Cycle for Cambodia

This week a team of  3 senior students plus Reverend Mark Dickens (our school chaplain who regularly visits the ELC) cycled to Port Augusta and back  (646 km) to raise funds for Sunrise Children's Villages in Cambodia . Our children helped welcome them back on Thursday after a long week and a fantastic effort . The boys are part of a group of 17 students who will visit the Orphanages in Cambodia later this year.

ELC Nativity Performance

Our annual Nativity performance will be held on Thursday November 15th in the Anzac Hall. Notices have been placed in the children's pigeon holes today with reply slips so that we can allocate roles and costumes to all children who will be attending. All children are able to be part of this regardless of which days they normally attend . Please return these asap as it is not many weeks away and we have lots to prepare and practise !

ELC Team

ps  .There is a reply box on the reception desk

Class Photos

Please collect  the order envelope for your child's class photo which will be taken on Thursday 11th October. They are in the children's pigeon holes.  All children are encouraged to come in at the appointed time for their photo to be taken . Orders must be returned prior to the day to ensure your child is photographed.

Thankyou

Chapple and Edgerley Health Checks

Make sure you make an appointment for your child's Health Check on Wednesday 17th October ,

see Mrs Dry

Langley Room

Over the last few weeks, we have been very carefully nurturing our seeds in our pots and garden bed. We have been excited to watch them sprout out of the ground and grow. With the warm weather this week we have had our watering cans out in the afternoons to give the little plants a much needed drink. We have been talking about what plants need to grow and discussing how we can take care of them.

We have also been creating some pieces of rangoli art with Miss Kerry this week. We have carefully applied the powder paint to the templates and excitedly peered under to see our patterns revealed. Make sure you have a look at our group pieces on display in the Langley bathroom.

Best wishes,

Jess, Kerry, Amelia and Nicole

Mead and Cooper Rooms

Dear Mead Room and Cooper Room Families,

We have had an exciting week with the 3 year olds. We went and visited the PAC School Museum to explore all the archived resources. The children were particularly interested in the old school uniform comparing it to the   one worn today ,all the old school hats, trophies and the names on the wall that were all the students that went to war.

This glorious weather has given us the opportunity to have some fun and engage in messy water play. The children enjoyed dumping and filling water from wheelbarrow to wheelbarrow, making footprints, painting, digging holes in the sandpit to fill with water, making swimming pools and more than anything they loved being sprinkled with water like rain drops.

We also celebrated two birthdays this week, James Williamson and Jacob Miller from the Mead Room.

Enjoy the long weekend!!

Cristina, Coral, Bethany, Rachel and Renee.

Edgerley Room

Although many of our friends in the Edgerley Room have gone on holidays, we still had a fun filled week.
The children had so much fun talking about how we can use recyclable materials from home such as empty strawberry punnets, egg cartons and soda and milk bottles.
"We can play with them" Sebastian R said.
"Or fill them up with water" Toby added.
"We can put plants in them like the big boys in the playground" Angus exclaimed.
"We can stick stuff on them" Chloe added.
We thought planting in them was a great idea so we began working on them straight away.
Mrs. Rocca made a hole in the bottle because the children knew it wasn't safe to use very sharp knives.
The children enjoyed screwing the lids back on, filling the bottles with potting mix and carefully placed the Petunia and Lobelia flowers in them. We tied  fishing wire on them and hung them on the back wall in our garden outside.
The children made sure the new plants had water and sun too.
Make sure you come and have a look at our Hanging Garden.
Indoors we kept the gardening energy going by sowing our mung beans, alfalfa and snow peas in empty punnets and egg cartons and look forward to later harvesting their sprouts. The children didn't think they'd grow on cotton wool but guess what....they actually did!
"We just need to make sure it's wet" Lily said.

If that wasn't enough fun we also baked Melting Moments biscuits and the Chapple children shared with us their yummy Ginger Bread while enjoying the movie "The Lorax".

Looking forward to another fun filled week

Mrs. Rocca and Ms. Gray

Chapple Room

Dear Chapple Families and Friends,

What a lovely first week of holidays we have had and all topped off with stunning weather to enjoy! We have been going with the flow and having a discussion each morning about what the children would like to do.

We have been enjoyng the Hama Beads this week and there have been the most amazing designs being created! The experience has been so popular that we had to buy more Wednesday night as we were running out !!! The children have been experimenting with different patterns and ways for using the colours to design a picture!

We have also been going up to the Prep School playground ("The Rainbow Playground") each day which the children love! It's been great to have the area to ourselves so that the children can develop their own play ideas and it also acts as extra transition time for those that will be moving up to the Prep School in the new year.

This week has just flowed so beautifully and has been 99% child directed. We are looking forward to what next week will bring ! We hope everyone is enjoying their break as much as we are and that you have a safe and fun long weekend!

From Miss Freer and Mrs Nacca

Class Photos

This year's class photos will be taken on Thursday 11th October. All children are welcome to come to be part of this, accompanied by a parent if it is not their regular day. Order envelopes have been placed in your child's pigeon hole. Please return these prior to the day with the correct payment if you would like a photo pack.
Class Photos will be taken at :
9.00am Edgerley
9.30 Chapple
10.00 Cooper
10.30 Langley
11.00 Mead

Please make sure you are here on time as it will be a very tight schedule for the morning !
All children must be in full  uniform with only white tops underneath Tshirts if it is cool on the day. Please make sure that as you are replacing your child's shorts, skirts or long pants that you purchase the replacements in moroon as we move to this being ELC uniform .


Jeanine

Wedding Wishes

On Wednesday the staff and children all gathered to wish Miss Marcus all the best for her wedding this Saturday . We lent her a veil for the occasion and Chapple children showered her with confetti ! Have a wonderful day Alexandra and Piers !

Thankyou Mrs Blake

Today we farewelled Mrs Blake whose baby is due in 4 weeks. The Cooper Room children will miss her but are all looking forward to when she is able to come back and do "Show and Tell" with her new baby !

Staffing Update

Next term as Mrs Lock moves to a full time position in Cooper Room, Mrs Mckenzie and Mrs Cooper will share the teaching position in Mead Room. Mrs Mckenzie will work on Mondays,Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Mrs Cooper will work Thursdays and Fridays. Mrs Cooper has  been spending Thursday afternoons in Mead Room all year so she already knows this group quite well !
Miss Giorgio will be full time in Edgerley Room.

Sadly today is Mrs Porters last day with us and we would like to thank her for all the support she has shown to staff, parents and the children over the last 3 years. We wish her all the best in her new job.

Sports Day

 

It was a beautiful, sunny day for our ELC Sports Day. We all started in the Prep School Gym with the Health Hustle which warmed us all up for the events to follow. We then moved outside and began our running races. There were some speedy little legs racing down the lanes. Following this we had a brief break, to eat our morning fruit and recharge! Then we broke off into class groups and all participated in circle games, such as 'Duck, Duck, Goose' and 'What's the Time Mr Wolf'. We concluded with a very serious parents' Tug-O-War, won by the Waterhouse parents! Thank you to the Year 5 boys, who did a great job helping out on the day.
Best wishes,
ELC Staff

New Baby

Congratulations to Rob and Sarah  Colaiacovo on the arrival of Edward Orlando , a brother for Archie (Langley Room)

Sport's Day

Next Thursday is Sports Day so check your class's program in your child's locker or in the foyer and come along and support your child's team and be ready to participate !  Dress your child in their house colours and remember their hat and drink .

ELC Team

Staffing

As you are all aware in the next few weeks both Mel Bishop and Ali Blake take  leave to begin a new and exciting chapter in their family lives.  We wish both Mel and Ali well with the expectant births and thank them very much for their wonderful teaching of our boys and girls.

As replacements for them I am pleased to announce that Susan Lock will take a full time role in Cooper Room and Juliana Giorgio will begin in Edgerley Room.  Juliana returns to the ELC after spending time overseas.  Both Staff will commence at the beginning of Term 4 even though Mel will still be on board (baby permitting) for the first week of the term.

Neil Andary

Head of Preparatory School

New Baby

Congratulations to Rob Turnbull and Rebecca Hayes on the arrival of Eloise on September 5th. A sister for a very proud William (Edgerley room)

4 Year old Health Checks

Our local Child and Youth Health nurse,Carol ,will be here again next term on Wednesday 17th October to do Preschool Health checks for children in Edgerley or Chapple rooms.  This is a free government service and is a good opportunity to check your child's hearing , sight ,co-ordination etc.  Please make an appointment with Mrs Dry if you would like to use this service. (Parents must attend with their child)

Langley Family Play in the Park

WHEN  :     Sunday 23rd September 2012
WHERE :    Joslin Reserve (St Peters)  Between Third & Fourth Aves ,Joslin
TIME  :       10.30 am

The Park has a playground, tennis courts, a basketball court and toilets.
Please bring bikes,scooters etc for children , tennis racquets etc if you wish, a picnic rug,drinks and a plate of morning tea to share.
Look for the moroon and white balloons to identify the Langley group !
We hope to see you there !

Your class reps:
Anna Trowse (Tom's mum)
0417822556   anna.trowse@adam.com.au

Brita Lidum's (Eriks's mum)
0422095538   blidums@optusnet.com.au

RSVP : Monday 17th September

Langley Room

Last week we welcomed some new swimming friends into our classroom – thanks Miss Amelia! The children peered into the side of the bowl to see what was in there. To their delight they spotted tiny little snails and some very fast swimming tadpoles. We have been using magnifying glasses to examine them more closely this week and have then created representations of them. As we have been watching them, we have been talking about what is going to happen to the tadpoles.

When they grow feet they will be frogs – Angus

Dat one’s flip it tail – Erin

All the tadpoles swim in the water eat weaves (leaves) – Charlie M

It’s got a tail and it swimming – Dougal

That’s going to be a frog when it’s bigger – Charlie A

This one’s a tadpole and he hides his food. That tadpole is wriggling - Joshua

Best wishes,

Jess, Kerry, Amelia and Nicole

Learning Chinese

Dear Parents,

Below you will find an excerpt from an article entitled ‘Monolingual and Disadvantaged’ posted on August 31, 2012 by SA Kids Online Parenting Magazine. This article and the research it is based on supports the Princes ELC model of languages in Early Years and explains in a small way some of the advantages of early years second language learning. Visit the SA Kids website to read it in  full.

Kind Regards
Mel Bishop

  “The earlier our kids learn languages and the more languages they learn the better. Studies have shown that children who learn languages from an early age have better test scores generally, have better and more advanced reading skills, enjoy greater confidence, are more likely to go on to higher education, have a broader view of the world and have a richer vocabulary in their native tongue.

Australian research shows that exposure to as little as one hour per week of a second language in the earliest years of primary school advances the age of reading readiness in English.”

Mel Bishop

Mead Room

Dear Parents,

Sebastian brought in a furry friend his sister had found in the cabbage patch in his garden at home. We discovered we already know a lot about these little creatures, and have decided we will investigate futher.......
"He nibbled the holes in the leaves" Sebastian told us.
"I got a caterpillar in my pool last week" Eden told us excitedly. "I got it out with my swimming suit!"
"He's a boy because I was going to call it a boy name" Sebastian continued.
"The caterpillars in my garden eat fruit and leaves and dinner" Andre shared.
After we returned from PE up in the prep school we went to check on the caterpillar. We had left it on top of the lockers in a yoghurt container. It was gone!! We searched the room and found it crawling on the floor near the puzzles. While we had been practicing running races at PE, the caterpillar had been having his own PE lesson in the Mead Room!
"How did it get out?" Jacob asked.
"Maybe he crawled" suggested Marcus.
"Maybe he climbed" offered Izabella.
"How 'bout he can jump up?" Andre added.
"It got a furry body because they don't want to slip on they back" Izabella informed her friends.
"If he scared he will wrap in a ball" Marcus told us.
"He gets into a cocoon" William added.
"And then a moth. He makes a hole so he gets inside a cocoon" Sebastian concluded.
We are looking forward to discovering more about caterpillars next week!
Best wishes,
Emma, Susan, Cristina and Heidi

Cooper Room

As the Cooper children continued their fascination with fine motor tools this week, we decided to cook some fresh playdough. The Monday group gathered in the Art Room and we collected the ingredients from Mr Rob's kitchen. Each child took a turn adding an ingredient and we carefully counted the spoonfuls, measured and stirred...

“It’s gonna be hot” predicted Harry A., “Be careful!”

“We gonna mix it” said Oliver.

“With a spoon” said Liam.

“It turns into play dough when we mix it” explained Jarrah.

“It turned into red” noticed Harrison.

“It’s really hot” said Pauline.

Everybody kneaded the playdough and felt its temperature decreasing. Back in the classroom we selected a variety of tools to cut, roll, press and shape the playdough and the children have spent much of the week manipulating and mastering these tools. Please let one of us know if you would like our playdough recipe for home.

Kind regards,

Ali and Coral

PS. could all  families please return their contact details to the class P & F reps, thanks

Edgerley Room

Dear Edgerley Parents,

We had another wonderfully busy week in Edgerley as we prepared for our contribution to artsPACes. It was lovely to see some Edgerley faces at the art extravaganza (even though the rain let us down!). Our inspiration for our art instillation came from out unit “Home Sweet Home” and after so many discussion about so many different kinds of homes it was wonderful to listen to the children share their ideas about what makes a home and why it is important.

In homes there is food, If there is food you will survive ! – Fletcher

You need a home to stay dry and so bugs and big animals don’t get you. We need a home to live in. If we didn’t have one we would get wet and cold – Alec

A home has a family inside.– Finn

We need homes because when something bad comes down we are safe - William

We need a home because lions and tigers come out at night and we need to protect our body from the rain – Isaac

You have a house ‘cause to keep us safe for the wind storm. A wind storm got wind and storm and electricity too and he will sting you and make you die! – Rocco

Snakes need a home because they really love to be warm. Being warm is very important – Chanel

If they have a home they don’t run away and get wet by the rain – Bashie

They have a home because if there’s a storm where would they go? If there is rain where would they go? – Louie

Birds need homes in case they get lost. If creatures are lost they can feel sad – Bruno

Animals need to have a home so they don’t run away – Archie

Kind Regards

Mel, Pip and Coney

Chapple Room

Dear Chapple Room Parents and Friends,

As the 5th birthday celebrations continue and we head towards the end of the term, next week will also be our last week with Henry and Joshua. As we begin preparing for the 'big school' next term, Henry and Joshua will be heading off to begin reception at other schools. We will miss them terribly, as they have been such an important and special part of Chapple Room. We wish them all the best and hope to see them back at PAC one day. We have been visiting the Reception playground each Monday after PE, which has been great fun. Everyone is already feeling settled and at ease in this environment. We are looking forward to starting the more structured transition program next term also.
The literacy program is continuing to go well. We have loved learning about the Cc/Kk sound this week. We brainstormed words, made crowns, drew castles and practised writing the letter in our phonics books. It's been fun! Remember if there's anything your child has at home that begins with each week's sound, feel free to bring it in and put it on the sound table for the other children to explore and enjoy.

Thank you,
Chapple Room Team

Centre Review Report

This is a copy of the report from the centre's assessment by the the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority :


Overall rating
Quality Area rating
QA 1 Educational program and practice  - Exceeding National Quality Standard
QA 2 Children’s health and safety   - Exceeding National Quality Standard
QA 3 Physical environment  - Exceeding National Quality Standard
QA 4 Staffing arrangements   - Exceeding National Quality Standard
QA 5 Relationships with children   - Exceeding National Quality Standard
QA 6 Collaborative partnerships with families and communities - Exceeding National Quality Standard
QA 7 Leadership and service management - Exceeding National Quality Standard

Overall rating - Exceeding National Quality Standard

Summary comments
Overall, the service is committed to children’s wellbeing, learning and development. The influences and programming support children as individuals and respected members of the community. It was evident children were the focus of the program and educators had the ability to extend children’s learning and growth at every opportunity. The relationships and interactions observed throughout the service were consistently supportive and respectful.



As a centre we were pleased to be rated at this level but would also like to acknowledge that the new rating and assessment process has been designed as an ongoing procedure of reflection and improvement that continues beyond the assessment .

Friday's Music session

The 2 and 3 year old children who have music on Friday 14th Sept are invited to wear or bring something associated with Lions for Mrs B's music session (check with your child's teacher )

Toy Fundraiser

Please send in any final orders for the Parent Direct/Chalk catalogues as we would like to finalise these and send off the bulk order.


Thankyou

School Holidays

Term 3 ends on September 21st and Term 4 commences on October 8th. The teaching staff will be away during these 2 weeks so if you child will be away at all over this period please let us know so that we can ensure the correct staffing numbers  during this time.


Jeanine

Destiny Rescue

Thankyou to those families who have donated clothing or stationery ,  keep those donations coming !

Langley Room

Dear Langley Family and Friends,

What a busy week of investigation and exploration we have had this week in the Langley room. We have excitedly seen our seeds that we have planted sprout, we have created bubble pictures using coloured bubble mix and, inspired by Jock’s building creations, we have been examining and making bees and a bee hive. As we have been making our bee home, we have been sharing all the wonderful things we know about bees.

They make honey wif flowers. Dey out their nose in and make it to honey – Angus

They drinks milk to make honey – Jock

They live in the garden on the carrots – Abby

In da tree – Harry

Buzz, buzz, dey yeddow (yellow) – Nathan

I like honey, I eat honey at home – Domenic

A bee stings. They go bzzzzzzzz. Bees make honey! – Alec

Live in a bee hive – Dougal

Live in dere (points to hive) – Jada

Jess, Kerry Amelia and Ange

Cooper Room

In Cooper this week we set out a threading activity but it turned out the children were more interested in the hole punches we used to make the threading holes! The children experimented with strips of paper and different shaped hole punches until they found which way around to hold them and how much pressure to apply.
"Watch me, it did this, it clickeded like this, then it makes holes. Watch me again... See I made holes in it. I wanna keep using this all day!" exclaimed Spencer as he mastered the hole punch.
"I'm making a hole" said Harry P.
"I clicked it and breaked it in half, I press it it then I put it like that" explained Ammar.
"Press it really hard" directed Pauline.
It was exciting to see the children practising their fine motor skills and working with great concentration as they worked out how to use this technology - we hadn't guessed that such simple tools would create such a big response!
Kind regards,
Ali and Coral

Mead Room

During our Unit of Enquiry 'Home Sweet Home', the children have shown a particular interest in nests as homes. They have collected nests from various birds and discussed  the different sizes and materials used in each. They have also questioned why some birds have nests as homes and others not. Following group discussions, they decided they would like to have a go at constructing their own life sized nest to sit in. They used a wire frame to create into the shape of a large nest and padded the sides with paper. Then they brought in an assortment of materials from their homes, to thread through the wire frame, as they noticed birds did alot of weaving of materials to make their nests. It is looking very inviting!!!

How do birds make a nest?
They are very clever - Oscar
Maybe they do it with feathers - Izabella
It's ouchy - scratch - Nick
They put them in a tree - Luca
I think they use their beak - Marcus
We are clever. I can make a nest. I'll show you how! - Oscar

Best wishes,
Emma, Susan, Cristina and Heidi 

Edgerley Room

This week we spent a lot of time working in pairs and as teams. It was wonderful to see children exercising their negotiation and assertion skills, working with each other on various projects. At the painting easel children shared paper to work on joint illustrations. Bailey and Olivia worked together to create a house with a very long road and enjoyed making long stripes above and below each other on the paper. Outside Felix, Angus and Cooper continued on with their interest in Olympic running by adding team racing stripes to wear and creating team coloured lanes for the children to run from. In the end we had to keep a medal tally to see who was winning all the gold! Jacob and Toby joined in this social play by taking on the roles of the ready-set-go man and the flag waver. Sebastian R helped keep the runners safe by keeping the bike riders off the racing track whilst races were underway. Back in the class we participated in lots of partner songs, singing Row Your Boat, I’m a Little Tea Pot and… the trickiest of all… Wash the Dishes, that had us ending up in knots of arms, legs and giggles. We also played games with rules such as Snail Pace Race and Memory and much discussion was had about how and in which direction to take turns first. However the most heated debates were over how we work out who goes first! We have talked a lot about the feelings we feel when working with others and it was really refreshing to listen to the children’s honesty as they professed that trying to work with others can sometimes just make you feel… frustrated!

At the end of the week the children spontaneously took their portfolios off the shelf to share with others. It was lovely to see them reminiscing over past events and reflecting on their own work and achievements. Drop in some time and take a look at your child’s portfolio and see what all the fuss is about. If your child’s portfolio is not currently at school please return it as soon as possible so that they may share their achievements with their peers.

Kind regards

Mel, Pip and Coney

Chapple Room

We have been having a great time continuing to explore homes and houses. As part of our unit of inquiry, we have looked at many different homes and we have drawn a home of our choice. These pictures will be used in the artsPACes production next week. Here is a preview of what we have discussed and drawn.

This is an underground house. I’ve drawn the windows here. You dig out a hole and put glass in and put dirt back in for the roof. Tommi

I did a cave. It’s a bat cave. Robyn, Alfred and Batman live in it. Over here’s where they turn the batmobile on. It’s really just a normal cave. Harry H

It’s a igloo made of snow. It has a door and handle on it and one little window. Yi Bin

I drew an underground house. The top is always made of grass. The windows are made of glass. Gabriel

Mine’s an underground house. It’s made of dirt. Aston

Mine’s an underground house. They’re made of dirt and wriggley things, the bugs. Charlie

This is a ice house where polar bears and penguins live. They have magic door in them. Harry W

This is a stone house. The house is from one of the countries in India. Owen

It’s a tree house. There’s  lots of houses and around the houses there’s a backyard and the biggest has many windows. There’s a sign saying ‘houses’. Oliver

I made a igloo. They’re cold. They’re made of ice. They have a door to get out. It’s just a round thing. Ryan

My picture is a castle. This is the tower part and this is the mote. Princesses live in castles. Grace

Mine is a city. It got so many groups in it. People live in them. Leon

It’s an igloo. They’re in the snow. One day I’m going to go to Singapore and build one in Christmas time. You throw down snowballs to the underground house of cats. One rolled down the hill and up the slide and into the window. Zach H

There is the underground house. It’s covered in caves. The normal house has a slide. It’s bigger than the slide. It has nine windows cause it’s really big. It has upstairs. It has a door with a handle on it. Sebastian

I’ve got some stairs and plants in the house. Upstairs sometimes we play in the playroom. This is a chair. It’s my Dad’s house. Jesse

Mine’s a igloo. My little brother made one when we were at Dinner Plain. Henry

House. Raining. Nicky

It’s a house for people. It’s got stairs. It’s got a swimming pool inside because it would be too cold outside. It’s got a big egg inside because I like to eat eggs at my house. It’s made out of bricks. Seth

It’s a big house and it’s got bulbs out the front. They are gonna be flowers. Lots of Lego. It’s got windows so we can look out. Zach F

It’s made of brown wood, but the builders painted it white. It’s for people. It’s got trees because I got trees at my house. Eric

It’s my house for me and Mummy and Jakey. We watch tv, have dinner together and breakfast and then go to bed together. It’s made of bricks and cement and it’s painted white. Dillon

We hope to see you there! It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks ahead of us.

Thanks,

Chapple Room Team