OCTOBER 2015

Diamond Hills Pre-School

Play, Learn, Laugh & Shine Events this Month

Thursday the 29th October: Visit from Local government Dental Clinic

2nd & 3rd of November Melbourne Cup weekend No Kinder

Wednesday 4th of November 3yr old Dinosaur Incursion

Thursday 5th of November Responsible pet education training

Thursday 19th November Platypus Pyjama Day

Tuesday 24th of November AGM meeting

Thursday 26th of November ; NO CLASSES Orientation Day for all 2016

Sunday 29th of November DHPS Families Christmas Party

@ Greenhills Primary School Tuesday 8th December

Wombats Christmas Concert Wednesday 9th December

Possums Christmas Concert Monday 7th December

Platypus Christmas Concert Tuesday 8th of December

Penguin Family Christmas Evening Tuesday 15th of December:

Last Day for Penguin group Wednesday 16th of December

Last Day for Platypus Thursday 17th December: Clean up

Day at kinder.

Presidents Report The committee would like to extend a warm and

open ended invitation to anyone part of the Diamond Hills community to our next Committee

Meeting on Tuesday the 17th of November @ 7.30pm

(Held at kinder) Be assured you won't be handed work, forced to

contribute or anything of that nature. Please, just come along, meet your committee, share

a cuppa, see what we do and maybe you will have a great idea to contribute. I especially

welcome anyone who may be interested in being part of the 2016 committee. In early November

we will be seeking nominations for a next committee.

2016 Committee of Management positions: President

Vice President (QIP) Secretary (Minutes & Agenda)

Assistant secretary (Newsletter, FB and website)

Treasurer Fee’s officer

Enrolment officer Maintenance officer

Staff Liaison Officer (Employee Relations) Fundraising co-ordinator

Fundraising Sub-committee x 3 or more Purchasing Officer Duty Rosters

Events Co-ordinator Events Sub-committee x 3 or more Environmental Sustainability Officer

There is only 8 Weeks left of the Term 4 and we Parents

know it will fly by! If you have any spare time to help out at Kindergarten the volunteer roster for this term is by the sign in book please try and find a spot that you might

be able to spend some time at kinder with your child. Before we know it they’ll be at school or in 4 Year old

Kindergarten

Please also remember we are a Sun Smart Kindergarten and Hats are required every session in Term 4

Road Safety at Diamond Hills Pre-School

In the Last couple of weeks the 4 Year old groups have been learning about road safety,

through this we would like to take the opportunity to remind families about some of the

road rules for our Car Park

Car Park Speed

When entering or leaving the Car Park we ask drivers to please drive at a

slow pace we recommend 10k/h as we feel this is the safest speed to

allow cars to stop encase of an emergency.

Parking

When parking your cars please reverse into your space as this allows

you the best vantage point to see Families crossing the carpark

Crossing the Road

Reminding children they must be holding an adults hand

when crossing the Car Park and not to enter the Car Park

without an Adult, while crossing the road we encourage

Adults to remind children to Stop, Look, Listen and Think

before crossing.

Disability Parking Spaces

Diamond Hills has 2 disabled space in our car park we would like to

remind families that even though the Car Park maybe full that these

spaces are strictly for People with Disabled Parking Permits.

Leaving children in Car’s Unattended

The thought of running a quick errand and leaving the children in

the car for a minute can be tempting for a parent or carer.

Leaving children unattended in a car on any day is dangerous, let

alone a hot summer’s day. It could result in serious injury or

death. If you leave your car take your child with you

In Victoria, it is illegal to leave a child unattended in a vehicle

under the Children, Youth and Families Act (2005).

Fundraising

Our Trivia night on Saturday the 17th of October was a Huge Success we managed to $1904 thank you so much to the Fundraising and Event’s Team for putting together a

Fantastic night out! Fundraising are currently selling Tickets to the Mattel Toy Club tickets are available for Thursday 12th of November 6pm-8pm and Saturday the 14th of November 1pm-2:30pm

tickets are $10 each Thanking our Trivia Night Sponsors

November Committee Meeting

Committee meetings are open to all families, our next committee meeting on Tuesday the 17th of November the committee will be reviewing our Committee Constitution before our regular

meeting opens. We especially encourage anyone who may be interested in a position for 2016 to come along and see what we do, However if don’t get a chance to come along and are still

interested in a position for next year please email Monique and she can get you in contact with other committee members who position you are interested in.

Welcome back to Term Four. How quickly the year has flown by. These last two months of kinder are so jammed packed with events, then Christmas preparations begin in earnest, that the kinder year is over before you know it. If you can manage, take the opportunity to do kinder duty one last time before your children move onto 4 year old kinder. The children love having mum, dad or grandparents sharing their kinder day.

I would like to firstly thank Nicole once again for holding the fort whilst I was completing my Practicum Placement for my studies. She advises me that the children coped really well on returning in term 4 and that they made Louise feel very welcomed. Thank you also to the committee and staff once again for allowing me the time away. This time I was placed in the Montessori school in Diamond Creek. It was certainly an interesting experience. I have gained new knowledge and understanding in ways to present learning opportunities for children, it

has reinforced my belief of having high expectations of children and that all children are capable of achieving, it has highlighted my belief in the importance of play and it has heightened my awareness in cultural inclusiveness.

As I was away for the first two weeks of term, I really have very little to report other than the end of term three parties. The children made

fairy bread, iced biscuits and cut up fruit for all to share. A sea of costumes entered our kinder and the children danced with ribbons. Chantelle was brilliant as always, scaffolding the music and movement. (EYLF - Community - Children are connect with and contribute to their world when they develop a sense of belonging to groups)

The purchase of our new ladder has seen many children managing to successfully climb the rungs to the top. As the ladder is constantly moving as it is not secured at the bottom, this involves an extraordinary amount of strength, coordination of hands and feet, determination, balance and negotiating the space in between the rungs. This activity is great for stimulating the vestibular in the ear , which is important for

Possums Wombats

balance, developing upper body and core strength, which is important for children to be able to sit comfortably for longer periods of time at school, and strengthening hand muscles, which is important for writing. It also develops the child's self-esteem and sense of accomplishment as his/she is able to successfully negotiate the rungs

(EYLF - Wellbeing - Children have a strong sense of wellbeing when they combine gross and fine motor movements to achieve increasingly complex patterns of activity including, dance and creative

movement

In addition, the children have been confident learners (EYLF -Learning) as they have use curiosity, imagination, cooperation, creativity, persistence, problem solving, experimentation, investigation and enthusiasm to explore their world. The children are showing initiative by using play to investigate, imagine and explore ideas. This is showing that the children are developing their emotional and social wellbeing, building on their sense of self.

Whilst I have been away, there has been a burst of new life at the kinder. Our chicken Fluffy hatched eggs, and now has a broad of 4 chicks following her, our Stick insects have hatch, with many tiny insects dispersed throughout the enclosure, (11 so far and counting) and our silkworms have also hatched and are now slowly growing. The children have shown an interest in the process closely watching for any changes. This process will take about 6 - 8 weeks from tiny egg to a silkworm, then a chrysalis and into a new silky white moth. This is an amazing opportunity to watch the process from beginning to end as the children are able to experience the whole life cycle. In addition by reading 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar", the children will be able to relate to the story by witnessing the changes of the silkworm life cycle as it occurs, providing a wonderful learning opportunity and

cementing new knowledge. (EYLF: Community - Children are connected with and contribute to their world when they explore relationships with other living and non-living things and observe, notice and respond to change. Learning - Children are confident and involved learners when they are curious and enthusiastic

participants in their learning and express wonder and interest in their environments. ) As spring has sprung, Nicole started to create a blossom tree with the children. This will also provide a learning opportunity to understand the change in seasons, including the sensorial aspect of smell, touch and sight. We will be exploring this further as in the coming weeks. As you may all be aware, Nicole will be moving in 2016 to Annmarie’s 4 year old group as the additional co educator. This is so that the new ratios are maintained. It means that we are currently in the process of hiring additional staff to be the co educator for

the 3 year old groups as well as the additional co educator in Kim's 4 year old group. A huge thank you to our committee for all their time involved in vetting all the applicants. We hope to have someone soon.

Till next time, Tania and Nicole

Dates for your diary Kinder is closed :-

Monday 2nd November - Staff day

in lieu of overtime hours worked

Tuesday 3rd November - Melbourne Cup day.

Dinosaur Diggers incursion

Wednesday 4th November - Possum and Wombat groups

combined. Time: 8:30 am - 10:30

am

AGM for Diamond Hills Tuesday 24th

November commencing approx. 7:00pm.

Orientation Day for all children attending in 2016 Thursday 26th November - No Kinder due to Orientation Day for both the 3 and 4year

old groups who will attend Diamond Hills in 2016

Diamond Hills Christmas Party

Sunday 29th November At Green Hills Primary School

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm More details to follow

Christmas Concert and end of year parties - during normal sessions (more details to

follow) Tuesday 8th December - Wombats

Wednesday 9th December - Possums This is the last session for the year for each group. Families will be invited to an end of year

Christmas concert, followed by a break up party. More details to follow.

Clean up day Thursday 17th December - Clean up Day at kinder. Morning only – if you are available to

spare a little bit of time, we would love some help with the cleaning.

Friday 18th December - staff finish for the year.

Platypus

It’s difficult to believe that we are in 4th term, the final term for this

year. The roster for this term is by the sign in book please try and find

a spot that you might be able to spend some time at kinder with your

child. Before we know it they’ll be at school!!!

Because we face such a busy time ahead there are some dates for

your diary at the end of this report.

The end of last term saw the Platypus children celebrate all the

learning that had taken place over the term by having a ‘Colour’

Party. As the name suggests there was a great deal of colour

involved in a fun day. Many of the children love dancing and this

featured quite highly in our last session.

The children have begun 4th term very

enthusiastically continuing where they left off last term especially in the areas of their

developing numeracy and literacy interests. They are extending their emerging skills

in ‘writing’ and are still really enjoying their imaginative, dramatic & creative play.

We also will be involving the children in more structured pre-reading and pre-reading

experiences as the term progresses.

This is a very exciting term for us as educators as the basic skills that we have been

concentrating on, really are displayed by the children especially in the areas of social

skills. The children at this stage of the year plan and manage a lot of their own play.

Independence is also being developed as we encourage the children to take

responsibility for their possessions hence the ‘child only zone’ in the children’s locker

area, thank you for supporting this.

What have the Platypus children been discovering so far this term? We have been

learning about people in our community who help us. The children have been learning

more about their jobs and what they do. On Thursday 8th October we were fortunate to have 2 police members

visit. They just happened to both be related to children in the Platypus group and we can’t thank them enough for

giving up their time to help the children understand a little more of what their job entails and that it isn’t just

shooting bad people and putting bad people in jail. The children were provided with very valuable information.

As part of this area of interest we are also organising the local CFA to visit which should occur in the next week

or so.

On Thursday 15th October we also went on an excursion to the Traffic school in Kew. The children were

provided with the opportunity to practice riding bikes and learning traffic rules connected to travelling in a car,

walking and crossing the road safely, etc. This was an ideal opportunity to discuss how to keep ourselves safe in

different circumstances involving road safety. I would like to say a very big thank you to the Platypus parents

who supported us on this day. You were fantastic!! Your participation, involvement and follow through with

what was learnt on the day was amazing. Thank you for all the support that you sh ow our program, it is very

much appreciated.

This term to extend our learning on sustainability and conservation I introduced 3 plastic 20 litre containers to be

placed in strategic spots around the outdoor play area. The idea is that the children use the water from these tanks

only and when the water is gone they need to wait until the n ext kinder session to get more. The tanks are great

in that the children can monitor for themselves how much water they are using and

see how the water level drops each time they use it. This provides a great visual

learning tool whereas our larger water tank doesn’t permit this. We are also trying

to explain to children conservation in other areas for e.g.: inside at construction

they only get to use one sticky tape and one masking tape dispenser. I feel that

these are valuable lessons especially in our current world where things are

readily/easily replaced or purchased.

Encouraging the children to think about this for themselves I believe is a valuable

life lesson.

With the arrival of spring and finally some warmer

weather has seen the hatching of Stick Insects (the

number is rising each day with the warm weather)

and the hatching of the silk worms. Both which

have stimulated the children’s interest. The Silk

worms have a life cycle of 6-8 weeks which is

wonderful as it enables the children to be able to witness their whole cycle. This

is another great learning tool.

A big part of our programming this term involves moving towards transition.

This is achieved through a combination of approaches and processes including

that the information about the children is well understood, shared and valued and

that the children have the opportunity to have their say about what is important to

them. Many of the children will begin orientation visits soon to familiarise

themselves with their move forward next year and we aim to make this as smooth

as possible. With this in mind if there is anything at all that you would like to

discuss about your child please don’t hesitate to talk to Kyla or myself.

We have just recently sent out to our 4yr old families a chance to have their say abo ut their child and how they

see their child’s transition into school. The staff have also begun preparing their part of the Transition statement.

When both parts are completed each family will maintain a copy and as long as permission is given a copy will

be passed onto the school. The information does help your child’s teacher get to know them just that little bit

quicker.

This term always proves to be such a busy one. There are some very important dates for your diary involving

upcoming events at kinder and dates to keep free as we move closer to the end of the year. But even though the

end of the year is looming closer the Platypus children

still have lots of fun learning times ahead.

Dates for the Diary –

Thursday 29th October - Dentist - Normal session

time. (you should have received a letter and permission

form about this visit)

Thursday 5th November - ‘Responsible Pet

Ownership’ - is visiting to discuss with the children

how to safely approach dogs and how to act responsibly

when with them. This will provide the children with an

important learning experience.

The Pet Educator will be bringing a suitability-tested dog with them. It is important that you inform us if your

child is allergic to dogs or has a fear of dogs so that appropriate arrangements can be put into place during the

session. After the children’s presentation there will also be a short presentation to parents. At this time the

Educator will talk on how to provide a safe home environment in relation to the supervision of dogs and children.

Please Note: Parent session is 11.20am - 12midday. (Just before the end of the session)

Pyjama Day - Thursday 19th November (Details will be sent out soon) Normal Session times.

Thursday 26th November - No Kinder due to Orientation Day for both the 3 & 4yr old groups who will attend

Diamond Hills in 2016

Happy Birthday

October

Xmas Celebration Night - Monday 7th

December. Starting at 6.30pm. (We will

confirm this date.)

Platypus party and last day - Wednesday

16th December

Please note this session will start at 8.00am

and finish with a parent luncheon.

More details as the event draws closer.

Thursday 17th December – Morning only – if you available to spare a little bit of time

we would love some help with the cleaning.

(The staff will finish for the year on Friday

18th December.)

Thanks

Kyla, Elaine & Annmaree

Penguin

Cameron 25th

Jacob 29th

Platypus

Matilda 11th

Possum

Mason 24th

Wombats

2015 Teachers

Annmaree Watkins (4yo Platypus)

Kim Walker (4yo Penguin) Tania Mantovani (3yo Possum & Wombat Groups)

Co Educators/Teaching Assistants Bronwen Gear (4yo Penguin Group) Kyla Ridgeway (4yo Platypus Group)

Nicole De Cata (3yo Possum & Wombat Groups) 2015 Committee Members

Administration Officer: Kerrie Haynes President: Linda Wein (Penguin)

Vice President: Carolyn Tsioulos (Platypus) Secretary: Karina Papadakis (Possums)

Assistant Secretary: Monique Jutson (Penguin) Treasurer: Shannon Fitzpatrick (Possum) Fees Officer: Cassy Coffey (Possum)

Enrolment Officer 3&4 Year olds: Chantelle Alvaro (Platypus) Fundraising Co-Ordinator: Lisa Henry (Platypus) Events Co-Ordinator: Katrina Naish (Penguin)

Maintenance Officer: Paul King (Platypus) Staff Liaison: Bev Ashley(Wombat) Sub-Committee Members

Purchasing Officer: Carly Veale (Platypus) Duty Roster: Regan Sailah (Platypus) Fundraising Sub Committee: Wendy Sansome (Platypus) Bianca Vecchio(Penguins) &

Rebecca Fostineo (Possum) Events Sub Committee: Lisa Bovezza(Platypus) & Amanda Low(Wombat)

Centre contact Information: Hours- Monday- Friday 8am – 5pm

Phone: 9435 8694 Email: diamond.hills.kin@kindergarten.vic.gov.au

Web: www.diamondhillspreschool.com.au Postal: PO Box 56, Greensborough, Victoria 3088

Newsletter Contact: Monique Jutson email: m-e-jutson@live.com (photo’s, stories or things you would like to share with the kinder community.)

4th Term… wow! It snuck up on us! The Penguin children are demonstrating

some of the great things they have been learning about and developing this

year through their collaborative play and interests. At this time of year, we

are beginning to think about transition reports for school, and as we do this,

it reinforces how much your children have grown and developed this year.

Kim has ‘misplaced/lost’ the camera card over the holidays and so doesn’t have any photos to

share of our fun F party that we ended 3rd term with. We had fairies and footy players making

team appropriate hats, fantasy masks, recycled

rainbow, fairy bread, dancing, umpired footy game,

partner colour competition and more! Thank you to

those parents that helped us on the day.

This term has begun with a bang with a visit from 2

police officers and their vehicles and an excursion to

the Kew Traffic school. These experiences have been

implemented to develop and build the childrens

awareness of their wider community. Through these

experiences the children broaden their understanding of

the world in which they live, learn new information,

express opinions, build on their own social experiences and

make connections. The overall messages from our police

officers was that there are many different sorts of

police officers in the community and they are there to

help us and keep us safe. After a fun and loud visit to the

police cars, the children helped Detective Carly to solve a

crime mystery. Armed with forensic gloves, magnifying glasses and evidence bags, the children

found clues as to the identity of the lollipop theif. Fingerprints were taken at the end of the

session!! Thank you so much to our visitors Carly and Steve, who are both connected with our

Diamond Hills community. This visit promoted lots of symbolic play, with new language and

knowledge inspired interactions. Lots of our Penguin children would like to be police officers one

day. I asked them if they would like to be a detective and solve mysteries or help on the roads to

make sure people were driving safely or maybe even work with police dogs…. the common answer

was…..” I want to put people in jail!”!!

Penguin

Despite the hot,windy weather, the traffic school was

an informative and active excursion with lots of

discussion about safety in the car, as a pedestrian and

as a bike rider. The

children gained a greater

awareness of the colour

and symbols used in signs

and importantly, the Stop,

look, listen, Think message

when crossing the road. Everyone, including Kim had lots of fun

riding around the roads at the traffic school and practicing being

more aware of what is going on around us. Thank you to our families

for bringing the children to Kew for the afternoon and learning

more about the safety regulations and rules in regards to helmet

fitting, front seat passengers and children’s developmental visual

and cognitive awareness while crossing the road. We have further information on these if you are

interested. Special thanks to Sammy (Williams little sister) for cooling us with the spray

bottlexx

Our creative and inquisitive penguins have been weaving with natural

and recycled materials – lots of co-ordination and problem solving

required for this experience. They have also been scientists

investigating with dye and eye droppers and creating new colours to

use in their artwork. There was much discussion, comparison and long

periods of investigation at this learning area. They have been

manipulating a different medium in clay and when given the chance to

work through the change in sensory feel from playdough to clay, have

been creating some really innovative pieces.

Lots of the children observed a pesky crow called Claude who had

begun stealing the hens eggs when they laid them. After watching him

closely and protecting the eggs, we called a Penguin meeting to discuss the problem. I have left a

copy of the children’ thoughts on the noticeboard – some great suggestions!! Great discussion,

problem solving, hypothesising, sharing opinions,

humour, and suggestions on how to proceed and

in what order. A real tem effort and sense of

ownership in their kinder was demonstrated.

Great work Penguins.

Lots of new life at Diamond Hills at the moment that is

promoting lots of discussion, questions, observations

and interaction. We have silk worms who hatched at

the end of last term, on last count, 14 baby stick

insects have hatched from eggs that have been

dormant for quite a long period of time and 4 new

chickens hatched last week to Fluffy (first time mum)

Sadly, Prince our beautiful rooster, is no longer ruling

the roost since his son Curly decided it was his turn.

There was a coop - take -over around the same time as

the prime ministership coup!! So, like Mr. Abbott,

Prince has had to move to the back bench (acreage at

King Lake) and is reportedly loving his new home and new

harem of chickens. Fantastic learning opportunities for

the children to observe the changes in these creatures,

life-cycles, silk production and responsibility for their

care. This is promoting lots of new vocabulary and

thought processes.

To extend this focus on new life and growth, the children have

created a ‘Hairy Harry’ with seeds and soil. The children will be

watching carefully for any changes to their project and making sure

it receives the essentials – light and water.

Thank you to our families who have participated in the garden

roster so far. Special mention to the message left on the path with

a pressure hose by one of our Dads!

Natalie has joined us this term. She is currently completing placement for her Diploma in

Children’s services. At Nillumbik Living and Learning. We welcome Natalie to the Diamond Hills

team.

CONGRATULATIONS to the committee for their fantastic Trivia Fundraising night. Lots of fun

was had by all – a great night. Thank you for all your hard work and efforts to raise a wonderful

sum for our preschool. Special mention to Grace’s

Dad Olly, who won the paper plane distance

competition and the Price is Right competition.

Olly kindly donated his prize which was auctioned

off on the night.

Thank you to Monique for all her hard work

preparing a certificate package for every member

of our Diamond Hills classes for the Enviro Week

award. The children were very excited to receive

their t-shirts, certificate and chocolate for their hard work at recycling waste at kinder and

home. Monique won the educators award during her awareness campaign initiative during

Environment week and was recognised for her efforts. Thanks for inspiring us Monique, to make

us more aware and to use more effective sustainability practices at Diamond Hills and our homes.

Dates for your diary:

29th October: Visit from Local government Dental Clinic – educational program with the children

and dental check if parental permission provided.

5th November Responsible pet education training

26th November ; NO CLASSES Orientation Day for all 2016 groups

8th December Penguin Family Christmas Evening (6pm)

15th December: Last Day for Penguin group

17th December: Clean up Day at kinder.

We received an email from Milana L and her family. They are settling well in the UK and Milana

received her first award in her Reception class (like our prep).

BIG THANK YOU: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kyla and Nicole for teaching

with me during Bronwen’s long service leave. The children and I have been so lucky to have these

2 wonderful educators working with us over the last 4 months. I have enjoyed it and really

appreciate their skill and friendship. We are looking forward to Bronwens return in the first

week of November.

Thank you everyone. Make the most of these gorgeous children at preschool – they will be at

school before you know it!

Kim, Kyla & Nicole