April 2011 Newsletter
Reduce your weekly Child Care Fees
What is happening to the Rebate?
You will soon have more options for how to receive Child Care Rebate (CCR). The changes will apply from Monday, 4 July 2011. This is the start of the first week in the new financial year for family assistance purposes. The Family Assistance Office (FAO) is sending letters to all Australian families who are currently in receipt of Child Care Benefit to tell them about the options.
How will the ‘fee reduction’ option work?
If you choose the fee reduction option, your Child Care Rebate will be paid to your child care service on your behalf, in the same way as you can have your Child Care Benefit paid now. This means your weekly child care bills will be less than they are now.
It may be the best option for you to choose the “Fee Reduction” option so your weekly Child Care bill is less.
Easter is now fast approaching, and we would like to wish you all a safe & relaxing break. Brian & Mel will be taking leave from 27th to 29th April, and we will be leaving the Centre in the very capable hands of our new Director Jodi. Please feel free to talk with her about any queries you may have!
Many of you will be excited to hear the Melanie Zanatta (previous Group Leader of Senior Kindy), has finally had her baby, a little girl named Tori Elaine, on Tuesday 5th April. Congratulations to Mel, Tony & Coel !!!!
We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new children in our Centre:
· Claire, Jye, and Jason in Nursery
· Alayna and Maisy in Toddlers
· Harriet, Harley, Ryley, Hope and Connor in Junior Kindy
· Achi, Cooper and Seth in Senior Kindy
· Paddy, Jorja, Aalliyah and Joshua in Pre-School
Reminder - Public Holidays for April
Please remember that Friday 22nd, Monday 25th, and Tuesday 26th April are all public holidays, therefore the Centre WILL BE CLOSED on these days. If you are going away & your child won’t be attending on their booked in days, would you kindly let us know?
Upcoming Events
Our Easter Week will be from the 18th to the 21st April. We will be very busy doing lots of creative Easter activities during this time.
On Thursday 21st April we will be having an Easter Hat Parade at 9.30am. Parents welcome! If you have a spare old hat at home, could you please bring it in and we will decorate it for your child to wear, or if not, that’s OK, we will make one here!
On Friday, May 6th, we will be holding a special ‘Mothers Day Morning Tea’, for all of our wonderful Mums, Grandma’s and Guardians. Please come & share morning tea with your child/ren & maybe meet some other new Mums! Details to be advised!
Health, Fitness & Nutrition Week
Last week, we spent a lot of time talking about healthy foods and exercise. The older children were really interested in learning about which foods are healthy, and those which are not. We also did all sorts of exercises and stretching and games. Have a look at our posters on the walls to see what we got up to!
A huge thank you to Lane’s Mum, Liz, for coming in to share her healthy and yummy recipe of ‘Sesame Chews’ with our Pre-Schoolers. The children measured, poured, mixed and of course, ate. (The recipe is at the end of the newsletter if you’d like to try it!) Thank you Liz! If any parents would like to come in and share a recipe or a song or anything at all with your child’s room, you would be very welcome. Please let us know your special talent!
Sesame Chews
Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup desiccated coconut
185g vegetable shortening
1 beaten egg
½ cup honey
Melt vegetable shortening and honey in a saucepan over low heat.
Mix oats, sesame seeds, coconut, egg & melted shortening until well combined.
Press mixture into a foil lined tin. Set in refrigerator.
Makes 36.
Parents* - please remember we are a ‘nut free’ centre. If you are packing muesli bars in your child’s bag, could you please check the ingredients first to ensure there are no nuts, this is very important as we have a child in the Centre who is allergic to nuts.
Also, could we please ask that if you do pack a lunchbox for your child, could you please assist our efforts for healthy eating by only packing healthy foods. If we could avoid pre-packaged unhealthy snacks it would be very helpful. Thank you for your co-operation.
Spare Clothes
Parents, we still have children coming to the Centre with no spare clothes. Could we please have spare clothes in your child’s backpack EVERY DAY (including underwear). Also, now that the weather is starting to get cooler, could you please send your child in with a jumper.
News from the Rooms
Platypus Pre-School – Kindergarten
The Pre-schoolers have enjoyed a variety of activities during March as they shared their knowledge and learned more about keeping our bodies healthy (healthy eating and hygiene practices). We completed a healthy food pyramid, made veggie faces, did stamping with veggies, packed a healthy lunchbox and made a healthy dinner on paper plates. We also learnt about our heart – where it is and what job it does. After lots of exercise we put a stethoscope on our heart and listened to it beating. After talking about personal hygiene with the Pre-schoolers, all the babies received a bath and got their hair washed, while home corner became a laundry where the children washed, hung out to dry and ironed some clothes! We are now looking forward to beginning some Easter activities. From everyone in Platypus Pre-school, we wish you all a great Easter break!
(Miss Melinda will be on annual leave from 18th – 21st April, 2011. But don’t despair, your children will be left in the very capable hands of Miss Katrina, who is also a qualified Kindergarten teacher!).
Kookaburra Kindy – in the Kookaburra’s Room we have all become aware of our nutrition and health. Nutrition can be fun. We are doing art & craft with healthy foods as a theme to encourage children to eat well and learn about making good food choices The good groups are grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meats, beans & oils. We are creating lots of learning experiences through art and craft such as painting with food and collage, dramatic play and stories and songs. We have also been learning and singing the following song:
Peanut Butter
Peanut sitting on the railway track,
It’s heart was all a flutter.
Steam engine roaring down the track,
Toot, Toot…
Peanut Butter!
Joey Jnr Kindy – The last few weeks we’ve been talking about our different feelings. We’ve been using the face boards at group time to see different faces look like, eg happy, sad, cheeky. We’re learning to sing ‘If you’re happy and you know it’. And we’re also trying very hard to learn our basic colours.
Tree Frog Toddlers – Toddlers Room are having a space theme at the moment. The children have helped make a rocket, some aliens, stars and planet Mars. We’re also continuing with learning and pointing to our different body parts, eg nose, eyes, ears etc. We’ve also been busy doing car track painting and fruit stamp painting.
Numbat Nursery – We welcome Katrina Marino back to the Centre, after being on leave to have her baby Jye. Katrina will be working in the Nursery on a part time basis for now, sharing the room with Jodi. We have a new musical animal mat in the Nursery, and the children are learning the different animal sounds that come out from it when they stand on it. We also have been enjoying playing with some new, very noisy, toys.
From the office
Please remember that all booked in days are payable, whether your child attends the Centre or not, this also includes public holidays. If your child is away for the day, could you please ensure that you sign your name on these days? Thanks for your co-operation.
Our brand new Country Kids hats are for sale for $12 each from the office.
We do still have some availability in rooms on some days; so if you would like to increase your child’s days here at the Centre, please talk to Jodi, Mel or Brian in the office.
Lost & Found
We have found a velcro wallet in the Toddler Room. Have you lost one? If this is yours, please come and see us in the office!
Immunisations
If your child has had an immunization lately, could you please give a copy of this immunization to us, as we need to ensure that all immunisations are up to date. Thank you for your co-operation.
Policy Review - this month’s policies reviewed were:
· Collection and Delivery of Children
· Confidentiality Policy
· Custody & Access
· Dental Hygiene
· Excursion Policy
· Infant Feeding
· Orientation (Families & Staff)
