...where children are happy to learn
Taking
Enrolments Now for 2025!
28 Julie Street Blacktown NSW 2148
Ph: (02) 9622 6990 Mob: 0421920096
blacktown@happydayskindy.com
Welcome to August!
I would like to acknowledge the Dharug people, the Traditional custodians of the lands on which I live and work today. I pay my respects to elders past, present and future for they hold the memories, traditions, culture and hope of Aboriginal Australians.
As you are all aware Miss Ashleigh and Miss Dakoda are working at one of our sister centres in Kurrajong.
They are missing you all very much. Its not goodbye, just see you soon. They will still be visiting where possible.
What's on in August!
DENTAL WEEK
4-8th
Dental Health Week in Australia is an annual event held in the first full week of August, organised by the Australian Dental Association (ADA). Its aim is to promote oral health awareness and education among the Australian public, with a focus on encouraging healthy habits and regular dental check-ups.
At Happy Days the children will participate in many different dental related experiences, conversations and experiements.
SCIENCE WEEK
11-15 August
National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology.
At Happy Days, Children will be invited to participate in different science experiments each day.
Keep Australia Beautiful
5 -8 th
Every August, for over 50 years, Keep Australia Beautiful have been educating Australians about litter, waste and other key environmental issues throughout KABWeek. During this week we aim to engage and challenge the community, while encouraging long term change behaviour that can be adopted well after the week is done.
At Happy Days we will be involved in many different activities and discussions on how we can keep Australia clean.
RHYTHMS OF AFRICA SHOW
Monday 18th
Date: 9 Aug - 9:30am
Description:Rhythms of afirca show @ Happy Days at 9:45am. please be here by 9:30am if you child is participating.
Please RSVP
$12 Fee will be charged to Account.
Cheeky Tunes show
Wednesday 6th
The performer introduces the children to the Murrawarri language with a lively song and dance called 'Thirri Yanna Purlilli' (Shoo flies), offering a delightful way to fend off pesky flies. The workshop also features an array of Aboriginal musical instruments, including clap sticks, emu callers, kangaroo skin drums, and clap stick boomerangs, captivating the children with their unique sounds.
$12 Fee will be charged to Account.
Important Reminders
Fob (DOOR) Key
Please speak with Miss Harinder or the other Educators if you have not received a key. There us a charge of $25 per key, refunded at the end of your child's enrolment, once returned.
Car Park Etiquette
Onsite parking is something for all of us to share. Please follow these simple car park rules for everyone's safety:
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PARK AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO THE COLOURBOND FENCE to allow another vehicle to park behind you. We can safely fit 4 vehicles at any time during drop off and pick up times if everyone is parked appropriately.
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DO NOT PARK IN THE DRIVEWAY IN FRONT OF THE CENTRE, this is the thoroughfare to allow vehicles to enter and exit safely at Happy Days.
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MAKE YOUR DROP-OFF/PICK UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE if you have parked someone in. If you’re planning on talking with an educator, we advise you to park on the curb side instead.
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DO NOT PARK IN THE STAFF CAR PARK.
Collection of Children by Others
You must call the Centre or inform educators if somebody else is collecting your children from Happy Days.
Children under the age of 18 are no permitted to drop off or pick up your child. An adult must always be present.
A valid ID from the person picking up your child is required to be presented to one of our educators for photocopying.
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):
Communication
OWNA is our main source of communication. If you have yet to set up your notification's please do.
All events, announcements and and reminders will be posted and sent in OWNA.
Clothing & Sunscreen
Please ensure your child has a bag which contains SPARE CLOTHES which includes shorts ,pants, shirts, jumpers, socks and underwear. We understand that your child may not have accidents however spare clothes are required for those times your child may have an accident or gets wet or dirty.
As the weather is beginning to change, please bring Warmer clothes in your child's bag for weather changes such as a long/short sleeve shirt, a pair of shorts and pants/tights, spare socks and a jumper.
SUNSCREEN MUST BE APPLIED BEFORE OR UPON ARRIVAL AT THE CENTRE. You will find our sunscreen on the sunscreen table in the classroom just outside the foyer.
Sleep Sheets
SLEEP SHEETS ARE REQUIRED for all children 2-4yrs who are not in the Mighty Mangoes room.
These must be CLEARLY LABELLED with your child’s name and placed in a labeled pillow case. Your child may not have a sleep however it is our duty of care to allow your child to have a rest for 10min listening to soothing music while the room is cleaned after lunch. Your child will then be invited to participate in quiet activities with the educators.
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 $15 per 15 minute Block (eg if you are 5 minutes late you will be charged the $15) 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.
What we got up to last month...
Dog Safety Program
The older group of children participated in the Responsible Pet Ownership program, learning how to respond when meeting other people’s dogs, as well as our own pets. The children listened well and were involved in discussions about how to approach a dog safely and when we shouldn’t touch a dog. The older 4 year old children were able to put this knowledge into action, showing how to safely approach the dog “Smoochy”, asking permission to pat, letting her sniff their hand and then having a pat.
Pyjama day and Teddy bears Picnic
National Pyjama Day, celebrated annually to support The Pyjama Foundation's work with children in foster care, is a fun and engaging event for children. The children and educators arrived in their favourite pjs . Few children also brought their cute teddies. The highlight of the day was picnic outdoors the children also got involved in teddy bear puzzles and play dough with teddy bear mats. The children loved to role play in the picnic set up.
National Tree Day
The children were learning about the importance of trees, to give us shade, clean our air, and provide homes for animals and insects. The children helped to plant some new shrubs in our garden and then helped to water them, and all our other plants. The older children helped to draw a wonderful garden artwork.
Puppet Show
We thoroughly enjoyed the puppet show this month, presented by Jeral Puppets. The children were fascinated as the puppet theatre was set up and were enthralled with the puppets presenting a range of stories and songs, including The Gingerbread Man, Simple Simon, the wheels on the bus, and the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Throughout the day, the children played with our Happy Days hand puppets and were able to create their own puppets.
Focus Learning Programs
Happy Days Social Skills Program
During this month , children focused on the topic of sharing . This automatically involve taking turns as well. These are one of the important life skills which children should start developing in their early years. This is something all educators educate children on daily basis however Miss Harinder carried oud of few specific experiences where children had to share blocks among themselves . Miss Harinder provided few strategies which children can apply during the shared play like use their words if they need something or give some of the blocks to their peers if they have too many . The main goal for children was also to learn that sharing toys and equipments bring fun in their play and also they make friends.
Playing And Learning to Socialise (PALS)
Happy Days Sustainability Program
Eco-Warriors
The children continue to show interest in the outdoor environment and using natural materials in their play, often collecting leaves, gum nuts, stones and sticks. They explore the natural resources using their senses, feeling with their hands, and seeing what the different leaves and herbs and flowers smell like.
The children are responding positively to our loose parts resources, often choosing what they were like to play with and using them in creative ways. We continue to add to this area of learning.
Munch and Move
Happy Days Health & Fitness Program
For Munch & Move this month the fundamental movement skill was underarm throw which we focused on by playing tennis as it was also Wimbledon which was super fun for them to be a part of and develop their over arm skill. We also participated in International Self Care Day where we did lots of fun dancing, moving our bodies to boosting feel good hormones and having lots of fun! The key message for this month was Turn The Screen Off which we did by being very active!
Community Engagement
Happy Days Community Initiatives.
Ronald McDonald House charity initiative. Thankyou to Mason and his family for their recent donation to this amazing cause.
Happy Days Culture Program
Culture & Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander topic
This month we celebrated Naidoc week for a week from 7th July to 11 July .Aboriginal perspective are embedded Happy days program throughout the centre .Range of experiences were implemented to educate children about aboriginal culture and traditions. Aboriginal symbol with natural loose parts in large tuff tray was one of the popular one The children got more detailed knowledge on Aboriginal culture through range of Aboriginal experiences implemented by the educators.The story reading was one of the popular ones and Thi was further extended through drawing and painting . The painting on natural materials like big dry leaves , gum nuts and rocks was another exciting activity. The children loved to sing and dance Taba Naba and wombat wobble during music time.
Classroom Updates
Happy Days Preschool/School Readiness Program
BRIGHT BUG BUGS
Miss Sathya is the new educator who will assist Miss Mel in the Bug bug room from now onwards.
There has been a lot of discussion lately amongst several children about starting “big school”, so this has been something we have extended on in the Bug Bug room. We have been involved in discussions about what to expect when starting school, what they would like to learn, and what different areas there are in a school.
A lot of the children continue to show interest in learning about numbers and letters and they have been involved in different experiences to extend on this interest, such as worksheets to sequence numbers, using our word book to copy words, and counting and number games.
The children have also loved our games of Air Hockey and Hungry Hippos- through these games, the children are learning to take turns with their peers and also developing focusing and thinking skills .
Magical Malya's
Learning Group for 3 to 4 year olds
During the month of July the Magical Malya’s focused on the Colours of the Rainbow. This included story book based on different colours, dancing and yoga on colours and crafts like blue crab handprints, red flower collage plates, coloured spray painting and rainbow collages. We also looked at colours using activities like coloured sensory trays and colour hopping. We also had lots of conversations about what we can think of that are the different colours which encouraged them to recall information and be a part of the conversations. Colours are something we cover everyday during our group times and they really enjoyed having it as a project topic, engaging and enjoying the different experiences.
Learning Program for 2 to 3 year olds
BOUNCING BOO ROO'S
Miss Eden is the new group leader of Bouncing Boo- roos .
Healthy foods was the topic of this month. We focused mainly fruits and vegetables.This was an intentional topic to educate children about range of healthy food and also help them develop skills like social, fine or gross motor, building language and vocabulary,literacy /numeracy along with the sensory skills. The Bouncing Boo- Roos participated in different activities and experiences such as; fruit in jelly, lemon stamping, fruits and vegetables play-dough moulding, fruit and vegetables collage making. The children had so much fun and engaged well in all activities. We also talked about identifying the names of fruits and vegetables and its colours. The importance of establishing a healthy eating habits for children to have a healthy growth and development.
