Kornmehl
Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl
Chanukah
The children have been learning about this wonderful festival and exploring it through many languages, such as music, dance, art, drama etc. We looked at different types of dreidels. They were placed on the light table for the children to draw from close observation, using fine black texta’s. They painted their drawings with water colours. The children are getting so good at mastering this skill. Their representations showed lots of thought and detail.
We dramatised and used felt pictures to retell the story and miracle of Chanukah.
The children were fascinated that only one small jug of oil was found by the Jewish people in the temple. Just enough oil for one day. But a great miracle happened, and the oil lasted for eight days. We explained that this is the reason we celebrate Chanukah for eight days each year. We also discussed how we eat many different foods cooked in oil (doughnuts, latkes) and we light a Chanukiah, with eight candles and a Shamash (the helping candle).
As the story was being told there was some insightful and meaningful comments:
Educator: What is a miracle?
Ziggy: When something magical happens.
Jack: Something magical happens when you are sleeping, and you make a wish, and more oil comes.
Ella: A miracle is when something happens, and you might get something you want to get.
Baking for our concert
On Monday, Ziggy’s grandma Eva Gerber, came in to bake cinnamon buns with the Starfish group for their concert on Wednesday.
Eva put a great deal of effort into making the time educational and explained to the children all about the scientific reaction of what happens when warm water and yeast mix together. She explained that we need to activate the yeast. Ziggy told us activate means to “wake it up.” She placed some yeast in a bottle and put a balloon over the open end. The children observed during the day closely to see what changes they could notice. The balloon was getting bigger and bigger.
Ziggy: As the yeast starts to wake up it starts to bubble and gives off CO2.
At the end of the day, Noah noticed some changes: I think it is going to pop overnight because it will get really big.
Eva also explained the process of making the cinnamon scrolls. Each child was given a piece of dough to gently roll. Melted butter was then brushed on with a sprinkle of sugar/cinnamon mixture to finish off. This dough piece was then rolled and placed into a patty pan, ready for baking. The smell of baking cinnamon scrolls wafting through the Pre-school, had us all salivating.
A big thank you to Eva for coming in and sharing this lovely and delicious, learning experience with the children!
Concert time
The children have been involved in preparing for the end of year concert. This process of preparation is a collaborative one. They have provided input about which songs to share with their families. They have learnt the merits of putting in hard work to gain the desired results. Three concerts were held this past week. The children delighted their appreciative audience with their confidence, lovely singing and playing of instruments. It was a beautiful time to share with families and to reflect on the year that has passed us so quickly. The Dolphins and Starfish each received a special graduation certificate.
Thank you to all our amazing parent helpers this week. We appreciate your support enormously to help prepare for these special events.
Max – our security guard – thank you messages
We asked the children to reflect on why we have Max in the Kornmehl car park and to say thank you to him.
Here are some of their priceless comments:
Claudia: Max helps us when somebody comes, and they don’t know who it is, you have to wait your turn to go in the gate.
Tahlia: Max helps people get in by opening the gate with a remote.
Freddy: Max says hello and tells me when there is a parking spot.
Ana: He lets us in and is really kind. Thank you, Max.
Mia: Thank you for not letting anyone break in. Max makes sure the parking spots are empty for people to come in.
Adrienne: Max protects us, so no one comes in here. He lets the cars in safely.
Luca: We have security to protect the school and make sure no strangers go inside the school. Max, thank you so much for doing that. Max knows the sign that the parents have in their cars to let us in. The sign on the window of the car. If you don’t show it, you are not allowed to come in.
Dean: The security guard protects the school, so no one can get in, especially if they are a stranger. Max keeps us safe – thank you for keeping us safe.
Sam: Max doesn’t let any strangers come in. He opens the door when we come back from Bush School or the farm.
James H: We need security, so no strangers go in the school. Thank you, Max, for looking after the pre-school. Max keeps the gate closed so strangers can’t get in.
Raphael B: if a stranger comes, Max won’t let them in. Max keeps us safe from strangers
Cleo: There’s a special sign that you put in your car, so that Max knows you belong to Kornmehl. Max stays in his little house to look and see that no one comes in. Thank you for looking after us Max.
Jordana: Max is friendly and always says hello to us. Thank you, Max,
Noa S: If we didn’t have Max, then he couldn’t open the gate for us. He is the boss of the car park in the Pre-school.
Joshua: We need him to guard all the people coming in and out. Guard means to help us and look after us.
Ziggy: If anyone comes in, he watches the replay on his screen to see what happened.
Freddie: If any cars come, he opens the gate for the cars, and we go in. He makes sure the cars don’t bump into the gate.
Noam: Max takes care and protects us all in the pre-school.
We also asked the children what they love about Kornmehl and a message for new children:
Tahlia: Kornmehl makes us happy and makes us feel welcome. We do Shabbat and we choose people to sit at the Shabbat table, we eat challah and sit down and sing songs. The Rabbi’s come. It is special. We do special art on a Friday with Renee.
Claudia: I like drawing and playing with my friends. We do morning meeting, we talk, sing songs and learn new things. Kornmehl birthdays are special.
Ana: I like playing with my friends. I like to do puzzles and going outside. We have snack and lunch on the deck. We all sit down and eat together.
Adrienne: Sometimes we have snacks on the oval and other times at the tables on the deck. We have a really beautiful garden, and it is so much fun. We have a cubby house, and we play inside and play in the mud kitchen.
Juliette: We get to do lots of craft and painting and drawing. The home corner is special, and we get to pretend to cook.
Mia: Kornmehl is special because we get to play wherever we want, and we get to paint beautiful pictures like flowers. When I first came to Kornmehl I was shy and did not know anyone, but now I have lots of friends. I like to play with them and have fun.
Hugo: I like having Shabbat on a Friday. We eat challah and sing and dance and drink wine. You get to do lots of music here. We sing songs and dance to the guitar.
Sam: I like to go and play down the side and climb and balance on the beams. Don’t worry you will make lots of friends very quickly. I like singing Shabbat songs.
Luca: Don’t worry when you come to Kornmehl you will make lots of friends and be safe and happy at Kornmehl. I like going down the side and climbing. I love morning meeting. You get to dress up for Purim and it’s fun.
Sienna: I like the outdoors, climbing in the tunnel and going down the slide. You can dig in the sandpit and make mud cakes. First, I was very shy and scared but I made lots of friends and my teachers made me feel safe. You get to do lots of art, have morning meeting and play with the blocks.
Dean: I like the sandpit and I like to make a big mountain and jump in it. I like to play with water and block building and Lego. I like going on the Shabbat table.
Raphael: When you come to Kornmehl you will make new friends and play with them and have fun together. You can make up lots of new games with them. At Bush School you will see animals, bugs, and insects.
James H: Everyone is very nice and kind when you come here, and they will make you feel safe. You will make lots of friends. I like to build in the block corner. At Bush School you get to climb trees.
Jordana: When you come to Kornmehl you get to make things out of boxes and do lovely artwork. We walk down to Bush School and play in the dirt and climb trees.
Cleo: Every day there are new activities to try. You get to learn that there are lots of ways to hang out. You can talk, play games, singing, dancing, make a painting or draw, building, digging in the sandpit – so many things to choose from. You get to dress up for Purim and have fun. We get to go to Bush School and have fun in nature too.
Noa S: I love all the Jewish festivals because you get to eat all the yummy food.I like the bees and how they make us yummy honey. We learn to put our hand up to talk. The teachers help us to feel safe.
James C: I love going to Bush School and running down the hill and looking for bugs with Susan.
Joshua: I love being here because I love school now. I love having Shabbat and I have made lots of friends like James and Jack. I was scared when I first came to Kornmehl because I didn’t know anyone but then I made lots of friends.
Noa E: I love our native garden. I helped to plant all the plants like native grass. I love playing in the mud kitchen. The teachers help us and show us what to do.
Benjamin: I love building with blocks and playing in the mud kitchen. It’s nice to be friends and to be kind to the new children who come to pre-school.
Ella: I like playing in the playground and going down the side. I like having snack at Bush school and singing songs. You will make lots of new friends and they will help you. The teachers make you feel happy and safe.
Ziggy: The best is making art. I am an art professional. I also love doing science and making experiments. I am a scientist too. We get to go to Bush School and sing songs there. It’s pretty fun. The teachers are very nice at Kornmehl and help you lots.
Freddie: The outdoors is special. The sandpit is so big like the beach. I can dig right under the deck. I love building with blocks. We can show the new kid around and say hello to them.
Aimee: We can introduce ourselves and say hello. I made lots of friends like Noam, Aly, Noa and Drew. Bush School is fun. We look for bugs with Susan and we can climb lots of trees. I love Shabbat, we get to have challah and sing songs.
Noam: Welcome to our Pre-school. It’s very lovely here and you will make lots of friends. I like playing with my friends – Ethan and Dylan. We have a class outside at Bush School. We climb trees and eat our food.
Ethan: I like playing with Noam and Dylan. There are lots of new things to do at Bush School.
End of year thoughts and thanks
This past year has gone through many highs and lows of Covid and a great deal of effort and planning to keep our Pre-school community as safe as possible.
Despite this, Kornmehl has remained open throughout, offering quality care to the children and making sure they were taken care of physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, and spiritually.
We were delighted to be able to open the Pre-school to families in Term 3 and 4. We made sure there were many opportunities for families to come in and engage with their children in the pre-school. Initially, this took the form of reading stories to the children, joining us for birthdays, Shabbat, grandparent days, helping with baking or Bush school visits. We increased this as the weeks went on to parents coming inside for drop-off in the morning, something we have missed very much these past three years. Parents have also accompanied us on excursions this term. We also held our first family social event in August – the Kornmehl disco. It was a lot of fun!!
We have been astounded by the resilience of the children and how settled and happy they have been from the start of the year to the end.
They have shown us how independent and capable they are, 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 2023 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 and Margaret Lowe – for their unwavering support, knowledge, and expertise throughout the year. Thank you to the incredible executive team for all your support throughout the year.
A huge thank you to Gail Mackenzie, our registrar for her efficient and supportive enrolment process for the Pre-school.
I would also like to thank the marketing team – Michelle Favero and Belinda Levin, 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.
I thank the many admin 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 too.
A big thank you to the HR team of Melissa Geer and Isabelle Anne for looking after us so well and supporting us with all our HR requirements. We appreciate all you do daily.
Many thanks to the maintenance team especially Gavin Dennis and Carolina Tabares 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.
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 loved every single lesson with you and feel lucky and grateful to have been taught by you for most of the year.
We also thank Jessica Yendell, who stepped in to fill the BIG shoes of Sarit when she went on maternity leave at the end of Term 3. We look forward to 2023 and many more exciting music lessons together.
Many thanks to Mrs Robuck from the Primary School library, for welcoming the Kornmehl children into the library, and for all her wonderful stories and activities.
Thank you to Tammy, Coach Al and Coach Cara from Playball for another great year. Playball has been running in the Pre-school for well over 20 years now and we value enormously the wonderful skills and benefits the children receive from this gross-motor and ball skills program.
Our thanks must also go to the IT department, with a special mention to Cameron Whiston, Nathanael Clarke, 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. We are very grateful for your expertise and support.
We also thank Tom Hagl and his team from security, in particular Max Kozmine, who make sure we are kept safe and sound every single day.
A big thank you to all my amazing Kornmehl staff, who have worked with complete commitment and dedication throughout this challenging year. You have all shown resilience and the ability to embrace challenge head on and to never stop learning from and with each other. 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 and for the past seven years. 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.
Happy Birthday
We wish a very happy birthday to Benjamin Halmagyi (5), Alisa Silvera (4), Jack Mackenzie (5), James Haifer (6), Noah Selikowitz (5), Allec Tsypom (4) and Raphi Heitner (4). We hope you all had a wonderful and special birthday.
We wish all our Kornmehl families a Chag Channukah Sameach and a peaceful, safe and restful holiday.
