...where children are happy to learn
Taking
Enrolments Now for 2023!
28 Julie Street Blacktown NSW 2148
Ph: (02) 9622 6990 Mob: 0456204695
blacktown@happydayskindy.com
Welcome to December!
Tis the season to be extra Merry!
From all the educators here at Happy Days Kindergarten Blacktown,
Merry Christmas to you all!
What a massive year we’ve had here at our centre! We would firstly like to thank all our beautiful Happy Days families who have participated in our events, helped us fundraise for new resources and donated materials, supplies and their time.
To our beautiful Happy Days children, you make us the best educators possible and we cannot wait for what 2023 will bring for all of us.
To our amazing Happy Days Educators, thank you for your continued hard work and commitment to Happy Days.
Please be reminded that for this month and January, we will be closed during public holidays only; and closing at 3PM on the 23 and 30 December. Please inform Miss Ashleigh of your child’s attendance between Christmas and New Year so staffing can be effectively planned.
Now please mark your calendars for our special end of year HUGE events coming up in December, read on...
What's On!
Preschool Graduation
Wednesday 7 December
Let's give our preschoolers a grand send off with a graduation ceremony that will be etched in their memories for many years to come.
Who
For graduating preschoolers only and their family. If you haven't already, please let Miss Ashleigh know who will be attending the ceremony.
Where
Happy Days Kindergarten
28 Julie St Blacktown
Attire
Dress your child in their Sunday best. Smart casual for family members. For our little ladies, please have their hair either down or in braids to ensure the Graduation cap fits on their heads properly.
December Birthdays
Happy Birthday to:
Jayden, Niah, Shaarav, Shaheer, for December
Wishing you lots of fun and love on your special day!
Children's Christmas Party
Thursday 15 Dec @ 5:30pm
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Santa and his elves are just around the corner and will soon visit Happy Days bearing gifts for children who have been good this year - all of them!
Where: Crocs Playcentre
19 Stoddart Road Prospect
When: Thursday 15 December 5:30pm
Cost: $0 for Happy Days children
Who: All Happy Days children are invited. If you haven't already, please let Miss Ashleigh know how many adults and children are coming to the party of the year ASAP.
Food: Food will be provided to Happy Days children.
A cafe is available for other family members to purchase their food.
Please check your emails for further information.
Did you know:
Christmas is an annual sacred Christian holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the spiritual leader and founder of Christianity. While many people celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus’s birth, it’s also celebrated as a cultural holiday across the globe.
Santa Claus is a legendary figure who is the traditional patron of Christmas many countries, bringing gifts to children. His popular image is based on traditions associated with Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint. The current depiction of Santa Claus is based on images drawn by cartoonist Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weeklybeginning in 1863 as inspired by the description given in the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”), first published in 1823. The image was further defined by a Coca-Cola ad from 1931 by illustrator Haddon Sundblum who was a portly white-bearded gentleman dressed in a red suit with a black belt and white fur trim, black boots, and a soft red cap.
Centre Operations and Public Holidays
We will be closing early on Friday 23 and Friday 30 December at 3pm
It would be appreciated if you collect your child by 2:50 pm at the latest on these days.
We will be closed on the following public holidays:
Monday 26 Dec 2022
Tuesday 27 Dec 2022
Monday 2 Jan 2023
Thursday 26 Jan 2023
During late December and January, please note that the centre will be running on limited staff. Please inform Miss Ashleigh whether your child will be attending during this period to ensure the correct staffing is available.
2023 Enrolments
Positions Available for 2023 for children 3-5 years old.
January 2023 Events
Monday 23 Jan
Chinese New Year
celebrations
Wednesday 25 Jan @ 10am
Australia Day Morning Tea, families are invited
Thursday 26 Jan
Public holiday, centre closed
Don't Forget!
Child sign in/Out
On drop off and pick up, all parents/carer MUST sign their child in and out of care. Please use your Xplor app. you can use the Ipad to sign in, you will need you email and password to sign in.
You will be at risk of losing your CCS if this is not done. If you have forgotten your phone, you can sign in using your email and password on our iPad.
Healthy Lunchboxes Only
Your child lunch box should be filled with healthy and nutritious foods to help your child with their development and growth.
Lunch boxes filled with treats do not align with our healthy eating policy. Foods such as chips & chocolate will be sent home. For healthy find ideas, please click this link: https://healthylunchbox.com.au/.
For children who are off to big school next year, we encourage for them to have a sandwich rather than heated food for lunch. Snacks should have cuts in the tops or sides for easy opening.
At Happy Days, we provide as much opportunity as possible in developing self-help skills in the children. Please extend this learning at home by letting your child open packets at home, packing a all your children’s containers and snacks in the one regular sized lunch box (the size that your child would bring to big school).
Please do not pack food containing nuts in your child's lunchbox. We have a no nut policy. Any foods containing nuts will be thrown directly into the bin and your child will be given a sandwich from the centre as an alternative.
Open and closing Hours
Please be reminded that Happy Days opens at 7am. Educators will not allow any child to enter the centre before 7am.
We close at 6pm. Parents must collect their child before 5:55pm as this time will allow staff to close the centre and go home to their own families on time. A late fee of $2 per minute will be applied to your account for any late pick-ups. To ensure this doesn't occur please have an emergency contact on standby to pick up your child.
Enter the Kindy using your Fob Key
Please ensure that you use your fob key to enter the kindy particularly in the afternoon. We cannot leave the children unattended to answer the door for you.
All School leavers must return their Key by the last day of your child attendance.
If you require a second key please order one from Miss Ashleigh.
Policy Review
Every month we review a set of policies to ensure that they are relevant and up to date according to regulations.
You are invited to provide feedback on our policy of the month below (send your feedback to blacktown@happydayskindy.com):
What we've been up to
Remembrance Day
On 11 November, the children were involved in various craft activities for Remembrance Day. They listened to a story about Remembrance Day as well as participated in a minute silence. The children did a great job trying to stay as quiet as possible. They enjoyed listening to the sound of the trumpet and asked to play it a few times. It was heartwarming to hear the children’s little voices talking about our fallen soldiers and making poppy flowers commemorate their bravery.
Evacuation and Lockdown Weeks
Every 3 months, we conduct emergency drills to ensure both educators and children are aware of the procedures that need to be followed in case of an emergency.
In October and November, the children and educators practiced our Evacuation and Lockdown procedures, we had to extend it over some weeks due to the weather. The educators and the children discussed the procedures to follow, why we need to follow them, what we need to do if there is smoke i.e. “get down low and go,go,go" and if we have someone in our Centre who is not safe e.g. hide and be really quiet.
The children at first were a little concerned about what was happening during the drills but as the days went on they got quicker at following the procedures like going out the door to group at our evacuation point outside and staying super still and quiet when we had out lockdowns.
Directors Day
On 10 November, Miss Ashleigh was very surprised by all the Educators and children on this day. The educators put together a beautiful spread of homemade food that she likes, and all the children celebrated with her by throwing balloons in the air. The educators made Miss Ashleigh a beautiful card and gave her a very special gift. It was very unexpected and most certainly appreciated.
Focus Learning Programs
Playing And Learning to Socialise (PALS)
Happy Days Social Skills Program
This month Miss Harinder and Miss Priya discussed EMPATHY with the children.
Miss Harinder joined all the children together and played an educational video about empathy, at the end of this session Miss Harinder encouraged children to role play how to take care each other when someone is upset and how to respond when someone is trying to help you.
Miss Priya put on a puppet show for the children and told a story about empathy and how to be empathetic towards others. The children were then encouraged to tell their own story about empathy through using the puppets. Miss Nargis assisted Miss Priya and she also told a story through the puppet show which made the lesson fun. During these group times, the children learnt that empathy is important because it helps us understand how others are feeling so we can respond appropriately to the situation. It is typically associated with social behaviour and there is lots of research showing that greater empathy leads to more helping behaviour.
