Dear families,

Welcome to our Term 3 newsletter. We have lots of wonderful learning experiences to share with you and hope you enjoy reading through. We have information on our programs from each of our services and enrolment information to share with you.

General Manager’s Update:

We are excited to announce that MEYM will be operating a kindergarten service from Pascoe Vale Community Centre in 2025. The kindergarten will be called Pascoe Vale Community Centre Kindergarten (PVCCK) and we will be operating a multi-age group on Wednesday and Thursday in the first instance then if numbers grow we can look to open a second group.

In 2023 we were fortunate enough to run our Turner Street Kindergartens programs at the PVCCK site and children staff and families loved the facility with it’s modern interior full of natural light and the playground has recently been upgraded by Council. MEYM intends to integrate a nature play program at PVCCK. This program has previously achieved success, as there are numerous beautiful locations in the vicinity of the service for children to explore.

If you are keen to register your interest for Pascoe Vale Community Centre Kindergarten (PVCCK) please contact Merri-bek Council central registration or if you would like have further information and a chat about PVCCK please email the MEYM enrolments officer at enrolments@meym.org.au

We are more than half way through term three and therefore we would like to once again thank all our wonderful staff who continue to provide children with innovative stimulating programs all the while continuing to juggle and support colleagues who are unwell. We are extremely lucky to have a highly skilled pool of casual staff who have been happy to work with short notice and travel to all of our services.

Term three is a wonderful benchmark for teachers and educators to make some assessment about children’s learning and how children are achieving outcomes and goals. Children are generally settled into the kinder routines and do this with confidence. They can navigate the environment and mostly resource their own learning as they access program resources. They continue to develop independence skills and are using peers as a sounding board to explore new ideas and thoughts in order to make sense of their world. They are sharing experiences from home and educators use their conversations to scaffold children’s learning and follow their interests.

As we move to term four there will be a number of educational experiences that assist children to explore the idea of school and educators will support children to engage with the idea of school and make this a positive experience. Term four is a busy time for Teachers who spend hours preparing the Transitions Learning and Development Statements which are written for your nominated school but are based on the National Frameworks which our curriculums are based on. A draft of these statements will be sent home for parents to read and discuss with teachers before going off to your nominated school. We would encourage you to talk to your children about school but not to focus too heavily on this. Ask your child what they know about the idea of school, what they think they might do at school and how they might feel at school. Also please remember that your child has another five months of maturing to go before they start school and there can be a number of changes that happen during this period of time.

If you have any queries about the next term please speak with your teacher and educators.

Staffing: We are extremely fortunate at MEYM to have a wonderful cohort of teachers, educators and administration staff who enthusiastically and professionally support the Board of Management and the General Managers to continue to meet the strategic direction of the organisation.

While we have had some turn over of staff this year, the provision of dedicated highly skilled teachers and educators remain our priority in order to provide services of excellence for your children. The sector is experiencing a number of workforce issues including teacher shortages, burnout due to increased workloads and are seeking pay parity with other teachers in primary and secondary schools.

While we have seen some valuable staff leave MEYM this year and you may have noticed some changes to staffing at individual services we are confident that we are best placed to recruit the best people who fit the organisational values and are experts in the field. We would like to thankyou for your understanding and patience whilst we work towards fully staffing our services in 2025.

Illness: There are a number of flus, bugs and COVID still circulating in the community so just a friendly reminder that if you child is unwell they need to stay at home. We acknowledge that at times this is difficult for working families however we ask this in the best interest of your child and other children participating in the group.

If you need to contact the General Manager the email address is gm@meym.org.au.

Sarah Vallance – General Manager

Area Manager’s Update:

Dear MEYM kindergarten families

I just wanted to take this opportunity to provide you information on the Child Safe Standards and how MEYM adheres to the standards.

When your child is in the care of an organisation you want to know that they will be safe from abuse. The Child Safe Standards are designed to prevent child abuse in organisations. The Child Safe Standards apply to over 50,000 Victorian organisations that provide services or facilities for children, these facilities include kindergartens and early learning centres.

How the Child Safe Standards protect your child at kindergarten

 The Standards require organisations to take actions in a range of areas, including:

• background and suitability checks of staff and volunteers

• codes of conduct for staff and volunteers

• training and supervision of staff and volunteers

• documented risk assessments for all incursions and excursions

• clear procedures for reporting and acting on any concerns or allegations

• commitment to listening to children and encouraging them to speak up if they don’t feel safe

How MEYM is meeting the Child Safe Standards?

We encourage you to look on our website and noticeboards and talk to staff. Our organisation has documents such as:

• Child Safe Policy and or Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

• Code of Conduct for workers and volunteers

• Information about how to raise safety concerns

• Child Safe Standards Action Plan

• Complaints procedure

• Regular all staff professional development

• Documented agenda item at every team meeting

We encourage you to ask staff or myself questions if you require further information on the Child Safe Standard or visit www.ccyp.vic.gov.au

Stay Safe

Nikki Gill, Area Manager

Enrolment Officer’s Update

The 2025 enrolment process will be underway soon. Families who have registered for a position at one of our services for 2025 will be sent an email asking for program preferences and soon after will receive their allocated program along with an enrolment form to complete. These emails will be sent by the Enrolment Officer at MEYM from the email address enrolments@meym.org.au

Please note that an up to date Immunisation History Statement will be required as part of the enrolment process.

Timetables: Timetables of our kindergarten programs for 2025 are available here.

Important notice on when to commence kindergarten: Children are eligible for one year of 3yo kinder and one year of 4yo kinder before commencing school. A second year of kindergarten will only be considered when a child shows delays in two or more key areas of learning and development that meet specific areas of eligibility set by the Department of Education. Feeling your child is too young for school will not meet the criteria. Families with children born between January and April can choose which year to start their child at 3yo kindergarten. These children can start 3yo kindergarten in the year they turn 3, or in the year they turn 4 years old.

Please keep the MEYM Enrolment Officer updated of the following change in family circumstances: Change in address or phone number, update of concession card or visa status, update of your child’s Medical Action Plan, Court orders, Child Protection or Child and Family Services support.

Absences from Kinder: If your child is going to be absent for kinder please email or call the kindergarten service.

If your child will be absent from the kinder program for a period longer than 2 weeks please inform the MEYM Enrolment Officer in writing to enrolments@meym.org.au with the length of time your child/family will be absent.

Cancellation: If you wish to cancel out of a kindergarten program again, please advise the Enrolment Officer in writing giving 14 days notice of cancellation.

For families wishing to have a tour of our kindergartens please book a visit through our Book-a-Tour on our website. Families have an opportunity to view our wonderful kindergartens and meet some of our educators. Allow 15 minutes for the tour.

Important Dates

Term Breaks 2024
Term 3 Start Date 15 July Finish Date 20 September
Term 4 Start Date 7 October Finish Date 20 December
You will be notified of the last date of kinder for the year nearer the time.

Kinder closure dates:

Friday 27 September 2024 is Friday before the AFL Grand Final

Monday 4 November 2024 is our MEYM all Staff Personal Development Training Day

Tuesday 5 November 2024 is Melbourne Cup Day

Facebook and Instagram: Please visit our facebook and instagram pages to have a look at Turner Street Kindergarten’s magical fairy garden plus other posts on our kindergarten services.

For any enquiries regarding kindergarten programs, enrolment or orientation, please email Samantha, Enrolment Officer at enrolments@meym.org.au

Thank you, Samantha Zuccarelli, Enrolment Officer, MEYM

Important Dates: In the middle of August, we will be hosting a University of Melbourne student and in September we will be hosting a Swinburne University student. The Hon. Ben Carroll visited us on the 9^th of August.

What’s happening in our kindergarten program: Red group – written by Danni. The children returned from the holidays with many discussions about their school holidays and what they enjoyed the most during that time. A zoo play experience was created to reflect on the highlights of what happened in the holidays. Dramatic play, box construction and selection of stories highlighted an interest in space amongst the Red group. A small play experience, with space provocations, has invited the children to explore their imagination. This has been very popular.  Small play experiences such as these create learning opportunities such as sharing, turn taking and conversational skills. We celebrated NAIDOC week with a breakfast for the children and their families. The children and their families were invited to explore Ochre painting on a variety of natural materials. At group time, we have been learning about Bunjil, the creator of the Wurundjeri land in which we learn and play. We have started an artistic piece with Bunjil as the focus. The children also enjoyed the story “The Magic Hat” by Mem Fox. To extend on this the children were invited to create their own bush wands using a variety of natural materials found in the yards of the kindergarten. Easel painting, drawing, cutting and pasting have all been very busy areas of the kindergarten. Our cauliflower, Broccoli and Lettuce are all thriving well and we enjoy looking after these. We look forward to when we can enjoy our crops to eat.  We have been closely looking and checking on our worms in the worm farm, eagerly waiting for the first batch of fertilizer to use on our garden.

Yellow group – written by Nicole. We have recently celebrated NAIDOC Week with a breakfast where the families were invited to come in to spend time with their children and explore Ochre painting and pastel drawing inspired by the 2024 NAIDOC Week poster.

Recently the children have taken an interest in creative experiences which include painting, clay work, playdough, pasting and drawing using various mediums. There are opportunities on offer to further support the children’s physical development which includes construction play both indoor and outdoor, exploring the A- Frames and riding the bikes. Experiences that support the children’s social and cognitive abilities and skills include various group experiences and puzzles which help to challenge their thinking, problem solving skills, trial and error abilities, and overall cognitive development.

Blue group – written by Sue. To support children’s development of a strong sense of identity, we introduced them to the Indigenous concept of custodianship of the land by reading the book “Bundjil Creation Story.” This story, shared by N’Arwee’t Dr. Carolyn Briggs, belongs to the Boon Wurrung language group of the Kulin Nations. After the reading, we engaged the children in a discussion about the custodianship of the land, emphasizing that Indigenous people take care of the land, plants, animals, people, and water.

The children are developing a deeper understanding of custodianship and the responsibilities it entails. Their interest in the “Bundjil Creation Story” extended into their creative activities, with enthusiasm for creating a group artwork inspired by “Bundjil.” Additionally, their interest in Indigenous culture and the environment led them to create other artworks using natural materials, such as making bush wands.

Volunteer Opportunities: We are looking for some people to help do some yard maintenance including moving sand back to the sand pit. Please see Rach about this.

Teacher Communications: Can you help us access some large loose parts? We are looking to access some loose parts for children’s outdoor creative exploration. Loose parts are beneficial for children’s learning as they allow for planning, problem-solving, testing of working theories, creativity, and working collaboratively with others. This also fits with our focus on ensuring that we reuse and recycle items for new and different purposes.

We are wondering if there are any plumbers or electricians in our community as we are looking for some pipe, guttering offcuts and cable reels, crates, tree rounds, tyres, And anything else you can think of.

Please see Rach if you have any questions or donations.

From the team at Gowanbrae Children’s Centre

What’s happening in our kindergarten program:

Kingfisher: As we continue on our nature program adventure we are learning more and more about our local environment and how we can care for it. We are continuing to monitor our tawny frogmouth friends, who have now been named Racer and Gerald through a democratic vote. We are looking for signs of them building a nest and maybe laying eggs in the near future. We have been building on the knowledge that Angela (Merri Creek Management committee) shared with us about the inhabitants of the Merri Creek and what to look for as the seasons change.  

We have been continuing to challenge our bodies and grow our confidence as we climb, swing, hang and create our own challenges throughout the day. This has transferred into nature program as we explore new trees and test our limits.

Our new favourite group experience is a treasure hunt. Sparked by the children’s interest in pirates and treasure we have made our own treasure and have had many a hunt. Often the teachers hide the treasure for us and as a group the children have to look high and low and work together to find each piece.  Other group games we have been enjoying are whats the time mr wolf, hide and seek, and tag.  

Dragonfly: The dragonfly children have been engaging in a range of imaginative and dramatic play in both the inside and outside environments. From unicorns to cats, to Mums and babies we have seen their relationships and friendships flourish as they connect over similar experiences and ideas.

The children have been engaging in a range of construction experiences and have been using our new diggers constantly since they arrived. We have had stop and go signs operating in the yard, hard hats on to keep them safe and many a hole being dug.

The other interest of the dragonfly group has been booking and acting out appointments in the hair salon, doctors office and nail parlour. The children have invited their friends, parents and members of the community to take and seat while they give them a new look. This has encouraged discussion around times and dates as well as colours and patterns.  

Lake Park Kindergarten would also like to share its achievement with our families and children on completing the Waste module. Our 3rd star rating has been certified by Sustainability Victoria. Great Work, Lake Park team! This is a big achievement for our Kindergarten and we are proud to share the success with the community.

Child Reflections: Kingfisher: The children in Kingfisher farewelled Amanda recently and sent her off with the most love and care. Amongst well wishes were reflections on how much they had enjoyed her clay experience, reading stories with her and exploring painting and art with her.

The children have also been connecting what they are reading and learning about with real life experiences. From learning about different animals on Country to looking for them when we are out on Wurundjeri Country. Talking about our experiences with tractors, trucks and diggers in our communities and sharing our experiences on holidays both near and far.

Dragonfly: The children have been captivated by stories of Bunjil and Waa and have continued to act this out themselves as well as teachers telling the stories at rest time.

With new children starting in the Dragonfly group the children have been welcoming and kind as they find their feet. We often hear words of wisdom being passed on or support when these children aren’t sure where something is.

We are continuing to explore and enjoy sensory play with has included, sand, clay, playdough, feathers, and mud. Through this some of us are able to self regulate and work through our thoughts and feelings. Others are gaining an understanding of natural materials and how they change when mixed together. Others are using their creative mind to make, design and imagine new and different patterns, shapes and creations. In the Italian program, children are exploring magic through dressing up; making their own magic wands and imaginary play. We are also using Italian words to play the group game ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf?’

Incursions/Excursions:

Kingfisher and Dragonfly

We are continuing our nature program excursions and are looking forward to inviting some more of our community in soon.

Kingfisher group would like to give a big shout out to Acacia’s Mum, Kate who came in and did a clay experience with the children. Together they made animals, monsters and creatures which will be dried and fired by Kate. The children had such a wonderful time and we are very grateful.

The Dragonfly group were able to take part in an incursion run by the year 6 leaders of St Paul’s primary where they learnt about “robots” and how they could direct them to draw different shapes.

Child Safety Information: We kindly remind parents to check the carpark for children as you are entering and exiting both on foot and in your car.

From the team at Lake Park Kindergarten

Important Dates:

Kangaroo Group: 21 Aug – Dress up for book week. 30 Aug – Come and play (8:15 – 10:15)

Wombat Group: Week starting from 19 Aug (Mon and Thursday), 30 Aug – Family day (2: 15 – 4:00pm)

Echidna Group: 23 Aug – Book week dress-up, 30 Aug – Stay & play for Fathers (12:30 – 1:30 pm)

Possum Group: 22 Aug – bring your favourite book and dress up, 29 Aug – family stay and play (2:00 – 3:45). 02 and 09 Sep – Body Safety Incursion (1:00 – 1:45pm), 12 Sep – Incursion, Planting experience with Bunnings.

19 September – End of Term celebration

End of Term 3 – 19 September

Term 4 starts – 7 October

What’s happening in our kindergarten program:

Kangaroo group:

In our program, we are focussing on extending the children’s confidence and receptive and expressive language skills through literacy by introducing our very own preschool interviews. An entertaining way to engage the children is by using the microphone and asking some fun questions. The children also choose to dress up to support their role while being interviewed.  

Kangaroo Group celebrated sports day by holding a Mini Olympics at kindergarten. The children participated in completing an obstacle course followed by yoga and stretches to warm up their bodies. Many skills were evident, such as throwing, catching, balancing, weaving in and out and climbing over and under. Children showed great team spirit, children were presented with medals and participation certificates.

Echidna Group: The children have been enjoying a range of play experiences in both indoor and outdoor areas. It is lovely to see the friendship and social interaction grow strongly among the Echidna group.

The Echidna group has shown significant progress in their independence from educator engagement and moving into independent and collaborative play with peers. Many children are interested in dramatic play (Shop corner, block corner) and imaginative play (small toy character play such as farm animals). These experiences provide opportunities for children to explore their imagination, creativity, and sense of identity, as well as practice collaborative play skills such as incorporating ideas of their own and those of their peers, negotiating roles, and sharing resources.

Wombat Group: We started term 3 with a lot of rainy days. During this time, Children were engaged in a range of group activities. All the children were enthusiastic about making playdough. They waited patiently for their turn to pour flour, add oil or mix the ingredients. They were excited to explore new activities like parachute games and music-based movements. They followed the educators’ instructions and learned to play the activities fast. During every activity, they enjoyed it so much that they kept smiling or laughing. The Gingerbread Man” book was introduced along with finger puppets and supporting props. The children used these props creatively, engaging in imaginative puppet play and conversations with each other.

Possum Group: The children in possum group are enjoying community walks and nature play. It started with fortnightly community walks, but due to children’s increasing interest and positive involvement the group now go out for weekly walks and nature play. The time of the incursion is gradually increasing. The children started to explore confidently and notice the changing outdoor environment. They are learning about respecting the environment and making meaning of Acknowledgment of Country that children and educators have prepared together. This experience is also teaching us about the co-existence of humans and non-humans. Through an inquiry project the children are learning about primary colours and how these colours make more colours. An experimentation station has been set up in the classroom where children are working individually and in collaboration with peers. Learning is supported by educators about children are mainly learning through trial and error.  We are also learning about these colours reflect our emotions. The Visit to Moomba Park Primary School Library was an extension of this project, we requested librarian Ms Maria, to plan experiences that align with our learning program. She was kind enough to support children’s learning. Our time there was full of engaging reading and art experiences.

Incursions/Excursions Information: A librarian from Fawkner Library visited our Three- year-old groups this month.

Possum group visited the Moomba Park Primary School Library for reading, singing and art experiences. we also got opportunity to visit a prep classroom where we joined in for a digital book reading session. We also had opportunity to meet the children from kindergarten class of 2023. We received a warm welcome from the children.

Ongoing Bush Kinder/Nature Outing Program: Reflection of our First Community Walk and Nature Play: Possum group ventured out of kindergarten for their first community walk on 24 June. Before our excursion, children were involved in an important conversation regarding road safety, enabling them to re-visit the information they learnt during their Healthy Harold incursion. Children expressed their understanding of the importance of holding their partner’s hand, listening to the teachers’ instructions, stopping when approaching the road, and looking left and right for cars before crossing. With that done, the children packed their bags with their morning tea and water bottles, dressed appropriately for the cold weather, and chose a partner for the walk.

Once we left kindergarten, the children did an amazing job staying in line with their partners. Slowly, they began observing and spotting the beauty found in nature. They spotted things like cats, lemons, mushrooms, and a beautiful bird of paradise flower. The children also observed a house under construction, which can also be viewed from our kindergarten yard. Once we completed the loop around kinder, we stopped at the local park for our acknowledgement of country and shared a morning tea with each other. Once the children were done, Ms Bushra showed the children the set boundaries at the park, where they were not allowed to pass due to safety and supervision reasons. The park provided children with open space to explore the natural world. Some children displayed that they were initially unsure how to play and explore the natural space. Educators gave those children suggestions and ideas to help introduce them to exploring and playing amongst nature. Others displayed that they were very familiar with nature play by instantly running around, collecting sticks and leaves, climbing trees, and even initiated a dramatic play experience of creating a campfire with imaginary marshmallows. Overall, our community walk was a very successful introduction to our future nature play program. Children also demonstrated their road safety knowledge by carefully listening to teachers’ instructions, observing traffic, roads and their surroundings, and staying with their partners. Other groups at Moomba Park Kindergarten are in the process of implementing nature programs. These efforts align with our Quality Improvement goal of connecting with Place/nature.

Teacher Communications: Staff Update: Moomba Park welcomed a new educator (Laili Kadarsih) into our team this month. She will be working with 3Yo Echidna group. Laili has three years’ experience of working in early childhood environments and currently working towards the Bachelor of Early Childhood. 

Staff Professional development: All staff at Moomba Park Kindergarten attended the squiggle kids’ workshop (Draw to learn and learning to draw) which staff engaged in through our SRF funding. It has enabled us to continue to use literacy and drawing as a means to extend children’s language. Drawing is a great tool for developing verbal language skills in children. When children draw, they often talk.

Through various art experiences we will continue to support children’s language and writing development. The newly obtained knowledge will be implemented in our learning programs.

From the team at Moomba Park Kindergarten

Important Dates: Visit from the library (Red Group) 15/8/24, Photo Day – SchoolPix 22/8/24 (Red Group) and 30/8/24 (Blue Group)

Father’s day (Special People Open Day). 29/8/24 and 30/8/24  – Bush Kinder Day with special people

What’s happening in our kindergarten program:

Both groups at Newlands have been hard at work on Project Playground. A local nearby playground at Cox Reserve is due an upgrade and Merri Bek Council have asked for some consultation from the community. The teaching team here at Newlands decided the best people to ask what a new playground would look like would be the people who use it – aka the children.

Over the last few weeks both groups have been drawing their dream playgrounds, discussing their dream playgrounds and even building their dream playgrounds out of blocks. Staff have been supporting these discussions by extending the children’s thoughts and ideas with reflective questions and wall displays.

Rowan has uploaded all the thoughts and ideas to a website https://conversations.merri-bek.vic.gov.au/cox-reserve-coburg-north/gathering-ideas which you can have a look at.

Some children have begun to visit their schools for next year and have been starting to share some of their thoughts about this up coming big change. While most are excited you can see some worries and anxiety sneaking in. The educators are here to support the children and their families in this change – and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask you child’s teacher.

Child Reflections: Remember to look at our wall displays and the floor books – often the children’s thoughts and suggestions are recorded in these books.

Incursions/Excursions Information: Blue group recently had a visit from a local dental hygienist. They learnt about taking care of their teeth and how to brush correctly and even got to take home some goodies. Red group will have a visit from a local librarian later this month to help celebrate book week.

Ongoing Bush Kinder/Regular Outings Information:

Our Nature play is continuing for both groups. The children are really enjoying these short excursions and have been finding creative ways to explore the area. Both groups have been investigating building huts and houses. The extra space is allowing children to really build their gross motor skills.  We have had some fabulous feedback from local members of the community on the children’s respectful behaviour at the nature play space.

The children are enjoying the excursions so much we are hoping to host our fathers day/family event up at the site. If this is a success we may look to hosting our end of year events up there as well.

Parent Fundraising Group: The form for picture plates has now gone out – please check your emails. Please click the link and speak to Rowan about order forms. All money will be done via electronic transfer.

Volunteer Opportunities: We welcome parents into the space at any time – if you feel you have skills to share speak to the teaching team about spending some time with your child in the room.

Teacher Communications: We warmly welcome Wisa Sasithorn to the team at Newlands. Wisa will be taking on the co educator role in Blue group as Ida sadly decided to move on to a different role at the end of term 2.  Wisa comes ready to learn and support the children as they grow and develop. She enjoys cooking in her weekends and we look forward to getting to know her over the next few weeks.

We also welcome Shumaita Islam from Deakin University who will be here on placement for the next 5 weeks.

From the team at Newlands Preschool

Important Dates: This month we will have our Kinder photos taken during the session. Our photo days are:

4yo Yellow – Tuesday 13th August

3yo Green – Wednesday 14th August

4yo Purple – Thursday 22nd April

What’s happening in our kindergarten program: Recently we purchased 3 garden beds, soil, children’s gloves and gardening tools to get our gardening program up and running after our last garden bed was demolished for the renovation. You would have all seen our slow progress over the last few weeks in getting the garden beds ready in the very top yard as you enter the kindergarten, and we had some amazing helpers helping to prepare the ground under the garden beds, put the beds together and fill them. It was also lovely to see some children using the gloves and tools to do their own projects around the yard, such as planting sticks to make them grow into trees as well as collect all the logs to make a big fire. Planting will begin soon with discussions occurring about what to plant in them and we hope to add more garden beds next year as well as some fruit trees to create a large garden space for years to come. All groups have been discussing the Olympic games this fortnight and following up with craft activities as well as our very own Olympic games with hurdles, gymnastics, soccer and shot put (kinder style!) The children appeared to have a lot of fun in our pretend games and we are having some great chats about the events that they have seen on television.

Incursions/Excursions: Both 4yo groups participated in the Life Ed Healthy Eating incursion last week, learning about staying healthy through eating healthy food, exercise and adequate rest. We learnt about the different coloured food being good for the different parts of the body, ie. Red foods are good for the brain and orange foods are good for the eyes, as well as telling the children about rainbow lunchboxes, having a small amount of each coloured food in their lunchbox each day to stay healthy. 4yo Purple participated in a trial program with the Essendon Football club and had a great time doing warm ups and footy drills.

Ongoing Bush Kinder/Nature Program: Unfortunately, our Bush Kinder hasn’t been in the best condition to visit after the holidays, so we are sticking to community walks. 4yo Yellow’s recent walk took them past Oak Park Primary School, where the Foundation Teachers came over to have a chat with them all, as well as many past students.

Parent Fundraising Group: This term we have 2 fundraisers planned. They are:

Aver & Line Family Portraits

Different to the class photos, we are having a family portrait fundraiser at the kindergarten on Saturday 7th September. Aver & Line have been doing our family portraits for many years now and take beautiful photos. To book in a photo session, please visit this link and scroll down to find a suitable and available time : https://bookwhen.com/oakpark2024 . The cost is $30 per session which will go to the kindergarten along with a percentage of sales from the day. Sessions run for 20 minutes and you will receive a free 8” x 12” print. This is open to anyone, so please let your family and friends know about it and encourage them to book if interested.

Picture Plates

Towards the end of August we will be starting our Picture Plates fundraiser. This is where you can get your child to draw a picture or add a photo to a template that we hand out at kinder, which can then be turned into a melamine plate, mug, clock, calendar, bag, pencil case etc. All templates are to be created at home and will be due in by the second last week of term with payment, and will take approximately 9 weeks to fill our order and return, so we usually receive them back by the end of November. I will send out more information when we are ready to get this fundraiser started.

Service Building Works/Improvements: We were very excited to finally get a roof on our extension and I’m told that it should go fast from now on. Next step is the windows and we should be achieving lock up stage by the end of the month. We are all hoping for an end of term 3 completion.

This week we have been watching the window frames and heating/air conditioning vents go in and unfortunately a lot of our Bush Kinder trees come down.

Teacher Communications: Our phone line has been a bit temperamental this term with a few parents mentioning they couldn’t get through when ringing, and we’ve had to reboot the modem. If you are unable to get through, please send us an email or try ringing the back up mobile number 0411 492 227. Sometimes it is difficult to hear it over the classroom noise though we will try to remember to keep an eye on it.

From the team at Oak Park Kindergarten

Important Dates: Monday 2^nd-Friday 6^th September: Superhero Week- come dressed as your favourite Superhero all week to raise vital funds for Muscular Dystrophy. Gold coin donation.

4th and 5^th September: Critters in the Creek incursion

10^th September: Indigenous Culture Heritage Waterways incursion

18/19/20^th September: Footy Colours Day: Come dressed in your favourite teams colours

Wednesday 18^th September: Last day of term 3 for Group A

Thursday 19^th September: Lat day of term 3 for Groups B and C

Friday 20^th September: Last day of term 3 for 3-year-olds

Monday 7^th October: First day of term 4 for 3-year-olds

Tuesday 8^th October: First day of term 4 for Groups A and B

Wednesday 9^th October: First day of term 4 for Group C

Wednesday 23^rd October: Groups A and C excursion to Animal Land

Thursday 24^th October: Group B excursion to Animal Land

Monday 4^th November: All staff PD day- Kinder closed

What’s happening at our service: Term 3 has been a busy time within the kinder space. We have had many incursions happening in the 4-year-old room, including dinosaurs and fossils from Melbourne Museum; underwater creatures from Melbourne Museum; Elle from the dentist; as well as celebrating all things books during Book Week; unveiling our new inclusive playground; hypothesizing and hands-on inquiry-based learning through Science Week; celebrating the special men in our lives at our Father’s Day Open afternoon; and talking all things football!

Our staff recently completed a key word sign professional development session, and have been passing their learnings on to the children. So far we have learnt how to sign ‘finished’ ‘thank you’ and the Rainbow Song. We look forward to bringing more key word sign into the room over the coming term.

Children’s Reflections: During our recent Ocean Wonders incursion with Maddy from Melbourne Museum the children were asked what animals live in the ocean.

“Crocodile”- Will

“Fishes”- April

“Sharks”- Michael

“Elephant whale”- Jude

“Narwhals”- Oscar

“Turtles”- Billy

“Corals”- Eddie

What is our favourite thing to do at the beach?

“Finding seaweed”- June

“Playing in the water”- Isaac

“Finding shells and building sand castles”- Josh

Then Maddie spoke to us about rubbish ending up in the ocean:

“It’s not nice for the ocean and the world will feel sad”- Chloe

“The animals might get stuck”- Imogen We put it (the rubbish) in the bin”- Jude

Incursions/Excursions: Please see important dates above. Permission forms for our Animal Land excursion will be coming home next week.

Child Safety Information: St Linus Kindergarten pride themselves on being a culturally safe environment where experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are valued and respected. To extend upon this our team of staff recently undertook a professional development session at the Koorie Heritage Trust in which we learnt about the histories of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, and gained a deeper understanding of their struggles and how we can best support them within our kinder programs.

Parent Fundraising Group: This term’s fundraiser is the Picture Plates. You should have received a leaflet and paper to draw and order your Picture Plates. If you have not received one, please see your child’s teacher. These are due back by the 13^th of September.

Volunteer Opportunities: If you would like to volunteer in our service, please ensure you have a valid working with children’s check and that the service has a copy of this.

Service Building Works/Improvements: Our inclusive yard has been finalized and the children have been enjoying the improvements, particularly our new swing set! The official opening was held last week, with Anthony Cianflone MP unveiling a plaque to officially open the space.

From the team at St Linus Kindergarten

Important dates: Blue Group Book weeks dress up Day: -28^th August, Father Day: – 29^th of August, Footy day Dressup:19^th September

Green Group Book weeks dress up Day: -Tuesday  20th August, Father Day: – Monday 2nd of August, Footy day Dressup:17^th September

What’s happening in the kinder program:

2024 Paris Olympic Games-26^th July-11^th August – The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially branded as Paris 2024, is an international multisport event scheduled to take place in France from July26 to August 11,2025. The Paralympic Games will follow from August 28 to September 8,2025. During this time, the children will be acknowledging this special event during the sessions, particularly during intentional teaching moments.

National Science Week: August 10^th -18^th August – The theme of National Science Week in 2024 is Species Survival: More Than just Sustainability. This theme reflects the growing need to address the numerous challenges faced by different organisms on our planet and goes beyond the commonly discussed concept of sustainability. It aims to emphasize the importance of science and innovation in ensuring the survival and thriving of various species in an ever-changing world. At Turner Street the children will participate in various activities during the week and intentional teaching time, related to exploring science.

Children’s Book Week: 10^th to 18^th August – During Book Week, we spend a wonderful week celebrating books and Australian children’s authors and Illustrators. We also acknowledge the positive impact that books and reading have on children’s future learning and development. This year’s theme is” Reading Is Magic”. At Turner Street Children will be celebrating on Tuesday and Thursday. The children are invited to come dressed as their favourite story book character (or any dress-up) and enjoy listening to various stories.

Father’s/ Special Person’s Day Acknowledgment – During the week Monday 26^th to Thursday 25^th we will be acknowledging Father’s/ Special person day in the kindergarten.

End of Term 3 Celebrating – On Tuesday and Thursday, the children in green and blue group will be celebrating end of term by having Sports/Footy Day. We will invite the children to come dressed up in the clothes or colours of their favourite sports team: AFL, soccer, cricket, basketball, netball, baseball etc.

Child Reflections: The children have been actively engaged in various experiences, enhancing their knowledge on different topics.

Outdoor Play: The children loved playing hide and seek and chasing their friends. They also enjoyed building structures with blocks of different sizes. Each session, they constructed various buildings such as houses, hospitals, ice cream Parlors, and veterinary clinics, always coming up with new ideas and using their imagination. Through role-play, the children developed numerous skills, including social, cognitive, literacy, numeracy, and imaginative skills.

Exploring Butterflies: A group of children showed interest in butterflies and their vibrant colours. Using a light table, they learned about the life cycle of butterflies. They also painted pieces of paper and, by pressing softly, created butterfly images when the paper was opened. This activity taught them about mixing primary colours to create secondary colours.

Arts and Crafts: The arts and crafts tables were always popular, with children creating many masterpieces throughout the day. They also enjoyed making various items using recycled boxes, masking tape, scissors, glue, and collage materials.

Other Activities: The children consistently engaged in construction, puzzles, and book-reading activities.

Green group have began some intentional teaching on Traffic Safety. We have began with bike safety and pedestrian safety. We have set up a bike track where children need to obey the traffic signs and signals and children are thoroughly enjoying the fines, others not as much.

We have also set up lots of Gross motor activities which have reflected our interest in the olympic games. Children’s have enjoyed challenging themselves with hurdles, a challenging obstacle course and bean bag target throwing.

Incursions/Excursions Information: Green Group A visit from the librarian: -Tuesday 20^th August, Dental Visit: 27^th of August

Blue Group A visit from the librarian: 22^nd August, Dental Visit: – 28^th August, Dinosaurs and Fossil Incursion: – 15^th August

Parent Fundraising Group: Kinder Disco:- 31^st August please purchase your tickets asap, it will be such a fun afternoon.

Reminder: Session Time: The kinder session runs from 8:30-4:00pm. All the families, please pick up your child on time at 4:00pm. If you are running late, please call the staff so we can inform your child. Clothing: Please ensure your child has extra clothes in their bags in case they get wet. We have indoor-outdoor program and children go outside even in wet weather, please dress them accordingly and send them to kinder with extra clothes.

Service/Building Improvements: Please visit and follow our facebook and instagram pages for photos of our freshly upgraded yard where we are proud to unveil our magical fairy garden. The children’s sandpit has been expanded and the digging patch area has finally come to life. We think you will agree it looks wonderful!

From the team at Turner Street Kindergarten

Rhyme TIme: Enjoy a fun-filled session based on music and movement as you and your baby share rhymes and action songs. Rhymetime introduces carers to fun ways to support baby’s physical development and literacy. Rhymetime is for pre-walking (0-18 months) babies and their carers Held during school terms: Music and movement as you and your baby share rhymes and action songs. A fun session to support physical development and literacy (for pre-walking 0-18 months) babies and their carers: Tuesdays, 10.30am at Fawkner Library, Wednesdays, 10.30am at Glenroy Library, Thursdays, 10.30am and 11.30am at Coburg Library, Fridays, 10.00am and 11.00am at Brunswick Library.

WordPlay: Let’s use our words to play!  Word Play is a free literacy program for families to learn English together and make the most of pre-school play. Learning through play is an important part of pre-school learning and in these relaxed sessions we use books, puppets, puzzles and blocks  to learn together.  Word Play is aimed at pre-school children aged 3-5 years.

Word Play session times:

A free literacy program for families to learn English together. Aimed at preschool children aged 3-5 years. Held during school terms on Wednesdays, 10.30am at Fawkner Library.

Multicultural Events:

Conversation Cafe: A weekly social group for adults who speak English as a second language and anyone interested in intercultural conversations. You can practice speaking and listening in English. Glenroy Library on Thursdays at 7.30pm during school terms.

Chatty Cafe: Brings the community together for friendly conversation. English practice and social connection. No need to book. Sussex Neighbourhood House, Pascoe Vale, Fridays 10am – 12pm in the Community Hub. Glenroy Library, Friday 11am.

MEYM would like to thank you for taking the time to read our Newsletter