Volume 30 Issue 37 03 Dec 2021 29 Kislev 5782

Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

What advice would you give to the children who will be in the Dolphin group next year?

As we come closer to the end of the year, lots of feelings and emotions emerge. Exciting experiences are in the horizon. One of them is the children’s transition into Year K. As you are aware, we are having lots of discussions with the children about the way they feel about staring big school and what it means to finish their journey at Kornmehl. 

We asked the children to wonder and imagine how the new Dolphins may feel at the beginning of the year and what advice or messages they would like to give them:

Arlo: Your friends and your teachers will help you with feeling safe.
Abby: If you’re feeling lonely, ask nicely to a friend to play.
Daniel: So, when you trip over and hurt yourself, the teachers will give you a band aid to make you feel better.
Zach: You tell the new kids it’s going to be fun at Pre-school.
Zach: The teachers look after you, you can sit with your teachers.
Neveau: The teachers give you a special activity or maybe they can go to the tent. (the tent is the teepee in our Quiet Zone, a safe quiet space to help us deal with our big feelings and regulate).
Ollie: The teachers can give you a cuddle to help you feel better to have a good and fun day.
Leah: The teachers are super good.

Concert

We held three beautiful Covid safe concerts this week in the Kornmehl garden. Parents were so thrilled to be able to come into the Pre-school and share in this event to mark the end of the year and for many of the children their graduation into Year K next year. There were a few tears in the audience, and it was an emotional time for us all. A time to reflect on the year gone by, a time to remember how the children have grown up, matured, and developed in so many ways and a time to have fun and share in the Kornmehl spirit!

We are so happy we got to have closure for the end of the year. Thank you to the parents for their co-operation in making sure we could hold the concerts safely and for coming along and sharing this time together.

The children were delightful, and all performed with confidence and pride.

Thank you to Ben Marshall for his help with the sound equipment. Thank you to the maintenance team for cleaning up the Kornmehl garden for the concerts. 

Comments from parents:

Nicola Berkovic: Thank you so, so much again for such a special concert. I feel emotional all over again just thinking about it! It was so special to be at Kornmehl after so long, to be there for their final graduation and to see what confident little people they’ve become. Thank you to all of you 💕 

Mandy Heyman: Thank you so much for welcoming parents back into the Pre-school for the beautiful Dolphins concert. It really was such a special morning, especially after the turbulent year we have all experienced.

It was so amazing to see how the kids have grown in confidence, and how much they all seemed to enjoy singing and participating. We feel so thankful to you all for the wonderful, happy, and stimulating preschool experience that Leah has had at Kornmehl.

Daniella and Jonathan Gavshon: A quick note to say a heartfelt thank you for the concert/graduation ceremony yesterday.

– The warm environment and beautiful outdoor setting.
– Thoughtful donuts, drinks, and seating arrangements so that COVID could be managed.
– Mix of songs.
– Deep love you are developing for the kids of the earth, Australian heritage, Judaism and more!
– Way in which you included every kid and sensitively managed those who didn’t want to participate as much.

We really value all the effort and energy that went into organising it. More so, we value the dedication and focus you have shown to Adam as he has integrated and developed this year.

End of year thoughts and thanks

The past two terms have been difficult and unsettling for us all. Despite this, Kornmehl has remained open throughout, offering quality care to the children and making sure they were taken care of physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

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, they feel safe, happy and a deep sense of belonging to the spaces, and 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. 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 2022 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 many different and positive ways:

Firstly, to Andrew Watt – for his unwavering support, knowledge, and expertise during this difficult year.  

Thank you to Morah Jemma our Hebrew teacher – for your enthusiastic, interactive, and fun Hebrew classes this year.

Thank you to our dynamic Music teacher Morah Sarit – we have loved every single lesson including all your online ones. We feel lucky and grateful to have been taught by you this year. We look forward to 2022 and many more exciting music lessons together.

A huge thank you to Gail Mackenzie, our Registrar for her efficient and supportive enrolment process for the preschool. 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 thank the many administration staff who we work closely with for your efficient and knowledgeable support. A big thank you to Mario Torresan, our Business Manager. I appreciate all your help and support this past year.

Many thanks to Samantha Robuck from the Primary School Library, for welcoming the Kornmehl children into the library, as well as bringing the library to Kornmehl in Term 4.

Thank you to Tammy, Coach Al and Coach Merav from Playball for another great year. Sadly, Playball had to be stopped in Term 3 and 4 due to Covid. We look forward to resuming this beneficial program in 2022. 

Many thanks to the maintenance team of Andrew Delany, Peter Cummins, Simon Hamilton and Colin Newport, 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 and Capital Appeal team – Michelle Favero, Belinda Levin, Kira Friedman and Isabelle Anne 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 Cameron Whiston, Nathanael Clarke, Mikhael El Khoury, Edward Smith, Ben Marshall and Ivan Salavyov for constantly running up and down the hill to make sure all our 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 Tom Hagl and his team from Security, in particular – Max Kozmine and 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 this very difficult year, to make 2021 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 must also mention Susan Sweller – our resident and much-loved ex Kornmehl grandparent, botanist, nature lover and insect specialist who has taught us so much again 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 Chag Channukah Sameach and a peaceful, safe and restful holiday.

Thank you to our security team from the children:

Leah: Thank you for keeping the Pre-school safe.
Bronte: Thank you for protecting us.
Arlo: We all love you. You make us feel so special and safe.
Alice: Thank you for opening the door when we go to Bush School.
Mili: Thank you for letting us walk into Pre-school safely.
Jaimee: Thank you for opening the door when we drive inside.
Zach: Thank you for coming to school to save us.
Uriel: Thank you for looking after the cars to not crash.
Daisy: Thank you for guarding our Pre-school.
Lev: Thank you for looking after the school and I hope you have a nice holiday.
Cleo: Thank you for protecting us from strangers.
James: Thank you for looking after the school from the thieves.
Maya: Thank you for caring for us.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to James Haifer (5), Archie Foster-Smaller (5), Jack McKenzie (4). We hope you all have a special birthday.