Kornmehl
Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl
Thinking about and supporting Israel in different ways
These past two weeks the Pre-school, along with the whole Jewish community has been shocked by the events that have taken place in Israel. As a community we have all been affected in some way and all have deep connections to Israel. It has been inspiring to see how our small Pre-school community has come together in solidarity to show their support for Israel.
Last week on Wednesday, the Pre-school held a coffee and cupcake event to raise money to send to Israel. Sharri Markson and an amazing team of parents baked and made delicious cupcakes and fruit cones to sell to families as they arrived at Pre-school. This was accompanied by a coffee cart, generously donated by Justin Moddel from Mugg Shot. The Kornmehl car park was filled with warmth, love, and community – just what we all needed! Through the generosity of our families, we raised $2519.00, which was kindly matched by a generous Kornmehl family. This brought our total to $5038.00, which was donated to the UIA, to help rebuild the lives of our people in Israel. Thank you to all our families who supported this event!
During the week, the children engaged in many creative arts projects, expressing their love for Israel. We know that young children are able to communicate effectively with us through many different languages. Thus, we provided many ways for them to show their support and love. On Friday, we held a blue and white day and engaged in all sorts of crafts with blue and white materials. We did a special tzedakah collection on Friday morning and raised a further $120.00 to send to the UIA. The children made an Israel banner and displayed this in the garden. This week we have been drawing love heart pictures to send to our Twinning Pre-school in the Arava, who are looking after many of the displaced families in Israel. These beautiful messages of hope, love and caring will be given to a child in need in the Arava, so that they know that other children far away in Australia are thinking about them all and sending love and support.
Transition to Year K
Starting school is a significant event in the life of children and their families. We know that strong relationships and information sharing between families, early childhood settings and schools help support a child’s successful transition to school. It is a period of change that can be both challenging and exciting.
At this time of the year, we like to focus on the Starfish and Dolphin children who will be transitioning to Year K in 2024. We believe the more we discuss ‘going to school’ and the feelings and emotions associated with starting school, the better prepared and equipped the children will be. This term, we will spend time talking about what to expect, how we are feeling, as well as go on walks with the children through the Primary School campus.
We need to think about giving children a positive understanding and experience of school as a safe, enjoyable place, and to acknowledge that children have individual needs, interests and skills and allow and encourage positive communication between children, families, early childhood professionals and school educators. We need to also make time for the children to visit their new school environment before starting formal schooling.
We have begun discussions with the children around this topic.
We asked some of the Dolphins how they are feeling about starting school:
Ella: I am excited for the first day to play games and to wear a school uniform.
Freddy: I get to wear a school uniform. I am feeling excited.
Oscar: I am feeling excited.
Noam: I am excited to see my sister and to wear a uniform.
Asher: Scared as it is new.
Ethan: I can’t wait to go to school to see my sister, I am feeling excited.
Ziggy: Nervous, like everything will be different and I won’t know what to do.
Hudson: A little bit scared because I don’t know what it will be like.
Lexi: I feel happy.
Scarlett: I feel good about going because I am going to be learning.
Abbie: Happy and meeting new people.
Milan: Happy to be at big school.
Alma: Happy because I will get to learn how to read.
Rose: Excited because I will be with my friends.
Josh: Shy because I won’t know lots of people.
Judah: I am feeling good.
Happy Birthday
We wish a very special and happy birthday to Drew Davis (5) and Aimee Schnapp (5). We also wish a very happy birthday to our special educator Lindi Bloch. We hope you all had a very happy birthday.
