A Word from the President

Hello Benwerrin Families

Wow, how the time has flown. I guess I say that every newsletter, but it still amazes me how fast it goes. The children are growing up so quickly and it is so inspiring to watch their journey through kinder. They discover and learn new things every day under the guidance of our wonderful and caring staff.

We had a Father’s Day/ special person night for dads and loved ones in September. It was great for them to see exactly how our little ones spend their day and very special to share the time with their children at kinder. Our 3YO's had a special time with their Dads and Grandfathers who came to celebrate Father’s day at the kinder. It was great to see them there, playing and doing puzzles together. The children performed songs and it was such a special time for them and their dads. Thank you to our teachers and co-educators for putting on such a special occasion for our children.

Our parent survey is out at the moment. It is a little later this year as we wanted feedback on the Trivia night for all who attended. Thank you to those families who have already completed the survey. It is really important to us that we get your feedback so we can improve the program based on the results. We will let you know the outcomes early in Term 4 so there is still time to have your say and let us know what you think.

Speaking of the Trivia night, our big fundraiser of the year was fantastic! I wanted to say congratulations to Carol-Ann and Kara for their efforts with organising the event. I can say on behalf of all who attended it was a really fun night. The Masterchef theme was great. I really wanted the signed Matt Preston cookbook! I am happy to say we raised a huge $3870 too. It will go towards our outdoor play area. We do have a couple of events coming up for Fundraising in Term 4. Due to popular demand, the cards we had earlier in the year have a Christmas line so we will be selling those. There are commemorative Benwerrin 2015 tea towels that the children have made. We have a Bunnings BBQ booked in for 29th November, so we will be asking for volunteers to help out.

After careful consideration the committee decided to add another long day 4YO group in 2016, on Wednesday’s and Fridays 8:15am – 3:45pm. We currently have 7 spots available in our new group. Our 3YO classes in 2016 are both full which is fantastic. Our 2016 4YO Echidnas are full and there is one spot left in the 4YO Kangaroo group. We have reached out to the community to help fill these places. We have a total of 8 4YO spaces available, so if you know of anyone who is interested in coming to our kinder for 4YO next year please let them know we have availability. It was our decision to increase our classes so more children can have access to our wonderful program. Every indication was that we would fill these spots quickly. I am really confident we will be running at full capacity by the time our classes start in 2016, especially with the help of our amazing network of parents at Benwerrin.

Our annual Kinder Disco is a fantastic night of fun for our kids. The East Burwood PS hall has been booked for the 21st Nov, so put the date in your diary!

If you are interested in a rewarding experience next year, then please consider joining our 2016 Committee of Management. There will be quite a few places available as current members leave due to their children starting school. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask one of your committee members. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is being held on the 11th November where you can nominate to join. I would like to thank all the staff and committee members for all their hard work this year in making Benwerrin the wonderful kinder it is.

Have a safe and happy holidays and we will see you in Term 4.

http://www.benwerrinkindergarten.org.au

Gillian MoonPresident

4yo News – Toni (Echidna Group)Traffic School

The children have been busy making their own cars for our “TRAFFIC SCHOOL” experience. They used rollers and brushes to paint their cars, added stickers for lights, a steering wheel, a seat belt and had their own personalised number plate. Children are learning to develop disposition for learning. The outdoor environment was converted into a Traffic School scenario with traffic lights, a pedestrian crossing, boom gates for a train crossing, road works, car park and a garage for repairs. Chi, Ian’s mum and Rosy, Danielle’s mum, both contributed to this shared play experience, while Bronwyn repaired any damaged cars in the garage. The children drove around in their cars and used their knowledge about what is safe and unsafe in relation to road safety. Inexperience in traffic means they have not yet developed the skills to be safe. They have to be taught the skills to be safe, independent road users now and in the future. After practicing their skills the children had their opportunity to be in charge of the different roles such as the Lollipop person, traffic controller and boom gate director. They were ALL engaged in co-construct learning, transferring their knowledge and skills and adapting what they have learned from one context to another.

Making PizzasWe read a story called ‘Don’t Forget the Cheese Pa’ about a family walking to the shops to buy ingredients for their home made pizza. In transit they utilise their road safety knowledge such as holding hands, the stop, look, listen and think message before crossing

the road and obey the traffic signals. We then all decided to make our own pizzas at kinder. We used muffins, a selection of toppings such as tomato paste, ham, pineapple and cheese and each child was

invited to make their own pizza with their preferred choice of topping. This wonderful shared experience supported children’s science concept development through exploring how substances change texture and appearance when heated, numeracy concepts, healthy eating discussions and knife safety as I cut each muffin with skill and care. 

Father’s Day nightWe had been so busy preparing for the wonderful surprises for Dad. The children drew a picture of him and reflected on why they love their dad. We decorated a mug for dad to use at home or work, made a note pad and two chocolate chip cookies.

It was so wonderful to see the excited children with their dads as they entered the kinder room set up with the experiences for the children to participate such as box constructions, play dough, home corner, blocks, science experience, light box, puzzles and painting. We also made hand prints of the children and their dad to keep as a reminder of their Special Father’s Day night.   We sat in a circle with the dads behind their kinder child and sang 3 favourite songs for them and handed out gifts the children had made for them.  Everyone was feeling so happy and emotional with a long lasting memory that will stay with them forever. Our Father’s Day experience provided an opportunity for working parents and dads to come and enjoy their time with their kinder child. The children were empowered as they engaged their dads in their learning environment. Thank you to all the dads that attended our special night, Bronwyn and I have enjoyed preparing for this occasion and hopeYou will treasure this forever. Happy Father’s Day xx OUR NATURE WALKThe day for our nature walk had finally arrived. We had most of the parents and some grandparents attend the walk. Encouraging families to contribute to the program provides strong inclusive community within the service. Each group had a bag to collect items of interest along the way to take back to kinder to sort and classify. We headed down the path holding hands and walking closely to an adult, observing and appreciating the natural environment. We embed and promote road safety into everyday curriculum, children learn to walk on the footpath, away from the roadside, learn to be careful of driveways and STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, THINK when crossing the road with an adult. Children talk about what they know with each other, with their families learning from each other hence the “ripple effect.”When we arrived back at the kinder we placed all the items onto the paper for everyone to look at what had been collected. There were an assortment of natural items such as flowers, long sticks, pine cones, bark and even snails and insects. I asked questions about their different items and the children listened, sorted and responded by holding up the appropriate one.Incorporating road safety education into day to day activities, engaging children in this excursion around the local community make a real difference to practicing road safety skills. They use their prior knowledge and adapt what they had learned from one context to another. We would like to say thank you to our Echidna group families that have supported us and made our year so special and memorable. We look forward to Term 4 with more positive experiences,  an end of year concert and children’s transitions to school.

4yo News – Shenel (Kangaroo Group)

Wild Action AnimalsThis term in support of our discussions about

Australian history and culture we extended with an Australian Animal Wild Action incursion. This experience allowed the Kangaroo children an interactive hands-on

learning experience about the habitat, diet, behaviour and features of wild and endangered creatures. The animals Sam introduced to us included: the Olive python, baby crocodile, blue tongued lizard, green tree frog, short necked turtle, Eastern dragon lizard, owl, Cosmo bird, wallaby and an echidna.

Alphabet BookThis month we have begun to develop our ongoing project the ‘Alphabet Book’. It was so great to see lots of the Kangaroo children demonstrating much enthusiasm in their

learning at home and at kinder when they bring in different pictures of things that they had cut out themselves. Our Alphabet Book allows children opportunities to contribute to a class

project that aims to strengthen their literacy skills, with particular focus on alphabet, emergent writing, and phonetics

Author VisitThis term author/philosopher Damon Young visited our kinder to read one of his picture books named ‘My Nanna is a Ninja’ to our Kangaroo children. The children were very enthusiastic and eager participants to listen to this funny interactive story being read by the author himself. The Kangaroo children demonstrated that they are effective communicators when they engaged with and shared the enjoyment of language and text through this unique experience initiated by the Bugeja family and Damon Young.

Human BodyThis term the Kangaroo children continue to demonstrate that they are curious and enthusiastic participant in their learning. The children have been observing x-rays on the light table and continue to admire our friendly skeleton displayed in the kinder room. We have begun discussions about the skeletal system. There has been much reflective thinking to why we have bones and how we would be without them.

To extend on this idea we experimented using our senses to explore ways on how it may feel without bones in our hand. We looked at x-rays of specific bones such as feet, hands and teeth. We made an x-ray collage of our individual hands. To further follow and extend on these enquiry based experiences the children have enjoyed role playing n our kinder hospital, enjoyed learning our ‘Dem bones and ‘The Heart Goes Thumpety thump’ songs. We have also displayed human body visuals, read various story books and shared our own experiences during mat time.

Celebrating Indigenous CultureThis term we celebrated Naidoc week, the history, culture and achievements of the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people.

To promote more awareness and to increase cultural competence within our kinder community we explored creative art, read dreaming stories, made our own Aboriginal flag, listened to music played by a didgeridoo and acted out our favourite story ‘Wombat Stew’.

Nurse VisitThis term we continue to actively involve our families to contribute their knowledge and ideas to enrich our kinder program and present opportunities to explore and learn. A big thank

you to Hussain (Noah’s dad) for volunteering his time to facilitate a learning experience with the children during our session! Today Nurse Hussain came to kinder

dressed in his nurse uniform describing his role and demonstrating how to use medical equipment such as the stethoscope, thermometer and blood pressure watch.

Father’s/Special Person EveningThank you to all the fathers/grandfathers who helped to make our Father’s evening so special. We received an overwhelming response to our invitation from our fathers and grandfathers. This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to share their kinder experience with family members, show their lovely kinder environment, introduce them to their friends and the things they enjoy doing at kinder. It was also a great opportunity for staff to meet some of the fathers/grandparents that we don’t get an opportunity to meet. Hope you all had a lovely Fathers Day weekend!!

3yo news – Mel (Koala & Possum Group)

To extend our exploration of identity and support children as confident and involved learners, the children made savoury and

sweet edible faces this term. We also celebrated Father’s Day at Kinder! Thank you to all the Fathers, Grandfathers, Grandmothers and Mums who attended, it really was a special morning that meant so much to the children, Trish and I, and we hope that it was a memorable one for all. Other experiences to support the children’s strong sense of identity this term have included cultural dolls, family photos display, drawing self-portraits, self-reflection discussion, Daddy drawings and reflection, and books, discussion and songs about family and feelings.Community This term we have been exploring Australia,

learning about our native animals,

observing/discussing our flag, and the children made an Aboriginal dot painting canvas for our annual trivia night. We had an exciting visit from some baby chicks that recently hatched, and even got to pat or hold them! We have also been learning about winter, made group winter posters, and read stories/sung songs about winter. Other experiences to promote community have included our shop corner, group collage work, structured cooperative games, group block building, little people, train table and farm animals experience.

WellbeingTo encourage the children’s gross motor skills and strengthen turn taking, we set

up a jumping experience outside with soft fall mats. To strengthen the children’s fine motor development and provide opportunities for them to engage in role play, they have been engaging in a hanging washing experience with pegs. Other experiences to encourage a strong sense of wellbeing have included threading, hammer and nails, balancing stilts, challenging climbing experiences, dirt patch, and sensory experiences such as clay, play dough, slime, water play, and salt snow.LearningThe children’s enthusiasm for mud play this term has been wonderful to watch, with everybody independently thinking up different ways to use their mud. The children met our pet snails up close, and were invited to draw their observations of them. We discussed the snails’ eye antenna, the pretty slime trail they left behind them as they moved. We also learnt a slow song about snails. Other learning rich experiences include our bug table, light box with magnets, complex puzzles, number games, and large floor puzzles. Communication

This month we have engaged in many experiences to support language and literacy skills. To extend our work on alphabet and

name recognition, the children made a group alphabet poster. We have also begun Show and Tell, which the children have been thoroughly enjoying. Other language and literacy experiences have included our Alphabet book, name flash cards, name writing, alphabet puzzles, and songs/stories about animals, family, cultural diversity, nature, feelings, and numeracy.

Fundraisng

In Term 3 the fundraising focus was our annual Trivia Night. With lots of donations from many local companies, and the support of all our kinder families we managed to raise over $3800 - which is an amazing total. 

We also launched our Mattel Toy Drive which took place in September and raised over $100.

In term 4 we have lots of activities to keep you busy.  You can purchase the beautiful Kinder Tea Towels for the 3 year old and 4 year old groups, and a Christmas card drive. 

We will also have our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle in November, so keep your eyes on the white board in the foyer for the date and the volunteer sign-up sheet.

General

Dates to remember:

Term 4: 5th October – 18th December

Reminder: Fees are due BY the 1st day of each term. Invoices are distributed end of previous term.

Our Facebook Group page will have reminders, comments, suggestions etc on it. It is YOUR page, so please send an invite request to join & start chatting with kinder parents & teachers.www.facebook.com/?sk=welcome#!/groups/456592417711375/ Or just search ‘Benwerrin Kinder Group’ on Facebook.

We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday break.