Beautiful Bulbs

Dear Parents,
for those wanting to pretty up their gardens in Autumn and Spring please look for the fundraising bulb catalogue placed in your child's pigeon hole by our ELC reps. They are very reasonably priced bulbs and all profits go towards a fund raising project in the ELC that will directly benefit your child. Don't forget to share the catalogue with your friends and neighbours so that they may make the most of this opportunity. Don't forget to have your orders back in to Mrs Porter by the 15th of April.
Thank you for your assistance,
ELC staff in support of our ELC reps

In the Classrooms

Langley
We made a very exciting discovery in the big yard this week! We discovered a perfect bird’s nest sitting on the ground under the big gum tree. The children were very excited and wanted to find out some more information about the nest. We gathered a range of resources to explore; some other nests, eggs, magnetic birds and nonfiction books about birds.
“Egg, egg, egg, egg, egg!” said Eden excitedly as she peered into the nest,
“What’s in that?” Susannah asked.
“Eggies” explained Olivia, “they crack, that one crack and that one crack. Somebody got the flea out of those” she added as she pointed at the egg.
“No, bird came out” argued Raphael,
“Yeah, birdie came out, it cracked out of eggie” agreed Olivia.
Raphael went on a mission to find some pictures of eggs. He gathered all of the bird books and began to leaf through them, carefully looking for pictures of eggs. He was soon joined by some of the other children as they searched for the eggs together.
Kind regards,
Jess, Kerry, Jennifer and Hayley

Mead
Dear Mead Parents,
Following on from our Clipsal visit last week, the Mead children have been making some interesting tyre prints with matchbox cars and paint. There has been a lot of mirroring and repetition of what they saw and the sounds that they heard at the Clipsal. They have certainly made some connections between their real life experiences and have used this play to reflect on the excursion!
"Brum, brum, brum................ I've done two laps around the big racing and skidding track" - Jack O
"Crash! Don't crash into me" - Grace
"I'll race your track. Mine is slippery with all this paint" - Ella
"Here it goes" Sebastian
"Mine is so fast. It's a blue one. They are the fast ones. Look at me go!" Jack J
The results have been very effective and the prints represent alot of action and loud noises!

Best wishes,
Emma M, Susan L and Emma G

Cooper
On Wednesday morning Cooper chose the Eric Carle story, The Tiny Seed for us to read. At the end of the story the flower dies and its seeds fly off in the wind. This made us think of the sunflowers in the ELC garden which have died. Miss Sandow collected the heads of the sunflowers and when we looked at them closely we could see that they were full of seeds too. The children set about collecting the seeds...
“Look, all the seeds have come out. Keep going guys” said Tom.
“There’s twenty” said Jasmine, “No, more than that… I think we could plant them but we have to water them.”
“These are good seeds” said Noah.
“They’re big” said Joshua S., “If you want to get them just do a little twist. Can you tell my Mum and Dad to plant those and then you can come to my house and look at them and they will be bigger than you.”
We collected a big jar full of seeds but we will have to wait until spring to plant them and see if we can grow more beautiful sunflowers.
Kind regards,
Ali and Susan
Chapple
This week we have been making fabulous collages of our favourite musical instruments using different coloured materials. We have been experimenting with making mono-prints using our fingers to paint a pattern or picture in white paint and then placing a sheet of black paper on top....then surprise, we have an awesome mono-print! Elliott brought in a HUGE zucchini from his garden and we decided to use some of it to make a zucchini pie yum yum! We have been really enjoying role-play in the cooking corner with master chefs cooking up a storm!
If you haven't already done so, please return your child's portfolio so we can add in their learning stories and work samples for you to share together. We are looking forward to seeing all the Grandies next Wednesday!
Warm wishes,
Suria, Sinead and Rachael

Edgerley
Dear Edgerley Parents,
This week we have been enjoying a special treat. It is very unusual in the Edgerley room for the boys to be able to watch anything on the television (Mrs Bishop doesn’t like the television much!!!!) but this week Jack brought an interesting DVD from his grandparents house related to our investigation into sound. We enjoyed watching animated robots create music with drum machines, silver balls, mutant guitars, pogo sticks and florescent liquid. The children were entranced with the animated interpretation of the music, it encouraged them to begin to listen more closely to the instruments to work out which sounds triggered which robots. Eddie, Alex and Lachlan decided they would like to be a drumming robot and created drumming shirts at the making table with boxes to keep time with music. We have had many parents ask us for details about this DVD. Go to animusic.com where you will find a preview, there is also an online store.
We have also continued our interest in information. We have been collecting information from non-fiction books, the internet and each other about insects. The boys have decided that they would like to visit the museum and so we have tentatively booked at trip to the museum for Wednesday the 6th of April (pending confirmation). More information will be available on a permission slip next week. Please ensure that you get permission slips back to us as soon as possible. Find out what we know about information below.

What is information?
Stuff – Hugo
About all sorts of things where you find things you don’t know – Aadi
Stuff that is real – Luca
Things that are true – Alex

Where can we find information?
Museum – Noah
You can see in a museum anything you can dream of! - Jamison
The library – Hugo
i phone – Noah
On a computer – Roshan
The computer room – Nickolas
You can go to a shop and buy a book about it – Louie
A i pad – Alex
From someone nice – Alexi

Have a great weekend
Mel and Rosalie

Wet Weather

Dear Parents,
Joy is such an important part of what we do at Princes ELC and there’s nothing more joyous than having a run in the rain and splashing in puddles. While we are experiencing lots of wet weather and before the days turn too cold we have been allowing children with waterproof jackets to play in the rainy playground (shoes and socks off of course!) Feel free to send a rain jacket along to kindergarten with your child so that they can participate in these sensory play times.
ELC Staff

Grandies Day

Our Grandies Day is this Wednesday. All children are welcome to come – those who do not attend on a Wednesday can join us if they are accompanied by their Grandie(s). There will be quality children’s books for sale for Grandies to buy and donate to the ELC on behalf of your child, if they would like. We will also have a professional photographer taking photos throughout the morning. If your Grandies have not yet RSVP’d please direct your RSVP to Julie Porter at jporter@pac.edu.au.
We are still looking for a few parent helpers to help man the Book Stall and tea urn! Please let Mrs Porter know if you would like to help.
Thankyou
Mel Bishop

Instant Orchestra

Dear Parents,
We will embark on our trip to the instant orchestra next week. If you are a parent joining the three year olds in Cooper and Mead next week please ensure you are at the ELC by 9.00am for some information about how the trip will run.
If you are joining the fours from Edgerley and Chapple please be at Kindergarten by no later than 12.00pm to learn about what we will be doing.
Thankyou
Mel Bishop

Working Bee

Dear Parents,
We will be holding a short working bee in our art room on the 13th of April. We are looking for some parents who would be willing to help us cover some books and clean out a few old coffee jars. We will provide the tea and coffee (to drink, not to clean!!). Come along and meet a few other parents and help your children’s books find their ways onto our shelves.
Date: 13th April
Time 9.00am onwards (it shouldn’t take too long)
Morning tea provided
Thankyou
ELC Staff

April Holidays

We are now only a few weeks away from the end of term and school holidays are from April 18 to May 2nd (inclusive). Our teaching staff will be on holidays during this time and our wonderful assistants will be running the program. If your child is going to be absent for ANY days during this period please let Mrs Porter or myself know so that we can ensure we have sufficient staff for the number of children here,
thanks
Jeanine

Cooper Dates for your Diary

Sunday 10 April
Picnic in the Park - Helicopter Park, Lefevre Tce, North Adelaide
12-2pm - Please bring a plate of food to share and byo drinks

Friday 20 May
Coffee Morning - McDonalds Magill Road
9am (after school drop off)

Saturday 18 June
Lunch at Maryatville Hotel (in play area)
From 12.30pm - Please RSVP so we can book for numbers

Kind regards
Chloe Kempe

Langley Picnic

Thank you to all the families who attended the Langley Picnic last Sunday. It was a lovely morning and a great opportunity for both children and parents to play and chat!
Look out for Term 2 event!
Thanks
Danielle & Karen

Missing clothes

Please check your child's hat once again to see if they have the correct one. Hats must still be worn until 30th April so make sure your child brings theirs each day until then. We are also missing a white shoe that we have searched the whole centre for! It has the logo NB on the side, please check your child's bag in case it has ended up in that unlikely place.

New Staff

Ms Rachel Rymill has joined us this week and will be assisting in Chapple room on Mondays ,Wednesdays and Thursdays. Rachel is Early Childhood qualified and has previously worked at St Peters Child Care Centre. Please make her welcome at our centre!

Children's Safety

Please make sure that when you collect your children from the undercover area at night a staff member is aware that you are leaving . Please also make sure that no other children leave the area with you unless they are with their parents or a staff member.
Thankyou
ELC Staff

Out of the Classroom…at the Clipsal 500!!

We visited the Clipsal 500 track yesterday and had lots of fun. We listened to the race cars and watched them zoom past, we saw lots of different types of racing cars and bikes on the Defence Force Oval and even saw a car that had changed into a man!! We were interviewed by Channel Nine News (Aadi and Francesco starred in a sports segment on Thursday evening) and even met some grid girls. Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou to all the parents who helped us on the day. We had fun seeing and being seen by our local Adelaide community.
“My favourite was the pretty girls” said Sam S from Chapple
"Mmmmm, racing cars, Winterbottom is my favourite. His number of his car is number seven and he goes in the green car" said Charlie H from Cooper
"There's so many colours racing cars and they are extra loud!" said Jack O'B from Mead
“I can do it, I can also be a racing car driver… in a blue car, because they go faster” said Aadi M from Edgerley whilst climbing into a golf buggy!

In The Classroom

We can hula! The Langley children have been keen hula hoopers this week. We have been excitedly showing all the other children the enormous range of tricks we can do. We can twirl and spin and twist and roll.
“Ina spinning” Izabella told the other children as she wiggled her hips to get her hoop to swing around her hips.
“Spin, spin, spin” said Sebastian R as he twisted the hula hoop to make it spin around.
“I can roll it” he added as he gave it an almighty shove and watched it roll away.
Sebastian V and William even made a train out of a hula hoop!
Thank you to the Maione’s who collected and donated a stack of tin cans and boxes. We are still on the hunt for any old cutlery, bottle tops and jar lids to create our own wind chimes!
Kind regards,
Jess, Kerry, Jennifer and Hayley

Be Honest With Kids About Disasters

Dear Princes ELC Families,
In the last few months our world has faced many events that have challenged our young children’s ideas about the world that they live in - floods, bushfires, unrest and, most recently, the earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunami. It can be difficult to answer children’s questions about these types of events. The best advice is to answer their questions simply and truthfully. Give them reassurance that you have considered what you might do in such an emergency and that you have a plan, that their safety is paramount in those plans.

Following is an excerpt from a newspaper article that quotes child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Joshua Sparrow:

‘One of the United States’ best known child and adolescent psychiatrists, Boston-based Dr Joshua Sparrow, said yesterday that parents should not try to conceal the truth from even the youngest children. “After the Manhattan terror attacks, very young children watched parents closely. Parents cannot hide what’s happening because the children can see it on their faces,” he said. “Kids aged between two and five first want to know if they’re going to be alright.” For children aged between six and eleven, Dr Sparrow said they were interested in how things worked – tsunamis, earthquakes – and how things went wrong, such as when a nuclear power plant explodes, or when a government shoots their own citizens.
Dr Sparrow said parents should point to something positive amid the chaos, talk in short concise paragraphs and watch kids reactions.’ – Paul Toohey, New York

On a more cheery note we have finally had news of the Tabuse family (ex Mead room 2010) who live north of Tokyo. Following is an excerpt from Akiko’s e-mail:

…We are still having little shake sometimes, also now biggest problem is the atomic pile! We cannot feel safe yet…Last Friday afternoon Ryuta was during Pre-school graduation ceremony and just about his turn, suddenly started to shaking ,the stage lights are moving and moving wider and people are started panic!! It was so so long! I felted like a sea sick! I did not know that am I shaking myself or still moving???I never had such a experience before!! (Ryuta’s) teacher told me… the stage light was falling off so he shouted "Get out of here!" they took kids to out of building from escape door! …Many people could not go home and stay at hall. Taka came back middle of the night because he walked back home about 2 hour! (Some people are more!) One of my friend worked to the house about 4 hour! … The north is still terrible and tsunami was so big!! (7meter) we did not believe it!
Take care and thank you again
Akiko, Taka and Ryuta

We wish Ryuta and his family all the best for the difficult times ahead. If like us, you are moved by the Tabuse’s plight please contact the Red Cross to make a donation to the Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal 2011 by phoning 1800 811 700. You can also donate over the counter at any Commonwealth or Westpac Bank.

ELC Staff
Princes Early Learning Centre

Plastic Folders in Children’s Lockers

If your child shares a locker with another child you will have noticed that there is a clear plastic folder with your child’s name on it in the pigeon hole space at the top of their locker. This is so newsletters and confidential mail are not mixed up and inadvertently taken to the wrong home. Please do not take the plastic folder home. Instead, remove the contents and leave the folder so that we may place other newsletters inside. If your child shares a locker and you have accidentally taken the plastic folder home please return it as soon as possible as these will no longer be replaced.
ThanksELC Staff

Our rubber softfall

If you are wearing narrow heeled shoes please do not walk on the rubber softfall area as these heels tend to sink and leave holes in the surface. It is very expensive to have repaired and you also run the risk of tripping as you catch your heel.

Thankyou

Instant Orchestra Excursion

Thankyou to all the parents who have offered to help with our next excursion. As we had to pre- purchase tickets for this one some time ago we only have enough for 3 parents per class. As we have had more than enough offers of help we have included the first 3 volunteers per class. We will let these parents know and keep others in mind for next time !
Many Thanks

Langley places for July

Dear Parents,
As the older children from Langley will move to Cooper room in 3rd term we will be offering places to new children to start at that time. If you wish to increase your child's days (either as they move up or in Langley ) could you please let me know as soon as possible so that I can allocate available spaces to other families

Thankyou
Jeanine

Child Health Checks

Tuesday, March 15th 2011
Child and Youth Health Services
Dear Edgerley parents,
Carol, our local CAFS nurse, will be visiting the ELC on the 29th March and 11th May to perform health screenings. If you would like to take advantage of this please visit Mrs Porter and choose a convenient time for you from the schedule. You will be required to bring your child’s blue book to the visit and complete the form that has been placed in your child’s pigeon hole. If you have recently visited your CAFS nurse or have an upcoming appointment you do not need to also schedule one at Kindergarten, these are being offered purely for your convenience. Kind regards Mel and Rosalie

In the Classrooms

Langley
We have been very excited about our new additions to the classroom this week and we have been eagerly observing them. I wonder what is in the new tank. “Tadpoles, those tadpoles” said Molly,
“Swimming” added Susannah.
“A fish” suggested Raphael,
“No” said Chanel, “dey tadpoles. Dey will turn into a froggy” she added.
“It will turn into a frog, ribbit” agreed Lara,
Sebastian V agreed also, “turn into a frog” he said.
“How are they going to turn into a frog?” asked the Teacher.
“I don’t know” said Chanel,
“I’ll ask Mummy and Daddy” suggested Lara.
We’ll have to keep a close eye on them to see what happens.
We are also on the hunt for any bottle tops, jar lids, tin cans or old cutlery to help us create our musical instillations and would greatly appreciate any donations!
Kind regards,
Jess, Kerry, Jennifer and Hayley

Mead
The Mead children are really enjoying sharing at the weekly 'Show and Tell' sessions. This week Harry brought in a lizard he found in his Grandfather's swimming pool. It wasn't showing many signs of life, and was floating in a glass jar full of water. The children were fascinated, and demonstrated their observational and information gathering skills are developing through the questions they asked and the discussion that took place.

We found it in my Baps's pool. It's dead. Harry
You can't die. Oliver L
Why do you think you can't die Oliver? Mrs McKenzie
That's because I don't get up in the night. Oliver L
But I get up in the night! Tommi
If I dived under water like that lizard, I would have to go to hospital. If I dived really badly. Tommi
I can wear my floaties in my pool and I don't have to go to hospital. Gabe
I can swim under water, but not too long. Harry
Do you think the lizard swam too long under the water? Mrs McKenzie
Yep, it did. Harry
Did it drink too many water? Jesse
I think. Harry
Why is the lizard dead? Tommi
'Cos they can't stay alive forever. Jack O

It was wonderful to see the children express wonder and interest in this new situation and to be curious and enthusiastic participants in their learning.
Best Wishes,
Emma M, Susan L and Emma G

Cooper
The Cooper children's interest in the story Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? has continued this week - we have read it so many times that we've lost count! We decided to create a story table for this book and the teachers and children collected figure toys of all the different animals in the book (thank you to the Lock family for their help with this!). We set out the toys with the book and watched the children retell it in their own words, looking at the book pages for clues and acting out the story with the toys...
Lucy read "Polar bear, polar bear, then we say ‘What comes next?’"
Erin added "Polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear? I hear a lion roaring in your ear… all the children talking from school, talking about animals."
"The polar bear hears a hippopotamus then the hippopotamus hears a lion" explained Jasmine.
"Polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear? I hear somebody screaming in my ear… And the lion does a super job. When the snake comes close you [the zoo keeper] have to splosh in the water" Joshua S. said as he told the story.
"Tiger, tiger, stomp, stomp, stomp, what do you hear?" read Noah.
"No, that’s a leopard" corrected Joshua.
"Oh yeah, leopard, leopard, I hear stomping" said Noah.
It was interesting to see how such a simple and repetitive text captivated the children and inspired their brilliant literacy play. Look out for more story tables to come!
Kind regards,
Ali and Susan

Chapple
Music, music, music! We have been enjoying a regular sing-a-long session every afternoon as well as playing percussion instruments to Bob the Builder the disco version! We have been learning the counting songs - Five Little Seals and the Ants Go Marching and we discovered that there are many different ways to make the same numbers with your fingers....check out our poster above the computers. Children have continued their interest in maps and have started making their own treasure maps - something that we will continue to work on next week. We had some special visitors during our music lesson where we watched and heard someone play the cello. We have also been painting whilst listening to music and have discovered that the music can make us paint fast or slow. The children have also really enjoyed role-play in the 'office', typing on the old type-writer, answering the phone and taking messages!
Enjoy the long weekend, warm wishes,
Suria, Sinead and Sue

Edgerley
Dear Edgerley Parents,
You may remember on Tuesday this week that we had a great deal of rain during the day. The children were very interested in the weather and talked a lot about the fact that it was raining, but that the weather was still very warm. We decided that we would have to play in the town square in the afternoon as it was too wet in the garden. The boys decided that because the weather was still warm that they would take their shoes off and leave them in their lockers to play in the town square. Just as we were about to leave the classroom Angus shared a thought with Mrs Bishop
“I think I am allowed to go into the garden”, he said
“Are you sure Angus, it’s very wet out there” she replied
“But I brought my waterproof jacket and that’s what waterproof jackets are for” he said
This sounded like very good reasoning to Mrs Bishop so she agreed that Angus could play in the garden. Angus decided to ask the other boys if any of them had bought waterproof jackets to school that day. Alan, Aadi and Roshan all had jackets in their bags and quickly ran to retrieve them.
And so, suitably attired, the boys set off in the playground in the rain as the rest of us watched. It looked like a lot of fun and Mrs Nacca and Mrs Bishop, after seeing the looks on the four boys faces, agreed that a run in the rain is an eternal childhood joy! The boys experimented on the wet slide, whoosh, they slipped down very quickly, they jumped in puddles and tried to drink the rain, and finally they collected buckets and spades from the indoor sandpit and began to collect the water from the puddles to water the garden.
“The grass is very happy!” shouted Aadi with a huge smile on his face. Pure joy!
Have a great long weekend
Mel and Rosalie

Free Parenting Seminars –

Come and hear Dr Sarah Blunden,
Centre for Sleep Research, University of SA talk about:
>> How much sleep children need
>> Things that can affect their sleep
>> How poor sleep impacts on children’s health, learning and behaviour
>> How to help your child get a good night’s sleep through:
–– Relaxing bedtime routines
–– Limiting exciting TV, games, computers before bedtime
–– Having a suitable place to sleep e.g. quiet room, no TV
–– Rewarding good sleep habits
–– Comforting wakeful or distressed children.
Phone the Parent Helpline anytime on
1300 364 100 for information about caring for your child, or go to www.cyh.com
Session 1: Monday 4 April, 2011
Time: 10.15am–12.00pm
Venue: Marion Cultural Centre
(Next to Marion Shopping Centre)
287 Diagonal Rd, Oaklands Park

Session 2: Wednesday 6 April, 2011
Time: 7.15pm–9.00pm
Venue: Queen Victoria Lecture Theatre
Women’s and Children’s Hospital
72 King William Rd, North Adelaide

To book contact:
Centre for Health Promotion
Children Youth and Women’s
Health Service
Telephone: 8161 7777
Email: michelle.gordon@health.sa.gov.au

Public Holiday

Next Monday (14th March)is a Public Holiday and the centre will be closed . Please enjoy your long weekend !

Jeanine

Clipsal traffic restrictions

Dear Parents,

Please be aware that next week there will be traffic restrictions in place and it may take you longer to arrive at the school both in the mornings and evenings. Please make sure you allow extra travel time so that you are here to collect your children by 6pm in the evenings.

Welcome

We would like to welcome Lily Grace Hamilton, born March 6th, to Lisa and Mark a beautiful sister for Charlie. Congratulations to the Hamilton family
Love from the ELC family

Clipsal 500

Dear Parents,
Next week the Early Learning Centre will be taking it’s annual excursion to the Clipsal track. IF YOU HAVE NOT RETURNED YOUR CHILD’S EXCURSION FORM PLEASE DO SO. Please note that we have ample adult helpers and now have no more spaces for additional adults who have not already informed us that they will be joining us. Below is information about the trip and parking on the day. If you are a parent helper please read it carefully.
· Langley children do not attend the Clipsal 500 excursion
· All parent helpers attending MUST have completed a new statutory declaration with Mrs Dry
· All parent helpers who have not already purchased a ticket through the school website must purchase a ticket at the gate on the day for $39 (this can be done after you have dropped your child off and before you come back for the excursion). If you already have a Thursday pass you do not need to purchase another ticket
· Parking will be available on the bottom oval for parent helpers from the ELC and prep school
· Parking on the bottom oval will only be available for those who have a PAC Clipsal parking pass. These parking passes will be placed directly into children’s pigeon holes no sooner than this Friday (Preparatory School Parking Passes will not be available before Monday).
· For those parent helpers who intend to stay at the race after our excursion it would be advisable for you to return to school with us and move your car to a new parking spot before 4.30 as the gates to the bottom oval will be locked at this time
· Parent helpers are advised to wear a hat and bring a bottle of water (preferably one on a shoulder strap, as both of your hands will be needed to walk with children)
· To help keep us safe at the track it is important that all assisting adults are aware of our expectations and plan for the day, therefore all parent helpers are required to be at Princes ELC at 9.00 am for an information session with Mel Bishop, before the excursion begins at approximately 9.20
· Please note: if you would like to send your child with ear muffs please ensure that they are the kind that can comfortably hang around your child’s neck after use
Thanks
Mel

Overindulgence - Find Out More

The Redman Institute presents a 2011 special event
with David Bredehoft PhD CFLE

Overindulgence—”How much is enough?”

Two dynamic presentations with co-author and world researcher. For more than 10 years David Bredehoft has researched the topic of “Overindulgence” and its effect on childhood, schooling, adolescence, adulthood and relationships. David is Professor of Psychology and Family Studies, Chair Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Concordia University and a Certified Family Life Educator.
He is in Adelaide to present on two areas of his work -

Tuesday 12 April - Overindulgence - what the research says about a child's future and their adult relationships (6-8pm Education Development Centre, Milner St, Hindmarsh) $44 per person incl GST and/or
- For health and other professionals and anyone interested in this topic!

Wednesday 13 April - Parenting children in an overindulged world, for healthy growth and survival at school (6-8pm Westminster School Alison Ave, Marion)
- For parents, teachers, grandparents and anyone interested in overindulgence $33 per person incl GST or $55 per couple incl GST

Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity by either grabbing a form at the front desk or enquiring at enquiries@valerieredman.com or phoning 08 82946559

Edgerley Room High Tea

Hi Edgerley Mums,
We have now finalised arrangements for the Edgerley Room High Tea, which will be held on Saturday 26 March. The details are:
Venue: Hilton Adelaide (Brasserie)
Time: 2pm-4.30pm
Date: Saturday 26 March
Cost: Two pricing options (details below) - $39 or $25

Sweet Delights - $25pp
Includes a selection of finger sandwiches, scones and pastries with complimentary tea and coffee.

High Societea - $39pp
Includes a selection of finger sandwiches, pastries and savoury items with complimentary tea and coffee and a glass of sparkling wine on arrival.

There is live entertainment (a pianist), and people can pay on the day.
It is important we let the venue know how many people will be coming, and which menu you would each like (individual choice).
Can those who have already RSVP’d please email Nicole on nicmaley@hotmail.com to let her know which menu you would like. Those yet to reply, can you please include a menu selection with your response.
Final bookings will be made on Friday 18 March.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Warm regards
Nicole & Belinda

Curriculum Night

Thankyou to the parents who joined us for the Curriculum Evening. We had lots of fun and hope you did too. Thanks for sharing your company with us and being so brave!!!!

In the Classrooms

Langley
We’re going on a feather hunt! First thing each morning a group of Langley children can be found carefully searching the yard for feathers. There is much excitement when someone actually finds one! We have been talking about which animals we know that have feathers.
“A peacock!” said Alec excitedly.
“Do I have feathers?” wondered Toby as he looked at his arms. “No” he answered his own question with a giggle.
We discovered some peacock feathers in the art room to have a closer look at and used black markers and paints to represent them.
“Dat en feathers” said Izabella as she pointed at the peacock feathers.
“A giant one, a big giant feaver, a peacock feaver” Marcus added excitedly, “a giant, giant, giant, ginormous feaver” he continued.
“It’s blue” observed Sebastian R.
I wonder what feathers the children might be able to find at home?
Kind regards,
Jess, Kerry, Jennifer and Hayley

Mead
Dear Mead Parents,
Following a visit from a Cooper Room Father who came in to show us his power tools and what noises they make, the Mead children have expressed a real interest in building and building tools. In response to this interest, we have set up a woodworking area in our room which has generated much investigation and noise making!
"I have a measuring tape at home. I measure people with it.
"I making a table" Jesse told us, wearing ear muffs to block out the loud noise from his hammering.
"You need nuts and bolts for that". Jack O
"That really hard" Gabe commented, trying to hammer a nail into some extra hard wood!
"I making two tables and a chair" Jesse shared with everyone.
Eric used the measuring tape to measure some wood. "I making a table" he told us as he measured.
"They pliers" Jack told Jesse pointing to what Jesse was holding, "They snip".
"This is hard work. Hard work is called danger! My poppa has a whole lot of tools in his little tiny shed. He only got one hammer, and a screwdriver and a drill. I bang the nails in with him.' Jack O
"When you turn tools on you need to put your ear muffs on! And the power tools." Oliver W warned his friends.
"And power tools hurt your muscles" Jack O shared!
We are looking forward to seeing what our little builders are going to create over the next weeks!
Best wishes,
Emma M, Susan and Emma G

Cooper
This week we have been reading the Eric Carle story, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear? and this led to a discussion about ears and hearing. We found some information in non-fiction texts about how ears work and the children shared their ideas about hearing through conversation and drawings.
"It goes around here, around here to your ear" said Sami.
"It's going in my ear, then it will hear" said Ajeet.
"If it's too loud we can cover our ears... That's where your ear goes through and it goes to your brain" explained Zac.
"When it comes through your ear you can't hear sound 'cause it could be too quiet" said Erin. Erin drew this picture of two people and then added the dots for the sound coming out of one person's mouth and going into the other's ear. The children showed great interest in this topic and we hope to continue our research next week!
Kind regards,
Ali and Susan

Chapple
The fantastic beats of bucket drumming have filled our classroom this week, the children have enjoyed drumming solo or in groups. We are still right into the bear hunt story and a few children have made a sound story to go along with the bear hunt, so please come and try it out! We have explored more instruments through drawing and construction and some children chose to make pan pipes using straws and tape. The children cut the straws to various lengths, stuck them together and they sound beautiful! Outside we have been riding bikes, balancing on the climbing frame and some of the children have begun to make a fairy garden. Hopefully grandparents received their invites to Grandies Day, we have been practising our songs and working on a special project to display.
A big thank you and goodluck to Ms Ciara, we will all miss her a lot!
Warm wishes, Suria, Sinead and Sue

Edgerley
Dear Edgerley Parents,
This week we intended to write to you about the wonderful explorations of music we enthusiastically participated in this week, Louis’ electric guitar!, our rock and roll art work, Nickoloas’ mandolin show and tell BUT today Edgerley boys worked together to create a concert that needed some sort of record. No strangers to big events (I’m sure you all remember our wedding in term four!) the boys set to work creating a stage in the block corner. They included stands for their musical instruments and microphones. Next they began to prepare the auditorium for the audience. They collected all the chairs they could find and worked together to cut and mark individual tickets for the seats. After the tickets were in place they added the floor lighting that apparently lit your way as you walked along your row.
The audience was invited to sit and all the performers rushed behind the block shelf to “back stage” whilst Roshan introduced the show and welcomed the audience.
Then they began to play, Jack on the drums, Roshan on the piano, Eddie, Lachlan, Charlie, Alex and Henry on assorted guitars and Jamison knee sliding and hip hopping. Halfway through the performance some audience members felt compelled to get up and dance so Dougal, James and Miss Bellperio boogied on the dance floor. Roshan and Alex were concerned that the audience needed a drinks break and so they were all ordered to sit back in their chairs whilst the drink bottles were bought to them! Finally they spotted Lee, our cleaner, heading to the café, so the boys raced out into the hall way and dragged her back to the room, found her a seat and continued to play. She thought the music was wonderful! At long last the show was over and the boys took a bow! What a wonderful high to end the week on!
Mel and Rosalie

Nuts and Bolts

As part of our exploration into sound Edgerley classroom are looking for old nuts, bolts, keys, big paper clips…in fact any metal object that can be hung as part of a wind chime. If you have any old stuff in the shed that you think would be useful and you would like to donate we would be grateful recipients
Thanks
Mel, Rosalie and the Edgerley boys

Social Dates for Your Diary

Langley
Langley Family Play in the Park
Sunday March 20th 2011
Joslin Reserve (St Peters)
Between Third & Fourth Aves, Joslin
From 10.30am
The park has a playground, tennis courts, a basketball court, toilets
Please bring bikes, scooters etc for children, tennis racquets etc if you wish, picnic rug, drinks and a plate of morning tea to share
*Look for the maroon and white balloons to identify the Langley group!
We hope to see you there!From your class reps, Danielle Palmieri (Chanel’s mum) and Karen Blight (Sophie’s mum)

Mead
17 March Thursday – Mead Room Coffee morning at the Pavilion after drop off before Clipsal
1 April Friday – Parents social at the Alma Hotel, 66 Magill Road, Norwood from 6:30pm (sorry no kids this time J)
3 April Sunday – Family gathering at the Millswood trains (http://www.softgrow.com/sasmee/)

Edgerley
* Friday 11th March, 7.30pm - Dad's Night Out: The Tap Inn, Kent Town * Saturday 26th March (afternoon): - Mum's Time Out for High Tea * Sunday 15th May - family lunch/afternoon event (we will aim to do something indoors like we did last year at Malvern Hall, if anyone has a venue that would accommodate all of us, please let Nicole or I know, thanks)

Don’t Forget…

…our coffee morning 7th March…Piper Pavilion!!!

Childcare Rebate

All families where both parents are working, studying or training are eligible to receive a rebate from the government towards the cost of our fees .It is 50% of your cost up to a maximum of $7500 per year . This is not means tested. If you need more information about applying for this then please come and see me ,

Jeanine

Uniforms

Please note that our ELC uniform consists of the maroon polo shirt , maroon rugby top and neutral coloured pants or skirts. Pants or skirts are to be plain maroon, navy, denim ,beige ,kahki or black (no prints or patterns please) Maroon shorts are available from the uniform shop if your child does not have any of the above colours. This information is also in your parent handbooks. As we are part of the school we do expect that children wear our prescribed uniform,

Thankyou

Head Lice

We have had a couple of reports of children with head lice recently. Please check you child's hair thoroughly and treat if necessary. Information sheets are available on the wooden cupboard (inside the first double doors) on what to look for and how to do this . Please note that treatment needs to be repeated to be successful.

The Staff

Clipsal Excursion

We are still waiting on quite a few permission slips for children to attend this excursion. Could you please return them as soon as possible and if you have indicated that you are accompanying your child but did not purchase your ticket through the school web link ,you will need to purchase one prior to the excursion,

thankyou

Statutory Declarations

In the interests of the safety of our children each parent who goes as a helper on any of our excursions might sign a Statutory Declaration that they do not have any criminal convictions ( that may affect children) . These must be redone each year. If you have indicated that you will be coming to the Clipsal excursion then please see me to complete one of these forms as soon as possible,

Jeanine