August 2017

Brain Friendly Habits for Happiness and Wellbeing Sue Langley of the Langley group is a world expert and leading advisor on neuroscience, emotional in-

telligence and positive psychology. Sue has released a book detailing healthy brain habits to promote

health and wellbeing.

Our brains are geared for life long learning with the development of new connections and making adap-

tions as experience allows. However, tiredness, stress and being overworked affects our ability to learn

new things and to maintain the focussed attention needed to train our brains. Advances in neuroscience

allow us to look at the way the brain works, and the best habits to form to promote positive results. Try

these habits on yourself and your family and then keep doing those that work for you.

1. At home around the dinner table, share the positives of your day. If something feels good then you

will do it again; forming a habit. Your thinking processes are reduced after a long day of decision mak-

ing, when the fuel levels supplying our brain are low. Early in the morning our brains have more fuel, so

decision making is best done in the morning. Receiving positive feedback and bonding with others, as

well as doing good things for others refuels our brain, releasing energy. Dopamine is released in the

brain when we experience positive emotions.

2. Be aware of emotions as they arise so you can accept them and then handle them. Our behaviour and

thinking is influenced by emotions, helping us to deal quickly with things automatically. But we want

our emotions and thinking to work together, we want to harness them so that we control our emotions

rather than the other way round. This is an important skill to build in children too.

3. Build activities you enjoy into your daily routine, move frequently, change your environment and get

outside. Breathe deep diaphragmatic breaths; it is hard to be angry if you are breathing deeply. Our

brains and bodies are an integrated system, and we need to take care of both to increase our health and

wellbeing. This comes from diet, sleep and exercise; all important ingredients to perform at your best.

Apparently raising your arms above your head releases happy hormones under your arms, which tells

your brain that you are happy!

4. Take the time to just ‘be’; being creative, doodling or colouring are all ways to let the mind go free.

Do these activities with your children to consolidate skills in you both. Imagination inspires the ability to

form new ideas and have eureka moments. Perspective changes happen when our minds wander freely,

rather than when we are concentrating; maybe in the shower, or just as we wake up in the morning.

To be continued…..

Outdoor Classroom Day Thursday September 7th

Nature Play Australia is promoting Outdoor Classroom Day, a

global campaign to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play.

Schools and centres around the world will take part in the day. Na-

ture Play Australia says outdoor play improves children’s health,

engages children in their learning, leads to a greater connection

with nature, teaches critical life skills like problem solving, team-

work and creativity, and is central to children’s enjoyment of child-

hood. As WCCC is already a well known advocate for outdoor

play the leadership team thought we could recognise the day

through a connecting to nature morning, where the whole Centre

starts their day in Pilyabilyangga.

So…. On the 7th of September come prepared to be outside; with

appropriate clothing, shoes and a hat. We will share fruit outside in

the morning and spend as much of the day outside as possible.

New Babes Wishing all the best to the fami-

lies who have grown by two feet

recently and to those who are

expecting a new arrival soon. A

new addition to the family offers

change that is both rewarding

and challenging but is a time to

be treasured and cherished.

PARENT NEWSLETTER

Spotlight on Educators

Introducing….. Emily. I hold Diploma qualification of Children’s services and have been working in the long day care for 9.5

years, which was 6.5 years in Melbourne and 3 years in Adelaide. Five months ago I joined in WCCC

and I have been enjoying working with excellent diverse background team and wonderful children.

I have Chinese background and came to Australia 12 years ago. I am married and have a 6 year old

daughter who goes to Linden Park primary school and my husband is a lecturer in Uni, SA. On the

weekend we’d like to go to local Library, park and take our daughter to Chinese class.

Staffing 2017 Kaarin is enjoying her Long Service Leave overseas. She has sent some short notes and photos to share her holidays with us. Staffing across all three rooms is remaining consistent providing continuity for children. Yvett and Nancy have returned from their holidays overseas refreshed and revived. Eleanor will be tak-ing some time off during the October school holidays. Other educators and staff are having short leave during the next few months. Educators are making the most of training opportunities with Cassie and Dani building on their knowledge of Critical Reflection, the leadership team completing an online and face to face Mental Health First Aid course, Cassie and Cherry developing skills in Educator Playfulness, and Eleanor will be completing a series of leadership masterclasses. Kate’s contract with WCCC will be ending in September, though we will still be seeing her around the Centre. Emilie will be permanently joining the Room 3 team in September.

Diary Dates: Please remember the following important dates: Yoga with Jess is back this term on Wednes-days Aug 9th to Sept 13th Room 3 Pilyabilyangga Mondays for Term 3, with some wood whittling sessions Centre early closure day—Tuesday 24th Octo-ber End of year celebration Monday 18th Decem-ber

Board and PAG Matters 2017 Adelaide University Childcare Services Inc (AUCS) meets on the last Monday of the month. Annelise Wiebkin the WCCC parent member of AUCS. The Parent Advisory Group (PAG) meetings in 2017 will be the third Friday of the month. We are contin-uing the Health policy reviews and looking at com-munication apps. Please speak to Kaarin if you are interested in joining this group. End of year closure this year is Friday 22nd December at 1.00pm.

Introducing……..Emilie I have been part of the casual relief team here at Waite since April 2016, mainly working in Room 3.

This job is the start of a new career for me. I originally studied Theatre Production in Glasgow, spe-

cialising in Scenic Painting, Prop Making, Costume and Carpentry. As a freelancer back home in

Scotland I kept finding myself working for Theatre in Education companies and working with or for

children of all ages. When I came to Australia in 2012 to spend some time travelling, I knew my love

of the theatre and film industry was quickly leaving me (self-employment is not for me!) and I began

thinking about teaching. I had always known I would go into Education in some way but was still un-

sure of how. After arriving in New Zealand in 2014, I had the chance to work in Early Childhood Edu-

cation as a relief teacher, even with no qualifications. A year later I found myself back in beautiful

Adelaide, enrolled at TAFE to study my diploma, and I finally became qualified just last month.

I’m really looking forward to moving into the permanent position in Room 3. I’m excited to settle into

my role and begin exploring my passion of the arts and creativity with children. I’m a strong believer

in nurturing creativity in different ways, and believe in the many benefits it can bring to children.

PARENT NEWSLETTER

Affiliate program As a Centre we made the commitment at the beginning of the year to use cloth nappies instead of the

less environmentally friendly disposable nappies. We also sourced a more eco-friendly disposable nappy

for putting on children to go home. These nappies are 80% plant based and therefore have less impact on

our earth. They are also free from GMO materials, chlorines, dioxins, phthalates, fragrances, latex and

heavy metal. We have also been using the eco originals wipes which are 100% compostable and free of chlorine, al-

cohol, phthalates, parabens and fragrances. They contain cucumber, chamomile, and green tea extracts

for healing.

Eco originals offer an affiliate program for families of the centre. As a Centre we will receive 5% of

sales whenever customers purchase through the link below. Please use this link to purchase; if you go

through the website then the 5% bonus will not apply.

https://www.ecoriginals.com.au/refer/waitecampus/.

With our change from disposable nappies to Modern Cloth Nappies we have significantly reduced the

Centre’s negative environmental impact. Unfortunately the provided ser-

vice of picking up, laundering and then delivering clean nappies is no

longer available through the company so we have had to go back to full

use of disposable nappies. The option to purchase and launder nappies

ourselves was offered but at this time is not something the Centre can

commit to as it would take away too much educator time from the chil-

dren. We are continuing to research other options, but until we find a suit-

able replacement we have returned to our previous nappy supplier.

Sun safe behaviour Our recently revised sun sense policy states that from the beginning of August educators and children

will again practice sun safe behaviours. We will check the UV reading across the day, with attention to

peak times given on the Bureau of Meteorology website. Educators and children will wear hats, apply

sunscreen and encourage play in the shade at these peak times when the UV reads above three. Hats

need to be wide brimmed and to cover the ears, face and neck. Clothing is recommended to be elbow

length sleeves and longer style pants and dresses to provide maximum skin protection. Thank you for

your assistance in helping your children to be sun aware.

The Department for Education and Child Development is promoting free speaker sessions for par-

ents across September. Sessions are run at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre from 7.00-8.45 in the

evening. These sessions link to the focus at WCCC on positive education and positive relationships,

building resilience in your children. Professor Lea Waters and Dr Justin Coulson will be very in-

formative, in particular. Please see the poster on the parent notice board for more information.

Fostering Healthy Eating – from Grace‘s kitchen

Mushrooms Mushrooms are loaded with some of the most potent nutrients on the planet, and are beginning to gain super-food status. A 100g serve of mushrooms will give you 103kJ, 3.3g of protein, no saturated fats, 0.3g carbohydrates, 1.5g die-tary fibre, 8mg sodium and 10mcg Vitamin D. Mushrooms naturally produce Vitamin D, which is produced by the mushroom through the actions of sunlight or UV light. Store-bought cultivated mushrooms contain a smaller amount of Vitamin D. There are many mushroom varieties to choose from, starting with the more common white and brown mush-rooms, including swiss brown, buttons, portabello, and flats, each with their own characteristics. The more ex-otic mushrooms available include enoki, king brown, shitake, oyster and shimeji, all presenting differences in flavor and texture. If foraging for mushrooms is something that interests you have a look at the Facebook page Mushroom Foragers of South Australia.

Lamb Kofta 2 small onions 1 small bunch of parsley 1 small bunch of mint, leaves only 750g lamb minced 1½ tsp ground cinnamon 1½ tsp ground allspice 1 cup of cooked quinoa 1 tsp garlic mince 1½ tsp black pepper 1½ tsp salt Oil, to grease Grate the onions, and squeeze out most of the liquid through a sieve. Put in a large bowl. Finely chop the parsley and mint, and add. Mix in the meat, spices, quinoa and salt until thor-oughly combined. Shape into fingers, patties, meat-balls or around flat skewers, cover and chill for at least an hour, or up to 6. Heat a frying pan, griddle or barbecue greased with a little oil. Cook the kebabs until golden brown on all sides, and cooked through to your liking. Eat immedi-ately with flatbreads and yoghurt. You can add pine nuts, chilli flakes. Serves 4 to 6.

Vegan Bolognese 1tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil. 2 celery sticks. 2 carrots, diced. 1 onion, diced. 1 can diced organic tomatoes 1 punnet of chopped cherry tomatoes. 400 g tin of lentils or soaked 400 g tin of mix beans 1 cup of soaked porcini mushrooms. Retain liquid 1/2 cup vegetable stock. 2 cloves garlic. 1 teaspoon of cornflour Sauté the carrot, onion, celery and garlic in the oil for 3 minutes over medium heat or until onion is translucent. Add the lentils, mix beans, porcini mushrooms and liq-uid with the tomatoes, stock, spices, salt and pepper and stir through. Allow to simmer for approximately 15 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Add the cornflour and chopped parsley and remove from flame. Serve with spiralised zucchini pasta or your choice of vegan pasta or rice.

WCCC Green Page

Some strange and wonderful things to recycle…….

You can recycle your dog hair!

Spin it into yarn to make clothing,

scarves, socks, and even purses, cush-

ion covers and toys. Or collect it to

put out for the birds……

www.upliftbras.org collect bras to send to places

like Fiji, PNG, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tonga, Sol-

omon Islands, Philippines, Bali, Cambodia, Sri

Lanka, Botswana, Uganda and Pakistan, the North-

ern Territory and the Kimberley regions in Austral-

ia, providing support to women….. Visit the web-

site for drop off locations.

D3 Mattress Recycling informs us that reports indicate the average space that needs to be allocated in

a landfill for a single mattress is 0.65m3. This means that for every 10 mattresses, we’re wasting 6.5

cubic metres of landfill space. Spring mattresses and foam mattresses can be recycled at various col-

lection depots and waste distribution centres, although it is at a $ cost, and usually they need to be

delivered.

Adelaide Eco Bins says mattresses are pulled apart or reconditioned so the different parts like foam,

springs and scrap metals can be used for other purposes. For example, foam can be recycled and

turned into carpet underlay.

Lions Club of Norwood collect eye glasses and sunglasses

to send to a collection centre in Queensland. These are

graded and sent overseas. There are various collection de-

pots around Norwood, Marden and Adelaide. However, in

an article from 2012, Dr David Wilson, Research Manager

Asia-Pacific, International Centre for Eye care Education

says test samples of donations show that only a small per-

centage are useable, and “they are expensive to sort, clean

and deliver and, in addition, the power of the lenses in a

pair of glasses can differ greatly, meaning that a pair of re-

cycled glasses is rarely the same as

another person’s prescription.

X-ray films are processed in a refinery

to extract the silver. The x-ray films are

heated using temperatures of over 1,000

degrees Celsius. The silver is extracted

and converted into a more pure silver

form. The silver can then be reused for

things such as silver solder, jewelry, the

silver plating of utensils, electrical

components and film manufacture

(recyclingnearyou.com.au)

X-rays can be dropped off at Red Cross

centres or a location in Camden Park.

SHORT and SWEET…...Prosthetic limbs can be recycled at

Daw Park Repatriation Hospital….soda stream canisters can

be refilled at many supermarkets and stores…..photos can be

recycled at the same place x-rays can…...hearing aid batter-

ies can be posted to NSW for recycling….old smoke alarms

need to go into landfill….and corks are no longer recycled

into cork flooring due to the unreliable content of corks.