...where children are happy to learn
Taking Enrolments
Now for 2025!
1 Watts Place West Hoxton NSW 2171
ph: (02) 9825 8822 mob: 0426 972 893
Welcome to MARCH
Dear Parents/Families,
Welcome to the first month of Autumn. Where the breeze, fallen leaves and sun are enjoyed.
As we transition new children into care and a busy routine, educators are in full swing when it comes to programming, planning and events. Please make sure to check our March on the events board, OWNA app and our website to avoid missing out on any special events that might occur on the days your child/ren attend. Participating in these events helps educators plan for future events and shows great partnerships with families when it comes to assessment and rating. HDK’S parent committee is open for new committee members, if you are interested, please shoot Miss Stefanie an email and she can add you into our mailing list. We completely understand parents and families’ busy schedules which is why our parent committee is email based.
What's On?
Happy Days Emergency Drills
We will be holding the following emergency drills at the kindy:
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Monday 3rd March – Bomb threat evacuation
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Monday 17th March – Bushfire Evacuation
We have prepared the children for these drills, however, please continue the discussions at home so they can be better prepared.
St. Patricks Day
Monday 17th of March
Happy St. Patrick's Day! We have planned a fun and engaging day for the children. We will enjoy some Irish-inspired meals, learn all about St. Patrick's Day, complete arts and crafts, and go on a gold coin treasure hunt. We will also be selling some chocolate gold coins and treats. We ask that the children wear green clothing for the day.
Eid al-Fitr
Monday 31st of March
Happy Eid! We will be celebrating the star of Eid at Happy Days by implementing a variety of learning activities and experiences for the children. We will be learning about what Eid is and why it is such an important cultural event. We will make middle eastern meals for the children to enjoy. We will also be selling lolly bags and stuffed dates.
Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day
Tuesday 4th of March
Join us to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day. We will be hosting a morning tea with a delicious spread of pancakes and homemade treats from Miss Shaloo. All families are welcome. The children will also learn about what Shrove Tuesday is and engage in a variety of activities about pancake day.
Harmony Day
Friday 21st of March
Harmony Day is a very special day that celebrates the many cultures around the world. It is a great day for the children to learn more about their own culture and build a respect and understanding of other cultures, teaching them to live in harmony. We will be learning about the term diversity and the many cultures we see. We also welcome you to make or bring in a cultural dish for the children to experience and enjoy for morning tea, lunch, and afternoon. We will still be supplying meals on the day. We ask that a full list of ingredients be attached to the meal or emailed through to ensure children with allergies or intolerances are kept safe. We also kindly ask no dishes with nuts. Also, children are encouraged to wear the colour orange. Permission slips to follow.
Community Engagement
Check out what is happening in our community for the month of March!
- Most Blesses Nights Street Food Market at Macquarie Mall, Liverpool from 27th Feb to 23rd March, every Thursday to Sunday.
Holi
Friday 14th of March
Happy Holi, the festival of colours ! Join us for a fun-tastic day. The children and educators will be celebrating Holi with a variety of experiences, such as a delicious Indian-inspired menu, arts and crafts, and our very own COLOUR RUN which we invite parents to join in the fun too. From 2:30, we will be hosting a colour run in our playground, followed by some fun outdoor games. We ask that the children come dressed in white clothing for the day. If you would like to volunteer and participate in the day, kindly RSVP. NOTE: All children participating will be charged $3, which will be put towards our yearly fundraising initiative of purchasing a defibrillator for the centre.
Clean up Australia Day
Tuesday 25th of March
Join us for the biggest clean-up ever! Help us give back to our beautiful planet by cleaning up our local park. At 9:30am, we will be walking down to Greenway Park Oval to pick up rubbish and do our part in keeping our natural environment clean. The children will be provided gloves to ensure their health, hygiene, and safety are prioritized. We also welcome any parent volunteers to join us. We have rubbish pickers and gloves for all volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, a sign-up sheet will be placed on the front door. Simply add your name and the required information or inform an educator to add you to the sign-up list. We are aiming to return to the centre by 11am, just in time for lunch. If you would like to volunteer, we kindly ask that you meet us at the centre so we can walk to the park all together. Your child will be your sole responsibility regarding supervision.
We're Going Off The Grid
Monday 10th & Thursday 20th of March
The team at HDK often follow many early childhood social media pages to ensure they keep up to date within the industry and a term that has often been brought up is “off the grid”. I’m sure no matter what time you have walked in during morning drop off you have seen all educators with either an iPad or laptop in hand ready to capture as many moments as they can so that they can then upload them to our program Xplor so that you can stay up to date with what your children are doing whilst in our care. As you know technology has taken over a huge chunk of our lives, it’s how we communicate and complete our work and when we get some spare time it's what we use to wind down. Being that technology is such a big part of our lives it is only expected that our children are introduced to it at such a young age. Here at HDK and in many childcare centre’s technology is how we communicate with you regarding your children, which means technology is eating up a big part of the educator's time instead of spending it one on one with your children. Many centres are now going off the grid once or twice a month so that they can maximise their time with your children, forming relationships and just playing. It’s a spontaneous day where the decisions are left up to the children and what they feel like doing for the whole day whether it be painting with their feet, cooking, building castles and forts using furniture, the ideas are endless and completely up to the children. When “off the grid” takes place educators are to put away all technology iPads and laptops and no photos will be taken, no updates will be uploaded to Xplor except for mealtimes, sleep, and nappy change. “Off-the-grid” days will change every month so that every child gets to experience such a fun day and if you would like to know what we got up to feel free to speak to an educator or simply just ask your children. We would love to hear your feedback on what you think about being “off the grid” twice a month.
Important Reminders
Control of Infectious Illnesses
Please HELP us contain infectious illnesses by keeping your child at home when they are sick. If your child is absent from school due to an illness, please make sure to bring in a clearance letter from the doctors on their next booked day. If your child has been sent home from school on their booked day, in correspondence to our SICK CHILDREN’S POLICY, your child must stay home for 24 hours before bringing them back, to reduce the spread of illnesses.
Staff have the right to turn down your child’s attendance if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms or have had Panadol or Nurofen prior to attending the centre. Please do not “Dose and Dump”.
What to Pack
This is just a friendly reminder on what to pack for your child when attending Happy Days.
In your child's bag they must have the following (ALL LABELLED with your child's name):
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Spare clothes suited for the season and weather, including short sleeve/long sleeve t-shirt, shorts and pants, underwear, socks, jumpers or jackets.
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Bedding including a fitted sheet and blanket
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A water bottle
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Nappies or pull ups if required
Safe sleep
Safe sleep practices you can implement in your home
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Always place baby on back for sleep, not on their tummy or side
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Keep your baby’s head and face uncovered. Covering baby’s face or head with clothing such as a hat increases the risk of sudden infant death.
-
Keep your baby smoke-free before and after birth.
-
Have a safe sleeping environment night and day. Make sure the mattress is firm, clean and flat, in a safe cot that meets industry standards. Make sure there are no blankets, soft bedding, toys, pillows or bumpers in the cot.
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Sleep your baby in your room for the first 6 months
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Breastfeed your baby if possible.
OWNA
Please ensure to regularly check the posts on OWNA as this is currently one of our main sources of communication.
Posts are sent regularly about attendances, events and general reminders.
Signing-in/out
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.
LABEL LABEL LABEL
A BIG reminder to please label your children’s belongings. If a "loss" item isn’t collected within 2 weeks, they will go towards our MS fundraising bin.
Happy Days is not responsible for any lost item.
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 policy of the month below (send your feedback to westhoxton@happydayskindy.com):
The below policies are in the process of being reviewed and updated for 2025. Members of our parent committee and extended families are encouraged to access and review our policies and provide feedback. Policies are also available on OWNA.
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Physical Activity Policy
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Multicultural Policy
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Cyber Safety Policy
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Dealing with Infectious Diseases Policy
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Earthquake Management Policy
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Flood Management Policy
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Immunisation Policy
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Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Policy
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Multi-storey Building Policy
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Teething Policy
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Privacy and Confidentiality Policy
Absences
If your child is going to be absent from the centre, please call our centre landline on (02) 9825 8822 or our centre mobile on 0426 972 893 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.
FOB keys
We would also like to remind parents to please use their FOB key when entering the centre and refrain from using the doorbell, quite often educators are busy attending to your children and do not have the time to keep letting parents in, so please expect wait times at the door if this is so. If you have misplaced your FOB key or need to grab another one, we will happily replace it please just let an educator know.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are continuously being updated and reviewed, feel free to access some risk assessments via OWNA and others in our risk assessment folder located in the office.
What we've been Up To
Heart Kids National Awareness Fundraiser Tuesday 4th Feb
Heart Kids national fundraiser is a foundation that support over 250,000 children who are affected by childhood onset heart conditions. This charity helps raise funds to support these children! For this day, Happy Days conducted a gold coin donation and encouraged everyone to wear red! During the day, educators implemented crafts based on this cause and during their interactions they discussed the foundation and its importance. In the Big Explorers room, the children created heart windows where they placed different coloured paper in the middle. This was then placed on our windows and the children admire the light shining through. In the Little Learners room, they completed a heart collage and created cards for the awareness!
Asian Exploration Show
As the children prepared and got ready to participate in this exciting incursion, the incursion consisted of the children learning about the asian culture, history, music and tradition and culture. They even got to dance to some K-pop music. The children were also called up to try on some cultural costumes such as, traditional Asia hats. The show finished with an awesome dragon dance that they muchly enjoyed.
Lantern Festival
At the centre we celebrated the Lantern Festival! In our big explorer’s room, Miss Ashley kicked off the day by introducing the Thai Lantern Festival with a fun video that showed the rich traditions behind it. The kids got super curious as they learned how people in Thailand release lanterns into the sky to let go of their worries and welcome fresh starts. They couldn’t wait to talk about what they were most excited to do throughout the day. First up was a hands-on activity where the kids made their own lantern collages, using colourful crepe paper and watercolours to create something amazing. They got right into the gluing and painting, letting their creativity flow. Then came the group art project, where each child added their handprint to the lanterns, making them one-of-a-kind. They painted their hands in bright colours and pressed them onto the lanterns, laughing at the splashes of paint and the squishy feeling of it. This shared activity turned their lanterns into a beautiful mix of friendship and fun, capturing the spirit of togetherness that the festival is all about. Each handprint became a little piece of their shared experience, bringing the joy of the celebration to life through their art.
In our little learner’s room, The kids had a blast with a fun hand painting activity, where they dipped their hands in bright colours and made handprints on paper. They then turned these prints into special lanterns, adding their own creative touches to make each one unique. The whole process was full of giggles as they pressed their painted hands onto the paper, watching the colourful splashes spread out. After the prints were dry, they got to decorate their handprint lanterns even more, adding details and designs that made each lantern reflect their personality. It was a messy, creative, and super fun way for the kids to express themselves and create something special for the festival!
Valentines day
Happy Valentines,
The Big Explorers and Little Learners classroom had lots of fun creating colourful Valentines Day cards for their parents, making thumb print ‘I love you’ cards, Love heart collage using pink and purple crepe paper and much more! The children also made yummy chocolate love hearts using Molds which they took home at the end of the day to indulge in with their siblings and family. It was a special day filled with love, laughter and creativity!
Water play day
Happy Days participated in water play day on the 19th and 28th of February! Water play day helps to support the children to develop and strengthen children's gross and fine motor skills, through lifting, pouring, carrying, running and splashing. The Little Learners and Big Explorers had a blast engaging with their teachers and friends, going up and down the slide and splashing about in the water.
Ramadan begins
At Happy Days Kindergarten in Hoxton Park, the children have had a wonderful time learning about different types of diversity and religion. It has been a rewarding experience for everyone as they explored various cultures and traditions. The children also worked closely with their educator to create an amazing Ramadan craft, showcasing their creativity and teamwork.
Happy Ramadan to all families that celebrate!
Educator of the month
This year we have implemented a new program for our educators; An “Educator of the Month”. Each month, Miss Ashley, as our Director and ECT, will observe the educators in all aspects of the day, collecting evidence of their work, their practice and involvement with their daily responsibilities. At the end of the month, the educator who has achieved the most, shown imitative, gone above and beyond in their role will be rewarded with “Educator of the month’ along with a small prize. This isn’t just for the benefit of staff development and prizes, this motivates the educators to excel in all areas, including Quality Area 5- Relationships with Children.
This month (February), Miss Shipra won Educator of the month for taking the initiative to identify what she lacks knowledge in and finding webinars to help her build and strengthen her knowledge to support the children. Well Done Miss Shipra!
Focus Learning Programs
Eco-Warriors
Happy Days Sustainability Program
For Eco- Warriors this month, the Big Explorers have been exploring Flowers and looking after our gardens! Throughout the month, we have engaged in an array of crafts that have been based around flowers and a watering can. During these craft experiences, Miss Hannah has had discussions with the children on why we are doing these paintings and the importance of providing plants with water!
The children have also been assisting Miss Hannah by taking turns watering our gardens. And painting some of our pots outside. In the Little Learners room, they have explored the same topic although catered to little minds. They engaged in painting a paint pot and painting paper flowers in which they brought this together and created one big pot plant filled with beautiful flower creations.
Lastly, the children assisted their teachers by picking up rubbish, indoor and outdoors. Next month, we will be moving onto our new initiative of Return and Earn.
Miss Hannah, Miss Josephine and Miss Shania
Munch and Move
Happy Days Health & Fitness Program
Miss Shipra collaborated this month (February) and came up with so many fun activities for munch and move focusing on the topic “throwing and catching”. The big explorers engaged through many group experiences such as hot potato game, in this activity the children were throwing the ball and catching it back listening to music and when the music stopped the children froze making this learning experience enjoyable. The children also participated in a fun dance ballon party with their educator and enjoyed a ball catching game. Aswell as participated in a fun volleyball game working on developing and improving on their throwing and catching skills. In the little learner’s room miss Shipra encouraged the children to join her and participate in so many activities with her such as ballon dance party, parachute with coloured balls and a circle game of throwing and catching working on developing and improving on their throwing and catching skills.
Miss Shipra
Playing and Learning to Socialise (PALS)
Happy Days Social Skills Program
This month in our PLAS program, the children focused on the topic of making friends. Through various activities and experiences, they learned valuable social skills such as sharing, listening, and showing kindness. Their creativity also shined through as they made beautiful artwork, which is now proudly displayed on our program wall, symbolizing their growing friendships. As we move forward, our next topic will be asking for help, where the children will explore how to both give and receive assistance in a supportive and respectful way.
Miss Halima
Projects
Happy Days In-Depth Learning Program
This month the children had a fantastic time learning more about Sea Creatures! In the Little Learners classroom, the children watched a fun educational video which then led to an open-ended discussion about what their favourite sea creatures are. Each week the Little Learners participated in 2 fun activities, like sea horse water painting, starfish glitter painting, playing with sea creatures in water tuff tray, and searching for sea creatures using tongs to pick up the sea animals in a sensory bin with blue jelly and crushed corn flakes.
In the Big Explorers classroom, the children sat around Miss Maddison to participate in a brainstorm about which animals are in the ocean, where each child had a turn to share their voices. The Big explorers participated in many fun creative crafts like jellyfish handprints, starfish collage and a handprint fish. They also acted out sea animal movements and shared their favourite moves for each animal. It’s been a month full of fun while learning about the sea!
Miss Maddison, and Miss Feyza
Centre with a Heart
Happy Days In-Depth Learning Program
Centre with a Heart is back in full swing for 2025. If you haven’t already noticed our red and white MS bin outside. Any old clothing can be donated to this bin to help out families in need (MS do not accept any toys). We also have our basket in the foyer from Shining Stars who accept new pantry and hygiene items to help the less fortunate. Feel free to drop something off during your morning/afternoon pick-ups, once these containers are filled the companies will be contacted for them to be collected.
Classroom News
The Little Learners Room
6 weeks to 3 years old
This month, our little learners have been diving into the fascinating world of cultures—both their own and those of others. Through a variety of crafts and activities, they’ve been exploring what makes different cultures unique and celebrating the diversity around them. From creating art inspired by traditional practices to learning about different customs and traditions, the children have been engaged in discovering the beauty of the world’s many cultures.
Now, we're shifting gears to focus on our new learning theme: "Community Helpers." This topic is all about helping our little ones connect with the people who make a difference in their communities. We'll be exploring the roles of firefighters, doctors, teachers, and many other important figures who work to keep our communities running smoothly. Through hands-on activities, role-playing, and perhaps even visits from real-life community helpers, our goal is to give the children a deeper understanding of how these individuals contribute to the world around them. It’s going to be an exciting and enriching journey as we learn more about the essential work that supports and strengthens the communities we live in!
Miss Feyza, Miss Shipra, Miss Shania and Miss Josephine
The Big Explorers Room
The Discoverers (3-4 yrs old)
& The Inventors (4-6 yrs old)
As the big explorers dove into vibrant arts and crafts activities, it was heartwarming to witness their genuine curiosity and respect for the diverse cultural backgrounds represented within the room. They engaged enthusiastically in projects that celebrated various traditions, each child contributing their unique perspectives and talents to the creations. Recently, they participated in an exciting craft activity that illuminated the significance of Ramadan, sparking thoughtful discussions about its customs and meanings. Observing the children as they discovered elements of each other's cultures has been a joy; they embraced the opportunity to learn not just through words, but through the hands-on experience that art provides, fostering a sense of connection and appreciation for the rich tapestry of traditions that make up their community.
The Discoverers
(3-4yrs old)
The Discoverers started off the month February with so many fun activities and learning experiences with their friends and educators. Miss Halima started off with the topic “fine motor skills” with the discoverers focusing and helping the children work on their ability to use small muscles in the hands and wrist to make precise movements. The Discoverers engaged with Miss Halima in so many enjoyable activities such as learning to use safe scissors, learning to paint using Q-tips, picking things with tweezers, use rubbers bands to stretch over their drink bottles, threading, peel tape and stickers, and learned how to make pasta necklaces, etc. The children had a blast participating in those activities with friends and their educators as those activities supported and helped the children’s development on fine motor skills.
Miss Halima will move on to the topic “colours” and will continue to implement so many activities and collaborate with the children through so many fun activities to help the discoverers improve on and learn their colours.
Miss Halima
The Inventors
(4-6 yrs old)
Happy Days School Readiness Program
In our small groups known as the Inventors, Miss Maddison and Miss Hannah have fostered an incredibly vibrant learning environment where the children have truly thrived. As they engaged in various activities aimed at enhancing their fine motor skills, the excitement in the room was palpable. With the pipe cleaner fishing activity, for instance, each child’s creativity flourished as they carefully maneuverer the colourful pipe cleaners to catch playful “fish,” honing their dexterity in the process. The thrill of competition to see who could catch the most sparked laughter and camaraderie among friends, turning a simple activity into a memorable adventure.
The enthusiasm continued with building patterns using Lego blocks, where the children not only practiced their fine motor skills but also explored concepts like colour recognition and spatial awareness. They eagerly shared their creations, proudly discussing their designs with one another, which nurtured their communication and collaboration skills. From constructing towering structures to crafting intricate patterns, every moment was filled with discovery and joy. Activities like these not only support their physical development but also highlight the importance of teamwork and social interaction, transforming learning into a shared experience that all the children relished alongside their peers.
Miss Hannah and Miss Maddison
Big Explorers Fortnightly Walk abouts
Commencing in 2025, the Big Explorers are heading outdoors and exploring our local neighbourhood. Every fortnight, 10 children accompanied by their educators will walk on three different routes. These walks will provide the children with the opportunity to get in some fresh air, increase their physical strength and enjoy some time outside of the centre with their peers. During their walks, they will be prompted with different goals to complete for example observing what they see and then coming back to the centre and engaging in a drawing. The children will occasionally be able to visit the local park as a special treat! Our first walk commenced on the 4th of February and the children had so much fun! They are very eager for more walks to come!
Recipe of the Month
Pancakes
What you need
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100g plain flour.
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2 large eggs.
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300ml milk.
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1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil. plus a little extra for frying.
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lemon wedges. to serve (optional)
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caster sugar. to serve (optional)
Directions
1. Sift the dry ingredients together.
2. Make a well, then add the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.
3. Scoop the batter onto a hot griddle or pan.
4. Cook for two to three minutes, then flip.
5. Continue cooking until brown on both sides.
CHEF SHALOO
Families & Community Partnership
POISON SAFETY: Unfortunately, our little ones have a bad habit of getting sick quite frequently. When they are ill, we often administer different medicines to aid in fighting against the sickness.
Parents and carers must ensure that they appropriately store and handle different medications, ensuring that their children are not at risk of any serious accidents such as ingesting medication.
Some ways that we can prevent an incident from occurring is:
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Store all medicines in a locked and high cupboard that is out of reach to all children. Children are great climbers so make sure cupboards are locked with a safety latch for further prevention.
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Make sure all bags and purses that may have medications are placed up high and out of reach of children
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Keep all medications in original containers
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Be aware of what medications you have in the household and the quantity of each.
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Don’t underestimate your child’s ability to open up packages. Some child resistant packages are still not child proof.
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Never tell a child that medicine tastes like candy
In the event of an accident occurring, you are to call the Poisons Information Hotline (13 11 26) to provide you with the necessary information. If your child has stopped breathing or collapsed call 000. First aid is to be administered immediately in any circumstance.
SUSTAINABILITY AT HOME: At Happy Days we encourage all to be environmentally sustainable and be conscientious of the way we treat our world. Through our educational programs we are providing children with lots of ecological experiences. In doing this we are moulding their mind and teaching them about how we can care for the environment and help it flourish.
One way that we can not only be cost efficient but also sustainable is by reducing our water usage whilst at home.
Some ways we can limit out water waste is by:
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Using a low flow shower head and taking shorter showers
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Instal a duel flush toilet and educate children on the correct way to flush the toilet
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Repair all leaky taps
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Use a front load washing machine
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Collect rainwater to reuse on plants and lawn
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Do not run the tap unnecessarily
CHILD SAFETY:
It is very important that we are always keeping our children safe whilst in vehicles. By using the correct car seats that are properly fitted can reduce the risk of injury by 71%.
According to the NSW centre for road safety:
- for children up to 6 months they need to be seated in an approved rear facing car seat
- from 6 months – 4 years they can sit in either a rear or forward-facing car seat
- from 4 years + children can sit in either a front facing car seat or booster seat
- for children who are 145 cm or taller they can use the adult lap sash seatbelt
SAFE SLEEP PRACTICES:
Safe sleep practices you can implement in your home
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Always place baby on back for sleep, not on their tummy or side
-
Keep your baby’s head and face uncovered. Covering baby’s face or head with clothing such as a hat increases the risk of sudden infant death.
-
Keep your baby smoke-free before and after birth.
-
Have a safe sleeping environment night and day. Make sure the mattress is firm, clean and flat, in a safe cot that meets industry standards. Make sure there are no blankets, soft bedding, toys, pillows or bumpers in the cot.
-
Sleep your baby in your room for the first 6 months
-
Breastfeed your baby if possible.
INCLUSIVE PROGRAM: At Happy Days our educators work together to ensure that we are an inclusive centre.
To be inclusive means to embrace all people irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical or other need. It is about giving equal access and opportunities and getting rid of discrimination.
As part of Inclusive Program, we offer resources to all families in different languages to ensure everyone is receiving the support and information they need. This month's topic is:
"Encouraging Positive Behaviour"
Arabic
كجزء من البرنامج الشامل ، نقدم موارد لجميع العائلات بلغات مختلفة لضمان حصول الجميع على الدعم والمعلومات التي يحتاجون إليها. موضوع هذا الشهر هو:
نصائح حول تشجيع السلوك اإليجابي
Vietnamese
Là một phần của Chương trình Hòa nhập, chúng tôi cung cấp tài nguyên cho tất cả các gia đình bằng các ngôn ngữ khác nhau để đảm bảo mọi người đều nhận được sự hỗ trợ và thông tin họ cần. Chủ đề của tháng này là