Friday 5^th February 2016

Dear Families,

We have had a fabulous first 2 weeks for all children at kindy. There were lots of excited busy happy exploring children, keen to get stuck into it! Wonderful to see!

Finishing Times:

Next week (Thurs 11^th and Fri 12^th Feb) our sessions will run the full day, finishing at 4.05. For some families with older children attending school, it may be convenient for you to pick-up your little one with your school run. Our session finishing time may be flexible to suit your needs, but please advise Jody or myself of your intentions.

Rest Time:

Next week you will be required to bring in your child’s rest bag. This is a fitted sheet and may include a comforter soft toy, and a cover sheet/ blanky in a named drawstring bag. Please be mindful that our space for storage of these are limited, and we want you child to be as comfortable and feel secure as possible. We recommend a fitted cot sheet or a small size elasticated one like the ones here at the kindy. They can be purchased for $15. Please do not send along single bed sheets or flat sheets as they are difficult for the children to independently manage and prepare their rest place. We will have discussed Rest Time preparing your child, showing them the mattresses and what will happen. (Quiet darkened room, background restful music, and guided relaxation)

Our rest period will be from 1:15-2:00 so we ask that if you have a need for an early pick up, please do so around these times, as during this time it can be very disruptive. Any time after 3:00pm is fine. Please give us a call before so, and we can prepare your child for this early departure.

Hand Towels:

We will be asking parents on a rotating cycle, to take all of the handtowels home to wash them and return them to the group for the following week. In the past, the children at home have enjoyed being responsible and helping their parents to fold the hand towels and return them (on the Thursday morning). We thank you in advance for your cooperation and support in this.

A few things for you to know –

The first few weeks of the kindy program we will be focusing on becoming familiar with our daily routines and kindy rules whilst getting to know each other. These foundations will help to make your child’s transition from the home to kindy smooth and with minimal stress whilst creating and nurturing a safe, predicable, calm environment.

We will be making a Kindy rule book “Our Golden Rules Book’ which will be on display – it will be a work in progress as we introduce new rules. Please feel free to flick through this to become familiar with our rules so you can communicate/discuss these with your little ones.

Mozzie Repellent

Just a reminder to ensure that your child has a mozzie repellent in their bag that THEY are able to apply. We encourage the children to reapply the repellent after rest time when we come out again for our outside play session.

Change of Clothes

Please ensure has a change of clothes in their bags.

Hats

For sun safety, a broad brimmed hat is recommended. Please do not bring in caps.

Cups

Has your child got their cup with a handle?

Lunchboxes

We kindly remind you to please not send in insulated lunch boxes. We will keep you posted on how the children are eating with a little note in your child’s lunchbox when necessary. Sometimes they may comment at the table that they “Don’t like that” particular food. We may leave you a note of what they do suggest to us that they do like, or if there is not enough food.

What stays at kindy…

The children’s cups stay at kindy all year. They are washed daily and kept here. The children’s hats and their sheet bag stay here on the Thursday and will be put in their bag on Friday to go home . Remember to bring them in the following week.

Signing you’re your child in

It is regulation that your child is signed in of a morning and signed out of an afternoon. Please don’t forget!

Meet and Greet

We invite you (and any extended family) to our Meet and Greet BBQ. This will be held on Saturday 13^th February from 10:30 – 11:30. It will be held at our kindergarten, and we will supply sausages in bread, cordial, and some fruit. We would love to see you all here. This will be for both the Kookaburra and Gecko groups.

Committee Election

As you may be aware, we need to form a committee comprised of parents, with the roles of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Without and elected parent Committee, our service simply cannot operate. Meetings will be held once a month and we have some wonderful support for our committee members from C & K Service Manager Karina Enks. Please express any interest you have to Lisa, Jody or Sharron. It is a great opportunity to have a say in what goes on in our wonderful learning environment, meet other parents and have a cuppa and a chat! We will be having an AGM to elect a new committee before the Meet and Greet on Saturday 13^th February from 10am

Dates to note…

Term finishes on Thursday 24^th March.

Friday 25^th March is Good Friday and the Kindergarten will be closed.

Term 2 recommences on Thursday 14^th April and we have an 11 week Term.

Emails…

As emails will be my primary source of sharing information, please be sure to check regularly, and that I have your current correct email address. Our reason for this is to reduce our consumption of paper, however I will print off a couple of hard copies. I will note on our whiteboard near our sign in book to expect an email.

Parent Pockets

We would like to encourage you to regularly check your Parent Pocket for notices, receipts, and any other information. This is located near the lockers suspended from the roof (With the Gecko Picture) with your child’s name labelled.

How do you know what’s going on in your child’s day?

We have the visual diary (laptop with slideshow pictures) where you can see photos taken throughout the day capturing your child’s involvement in activities. That laptop will be on top of the lockers. I would like to also direct your attention to the Learning and Teaching Journal (the big A3 size folder on top of the lockers) This is my preferred method of documenting and sharing the learning and involvement in the program. No personal information will be shared in this document, but rather the activities outlined and the learning occurring. It also allows for future planning of ideas and interests that are evolving. Please feel free to contribute any ideas or suggestions you may have to enhance your child’s experiences and interests at our kindy. Some days please understand that I am simply caught in the moment with the children and too busy to document or photograph an experience, but I assure you, you will hear about it in some way or another….

Look forward to Next Week ,

Lisa and Jody J