Welcome back to all our Families! Please download the following document to discover the exciting learning experiences planned for Term Two.
Category: Kindy
Welcome to Term 2 2017
Dear Families
Welcome back to Term Two – I hope that everybody had an enjoyable Easter and holiday break with their families and friends.
I was blessed to spend Easter camping with family, and was able to celebrate Easter Sunday in the beautiful St Peter’s Church in the small township of Greenough. When we think of Easter and the message of new life, we also need to reflect on the hopes and prayers from the Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe for Easter;
“That we recommit ourselves to walking in his footsteps. In this way the promise and hope of Easter will not be a fanciful dream, or something for which we must wait until the next life, but rather, albeit in a limited and fragile way, a reality which like the mustard seed of which Jesus speaks in the Gospel begins in small and hidden ways but gradually grows into a vast tree which provides a home for everyone.”
The Year 6 Mazenod leaders and Mrs Aquino led the Year 1 to 6 children in a moving Anzac Day ceremony after recess this morning. As we commemorate Anzac Day, we think back on some of the horrors of war and conflict that have occurred and are still occurring in the world today, and give thanks for the courage and compassion of those who served and those who continue to do so.
It is this courage and compassion which we remember each ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day is a time for us to pay tribute to these brave men and women, who fought and died for our country, so that future generations like ours could live in freedom. This act of self-sacrifice is remembered every year, when we take the time to pay our respects and say thank you for the freedom that we have today.
Over the next few weeks, there will be a number of articles from Michael Grose that we will be placing on the website which give advice on a number of issues facing us as parents today. Please read them and take what you can from them, there are some great insights and learning to be had.
Please have a look at the Term Planner for Term Two and check the weekly reminders on the website and your emails regularly. It promises to be a busy, but rewarding term for all.
Stuart Munro
Kindy Blue 25th March 2017
OPEN NIGHT
Thank you to all Families who were able to come along and share in the children’s learning over Term One.
The children were beaming as they “Taught” their family members all about different aspects and particulars of the classroom displays.
At long last our families had the chance to meet Freda the frill necked lizard.
Many of our visitors had heard of Freda and had actually thought she was a real lizard, such was her fame!
But alas, she is our Science mascot for this term’s topic “The Sun Changes Everything”.
We made Observational Drawings of Freda. She posed for us as we looked very carefully at her to capture her characteristics with black pen and water colour paints.
THE SUN CHANGES EVERYTHING!
As families moved into the wet area they enjoyed reading about our Science experiments!
We had filled a Solar Shower with cold water, placed it in the sunshine for a day and hey presto- the water was hot at the end of the day!
Our families had helped with one of our experiments- they added water to a container holding some dye, put it in their freeze, then brought it to Kindy.
We stacked the large ice blocks on top of each other to create an ice berg!
We had set it up outside in the sunshine and watched throughout the day to see what changes would occur.
The ice slowly melted away due to the power of the sun to leave teeny tiny ice blocks by the end of the day!
We all know what happens to chocolate if we hold it too long in our fingers- ooey gooey!
We broke up a chocolate bar , placed some on three plates, then put one plate outside in the sun, one in the shade and one inside to see what would happen.
We found the chocolate in the sunshine melted really quickly, while the chocolate in the sun did not. The chocolate we left inside did not melt at all!
The energy of the sun strikes again!
Did you know that you can put Solar Lights outside in the sunshine for the day and the sun’s energy will power up the cells to make the lights work when it is dark?
We tried it- how awesome!
Before leaving our Science display families were able to look at pictures of our Kanyana Wildlife Rescue incursion.
We were so lucky to touch and find out about animals from the Reptile family, which we had been finding out about!
We also met a Tawny Frogmouth and 24 year old Elle the Echidna! She was so cute, using her long tongue to eat her food and then sniffing our shoes with her long snout!
We brought in photos of ourselves as babies and then drew and painted pictures of ourselves now that we are big KIndy kids.
We have changed so much and have learned so many things!
We even tried writing our names too!
Did you know that God made all of us, even our Teachers and He knew our names before we were even born?
We have been learning about Jesus’ life from when the angel Gabrielle told Mary she would have a baby and His name would be Jesus, to His resurrection on Easter Sunday.
We have a big map that shows where He was born and all the places He travelled to teach people about God’s love over His life.
Our families also found out about the Maths activities we have been practising at Kindy.
We have been making and counting collections, reading numerals, sorting materials according to various attributes, subitising with dice and cards and learning number through nursery rhymes!
Whew, we have been busy!
Thanks again for sharing all this learning with us!
See you next time!
Just the Tip of the Iceberg! Kindy Gold
Term One – Week 7
This week we have been busy building ICEBERGS! Thanks to all our families who assisted in preparing our ice blocks for our Science experiment. The children put on their “scientist” personas as we built, monitored and observed the changes in our icebergs throughout the day. We compared the similarities and differences between Kindy Blue’s Iceberg and our own. Kindy Blue built their iceberg in the direct sun, outdoors and we conducted our iceberg experiment outdoors, but in the shade. We took photographic evidence of the experiment at different times during the day and of both icebergs. At the conclusion of the day, we re-examined the two icebergs once again. The children came to the conclusion, that the sun really does change things! The warm air, created from the heat of the sun, whether in direct sunlight or shade, melted our icebergs.
Please click on the gallery below to view the photos.
- Build it up, build it up!
- How high can we go?
- We are feeling the cool air being released from the iceberg.
- We heard cracking and crackling from our iceberg as we built it.
- We observed the various colours, shapes and pattens within the ice.
- We placed salt over the iceberg to slow down the melting process.
- We observed as the iceberg began to DRIP! DRIP! DRIP!
- Kindy Blue's iceberg was built in the direct sun.
- Our iceberg began to change shape and form.
- Colours began to blend into each other as the ice started to melt.
- We were keen observers and scientists!
- Keeping an eye on both icebergs throughout the day.
- At the end of the day…not much left of the icebergs!
This week we also experimented with chocolate and discussed SOLAR energy. We compared and discussed what happened to a piece of chocolate left out in the sun to one that was left inside our classroom in a cool environment. We looked into how a SOLAR SHOWER works and uses the sun’s energy to heat up the cold water inside the bag. We discussed how the solar shower may be useful to take along on camping trips!
Please click on the gallery below to view the photos.
- Solid, hard piece of chocolate at the beginning of the experiment – in the direct sun
- Our chocolate has melted after a few hours in the sun. It has changed form.
- Observing changes
- Feeling the hot water in the solar shower at the end of the day
- The temperature of the water has risen since we first filled up the shower bag
- The once cold water is now HOT! Ready for a shower?
We have been discussing how technology can assist in our learning. We have been modelling and using the GOOGLE SEARCH tool to research information or pictures to help us learn about different things. We looked up “ICEBERGS” to view some real life pictures. We discussed how often people can only see the tip of the iceberg and forget that underneath the water lies another huge part of the iceberg that is not usually visible. We viewed an image of a man diving under the ocean and swimming beside a huge iceberg. We wondered at how amazing icebergs are and at how tiny the man seemed against the iceberg. We discussed which animals loved to live in cold climates such as the North and South Poles.
We also viewed a wonderful short video of a real life iceberg breaking apart, causing the ocean waters to rise and move in all directions. Below is the video if you wish to watch and discuss it with your child.
TIP: turn up the volume to hear and feel the powerful effect of the iceberg!
School Photos 2017 – A Reminder and Timetable
St Emilie’s School Photos will be taken this
Wednesday 8th March and Thursday 9th March 2017
All children in Year 1 to 6 will need to wear their St Emilie’s School Shirt and shorts/skorts. Please do not wear sports uniform on these days.
Please see the attached timetable for when each class is having their photo. Please note that this timetable is a guide only and times may vary.
Parents are the First Educators of their Children
Support your child’s learning — at home!
You want to help your child develop their literacy and numeracy skills, but working out how can be tricky. How do you find activities that reinforce and build on the concepts and skills your child will encounter in the classroom?
The answer: this website. Everything here supports the Australian Curriculum for primary school, and is child (and parent) friendly.
Browse by your child’s year level, or search for a topic, and the website will suggest ideas, activities, games and videos you can use to support your child’s learning.
This is a great website sponsored by the government to help parents to support their children’s learning. Click on the below link to access this website.
P and F Subway Lunch Friday 17 March
Important Reminder–Drive through and Pick up of Students
A few reminders about procedures for dropping off and picking up your children here at St Emilie’s.
- Please give way to cars at the crosswalk so Amherst Road can be cleared as much as possible of traffic. In the afternoon there is a teacher on duty to facilitate this.
- When dropping off/picking up children, drive through as far as possible. Do not stop in front of the administration building if there is space in front of you to drive forward.
- Please do not enter through the gate near the Church or the gate on Philadelphia Parade as these are exit gates only.
- Only cross at the crosswalk, there are a number of families crossing in front of where the staff park their cars.
- When being dropped off and picked up, children should only exit/enter their cars on the left hand side of the car, school bags should not be in the boots of cars. If your child is unable to do up their seat belt independently, please do not use drive through.
Kindy Blue 20th February 2017
Phew! There’s so much to do in Kindy Blue!
We have had a busy, happy, teary, smiley, giggly, fun start to our Kindy year!
We have been busy finding out about each other and sharing lots of things about ourselves too.
Thanks to our families who helped us bring our baby photos to school for our Guess The Baby session!
We tried to guess which of us matched the baby photos and then we would tell everyone something about ourselves.
How amazing that God knew us before we were even born! He gave us our Mums and Dads and He is so happy to see us enjoy our days at Kindy now!
We have been thinking about how much we have grown since we were babies and how much we can now do now that we couldn’t do before.
Things like holding drawing tools well to be able to draw on wooden stencils that we think look like us…
…then we put all of our stencils together to make a model that shows all of us learning and playing together at St Emilies school!
We can draw and paint pictures of ourselves too. It might look easy but you need to look carefully at yourself in the mirror and try to draw what you see on the paper…there’s lots of information to think about. Then you have to learn how to use water colour paints and brushes to bring the drawings to life. It all takes lots of good listening, watching, thinking and concentration and SUPER BRAINPOWER!
We have also been learning how to get on with others, practising friendly talking and behaviour with other children, how to look, listen and think at mat time and activity times, how to be patient and wait our turn and how to do things for ourselves.
We are learning to be a member of our class, the Kindy year group, our Early Childhood block and our school.
It takes a long time to grow a St Emilies’ child but we’ve set out on the right foot!
It makes our hearts grow when we can help others to do a job…
…or we take the hand of someone who is feeling alone and put a smile on both of our faces!
Kindy Gold First Days!
We have had a great first few days at Kindy together!
The children are beginning to settle in well to their new environment, are getting to know one another and are beginning to develop friendships. Routines and expectations are being established as children are learning how to respond at mat times, how to manage their morning jobs and how to play and participate in activities with others.
We have learnt how to put on an apron for painting, find our names, create a painting, place our painting on the drying rack, wash our painting easel after painting and put up some fresh paper for the next friend who wants to paint!
Fine motor skills are an important part of our learning and development in Kindy!
We are learning to develop respectful relationships, work and play in groups with others.
Writing and drawing are so much fun! So is kicking the footy!
We looked at the letters of our names and had a go at tracing them.
As part of our first topic “I Am Me,” we are learning that God created each of us to be unique and different. We are all babies when we are born and with time, we grow and change. We have learnt the sign of the cross and our daily prayers. We have looked at and shared our family photos and our naturally made frames, with the class and the children have told their friends about the members of their families. We have used mirrors to examine our faces and look at how special and different God made each of us. We have painted some beautiful self portraits, thinking carefully about our facial features and skin colours. What brilliant artists you all are!
