Cooper Room

Dear Parents and Friends of the Cooper Room,

What a lovely week we have had exploring instruments from home. The children have been bringing in a variety of interesting instruments to allow us to experiment with them and listen to the different sounds.  We have loved listening to the cymbals shake and vibrate – even the floor was vibrating. The bongo drums were great for making a great beat – fast then slow. The xylophone made all different sounds – tiny little sounds all the way to big dong dong sounds.

Using the salad spinners we have been creating amazing paintings using a whirring sound. The children have loved adding all their colours and then waiting to see what happens in the end.

The trip to the zoo on Thursday was a highlight. The children listened to the amazing sounds which filled the zoo and then we made our way following our check list of what we thought we would hear.

“I can hear something loud. It’s a monkey,” said Alex

“I see a tiger. Wake up tiger,” said Daniel

“Don’t yell too loud you’ll wake him up and then he’ll be very cranky!” added Oliver

“This is where the meerkats are, look here, meerkats here I am!” Toby

Come into the Cooper room and see our zoo next week!

Kind regards

Susan and Coral

Mead Room

Dear Parents and friends,

We have had a fabulous week in the Mead Room. We have had visits from David’s parents who put on a guitar concert for us which was amazing. We also enjoyed Charlie A’s Poppy visit with his guitar on Friday for a session. It was great to use our shakers and move to the beat of different styles of music.

On Thursday we had superb visit to the zoo. A big thank you to our parent/ grandparent helpers who came along too. We had so much fun exploring the different sounds we could hear around the zoo….

Alex: Penguins are flapping their wings in the special water.

Angus: Quack! Quack! They are shaking off their wet feathers with their beaks. Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Jock: George is a galah…. He can talk but he is too busy eating!!

Alec: A monkey over there( Gibbon) is hanging… He is saying oooooooo!

Henry: I hear a monkey… no all of them!!

Jock: We have to be quiet so we don’t scare him! (the panda Wang Wang)

Jada: He’s a quiet animal.. he’s all wet now! (The panda was walking into his water)

Dougal: That bird’s song is loud!

Angus: The flamingo is getting his feathers (preening) and he has very long legs and sharp webbed feet.

Henry: The plants make a noise… rustly….

Angus: A man is on the walkie talkie… so the zoo keeper can know what they are saying.

Dougal: The otters smell delicious.. .Splash! They are squeaking!

Please come and see our photo board in the classroom too! Lots of wonderful images of the zoo photos.

Sports Day is next Thursday. We would love to see as many families involved as possible. Details are in the weekly diary. Please remember to send your child in their house colours and wear your runners too! Hats and sunscreen are important too!

We would love to take this opportunity to thank Miss Amelia for all the work she has done with our children. We wish her all the best for her Maternity leave. Miss Sarah will be the full time co-educator in the Mead Room during the holidays and next term. Miss Amelia’s last day will be next Friday.

Warm Regards,

Emma, Pip, Amelia, Sarah and Heidi

Langley Room

Dear Langley family and friends,

We have had another very busy week in the Langley room this week. We started with a little concert in the Mead room on Monday morning – a big thank you to David’s parents, Justine and Todd, who brought in their guitar and singing voices to share with us. They sang an array of familiar songs for us and we were excited to be able to join in and use the microphone!

We have been developing our small group skills during morning meeting by working together to use the wooden blocks to build different types of structures and towers. One by one we placed our blocks on top of the others, carefully positioning them so that they didn’t topple over the others. We have created a different type of structure each day this week and will continue next week to see what else we can make.

We have loved exploring space this week in our rocket complete with flashing twinkling stars, planets, the moon and Earth. We have also been looking at numbers to 100, creating self-portraits, exploring how rubbish is collected, making pretend birthday cakes, practicing our health hustle for Sports Day next Thursday and finding and tracing our shadows! Phew, that’s a lot to squeeze in to one week. We can’t wait to see what adventures we will explore next week.

Don’t forget to check what team your child is in for Sports day next Thursday. We would love as much parent participation as possible and if Thursday is not your child’s normal day, you are still welcome to join us with your child for a morning of fun and fitness.

Best wishes,

Jess, Kerry, Nicole and Emily

We are missing quite a few children’s portfolios. If you have your child’s portfolio at home can you please return it to Langley staff next week as we have new documentation to put in there! - Thanks

Sports Day 26th September

Don't forget to check the display in the foyer to see what House Team your child is in ! (If you find Orange tops hard to find apparently Big W have them very cheaply !)

Langley Room

Dear Langley Family and Friends,

Over the past two weeks, the Langley children have been practising their fine motor skills by threading tiny beads and coloured bells onto wire. They were given the long thin wire with their name on the end and a choice of beads of different shapes and colours, beads with letters and colourful bells to place on it. They all carefully lined up the wire to the very tiny holes in the beads and bells and then slid them down to the bottom. Many of the children were able to pick out the letters from their names on some of the beads.

S, I found me – Scarlett B

That my name because it has a H in it – Harry JH

More letters – David

A B is for Bernie – Bernie

Some of the children commented on the colours of the beads and bells they were putting on the wire.

It’s a yellow crystal, it’s a white diamond, it a pink flower and a blue bell – Harrison R

Pink, red and silver – Caitlyn

Most excitingly the threading made lovely sounds when we were finished.

The bell is going ding, ding, the train is coming – Sage

It sounds soft – Angelina

Shake, shake – Anay

Bells sound. I put them on – Loukas

It sound like a bee – Scarlett D

It’s rattling – Harry JH

It’s a jingle – Lachlan

The children were very happy with and proud of their creations.

Look what I’ve done – Patrick

It’s pretty – Caitlyn

Just a friendly reminder – can you please make sure you are packing a clearly named hat each day with your child. We have very limited spare hats and children are not allowed to play outside without a hat on as per our Sun smart Policy.

Best wishes,

Jess, Kerry, Nicole and Emily

Cooper Room

Dear Cooper families

What a colourful week! We put very small beads into a container of water and watched some magic occur... they grew, and grew and grew! We felt the water beads, they were very soft and slippery in our hands. We are trying to be very careful because if we squish them too hard they pop.

We have also been using our fine motor skills to turn the small handle on the salad spinner. After a quick spin or two, we open the lid to see all the colours mixed together. What amazing patterns they have been making. 

In preparation for Sports Day we have also been working on group games and running races. In our group circle games it has been wonderful to watch the children develop their understanding about turning turns, sharing, co-operation and most importantly encouragement. They are showing great team building and positive sportsmanship! Looking forward to seeing all the Cooper children and families dressed in the team colours on Thursday for a fun day!

Kind regards

Susan and Coral

Mead Room

Dear Parents and Friends,

What a busy week we have had! Lots of ongoing excitement around our zoo trip next Thursday. Our class are true animal lovers!! Today we discussed what sounds we might hear at the zoo. The expressive and descriptive language was fabulous! Here are some of the children’s ideas…

Alex D: Gorillas scratching!

Alec H: Monkeys ooooaaaah!

Charlie A: Tigers roaring!

Alec H: Giraffes chew chewing!

Angus: People crunching watermelon!

James W: Crocodiles snap snapping!

Joshua: Ducks quack quacking!

 Please do come and see the children’s amazing art works of tigers, lions and macaws… they are brilliant! So exciting to see the development in their symbolism and use of amazing colours.

We have been creating drums, brass instruments and intent to have some band playing in the last weeks of term. Today we visited Mrs Bell’s music room up in the Prep School. The children were drawn to the instruments and what incredible sounds they made… drums banging, cymbals crashing, xylophones donging! What fun we had!

We loved meeting our Year 1 Reading buddies to share stories in the courtyard café.

On the way back to the Early Learning Centre we had a sneak look into the building site and listened to the noises machines were making!

Lots of authentic and meaningful learning in our room this week!

Looking forward to catching up with families at interviews next week…

Kind Regards,

Emma, Pip, Amelia and Sarah

Chapple Room

Dear Families,

This week in the Chapple room we have been busy with our 3D model of the story 'Going on a Bear Hunt'.  The students first made the model and this week we have made the people and characters from the story. This has been an engaging learning experience as the students retell the story and take turns being the different characters, particularly the bear and the snow storm. We have also been exploring Pamela Allen stories and we were amazed to learn that she had written many, many stories, not just Mr. Magee.  We have discussed how Pamela Allen not only writes the stories but also draws the pictures.  But the most amazing thing about Pamela Allen is that she has the same name as Miss.  Veltmeyer!

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

Edgerley Room

Dear Edgerley Families and Friends,

We thought this week was going to be a quiet one! Boy were we wrong! We have loved making our new class member, ‘Nicey’ the Monarch Caterpillar, feel welcome. In fact, after reading the book about Monarch caterpillars, it wasn’t long before we noticed Nicey turning into the letter J in preparation for making it’s cocoon. We look forward to sharing the book next week with the actual author, Tracy Shmith!

We’ve been beside ourselves exploring the world of pirates – in fact, some of us even had to have eye patches after role playing in the sand pit digging treasure. We found ‘X marks the spot’ everywhere!

 After our exciting visit from Zac’s dad last week (he’s a real musician and he even has a recording studio), we decided that we’d like to create our own recording studio complete with a cool sound board, head phones, microphones, speakers, mixers, computers, a stage and real music. Our FAVOURITE song, based on our Noiseworks unit, is ‘What Does the Fox Say?’ You may hear your child recalling lines from the song and we hope the words don’t get too mixed up. We have loved playing ‘Guess the Animal’ – our noises are very animal like!

We also visited Mr Sillett. We got to climb all the stairs, up and up and up, all the way to the top of ANZAC Hall and sit in the sound and lights room – wow!! He let us sing and talk into the microphone, play with the special buttons and sliders, move the giant spot light, press buttons on his computer and he EVEN took us backstage where we could look back up at his room. It was so cool! What a great experience. Thank you Mr Sillet!

 But to top it off, we had a visit from Rob the Builder. He is in charge of the ‘New PAC’. We got to ask him about the noises that we are hearing all day, the machines he uses, why we can hear and feel shaking and are there any plans for a swimming pool? He was great at explaining it all to us and he has left a special place in our room so we can glimpse into the ‘New PAC’. It’s so exciting (hey – if you can’t beat it, join it!)

 So although we like to plan for some downtime, the Edgerley children just keep on leading us into exciting challenges and new learning experiences – what a great bunch of kids!

Coney, Renee, Carla and Katherine

Sports Day

This year's Sports Day will be held on Thursday 26th September from 9.00 am to 12.30pm  . The children will all be placed in School House Teams and these will be on display in the foyer next week. If your son is going on to the Prep School they will remain in the House allocated . Please send your child dressed in House Colours on the day (plain T shirts are available at the school Uniform Shop if you need them) All children are welcome to attend the morning ,accompanied by a parent if it is not their ELC day.
Please join us for the morning dressed in your child's House colour ready to encourage and support them ! The day will begin in the Gym with a Heath Hustle at 9.00 am and then move outside for running races , wear your sneakers ready to join in ! We will then move to circle games followed by the annual parent Tug-of -War, so start pumping those muscles !

Extra Days for 2014

Please see Mrs Dry if you would like to book additional days for your child for 2014 as places are filling very quickly and you may be disappointed if you are not quick !

Parent Teacher Interviews

Dear Parents ,

Interviews with your child's Teacher will be available on Monday and Tuesday nights 16th and 17th September from 3.30pm to 6 pm. Please see Mrs Dry if you would like to book a time

Langley Room

Dear Langley parents and friends,

This term we have really been having a lot of noisy fun, experimenting with different instruments and our voices to see what sounds we can make. The children have shown a huge interest in this so we decided to create some of our own instruments. We got creative with pop sticks, empty bottles, wooden spoons, recycled formula tins, confetti, rocks, balloons, beads and a whole lot of glue and fishing wire. The children made drums, maracas and twist shakers.

Angelina, Bernie and Lachlan made a twist shaker each using wooden spoons, Miss Emily helped by tying some fishing wire to the spoon and then assisted threading beads onto the wire – they had great concentration and steady hands, they didn’t need much help at all!  Scarlett B and Sterling made Maracas by filling the bottles with small rocks and colourful beads then attaching pop sticks to create a handle. Elle and Brooke made drums – The girls put a few beads into the tins then Miss Emily asked them to pick out two colours of the balloons, she then stretched them over the formula tins and taped the balloons down! Once all the important sounds making was finished on their instruments the children decorated with glue, confetti and pop sticks!

We have been rocking it out, singing songs and dancing with our instruments! They look and sound FABULOUS!

Have a great weekend,

Jess, Kerry, Nicole and Emily.

The Drumming Monkeys

There was great excitement in the ELC on Tuesday as the children filed out and sat down ready to watch a performance by The Drumming Monkeys.

First we were introduced to Bongo and Congo, the two Drumming Monkeys who ran the show. They taught the children how to do some monkey yoga by reaching up to the stars, then touching their shoulders, knees and toes. This got faster and faster, which made lots of the children laugh with the challenge.

Next the monkeys taught us all a Friends Song in which we had to shake hands with the person next to you, the high five them and then tickle them.

Following this we played a copying game with the monkeys, where we had to copy the same beat as they were doing on their drums. The children also sang along with the DJ Congo animal song where they did actions of animals to the words of the song, such as bouncing like a kangaroo.

There was great excitement watching the monkeys special guest, Green Sea Turtle, jump into the little pool of water. He missed a few times, but eventually made it! We also met Percy the penguin, who bungee jumped from six meters high and landed on a coffee cup which he put into the recycling bin.

 What great entertainment and lots of fun noises!! 

Hats

Our centre policy is that the children must wear hats between September 1st and April 30th so all children need to bring their hats from next week for outside play. Please make sure they are clearly labelled where your child (and staff) can easily see their names .

Thankyou