Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

The year has started off extremely well, with all our new Kornmehl children and families settling in very well.

Kornmehl has been a buzz of activity and it’s been lovely welcoming back many past parents as well as getting to know new parents and children.

The beginning of the year is always one of mixed feelings and lots of excitement. Here at Kornmehl, your children are in a warm, loving and nurturing environment and their journey will be filled with lots of learning about life, values and friendship, and about the world around them. This journey is a collaborative effort from parents, educators and of course the children and we look forward to sharing 2017 with you all.

Below are some tips to help with the settling in of your child to Pre-school:

Starting Pre-school can be exciting for your child. But anxiety and tiredness are normal too – there’s so much for your child to get used to. You might notice that your child isn’t eating as much, or wants to sleep more. He/she might even seem less happy than normal.

Your child might be worried about finding friends, knowing what to do or being separated from family. He/she might get upset when you leave them.

Your child might also worry about what you’ll be doing while they are at Pre-school. Will you be doing something special – will they be missing out?

Separation anxiety is a healthy and protective emotion. It is the child’s way of saying: “You are my safe base and I need to develop trust and confidence in alternate carers”. Although you may be feeling as anxious and emotional as your child, try to stay cheery and confident as children will pick up on your feelings of apprehension.

It is important to always let your child know when you are leaving. Tell your child you are going and will be back after rest time. For some children, this will work. Although tempting, slipping away when your child is distracted can lead to him/her becoming very anxious and not letting you out of their sight on the next visit. 

Open communication between parents and the educators is crucial. It is important to share information. Parents can give the staff information about the child and in turn the staff can talk to the parents about the child’s experiences in the setting. Children get confidence from seeing warm, positive and friendly interactions between important people in their lives, like their parents and teachers. Good communication with your child’s educators also helps you share relevant information and helps the teachers know how best to respond to your child.

Always discuss your concerns with the educators. Together you can agree on and put into place strategies to support your child during this time. You are the safe base from which your child can branch out and explore the world, grow and learn and become socially and emotionally confident. Getting off to a good start will help you support your child through this very important period in their lives. Research shows that when the settling in period is positive for the child, it can not only impact on their happiness throughout their time at the Pre-school, but also on how the child views future transitions. Children who have a positive start are more likely to feel good about themselves as learners and have a sense of belonging to the Pre-school community.

We have begun by establishing the routines for each day and explaining to the children what ‘rules’ we have at Kornmehl. We have discussed sharing and caring for each other, and how we all need to work together at tidy up time, how we need to take notice of each other’s words and how we all sit together at morning meeting and value each other as individuals by listening and sharing ideas. Routines can help your child feel safe and secure, particularly when new things are happening

Playball

Playball for the Starfish and Dolphins began last Monday morning at 9.30 am and 10.15 am respectively. The children were so enthusiastic and excited and co-operated beautifully with Al and Terry, their playball coaches. Everyone came back from Playball with huge smiles on their faces. Please make sure your child is here on time for their lesson on a Monday and they must wear socks and sneakers and appropriate cool clothing. The Seashells will be starting Playball in Term 2.

Educa

We hope parents have all signed up to our new online communication system called Educa and have downloaded the app for your smart phones. We hope too that you are enjoying receiving the Daybooks as well as individual posts for your children through this system. Please feel free to comment back to teachers on the posts you read and give your own input and thoughts on what was written. We appreciate this opportunity to share in dialogue with parents about your children’s learning.

All the Pre-school policies are located on Educa for parents to read and familiarise themselves with as well as important Pre-school dates on the Educa calendar. All notices, reply slips, newsletters and interesting articles can be found on the Educa Dashboard.

Cultural diversity

“The Early Years Learning Framework talks a lot about diversity of culture and emphasises the importance of cultural competency to support the development of every child’s sense of ‘belonging, being and becoming.”  (NQS, Professional Learning Program). At Kornmehl we believe that when we honour and celebrate different cultures and diversity, we learn to appreciate and live with difference and we become aware of what we gain from acknowledging differences 

This week the children have been learning about and celebrating Chinese New Year – the Year of the Rooster. The children will be learning about Chinese culture, food and writing.

Parent information night

We invite all parents to join us on Thursday 23 February at 7.30 pm in the Pre-school for an informative and interesting evening. During the evening, parents will have the opportunity to hear all about our program, philosophy and values, as well as spend time with their child’s teachers, to hear what their children do during the day and how we structure our morning and afternoon programs. The evening will conclude with a question-and-answer session and a cup of tea or coffee.

Working in collaboration and partnership with parents and families is critical to achieving our learning outcomes for each child. “Partnerships are based on the foundations of understanding each other’s expectations and attitudes, and building on the strength of each other’s knowledge.” (Framework, p.12.)

Parent Club and Class Parents

I am thrilled that our co-ordinators of our Parent Club this year will be three dynamic and energetic Mums – Gayle Stein, Lissa Prosser and Sharon Miller. I am excited to work with them all and know that the year is going run smoothly with their help and support.

We are looking for two class mothers to help co-ordinate social events in each group for the children and families as well as gather support for fundraisers held during the year.

Our 1^st Parent Club meeting for the year will be held on Thursday 16 March at 9.30 am in the Pre-school. All parents are welcome to attend.

Kornmehl family picnic

Our annual family picnic will take place on Sunday 5 March at 9.30 am at Centennial Park bike track. Please bring along your bikes, food, picnic blankets and balls for a fun time with other Kornmehl families.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at this lovely social event.

Happy Birthday

We wish a very happy birthday to Micah Pozniak (4), Vitaly Miron (3), Courtney Kadish (4), Tomer Codorean (4), Simon Smagarinsky (4) and Aviv Smily (4). We hope you all had a lovely day.