Kurrajong Childcare Centre | Happy Days Kindergarten

...where children are happy to learn

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140 Old Bells Line of Rd, Kurrajong NSW 2758

ph: (02) 4588 8497 mob: 0434 088 448

Welcome to March!

Welcome to our new families and welcome back to our returning families. We are happy to see everyone returning and look forward to an exciting year.

We have been busy settling in during January and February, listening to what our friends returning from last year have been up to, and getting to know our new friends.

We are happy to announce that our team has grown!

Along with Miss Daisy, our ever reliable and friendly Director, Miss Marie is our Educational Leader and she is with us 3 days per week; Miss Elane returns and you will see her at the kindy every day; Miss Rose is with us 3 days per week and is completing her Diploma in Early Childhood education; Miss Georgia is continuing with her university course to become a teacher and will be working with us 4 days per week; and our newest staff member, Mr Sevi, who is starting his traineeship and will be with us 4 days per week (he is also continuing his university course in commerce).

What's on in March?

Sea Week

4-8 March

Sea Week is Australia’s major national public awareness campaign to focus community awareness, provide information and encourage appreciation of the sea.

Our dramatic play environments, craft activities and group times will focus on the sea.

Our outdoor activities will include waterplay with marine animals. We will also introduce taste testing some of our marine life during this week.

We encourage the children to dress in sea-inspired clothing during this week and bring in their favourite sea animals of which we will use to build our knowledge.

Our aim during this week is to familiarize the children with the sea and further our knowledge on the importance of the sea.

Harmony Week

18-24 March

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognizes our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for everyone.

This week we will celebrate Australian multiculturalism, based on the successful integration of migrants into our community.

Everyone is encouraged to WEAR ORANGE for the entire week, and we will be enjoying morning teas from various cultures from around the world.

FAMILIES ARE INVITED TO PROVIDE FOOD FROM THEIR CULTURE for the children to share together as part of their learning.

During this week we will be discussing with the children multicultural themes with “Harmony Day” being celebrated on Thursday 21st. This coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Multicultural themes will also be incorporated into our play environments.

Jeral Puppet Show

Tuesday 19 March

11:15am

Australia’s oldest established puppet company are coming to the centre to perform for the children.

This show is a learning experience incorporating short stories, counting, songs and musical items with plenty of child participation.

Cost is $5 per child. This will be added to your account, unless otherwise advised e.g. cash.

All children who attend Happy Days are welcome regardless of which day they are enrolled, although if your child is not enrolled on a Tuesday a parent will be required to stay with them for the duration of the show.

Easter Celebration Week

25 - 28 March

We will celebrate Easter this year with a picnic lunch each day followed by an egg hunt.

Children are invited to BRING THEIR FAVOURITE RABBIT TOY to join them for a picnic lunch along with their lunch box.

We will also participate in all things Easter including learning the significance of Easter for the Christian community and indulging in craft activities and Easter themed play.

REMINDER: we will be CLOSED on Good Friday 29 March and Easter Monday 1 April (public holidays).

We wish all our families a safe and happy Easter.

St Patrick's Day Celebration

15 March

We are celebrating St Patrick’s Day (17 March) on Friday 15 March.

We encourage everyone to dress up in their GREEN OUTFIT as we celebrate the day for the Irish with some fun and festive activities.

Important Reminders

Lost Property

Please check lost property! We have a large amount of lost property that has been sitting there without an owner. Anything that hasn’t been collected next month will be donated.

NO TOYS AT HDK

Another reminder to please not bring toys to kindy, we have heaps of toys here that can be used, and it is just one more thing for us to keep track of and we do not have the room here for everyone to be bringing toys to kindy. Children who rest are welcome to bring a soft teddy or comfort blanket for rest time but please no toys unless it is for your child’s news days.

Absences

If your child is going to be absent from the centre, please call our centre landline on (02) 4588 8497 to inform the staff.

Notifying us of your child’s absence allows us to open that spot to a family that might need it as a casual day.

Lunchbox Food

Please be aware we will do our best to educate your children on healthy eating. However, under the United Nationals Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the rights to choose what they do and don’t eat from their lunch boxes so please be mindful of what is going into your child’s lunchboxes.

Also, please DO NOT PACK ANY FOOD CONTAINING NUTS including NUTELLA, popcorn (as this is an inhalant), chips, LSM bars, lollies, instant noodles and any other unhealthy items in your child’s lunchbox.

We respect your decision to give these foods to your child, however, at Happy Days we have a Nutritional Food Policy that needs to be followed.

Here are some handy links to healthy eating for young children:

Lunchbox Ideas: Meals for Early Childhood Settings

Caring for Children": Birth to 5 years

Australian Dietary Guidelines

Policy Reviews

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 policies of the month below:

Bottle Safety and Preparation Policy

Send your feedback to kurrajong@happydayskindy.com

Clothing

Can we please ask for anyone who does have any of kindy’s spare clothing to please return it to us washed ASAP. if anyone has any children’s clothing that no longer fits their child and is looking to get rid of it, we will happily take it off your hands to use in our spare clothing.

Please remember to pack appropriate clothing for your child. Please ensure children are wearing t-shirts that cover their shoulders, so they are protected from the sun while were outside. Please ensure you are packing spare clothing for your child, even if they are toilet trained. There may be times throughout our day where your child may spill water, food or get dirty outside and we need to have clothing to change your child if it is the case so they are comfortable while at kindy.

Driveway Etiquette

A friendly reminder that we share our driveway with our neighbours, which means we can use the left side of the driveway only.

So please be respectful of our neighbours and only park on the left hand side of the driveway.

Also, please note that:

only one car can park in the driveway at any one time
driveway parking is limited to 5 minutes only

A reminder to sign your child please please please in and out during pick up and drop offs. If you have not organised your account, or pin please email Daisy so she can send you a new link. It is very important that we know exactly who is here at kindy in case of an emergency, so it is very important that everyone is signing their child in and out every day.

It is a government requirement for every parent or carer to sign your child in & out of Happy Days for your correct attendance. Your Centrelink entitlements will be affected for non-compliance.

All families should be able to sign-in/out their child using the Xplor app. Please let us know if not, and we will send you the setup link again. If you’re having further issues, please contact Xplor on (03) 8652 1963.

Classroom News

Age-based Intentional Learning Groups

Big Emus (Preschoolers)

Learning Group for 3-6 years olds/School Readiness Program

In February, the Big Emus focused on shapes and colours! We did this through drawing shapes, making shapes with different materials, matching shapes, matching colours and fun games! The children loved this topic as they learned to identify the shapes, count their sides and recognise colours.

During play, the Big Emus became highly interested in trains. They created different types of tracks and built long trains.

Little Wombats

Learning Group for 2-3 year olds

Our little wombats have continued taking turn of taking home little wombat for a week to come and live at their house with them and the children have continued to love this experience. Little wombats have had an interest in our gardens and being involved in the maintence and watering our plants. It has been a great way to teach them about responsibility and how to look after something. Children have also loved different forms of dramatic play through dress ups, tea parties and other dramatic set ups and it has been a great way for the little wombats to continue working on their social skills and interactions with peers.

Group Project

As part of our ongoing “School Readiness Program”, on Monday, 27th of December and on Thursday, 30th of December, we attended two separate excursions to the local school.
These excursions were facilitated with the purpose of supporting best outcomes for our preschool leavers who will be attending Kindergarten in 2024. This initiative promotes a smooth continuity of learning and transition to school.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, from the walking to and from the school, to participating in group story times and joining in classroom activities.
We thank Kurrajong Public School for having us and for offering our preschoolers with an experience to remember.
Protective Behaviour Program: This engaging and empowering program will continuously cover the following areas of Protective Behaviour processes: * How do you Stay Safe?, * Where do you feel Safe?, Who are your 5 Heroes? and What do you do if you feel upset or sad?
This month, we talked about our body and that it belongs to us. Books read to support this learning were: My Underpants Rules and Boss of Your Own Body.
This provoked a lot of questions and solutions brainstormed by the children themselves.
We look forward to supporting children’s safety and empowerment through this program.

What we got up to last month...

Recycling Week

Recycle week gave us a chance to focus even more on recycling then what we already do in our day to day. We created different crafts using recycled material and boxes. We read books, we had conversations about why it is important to recycle and how we can better recycle. We recycled the water in our drink bottles and used it to water our garden and we also used old paper collage and used it to make our own paper. Elane also started up a ‘toy and clothing exchange’. So families are able to donate items they no longer need and someone who would be able to use it can come and pick it up to use.

To celebrate Remembrance Day, we had many discussions about what the day means and who we are remembering. The children created poppy flowers in remembrance of the soldiers who fort for our country, discussed the significance of poppy flowers, and spoke about what the soldiers wore during this time.

Remembrance day

World Kindness Day

World Kindness Day was celebrated by wearing yellow or a bright coloured shirt. We celebrated this to be reminded how important it is to think of others and spread kindness whenever and however we can. It can be simple, small gestures. On this day the children had discussions on how to be kind, how to share kindness and they also read a story on kindness.

Diwali

We celebrated Diwali with a variety of India sweet biscuit for morning tea, which the children loved. We also had group conversations about what Diwali and who celebrates it. Children also had the opportunity to create some Diwali inspired craft.

Focus Learning Programs

Playing And Learning to Socialise (PALS)

Happy Days Social Skills Program

No PALS this month as we have been focusing on the Protective Behaviour Program: This engaging and empowering program will continuously cover the following areas of Protective Behaviour processes: * How do you Stay Safe?, * Where do you feel Safe?, Who are your 5 Heroes? and What do you do if you feel upset or sad?

Eco-Warriors

Happy Days Sustainability Program
...when Fun and Responsibility meet

In the past month we have been rewarded daily with the growth and development of our newly planted seeds and seedlings. The children have been watching and caring for our plants and conversation have been had in relation to the weather and its’ effect on plant growth and survival.

We also engaged in paper making (using recycled paper) to produce cards. These cards will be decorated with pressed and dried flowers (also recycled) and will be gifted to members of our community: - Local Nursing Home, IGA and other small business.

Our Clothing and Toys Exchange Program has been highly successful; particularly in the matter of donations. Some families have also chosen some items to ‘love again’. This is GREAT!

We encourage all families to visit the Exchange stand and perhaps treat yourself or others to some pre-loved items.

We would like to extend our THANK YOU to all those families that have donated clothes and / or toys and that have made a choice to reuse one or more items.

All clothes and toys that have not found a new home by Friday, 08th December will be donated to a local charitable organization.

THANK YOU and give yourself and your loved ones a great Christmas gift – the gift of caring for our planet.

Munch and Move

Happy Days Health & Fitness Program

This month we focused on stationary dribbling and kicking as our fundamental movement for the month. With activities being provided to help enhance this skill. We had a range of balls, cricket, soccer along with other activities to encourage these skills. As it is the last month of the year, we will be looking at a range of different fundamental movements that we have already done throughout this year.