Kornmehl
Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl
End of year thoughts and thanks
2020 is certainly going to be a year to remember. It’s been a year of challenges, lots of highs and lows and lots of different ways of doing things. We have had to be creative and think outside the box. The part we have missed the most is our connections with the families and our daily interactions with parents and grandparents.
What has astounded us has been the resilience of the children and how settled and happy they have been from the time they returned to Pre-school after COVID lockdown. They have shown us how resilient and capable they are, and that they can be independent, especially with arrival time in the morning. We have learnt that, for the children, consistency, routine, love and care is what matters most in their world. If this is all in place, then they feel safe, happy and a deep sense of belonging to the spaces, and to their educators.
We have been able to go deep with our learning and the slower pace and fewer interruptions have benefitted us all. These are lessons for us all to learn. Maybe our lives are way too busy and COVID has taught us to value the simple pleasures in life.
We have watched the children grow and mature and develop some wonderful relationships with both their peers and teachers. We know that the children are ready to take on new challenges next year, whether it’s going to Year K or moving up to be a Starfish or Dolphin. We look forward to 2021 and sharing another year together.
At this time of the year it is important to thank so many people who have contributed to the Pre-school in so many different and positive ways:
To Mr Andrew Watt – thank you for your unwavering support, knowledge and expertise during this difficult year.
To Morah Martine our amazing Hebrew teacher – a big thank you for your enthusiastic, interactive and fun Hebrew classes this year, the children loved seeing you and have learnt so much from you this year. Todah Rabah and have a happy holiday.
To our two lovely Music teachers this year – Miss Liz Birrell and Mrs Sarit Spiro – thank you for your patience and for teaching us so many wonderful songs this year. The children have loved every minute of their music lessons and we feel lucky and grateful to have you both teach at Kornmehl. Sadly, we had to bid farewell to Liz at the end of Term 3, but the handover to Sarit has been seamless and easy. We look forward to 2021 and many more exciting music lessons.
To Mrs Esti Lipson – thank you for your calm and friendly manner and how you always completes any photocopy task so effortlessly and capably.
A huge thank you to Mrs Gail Mackenzie, our Registrar – for your efficient and supportive enrolment process for the Pre-school. Gail, it’s always a pleasure to work with you. I appreciate your expertise and value that we can work closely together to support the Pre-school.
I must also thank the many administration staff who we work closely with. You are all so helpful and efficient and are always able to help out with any query or question. A big thank you to Mrs Jillian McCormick, our Business Manager, who is sadly leaving us at the end of the year. I appreciate all your help and support over the many years we have worked together. I wish you well in the future.
We were lucky to have one term of buddy reading this year. We missed seeing our Year 2 buddies and we are looking forward to resuming this again in 2021. Thank you to Mrs Esra and Miss Grieves, for coming down and reading to us each week.
Many thanks to Mrs Ginnette Cameron-Gardner and Mrs Kluck from the Primary School library, for welcoming the Kornmehl children into the Library and for the interactive and lovely lessons each week.
Thank you to Tammy, Coach Al and Coach Carly from Playball for another incredible year. The children’s gross-motor and ball skills have improved so much and along the way they have had a lot of fun and learnt many other important skills such as following instructions and listening. We wish you all a happy holiday.
Many thanks to the maintenance team of Mr Andrew Delany, Mr Peter Cummins, Mr Simon Hamilton, Mr Colin Newport, Mr Mark Schulsted and Jonathan Norena for their ability to get every job done so quickly and always with a smile. We really appreciate everything you do for us at Kornmehl.
I would also like to thank the Marketing Department – Mrs Michelle Favero, Mrs Belinda Levin and Ms Kira Friedman, who have worked tirelessly the entire year with the Pre-school, supporting us through many projects. It has been a pleasure to work with such an efficient and capable team.
Our thanks must also go to the IT department, with a special mention to Mr Cameron Whiston, Mr Nathanael Clarke, Mr Mikhael El Khoury, Mr Edward Smith, Mr Ben Marshall and Mr Ivan Salavyov for constantly running up and down the hill to make sure all out IT glitches are sorted out in good time. You all do an amazing job behind the scenes and we are very grateful for your expertise and support.
We must also thank Mr Tom Hagl and his team from security – Mr Max Kozmine and Mr Archie Wilson – who make sure we are kept safe and sound every single day. Many thanks for all your hard work during the year, it is very much appreciated.
A big thank you to all our amazing Kornmehl staff, who have worked with complete commitment and dedication throughout the year, to make 2020 such an amazing year. You have all shown huge resilience and the ability to embrace challenge head on and to never stop learning. Your expertise, knowledge and experience are valued by us all and a testament to the confident, happy and engaged children in the Pre-school.
I would also like to thank Mrs Janice Eliovson, our support educator this year, who has worked closely in particular with the Dolphin group this year. I must also mention Mrs Susan Sweller – our resident and much-loved ex Kornmehl grandparent, botanist, nature lover and insect specialist who has taught us so much this year at Bush School. Susan has volunteered her time to joining us at every Bush School this year. We are truly very lucky to have her as part of our Bush School team.
We wish all our Dolphins and Starfish moving on to Year K next year much success and happiness as they embark on the next leg of their educational journey. We know you are all so ready and excited to go to “big school.” We will miss you all.
We wish all our Kornmehl families a peaceful, safe and restful holiday. The last day of Pre-school is Wednesday 9 December 2020.
We look forward to welcoming you all back on Thursday 29 January 2021.
Happy Birthday
We wish a very happy birthday to Alona Schwartz (5), Cian Healy (5), Archie Foster-Smaller (4) and Allegra Hockley (5). We hope you all have a special birthday.
