Preschool News
Throughout Week 8 of the term each of our ELC classes had the chance to celebrate Harmony Day in a variety of ways. Children enjoyed some Middle Eastern cooking thanks to Miss Asmaa, and Miss Winnie supported children to make delicious dumplings. It was lovely to see so many children wearing clothes to represent the countries they came from, or wearing orange or their St Anthony’s t-shirts in honour of Harmony Day. There are so many different cultures represented by the students and staff at our ELC, and we are blessed and enriched by this diversity.
Last week was also a chance to celebrate and acknowledge the First Australians. Our excursion to Birrigai was a chance for children to be out on country and to walk in spaces that would have been walked in and used by the Ngunnawal people for many years before us. We had the chance to walk through a beautiful rock shelter that would have been a place for families to shelter and gather in the past. The children learnt how this spot becomes a trickling creek during wet weather, and a spot to gather Bogong moths for food. We learnt how observing ants' nests can help us to predict if rain is on its way, and we picked tea tree leaves which can be used as a natural treatment for insect bites and stings. On our bushwalk the children made their way to a rocky outcrop on the hill top, where we could look out over Ngunnawal country for miles.
The week has been a great time to appreciate the diversity of the people in our ELC community and the ways we are different but we all belong. We have also been able to celebrate the beauty of the country that we walk on, and learn to value country and live in harmony with the animals and plants around us. The well-being and spirituality theme at St Anthony’s school this year is Flourish. When we live in harmony with others in our world, in harmony with God, and in harmony with the natural world, then we can flourish as people.
A very warm welcome to Aman Kaur who will be joining our Team at the ELC this week. Aman will be working as the teacher in the Bilbies class. Aman is an Early Childhood and Primary trained teacher, with experience working in Early Learning Centres and in Primary Schools. The Bilbies class parents will have the chance to meet Aman during our Parent Teacher interviews over the next two weeks.
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It is with much sadness that we say Farewell to one of our gorgeous Office staff - Olivia Le. Olivia will be finishing up her role at the ELC at the end of Term 1. Olivia does a fabulous job in the office and we have benefited so much from her knowledge about the organisation of early learning services. We wish Olivia all the best as she focuses on the administration of her family's growing IT business. Thank you Olivia for your wonderful contribution to St Anthony’s ELC! |
Over the next few weeks we will be spending time sharing the Easter story with children. We will be explaining the Easter story simply to the students, explaining that Jesus died on the cross as an act of love, with an emphasis on the message of new life as Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. As part of preparations for Easter the children will join the students of St Anthony’s in the Stations of the Cross. We will also take part in the Easter Liturgy where students in Year 6 will present a dramatisation of the Easter story. We would encourage you to read the Easter story with your child at home so they are familiar with this story and understand it’s hope filled message of new life, as we remember that Christ is risen.
Hatching Chicks
We have some hatching chicks arriving at the ELC this week. They will be kept in an incubator and shared between the two classrooms so all the children have the chance to observe the chickens hatching. As they get bigger the children will also have the chance to pat and hold the chicks.
This is always a joyous experience and a lot of fun! It is a great reminder of the joy of new life that we celebrate during the Easter period!
Caritas
A reminder that we are collecting donations for Caritas Project Compassion as we prepare for Easter. Spanning across the six weeks of Lent each year, Project Compassion brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world. There are money boxes to collect donations in each classroom at the ELC, and a donation box in our front foyer. You can also make a donation online using the following link:
