchen Plate' next week, when we make bread and butter ourselves. The following week, we will be making pasta with tomato sauce. We are all looking forward to it!
Thanks,
Chapple Team

Edgerley
Dear Parents,
We have had a wonderful week down on the farm, making butter, getting to the bottom of where meat comes from and making our own farm yard menagerie with helpful Mums, Dads and Grandma’s. We have also been busy creating bananas, cucumbers, carrots, apples and beetroots for our market place, as well as a wonderful watermelon created by Eric and Mr. Kerber!! Lucky we had lots of money for our wallets (from the bank aka: Mrs Bishop!)
Kind Regards
Mel and Rosalie

Mead Room P&F Event

Dear Mead Room Parents,
please join us at the following Mead room event:

Monday 17th May
7.15pm Dinner at Caffe Primo 185 The Parade, Norwood
9.15pm Movie ay Hoyts (opposite Caffe Primo) - “Letters to Juliet”

Hope you can join us for either or both!!
Thanks
Karen & Annette

Wine and Conversation

Please don’t forget our Curriculum evening next Thursday the 20th of May at 7.00pm. The ELC will provide some yummy nibbles and would love it if parents could bring along a favourite bottle of wine to share. Please RSVP to jporter@pac.edu.au
Cheers
Mel

Spinning

We will have a visitor from the Handweavers and Spinners Guild on Thursday 3rd of June to demonstrate wool spinning in support of our investigations about where wool comes from and how it is made into jumpers.

War of the Worlds Dramatic Production

Journalist: No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space.

In June the Princes Music Theatre Company is staging an arena spectacular The War of the Worlds. Based on the original novel by H G Wells and later adapted for radio by Orson Wells, the play chronicles the invasion of earth by fighting machines from the planet Mars. In the eighties the play was adapted as a rock concept album by Jeff Wayne and his interpretation led to a string of number one hits all over the world. It is this rock interpretation that will be performed for three nights only on 17-19 June at 8.00pm.
BOOK your tickets to War of the Worlds NOW!
http://www.trybooking.com/FCQ

Me and My Shadow

Dear Parents,
In term three our Unit of Inquiry, Shadowland, will be based around light, shade and dark. As fortune would have it the Patch Theatre Company are presenting a play called "Me and My Shadow" on the 22nd and 29th of May at the Forge Theatre Marryatville. This play for children from 4 to 8 years would be a wonderful thought provoker for our upcoming unit but unfortunately show are only on Saturdays. We would like to share the booking details for those that would like to attend.

Children love to play with shadows...shadows are mysterious and magical and can do amazing things... but making friends with your shadow can be a tricky business...there are things to sort out...problems to solve...adventures to be had...laughter t be shared!

What: Me and My Shadow
Where: The Forge Theatre, Marryatville
When: 22nd and 29th May at 11am and 2pm
Bookings: 83330444
Tickets: $12

Dental Check

On Thursday 27th May we will have a visit from the Linden Pk Dental Clinic. The nurses will be doing a quick check of all the children's teeth. This is a very basic check just looking at the front top teeth and you will be advised if your child needs further checking.
Please sign and return the permission form as soon as possible if you are happy to have your child checked. If your child does not attend on a Thursday and you would like them checked you are welcome to bring them in at 10.00am

Jeanine

In the Classrooms

Langley
What a busy week we have had in the Langley room! We were very excited on Monday morning to discover that one of our sunflowers had opened. “This ones grown, the other one hasn’t” observed Alex. “It’s going to grow really big” he added. We were also lucky enough to taste some of the apples that Miss Kerry had brought in from her tree at home. We discovered that when you eat sour foods, they make you pull a funny face! A big thankyou to all the Mums who were able to come to our Princesses Tea Party on Thursday. The children have worked very hard the last couple of weeks practicing their songs for the concert, arranging flowers and preparing their special gifts. If you were not able to take these on Thursday you can find them in your child’s pigeon hole.
Kind regards,
Jess, Adele, Kerry and Jennifer

Cooper
The Cooper boys have been investigating wool production this week. We shared a non-fiction book about sheep, shearing and wool and then looked at, touched and smelled a fleece. "I think it's wool, I think it's a sheep" said Louie. "It's sheep wool" said Hugo. "Smelly" Jack said, "It smells disgusting!" Aadi exclaimed. "They sheared the wool off" Louie explained to the group. We looked at pictures of working dogs rounding up sheep and shearers shearing and had a long talk about dyeing, spinning and knitting wool. Many of the boys said that they had grandmas who could knit. We hope to look for examples of woollen products (perhaps for show and tell?!) and watch some spinning and knitting as our inquiry continues.
Kind regards,
Ali, Susan and Sue

Mead
Dear Mead Room Parents,
We have had a very exciting and special week preparing for the Princesses Tea Party. It is obvious that mothers are so special in the Mead Children's lives. The comments that have been made by the Mead Children and the care that they have taken in the various activities have revealed just how important they think their Mums are!
We have decorated tiaras with paint and jewels, drawn our mothers, made special handbag cards and decorated them, practiced songs to sing, and arranged flowers in vases to put as table decorations at the event itself! Well done to all the children for singing so beautifully and trying so hard in all the activities. I think it was a happy and memorable event! To all the Mead mothers, enjoy Mothers Day - you deserve to be spoilt and deserve to be celebrated!
Best Wishes,
Emma, Susan and Emma

Chapple
We have seen some fantastic Show and Tell presentations this term. Thank you to everyone who is trying to link their child's talk with our unit. This week, Hamish brought in a sheep skull to show the class. The children were very intrigued and impressed! We have also enjoyed learning about honeycomb, tractors and farm life through many farm books. Samuel even sang Old MacDonald to us! It has been valuable for all the children and a great way to share our learning. Keep up the good work! We are very excited about Make and Bake day on Thursday morning! Thank you to everyone who has sent in construction materials. Don't forget to print off a recipe to go in our class book!
Thanks,
Chapple Team

Edgerley
Edgerley children were busy creating a market outside their classroom this week. They particularly enjoyed making up and recording the costs of their produce. They were fascinated by the shapes of the numbers on the electronic screen of the cash register and attempted to create the square numbers with pens and paper. The market was a busy place for writing with children creating labels, name tags, recipes and shopping lists, carefully listening for the sounds in the words. When we moved to the art room to prepare the flower pots for the Princesses Tea Party we decided to record a message in the form of a banner using our writing skills. Together we decided on the messages “Happy Mothers Day” and “Kisses and Hugs”….you might have seen them at our party… “haqqy muthrs day” and “kis and hags”!
Have a wonderful weekend
Kind Regards
Mel and Rosalie

Bunning Excursion for Langley

Dear Langley Parents,
On Monday 17th May the children who attend on a Monday from Langley room will be visiting Bunnings. They will be going to purchase some fruit trees that we will use as a class project based around our “From Farm Gate to Kitchen Plate”. We will walk from the ELC down the Parade West and into Bunnings, purchase our trees and pots and walk back. We will leave at 10.00am and this will allow us to have our snack before leaving. Children will be required to wear their school uniform, hats and closed in shoes. We anticipate that we will be back at the centre at 10.45am at the latest.
We require parents to walk there and back with us (including 3 parent helpers with wheelbarrows and muscles!) As we will be walking beside the road, parent helpers will not be allowed to bring other siblings on the trip. We also require three parents to join us with their wheelbarrows so that we can transport our fruit trees back to the centre. Please let us know if you are able to join us by speaking directly with Mrs Dry and adding your name to our parent helper list.
Please complete the permission slip you received in your child’s pigeon hole and pass it directly to Mrs Julie Porter.
Thankyou
Langley Staff

Wine and Conversation

We would like to invite all parents to join us for an enjoyable evening of wine and cheese and a little bit of learning at our Early Learning Centre Curriculum Evening

Date: Thursday 20th of May
Time: 7.00pm
Place: Prince Alfred College Early Learning Centre
BYO: The ELC will provide some yummy nibbles and would love it if parents could bring along a favourite bottle of wine to share.
RSVP: to jporter@pac.edu.au before the 14th of May

Join us for some enjoyable socialising and investigation into how children inquire. Please note this function is not for children.

Princesses Tea Party

Thankyou to all the mothers and grandmothers who joined us for our annual Princesses Tea Party, you all looked so wonderful in your tiaras!! The children enjoyed the morning immensely and were pleased by your reactions and enthusiasm. We hope you all have a wonderful day on Sunday.The staff would like to thank the Prince Alfred College Housekeeping staff, Patricia, Ken and Steve for all their hard work in setting up tables and chairs and squeezing us in! We couldn’t have done it without them. We would also like to thank Rob Wagenfeller for getting up so early to have all our scones cooked perfectly!

Thanks again

ELC Staff

Breast Cancer Donations

Thank you to all mothers who donated so generously towards the 'Biggest Morning Tea' Breast Cancer collection at the Princesses Tea Party. We are very excited to announce that so far we have raised $512.90 to donate to a very worthy cause. For those of you who asked us to leave the pink pig out in the Kindergarten because you had forgotten your purse, or those who would like to make a donation who were not at the morning tea, we will leave it at Julie Porter's desk at reception for another week.

Once again, thank you for your support.

Emma McKenzie

Birthday Cakes

Dear Parents,
We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of our centre policy regarding birthday cakes from home. Our policy has been created so that it falls in line with national food safety standards and can be found in our parent handbook.

A list of all ingredients must accompany any cakes from home (if you have used a packet mix it is easiest to rip the ingredients list from the side of the pack. If you have used a lolly on top please also include the ingredients list from the side of the lolly packet)
Do not include cream (If you are purchasing a cake from a shop please inform the store that the cake must not contain cream to avoid disappointment)
Please keep lollies to a minimum.

For children’s safety please do not send any products with nuts in them or lollypops. Cupcakes are a wonderful option for ease of distribution (and they have the wonderful added benefit that the birthday person only blows on their own cake!)
Please help your child by adhering to these guidelines so that they will not be disappointed on the day.
Thankyou
ELC Staff

Make and Bake Day in Chapple and Edgerley

As part of our unit of inquiry, ‘From Farm Gate to Kitchen Plate’, Edgerley and Chapple children have decided to make a farm animal for the classroom. We are asking that each child asks a special friend or family member to accompany them on Thursday morning to help construct a farm animal. We are stocking up on our construction materials, and children can bring any extra materials in from home.
We would also like each child to bring in their favourite recipe that is made using their animal, to be compiled into a class recipe book. (eg. Miss Marcus’s father is going to come and help her make a cow, and her recipe for the book will be beef ragu…Yum!).

What: Make and Bake Day!
When: Thurs, 13th May
Time: 9:00-10:00am
Where: Chapple and Edgerley Rooms
What to bring: Your child’s favourite recipe (recipe only, no food necessary!), any special materials to construct their animal, and some patience.

We are looking forward to spending this time together. Please let your child’s teacher know if you will not be attending.

Thank you,
Chapple and Edgerley Teams

Shoeboxes of LOVE

Dear Parents,
Thankyou for the growing response to our Shoeboxes of Love collection.
The collection for this month will be something to play with. There are some ideas below BUT please remember that the items must be able to fit into a shoebox!

Something to play with...
Balls - tennis and high bounce balls
Small travel games
Small dolls and doll clothes
Cars
Skipping ropes
Frisbees
Yo yos
Small musical instruments
Kaleidoscopes
Magnifying glasses
Slinkys
Marbles
Finger puppets

Class Photos May 13th

Just a reminder that class photos will be done next Thursday. Please make sure you arrive on time as we have a very tight schedule. All children are welcome and must be in full uniform. All pants and skirts must be neutral colours according to our policy (in the parent handbook). Each class will take about 30 minutes and parents of children who do not normally attend on a Thursday will need to remain at the centre while the photos are done. Festival Photos will provide us with order forms for the pack that they will produce for each child. The packs cost $35 and will need to be prepaid. They will include a class photo and several individual photos of your child.


Thankyou
Jeanine

Chapple Room Staffing

Dear Parents,
In terms 3 and 4 this year Miss Marcus will be taking a Leave of Absence. She is planning to do some travelling and we will look forward to her return next year with lots of exciting stories to share !
Ms Katherine Baird will be taking her place and Miss Giorgio will continue as the assistant in the room. Ms Baird is currently teaching in an International school in Hanoi and also taught at St Andrews previously. She comes to us very highly recommended and with lots of experience.


regards
Jeanine

Princess' Tea Party

Dear Mums,

If you have not replied and are planning to attend this event could you please let us know this afternoon,

Thankyou

Mother's Day events

There are two Mother's Day events at the school this week. Thursday May 6th is just ELC mothers and children and the event on Friday May 7th is a whole of Prep School (this includes ELC) and is mother's only . You will need to book separately for the Friday event through the prep office,

regards
The ELC team